The Hood Wasn’t Fastened And Blew Open At The Most Inopportune Moment

A month before Madeline and I married in 1971, I had a 3 year old Ford Galaxy 500 and I rear ended a Williamson Country Road Maintenance Pickup in Liberty Hill, completely demolishing the front end. It took a couple of months to get it out of the shop. I finally got it out of the body shop on a Friday afternoon. On Saturday we were leaving for the Jordan Christmas Party in Houston. The Jordan Christmas Party was a huge deal. I had made every excuse imaginable about why I didn’t need to go. I didn’t know any of … Continue reading The Hood Wasn’t Fastened And Blew Open At The Most Inopportune Moment

Uvalde Rock Asphalt Company (continuous since 1912) and White’s Uvalde Mines (since 1923).

This area down out of Uvalde, Texas is unique in that there is mining of asphalt, ready to pave a road as it is dug from the ground. Limestone gravel coated with an asphaltic bitumen content similar to that produced in operating asphalt plants. Many roads in south Texas have been paved with this product. I’m not certain that it meets TxDot specifications to pave state highways without farther processing, but it looks and acts like a hot mix/cold lay material produced in just about any asphalt plant and used mostly on private roads and temporary patches. On a personal … Continue reading Uvalde Rock Asphalt Company (continuous since 1912) and White’s Uvalde Mines (since 1923).

The Mechanical Calf

This story was originally told by me back on Oct. 4, 2016. When You’re Me, I Never Know What I’m Going To Be Thinking About When I Wake Up In The Middle Of The Night. This morning I woke up around 3:30, which happens way too often. The first thing that popped on my mind was a fellow I met in about 1971. I knew Leroy fairly well for a few years. He worked for another utility contractor, one that we had a working relationship with. Leroy ran their shop and was very mechanically inclined. As I got to know … Continue reading The Mechanical Calf

Cec And The Soldier

Cecil was my Dad. My brother and I called him Cec. No one else did. It was our name for him. He was from the old school as they say. He had a very rough exterior. Come to think of it he had a rough interior too. He was in the construction and trucking businesses. He worked hard his whole life. I always thought he was the toughest man I knew. He never backed away from anything or anybody. Once when I was about 13 or 14, my friend Billy Gene Henry and I accompanied Cec on a trip to … Continue reading Cec And The Soldier

The Flying Stick

It was my 16th year of life. My brother Kenny was in college up at Tarleton, his second semester and had moved into an apartment, that had formerly been occupied by a cop he was told. The cop had left a night stick behind. Kenny was sure that I would need that club one day, so he brought it home to me. He always looked out for me like that. The wooden stick had been drilled through the core had a steel rod inserted. I kept it stuck between the seat and the console. My means of transportation was a … Continue reading The Flying Stick

The Story Of The Bonnie & Clyde Movie (as told by Dink McDuff)

Paul Pruitt was a cattle buyer and had a feedlot down along the border. Dink had met him, I suppose, hanging out in one coffee shop or the other when he was there working on the water and sewer system in Eagle Pass back in the 60s. One day Paul invited Dink to fly with him to look at some cattle down at Laredo. Paul flew his own plane. They made it there and took care of the business they needed to and got ready to leave to fly back to Eagle Pass. A rain system was moving in so … Continue reading The Story Of The Bonnie & Clyde Movie (as told by Dink McDuff)

A Little Digging Pays Off

This post is about the name I found on my Paternal Great Grandparents (Moses and Judy Maybelle Linebarger) Marriage License. I was curious about who the Minister was that married them. The spelling of the name was hard to make out. Trying several different spellings I finally went to the Burnet Co. History Book – Vol. 1 and found the name Bro. Rucker. Seeing that he had been at a church, Hale Spring Baptist Church which was located up Hamilton Creek, I decided this may be the man I was looking for. But it didn’t give a first name or … Continue reading A Little Digging Pays Off

The Cowboys’ Turtle Association

“The things we don’t know!!” In premise, the Rodeo Association of America (RAA) was a great idea. Its formation in 1929 brought about a standard set of rules, allowing for world champions to be recognized in bronc riding, bareback riding, bull riding, steer roping, calf roping, bulldogging, team roping, and even wild cow milking. What the RAA lacked, however, was representation. Made up entirely of rodeo committees and producers, the RAA had its members’ best interests at heart, not necessarily the contestants’. This came to a head in October 1936, when Hugh Bennett, a world champion steer wrestler and top … Continue reading The Cowboys’ Turtle Association

The Felps Trailer Company Johnson City, Texas

By the time the early 80s rolled around, Madeline and I had a house full of young-uns, which translated into the need for a Suburban. She was always wanting to haul something that wouldn’t fit in there with all the boys. So I did what any good husband would do, I bought her a new 16’ tandem axle Felps utility trailer for her birthday one year. Dang that was the best pulling trailer I can ever remember having. Dick Laymon on Manchaca Road sold them back then. There was a rule for that trailer. If I pulled it, it had … Continue reading The Felps Trailer Company Johnson City, Texas