In and Around Austin, The Early Days, The History of TexasLeave a comment

Butler Bricks – the bricks that built Austin

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The brick company that has been in Elgin for years, actually started out at Zilker Park in Austin. BY PHOEBE ALLEN Michael Butler & the Butler Brick Legacy Irishman Michael Butler arrived in Austin in 1873 and began manufacturing mud bricks at the foot of East Avenue (now IH-35) on the north bank of the Colorado River. An 1875 flood resulted in his move to the south bank of the Colorado River – between Barton Creek and today’s South First Street and between the river and Barton Springs Road – at brickyards that remained in place until 1958. Butler bricks … Continue reading Butler Bricks – the bricks that built Austin

Amazing Things, Texas History, The Early Days, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

Pearl Beer

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The Emma Koehler Story – Pearl Beer and the Lady That Kept it Afloat. The history of The Pearl Brewery has all the twists of a Hollywood plot—murder, scandal, conflict and triumph, with an unexpected heroine at its center. At the turn of the 20th century, beer brewing was booming in San Antonio until Prohibition (1920–33) threatened to bust the good-time industry. While beer maker after beer maker went broke in dry times, Pearl survived the temperance movement, thanks to the courage of its visionary leader, Emma Koehler. This is her story. @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ Few could have predicted the fates of … Continue reading Pearl Beer

Crazy Times, In and Around Austin, On The Job, Past Angora Chronicles Stories, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

Replacing The Old Brackenridge Apartments On Lake Austin Blvd.

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Sometime in the earlier part in the mid 1980s, I contracted to run the underground utilities (water, wastewater & drainage) for the New Brackenridge Apartments that were being built. The project involved the tearing down of the old wooden buildings that had far outlived their normal life. Then the site was prepared and prefabbed concrete modules built by the HB Zachery Company In San Antonio were brought in and stacked together like toy building blocks. It was a new building concept. The Zachery Company had just finished building the Palacio Del Rio, a high rise hotel on the San Antonio … Continue reading Replacing The Old Brackenridge Apartments On Lake Austin Blvd.

Crazy Times, Meeting New People, The Construction BizLeave a comment

A Case Of Mistaken Identity

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(This happened back in December 2019. And trust me it really happened) Laying in bed at 9:30 PM on a Saturday night, in fact it was tonight, my phone rang. It wasn’t a number I recognized so I passed on answering it. It’s not like I need a warranty policy on my car or a burial policy on myself. A couple of minutes later I received a text from that same number. “Who is this?” “Why did you call my girlfriend?” I had to ask, “Hey who is your girlfriend?” I found out her name is Candice. I tried to … Continue reading A Case Of Mistaken Identity

Amazing Things, The History of Texas13 Comments

White Stone – The Forgotten Little Town

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Back in the 50s and 60s there was a community that I well remember. It was a suburb of Cedar Park. Of course in those days, Cedar Park really wasn’t big enough to have a suburb. Shortly after you turned west on FM 1431 off of US 183 (of course in those days there wasn’t a FM 1431 going east) you would start to see little shanty houses along the highway and out across the railroad track. All the houses were white. Not necessarily painted white, but covered in white dust. The scrub oak trees were all layered with a … Continue reading White Stone – The Forgotten Little Town

My Friends, Texas History, The Construction Biz1 Comment

Charlie Savignac Hall

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Charlie Hall is what Texas is about, born in Cleo, Kimble County, Texas, the 2nd son of Fred and Florence Hall. He leaves many descendants, friends, and relatives living throughout Texas. His daughter, Brenda Cason shared his accounting of his life….fascinating if you have not read it. March 10, 1988I am John Charles Savignac Hall, born on the “Bear Creek Ranch” at Cleo, Kimble County, Texas on September 7, 1911 – Cleo is no longer a Post Office – nothing left there – at one time there was a school there where my sister Helen and older brother Fred started … Continue reading Charlie Savignac Hall

Thoughts and Musings1 Comment

911

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I stopped by the office in Bertram, before I headed into Austin to make my usual rounds of all the projects. I walked out and got in my truck and headed East, with the radio on and tuned to MSNBC In those days I watched MSNBC each and every weekday morning. I would start out watching the Don Imus Show at 5:00 AM. When it was time to leave out I’d pick it up on XM Radio and listen. I pretty much hung on everything word coming from that show. To say I was a Imus junkie would be putting … Continue reading 911

Another Daily Happening, Cecil Lewis, Crazy Times, Smithwick, The Early Days, Thoughts and MusingsLeave a comment

Trucking Back In The 1960s

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Hauling things were much different back when I was young. Many ranchers and cowboys had a set of sideboards they’d put on the back of their pickup and then a horse and sometimes two would be loaded in the back. I can remember how unstable a 1/2 ton truck was with that much weight swaying back and forth and the high center of gravity. Many of the old-timers weren’t very accomplished drivers, either. While we did that some I think of something now that seems much more risky. Hauling a JD 450 loader in the back of a 5 yd. … Continue reading Trucking Back In The 1960s

Another Daily Happening, Crazy Times, Kenny Lewis, Smithwick, The Early Days, Thoughts and Musings2 Comments

Throwing A D-7 Dozer Off Of The Trailer

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Kenny and I went down to Turkey Bend and loaded a D-7 Cat Dozer and was headed back to Smithwick. The road was not paved back then, which was probably in 1968. The bar-ditch was usually wet from the springs that flowed out of the rock outcroppings. It was fairly clean without cedar brush back then. Kenny was driving too fast and got too close to the ditch as he came into the corner. This caused the truck and trailer to slam into a 4′ high vertical bank on the right side with great force. This resulted in the truck … Continue reading Throwing A D-7 Dozer Off Of The Trailer

Amazing Things, Cecil Lewis, Crazy Times, Smithwick, The Early Days, Thoughts and Musings1 Comment

The Adventures Of Driving Under-Powered Trucks

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The 60s were a different time than now when it comes to the horse power of trucks. Today our trucks operate in the range of 500 to 600 horsepower. Back then the common range was 180 to 250 HP. We still hauled equally heavy loads over the same roads as today. Trucks were used much longer and maintained must less rigorously than by today’s standards. It was common for when we were hauling a heavy dozer in hillier areas for me to go ahead in a pickup to assist. When we knew there was a grade too steep coming up, … Continue reading The Adventures Of Driving Under-Powered Trucks