Category: Smithwick

Cecil Lewis, Crazy Times, Smithwick, The Early Days, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

Cecil and TSO (Texas State Optical)

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I thought I had told this story of a very amusing day in my life, but I sure can’t find it anywhere. Since it’s a true story I should be able to tell it again and it come out the same way. That’s the way true stories work. Back in about 1975 I had a project over in the west central part of Austin. It was a Friday afternoon and my mother and dad rolled up. She was driving. It must have been a pre-planned trip for them to come to Austin, since they knew where to find me. They … Continue reading Cecil and TSO (Texas State Optical)

Crazy Times, Marble Falls and the Area Around it., Smithwick, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

The Car Business

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I often talk about all the different cars I drove when I was a kid. I may have shown up to school in a different vehicle just about any day. To say we were in the used car business would be an over statement. Cecil Lewis was an entrepreneur of his own kind back in the day. He dabbled in about anything that made a little money or kept his sons busy. Buying and fixing up used cars was but one of his ventures. In my early days working for Charlie Ulbricht, I watched him do body work out of … Continue reading The Car Business

Cecil Lewis, Crazy Times, Kenny Lewis, Smithwick, The Early Days, Thoughts and Musings2 Comments

Telephoning Catfish (As told by Kenny Lewis)

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I suppose the statue of limitations has run out on this story, so maybe I can tell this without Joe or me going to jail. As I’ve said earlier Brown Parker was one of my Dad’s best friends as was Joe Alderson. Brown lived in California and he and his wife owned a very successful Commercial Laundry business. Every summer they traveled back to Smithwick for two weeks of vacation. He almost always brought his boat and a case of Jim Beam whiskey. It was always a happy time for the community.Cec and Joe made sure they had ample time … Continue reading Telephoning Catfish (As told by Kenny Lewis)

Cecil Lewis, Crazy Times, Kenny Lewis, Smithwick, The Early Days, Thoughts and Musings2 Comments

Cec and the Riviera

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Kenny (my brother), Cec (my dad) & I headed off one Saturday morning to buy Kenny a new car to go off to college in. Cec was sure that Kenny should have something economical, so a nice 63 Oldsmobile Cutlass 4 door was acquired for him. It was a pretty common looking little car. It looked more like our grandmother should have been driving it. Kenny was less than pleased, but knew that life was going to be tough for him, with his going to school and plans to get married soon. So he went along with it. On the … Continue reading Cec and the Riviera

Amazing Things, Funny Happenings, Smithwick, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

Eat More Goat

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That is if you can afford it. The popularity of eating goats has sure driven up the price. Something about eating goat meat that really appeals to me. It’s not the taste or the texture. It has more to do with nostalgia. At Smithwick Homecoming time, at those long sheet iron pits out under the liveoak trees at the site of the old Smithwick School House (now the Smithwick Community Center) waiting for one of the men to cut off a sample is where my love of goat meat started. Fresh and hot, right off the pit. The sop that … Continue reading Eat More Goat

Crazy Times, Smithwick, The Early DaysLeave a comment

The Hudson Hornet

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I’ve told a story about the old couple, Minnie and Charlie Campbell showing up in Smithwick back in the 60s. Charlie was a Studebaker man. He always claimed he would never drive anything but a Studebaker. He and Minnie drove off one day and when they came back a few days later he had bought Minnie a car and it wasn’t a Studebaker. It was a very clean 1951 Hudson Hornet. The picture below shows what it looked like. He messed with it and never could make it run right so he parked it out under a tree and it … Continue reading The Hudson Hornet

Marble Falls and the Area Around it., My Friends, Smithwick3 Comments

Charlie & Minnie Campbell – A Love Story

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This is a story about an old couple that showed up in Smithwick when I was just a kid. When people said their name, they always left off the p and b. It was Charlie and Minnie Camel. Minnie and Charlie arrived in an old Studebaker car with everything they owned, including a couple of dogs. They never had children. They claimed they had no other close family. They just had each other. Minnie was from Oklahoma. She always said she was part Indian. While she had a round pie plate face, she did have real high cheek bones. A … Continue reading Charlie & Minnie Campbell – A Love Story

Aging, Smithwick, The Early Days, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

Remembering The Turkey Bend Ladies

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My wife handed me a baby blanket the other day that was badly stained. She reminded me that Aunt Mamie Franck (we called her Aunt Mamie, but she wasn’t actually our aunt) hand made this little blanket when our first born son, Matthew was born. Matt will turn 47 this coming August 22, which is my birthday as well. I turned 22 years old the day he came into this world. Madeline trusts my ability to remove stains, and I can usually do it without completely destroying the stained item. I was curious of Aunt Mamie’s age when she made … Continue reading Remembering The Turkey Bend Ladies

Smithwick, The Early Days, Thoughts and Musings2 Comments

The Shirt and The Tractor

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I have this one shirt, out of a closet full, that I really like. It’s nothing fancy, but when I see it, it always sparks memories. Those memories go back to my grandfather, Theron Lewis. These were early memories, because he passed away when I was 6 years old, only a couple of months into my first grade year. He always wore blue work shirts to the cow lot to feed and milk. He wore those shirts to do carpentry work in when he was building a house for someone. But what I most remember is he wore one when … Continue reading The Shirt and The Tractor