Author: lewisotr

One Hell Of A Guy, If I do say so myself.
Amazing Things, Marble Falls and the Area Around it., Texas History, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Sometimes we get busy with life and don’t check up on folks like people used to.

lewisotr

There’s a lady that used to contribute to the Angora Chronicles regularly. In fact she is the very best around for finding interesting photos and articles about a wide range of things related to Texas History and such. She has been a major contributor to all those Bob Dunn and Will Beauchamp Texas History Groups. In fact if you aren’t familiar with all those great groups check them out. I bet you can find one or more that you are interested in. I looked back and noticed it’s been months without seeing anything out her. The post about the Armadillo … Continue reading Sometimes we get busy with life and don’t check up on folks like people used to.

Past Angora Chronicles Stories, Texas HistoryLeave a comment

Apelt Armadillo Farm

lewisotr

Apelt Armadillo FarmComfort, Texas At Apelt Armadillo Farm, German immigrant Charles Apelt sits in front of his showroom while keeping an eye on the armadillos he caught and bred. The family enterprise included novelties made from armadillos such as baskets, lamps, wall hangings, and operated for about 70 years. Live animals were also sold to zoos, circuses and medical research facilities. http://wkcurrent.com/apelt-armadillo-farm-restored-after-years-of-blood-sweat-tears-p1797-71.htm Continue reading Apelt Armadillo Farm

Past Angora Chronicles Stories, The History of TexasLeave a comment

The Angora Goat Industry In Texas Owes It All (or at least a big part) To This Man – William Leslie Black

lewisotr

This link is to a paper written by Christine Reh Wyse back in 1995. It is a story of a great advocate of Cattle, Sheep & Angora Goat Ranching in early Texas. https://www.facebook.com/groups/729839877052650/1670117333024895/ The barn below is the cannery building where Goat Meat was canned to go to market. (Still Standing) EXCERPT FROM THE WYSE PAPER“Although the canning process progressed smoothly. Black at first experienced difficulty disposing of his canned meat. At the suggestion of Armour and Company, he had labeled the cans “Roast Mutton.” To promote his product. Black had distributed belt buckles that sported a facsimile of the … Continue reading The Angora Goat Industry In Texas Owes It All (or at least a big part) To This Man – William Leslie Black

Amazing Things, The History of Texas1 Comment

Big Time Goat Business

lewisotr

Vol.21-No.4February 20, 1969 Arrott Takes Rain And Shearing Crew Any Time They Come, Even Together TENNYSON, Tex. -Monroe Arrott is shearing about 7000 Angora goats this winter, enough to place him well toward the top among Texas’ larger goat ranchers. He started shearing last Saturday during cold, damp weather even though forecasters predicted rain. These days, he says, he shears when he gets the crew. Almost half a century of goat ranching has taught him how to reduce death loss hazards to a minimum. He has two sheds big enough to shelter 2000 goats each on the Coke County ranch … Continue reading Big Time Goat Business

The History of Texas1 Comment

Grand Prize Lager Beer

lewisotr

Gulf Brewing Company, Houston, Texas Howard Hughes was known for many things, but owning a brewery in Houston wasn’t one I had ever heard of. Howard Hughes’ connection with the Houston-based Hughes Tool Company is fairly well-known. It is less well-known that Hughes started a brewery in Houston, on the grounds of the Hughes Tool Company, called Gulf Brewing Company. Hughes opened the brewery at the end of Prohibition, and its profits helped the tool company survive the Depression. Gulf Brewing Company produced Grand Prize beer, which for a time was the best-selling beer in Texas. It has been reported … Continue reading Grand Prize Lager Beer

Crazy Times, The Early Days, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

Left To Sweat It Out

lewisotr

I was a sophomore in high school and still small for my age. All the big boys liked to pick on me, but I’m sure I provoked a lot of it. I was in the building trades program where we learned about carpentry and actually built a house during the school year. It was a rowdy class. Our teacher was Robert Woodard, but we called him Jake. Our shop/classroom was in the old bus barn. It was just a big tin building with no insulation. The temperatures in that building could be extreme, both directions. We had caused enough trouble … Continue reading Left To Sweat It Out

Crazy Times, Funny Happenings, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

Jake The Building Trades Teacher

lewisotr

Robert Woodard was his name but his first year teaching Building Trades, the year before I was old enough to take it, some of the boys starting calling him Jake and it stuck. “Hey Jake what are we doing next?” or Hey Jake can we take a break?” I always considered Jake pretty easy going, very knowledgeable and an all round good teacher. But if you got him riled up, you better watch out. Some of the older guys and a few of the younger ones were real hoodlums. They would always try Jake on for size. He swung a … Continue reading Jake The Building Trades Teacher

Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

Ever Wonder How A Mosquito Bite Works?

lewisotr

I got bit twice the other day. One on each leg down right above the kneecap. One puffed up real big while the other one did little more than left a red mark and was gone in a day or so. Trying to figure out what the reason was I did a little looking around. It seems Mrs. Mosquito lights on you and spits some salvia on you to deaden the spot, so you don’t swat her immediately, the she goes to work trying to jab into you. As she moves around she spits more salvia on your skin and … Continue reading Ever Wonder How A Mosquito Bite Works?

Marble Falls and the Area Around it., Texas History, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

Rice Culture in Colorado County

lewisotr

Marker erected: Intersection of Main & Commerce Streets, Eagle Lake Marker Text:The rice industry did not spread into the coastal plains region west of Houston until the very end of the 19th century. In 1898, Captain William Dunovant (1845-1902), a local plantation owner and entrepreneur, planted 40 acres of rice at the southeast corner of Eagle Lake (2.5 miles south) as an experiment, using convict labor from a nearby prison farm to construct levees and harvest the new crop. The small tract produced such encouraging results that in 1899 Dunvovant built a pumping plant on the lake and irrigated 250-300 … Continue reading Rice Culture in Colorado County