|
 |
When
I first decided to try to locate the 1936 gray granite Moss
Spring Centennial Marker in Howard
County, the first place I looked was in Sarah
Reveley's 1936 Marker Inventory List. Sarah
is a volunteer working with the Texas Historical Commission trying
to locate all of the markers that were placed in 1936 as part of Texas
celebration of the centennial of its independence from Mexico.
Through the years the locations of many of these markers have been
lost or misplaced. Her listing for Howard
County, whose county seat is Big
Spring, simply says "Moss
Spring Marker - 11 miles northeast of Big
Spring." This is the same location published by the Centennial
Commission itself back in 1936.
I pulled out my maps of the area to see what roads were around 11
miles northeast of Big
Spring. Hmm, SH 350 runs northeast from Big
Spring. That’s easy enough. Maybe the marker is visible from the
highway. Next, I looked in the notes of my mentor, Ruthie
Cade. She is the one who started this quest to find lost Centennial
markers eight or ten years ago. Ruthie contacted Sarah after reading
an article in a newspaper about Sarah’s work in locating these neglected
markers. Ruthie loaned Sarah her photos and notes. Sarah had sent
me Ruthie’s notes but I had never been directly in contact with Ruthie.
I wanted to see if Howard County deserved any special notations from
Ruthie. For Howard County
her notes read, “Moss
Spring - This marker was the hardest to get to both in finding
a contact and physically walking to the marker." Okay, sounds like
I can't just drive up to this one. Then she added, "The owners of
the property are very reluctant for the public to go into this area."
My assessment of the situation so far is, first, this marker is going
to be hard to find, second, the marker is physically hard to get to,
and third, the land owners don't want you there in the first place.
Quickly calculating my Marker-Challenge-Rating on a 1-5 scale, the
Moss
Spring marker is easily a 6. At least Ruthie does list a contact
number so I called it. As her notes are several years old, the all
too familiar recording came on saying, "Not a working number." Well,
so much for prior planning.
I was going to be in Big
Spring anyway to see other historic sites and markers and to see
the 1938 WPA Mural painted by Peter Hurd in the U.S. District Court
Building right across from the Howard
County Courthouse. At the district court building, I asked the
clerk if anyone around there could help me locate an historical marker
in the county. She referred me to the Chamber of Commerce which was
just one block away.
The Chamber Historian was very helpful. She gave me a brochure listing
all of the historical markers, buildings and houses in Howard
County. While this is one of the finest brochures of its kind
that I have seen from any county in Texas,
it made no mention of the Moss Spring Centennial Marker. Obviously
the Moss
Spring Centennial Marker was not a big tourist attraction. By
now I had decided that the Moss Spring marker was very likely near
Moss Lake, well duh, which was about nine miles southeast, not 11
miles northeast, of Big
Spring. Now I’m getting somewhere. |
 |
| "...40
or 50 years ago the marker was easily reached from the north side
of Moss Lake. It was a well known swimming hole during WWII
where airmen training at the local Army Air Field came on weekends
with their wives and girl friends to swim and hike to the distant
Signal Mountain." |
I
asked the Chamber Historian if she knew how one might be able to see
the marker. She gave me the number of Charlene. The number sounded
familiar. As it turned out, it was the same number listed in Ruthie's
notes with two numbers transposed, 98 for 89; an easy mistake for
anyone to make somewhere along the line. I called Charlene who was
very helpful. She was busy at the moment but would be glad to help
me see the marker at a later date. I asked if many people had bothered
the land owners to see the marker. She said that as far as she knew,
no one had been there since she and Ruthie had visited it several
years ago with the help of a friend who grew up in the area.
That conversation was December, 2009. The first chance I had to go
back to Big Spring
was in late January, 2010. I called Charlene about a week ahead of
my visit, and she said she would get me the phone number of the man
who had taken Ruthie and her to the marker. She called back with the
number of a man named John who said he would be glad to show me the
marker. I called John, and he said I could meet him at his house just
after sunrise and go from there.
After our conversation, Charlene called Ruthie, and mentioned that
a Barclay Gibson
was interested in seeing the Moss
Spring marker. Charlene gave Ruthie my number and Ruthie called
me. It so shocked me that I could hardly speak. I had never spoken
to Ruthie before and had only followed in her footsteps in locating
Centennial Markers. It was like
being called by the head of an organization for which you had been
volunteering. In warning me about walking to the marker, she cautioned,
"Be sure to have good walking gear." To say the least, it was an interesting
conversation.
On
the appointed day, I drove up to John's house. He was already out
and ready to go. I asked if we might take both pickups so I could
go on from the marker for the rest of my trip. He said it would
be best if we went in one truck and offered to drive me there and
back. The weather was clear and cold, about 30 degrees. The marker
was about three miles from his house, as the crow flies, but about
14 miles driving distance. We were north of the lake and had to
drive around it to approach the lake from the south. John didn't
own the land but had known the owners for many years having ridden
horseback over that country since he was a boy. The landowners were
very protective of their property and one would have to drive right
by the ranch house on the way to the marker. Ignoring the large,
ominous warning sign is not advised.
While driving along, John said that it would be nice if the
marker could be moved to a more accessible location, but that
it would cost about $25,000 to move it. That sounded way out of line
as I knew about several recent relocations of these granite markers
where the county usually provided the manpower and equipment to move
the 2,000 pound marker. He also commented that this would be the first
time he had been to the
marker since he took Charlene and Ruthie several years ago.
|
 |
| John told me
that 40 or 50 years ago the marker was easily reached from the north
side of Moss Lake. It was a well known swimming hole during WWII
where airmen training at the local Army Air Field came on weekends
with their wives and girl friends to swim and hike to the distant
Signal Mountain. After the war, a gravel company worked the area for
a number of years. When the company closed, John said that now he
could hardly ride a horse to the lake from the north side because
of the piles of boulders, rock and gravel. We drove and drove, first
down paved roads, then on 'improved' oil field roads, then down rutted
paths until we finally got to the place where we had to walk about
one-half mile to the marker. |
Moss Spring
Marker in sight
Photo Courtesy Barclay
Gibson, January 2010 |
Strangely,
actually seeing a marker is sometimes kind of a letdown. There is
so much planning involved, and then the time and effort to physically
get to it. So here we were at the
marker. We talked about why it might have been placed there back
in 1936, how vandals had stolen the bronze wreath and star, and had
even chipped away some of the granite inscription. I took pictures
of the marker from different angles and some with John beside it.
That was it. My objective was to see it. I saw it.
While I was certainly appreciative of seeing the marker, John would
not accept any payment for his time and gasoline. He only asked that
I send him pictures of him standing next to the marker which, of course,
I did. After seeing the location of the marker, John's estimate to
move it doesn't seem all that out of line. Any heavy equipment would
have to be trucked in. A winch truck couldn't get there and a tracked
crane would cause too much damage to the area. Maybe a high-centered
wheeled crane that bridge builders use to put up huge bridge girders
at highway intersections would work. Even $25,000 might not be enough.
|
 |
"We drove
and drove, first down paved roads, then on 'improved' oil field roads,
then down rutted paths until we finally got to the place where we
had to walk about one-half mile to the marker."
Photo Courtesy Barclay
Gibson, January 2010 |
| For
this little story, I will only list the location of the Moss
Spring Centennial marker as about nine miles southeast of Big
Spring near Moss Lake. If anyone is interested in visiting it,
the best place to start is where I did, with the Big
Spring Chamber of Commerce. My special thanks go to Charlene,
Sarah
and Ruthie, but especially
to John for not only taking his time to take me there, but also for
his very enjoyable conversation and stories. |
| "Remember
the Warning Sign has a quantity discount for both barrels of the shotgun." |
| If anyone is
foolhardy enough to try to see the marker on their own make sure you
have good boots and long pants for protection from cat claw and mesquite
thorns and for protection from rattlesnakes in warmer weather. Carry
some water, snacks, camping gear and bail bond money in case you are
lucky enough to be hauled in for ignoring the No Trespassing signs.
Remember the Warning
Sign has a quantity discount for both barrels of the shotgun.
Above all, be sure to tell someone where you are going so the rescue
team will know at least where to begin their search for you.
|
The Moss Spring
Centennial Marker
|
Moss Spring
Centennial Marker
"Vandals had stolen the bronze wreath and star, and had even
chipped away some of the granite inscription."
Photo Courtesy Barclay
Gibson, January 2010 |
"While
I was certainly appreciative of seeing the marker, John would not
accept any payment for his time and gasoline. He only asked that I
send him pictures of him standing next to the marker"
Photo
Courtesy Barclay
Gibson, January 2010 |
|
|
HOME
