Crazy Times, Kenny Lewis, The Early DaysLeave a comment

On A Quest To Buy A Truck

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On the day after Thanksgiving in 1977 Kenny and I went to Cross Plains, Texas to look at a potential truck purchase to haul our equipment with. We started out from Smithwick. We were both there with our families where we were spending the holidays with our mom and dad. Being a 3 hour trip up to the northwest we left early in the morning and arrived in Cross Plains by 8:00 AM. We had seen an ad for this used truck dealer in a magazine. When we got there, they had a sea of trucks on the lot. We … Continue reading On A Quest To Buy A Truck

Crazy Times, Marble Falls and the Area Around it., My Friends, The Early Days1 Comment

The 13 Vehicle Accident In Marble Falls

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Usually you think of multi-car wrecks happening in Austin or Houston or Dallas. Like a pile up on the freeway. A little known or remembered fact is there was a wreck that happened right in Marble Falls, Texas that involved 13 vehicles back in the spring of 1970. I was involved. It was my senior year and I only went to school in the mornings and worked at a local car dealership in the afternoon. This one afternoon things weren’t to busy at the car lot so I ran home and grabbed a small trailer mounted air compressor and headed … Continue reading The 13 Vehicle Accident In Marble Falls

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The Double Cross

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There are things that happen in our lives that leave us wondering about human nature. This story left me feeling less trustful. I had become very good friends with an old gentleman that was my neighbor. Upon his retiring after a long and successful career as an excavation contractor in Austin, I bought his office and yard and several pieces of his equipment. I didn’t buy his business per se, and I’ve alway questioned why I didn’t. He had almost cornered the market on doing the big excavation projects around Austin. Oh well, I guess things work out. One of … Continue reading The Double Cross

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A Young Man And His Dog

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Thinking about and talking about goats today brought to mind perhaps the finest and best trained Border Collie that ever lived. Rennie was her name. She belonged to my brother Kenny. He got her at about 6 months old when he was a freshman in high school. He raised her and trained her. She was good working goats or cattle, as long as Kenny was there to give her commands. He got her to the point that he could walk out of the door at the house and tell her to go get the goats. The goats were always housed … Continue reading A Young Man And His Dog

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Lacy Dog, Blue Lacy, Lacy Hog Dog or just a Lacy

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By whatever name you call it, it’s all the same thing it appears. But one thing there is not in dispute about; they have a real history right here in Burnet County and the surrounding area. The following link credits HC Wilkes with starting to call them Blue Lacy’s in the 1990’s. I sure remember that being the one thing they were called well before 1990, most likely by HC Wilkes and many other others. I think the most common name I heard was Lacy Hog Dog. The article below tells us a lot about the breed. Check out the … Continue reading Lacy Dog, Blue Lacy, Lacy Hog Dog or just a Lacy

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EXCAVATING FOR A NEW BANK BUILDING

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Back in 1978 my company contracted to excavate for the new Capitol National Bank. It was the largest job of that type that Lewis Contractors had ever taken on. Considering it was excavating 30′ deep a full block square downtown Austin from 7th to 8th St. between Guadalupe and Lavaca and it was solid limestone rock it had its challenges. The only real way to accomplish a project like that was to blast. If I remember correctly, we did it in around 60 days. Considering the equipment we had to work with in those days, it seems remarkable to me … Continue reading EXCAVATING FOR A NEW BANK BUILDING

Crazy Times, My FriendsLeave a comment

The Precast Concrete Venture That Exposed Me To A Ponzi Scheme

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The year was 1991. I had spent 20 years digging ditches and I thought enough is enough. The economy was in the crapper. The great real estate boom of the 80’s was over and all the big water and wastewater lines had been constructed to the far reaches of the city and beyond in Austin. The future didn’t look so swell for our business. I needed a break. I thought it was time for some new scenery, so to speak. I had two groups of employees by that time. The old and the new. It was time for the old … Continue reading The Precast Concrete Venture That Exposed Me To A Ponzi Scheme

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Watch What You Say. You Never Know Who’s Listening

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I met a friend for breakfast every morning when were working together. When I got to the restaurant this one morning my friend Gerry wasn’t there yet but I took a seat at our regular table. One table away was a older man, very pleasant sort of fellow and we struck up a conversation about the first one thing and then the other. After a bit Gerry came in an took a seat. We chatted like we did every morning. Nothing real deep. The conversation got around to “did your in laws make it in last night” kind of talk. … Continue reading Watch What You Say. You Never Know Who’s Listening

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The Mystery Of The Drunk Driver

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It was at dusk on Sunday evening 12/15/13. As I drove north on I35 nearing Hillsboro, Texas I had an encounter with an apparent drunk driver. In front of me I saw a white S-10 Chevrolet pickup (an older vehicle – late 90’s model) that was all over the road. Traffic was heavy. He took an 18 wheeler completely to the shoulder of the highway. I decided to hold back to observe. The pickup continued to drive erratically. I dialed 911. When the dispatcher answered, I gave her the details that I was observing. By that time we had passed … Continue reading The Mystery Of The Drunk Driver

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Selling Firewood

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While it’s probably evident that I enjoy talking about myself, I have a few stories to tell that were told to me along the way. This one provided a good lesson, that proves up that things are not always as they seem. Years ago I had an accountant working for me that previously had worked for a wealthy gentleman over in Rockdale. GK was the accountant, Pete Coffield was his previous employer. Mr. Coffield was in almost any business where he could make money. His earlier years, during the Depression, he had a little money so he hired guys to … Continue reading Selling Firewood