Just down the path from the entrance to the Texas State Cemetery, in a picturesque spot surrounded by fall-rusted cypress trees, one of Taylor’s own now has a place of honor, among other legends of Texas history.
On Saturday, Dec. 11, a small group of family members of Bill Pickett and other dignitaries gathered to dedicate a cenotaph, which is a monument or tomb erected in a cemetery in honor of a person whose remains are buried elsewhere, to honor the legendary African-American cowboy, rodeo, bulldogger and movie star.
“Thank you everybody for coming out to this wonderful day for the Pickett family, the city of Taylor, Williamson County, the State of Texas and the United States,” said District 1 Councilman Gerald Anderson, the grand-nephew of Pickett. “Most people who know who Bill Pickett is realize how important he was to our history, not just to cowboy history, but American history.”
At the event were Anderson, the founder of the Bill Pickett Educational Foundation, and other members of the Pickett family, as well as elected officials, including State Rep. James Talarico, Mayor Brandt Rydell, District 4 Councilman Robert Garcia, members of the Taylor Conservation and Heritage Society, which paid for the cenotaph, and other officials.
Anderson’s mother, Dannie Royal, who is Pickett’s niece, led the unveiling off with a prayer.
“Lord, we thank you for this day,” Royal said. “We stand on the shoulders of so many who have come before us. And we say thank you for our ancestors. We say thank you for their vision. Thank you for their lives that they shared.”
Royal, whose mother Willie B. Royal met and was named after Pickett, recalled many stories of the man who invented bulldogging, which is the practice of wrestling a bull down to the ground by biting the animal’s lip.
“Many, many years ago, my mom would say to me if you knew who you were, if you knew your history, you would stand and you would walk differently,” Royal recalled. “You would talk differently because you stand on the shoulders of greatness … Never allow anyone to tell your story. You tell your story.”
Talarico said Pickett embodied an inspiring toughness.
“Bill Pickett had a gift to give the world,” Talarico said. “The world said they didn’t want it, but he gave it anyway, and there is a lot to learn from that.”
Mayor Brandt Rydell, a close friend of the family’s, who had interviewed Wille B. Royal for his senior thesis in college, said this was a very good day.
“I spent many hours with her learning the story of Bill Pickett and experiencing her passion and her drive to make sure that Bill Pickett’s story survived, and more people were exposed to his legacy,” Rydell said. “I know that she is looking down on all of this, grinning from ear to ear… I could not imagine a better spot for this monument to Bill Pickett. Right when you walk into the entry gate walk down the path here. It’s a beautiful setting.”
