The grand opening of the Tylene Wilson exhibit at the Brown County Museum of History took place Monday evening, as nearly all available seats were filled for the ribbon cutting and presentation.

Wilson coached football in Brownwood in the 1940s during World War II and was the subject of Majorie Herrera Lewis’ novel “When the Men Were Gone.”

“I can’t believe this is actually happening,” Lewis said. “Tylene, 117 years after she was born, is now going to be a part of history. I’m just thrilled. This woman right here that you are recognizing is part of who you are. She has Brown County always running through her veins. She loved this place and she did everything she could for her students. She was also encouraging them to read, reading was so important to her students. When I think of how Tylene encouraged people to read, here’s a woman now in 2021 who was born in 1904 and her life ambition was to get kids to read, and she’s still continuing to do so, only now they’re reading about her.”

Wilson’s great-niece Jean VanWaters, and her son Adam, were among those who attended the event.

Brown County Museum of History President Beverly Norris said of Monday evening’s festivities, “We are so thrilled. There was such an outpouring of interest about the book being written and then people learning about Tylene, like me. I wasn’t aware of the story and it took someone from Dallas to shine the spotlight on Brownwood and show us what was right here.”

Norris added she was pleased with the way the exhibit turned out, which includes some new additions to the museum’s collection.

“We got vintage 1940s football equipment to include with the exhibit,” Norris said. “There were not a lot of photographs of Tylene but we do have some. Then, because of all the PR about this event, we had a woman come whose mother had been a friend of Tylene Wilson and she brought us some of Tylene’s teaching materials and books with her name on it, so now that gets to go into the exhibit and that’s wonderful.”

Lewis – a former Dallas Cowboys beat writer for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and later the Dallas Morning News, said of When the Men Were Gone, “The book is about when Tylene coached in Brownwood. She was a football coach in the 1940s and that’s why the title is When the Men Were Gone. She stepped up to keep football going. The book is historical fiction and I focus the book on the high school. In reality she coached at all different levels and the only picture I have of her is with one of her football teams at the middle school. She also coached at Daniel Baker College and loved it. She would have probably coached for the rest of her life if the opportunity had presented itself.”

The book has opened eyes around the world to Wilson as well as the Brownwood community.

“It’s won 11 state, national and international awards,” Lewis said. “It’s been translated into foreign languages and people all over the world are finding out about Brownwood, the people of Brownwood and what life was like in the 1940s.”

Lewis is hopeful the book is one day turned into a movie.

“I’ve found out Hollywood does not move in a linear fashion,” Lewis said. “We did have an option at one point, we had a script already completed, but now we’re starting all over again. We’re with another production team and they are moving forward with the project. One of the producers, she brought the movie Still Alice from book to film and Julianne Moore went on to win the Oscar for that performance. I’m really excited about this production team, and I’m hoping we can get this moving pretty quickly.”

While in town, Lewis will also host kids’ writer workshops from 10 a.m. to noon or 1 to 3 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday at HPU’s Winebrenner Hall, Room 123. The cost to attend the workshop is $20. Also, Tuesday only from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Lewis will host an adult writer’s workshop at the museum, for a cost of $10.

“I’m looking forward to rolling up our sleeves and learning a little bit more about what it’s like to write a novel and creative writing,” Lewis said.

The Brown County Museum History reopened in the last month after a year-long COVID-related shutdown, which allowed time for numerous upgrades to the facility.

“It’s beautiful and everyone is enjoying it so much,” Norris said. “While we were shut for COVID we were able to improve the lighting and the floor and redo every exhibit and add some new exhibits, like the one on Tylene.”

For more information about the museum and its exhibits visit browncountymuseum.org or call (325) 641-1926.