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photo: Courtesy of Robert Sherrill Dan Strawn 50TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE The Texas Mind BY ROBERT SHERRILL As The Texas Observer approaches its 50th anniversary, those old enough to remember its beginnings might justifiably take a moment tono, not pay tribute, but simply recall the contribution to the publication of its foremost oddball: Dan Strawn. Dan died a few months ago, and with his death Kenedy, Texas, his birthplace and home, lost the only reason for its being marked on the map. Not that it deserved much of a mark when he was alive. Beginning with the January 10, 1955 edition, Strawn wrote 41 pieces for the Observer, which is more than twice as many as Bill Brammer wrote and about two-thirds as many as Willie Morris wrote. Of course, there was a slight difference in the qualities. His first piece, appearing under the title “The Texas Mind,” was introduced by this note from Ronnie Dugger: 46 THE TEXAS OBSERVER 12/3/04