Category: Smithwick

Smithwick, The Early Days2 Comments

A Thanksgiving Feast With Charlie And Minnie

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I’ve written before about this couple. They showed up in Smithwick in the early 60s and became a part of the community. They had passed through the area back a couple decades before. They were content to live down in the pecan bottom on river back then. Everything they owned was in the back of an old car back then and when they returned in the 1960s their circumstances hadn’t changed much. After a few days Cecil Lewis invited them to move into the “Old House”. It had been sitting empty since my grandpa, Theron died in 1958. Nonie just … Continue reading A Thanksgiving Feast With Charlie And Minnie

Amazing Things, Kenny Lewis, Smithwick, The Early DaysLeave a comment

There Used To Be Some Big Bullfrogs Around This Area.

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When I was a small child there used to be a lot of really large bullfrogs. We had frog legs fairly regularly. I guess they have mostly been killed off. These pictures of my brother, Kenny holding big ones. This was about 1953. But those look small compared to this on I saw here on FB. Now that would make a mess of frog legs. Continue reading There Used To Be Some Big Bullfrogs Around This Area.

Cecil Lewis, Crazy Times, Kenny Lewis, Smithwick, The Early DaysLeave a comment

Cec’s Pry Bar

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(This was written by Kenny Lewis) Ronnie and I had our share of mishaps growing up and for that reason, were known by the men of the community as being rather reckless. Among those men was one of Dad’s closest friends, Brown Parker. He always said that “Cec could have been a millionaire had he knocked the two of us in the head when we were pups”. Daddy owned a pry bar that had previously been a truck axle. It was at least six feet long and 1 ½” in diameter. Brown always swore that it was the only thing … Continue reading Cec’s Pry Bar

Amazing Things, Smithwick, The Early Days3 Comments

My Quest To Find Out More About The Life Of Charlie And Minnie

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I have over time written several stories about Charlie and Minnie. That couple has always been a curiosity of mine. They claimed to no have living relatives. But I remember when Minnie died, Charlie had my mother contact some people, perhaps a sister of Minnie’s to let her know of the passing. There were some people, a couple of ladies and a teen daughter, not much older than me, showed up from Oklahoma to attended the funeral. I could remember that Mrs. Redd, Minnie’s Mother, it was told was with them when they first came to our family part of … Continue reading My Quest To Find Out More About The Life Of Charlie And Minnie

Amazing Things, Smithwick, The Early Days1 Comment

Minnie’s Stash (originally written Nov. 30, 2014)

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Kenny reminded me of something yesterday that I had forgotten. I wrote about Minnie and Charlie Campbell and her dying. Charlie would always tell us that Minnie kept up with their money and he didn’t know where she kept it or how much they had. I guess they thought, as we all did that she would outlive him. Charlie wasn’t in a shape to do much looking so the first one and the other looked but never found any money. We were all pretty sure they didn’t have two dimes to rub together, so when nothing turned up, no one … Continue reading Minnie’s Stash (originally written Nov. 30, 2014)

Crazy Times, Smithwick, The Early DaysLeave a comment

Throwing Darts

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I was 8 or 9 and Jimmy was three years older. Hannah had made the purchase of some new furniture, perhaps a Lazy Boy. The furniture store delivered it in a pickup with tall solid wooden sideboards, that displayed the store name on it. It made have been WF & JF Barnes Lumber and Furniture, but I can’t be for certain about that. But what I can be for sure about, when the men headed in the house to get the new piece setup, Jimmy and I started throwing darts at the side of that pickup, having a good ol’ … Continue reading Throwing Darts

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A Memorial Service Service to Celebrate the Life of Jim Palmer

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The service will begin at 11:00 AM on Saturday, August 17, 2019. There will be Words said, Jimmy’s favorite songs sang and maybe a few stories told, followed by a pot luck lunch. Please come join us for this Celebration on the Lake. It will be at The Lewis Lakeview Pavillion, 930 County Road 343 A, Marble Falls, Texas. Big Daddy was the happiest when he was surrounded by family. I have it on good authority that Mrs. Palmer will be decked out in her boots and green socks for the memorial service. (Big Jim’s Most Favored Attire On Her) Continue reading A Memorial Service Service to Celebrate the Life of Jim Palmer

Crazy Times, Kenny Lewis, My Friends, Smithwick, The Early DaysLeave a comment

The Disease (rewrite)

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When I originally wrote this story I left out a few minor details as I didn’t think it was right to possibly bring shame on my brother, mostly, as he has always been a pretty wholesome, upstanding sort. But in an attempt to tell it like it was, here goes. It was in the hot summer time and I was out of school for the summer. I was 15 years old and working for my Dad, Cecil Lewis. We were building some roads down by Turkey Bend, for Frank Wycoff. They were just country subdivision roads. That’s about all we … Continue reading The Disease (rewrite)

Crazy Times, Smithwick, The Early DaysLeave a comment

J.P. And The Fancy Wheels And Tires

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The junk yard is what we called it. It was a 5 acre abandoned field up the hill and just out of sight of our house. It was on our land, but Cec let Hugh Hampton use it. He would bring wrecked cars in and strip them down for usable car parts then scrap the remaining pieces. One day a “63” (may have been a “64”) Chevy Impala was brought in that had been in a wreck and was pretty much totaled. It had belong to fellow Marble Falls schoolmate, Jerry Ford. It had a really nice set of wide … Continue reading J.P. And The Fancy Wheels And Tires

Crazy Times, Smithwick, The Early DaysLeave a comment

The Stolen Beer Caper

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Big Jimmy grew up across the highway at Smithwick, Texas from our Grandmother. Maw-Maw is what we called her, until in later years we called her Nonie, as she was called by many of her nieces and nephews. Nonie was derived from Leona, by her little brother years earlier. Jimmy helped Kenny & me haul hay and with other work around the place as we grew up. After getting his commercial driver’s license he started driving a dump truck for our Dad on weekends and after school. Since Kenny always had a girlfriend and became occupied with her, Jimmy and … Continue reading The Stolen Beer Caper