The Grand Duke from Boys Ranch

The Grand Duke from Boys Ranch
Author :
Publisher : Texas A&M University Press
Total Pages : 432
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9781623496586
ISBN-13 : 1623496586
Rating : 4/5 (586 Downloads)

Book Synopsis The Grand Duke from Boys Ranch by : Bill Sarpalius

Download or read book The Grand Duke from Boys Ranch written by Bill Sarpalius and published by Texas A&M University Press. This book was released on 2018-04-09 with total page 432 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As a boy in Houston, Bill Sarpalius, his brothers, and their mother lived an itinerant life. Bill dug food out of trashcans, and he and his brothers moved from one school to the next. They squatted in a vacant home while their mother, affectionately called “Honey,” battled alcoholism and suicidal tendencies. In an act of desperation, she handed her three sons over to Cal Farley’s Boys Ranch north of Amarillo. At the time, Bill was thirteen years old and could not read. Life at Boys Ranch had its own set of harrowing challenges, however. He found himself living in fear of some staff and older boys. He became involved in Future Farmers of America and discovered a talent for public speaking. When he graduated, he had a hundred dollars and no place to go. He worked hard, earned a scholarship from the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, and obtained a college degree. After a brief career as a teacher and in agribusiness, he won a seat in the Texas Senate. Driven by the memory of his suffering mother, he launched the Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse in an effort to help people struggling with addiction. Sarpalius later served in the United States Congress. As a Lithuanian American, he took a special interest in that nation’s fight for independence from the Soviet Union. For his efforts, Sarpalius received the highest honor possible to a non-Lithuanian citizen and was named a “Grand Duke.” The Grand Duke from Boys Ranch is a unique political memoir—the story of a life full of unlikely paths that is at once heartbreaking and inspirational.

The Grand Duke from Boys Ranch Related Books

The Grand Duke from Boys Ranch
Language: en
Pages: 432
Authors: Bill Sarpalius
Categories: Biography & Autobiography
Type: BOOK - Published: 2018-04-09 - Publisher: Texas A&M University Press

GET EBOOK

As a boy in Houston, Bill Sarpalius, his brothers, and their mother lived an itinerant life. Bill dug food out of trashcans, and he and his brothers moved from
The Grand Duke
Language: en
Pages: 0
Authors: Yann
Categories: Comics & Graphic Novels
Type: BOOK - Published: 2012-12-04 - Publisher: Archaia

GET EBOOK

The Eastern Front during WWII: Oberleutnant Wulf, a young Luftwaffe pilot, is horrified by Nazi barbarism and at odds with his fellow pilots, even as he finds h
The Other Grand Dukes
Language: en
Pages: 272
Authors: Janet Ashton
Categories: Nobility
Type: BOOK - Published: 2013-01-15 - Publisher:

GET EBOOK

"Examines the biographies of nearly forty men whose birth gave them the right to one of the world's most prestigious positions. All sons of Russian tsars are co
Once a Grand Duke
Language: en
Pages: 315
Authors: Grand Duke Alexander of Russia
Categories: History
Type: BOOK - Published: 2017-06-28 - Publisher: Pickle Partners Publishing

GET EBOOK

Alexander lived in Paris when he wrote his memoirs, Once a Grand Duke, which were first published in 1932. It is a rich source of dynastical and court life in I
Alexis in America
Language: en
Pages: 0
Authors: Lee A. Farrow
Categories: History
Type: BOOK - Published: 2014-12-15 - Publisher: LSU Press

GET EBOOK

In the autumn of 1871, Alexis Romanov, the fourth son of Tsar Alexander II of Russia, set sail from his homeland for an extended journey through the United Stat