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Crystal City, a small south Texas town was known for two things. It was where the once famous La Raza Unita Political Party was born and … Continue reading Working Down At The Spinach Capital Of The World
It was 1969 and the weekend of the rodeo in Burnet. Saturday afternoon rolled around. My “68” Red SS 396 Camero had the beer iced down in the trunk. It was too early to head out to Burnet so I was cruising the streets of Marble Falls. Roy Jackson, of the Smithwick Jackson’s flagged me down. Roy was the age of my dad. He had kids my age. Times had been hard on Roy, he was without transportation. Drinking had cost him almost everything. “Boy, run me out to Fuzzy’s Corner”. I tried for awhile to make excuses to not … Continue reading A Minor In Possession
Old Man Cardwell When we were young, preteen years for me, we went all over Smithwick horseback. Mostly it was Kenny, Jimmy Palmer, Glenn Lewis and me, but sometimes others in the community joined in. Everett and Maude Jackson had the little store beside the road just below the cemetery, towards the church house. The store had really limited fare. Mostly snacks and soda pops. I don’t remember them having any perishables. Maybe some soda crackers and Vienna sausages and cans of potted meat. Across the highway from the store and down the creek a little ways was a little … Continue reading When I Was Young, Everyone Looked Really Old
I was driving my first car, a 1963 Ford Galaxy. Prior to buying that car I had driven whatever vehicle was setting around. In those days there were several to choose from. It looked like a used car lot in front of our house. The year was 1967. I was almost 15. After closing down the Texaco, my first job outside of working for my dad, I drove up and down the street until it appeared everyone had headed home, so I started out for the 9 mile trip to Smithwick. The time was early to be going home, I … Continue reading A Horse In The Highway
I have to admit that in my younger years I spoiled myself with buying vehicles. I was doing a lot of driving, bidding on work all around the state. When I say a lot of driving, somewhere between 80,000 and 100,000 miles per year. I had a new Buick Rivera that I considered my road car. And it did handle the road very well. We had a project in Kendall County, just north of San Antonio building the Guadalupe River State Park, which was a undeveloped tract of ranch land when we started, so I couldn’t see driving that nice … Continue reading Kenny And The White Bronco
It was about this time of year in 1973. Madeline & I had been married just a little more than a year. Austin was unusually cold and wet. The city was pretty much paralyzed for several days. Everything looked like a whole different place. I was like we were living in the movie Dr. Zhivago. We were living in a mobile home at Oakhill. We had pretty much everything we needed so we stayed inside for about 3 days. Finally we had stood it as long as we could and got out and made our way slipping and sliding down … Continue reading A Bad Cold Spell In The Winter Of 1973
I’ve told many stories about how small I was as a kid and how it made me ripe for being picked on. No one was harder on me than my brother Kenny. But I’ll have to say that he was always the first to come to my defense, a brotherly thing. As I began to grow, it was only a natural progression that one day I would have to say enough is enough to being Kenny’s whipping boy. One day there would have to be a real head-buttin. It was just before Kenny left for the Army and I had … Continue reading The Smithwick Battle Royale
It was just before mid-night on New Year’s Eve. We weren’t just ushering in a new year but a new decade. Dean, Tommy and I were at The Circle Inn. Not usually a place where teens hung out. Alice didn’t allow it. There was a regular clientele that went there, but this night was different. It was a very festive occasion. The place was packed. I was shooting pool with someone, who’s name doesn’t come to mind. We had ridden out there with Dean and he wanted to go down the road the 281 Club where his folks where ringing … Continue reading Fred’s “57” Chevy
When I think back to our time growing up in the 1960s in Marble Falls, the friendship between Butch and Kenny always comes to mind. They spent a lot of time together, therefore I spent a lot of time with them. The first story is one time I’m glad I wasn’t along. A Trip To Look At A College In spring of their senior year of high school, Butch and Kenny got in Kenny’s 63 Pontiac Tempsest with a 4 cylinder and a 3 speed factory floor shifter and headed out to check out Sul Ross. Oh by the way, … Continue reading Saying Goodbye To Butch Crownover
This little incident happened when we were just growing boys. Carroll Ray was always very resourceful. Like the time he got in a little trouble with the law over in Llano when we were about 16 or 17 and “he had lost his billfold”. Times were a lot more simple without computers and instant ID recognition. So for some reason when he didn’t show up for a court date, the Burnet Country Sheriff’s department showed up at my house to haul me to juvenile jail. Well, we did have the same last name ! I ratted him out because I’d … Continue reading Carroll Ray Lewis truly was “One of a Kind”.
Angora Chronicles 