Category: Cecil Lewis

Amazing Things, Cecil Lewis, Crazy Times, Funny Happenings, Thoughts and Musings2 Comments

Reflecting Back On Cecil Lewis

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This is something I wrote about my Dad, Cecil Lewis, not long after The Angora Chronicles was inaugurated. While Cecil Lewis wasn’t a perfect man, he did something for Kenny and Me both. He taught us about hard work and keeping to our word. If a man is paying you, then give him a days worth of work. If you tell a man something, you damn well better stick to your word. Those lessons were never forgotten. He gave us every opportunity to learn how to operate every kind of machine there was. He taught us how to work on … Continue reading Reflecting Back On Cecil Lewis

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The GMC Toro-Flow

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Back in about 1967 Cecil Lewis, my dad, went off somewhere, probably Austin or San Antonio and bought a 1964 GMC truck. That GMC had perhaps the weakest engine ever put in a truck. It was a single axle with a winch that he paired up with a single axle float type trailer that he had recently purchased. Now here’s the deal, that float trailer was an oil field float. You knew that because it had a rolling tail bar on it and it was built extra heavy duty. Anything going into the oil field needed to be built strong. … Continue reading The GMC Toro-Flow

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My Old Daddy Saved Me From Myself

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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

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

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

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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

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Cecil Lewis Wasn’t Always A Patient Man

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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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Cecil Lewis and the Spare Tire Rack

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Back in “68” Cec bought a new 1/2 Ford Pickup down at Truck City Ford on Ben White Blvd in Austin. There was a brand new thing that he couldn’t do without. Back in those days pickups never came with a rear bumper from the factory. They were all installed by the dealer and most of the time in this area they were supplied by D&D Bumper in Seguin, Tx. The dealership name would be imprinted in it, so when you bought a bumper you paid for the privilege of advertising where you bought your truck everywhere you went. This … Continue reading Cecil Lewis and the Spare Tire Rack

Amazing Things, Cecil Lewis, Crazy Times, Thoughts and Musings1 Comment

Cecil Lewis And The Navy

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My Dad went away at an early age to fight for this country, during World War II. The picture shows him at the age of 17. He served most of his time on the USS South Dakota, a battleship. He was contacted by the USS South Dakota Association and sent a package sometime in the late 70s and was ask to deliver it and present it at a ceremony being held at the Battleship Texas, next to the San Jacinto Monument near Houston. Kenny and I accompanied him to that dedication one Saturday morning. We left Smithwick early, very early, … Continue reading Cecil Lewis And The Navy

Cecil Lewis, Crazy Times, The Early Days, Thoughts and Musings1 Comment

Cec Got Caught In A Tight Place

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Cec bought a 1960 Ford Falcon when they first came out. He drove the heck out of that little ol car. It eventually became Bonnie Gay’s car after he got the new worn off of it. These were the days when we lived in Jollyville area but would come to Smithwick every weekend to take care of the place and see too the animals. The Falcon developed a bumping sound up in the front end. He could see a shock absorber was loose. He got the bumper jack out, one of the tall stand type jacks that were just waiting … Continue reading Cec Got Caught In A Tight Place

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We Did Things Much Differently Back Then

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This was written back in September 2014. Within a month or so in the beginning of The Angora Chronicles. I grew up around construction equipment and trucks. In the 60s when I was in high school Cecil Lewis ran a fleet of dump trucks. Among other things we had the contract to haul the blasted rock from the Pure Stone Quarry out south of Marble Falls back to the crusher in town. Even as young and as small as I was at 14 or 15, I commonly and single-handey pulled transmissions and replaced clutches in those old dump trucks and … Continue reading We Did Things Much Differently Back Then

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Drilling A Water Well

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Cec talked LJ Henderson into bringing a track drill, normally used to drill holes for blasting rock, down to Smithwick to drill a water well. That wasn’t the conventional way to drill a water well, but Cecil Lewis and LJ Henderson weren’t your conventional guys either. After going down close to 100′, they hit water. When drilling with a track drill, the operator would stand right next to the hole being drilled,so all of the dust and rock cuttings being blown from the hole come out and cover the driller. Very few jobs could be dirtier. When the drill bit … Continue reading Drilling A Water Well