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The Gatesville State School For Boys
When I was a kid growing up in the 60s, The Gatesville State School for Boys was the primary place that juvenile delinquent boys were housed. That place had a long and not always a glorious past and was closed in 1979. Following is some history of that place that brought fear in young boys when they were told “You’d Better Straighten Up Or You’ll End Up In Gatesville”. Believe me, we understood that language. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gatesville_State_School Continue reading The Gatesville State School For Boys
Come Along With Me On An Odyssey
We have all lived through a hellish nightmare for the past two years. We lost relatives and close friends. Many of us have endured sickness like nothing we have ever experienced. People have suffered financially. We have been unable to do the things we have been accustomed to. Others have lost their jobs and their careers upended by this epidemic. I decided to explain to my friends what I have personally gone through. Not as a way to garner sympathy, but hopefully give certain people some level of comfort. I’ll explain what I mean as we go along. First off … Continue reading Come Along With Me On An Odyssey
Pete and the Boulder Busters
Times have changed a lot in the 50 years that I’ve been in the construction business. The only economical way to excavate rock for installing underground utilities in the first 10 years was blasting with dynamite. It tapered off over the next decades to where that method is rarely even used today. We blasted up and down streets in very congested areas. In my first 4 or 5 years there wasn’t even a city permit required in Austin to transport and use explosives. Anyone dealing with the City of Austin now, would find that hard to believe. Now you need … Continue reading Pete and the Boulder Busters
A Year Long Wait, For Nothing
It just occurred to me that I seldom order anything that I can’t get next day shipping. If I buy something I want to touch and feel in right then and there or at least the next day. People ask why I don’t order new cars or trucks, so I can get them exactly like I want them. I always think, what if I order it and it takes 2 or 3 months to get it, and then it isn’t exactly what I want. That could happen, easily. I can order a pizza for delivery and I’m pacing the floor, … Continue reading A Year Long Wait, For Nothing
Something I Will Always Regret
Back in 1985 I had the opportunity to sell a 50% stake in my construction company to a well established building contractor. It was a transaction that was mutually beneficial to both parties. For me it would allow me to bid whatever size project I desired and have the financial backing to really excel. I had had many years of struggles, with the ups and downs of the economy and me not always making the wisest decisions when it came to the business and financial end of things. By merging with this other company I would still have my own … Continue reading Something I Will Always Regret
My Friend & Classmate Gary
I wrote one time about the summer before I was going on to the 4th grade and losing a friend/classmate to a train crash at US 183 where MOPAC now intersects. There were nothing but warning lights and some said even they weren’t working. He and his father was going into Austin, from Jollyville where we lived and went to school. It was early on a Saturday morning. We were out for summer vacation, but word reached us soon. We had just finished 3rd grade. It was strange returning to school when summer was over. It was our first time … Continue reading My Friend & Classmate Gary
Cecil and Brackenridge Hospital
One night in 1963 my Dad, Cecil Lewis fell sick. We lived out on Bull Creek. This wasn’t the first time he had been deathly ill from the same cause. He had a long history of stomach ulcers since soon after he and momma married in 1948. The doctor told him he would need to stop drinking and watch what he ate. When he felt his ulcer acting up he went on a diet of soda crackers, sweet cows milk and raw eggs. Usually a few days of consuming those three things he would improve and go back to eating … Continue reading Cecil and Brackenridge Hospital
Wilson’s Story
Wilson was a child born probably in the early 1960s. There were siblings I remember hearing, but I’m unsure how they faired in life. Wilson ended up at the Austin State School. A ward of the state. My Granny Ruby worked there for many years in 60s and 70s and maybe even a little in the early 80s. She took a special interest in Wilson. No one every came to see him, so see took him under her wing. It was easy to tell that Wilson never really developed physically or mentally, but he had a sweet disposition about him. … Continue reading Wilson’s Story
A Bank Just For Women
One day in the 80s Kenny was driving and I was the passenger. That’s generally the way we have always have traveled. Who needs to listen to a bunch of belly-aching about my driving? Not me. So I didn’t have to watch the road and see what he was about the crash into, I decided to read the newspaper. There was a story that I found intriguing. It was about this new bank they were opening in Austin and they were only going to have women customers. Relating the story to Kenny got him all stirred up. “This Women’s Lib … Continue reading A Bank Just For Women
Angora Chronicles 