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I
Drove My GMC to Foardby
Rick Vanderpool |
| I saw the sign that
read "MARGARET 13," and turned north off US70W.
Good thing I didn't yawn or I would have missed the sign that read "RAYLAND",
right after the one for Foard County. |
This stretch of the
county had wheat fields on both sides of the road and I believe I saw a thresher,
working in the distance to the south. I barely can tell ripe wheat from Wheat
Chex.
Within 50 yards, I saw a warning sign (yellow and black diamond-shaped)
for a 20 MPH dog-leg turn. Two noisy dogs had greeted me when I had gotten out
to photograph the wheat fields, but their legs bore no resemblance to the one
on the sign |
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RAYLAND
has a couple of vacant barn-like structures and a very interesting building that
I photographed. Can anyone tell me what went on there? I counted no more than
6 or 8 inhabited residences in RAYLAND and 3 or
4 vacant ones; a total of 4 horses, one large, green tractor and a nice, sun-dappled
lane to the south.
I saw a Roadrunner, but he was too quick for me to
shoot – I mean, photograph. They usually don't hang around to get shot – I mean,
photographed.
A snake slithered across the road
safely. Traffic was not a problem, but that Roadrunner could ruin a snake's day
for dang sure. Other than these critters, the horses, and a couple of well-kept
lawns with flowers, I saw no signs of life in RAYLAND.
Onward to MARGARET… |
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| Once again, had I
yawned or blinked, I would have missed the sign the read "PEASE RIVER BATTLEFIELD".
A quick turn north onto a deeply rutted red dirt (that's redundant out here –
all the dirt is red) – this would be trouble after a rain – and a mile or so later,
I read the marker about the recapture of Cynthia
Ann Parker. See photo. Onward to MARGARET
again… |
| What? There was an
OLD MARGARET? That is what the sign read, that
I would have missed, if I had, well, you know… One more side trip, down another
dirt road, another marker (this one explained how the town of MARGARET
was once named PEASE, but was changed to honor the first-born Anglo child, daughter
of Mr. & Mrs. John Wesley – hey, it may have been THE Methodist, John Wesley,
but didn't know he got this far west – see below) then onward to NEW MARGARET? |
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Nope, the sign simply
read "MARGARET". This stretch of Foard County
is not in wheat, but the land was prepared for something to be planted.
I
counted about a dozen inhabited residences in MARGARET,
and only 3 vacant ones. I saw some agricultural equipment and an abandoned building
or two. Bob White Quail were calling from the brush, and that's a rare treat in
most parts of Texas these days. Dang Fire Ants and feral cats!
Two residents
of MARGARET were espied – one gentleman waved
to me from the door of his shed at the end of Florence Road. |
I had seen what I
noted as an abandoned church – no sign and very unkempt landscape. As I reached
the western town limits (another sign for MARGARET),
I beheld a sign for MARGARET UNITED METHODIST CHURCH and surmised that perhaps
the groundskeeper was not in the habit of attending regularly.
Adios,
Miss Wesley…
© Rick
Vanderpool
Texas Plains Journal entry for April 27, 2010 |
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