Category: Thoughts and Musings

Amazing Things, Marble Falls and the Area Around it., Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

Dennis Gerald Skinner – Burnet County Hero

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Yesterday a story was floated around here about a young child that was brought before the whole school or at least his class and given licks for taking something that didn’t belong to him. I wasn’t present when it happened but somehow I remember hearing about it. It was sort of a legendary thing around campus, I guess. I knew Dennis in a very minor way, running across him from time to time. The last time, he came and interviewed with me for a job, sometime in the late 1990’s. I remember we met at a job site near US … Continue reading Dennis Gerald Skinner – Burnet County Hero

Amazing Things, Crazy Times, My Friends, The Construction Biz, Thoughts and Musings2 Comments

And This Fellow Loaned Me, A Complete Stranger $50,000

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Back in the Winfield days of my construction career, we found ourselves a bit short of making a payroll one week. Winfield went to his former employer, the owner of a large CPA firm in Austin and asked him to make us a loan. Without any hesitation he agreed to spot us $50,000. His only request was that I come down to his office so we could meet. I met Winfield there and we went in. Without additional fanfare Mr. Simpson called his check writer person’s extension and requested a check. We walked out of that office with a check, … Continue reading And This Fellow Loaned Me, A Complete Stranger $50,000

Crazy Times, The Construction Biz, The Early Days, Thoughts and Musings1 Comment

Paul Could Fix Anything

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I had a fellow worked for me for a long time. I guess 12 or 14 years. He could fix anything. He came from a family of mechanics. Let me rephrase that sentence above. The could get about anything running again. He never did it in a conventional way. One day he was out away from anything. Five miles to a phone and a lot further to anyone that could help him, when a tire went flat on his pickup. It was a slow leak he’d been neglecting. He made an air up device with a spark plug that he … Continue reading Paul Could Fix Anything

Marble Falls and the Area Around it., Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

The Dam Across The “Marble” Falls

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There was a discussion today on The Angora Chronicles Facebook Group about Marble Falls being named that, when it is really famous for its pink granite. I explained that Marble Falls got its name due to the natural falls that occurred just a few hundred feet upstream of the US 281 bridge that crosses the Colorado River on south end Marble Falls. I also said that there was a naming mistake calling the rock there marble when it is actually a much harder rock, dolomite. The dolomite found in the Marble Falls area is darker in color, to an almost … Continue reading The Dam Across The “Marble” Falls

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

Texas Crushed Stone Georgetown, Texas

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Most 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 in Austin 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. Being in the construction business building roads and underground utility lines all around central Texas for more than 4 decades we have used a lot … Continue reading Texas Crushed Stone Georgetown, Texas

Amazing Things, In and Around Austin, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

How Different Things Were In Austin Back In 1960

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A while back on another group I’m on, we were commenting about Bruce’s & Barnett’s Pies made me think about the other things that were happening around Austin around that same time. It made me realize how simple our lives were five and half decades ago. The selections of eateries was really limited, but people didn’t eat out very often. Eating out was a special occasion instead of a way of life. My first memory of eating in a real restaurant was when I was 6 or 7. We were traveling home to Jollyville and it was getting late so … Continue reading How Different Things Were In Austin Back In 1960

Amazing Things, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

Mary Ann Muldoon

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Once again Facebook and The Angora Chronicles came through. (June 9, 2016) A couple of days ago, a letter showed up at the Marble Falls Post Office. It was addressed to the Post Master. In the letter was a note and eight photographs that were taken back in the 40s. The author of the note said she had an old friend, from childhood that she lost touch with and hadn’t spoken to in about 25 years. She gave the lady’s family name and her married name, as of 25 years ago. The 85 year old lady wanted help finding this … Continue reading Mary Ann Muldoon

Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

Finger Pointing

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I have a young man, Luis, working around the place making things look pretty. I went and bought him a brand new chainsaw not long ago. I purchased the cheapest one I could lay my hands on, because, let’s say I wasn’t expecting him to be the most careful with it. No need screwing up a $500 saw when you can do the same thing with a $130 saw. It was a Craftsman brand and required the use of 40:1 gas mixture, instead of 50:1 like most other 2 cycle engines. I bought the premixed cans of gas, so we … Continue reading Finger Pointing

Amazing Things, My Friends, The Construction Biz, The Early Days, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

The Summer Of 1961

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Much of our summer of “61” was spent down in Woodsboro, Texas. Our dad was the chief inspector for Marvin Turner Engineers in Austin. He was sent to Woodsboro to oversee a complete makeover of the Water and Wastewater system. Knowing that we needed to do stuff that regular city kids did, we started off the summer by going to Austin and Navy Store on Congress to buy baseball gloves. I still have mine 60 years later. A new start up company, B & T Construction from Port Lavaca had the contracts to perform the work. I turned 9 years … Continue reading The Summer Of 1961

Crazy Times, Thoughts and Musings4 Comments

The Turtle Rescuer Girl

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At our family reunion in 2013 my cousin Gerald Kirkland and his daughter Shannon came from Arkansas. After the reunion was over they came to visit Madeline and me in Corpus Christi for a couple of days. To give them a look at the Gulf Coast we drove out to the Padre Island National Seashore to hunt for seashells and look around. It’s a very primitive area where there are few people unlike other areas of the beach on Padre or Mustang Island’s. It was in turtle hatching season. The US Park Service hires college students that they have out … Continue reading The Turtle Rescuer Girl