Category: The Early Days

The Early Days, Thoughts and Musings5 Comments

A Day Like Today Makes Me Think Back…….

lewisotr

……to the old chest type coke machines that kept the bottles in a bath of cold water.The drinks were the coldest of any you could find. Sometimes the flavor you wanted would be down the line and you’d have to work to reorganize them into other tracks until you finally slid the bottle along metal rails to the flip gate that was activated when you dropped your money in the slot. It actually took effort to pull hard enough to get them out. (Only people that used this type of coke machine will understand what I’m saying) I think the … Continue reading A Day Like Today Makes Me Think Back…….

Crazy Times, The Early DaysLeave a comment

The Crash (this was originally written Nov. 6, 2016)

lewisotr

Traveling through Liberty Hill on our way home from our anniversary brunch I am reminded of a story that happened just a couple of weeks before we married in November of “71”. I was working in Burnet and Madeline was living in South Austin with Dixie Lewis and another gal. On Wednesday nights I’d drive to Austin to court her, spend the night and head out early the next morning so as to arrive in Burnet by 7:00 AM. Now when I say I would go court her, it was actually more like picking Madeline and Dixie up and heading … Continue reading The Crash (this was originally written Nov. 6, 2016)

My Friends, The Early Days, UncategorizedLeave a comment

The Holiday Motel

lewisotr

My accountant for several years back in the early days was a fellow by the name of GK Worley. He had been employed by HH “Pete” Coffield over in Rockdale for a number of years. There were many good stories that Worley told me from his time there. The following one being typical of those stories. Mr. Coffield had many business venture throughout the years. If he thought he could make money at something he wouldn’t hesitate to jump in. The town of Rockdale needed another motel, so he went to work opening up one on the eastern edge of … Continue reading The Holiday Motel

Another Daily Happening, Construction, Crazy Times, On The Job, The Early DaysLeave a comment

A Slight Miscalculation

lewisotr

We were working in Lakeway laying a wastewater off a really steep hill. This was back in the late 1970’s. I ordered gravel that came all the way from Georgetown. I would place an order for 200 tons, about 10 truckloads, but 2 trucks would show up. The next day the same scenario played out. We were really needing some gravel, if we were ever going to finish that job. I decided I would get that truckers attention so I ordered 1000 tons. I figured that way I may get my 200 tons that I needed. I was a Friday. … Continue reading A Slight Miscalculation

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

The Disease (rewrite)

lewisotr

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

lewisotr

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

lewisotr

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

Crazy Times, On The Job, The Early Days, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Cleaning Golf Balls

lewisotr

When all moved from Marble Falls we rented places Oak Hill, on Highway 71 out west of town. Madeline and I had our own mobile home. At the same trailer park in a rented trailer was Jimmy Palmer, Glenn Lewis and Jeff Carter. They mostly comprised my crew at that time. In the summertime of 1972 were working on a project at Lakeway. We were helping build a condo project, one of the first ones at Lakeway, which was a fairly small community in those days. One part of our project called for us to drain a pond at the … Continue reading Cleaning Golf Balls

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

Hay Hauling – Smithwick Style

lewisotr

At 15 cents per bale, three young boys could make a fortune hauling hay or so we thought. Our Dad furnished the pickup, a 55 Chevy ¾ ton with a 4 speed and a 6 cylinder engine. But we had to pay for gas, which was cheap – $.30 per gal and flat repairs, which was a big unknown. We kept several spare tires around just in case. That’s what you did back in those days. Kenny was the driver, the pusher, the big boss man of the bunch. That left big Jimmy Palmer and me to load the hay … Continue reading Hay Hauling – Smithwick Style

My Friends, Smithwick, The Early DaysLeave a comment

Big Jim’s Ride

lewisotr

Jim and Hanna put Jimmy in his first vehicle, a “53” Chevrolet 1/2 ton step-side pickup. It was a red color, with a few dents all around it, but it was solid. (This is about the best photo I could find to replicate that old pickup) He drove that old pickup for a few years before he bought Wallace Herberts gold “65” Impala. (This is a close resemblance to his Impala) I would say he wasn’t real easy on a vehicle, but he was always able to keep them going. That’s probable a good testament to how well built vehicles … Continue reading Big Jim’s Ride