|
|
|
When
we say Granger has Character,
90% of it is Saint Dan
Dan Martinets today
TE Photo, 2000 |
|
While on a trip
from Taylor
to Waco
we passed by the town of Granger.
We had heard Granger's streets were the first to be paved in Texas
and we went to check it out. Our inquires at the city hall resulted
in a mysterious look between the two clerks. "You need to talk to
Dan Martinets" was what we were told. It turned out to be the best
advice we've been given by city employees to date.
We called Mr. Martinets and received an invitation to visit and
have all our questions about Granger answered. We got much more.
We got to meet the man who has been known as "Saint Dan" and "The
Reluctant Psychic." Since he has become our only source for Granger
stories, we asked if we could call him the "Lone Granger." He graciously
accepted and is now included in our staff as our Granger Historian.
|
| Baby Dan Martinets
with father c. 1923 |
| The J.F. Martinets
Family c. 1915 |
How
Jane Russell nearly broke my Collarbone on the Neiman Marcus Escalator.
By Dan (The Lone Granger) Martinets as told to The Editor
Dan Martinets, had left Williamson
County after guaduating from Southwestern University in Georgetown.
Having seen all of Williamson
County, he decided to take a job in Dallas
at the Neiman Marcus store.
The Elevator Grapevine
He headed a group of advertising people who were also responsible
for the printing of the famous catalogs. Since they were on the fifth
floor and were sometimes referred to as the "Fifth Floor Stepchildren,"
they depended on the kindness of visitors and elevator operators to
have some contact with the outside world. Since celebrities often
shopped at Neimans, perhaps the first people to see them would be
the elevator operators. This may be a surprise to our younger readers
(as if we had younger readers) to know that there were people who
actually made a living punching numbers for people, but such was the
case. If a movie star was let out on the 2nd floor, the elevator operator
would tell the other floors, so that they might be better prepared
for an encounter with a celebrity.
One day word came up that Jane Russell was visiting a department several
floors below. Dan had missed several previous celebrities, so he was
determined to see this one. Such was his hurry that he and a woman
collided at the escalator. As they both turned picked themselves off
the floor, and Dan started to apologize, he found himself looking
into the face he was rushing to see. This story is not nearly as good
as the time he used the urinal next to Rock Hudson, but it'll have
to do until we include that one.
© John
Troesser
September 2000 |
More
about Dan Martinets:
Granger
Through The Years by Clay Coppedge
Dan Martinets used to walk along the railroad tracks running through
the heart of his hometown, Granger, and dream of getting on one of
those trains and never coming back.
That was in the 1920s, when both Granger and Martinets were young
and in their prime. Now Granger would seem to be yet another small
town with a great future behind it and Martinets has passed on; he
died two days before Christmas last year... more |
|
|
HOME
