Pleasant Valley Community – Martin Co. Texas

I rarely find any information on this community, but I know my grandparents lived in this clapboard house there. There was a school at one time in the 1920’s and my father started to school there. A few years later, my father and his siblings rode horseback to a one room school in Patricia. The only thing I saw of the school or community was a mulberry tree and a piece of concrete which was said to be part of the steps of the school.Royce Scott in his “My Rambling History of Patricia, Tx.” mentions the Pleasant Valley School. His … Continue reading Pleasant Valley Community – Martin Co. Texas

The Angora Goat Industry In Texas Owes It All (or at least a big part) To This Man – William Leslie Black

This link is to a paper written by Christine Reh Wyse back in 1995. It is a story of a great advocate of Cattle, Sheep & Angora Goat Ranching in early Texas. https://www.facebook.com/groups/729839877052650/1670117333024895/ The barn below is the cannery building where Goat Meat was canned to go to market. (Still Standing) EXCERPT FROM THE WYSE PAPER“Although the canning process progressed smoothly. Black at first experienced difficulty disposing of his canned meat. At the suggestion of Armour and Company, he had labeled the cans “Roast Mutton.” To promote his product. Black had distributed belt buckles that sported a facsimile of the … Continue reading The Angora Goat Industry In Texas Owes It All (or at least a big part) To This Man – William Leslie Black

Big Time Goat Business

Vol.21-No.4February 20, 1969 Arrott Takes Rain And Shearing Crew Any Time They Come, Even Together TENNYSON, Tex. -Monroe Arrott is shearing about 7000 Angora goats this winter, enough to place him well toward the top among Texas’ larger goat ranchers. He started shearing last Saturday during cold, damp weather even though forecasters predicted rain. These days, he says, he shears when he gets the crew. Almost half a century of goat ranching has taught him how to reduce death loss hazards to a minimum. He has two sheds big enough to shelter 2000 goats each on the Coke County ranch … Continue reading Big Time Goat Business

Grand Prize Lager Beer

Gulf Brewing Company, Houston, Texas Howard Hughes was known for many things, but owning a brewery in Houston wasn’t one I had ever heard of. Howard Hughes’ connection with the Houston-based Hughes Tool Company is fairly well-known. It is less well-known that Hughes started a brewery in Houston, on the grounds of the Hughes Tool Company, called Gulf Brewing Company. Hughes opened the brewery at the end of Prohibition, and its profits helped the tool company survive the Depression. Gulf Brewing Company produced Grand Prize beer, which for a time was the best-selling beer in Texas. It has been reported … Continue reading Grand Prize Lager Beer

Ross Bros. Horse & Mule Company

This was a business that was located at the Fort Worth Stockyards. The barns were wooden and destroyed by a fire on March 14, 1911. It was rebuilt using concrete and steel at a price of $300,000 and were said to be among the finest stables in the world. The Ross Brothers – Waddy, Sam & R.E. became very wealthy selling horses and mules during World War I, sending them to Europe.Once again they sold many more during WW II. Continue reading Ross Bros. Horse & Mule Company