Author: lewisotr

One Hell Of A Guy, If I do say so myself.
Crazy Times, My Friends, The Construction Biz, The Early DaysLeave a comment

Dink Wrote Me A Check

lewisotr

George Lester McDuff was a fiery little fellow. Everyone called him Dink and he always had a story to tell. He had the ability to make me laugh no matter what the occasion. He could make anyone laugh. I first met Dink in 1963, when I was just a kid. He and my dad worked for the same utility construction company. Dink ran the roadboring division. Roadboring is where a hole is drilled under a roadway or railroad track and then pipe is installed. It was dirty work with mud knee deep and oil and grease everywhere. But everyday Dink … Continue reading Dink Wrote Me A Check

Amazing Things, Another Daily Happening, Crazy Times, In and Around Austin, The Construction Biz, The Early Days, Thoughts and Musings2 Comments

I Always Wanted To Do The Right Things, But Circumstances Can Get In The Way

lewisotr

Back in the early part of the 1970s we had a project relocating a water line on South 1st Street where a big “S” in Williamson Creek. (as shown in the photo below). Three new bridges were be built. We were on the tail end of that job, cleaning up and pressure testing. The City of Austin had a crew that performed the pressure tests and they came out twice and each time the line failed. The General Contractor that was building the bridges had already started work and it was imperative that we get that line approved or it … Continue reading I Always Wanted To Do The Right Things, But Circumstances Can Get In The Way

Cecil Lewis, Crazy Times, Marble Falls and the Area Around it., The Construction Biz, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

Taking Marble Falls Water And Wastewater Service South Of The River

lewisotr

My friend John Kemper had property south of the bridge and needed city utility service run across to it. He worked with the city to run large enough lines to serve a larger area as well. Working with engineers from Austin a concept of running an 8″ water line and a 6″ wastewater pressure line was designed to snake underneath the lake and lay on the bottom. It was to have large concrete weights strapped to each line to hold them in place. The pipe was to be a very durable HDPE pipe that was manufactured in Canada. It was … Continue reading Taking Marble Falls Water And Wastewater Service South Of The River

Amazing Things, Texas History, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

Texas Counties and the Cities and Towns Can Get You All Confused

lewisotr

It may be fun to look at the 254 Counties across our Great State of Texas and find counties that don’t match up very well with cities or towns of the same name. I’ll start with Pecos in Reeves County, while the county seat of Pecos is Ft. Stockton. And then there is Presidio County, but the county seat is Marfa and not Presidio. Sanderson is the Seat of Terrell County, while Terrell is a town east of Dallas in Kaufman County. But they actually let the town of Kaufman be its County Seat. Of course I’m always thrown off … Continue reading Texas Counties and the Cities and Towns Can Get You All Confused

The History of Texas, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

The Sigmor Corporation – San Antonio, Texas

lewisotr

It was first known as Sigmor, then Sigmor Shamrock, some years later as Diamond Shamrock and finally as Valero. TETCO came in sometime during a spinoff I think. In the beginning they where cheaper than other outlets. The stations were very barebones, with nothing but a small cashier area, restrooms and vending machines for snacks. They were only there to sell gas and oil with not servicing area. I remember it first being a cash only business. When they started taking credit cards, they would take any other companies card, imprint it and write in your address from your driver’s … Continue reading The Sigmor Corporation – San Antonio, Texas

Amazing Things, In and Around AustinLeave a comment

Roberta Crenshaw

lewisotr

I became acquainted with this lady by owning land that adjoined property she owned in south Austin. Her obituary tells her life story far better than I can. She truly was a remarkable lady. The things she did will leave a mark of beauty on Austin for an eternity. Civic pioneer Roberta Crenshaw dies at 90 Parks activist fought to keep Town Lake serene. By Dick Stanley AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF Wednesday, February 09, 2005 Lady Bird Johnson often gets the credit for Town Lake’s beauty and its popular hike-and-bike trail, but when she was praised for that, Mrs. Johnson used to … Continue reading Roberta Crenshaw

Amazing Things, Cecil LewisLeave a comment

Cecil And The Blind Salamanders

lewisotr

When we built the Guadalupe River State Park in the early 80s, I had Cec (my dad) down on that job driving a water truck. (Except when he bit my thumb – but that’s a whole other story). He brought his travel trailer over and camped out right down along the river. Some of the park people told us about a closed section of the park that no one was allowed to go. It was actually on an adjoining ranch that had been acquired by The Parks and Wildlife Department that was going to stay undeveloped. It was called The … Continue reading Cecil And The Blind Salamanders