Amazing Things, In and Around Austin, Past Angora Chronicles Stories, The Construction Biz, The History of TexasLeave a comment

Georgetown Rail Equipment Company (GREX)

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Edwin “Ned” deSteiguer Snead(1929 – 2015) (The following is excerpted from his obituary) In 1992, at an age when most men are retiring, Ned created Georgetown Rail Equipment Company (GREX). GREX is a rail services company providing the railroads with specialty equipment and innovative technological products and services to maintain and repair track all over North America. Much of the equipment that GREX uses was invented and patented by Ned, including the DUMP TRAIN, a train that unloads itself by way of a conveyor belt running the length of the train. Also unique to GREX is the SLOT MACHINE, ballast … Continue reading Georgetown Rail Equipment Company (GREX)

Amazing Things, In and Around Austin, Past Angora Chronicles Stories, The History of Texas, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

Georgetown Railroad

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This invitation I received was from a few years ago. (6 1/2 years ago) This is a very well run operation. By operating their own railroad, I’ve been told puts them in a very unique and enviable position in the crushed stone industry. When they ship products from their crusher to locales far away on GRR, they collect the lion share of the freight fee (something like 80%) since it is the point of origin. That’s just the way the system is setup. The story as I heard it, Mr. Snead tried to get various rail companies to service them … Continue reading Georgetown Railroad

Amazing Things, Construction, In and Around Austin, Past Angora Chronicles Stories, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

The Expansion of Austin to the Northwest

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No name is larger than David B Barrow when thinking of the expansion of Austin to the north and west. Far West, Greystone, Mesa Dr., the Cat Mountain area and beyond can all be credited to David B Barrow. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northwest_Hills,_Austin,_Texas David B Barrow – the master developer of Northwest Hills of Austin, showing his arrowhead / artifacts collection. 1949 https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth62954/ Continue reading The Expansion of Austin to the Northwest

Amazing Things, Past Angora Chronicles Stories, Texas History, The Construction Biz, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

Texas Crushed Stone

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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 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. Below in the article where it says Bill Snead, the son E.B. Snead begin working at the quarry operation in 1965, I know for a fact that he … Continue reading Texas Crushed Stone

Amazing Things, Past Angora Chronicles Stories, The History of TexasLeave a comment

Was Buster Brown Really From Bertram?

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I have long heard it told that Buster Brown, the little fellow that advertised Buster Brown Shoes was from Bertram. Well it appears that may be at least partially correct. However, there were probably many Buster Browns that were used throughout the times in advertising campaigns. The Buster Brown of Bertram fame supposedly was Johnny Clifton. He may have been from the community of Oatmeal. I found very little information about Johnny and his family. If anyone has other info, please share it. The most I found was an article from 1993 when the old McGill’s Store was closing, there … Continue reading Was Buster Brown Really From Bertram?

Past Angora Chronicles Stories, The Early Days, Thoughts and Musings1 Comment

Looking Back At The Civil War

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I know the political climate in this country is poor at best right now. Please respect that this post is not meant to be a sounding board for any political persuasion. It is to illustrate something different. With our past there has always been turmoil with our government leaders and most likely always will be. I ran across something I thought was really indicative of how divided the country was over the outcome of the Civil War and its right there in the Marble Falls Cemetery. While researching a family name, that I think has long since died off or … Continue reading Looking Back At The Civil War

Cecil Lewis, Crazy Times, The Construction Biz, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

Learning To Eat Foods You Hate

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When I was about 13 years old, on a hot summer day Cec took me to a John Deere Front End Loader on the top of Taylor Mountain, as we always called it. From up there you could see Marble Falls, because you were up there looking down. It was far into the distance. I was clearing off the brush on several lots and then leveled them up for future building. It was early in the morning when he dropped me and I didn’t think about taking a jug of water. When noon rolled around I had never seen anyone. … Continue reading Learning To Eat Foods You Hate

Amazing Things, Crazy Times, Funny Happenings, Thoughts and Musings2 Comments

Why Did I Think This Would Work ?

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Once or twice a week I go to a place for breakfast. Nothing is cheap anymore. But the menu has biscuits and gravy and for an additional amount you can get sausage crumbles on top. Always feeling that biscuits and gravy (or SOS) is a poor man’s breakfast, I never ordered it because $12 seemed a bit high to me. Of course adding $3 for sausage made it $15. I brought it up to my server a time or two that it seemed to be miss-priced. You can get a full meal deal breakfast for $15 and that’s what I … Continue reading Why Did I Think This Would Work ?

On The Job, The Construction Biz, The Early Days, Thoughts and Musings1 Comment

The Two Drifters

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Back in the days when we were building the Guadalupe River State Park in 1981-1982 we had a lot of characters that worked on that project. One day a couple of guys walked up with backpacks on and asked for a job. They were probably about 20 years old with long hair. We had a bunk trailer onsite that had about 8 or 10 bunks in it. We let them move in. During summer and winter the guys mostly cooked out on a campfire or on a BBQ pit. They all would sit around the fire and tell stories and … Continue reading The Two Drifters

Amazing Things, Crazy Times, In and Around Austin, Past Angora Chronicles Stories, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

Walter Yates – A True Adventurer

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I never knew him personally, but followed him through writings in various publications. He first hit my radar through a friend we shared in common, Udo Haufler. I think Mr. Yates lived the life of adventure that many of us long for. Following is his obituary from the Austin Statesman that tells a lot about his life. For a detailed look at his life, his book Breakaway, tells about about his exploits. Obituary of Walter “Yukon” YATES1924 – 2015 YATES, Walter “Yukon”Walter “Yukon” Yates, age 90, passed away March 2, 2015. Walter was born on October 19, 1924 as the … Continue reading Walter Yates – A True Adventurer