Category: The Early Days

My Friends, Smithwick, The Early DaysLeave a comment

Big Jim’s Ride

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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

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

The Gift

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Some of my best memories growing up was hauling hay and doing the hard work. I’m not sure why those are my best memories, but they are. A few years ago when Madeline and I turned 60, our kids along with Kenny and Carol threw us a grand party out at Kenny’s place on Cow Creek. Jimmy Palmer brought me one of the best gifts I could have received. It was his hay hook that had hung in his barn for all these years. He wanted me to have it to remind me of the time that when he got … Continue reading The Gift

Another Daily Happening, Crazy Times, My Friends, The Early DaysLeave a comment

Big Jimmy Got An Ear Full

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I told you a story about Big Jimmy Palmer giving the workers Feenamint Gum on the job one day and we lost the whole crew for that day. I’m not sure if anyone around, including those workers knew what had happened or if they thought they’d eaten some bad taco’s for breakfast. Along about that same time period, while on the same job, Jimmy and I drove back and forth Marble Falls to Austin everyday. This was circa 1972. Since I was furnishing the pickup we figured Jimmy could do the driving. An arraignment that worked pretty well, especially for … Continue reading Big Jimmy Got An Ear Full

Crazy Times, On The Job, The Early DaysLeave a comment

The Day Jimmy Shut The Job Down

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We were running short on work one time when Big Jimmy and I were young guys. We went over to help a competitor get caught up. Big Jimmy was a real pushover. He always carried packages of gum. All the labor crew would aggravate him about wanting a stick of gum. It was costing him a small fortune to keep them all in chewing gum. Or at least that was his claim. He was complaining about that when we made our morning stop at a store. There in the sundries were packages of Feen-A-Mint Gum. I said give them each … Continue reading The Day Jimmy Shut The Job Down

The Early DaysLeave a comment

My Quest For The Greatest Ride

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I was a late bloomer in many ways. I always longed to ride anything on 2 wheels. But living out in the country in what was the biggest rock pile imaginable, out on the creek a few miles from Jollyville, left it almost impossible for me to learn to ride a bicycle. One day while visiting friends in Austin I tried out my first ride on a bicycle. I was probably 8 or 9 years old. I got the hang of it that day. I somehow came up with an old style, very rugged bicycle to ride back out in … Continue reading My Quest For The Greatest Ride

Meeting New People, On The Job, The Early DaysLeave a comment

The Two Drifters

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Back in the days when we were doing the Guadalupe River State Park in 1981-1982 we had a lot of characters that worked on that project. One day a couple of guys walked up with backpacks on and ask for a job. They were probably about 20 years old. We had a bunk trailer onsite that had about 8 or 10 bunks in it. We let them move in. Summer and winter the guys mostly cooked out on a campfire or on a BBQ pit. They all would sit around the fire and tell stories and drink beer until all … Continue reading The Two Drifters

Amazing Things, Smithwick, The Early Days2 Comments

How Great Is The Internet !

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While looking through a box of old papers and memorabilia, my brother sent me a photo of a card and it’s envelope that was addressed to our grandfather in 1938 at an Austin address. We knew he spent a long duration in the hospital back then due to a ruptured appendix. We surmised that perhaps St. David’s Hospital was at 205 Caney St. in its early years. I knew we had a conversation on another FB group a while back about the old St. David’s, complete with photos. So that pretty well eliminated it being on Caney St. in 1938. … Continue reading How Great Is The Internet !

Marble Falls and the Area Around it., The Early Days, Thoughts and Musings3 Comments

Some History Of Feed Stores In Marble Falls – The Early Days

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We ran across a receipt in an old wallet than belonged to my Grandfather, Theron Lewis. He passed away in 1958. The receipt was for a ton of cattle cubes from Winters Supply Company in Marble Falls. It was dated 8-12-1953. I was not familiar with the business so I called Sam Burnam to see if that was the same business owned by his family, maybe at an earlier time. According to Sam, it was a different business and location. Winters Supply was located at the back of Bill Smiths Mobil Station that was at Highway 281 and 4th Street, … Continue reading Some History Of Feed Stores In Marble Falls – The Early Days

Smithwick, The Early DaysLeave a comment

Some History Of Driver’s License In Texas

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Below is a copy of the driver’s license of my Great Grandfather, Francis (Frank) P. Lewis. He would have obtained his in the very early days after they started to issue them, February 26, 1936 with it becoming a requirement on April 1, 1936. I guess he couldn’t fathom paying a $200 fine for not having it. A Younger Frank Lewis Below Is An Older Frank P. Lewis just prior to his passing in 1956. This is a copy of a DL of my Grandfather, Andrew Theron Lewis. He died in 1958. This is a copy of a DL of … Continue reading Some History Of Driver’s License In Texas

The Early DaysLeave a comment

One Of The Strangest Things

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For all the stories I’ve told on here and circumstances I grew up with, I don’t think my Mother or any of my Grandmother’s ever heard me say a curse word prior to me being grown. This was not because we grew up in a highly religious home. My mother was a spiritual person but she didn’t attend church regularly. I attended church with my Grandmother Leona, but I didn’t exactly fall in line there. It was a different time we lived in. We actually knew how to turn course language on and off. I guess it was more out … Continue reading One Of The Strangest Things