Beer Company Sponsorships

Back in the 50s and on into to 60s the various beer companies would hire bands to promote their product. A local Austin band, Jesse James and All The Boys was one that Pearl Beer sponsored. Pearl also had another band, Adolph Hofner and the Pearl Wranglers that was more widely recognized than the James band. I used to hear radio promotions for Adolph Hofner, mostly playing in San Antonio, on up into the 70s. I mention Jesse (William Howard “Jesse”) James because he used to come to our house “On The Creek” just out of Jollyville. He was a … Continue reading Beer Company Sponsorships

The Double Tailed Quarters

There was a time in the 80s when times were really good in the construction business. I was flying high, as was Kenny and our friend Coy. We all had our own businesses but we worked together at times, hiring each other’s companies to help out on projects. Kenny & Coy had a lot more in common with each other than with me. During that phase of their lives they each were without the benefit of a wife at the time or at least they acted like it. They worked hard and partied hard as the old saying goes. Now … Continue reading The Double Tailed Quarters

The Fiasco Of The Wooden Dolphins

This is the story of making the Wooden Dolphins. During our time living in Corpus Christi a few years ago is when I carved the largest of my projects, a pair of Dolphins. It was during a time when I was really suffering a lot of lower back pain. I received several steroid injections, was seeing a chiropractor often, but nothing was working. A very nice lady that lived out on The Island helped us with our interior decorating. One day I was complaining about my back and she told me about a next door neighbor lady of hers that … Continue reading The Fiasco Of The Wooden Dolphins

The Making Of A Short Documentary

This is a Post that I made on this date February 7, 2018. We are six years and a million miles from here now. Several years ago my grandson Nathan came to me and ask for help with a school project. Nathan graduated last year and this happened when he was about 9 or 10 so yes, it’s been awhile. He needed to do a report about something historic. Since we owned the old Bertram Drug Store at that time and I’d researched the history of that building, I suggested that be the topic. A short time before that I … Continue reading The Making Of A Short Documentary

Dink – The Final Chapter

Dink could and did extract money from me on several occasions. He had a good deal for me almost every time I saw him. He wanted to see me become rich right along with him. He never did become rich. He didn’t do much for my bottom line either, at least positively. Dink always was a lady’s man. A real charmer. He charmed me as well. But with time we lost touch. By happenstance I ran on to him in a café in north Texas one day in 1991. We visited. He had a deal for me, but I wasn’t … Continue reading Dink – The Final Chapter

OVER THE HUMP

This is a story that was written by Carol Chapman for the February 1995 issue of Texas Monthly. It is a story about Howdy Fowler (yes our own Angora Chronicles Friend – Howdy Fowler aka Tejas Redd) “Howdy told me once that this adventure is the single greatest highlight of his life and to have it captured on the pages of Texas Monthly – Don’t get much better than that”. Now Here Is The Texas Monthly Story: THE REAL REASON THAT camels are called ships of the desert is that riding them can make you seasick, declares cowboy evangelist Howdy … Continue reading OVER THE HUMP

It’s Funny How Things Happen

Last night at Kenny’s viewing at the funeral home a good Ol Boy reminded me something. Let me start from the beginning to tell you the whole story from start to finish. I went out to Lakeway in the late 1970s and bid on a project. When I prepared the bid it came out to somewhere around $325,000. I called my bonding company and told them that the bid was going to exceed the amount I originally told them. At that time they were limiting me to a maximum size job of $300,000. I couldn’t convince them to raise my … Continue reading It’s Funny How Things Happen

Winfield and the Wimberley Bank

I thought that the incident with Winfield and the speeding tickets had taught him a lesson. I found out later how clueless I was about what all was going on in that man’s head. If you set and listened to him you would really take him to be just a big talker, but you knew he wanted to make it big one day. He had been around a couple of years by this time and my business was going through a very tumultuous time. My bills were all behind, creditors were beating our door down and Winfield was spending most … Continue reading Winfield and the Wimberley Bank

John Kemper’s Corvette

Don’t remember if it was our Junior or Senior year of high school but John Kemper bought a “59” Corvette. He decided it needed a new paint job. A Pearl White was the color was selected. A very difficult 2 part epoxy paint was used. He made arraignments to use the old building at Main and 2nd (currently a Title Co) as a makeshift paint shop. With nothing other than a bunch of teenagers (about a 1/2 dozen of us) the car was stripped down, sanded and painted in a very dimly lighted room. I had painted a few cars … Continue reading John Kemper’s Corvette

A Sobering Thought

I was sitting around today thinking about friendships. Back in the early part of 2004, I got a call from one of my high school classmates, a true friend, suggesting a few of us may want to go to Houston soon to pay a visit to one other of our 1970 classmates. It didn’t appear that he would live much longer. Richie had a very aggressive form of brain cancer. He was now in a rehab unit in Houston. John, Tommy and I left Marble Falls early on that morning, just a day or so after we knew we needed … Continue reading A Sobering Thought