Columnist Susan Snyder: Authors dedicated to heritage

Friday, Feb. 2, 2001 | 9:15 a.m.

Susan Snyder's column appears Fridays, Sundays and Tuesdays. Reach her at snyder@lasvegassun.com or 259-4082.

The covered-wagon trek west was arduous for any 19th-century pioneer family.

Many of Rick Hyman's ancestors died along the bumpy, ragged road from Virginia to Texas. They endured harsh weather and attacks by American Indians who were trying to hold on to what land they still had.

But the Las Vegan's forebears faced something white settlers didn't.

"Many were recaptured by slave masters even though they were free," Hyman says.

Still, a fair number of them finished the journey and managed to start a new life in 1880s Texas -- a life that found them as owners of cattle, horses, a stagecoach and 2,000 acres of oil-rich property.

Hyman says they were among the first ex-slaves to settle in Texas, and their journey and ensuing success is recorded in a new book, "My Texas Family: An Uncommon Journey to Prosperity."

The book, from Arcadia publishing, is available at bigger bookstore chains and online. But residents can get autographed copies and meet Hyman and his wife, Ronda, during a book-signing at the West Las Vegas Arts Center. The event is Saturday from 2-5 p.m. in the center at 947 W. Lake Mead Blvd.

The volume includes hundreds of old photographs depicting Hyman's pioneering ancestors, their possessions and the paintings Hyman has done of some of the photographs. Hyman is a recognized painter in his own right. Comedian Bill Cosby is a fan. Hyman's painting of relatives seated on the running board of a 1925 car hung on the living room wall of the set of "The Cosby Show."

"It's really evolved into something magnificent," Hyman said of his family research.

Rick and Ronda Hyman started the work when they traveled to Texas in 1981 to sift through the belongings of one of his older relatives, who was dying.

"We found money and items behind photos on the wall, stuffed in mattresses, under floorboards," he said. "They were collectors."

Along with photos they found jewelry dating to his ancestors' days as slaves in Virginia. Slave masters sometimes gave them such gifts on birthdays or Christmas, Ronda Hyman said.

The book, nominated for a historical award in Texas and showcased on NBC's "Today" show one Saturday last month, represents almost 20 years of research.

"It's been so rewarding," Hyman said.

The book-signing is part of the West Las Vegas Arts Center's Black History Month commemoration. Other events this month include an ongoing display of paintings by Gene Redden, a local artist and musician who scored the original "Roots," said Jewel Jeppe, a center spokeswoman.

And at 7 p.m. Feb. 16, the center will host a free screening of "I Remember Harlem," a documentary about Harlem from 1900 to 1980. The evening, which includes appearances by swing legend Norma Miller and film producer Bill Miles, opens with a free, public reception at 5:30 p.m.

Hyman also noted his book contains some unintentional irony. It was printed in England and brought here by cargo ship.