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November
2006
Jacksonville,
Texas
Dear
TE, I found your site while planning a short motorcycle ride in [East Texas] for
me and my wife. Eastern Oklahoma has more mountains but ... otherwise the bike
riding roads are about the same. Thanks to your site, we have made some nice trip
plans for the area. - Mark
A. Guthrie, Jacksonville, Texas, November 24, 2006
Subject:
Another Lost Limb in Rice, Texas
11-24-06
I found [the story] quite interesting about
the man who got his arm cut off in the cotton gin at Rice, Texas. My grandmother,
Rosa Mae Fisher, also had her left arm cut off above her elbow at the same cotton
gin. She was 5 years old at the time and since she was born in 1907, that would
be right about 1912. She and her parents and siblings lived in Palmer at the time.
- Lillian Williams (No town name provided), November 22, 2006
Subject:
Velehrad and Schulenburg
11-19-06
Dear TE, My father Richard Schumann lived in Schulenburg and
was courting my mother (Albina Ermis) in the very early 1900s. Leaving her place
in Velehrad, one dark evening, he got his truck stuck on the muddy road on the
way to Engle. At that time he was working for the railroad at Schulenburg and
one of his duties was to meet the midnight passenger train. His initial panic
gave way to fast thinking and he grabbed the railroad lantern from his truck and
ran to the tracks as he knew a freight train was due very soon.
He lit
the lantern and started waving it in front of the oncoming frieght train. The
engineer stopped to find out the emergency and my dad said: "I'm stuck down the
road but I have to meet the midnight passenger train in Schulenburg." The enginner
told him to hop on. As the train gathered speed, the engineer then informed him
that he would not be stopping in Schulenburg since the delay had put him behind
schedule. "...but I will slow down for you to jump off" the engineer said and
this he did. I have heard my father tell that story many times.
P.S. I
have spelled Velehrad everyway imaginable. I hope I have it right this time. -
Harold Schumann, Van Alstyne, Texas, November 10, 2006
Subject:
Baker
Hotel Piano 11-19-06
Dear TE, I have the 1928
William Knabe 5' 8" Grand Piano out of the lobby of the Baker Hotel, in Mineral
Wells. It must be haunted. I have had it for 20 years and cannot get anyone to
even come and look at it. Something is up. I now have it for sale and would really
like to get it out of my home. Help please. - Michael Anderson, Weatherford,
Texas (817) 596-0550, November 16, 2006
Seminole,
Texas 11-16-06
Subject:
Seminole, Texas 1911
"...drovs of antilops and perriary chickens and heaps of wolves and perriary
dogs."
I live in Mayfield, Kentucky, but
was raised in Northwest Tennessee not too far from Reelfoot Lake. Recently I had
to put my Dad in a nursing home and I have been going through his possessions
and I found two letters that were written to my Great Grandmother, Hallie Carpenter
Posey, in 1910 and 1911 from a friend in Seminole, Texas. Evidently the friend
had once lived in the area and had moved to Seminole.
However, my Great
Grandmother was from Scottsville, Ky and it could have been that they were friends
there. My Great Grandmother's folks got burned out in the Scottsville area during
the Civil War and I have records showing her being in Northwest Tennessee around
1871. She was born in 1850 and passed away at the age of 99 in 1949 there in Northwest
Tennessee. Her friend, Mrs. Lettie Abshure wrote some very long letters to her
during this time and described Seminole in detail. Please find [the following]
excerpts from the letters and let me know if anyone may know of her.
The excerpts are copied exactly as written and provide some insight into the language,
spelling and history of the times. If I can be of further service, do not hesitate
to contact me. - Kenneth M. Smith, Mayfield, Kentucky, November 15,
2006. See excerpts from the
letters
Shamrock,
Texas 11-16-06
Subject: "Caravan Stop"
...I've
published a new series titled "Caravan Stop" that features the Shamrock, Texas,
landmark of the Tower Conoco Station. The station was recently restored to its
original 1935 condition and I decided its Route 66 heritage would make a great
setting for my painting of all six generations of Corvettes. My wife and I host
a number of Corvette caravans and such caravans were the inspiration for "Caravan
Stop". Thanks. - Dana Forrester, November 08, 2006
Bronco,
Texas 11-14-06
Dear Editor of Texas Escapes, This morning, on a lark, I typed in
Bronco, Texas on my internet search engine. The first image that popped up on
your website was a photograph of an old gas station. That gas station was owned
by my Grandparents and I spent every summer from 1965 to 1980 there. I grew up
in the Dallas area, but as soon as school was out for summer vacation, I would
beg my parents to take me to the bustling metropolis of Bronco!
As is
with all small towns, Bronco had a ton of stories. Gravy (the town's founding
father) had three children...Robert, Ty and Anita. They all built their homes
around their father's house and they lived there their whole lives. Robert had
the 07 Ranch and was quite successful, as was Ty. They were both larger than life
west Texas Ranchmen.
At the gas station where I would spend all day with
my granddad, we would have the most colorful characters pass through. One day,
we had a woman who was roller skating from California to Florida! She was doing
it to raise money for some organization and this was back in the day before that
became popular to do to bring awareness to whatever cause the person is promoting.
We had people who would show up without any money and they would trade whatever
they owned for a tank full of gas. Many times my grandfather would just give them
the gas...he wouldn't even charge them. But then again, if you knew my grandfather,
you would know that's the type of man he was.
We had our regulars that
you could set your watch to. They would show up, talk about the weather or politics,
drink their bottle of soda pop and then go back to their fields to work. I was
a good 25 years younger than most of the residents that lived there, yet they
always treated me like an adult. I had learned and was driving a pickup truck
by the time I was nine years old, and I was always available to help out if a
rancher needed a hand. For my services helping out, I would charge them a snickers
bar and a Coca-Cola. They had no idea I was doing the work because I had fun doing
it (well maybe they did when I look back on it!)
At one time, there
was a restaurant, cotton gin, mercantile store, and the gas station all operating
at the same time. Bronco was hopping! Just north of Bronco was a slaughtering
house owned by Dan Fields (Ty's son.) But like most small towns, there always
seems to be a catalyst which leads to it's demise and that catalyst was that the
price of gas had gone through the roof. Plus with gas rations, people began traveling
less to vacation spots like Ruidoso and where we once would easily pump a thousand
gallons a day of gas, we began to pump less than a hundred. Oh there were some
days better than others, but you could feel the winds of change.
I've
never been back to Bronco since 1980. My grandparents closed up the gas station
and moved to central Texas. My grandfather has passed on, but my grandmother continues
to live a full life.
There are many memories that I could share, but
will stop at these and reflect upon the halcyon days of Bronco, Texas. Thanks
for the webpage. - Jay Weesner, November 14, 2006
Pasadena's
Theaters Again 11-10-06
Dear TE, I came across your [magazine] when starting to reminisce about Jackson
Junior High [in Pasadena]. I remember when a child's ticket to Long's was $.09
(that's NINE CENTS). My dad worked across the street at Bob Harris's appliance
store, and later Chrysler-Plymouth dealership. He would take me with him when
he had to work late at night and I went to Long's. Then one day, they made a huge
price increase to 20 cents. Talk about inflation!
It wasn't as stylish
as the Capitan, but, hey, I didn't go much (at 7 or 8 years of age) for the ambience,
just the movies. Double feature and refreshments for about a quarter. Pretty good
deal. Got out of the theater about 8 or 9 o'clock at night and walked across the
street. Kids today probably aren't going to be allowed to do that alone. - John
Webb, Rising Star, TX, November 09, 2006
Conway, Texas
11-10-06
I do remember living in Conway when I was a
small girl. I would ride the school bus to Panhandle to go to school. I believe
it was 1963 when I moved away from Conway to live in Plainview, Texas.
My dad worked at Conway Wheat Growers, and my mom worked as a waitress in some
of the small cafes there on Route 66. I do remember one family with the last name
of Callaghan who used to live there. They owned quite a large bit of land (sections
of land). I also remember a couple named Delton and Earlene Smith who lived there
in Conway. I believe Delton worked for the county.
Lots of good childhood
memories from Conway. The post office used to be there and was run by a man named
Ralph (I can't remember his last name). He used to raise greyhound dogs and would
take them to race somewhere in New Mexico I believe.
Thanks for letting
me share. If you have any info on anyone who lived in Conway back then, it'd be
absolutely wonderful to hear about them and their experiences. - Linda (no
last name given), October 27, 2006
Remembering
Briggs 11--9-06
The
photos of the 1906
Briggs tornado led me to the Briggs
site & brought back some memories. My dad's first cousin, Dossie (Lane) Cottle,
& her husband Sherman had a ranch outside Briggs in the '40s through the '60s.
We went to Briggs often to visit them.
In those days there was a musical
group in the area called The Briggs Hayloft Gang. It was very popular in the area
& played in other small towns around Briggs as well as in the Briggs school. Dossie
sang with the group. I've often wondered if it still performs.
In the
fall of '57, on a Friday night, my folks & I went to a Hayloft Gang concert at
the school. That night I met a girl I hadn't seen since I was in the 3rd grade
at Ridgetop in Austin & she was in the 4th. She'd been married & divorced--apparently
about that fast--and was living with her folks on a place near Briggs. We spent
the intermission together, playing 'do you remember' and 'whatever happened to.'
The
next day Dad, Sherman & I went into Briggs--I don't recall why--and it was all
over town that I had proposed to the girl & we were setting a date to get married.
Talk about small town gossip! I was a senior in High School & certainly not thinking
about marrying anyone, especially not a girl I hadn't seen in 9 years before that
night.
I missed seeing a photo of the Briggs telephone office. The operator's
name was Sara. She lived in a small frame house on the west side of the road.
It was also the telephone office. I can remember a bundle of telephone wires about
a foot in diameter coming in the south window of that house's front room, and
the huge switchboard in the room. Briggs at the time still had crank telephones--the
wooden ones that hung on the wall--and calling Briggs from Austin was an adventure!
- C. F. Eckhardt, Seguin,
Texas, November 07, 2006
Crystal
City, Texas
11-9-06
Dear TE, A local Little Rock newspaper has an
article about Alma, Arkansas putting up it's second Popeye statue. And they claim
Alma is "The Spinach Capital of the World." Now you and I know that isn't so.
May I use some of your Web-site material in rebutting their article? If this is
not permitted, I may write them, using my personal knowledge, having been born
at Fort Sam Houston, San Antonio, Texas, September 12, 1922. My wife was born
in Crystal City, in 1923, and participated in two Spinach Festivals. - Ted
Hood Sr., Little Rock, Arkansas, November 07, 2006
Brenham,
Texas 11-9-06
Subject: Brenham's
"Sergeant" and a search for an old Brenham Home
Dear TE, This [photo]
is an old house in Brenham that I lived in around 1950-1953 when I was about two.
After Brenham, we moved to St. Louis, and then to Fort Worth. At that time, there
were four of us kids, ages 4 1/2 to newborn. Mom and Dad are now gone, and I've
only just found these pictures. This is the only picture I've found of the house
so far. I remember that it was close to the railroad. There were a couple of woman
(Dozzie and Marie) that used to help our Mother with the housekeeping. I also
remember an old Black man, who dressed in khaki and rode a horse with a pony in
tow, selling rides (for a nickel or dime) on the pony. I believe he was a WWI
veteran - and I only remember him as "Sergeant." He rode up and down the graded
roads whistling a tune.
I would like to know more about this house. I
feel like it may have been bulldozed since then; but [if possible] I sure would
like to know more about the house [or any of] the people I've mentioned.
- Melissa Brown, Spring, Texas, October 30, 2006
Cherry
Spring, Texas 11-9-06
Subject: German
Gravestone
The German grave stone on this page is easily translated
to:
Louise von Marschall
GEB short for "gebuertig" or "born as"
Weiss
GEB short for "geboren" or "born on" November 18, 1827
GEST short for "gestorben"
or "died on" January 23, 1901
Enjoy and hope it helps someone, - CODY
WAITS, Camp Speicher, Tikrit, Iraq,
October 30, 2006
Clairemont,
Texas 11-7-06
Dear
TE, In the early '60's, my Grandpa was living in the Sun Oil Camp in Clairemont,
Texas, and we would go to visit. The camp was located just down a dirt road from
Brady's store, and had five houses together for the pumpers to live in with their
families. Each house had a small central yard that was free of grass burrs so
that we little kids could run around, and a huge outer yard that was kept mowed,
but was really just short weeds. Each house had a cattle guard in front and an
elevated trash burning barrel in back. Grandma would often forget and burn a hairspray
can, which would explode as high as 10 feet into the air. It was fun, but being
West Texas, you had to watch for turtles, snakes and wasps. In 2003, I drove out
to where I believed the camp was located. There was nothing left except for a
single pump jack, but I knew that was where the camp had been... I remembered
sleeping to the putt putt putt sound. Its all gone... the camp... Brady's Store...Grandpa...
I miss them all. - Jim Scott Smith, Odessa, Texas, November 06, 2006
Subject:
Merlin Mitchell from Putnam,
Texas 11-7-06
Dear TE, I am a WWII Veteran and
served with a man from Putnam, Texas. He was a very special person to me and would
like to find out, if possible, his last known whereabouts. His name is/ was Merlin
P. Mitchell and her was a fighter pilot - flying Spitfires with the 307th Fighter
Squadron, 31st Fighter Group. He was shot down and taken prisoner by the Germans.
I had heard that he had attended one of our reunions. Unfortunately it was one
that I didn't attend and I haven't been able to hear any more about him. If anyone
in Putnam (or anywhere else) has any information on Merlin Mitchell, I would greatly
appreciate it. - Bill Dickerson, billdickerson1@cox.net, Owasso, Oklahoma,
November 04, 2006
Martindale, Texas:
A Perfect World?
11-4-06
Dear TE, Regarding the [photo
of the] two story building shown with a white car in front and some broken windows
upstairs - this was originally built for a Ford dealership I understand, back
around 1920. It had a showroom downstairs, gas pumps in front, and a garage in
back. It was the meeting place for the Masonic Lodge upstairs. There were also
apartments upstairs in later years. A man named Marshal Fuller lived in one of
the apartments and was found dead there. Probably due to a heart attack since
he was pretty good-sized. He gave me a fifty cent piece one time.
In the
1960's, the post office was in the bottom floor on the far side. On the near side
was a garage operated by a Black man named Clifford Kennon who was my Dad's fishing
buddy and childhood friend. He was killed and the garage was later operated as
a service station by Alfred Glynns who was an immigrant from Ohio. He later moved
his business to I-35 in San Marcos. Since then, the building has had several different
businesses in it. |
Also,
a further note, a lot of the signs on the downtown buildings are not original
but were painted to look old at the time they filmed the movie "A Perfect World"
with Clint Eastwood.
In the early 1950's Martindale was called the "Seed
Corn Capitol of the World" because there was more corn seed shipped from there
than anywhere else in the world. The seed business was very big and very cutthroat
back then. By the 1970's, it was dying out. - Michael Howard, Soil Conservationist,
Benavides, Texas, November 03, 2006 |
|
Wingate,
Texas 11-4-06
Subject: Wingate Bank Robbery 1920s
Dear TE, My mother was born in Wingate, Texas in 1923. Although she passed
away several years ago, she often talked of a bank robbery she and her parents
witnessed one stormy day when she was a child in Wingate. In viewing the Wingate
website, I see that a bank was established there in the late 1800's, early 1900's.
My mother's maiden name was Cotton and I would estimate that this robbery occurred
in the mid to late 20's or perhaps as late as the early 30's.
According
to my mother, the townspeople of Wingate acted quickly and shot and killed, at
least one of the young gunmen and possibly two. Their bodies were held for authorities
in a factory or warehouse near my mother's home. Being a history buff, of sorts,
I'm curious if Wingate's archives have such an occurrence on record and what the
details of the incident were. - David R. Ryder, arena197@yahoo.com , Eagle
Point, Oregon, November 03, 2006
Maypearl,
Texas 11-4-06
Dear
TE, My aunt Maypearl Branam was named for Maypearl, Texas, where she was born
in the early 1900's. She went by Pearl, and her siblings, my father and other
aunt, were subsequently named Earl and Mearl to rhyme. - J.P. Branam, Grand
Prairie, Texas, November 02, 2006
Atascosa
County Courthouse
11-3-06
A replica of the 1856 log courthouse that was
built at the first county seat of Amphion. This replica sits across the street
from the Atascosa County courthouse in Jourdanton, Texas. - Terry Jeanson,
San Antonio, TX, October 30, 2006
Atascosa
County Courthouse
11-2-06
An oil
painting of the 1885 Atascosa County courthouse that stood in Pleasanton.
The legend says that when the county seat was moved to Jourdanton in 1910, this
building was lifted from its foundation and moved there. It has since been demolished.
This painting hangs in the Longhorn Museum in Pleasanton, Texas. - Terry Jeanson,
San Antonio, Texas, October 30, 2006
Oakville, Texas
11-2-06
Subject:
Oakville Courthouse (and hanging tree?)
Regarding the old courthouse in Oakville, I grew up with the Hinton boys and they
told me about their grandfather being the judge and hanging criminals from the
big oak tree. I remember seeing the tree when I was young. I think there is more
to this story. - Stephen Allen, Round Rock, Texas, October 30, 2006
Baker
Hotel, Again 11-2-06
Dear TE, My name is Luther
Himes and I was one of the high school students from Weatherford who spent the
night in the Baker
Hotel in Mineral Wells back in 2001. I was reading your stories of the Baker
Haunting's and came across the account of our stay where it reads we were "not
really putting much interest in the ghost stories". I just wanted to point out,
without any sort of rancor, that this is incorrect. The entire focus of the documentary
that we filmed there was, from the first idea formation, the abundant ghost stories
that we all had heard growing up in Weatherford. We did a hearty amount of research,
including interviews with Mr. Bob Hopkins (included in the documentary) who I
believe wrote the account, and even went so far as to research the protocol in
interacting with spirits, and having our base camp blessed by a priest (because,
yeah, we were pretty damn scared once night came). We tried to be even handed
with the history and legend involved in such an old building, but we were definitely
there for the ghosts. Anyway, I just wanted to make sure that you were informed
on the situation. I enjoy your site, and it's abundant and interesting articles.
Thanks. - Luther Himes, October 31, 2006Subject:
Oakville Courthouse (and hanging tree?)
Regarding the old courthouse in Oakville,
I grew up with the Hinton boys and they told me about their grandfather being
the judge and hanging criminals from the big oak tree. I remember seeing the tree
when I was young. I think there is more to this story. - Stephen Allen, Round
Rock, Texas, October 30, 2006
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