Author: lewisotr

One Hell Of A Guy, If I do say so myself.
Construction, Crazy Times, Thoughts and Musings2 Comments

The Very Worst Vehicle Purchase I Ever Made

lewisotr

General Motors had started making a 6.2 liter Diesel engine for their pickups. It was advertised to be the greatest advance in power that had ever been. I had to have one. I found one. I didn’t care what color it was or where I had to go to get it. I just needed to hear the roar of that big diesel engine and feel the power when I stepped down on it. There was one other thing. It had to have all the features available, but had to have rubber floor mats instead of carpet. That was a pretty … Continue reading The Very Worst Vehicle Purchase I Ever Made

Cecil Lewis, The Early Days, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

My Old Daddy Saved Me From Myself

lewisotr

I was fresh out of high school in1970. I knew I wanted to drive a truck, and felt I’d be better suited driving for myself, rather than hiring on to drive for someone else. Cecil Lewis knew trucks. By that time he had owned a bunch of them, every type you could ever think of. We went to Austin pretty regularly, with many of the trips ending up over at Searcey GMC just south of Ben White Blvd on I-35. There was a new cabover GMC Astro Truck/Tractor sitting out front. It really looked good to me. The price seemed … Continue reading My Old Daddy Saved Me From Myself

Amazing Things, Texas History, The Early Days, Thoughts and Musings, TravelsLeave a comment

The Best Resource There Is For Texas History

lewisotr

I know most of you love history, Texas History for sure. This is a list of some of the very best FB Groups on Texas History. One thing all these groups have in common are their Creators/Administrators. My FB friends, Bob Dunn and Will Beauchamp have done a wonderful job of bringing us just about anything you can think of when it comes to Texas History. Browse through the list below and find something you are interested in and take a look. Many of you belong to these fine groups but you may not realize how many others there are. … Continue reading The Best Resource There Is For Texas History

Crazy Times, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

The Story That Really Shouldn’t Be Told

lewisotr

There was a guy once that left Houston, where he currently was working, to go with his wife and a son to Augusta, Ga. to visit another son that was there training with the US Army. This absolute idiot of a guy decided to go on the Atkins Diet while traveling. Not the brightest move I’d say. If a person eats only meat, cheese and eggs for several days, his regularity is not exactly in check if you know what I mean. The Atkins Diet Plan instructs you to take Psyllium Fiber to help with the above condition. The time … Continue reading The Story That Really Shouldn’t Be Told

Aging, Amazing Things, Cecil Lewis, Crazy Times, My Family, Thoughts and Musings3 Comments

My Ol’ Daddy Didn’t Live A Good Clean Life

lewisotr

No apologies for that, as I can almost guarantee you what he would have said if someone offered their opinion on the matter. He smoked his whole life from about age 9. He drank heavily except for about a decade and half, which was from when I was born until I became a teenager. But before that time he was hell on wheels and after that time he became legendary around Smithwick and beyond. Cecil Lewis lived his life throwing caution to the wind. He didn’t spend a lot of his time contemplating his next move. He just got a … Continue reading My Ol’ Daddy Didn’t Live A Good Clean Life

Amazing Things, Cecil Lewis, My Family, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

Cecil Lewis Wasn’t Always A Patient Man

lewisotr

It wouldn’t be hard to take away from my previous stories that Cec wasn’t a perfect man in every way. He was hard on us boys. Not just his sons, but all those that worked for him or even just hung out with us. He wanted stuff done and done then. He didn’t take to a lot of foot dragging. For any of his faults he could fly off the handle at the drop of a hat. But as strange at it may seem, if anything broke or got wrecked, he always kept his cool. It was as if at … Continue reading Cecil Lewis Wasn’t Always A Patient Man

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The Gatesville State School For Boys

lewisotr

When I was a kid growing up in the 60s, The Gatesville State School for Boys was the primary place that juvenile delinquent boys were housed. That place had a long and not always a glorious past and was closed in 1979. Following is some history of that place that brought fear in young boys when they were told “You’d Better Straighten Up Or You’ll End Up In Gatesville”. Believe me, we understood that language. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gatesville_State_School Continue reading The Gatesville State School For Boys

Texas History, Thoughts and Musings5 Comments

San Antonio’s Union Stockyards

lewisotr

I personally have great memories of this place. I was blown away to learn that actual auction rings with the auction calls we are now familiar with have only been around for around 60 years. Prior to that a cattle stockyard was a place that ranchers met up and sold their livestock to each other with the facility being there to weight the stock and help with the money transfer. I didn’t know the real history behind this place but I was able to find this article, which is the best writing I’ve found on the history of the SA … Continue reading San Antonio’s Union Stockyards

Thoughts and Musings2 Comments

State Juvenile Training School Cemetery Gatesville, Coryell County, Texas

lewisotr

This is a small cemetery at Gatesville at what was the Boy’s Reformatory. There are 16 graves. Most died in a fairly short period of time 3-4 years. One died in 1908 and all the others died between 1916 – 1920. Pneumonia appears to be the major cause of death with Typhoid Fever and Meningitis also showing up on death certificates. I saw a drowning in the river as the cause of another. I suppose while trying to escape. Times were hard and if they were a long distance away from their homes, they just didn’t have a means or … Continue reading State Juvenile Training School Cemetery Gatesville, Coryell County, Texas