Category: In and Around Austin

In and Around Austin, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

Austin Was Always A One Truck Stop Town + the Big Wheel in Oak Hill.

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With I-35 and the other highways of commerce from out to the east and west, it seems there was hardly a time that Austin was home to more than one Truck Stop. In the 50s and 60s, The Austin Truck Terminal up north just south of US 183 on I-35. It was owned by Mr. Herbert Skinner. He also owned Austin Truck & Machinery that was adjacent to it. It became the Freightliner Truck Dealership and remained there for many years.  The cafe was Marvin’s in the early days and later was operated by a fellow by the name of … Continue reading Austin Was Always A One Truck Stop Town + the Big Wheel in Oak Hill.

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

The Double Cross

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The are some things that happen in our lives that leave us wondering about mankind. This story left me feeling less trustful and saddened. I had become very good friends with an old gentleman that was my neighbor, Udo Haufler. Upon his retiring after a long and successful career as an excavation contractor in Austin, I bought his office and yard along with several pieces of his equipment. I didn’t buy his business per se, and I’ve alway questioned why I didn’t. He had almost cornered the market on doing big excavation projects around Austin. The Haufler name in the … Continue reading The Double Cross

Cecil Lewis, Crazy Times, In and Around AustinLeave a comment

The Drunk Lady and a Strange Coincidence

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When I was young, maybe 8 or 9 we lived at Jollyville. One Sunday night my Mom, Dad, Kenny and Me, left our Grannie Ruby’s house late in the evening. As we were heading, up Burnet Road, there was a car driving very erratically. Suddenly it ran up over a curb and came to a sudden stop. Our Dad, Cecil, got out to go check. It was a well to do lady in a very nice car than was extremely intoxicated. She was in no shape to drive. He agreed to drive her home. It was only a few blocks … Continue reading The Drunk Lady and a Strange Coincidence

Crazy Times, In and Around Austin, Marble Falls and the Area Around it., The Early DaysLeave a comment

MQ and the Hog Buyer

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I had only limited contact with MQ when I was a kid. I went to school with his son Winfield, but I was like many other Burnet County people, that just didn’t go around him. The first time I remember seeing MQ was during a hog buying episode when he bought a pen full of hogs from Brown Parker. Brown was my dads best friend and kept hogs at our place, down at the old place where my grandparents had once lived. MQ was a major hog raiser back in the 60s and 70s. While trying to load out the … Continue reading MQ and the Hog Buyer

In and Around Austin, UncategorizedLeave a comment

How Different Things Were In 1960 In Austin

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A while back on another group I’m on, we were commenting about Bruce’s & Barnett’s Fried Pies made me think about the other things that were happening around Austin around that same time. It made me realize how simple our lives were almost six decades ago. The selections of eateries was really limited, but people didn’t eat out very often. Eating out was a special occasion instead of a way of life. My first memory of eating in a real restaurant was when I was 6 or 7. We were traveling home to Jollyville and it was getting late so … Continue reading How Different Things Were In 1960 In Austin

In and Around Austin2 Comments

Remembering The Early Days Of Television In Austin

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In Austin channel 7 (KTBC) was it for several years. They were the official CBS affiliate, but they showed certain programs from NBC, DuMont and ABC. The following from Wikipedia Primary Programing: CBS (1952–1995) Secondary Programming: DuMont (1952–1956) NBC (1952–1966) ABC (1952–1971) Everything was pretty well off the air after 12:30 or 1:00 AM coming back on around 5:30 AM. The Second Station To Sign On: In 1962 PBS was first aired in Austin with the call letters KLRN. It was a collaboration between Austin and San Antonio, and was shown on channel 9. It broke away from the San Antonio PBS affiliation in … Continue reading Remembering The Early Days Of Television In Austin

In and Around AustinLeave a comment

Holt Caterpillar Tractor Co.

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Anyone remember Holt Caterpillar Tractor being on South Lamar, between the River and Barton Springs Road. I think the whole business was on one or two city blocks. Now that property is covered with condo’s and shops. They have come a long ways from those humble beginnings. This facility opened sometime in the early 1970s out on I-35, just south of Slaughter Lane. There is a smaller location in Pflugerville, that was built in the 1990s. Now they are having a grand opening in a few days for another huge facility in Georgetown. Continue reading Holt Caterpillar Tractor Co.

Amazing Things, In and Around AustinLeave a comment

A Really Fast Food Joint

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Anyone remember when they built the new hamburger place on William Cannon at Manchaca Road. It was a GW Jr’s. They started and worked around the clock to have it in operation in 24 hours and they did it. It was an attempt to set a record for the fastest fast food place to be built. They wanted to break a Guinness Book of World Records. Mostly a public relations stunt. Seemed to have worked. Forty years later and we are talking about it. It was in August 9, 1979. How do I remember the date, you may ask. We … Continue reading A Really Fast Food Joint

In and Around Austin, The History of TexasLeave a comment

The History of SH 2/US 81/IH 35 Through Texas

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State Highway 2, or SH 2, is a deleted Texas highway. SH 2 was one of the original twenty-six state highways proposed in 1917, overlaid on top of the Meridian Highway and Gulf Division Highway. From 1919 the routing mostly followed present day Interstate 44 (I-44) from Oklahoma to Wichita Falls, and U.S. Highway 287 (US 287) to Fort Worth. It continued on, routed along present day I-35W and I-35 to Waco. From here, the road divided into two branches, both signed as State Highway 2. The western branch followed the Meridian Highway from Waco, roughly following I-35 through Austin … Continue reading The History of SH 2/US 81/IH 35 Through Texas