Natalie and I met over my Grayson County’s Constable Dallas Hodges story published here last April. We cannot remember exactly how we discovered each other, but I have used Natalie’s research and shared mine with her for our mutual desire to preserve local history. And! Natalie, a member of the Authors Round Table Society in Denison, Texas, introduced me to this great writer’s group.*

Meet Natalie Clountz Bauman

Natalie: I love this area of Northwestern Grayson County! It is special and many great people made their homes here. I, myself, have had relatives that lived here for over 150 years. I am a lifelong resident of the rural area northwest of Pottsboro. I have always had a desire to showcase this area's great history which was unknown by those concentrating on larger towns. No one else was doing it, so I started a Facebook page called Pottsboro Texas Genealogy—Old Times Remembered in which I try to preserve some of this area's history, pictures, and memories before we lose it all.

Right after I published the Pottsboro Facebook page in mid-2014, I was laid off my job of 11 years because of my failing health and unrelated company problems. I was middle-aged with multiple autoimmune diseases and severe arthritis. These diseases do not have cures—they only get worse and are disabling.

I knew no one else would hire me, but I had a great deal of debt due to my medical bills. I did not know what to do. My doctor even prescribed that I needed something; a mental hobby to keep me from becoming depressed and letting my physical condition deteriorate because of inactivity.

Because of my Pottsboro Facebook page, I received attention that soon led to my unpaid column in the Pottsboro Sun newspaper called the Pottsboro Pioneer about this area’s history. I wrote my first book in October of 2014 within a few weeks after being laid off about Pottsboro and Lake Texoma history. I have now written 17 northwestern Grayson County, Lake Texoma, and Pottsboro area history-related books.

I, God willing, intend to write many more historical books since we have such a rich heritage here. But I am sure that I will only scratch the surface. People ask me why I think that I will not run out of material. I respond, “There have been a LOT of people in this area and they ALL have a story.”

I have given several local history-related speeches and costumed living-history presentations. I enjoy nature photography and sell prints of my photo art. I produced an inspirational art book called Reflections on the Beauty of Lake Texoma.

My story is: Never give up and do not get discouraged whatever your challenges. If you keep swinging, you at least have a chance to hit the ball out of the park!

Natalie Featured on Glenn Beck’s I Chose Hope Television Broadcast

Amanda Bauman, Natalie’s daughter and a teacher at that time in the Plano ISD, now Denison ISD, wrote about teaching her students the historically accurate account of our American Pilgrims coming to America for religious freedom on Glenn Beck’s Facebook page. Mr. Beck’s producer picked up on Amanda’s post and invited her to participate in his show and Natalie to sit in the live studio audience.

Mr. Beck requested that his studio audience write down on a card a time in their lives when choosing hope over despair made a difference in their lives before the show and give it to Mr. Beck. Natalie wrote about her discouraging challenges that she overcame when she decided to start over in life by writing history books about her local community. Mr. Beck chose Natalie to talk in a segment and told her that she was the star of the show after the broadcast. Please check out the video of this segment below this article.

Natalie’s Historical Genres

All of Natalie’s 17 books feature historically accurate stories. The amount of research required to turn out such a production is mind-boggling. While coming across certain stories when she researched ghost towns in Texomland, Natalie discovered supernatural and unusual elements. This led to the series of her books with weird and ghostly tales from Texomaland titled, Red River Hauntings, True Ghost Stories of Grayson County, and Other Strange and Scary Tales, Volumes 1, 2 and 3.

What Inspired Natalie’s Ghost, Supernatural, and Weird Stories?

One of her more interesting surprises happened after Natalie published the above series. The stories in those books encompass north Texas and southern Oklahoma along the Red River. She found that young people asked about her Ghost Towns of Texoma series hoping that they told ghost stories. But they actually tell about the towns which disappeared because Lake Texoma swallowed them up. Natalie decided, in order to reach young people through history, to mix the material with something that interests them. 

Natalie: Many young people have no interest in dry history, but they like to read about ghost stories and strange tales. My idea was to write a book that younger people would take an interest in while also including within the stories a great deal of historical information to which they might never otherwise be exposed. The books not only tell ghost stories but strange tales like true reports of cryptid animal sightings like panthers and bigfoot.

People can make fun of me, but if you live in the woods, you will see, smell, and hear things which cannot be explained away. The Red River is a magnet for all kinds of wildlife. A lot of wilderness still exists out here with plenty of resources for the survival of large animals. Whether you believe any of it or not, my books are entertaining. I tried to write something that I, myself, would enjoy reading, so I hope you will too.

Natalie On Red River History

One of Natalie’s most recent books, The Many Faces of Texoma’s Red River chronicles the history of the Red River’s ferries and bridges, the devastation of its many floods, and the building of the Denison Dam.

Natalie: None of us are one-dimensional. We all have many facets to our personalities. We define a facet as an aspect or phase, or as in jewelry, a particular visible surface or face. Things and places such as rivers can also have many diverse facets or faces which people might perceive as positive or negative.

The Red River of Texoma is no exception, and it contains many different faces; some benevolent, some fearsome. According to the eyes of its beholders and their perspectives, they perceive these faces in many different ways. Also, like faces, the Red River has been ever changing while it remains fascinating no matter how long we observe it. The Many Faces of Texoma’s Red River attempts to examine these aspects.

Natalie On William Quantrill

Natalie: Many people do not know that many of William Quantrill’s Raiders during the Civil War were young teenagers, and that they have many connections with this area in north Texas. Most of the history written about Quantrill is scandalously incorrect, but it is history that made them who they were. I wrote Quantrill's Raiders in North Texas and Grayson County Texas: Including Bloody Bill Anderson and The James Younger Gang to set their records straight.

When people think of William Quantrill, Bloody Bill Anderson, and men like the James and Younger brothers, they may automatically think of Missouri and Kansas. But Quantrill’s Raiders are a fascinating part of our local history as well. This book explores their activities in north Texas both during and after the Civil War. This writer’s purpose is not to overtly try to take one side over the other concerning the morality of the Civil War or those who fought in it.

I presented many original sources from the time of the Civil War and shortly afterward explaining the times and views of both the North and South. I took into consideration the humanity of the people involved in order for readers to view these men as real people and not as dime novel characters.

The Entire List of Natalie’s Books Available Now

All of Natalie Clountz Bauman’s books are available,in print and Kindle versions on Amazon.com directly from the author. You may also order them from etsy.com in the Pottsboro Texas Books store. Find print editions locally in Denison on Main Street at The Book Rack and The Main Street Antique Mall. In Sherman, look for them at A Touch of Class Antique Mall and in Pottsboro at Patsy’s Café or Home Staging Unlimited.

Links to Books

The Many Faces of Texoma’s Red River

The Old Country Store in NW Grayson County

True Ghost Stories of Grayson County Texas…and Other Strange and Scary Tales Volume I

Red River Hauntings - TRUE Ghost Stories of Grayson County Texas....and Other Strange and Scary Tales Volume 2: Including North Texas and Southern Oklahoma

Red River Hauntings - True Ghost Stories of Grayson County Texas and Other Strange and Scary Tales - Volume 3: Including North Texas and Southern Oklahoma

Quantrill's Raiders in North Texas and Grayson County Texas: Including Bloody Bill Anderson and The James Younger Gang

When The West Was Wild in Pottsboro Texas

Pottsboro Texas and Lake Texoma Then and Now Volume 1

Pottsboro Texas and Lake Texoma, Then and Now Volume TWO: The Texas Nursery, The Texoma Floods, & Pottsboro In The News (Volume 2)

School Days Around the Pottsboro Area & NW Grayson County

Ghost Towns of Texoma Vol 1 Preston Bend

Ghost Towns of Texoma, Vol 2 – Hagerman

Ghost Towns of Texoma, Vol 3 – Martin Springs and Mineral Springs: The Lost Towns of Grayson County and Pottsboro Texas

Ghost Towns of Texoma - Volume Four - Georgetown, Fink & Reevesville: The Lost Towns of Grayson County and Pottsboro Texas (Volume 4)

Ghost Towns of Texoma - Vol. 5 - Locust & Mill Springs, Willow Springs & Overton (Volume 5)

Reflections on the Beauty of Lake Texoma

Texoma Tales - Volume One: Stories of the People of Northwestern Grayson County (Volume 1)

When the West Was Wild in Denison (print version)

When the West Was Wild in Denison (Kindle version)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1725572192/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i28 

About: The Authors Roundtable Society

From Claudette Percy:

The Author Round Table Society is open to all writers, both published and unpublished. We are authors helping authors. We meet the 3rd Wednesday of the month at 207 W. Main Street. The organizers are John M. Moody and James William Peercy.

From Me:

Fellow Texoma writers, you will not meet a more professional and dedicated group of writers anywhere else, even if you tried. The people who constitute the Author Round Table Society know what writers need in the area of support and promotion.

These members do not just sit around a table and critique each other once a month. They host programs, presentations, and events, they bring in speakers to educate, and most of all, they are experienced, published, and super helpful. Leave your ego at the door because you will find reality with this group!