Category: The Jollyville Years

Past Angora Chronicles Stories, The Jollyville Years, Thoughts and Musings2 Comments

Vernon Blizzard

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I found out years later it was Blisard. With the temperatures cooling down a little, let me tell you about a Blizzard I once experienced. His name was Vernon Blizzard. He worked with my grandmother Ruby at the State School that was in West Austin in the early 60s. I don’t know what Vernon did at work but away from work he traded in Shetland Ponies. He didn’t just deal in them he was was a major Shetland Pony Trafficker. If you, like many parents of that day wanted your child to have a Shetland Pony you went to Vernon … Continue reading Vernon Blizzard

My Friends, The Jollyville Years, Thoughts and Musings3 Comments

Hey Y’all I Have A Serious Question

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When someone recommends a book to you, and as you read it, it has very sexually graphic parts in it, how do you feel about it. Are you left thinking – Why am I reading this trash ? The author could have done this book without such language? Why wasn’t I warned more about this? Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not a 70 year old male prude. I can read just about anything. Books can be very graphic and I’m not bothered at all by it. Life in itself is very graphic. The human animal can be very graphic. … Continue reading Hey Y’all I Have A Serious Question

Amazing Things, Another Daily Happening, Crazy Times, My Friends, The Jollyville Years, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

The “55” Chevrolet 3/4 Ton Pickup With Sideboards

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Cecil picked up this slightly used Texas Highway Department Pickup at a sale somewhere. That was along about 1961, so the old truck had a lot of good left it it. It was Highway Department Yellow, with the state emblem sanded off of each front door, making it not very attractive. To class it up a bit he had a fellow paint it for him. Cec never did have much of an eye for colors so he went and picked out a color I’d never seen a vehicle painted before or since. I guess it would be something between a … Continue reading The “55” Chevrolet 3/4 Ton Pickup With Sideboards

Another Daily Happening, Crazy Times, The Jollyville Years, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

Our Dancing Pumps

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My brother and I, growing up in a big rock pile in the late 50s and 60s, out on Spicewood Springs Rd, were very hard on shoes and cowboy boots. We could go through a pair of black hightop Keds in a few weeks. We always got black ones, because the white ones sure wouldn’t stand the test of time. I’d be off in a mud hole the first day. We had cowboy boots, mostly of the pointy toe variety. Round toe boots didn’t make a real entry until later in the 60s, it seems. But the leather soles on … Continue reading Our Dancing Pumps

Crazy Times, The Early Days, The Jollyville YearsLeave a comment

Building Campfires

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When we were kids we played outside all year round. In those years we lived down in the Bull Creek area, just out of Jollyville. We grew up getting most of our heat from wood, be it in indoors with a fireplace or outdoors by a fire. Weather didn’t seem to be that big of a deal. We played outside regardless of how cold or hot it was. When it was real cold we just carried more wood and built our campfires bigger. In the summertime a small fire was built so it wouldn’t give off much heat. On those … Continue reading Building Campfires

Amazing Things, Crazy Times, Funny Happenings, The Jollyville Years, Thoughts and Musings4 Comments

More About Pond Springs School

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I attended a 3 room school in Jollyville for my first 7 years.First – Third in one room.Forth – Sixth in another.Seventh & Eighth in the other. By the time I got to the 7th grade there were only 2 grades per room with the 8th grade being eliminated and the 7th grade was moved into the Principal’s office. It was a big Principal’s office, but it doubled as the mimeograph room, the ice cream store and storage too. (Picture included below) More on the ice cream store at a later date.The enrollment had grown to where the little school … Continue reading More About Pond Springs School

Crazy Times, Funny Happenings, The Jollyville Years, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

A Lesson Learned Young

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I’m guessing I was probably in the 3rd grade and Kenny was in the 5th. Mr. Henniger was the principal at Pond Springs School, the little 3 room school we attended in Jollyville. After we ate our lunch each day, in the Mr. Henniger’s office there was a chest type freezer where he kept ice cream bars. If you had your nickel you could buy a ice cream sandwich or a fudgesicle to eat out on the playground. He would go in there and we’d all line up and watch as he unlocked the freezer with a key on the … Continue reading A Lesson Learned Young

Aging, Amazing Things, The Jollyville Years, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment
Sticky post

I’m Not Sure They Ever Bought Into My Jollyville Stories

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Below is a screenshot of a story I wrote one time about how my early life was and how telling my own sons (and my very skeptical wife) about it and the friendships I made all those many years ago at the little country school I attended. It truly was and is a magical part of my life. Facebook has helped me to reconstruct so much of that era through reconnecting with so many of those early friends made six decades and more ago. My Memories Live On Thru Facebook And The Angora Chronicles. Continue reading I’m Not Sure They Ever Bought Into My Jollyville Stories

Amazing Things, The Jollyville Years, Thoughts and Musings2 Comments

The Smells Of Going To School In The “Old Days” At Pond Springs.

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Our 7th grade classroom was the principals office which also doubled as the administration office. Mr.Scotty Pyle, the Principal, taught us. A Ditto machine like the picture below was kept in that room. In the days before a Xerox Machine, methanol and isopropanol was used in the duplicating process. That smell was always present in that room. It being a 3 classroom school, each teacher taught 2 grades, so 3 teachers, the principle (he was our teacher), the lunchroom lady and her helper. There may have been a janitor/maintenance man, but I don’t remember one. The kids swept the floors … Continue reading The Smells Of Going To School In The “Old Days” At Pond Springs.

The Early Days, The Jollyville Years, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

What’s In The Name ?

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The reason I took to the name – The Angora Chronicles – Angora goats were mine and my brother Kenny’s first business venture.The year was 1960. Shelton Kennedy (one of my Dads very best friends) was a goat man.When it came time to sell off his years kid crop, he sold 20 freshly weaned goats to us each. We had no money so he let us pay him after we had sheared them and collected the money. He sold the goats to us for $2 each.We lived on 65 acres of the hilliest, rockiest pasture land in all of central … Continue reading What’s In The Name ?