Category: Amazing Things

Amazing Things, Crazy Times, In and Around Austin, My Friends, Past Angora Chronicles Stories, The Early DaysLeave a comment

Cruising The UT Drag

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The spring of 1971 found me and my friend Jimmy in Austin one Friday afternoon. Probably for no other reason than hoping to find some excitement. I had a new Chevrolet pickup and we decided a drive down to The Drag. We got as far a 34th street on Guadalupe, heading south when we encountered a red light. A couple of pretty young UT types were in the car in right lane, with us in the left lane. Paying more attention to the girls than to driving, when the light changed as they eased off, so did we. The only … Continue reading Cruising The UT Drag

Amazing Things, Crazy Times, In and Around Austin, The Construction Biz, Thoughts and Musings1 Comment

A Meal At Furr’s Cafeteria

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One of my sons (he was about 11 or 12 at the time) and I visited Furr’s Cafeteria on South I-35 at St. Elmo Road in South Austin. This would have been in about 1989. We got our trays and found a table up close to the front door. Within the next few minutes an elderly fellow came in, with someone helping him to carry his tray. He saw me and told the young gal that he’d sit with us. I was delighted to have him. I had known him casually in my younger days and we had even done … Continue reading A Meal At Furr’s Cafeteria

Aging, Amazing Things, Crazy Times, In and Around Austin, The Early Days, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

Austin Really Was An Uncomplicated Place, Once Upon A Time

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My wife and I moved to Austin in the fall of 1972, after marrying a year earlier. We rented a mobile home just out of Oak Hill, about a mile west of the Y. Life was very simple. She shopped for groceries at HEB, the store at South Congress and Oltorf. That was the nearest larger supermarket to us and the one she enjoyed going to. When I think back to the next 13 years we lived in 3 different locations, all in far South Austin, a real building boom happened. Safeway built at William Cannon at Manchaca Rd., a … Continue reading Austin Really Was An Uncomplicated Place, Once Upon A Time

Amazing Things, Past Angora Chronicles Stories, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

The Green House Mall on RR 620

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Matt and Muriel Wiggers started The Greenhouse Mall sometime in the 1970s. There was some variation of that business still operating (or was at the time of this original writing) with the name Outside in Style. I have heard it is relatives of the original owners carrying on the family tradition. Mr. Wiggers’ Dutch accent became quite recognizable in Austin in the late 70s and 80s with his TV and radio ads, “250-0000, come see us, won’t you?” My own personal story about this business. Hooked On Hydroponics: A takeoff on the name – Hooked on Phonics We took our … Continue reading The Green House Mall on RR 620

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BookStop – with home grown roots in Travis County.

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The 1980s found me on a reading binge. I would read 1 to 2 books per week. I had a hard time passing up a BookStop location without pulling in. The one in Lincoln Village was where I went the most often. That was at I-35 & 290. For me the Bookstop’s were so much easier to get to than all the mall book stores. Besides that, I really appreciated the layout and selection that BookStop offered. By the time they were taken over by Barnes and Noble and their stores started to disappear, my reading had diminished. Then it … Continue reading BookStop – with home grown roots in Travis County.

Amazing Things, In and Around Austin, Past Angora Chronicles Stories, Texas History, The Early Days, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

Von Boeckmann-Jones Co. Building in 1950

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G&L VBJ – The Next Chapter G&L was a great office supply store in downtown Austin for many years – Just across the Congress Ave Bridge, south of the River. The initials G & L were two brothers. Gunnar and Louis Johnson. G&L Stationers teamed up with VBJ (Von Beckman, Jones) to form G&L VBJ and moved across into a new store building south of Riverside on the east side of So. Congress – in the early 80s. Below is a blurb from the Chronicle. Below is my own story about G&L The Strange Things We Remember It’s been almost … Continue reading Von Boeckmann-Jones Co. Building in 1950

Amazing Things, Another Daily Happening, Crazy Times, In and Around Austin, Kenny Lewis, Past Angora Chronicles Stories, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

It Wasn’t Me

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Kenny always had a lot of company pride. He liked for all of his machines to be looking nice and clean. Everything needed to be ship-shape in Kenny Lewis’ world. He enjoyed having his company name on jackets and caps. He spent a lot of advertising bucks and it paid off for him. You would see people wearing them often, putting the CCI name out in the public. Kenny and I had an arraignment for about a decade that lasted until 2003. We pooled resources and CCI was the name that was in the forefront of the business. I still … Continue reading It Wasn’t Me

Amazing Things, In and Around Austin, My Friends, The Construction Biz, Thoughts and Musings4 Comments

Haufler Motors

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Udo Haufler was a trader at heart. He was born and raised in the Twin Sisters area Blanco County. He started buying and selling used vehicles after the war and settling in Austin. This is a car lot he was operating in 1953 in downtown Austin. I’ve never been clear what the actual address was. But I think it was possibly in the 2nd or 3rd block and a few blocks east of Congress Ave. He traveled far and wide buying the best quality used vehicles he could find. Those travels took him to the Lincoln Mercury Dealership in Conroe … Continue reading Haufler Motors

Amazing Things, My Friends, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

A Happening We Seldom Get To Enjoy During A Lifetime

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November 26, 2016 Madeline and I attended a birthday party for a friend. A friend that was our neighbor for about a decade in the 70s and 80s. Yes a 40 year friendship. This lady watched us go from a family with one little boy, to a house with 5 boys playing in the yard. To say those were transformative years for Madeline and me would be an understatement. Esther Haufler turned 100 today and we were there to help her celebrate the joyous occasion with many of her friends and relatives. Continue reading A Happening We Seldom Get To Enjoy During A Lifetime