Category: Thoughts and Musings

Marble Falls and the Area Around it., Past Angora Chronicles Stories, Texas History, Thoughts and Musings, TravelsLeave a comment

Trying To Figure Out The History Of US 281 Running Through Burnet County.

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I referenced several sources including newspapers, other written sources and maps to ascertain the history of the main highway that now takes us from Wichita Falls to Brownsville. I am only speaking to the stretch as it extends through Burnet County, as it gets much more complicated trying to talk about the entire stretch as it goes from Canada to Mexico. The photo below is a 1919 map. It doesn’t show an actual road extending from Blanco to Lampasas. (Probably just trails at that time) This map doesn’t show a road from Blanco to San Antonio either. The next two … Continue reading Trying To Figure Out The History Of US 281 Running Through Burnet County.

Amazing Things, Crazy Times, Marble Falls and the Area Around it., Past Angora Chronicles Stories, Thoughts and Musings1 Comment

Ronald “Ronnie” Gene Lewis – Sophomore Class Favorite

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Marble Falls High School – 1967/1968 I had no idea what the quote below the photo meant, so I looked it up. Here is the full poem. Now, I still don’t know what it means, but I never did really understand poetry. https://www.facebook.com/groups/729839877052650/permalink/773138669389437/ Continue reading Ronald “Ronnie” Gene Lewis – Sophomore Class Favorite

Amazing Things, Cowboys & Rodeo, Crazy Times, The History of Texas, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

Kow Bell Arena

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Mansfield, Texas For 45 years (1959-2004) the Kow Bell was the place to go for an indoor rodeo. There was something going on there almost every night. When in the early 1990s we were living in Waxahachie our 2 older sons, Matt & Mike rode for the high school rodeo club there. They participated all around north Texas against other young fellows riding rough stock. Matt rode bulls, while Mike rode bareback horses. For practice they would go to Kow Bell and for $10 they and several of their buddies would ride on certain nights. It is a place of … Continue reading Kow Bell Arena

Cowboys & Rodeo, Crazy Times, The Early Days, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

Going To The Texas Prison Rodeo

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I only have one clear memory of attending the Huntsville Prison Rodeo. It was in the early 60s. I was no more than 10 years old. Our family of four went down there. The rodeo was pretty entertaining. Many of the inmates rode like they didn’t care what happened to them. I guess you’d say they rode with reckless abandon. Candy Barr was the featured entertainment. She was serving a sentence in the Huntsville Women’s Prison at the time. I guess I wasn’t sure what a stripper was at that time. I think she sang rather than taking off her … Continue reading Going To The Texas Prison Rodeo

Amazing Things, Cowboys & Rodeo, Crazy Times, Texas History, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

The Texas Prison Rodeo

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The Texas Prison Rodeo At Huntsville was a favorite of many from 1931 until 1986 when it was discontinued. A good article by Jesse Sublett – April 2012 for Texas Monthly Magazine Prison Rodeo Gone, but Not Forgotten Another piece of Texas history was razed in mid-January when bulldozers unceremoniously demolished the prison rodeo arena in Huntsville, but the memory of the event rides on. With barely a peep from preservationists, another piece of Texas history was razed in mid-January as bulldozers unceremoniously demolished the prison rodeo arena in Huntsville. The brick-and-concrete building, which hadn’t held a prison rodeo since … Continue reading The Texas Prison Rodeo

Cowboys & Rodeo, Marble Falls and the Area Around it., The Early Days, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

Marble Falls Rodeo Association

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Marble Falls, Texas Since 1957 the Marble Falls Rodeo has been going strong. Nothing said summer time back in the early days like “The Rodeo”. Seeing Lloyd Woodley’s trucks loaded with stock rolling into town and a grand parade bringing traffic to a halt on Friday afternoon, the excitement was in the air. You knew it was time to rodeo when the turntable playing Hank Williams records over load speakers at the rodeo grounds (as scratchy as they sounded) could be heard all over town and then that ever familiar voice of Charley Taylor would come across to announce that … Continue reading Marble Falls Rodeo Association

Funny Happenings, In and Around Austin, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

Austin Public Pools

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Fifty to Sixty years ago we went to Shipe Pool mostly, because my grandmother lived about a dozen blocks from there. We went to Northwest Park Pool a fair amount of time. But we also headed down to Barton Springs pretty often and even to Deep Eddy occasionally. Now that I think about it, we spent a lot of time in the public swimming pools, but of course Bull Creek was where we spent most of the hot summer days. Our kids, growing up in far South Austin knew Garrison Pool best of all. They were all great places to … Continue reading Austin Public Pools

Amazing Things, In and Around Austin, The History of Texas, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

Hall Level Manufacturing Company and D & H Foundry

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For many years there were a couple of businesses in East Austin, around 3rd and Comal St. Hall Level made carpentry levels of different varieties and sizes. I’m not certain what other products they produced. Information is fairly limited. Doing a Google search, it appears that they may still be a corporation but I haven’t located an address for them. Across 3rd St from Hall Level, to the north, was D & H Foundry. They made castings of all types, but perhaps their primary business was casting the aluminum levels and other parts for Hall Level. I’m almost certain there … Continue reading Hall Level Manufacturing Company and D & H Foundry

Crazy Times, In and Around Austin, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

The Mormon Missionaries

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I remember how shocking it was. We had lived just a short distance from where it happened just prior to it taking place. It was unthinkable to me that a person could not only kill a couple of young men, but take them into a bandsaw a cut them into little enough pieces that they’d never be seen again. Little did I know that Jeffery Dahmer would be killing and eating people within a year or 2 after that. I know there have been horrendously shocking things going on in this world since the beginning of time, but the Mormon … Continue reading The Mormon Missionaries