Category: Uncategorized

Cecil Lewis, Crazy Times, On The Job, UncategorizedLeave a comment

The Young Detectives

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Our dad was working for an old time contractor by the name of Holland Page, installing a new wastewater system all around the town of Gatesville. The year was probably 1963. That summer we went there part of the time to spend with him. He had an apartment rented. They had a guy working previously that was trying to make an insurance claim for a back injury that supposedly happened on the job. Cec, my dad, knew that wasn’t possible because “the guy had been too lazy to pickup anything“. After talking to various people around town, this fellow had … Continue reading The Young Detectives

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Harold Crider Was A Great Bulldozer Contractor

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He was honest, hard working and ran a really great operation. A man to be admired. Whether building a stock tank or pushing and piling brush, he could get it done. He had really great operators working for him. As much as I remember watching and looking up to him (even though you had to be fairly short to actually look up “to” him) there was one peculiar thing that I most remember. He always hauled his dozers around on a float type trailer (that’s a trailer that the bed is approximately 5′ off the ground) instead of a lowboy … Continue reading Harold Crider Was A Great Bulldozer Contractor

Another Daily Happening, Cecil Lewis, Crazy Times, The Early Days, UncategorizedLeave a comment

We Did Things Much Differently Back Then

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I grew up around construction equipment and trucks. In the 60s when I was in high school, my dad, Cecil Lewis ran a fleet of dump trucks. Among other things we had the contract to haul the blasted rock from the Pure Stone Quarry out south of Marble Falls back to the crusher in town. Even as young and as small as I was at 14 or 15, I would single-handedly pull transmissions and replace clutches in those old dump trucks and did brake jobs. I knew how to do all that then. For sure, there was always a lot … Continue reading We Did Things Much Differently Back Then

In and Around Austin, UncategorizedLeave a comment

How Different Things Were In 1960 In Austin

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A while back on another group I’m on, we were commenting about Bruce’s & Barnett’s Fried 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 almost six 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 1960 In Austin

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You Never Know Who You’ll See In Vegas

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One time playing blackjack in Las Vegas there was a fellow sitting at the other end of the table. I finally put together who he was. Rollie Fingers the MLB pitching great. Being amused by this, then another guy set down beside me. It was Catfish Hunter, another MLB pitching great. We played for a long time with neither of the 2 ball players acknowledging the other. The thing about the two of them that I knew the best – they both were known for their mustaches and I knew they both had played for the Oakland A’s, but I … Continue reading You Never Know Who You’ll See In Vegas

My Friends, The Early Days, UncategorizedLeave a comment

The Holiday Motel

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My accountant for several years back in the early days was a fellow by the name of GK Worley. He had been employed by HH “Pete” Coffield over in Rockdale for a number of years. There were many good stories that Worley told me from his time there. The following one being typical of those stories. Mr. Coffield had many business venture throughout the years. If he thought he could make money at something he wouldn’t hesitate to jump in. The town of Rockdale needed another motel, so he went to work opening up one on the eastern edge of … Continue reading The Holiday Motel

Crazy Times, On The Job, The Early Days, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Cleaning Golf Balls

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When all moved from Marble Falls we rented places Oak Hill, on Highway 71 out west of town. Madeline and I had our own mobile home. At the same trailer park in a rented trailer was Jimmy Palmer, Glenn Lewis and Jeff Carter. They mostly comprised my crew at that time. In the summertime of 1972 were working on a project at Lakeway. We were helping build a condo project, one of the first ones at Lakeway, which was a fairly small community in those days. One part of our project called for us to drain a pond at the … Continue reading Cleaning Golf Balls