Category: Smithwick

Smithwick, The Early DaysLeave a comment

Charlie and Minnie Campbell – A Love Story

lewisotr

This is a story about an old couple that showed up in Smithwick when I was just a kid. This story doesn’t involve actual family members. It does include the Smithwick Cemetery and a couple that were a part of the community for a few years. One day Minnie and Charlie arrived in an old Studebaker car. When people said their name, they always left off the p and b. It was Charlie and Minnie Camel. They never had children. They claimed they had no other close family. They just had each other. Minnie was from Oklahoma. She always said … Continue reading Charlie and Minnie Campbell – A Love Story

Another Daily Happening, Crazy Times, Smithwick, The Early DaysLeave a comment

Opening Day Of Deer Season

lewisotr

I was probably no older than 13, but maybe 14. At least old enough to drive myself down in the pasture to kill a deer. We had company in from California. My mother’s youngest sister and her husband. Knowing I’d have better luck if I went across the fence that bordered us to the west. That was LCRA Property. There was no hunting allowed on the LCRA. To young boys, especially sons of Cecil Lewis, there were certain rules that we didn’t abide by. Especially that one. Either those same deer had just left our property or would be crossing … Continue reading Opening Day Of Deer Season

Crazy Times, Smithwick, The Early Days3 Comments

The Race Was On

lewisotr

The story of one of the greatest car races ever held in Smithwick. His name was Curtis “Brown” Parker. Brown Parker was how he was known. He was the person my Dad looked up to more, maybe than anyone else. Brown was several years older that Cecil Lewis. I believe that Brown help him become a man in more ways than one in his early days in Smithwick, Texas. In the 1940s Brown and Eula left Smithwick and moved to California, the same as a lot of people did during that period of time. They operated laundries in and around … Continue reading The Race Was On

Smithwick, The Early Days2 Comments

A Thanksgiving Feast With Charlie And Minnie

lewisotr

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.

lewisotr

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

lewisotr

(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

lewisotr

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)

lewisotr

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

lewisotr

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

My Friends, SmithwickLeave a comment

A Memorial Service Service to Celebrate the Life of Jim Palmer

lewisotr

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