Category: The Early Days

Crazy Times, The Early Days

The Crane Lawsuit

lewisotr

My first experience with being involved in a lawsuit didn’t take long once I got out into the working world. Sometime in late 1970 we leased a truck out to Charlie Evans Trucking. Mr. Evans had been a trucker in Austin for many years and decided to expand his business by opening a terminal in San Antonio. I had just turned 18 years old. I decided it would be a good adventure to go there and live in an old run down motel and make hauls all around San Antonio. The Spur Motel was just a block or so down … Continue reading The Crane Lawsuit

Another Daily Happening, Crazy Times, Kenny Lewis, Smithwick, The Early Days2 Comments

Throwing A D-7 Dozer Off Of The Trailer

lewisotr

Kenny and I went down to Turkey Bend and loaded a D-7 Cat Dozer and was headed back to Smithwick. The road was not paved back then, which was probably in 1968. The bar-ditch was usually wet from the springs that flowed out of the rock outcroppings. It was fairly clean without cedar brush back then. Kenny was driving too fast and got too close to the ditch as he came into the corner. This caused the truck and trailer to slam into a 4′ high vertical bank on the right side with great force. This resulted in truck and … Continue reading Throwing A D-7 Dozer Off Of The Trailer

Another Daily Happening, Crazy Times, Kenny Lewis, Smithwick, The Early Days1 Comment

The Adventures Of Driving Under-Powered Trucks

lewisotr

The 60s were a different time than now when it comes to the horse power of trucks. Today our trucks operate with 500 to 600 horsepower. Back then the common range was 180 to 250 HP. We still hauled equally heavy loads over the same roads as today. Trucks were used much longer and maintained must less than by today’s standards. It was common for when we were hauling a heavy dozer in hillier areas for me to go ahead in a pickup to assist. When we knew there was a grade too steep coming up, Kenny would pull over, … Continue reading The Adventures Of Driving Under-Powered Trucks

My Family, Smithwick, The Early DaysLeave a comment

Let me tell you about Delbert and Nancy Boultinghouse, My Mother’s Parents

lewisotr

This is a story I wrote sometime ago about my mother’s parents and what life was like back in the 1915 throughout their lives. Much, if not all of their married life was spent in Smithwick. Nancy was a member of the Martin Family from Burnet. I think Delbert was raised primarily in Smithwick. From this union came 11 children, 3 boys and 8 girls. They lived on what has always been known to me as the Old Boultinghouse Place, which is a couple of miles east of the Smithwick Cemetery. A quarter of a mile east of Balcones Springs … Continue reading Let me tell you about Delbert and Nancy Boultinghouse, My Mother’s Parents

Amazing Things, Crazy Times, My Friends, The Early DaysLeave a comment

Cruising The UT Drag

lewisotr

The spring of 1971 found me and Jimmy Frasier in Austin one Friday afternoon. Probably for no other reason than hoping to find some excitement. I had a new Chevrolet pickup and we decided a drive down to the Drag was in order. We got as far a 34th street on Guadalupe, heading south when we encountered a red light. A couple of pretty young UT types were in the right lane, with us in the left. Paying more attention to the girls than to driving, when the light changed as they eased off so did we. The only obstacle … Continue reading Cruising The UT Drag

Crazy Times, Marble Falls and the Area Around it., The Early Days, Thoughts and Musings2 Comments

I Have A New Friend

lewisotr

(This is a story written back in 2015) She is not really a new friend, I’ve known this lady for most of my life. But what was just a causal meeting from time to time has develop into a great fondness and friendship during the past few weeks. We were brought together by me calling her to invite her to our MFHS 45th class reunion. One thing lead to another, with me sending her a copy The Angora Chronicles book. You see, Mrs. Doris Phillips taught many Marble Falls students as well as others in places such as Mason, Bertram … Continue reading I Have A New Friend

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

Cec and the Riviera

lewisotr

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

Crazy Times, Funny Happenings, Kenny Lewis, Smithwick, The Early Days1 Comment

The Flying Stick

lewisotr

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

Amazing Things, My Friends, The Construction Biz, The Early DaysLeave a comment

Bud Lockhart – Trucker Extraordinaire

lewisotr

I was about 13 years old, up underneath an old dump truck, single handedly putting in a new clutch. We were allowed to use an old covered platform dock down at Pure Stone for the purpose of working on our trucks. It had originally be put there as a loading dock, to load rail cars, but was no longer needed for that purpose. I could tell that a fellow had walked up and was standing beside the truck. I continued on working. About then this fellow squatted down so he could take in what was happening. We chatted as I … Continue reading Bud Lockhart – Trucker Extraordinaire

Another Daily Happening, Crazy Times, Marble Falls and the Area Around it., My Friends, The Early Days, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

We Were A Couple Of Night Owls

lewisotr

No one else that I know has his first car 50 years later. Much less all the paper work that came with it. If I could write about all the things that happened, just when it was the two of us in that Blue “68” Roadrunner, it would fill several books. Some things would be worth telling, yet others we may not want to admit. We drove the streets of Marble Falls and the roads all around Burnet County almost nightly for a few years, almost always in that Roadrunner. Many times our adventures wouldn’t start until we had each … Continue reading We Were A Couple Of Night Owls