When Tom Weger ('89) and his wife, Kristy ('90), moved to Saint Jo -- a small town near the Oklahoma border on the actual route of the cattle trails of North Texas during the post-Civil War era -- he discovered most of the accepted routes given in books were wrong or misleading.
After a year of research, Weger submitted a 50-page research paper to the National Parks Service, which is considering the Chisholm and Great Western Trails for designation as National Trails.
At the urging of friends and historians, he turned the research paper into a book and documentary, North to Kansas: The Real Chisholm Trail, produced by Tammy Bean ('92).
Weger's research won the Texas Historical Commission's Award of Excellence in Preserving History.
"To have your work recognized as historically significant is unbelievable," Weger says. "I could not be more honored."
