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TE
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Letters to the Editor |
Where
we have yet to hear a discouraging word.
Unsolicited,
uncensored and occasionally outrageous comments on and about Texas from the people
who know it best.
As many of our readers who wrote to us with
simple comments or suggestions have evolved into friendships, many of our best
letters have become too personal to publish. |
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| | We
appreciate our readers taking the time to let us know how we are doing.
Time allows us to print only a fraction of the letters we receive. While we haven't
had the time to post them in the past - we will now try adding them as they are
received.
Any letters to the editor may be chosen for publication to
serve as an example of what we do and the services we provide. We will try to
add a space in the future where information (not opinions) may be exchanged.
Our sincere thanks to all who have written.-------- editor, January 2002
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Letters to Editor, January 2002
Sunday, December 30, 2001
Subject: Courthouse
photo, Oakville TX
The photo .. is the old Courthouse. In the old days
it had a wooden gallery across one side which was later torn or rotted away. There
is a photo of it from the late l800's with this gallery in place in THE PEOPLE'S
HISTORY OF LIVEOAK COUNTY and probably other books as well. My great grandfather
signed up for the Confederate Cavalry at this courthouse in l861.- Jim Richards
Saturday, December 29, 2001
Here's something for future consideration
in your tree section. There's a big live oak in Huffman (community west of Lake
Houston, north of Crosby) that has some interesting history. The tree is privately
owned, but sits right on the highway (FM 2100) just a few miles north of FM 1960.
The elderly owner has an attractive home and keeps a wonderful yard, especially
his mature azaleas that are a wonderful backdrop to the stately tree during the
spring. There is some apocraphal legend surrounding the tree. Being that it is
actually on one of the trails probably used from time to time by Jean Lafitte,
legend has it that he buried some gold under its branches. The tree has been dated
at better than 325 years old. Huffman is a community of some historical significance,
but is hard to define as a town. There is an old town of Huffman, but it is really
just a collection of subdivisions build first for weekend homes, and later as
suburbs. Hence, the place kind of struggles for an identity. The big oak is the
lasting, living symbol of Huffman. The weight of ice during a storm in 1996 or
1997 caused its huge trunk to split, but the owner had it repaired with some sort
of plaster-like substance. The Crosby-Huffman Chamber of Commerce 281-328-6984
has some information on this, as does the Lake Houston Sun newspaper 281-452-0530.
- J. Barnes, Humble
Friday, December 28, 2001
... I love the general
style of the entries. The humor is great. I especially liked the nicknames for
Mentone. Keep up the great
work. This is the most exciting thing I've seen for Texas devotees since the Texas
Almanac. - J. Barnes, Humble
Thursday, December 20, 2001
Subject:
Thanks
I discovered your site by accident. I was looking for the phone number
for the pictographs in Paint Rock and came across Ten
County seats you are likely not to visit. This I had to see, and sure enough
there was Paint Rock. I got to checking out the other things in your site and
I thought I had died and gone to heaven. I'm an amateur Texas history buff. I
talk to my kids' school classes on Texas history and thoroughly enjoy. I will
be using information from your site for future talks. It is fantastic. Keep up
the good work. - Stan Cravatt
Thursday, December 20, 2001
Subject:
Texas Ghost Towns
I have
been reading about the ghost towns in Texas. It's a good thing too because I was
looking at land in Mentone, Loving County. Also I was planning to stay one evening
in Terlingua or Study Buttes in Brewster County before going into Big Bend National
park for a couple of days. Can you hear me laughing with embarrassment from there.
I have a 1996 Rand McNally Travel Atlas and it shows Mentone and Terilingua as
in the same population symbol as Gladewater, Texas (the town I grew up in about
6000 people). I also have a 1997 Texas Road Map and it shows all three towns.
It uses the 25,000 and under population size marker for all three towns. It never
occurred to me to verify how many people were actually in the town. After reading
your site I read the population counts on the Texas Road map: Mentone has 50 people
Terlingua has 25 people Study Butte has 120 people. .. I enjoyed your Texas Ghost
town site. - Alvin Bittner
I just read your writeup on the Brewster
Co. Courthouse. I'm still amazed with texasescapes.com, and the amount of
time it must take to keep this growing. - Chris Waring
My grandfather
worked for the Matador Ranch at one point, and they lived near Roaring
Springs in an old boxcar. He and my father broke saddle horses for them for
a while. They were working a bunch of cattle and my grandfather was off his horse
for some reason when a bull gored him badly. This happened somewhere around 1915
or so. It took two years to heal, and when he died in 1959, the scars on his abdomen
were terrible to see.
His name was J.O. CHESTER, born about 1867, married
to Katie Leona BAMFORD AUSTIN . The Children that were with them were Mae Austin,
John Felix Austin age about 15, and Thomas A. Chester age 5 or 6. Thanks, Leona
Guthrie
Letter One
I was doing little surfing and
looked for images of Princes Risborough (actually to find out if I could track
down one of my sites www.cprra.co.uk) and came across the story of Lt
Clyde "Sparky" Cosper. Fascinating. Thanks for the memories. Eric Samuel
Web Master Chinnor and Princes Risborough railway
Letter Two
Thanks
for your reply. I had another browse around your site. It brought back more memories
for me. I have been fortunate enough to have visited your great state of Texas
many times over the years, mostly on business, but now retirement beckons I hope
to return and spend some time just looking around. Best Regards. Eric
I first learned about Shanghai Pierce last February when I was
asked to be part of the entertainment for the First Annual Shanghai Days Cowboy
Gathering in Wharton in April. And then what I was told was not nearly as interesting
as Hudspeth's
account. ..... Well, thanks for the skinny behind Pierce. - Lou Ann Herda
Dear Editor of Texas Escapes,
We felt compelled to write
you to let you know how valuable your website was for our visit to West Texas.
We printed out the pages of all the small towns in your West
Texas section and visited EVERY one of them! From Sanderson, Marfa, Marathon,
Ft. Stockton, Alpine, Lobo (Yes, even Lobo!) Valentine, Van Horn, Sierra Blanca,
Dell City, Salt Flat (all 6 people)! Toyah, and Toyahvale. Your website was fantastic
in helping us plan for our trip. West Texas was BEAUTIFUL and a must see for people
wanting to escape the nasty big city life. We are planning another trip for the
month of January and we will again use Texas Escapes as our planning guide. Thanks
for the GREAT WEBSITE and keep up the great work!
Mike and Buster Calaman,
Dan Wert and Mike, Brinkley and Boston Gerrick Carlisle, PA
Saturday,
December 01, 2001
Subject: el paso concordia cemetery
Your excellent newsletter
makes me spend more time than I can afford following the links and planning another
trip to Texas.
On cemeteries, a mention of Concordia cemetery in El
Paso would be appropriate. From the Chinese section to the poorest graves marked
only by a cross made from two pieces of rebar, a very strong feeling of the past
is evoked, despite (or maybe because of) its change into an urban setting with
adjacent freeway overpasses. Also the grave of John Wesley Harding. Best wishes.
- Chris Abbott, Chris Abbott Architects, UK |
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| | "
I am new to this site and have already passed it on to others. It is a vicarious
vacation each time I check it out."
Anna Marie S. - Houston
"[we] just returned from a four day trip all over south
Texas. I wanted to take a personal look at quite a handful of things I had
learned of over the past years. Yes, several of these curiosities were kindled
by reading Texas Escapes. One of the more interesting sites we visited was Morris
Ranch. I wouldn't have ever stumbled on that ghost town, without reading your
magazine."
Chris W. - Hurst, Texas
"I live in the U.K. I
came across the story of The
Kentleton Bridge and 'Buckshot' Lane by chance. I found the story fascinating."
Nigel Kentleton
"After reading your bit on the Oasis
Service Station, I just ordered DANCER TEXAS, POP. 81. Thanks."
Robert
S. - Houston
"Jumping here from your Hext,
Texas page, I have to report that, passing through Hext last week, I noticed
a sign which read "Big Cat Rescue." Hope you will follow up on this!!"
Sarah
V. | | |
| | "I
have a letter from Camp Travis
written March 6, 1918. I really enjoyed reading about the camp [on Texas Escapes].
Thanks so much. "
Evelyn Brooks Long
"I am in the Navy and
from Brownsville.
I suggest more information on Brownsville's history. Now it is great but I think
you should go into more depth. Thank you for your time. I miss my town and hopefully
I will be able to visit family and friends during the holidays.
Very Respectfully,
OS2 (SW) Hector Aguilar
USS Carter Hall
"Was just enjoying your
latest... on Alpine.
I grew up there and wish to help you with a couple of questions some people may
have." (Mr. Woodward's complete letter has been added to the Alpine page -ed.)
Tommy R. Woodward, Midland
Letter One:
Any information
on San Angelo, Texas in Tom Green county? I ask because it is my hometown. Thanks.
Glenn Du Pree - Hamburg, Germany
Letter Two:
John,
I appreciate your e-mail and keeping San Angelo in mind. I recently purchased
a travel book on Texas here in Germany, in which they focused on about five cities
in Texas and San Angelo was one of them. They pointed out that San Angelo, in
their opinion, is the real Texas, with genuine friendly people, etc. I am very
proud of my home!! Take care and best greetings from Hamburg, Germany
Glenn
Du Pree
Dear TE, "I am a professional photographer in Austin, and
often find myself looking for interesting places to shoot. This site is excellent
by the way, with some great information and photos. I find myself visiting here
quite a bit."
Bill "Doc" Scott, Austin | | |
| | "I
was amused to see [in Texas Escapes] that good old Jay Gould had participated
in the founding of Sierra
Blanca, as he also participated in the founding the town in which I live,
Kyle.
Thank
you for your work, I enjoy your site very much."
Peter F.
"... your web site is very informative and quite expansive...."
Keith "Kchisos" Williams
Webmaster, www.alpinetexas.com
"Just
wanted to thank you for a great site. I grew up in Fayetteville
and went to school there (K-12, Class of '90). I've been living in Okinawa for
the past eleven years. Five as a Marine, the last six as a contractor. I was able
to download some pictures that brought back lots of memories. I now have a screensaver
to give me a taste of home."
Sean Dominey
Okinawa, Japan
"I enjoyed the photos and info on the Belted
Galloways you sent. I drive to Waco from Cameron every Friday and pass a heard
of a belted breed south of Robinson."
Thank you again for your response.
Xochitl Wood, Cameron, Texas
Dear Editor:
"I have enjoyed
reading about my town of Cuero
on your website as well as Ander
which is a suburb of Cuero! …. Thanks for doing your job as well as you do as
you make my job as Chamber Executive Director easier."
Sara Post, Cuero
Chamber of Commerce Executive Director | | |
| | Letter
One:
[Dear TE,]
"There is supposedly a town near Waco that has only
a church on one side of the road and a meat market that serves burgers on the
other. There is nothing else in the town, but I'd still like to see it. Does this
ring a bell? Thanks for the help."
Daniel V.
Letter Two:
"I'll let you know if I do find out. That was the fastest reply I've ever gotten
from a website. Thank you."
Daniel V
My name is Jesse Martinez,
and I'm currently serving my 16th year in the U.S. Navy. I grew up in Rosebud
Texas and graduated from Rosebud-Lott high school in 1984.
I was tickled
to death to find Rosebud and all the other small towns [on Texas Escapes]. I have
many, many fond memories of that small town, I personally think that is the only
way to grow up - in a small town, that is. My grandfather moved to Rosebud in
the early 20's, and my parents and brother still live in there. I still call it
home and visit as frequently as possible. When I leave Italy in March of 2002
I'll be on leave for 30 days and half of that will be in Rosebud. It's nice to
be able to share my memories of Rosebud with someone. I could go on forever, keep
up the good work and keep Rosebud alive.
Sincerely, Jesse Martinez .
...My grandfather
was in the war and he got shot down and was in the sea untill Germans rescued
him and took him to the prisner of war camp untill he was better. He helped plan
the Great Escape with his friends but never got to escape because he was not well
enough. I was wondering if you could help me find any information on this. His
name was Robbert Haddock and he was a pilot in both world war 1 and world war
2. Many regards - Claire Langton | | |
| | [Dear
Editor]
"I just wanted to let you know that Dell
City is not the Hudspeth County seat, Sierra
Blanca is. Other than that, great job! It's nice to see my former hometown
gaining some recognition."
Crystal Velasquez
"The info on
Muldoon is great! Shroyer
Construction has just started construction on a house which will use the "Muldoon
blue" stone for its exterior & we are excited about it.
Your website is wonderful."
Helen Hays - Muldoon, Texas
"For Your Texas
hotels built before 1950 series, may I humbly recommend the 16-story Texas
State Hotel (1929) in Houston? It is a dying swan that needs to be revived.
More architecture....art deco...it's rare, but it's there!
Great site!
Kathy Z. - Sugar Land
"We enjoyed reading the article about Ol'Rip.
My husband, Daniel Wood is the grandson of E.E. Wood., so we have heard this story
first hand from Danny's father, Billy Blake Wood. Thank you again for interesting
reading. It was nice to have proof to my co-workers that this is a true story."
Cindy Wood
"I just gotta say, this site is absolutely the
coolest thing to come down the pike in a long time. I was looking for info on
the old San Jacinto River bridge and happened upon you folks. I'm a Texan by trade,
(living in Memphis now), and I can only hope for the day I'm able to move back
home where I belong. Rest assured I'll send your site on to friends and folks.
Thanks, and let me know if I can help in any way! "
Very sincerely,
Tim Jackson
"Dear Texasescapes,
In looking for information
about Texas I stumbled upon your website. I have been reading your material for
hours. Could you please research the history of Centerville, Texas and list this
on your site? Thank you."
Jerry Wakefield, Centerville |
| |
| | Hi,
I have thoroughly enjoyed your website. The information and photos are great!!!
I was born and reared in Llano County, Texas and I would like to know what
it would take for Llano to be listed on your site. Please advise. Thanks,
Patty Pfister
" Enjoyed your photo essay about Sutherland
Springs. Did you take time to visit the museum on Hwy 87 while you were there?"
Best wishes,
Elaine Davis
"I really think this web site for
Goliad is very
good and educational. I live in Goliad and I like to see things about our town
on the web.
Rose and Carlos Sanchez, Goliad
Thanks for the
article on Weesatche!!
We really appreciate your help in advertising Goliad!!!
Sincerely, Judy
Robisheaux | | |
| |
"I came across
your site yesterday evening and noticed the picture posted of the Oakville jailhouse.
If it interests you, my grandfather, Roy Jones, owns that building. He is an endless
source of information on local history, especially that of McNeeley and the Texas
Rangers."
Dustin Mundorf
Help! Your website is great -- with
just enough irreverence! Unfortunately, I don't know quite enough about Texas
to find what I need - hopefully you can guide me.
I'm flying into San Antonio
next week and I'm desperately in search of destinations within a few hours drive
that might offer outlaws, historic gravesites, saloons and the like. You know
-- a little bit dark-side, and a little bit spice-of-life.
Every time I look
into the subject most websites keep directing me to the homogenous malls, theme
parks and chain restaurants that strike me as distinctly NOT Texas. I'm looking
for the REAL Texas. The larger than life, one-and-only, "Don't mess with Texas,"
Texas! Can you help me? Please?
If I find one more Hard Rock Cafe, Outlet
Mall, or "you've-seen-one-you've-seen-'em-all state park" listing I'm gonna give
up hope! Looking forward to your guidance!
Sincerely,
Arvie L. Wrang
- Baltimore, Maryland
"I remember in the late sixties attending
Sidney High School and playing against Mozelle High School in six man football.
It's sad to see that Mozelle has
joined the long list of Texas Ghost
Towns. As a Tex-patriate living now in the Washington DC area, I was happy
to see your site on the web. It really brought back a lot of memories. Keep up
the great work!"
Deja Cheek | | |
| |
Saturday, August 25, 2001
The story on Brewster Hudspeth is a hilariously fascinating, and oozing with
charm -- just like every issue of Texas Escapes. I feel like I should remind you
every so often of the excellence of your publication, lest you forget. One question:
any plans on writing a book? If not, I hope you'll consider it. Your features
are too interesting (and often amusing) not to be shared with those who still
read via the traditional method.
One suggestion: how about a link that will
allow us to e-mail our favorite stories directly to friends? A few other magazine
websites have this, but I never feel inclined to use theirs. If Texas Escapes
had such a feature, I'd use it often. There are plenty of out-of-state acquaintances
of mine who need to be reading this stuff! God bless you all! - Jacob Wilson
Wednesday, August 22, 2001
Great site, great looking, great content,
I'm glad I found you - Peter French
August 21, 2001
This is such
a wonderful website. I love everything TEXAS & have truly enjoyed all there is
on your page. Bob Bowman is my Dad's cousin (Bob, if you read this, I have sent
this web site to your cousin, my Dad, R. B. Milligan) & he has also enjoyed reading
the many articles about "home" in Anderson County. KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK !! Denise
Milligan Miller
Wednesday, August 15, 2001
Subject: Wonderful website!
Gentlemen: Just wanted to commend you on this GREAT website. I can spend
hours on it. ..... - Carol Quattlebaum
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