Category: Thoughts and Musings

Amazing Things, In and Around Austin, Past Angora Chronicles Stories, The Early Days, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

The Man in the Little 4 Foot Wide Watch Repair Shop

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We were driving down Guadalupe by the State Hospital a while back. I glanced over to see something I hadn’t thought about in years. The tiny watch repair shop. As a small boy I had been there several times with my mother to drop off or pickup a watch. Back in an earlier day (the early 60s) watches needed repairing, cleaning or adjusting pretty often. I guess I was puzzled by not only how small the place was, but how the watch fixer was able to get into such a small place. Then one day we arrived at about the … Continue reading The Man in the Little 4 Foot Wide Watch Repair Shop

Crazy Times, My Family, My Friends, Smithwick, The Early Days, Thoughts and Musings1 Comment

Gifts That Kept On Giving

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When I was about 11 or 12 I started collecting cigarette coupons. Benson and Hedges coupons. You could trade them for prizes out of a catalog, just like trading stamps. There were two or three brands that fell under the B&H brand so they all had a little coupon attached to the package, beneath the cellophane cover. Extra rewards came when you bought a carton. Back in the 60s just about every adult that I was around smoked. Socks and Lois Jackson were still married at that time and I spent a lot of time over there with them. Lois … Continue reading Gifts That Kept On Giving

Amazing Things, Cecil Lewis, Past Angora Chronicles Stories, Texas History, The Construction Biz, The Early Days, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

Woodsboro, Texas

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it was the summer of 1961. I would turn 9 in late August. An engineering firm from Austin, Marvin Turner Engineers sent my dad down as the Chief Inspector for a project to upgrade the water and sewer systems for the City of Woodsboro. There were pipes being laid all over town, the wastewater plant was upgraded and the water tower was being sandblasted and repainted. Our family, well my mother, brother and I went down to spend the summer with him as it was a very active time and required him to be there all the time. While all … Continue reading Woodsboro, Texas

Amazing Things, In and Around Austin, The Construction Biz, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

Is It A Lighthouse ?

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This very unique water tower/standpipe is located on a hill top above Mansfield Dam, overlooking Lake Travis. I think it is sitting atop of McCormick Mt. Besides being a good looking specimen, it is special to me in another way. My company had the contract to build this structure in about 1986 or 1987. We hired a tank builder to actually construct the welded tank, while we performed all the associated work. It would have looked more like the last picture when we completed it (blue plain tank). One day, several years ago, I was driving down Highway 620 and … Continue reading Is It A Lighthouse ?

Amazing Things, In and Around Austin, Past Angora Chronicles Stories, The Construction Biz, The History of Texas, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

Austin White Lime – Austin, Texas

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Strange how much of it doesn’t look so much different 134 years later. I was informed that Austin White Lime ceased producing products in August 2024 and preparations are being made to get the property ready for its next life. HISTORY – Austin White Lime Company, Ltd. was founded in 1888 as Martin and Walker, with A.F. Martin serving as president and proprietor. Around 1891, the company become officially known as Austin White Lime Company, Ltd. The company quickly gained a reputation for manufacturing quality products and was recognized in prominent publications for that time. The Industrial Advantages of Austin, … Continue reading Austin White Lime – Austin, Texas

Amazing Things, In and Around Austin, Past Angora Chronicles Stories, The History of Texas, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

Georgetown Railroad

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This invitation I received was from a few years ago. (6 1/2 years ago) This is a very well run operation. By operating their own railroad, I’ve been told puts them in a very unique and enviable position in the crushed stone industry. When they ship products from their crusher to locales far away on GRR, they collect the lion share of the freight fee (something like 80%) since it is the point of origin. That’s just the way the system is setup. The story as I heard it, Mr. Snead tried to get various rail companies to service them … Continue reading Georgetown Railroad

Amazing Things, Construction, In and Around Austin, Past Angora Chronicles Stories, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

The Expansion of Austin to the Northwest

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No name is larger than David B Barrow when thinking of the expansion of Austin to the north and west. Far West, Greystone, Mesa Dr., the Cat Mountain area and beyond can all be credited to David B Barrow. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northwest_Hills,_Austin,_Texas David B Barrow – the master developer of Northwest Hills of Austin, showing his arrowhead / artifacts collection. 1949 https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth62954/ Continue reading The Expansion of Austin to the Northwest

Amazing Things, Past Angora Chronicles Stories, Texas History, The Construction Biz, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

Texas Crushed Stone

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Everyone has driven by the huge rock crushing plant between Round Rock and Georgetown. How many know where it was located prior to move there in the late 50s? The area along Mopac and from Far West Blvd south was the original location for this operation. The area where Doss Elementary & Murchison Jr. High is located was once being blasted away to make limestone road base used all around the city. Below in the article where it says Bill Snead, the son E.B. Snead begin working at the quarry operation in 1965, I know for a fact that he … Continue reading Texas Crushed Stone

Past Angora Chronicles Stories, The Early Days, Thoughts and Musings1 Comment

Looking Back At The Civil War

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I know the political climate in this country is poor at best right now. Please respect that this post is not meant to be a sounding board for any political persuasion. It is to illustrate something different. With our past there has always been turmoil with our government leaders and most likely always will be. I ran across something I thought was really indicative of how divided the country was over the outcome of the Civil War and its right there in the Marble Falls Cemetery. While researching a family name, that I think has long since died off or … Continue reading Looking Back At The Civil War

Cecil Lewis, Crazy Times, The Construction Biz, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

Learning To Eat Foods You Hate

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When I was about 13 years old, on a hot summer day Cec took me to a John Deere Front End Loader on the top of Taylor Mountain, as we always called it. From up there you could see Marble Falls, because you were up there looking down. It was far into the distance. I was clearing off the brush on several lots and then leveled them up for future building. It was early in the morning when he dropped me and I didn’t think about taking a jug of water. When noon rolled around I had never seen anyone. … Continue reading Learning To Eat Foods You Hate