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November
2004
Texas Forum | Travel Forum
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- Warts
Now that Thanksgiving is over use the leftover cranberry and
rub in on the warts. Repeat every so often. You will see improvement
after two weeks. It may even go away. - John H, November 29,
2004
- Carter
ghost town
I live one mile away from the Carter tabernacle. The reason that
Carter became a ghost town was because a tornado came through
and destroyed all the building in town. Carter is the name of
the road and the closest to it is Prather which was a man from
back then. The tabernacle has a church right next to it. The old
post office is now a house. The Red Dog Saloon is still there
and the front yard is a motor cross place. The land out here is
still beautiful in the summer. - Casey Wharton,
November 22, 2004
- Muleshoe,
Texas
This is a basically true story. Back in the 1970’s, a correspondent
banker from Chase Manhattan Bank in NYC was out pressing the flesh
with South Plains area bankers. She had just visited us in Lubbock
and was headed for Littlefield, Amherst and points northwest.
Just after lunch she called our correspondent banking manager
and said her car had broken down. The banker asked where she was.
She said she really didn’t know (it all looks alike out there,
you know) but that there was a highway sign that said “mull-s-hoe”
15 miles. The banker, somewhat taken aback, asked her to pronounce
it again. She did. He just laughed, gave her the correct pronunciation
and proceeded to make fun of her for the next few weeks. - Russell
Carter, Dallas, November 22, 2004
- Star,
Texas
I have a lot of good memories about Star, Texas. I never lived
in Star, but I spent a lot of summers down on the Lampases River
at my Grandad's Farm. His name was Cyrus Fields. I have heard
about the Museum at Star, from my brother, Tommy Hamilton. ...
I think that the picture of the two story building is one that
I remember and I think the Masonic lodge used to be upstairs.
If there is a Hamilton or a Fields in that part of the country,
I am related to them, probably. R.N. Hamilton of Evant is my 1st
cousin. Thanks for listening. - Bill Hamilton, November 19,
2004
-
Balmorhea
I appreciate your efforts to bring the name of the town of Balmorhea
to the attention of (hopefully) worldwide readers.
My great-grandfather spelled his name Balcome, not Balcum.
I'm assured by my father that this was possibly the only thing
he consistently spelled with precisely the same letters in the
exact same order and that his facilities with punctuation that
often left the readers of documents he composed a bit perplexed.
My grandmother, Thelma Balcome, born in 1900, moved to the area
with her father a little before the town was platted, and was
there for the birth of her sister, Imogene Balcome, in either
1905 or 1906, (I forget the exact year and Dad gets cranky when
I call him after eight in the evening these days,... Okay, he
gets even more cranky than he usually is.) Oh, and Mr. Moore,
according to what I've been told is actually Mr. Morrow.
According to my father, the name of the town was suggested
during a dispute between my great-grandfather, Mr. Morrow and
the Rhea brother's by the conductor of the train they were riding
on. What little I know of my ancestor and those that joined with
him in the venture is indicative that certainly none of them possessed
such creativity.
Another fun aspect of the development of the region is
that the four men had a Stanley Steamer. People arriving in the
newly platted township were hustled into this car and whizzed
out to view the acreage that the "realtors" thought they would
be interested in at the speed of sixty miles per hour. Sixty miles
per hour, at the time, was the speed of the very fastest of trains
in a time when horses were still the preferred mode of transportation
for most of the populace of the state. If you've been there, then
you know that there isn't much in the way of scenery to have gone
whizzing past the windows of the old Steamer on those dirt roads.
Car travel was considered to be rough and unreliable, surely those
riding in the agent's Steamer enjoyed the novelty without realizing
the speeds that it encountered on the way to their prospective
homes. There are few trees at best and at the time, there were
surely very few fence posts lining the roads. I'm told many people
agreed to buy their homesteads with the great promise of being
within only an hour's travel from town, not realizing that it
would take a horse and buckboard a full day to reach the distance
to the closest supplies.
I've traveled through many of little towns that dot Texas, some
so small you'd miss them if you blinked while the cruise control
was set at speeds that protected your sanity while crossing West
Texas. I'm glad to have found your site and be able to stop, (Dad
never did,) at some of those interesting little map dots and learn
a little more. - Sincerely, Luke Bradley, November 16, 2004
- Climax
TX general store
I noticed you had a picture of the old General store from Climax.
We just purchased the property and would like any information
you might have on the towns history. We plan to restore and reopen
the store very soon. - Dwain Carter, November 12, 2004
- Destination
Huntsville
If you are visiting Huntsville, especially if you will be stopping
at the Sam Houston Museum complex, do yourself a favor; walk across
Sam Houston Avenue and visit the campus of Sam Houston State
University. Not only gets my vote as one of the prettiest
college campuses in the state of Texas, if not in the entire country,
but also the site of several interesting things to see. (As a
graduate of SHSU I will readily admit that I am somewhat biased!)
Nevertheless, in very close proximity to the museum, and to each
other, on the north end of the SHSU quadrangle are; Austin Hall
(1851) – If I remember correctly, it is the oldest educational
building in continuous use west of the Mississippi River, Old
Main Memorial – preserved footprint and basement area of this
1890 beauty, which was lost to fire in 1982, the Peabody Memorial
Library – Built in 1902 to recognize the philanthropic contributions
of the Peabody Foundation to Sam Houston (Normal Institute) and
to public education in the state of Texas, and the bronze statue
of General Sam Houston. This statue, 110% of life size, was dedicated
in 1979 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the founding of
SHSU. It was said to be the most accurate representation of Sam
Houston in existence at that time. I hope you enjoy your visit
to Huntsville and Sam Houston State University. - Stephen Rogers,
Bellville, Texas, November 11, 2004
- Golden,
Texas
First of all, great website! I read with interest the info on
Golden Texas. I, along with other relatives just purchased one
of the two buildings pictured on your page (the two-story building.)
The building is now an art gallery with studios upstairs. Of course,
we are interested in any information on the building, and Golden
in general. Included in your information is mention of a vineyard
- we have not been able to find any other mention of this and
wondered where you found that info? We would like to someday re-establish
a vineyard in Golden so any info you have would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you. - Craig Musgraves, Golden, TX, November 10, 2004
- Lobo,
Texas
My family and I lived in Lobo from 1978-80. I had a welding and
mechanic business set up in the old service station. I provided
services to the local farms. In '79 Miller Beer made a commercial
in Lobo. It was called Jack's Chili Bus. Ruth Bussy was there
because her husband was in the commercial. She parked her motor-home
along side of my shop. They were very nice people and stayed for
about 5 days. We really enjoyed it. I can't remember the owners
name but it was a couple who sold rocks. In fact they moved to
Marfa and set up a rock shop and left us to take care of the town.
I just recently visited Lobo in October, 2004. There are three
Germans who now own Lobo and are doing some restoration and repairs
to some of the buildings. ... It's right on Highway 90. Interesting
place to visit and sets in a beautiful valley. - Clarence Louviere,
November 09, 2004
- Bandera
Hangings
I am the great great great granddaughter of William Sawyer. I
have always heard about this story and was curious to know if
they were leaving their families behind to go to Mexico. I am
relieved to learn that it wasn't the case.
I have had contact with relatives of (I think) all of the other
men, except for Mr. VanWinkle. If anyone knows anything about
him or William's parents, I'd love to know and share some info.
- Ashley Phillips, November 09, 2004
- Bulcher
Schoolhouse
Here is a photo of the school building in Bulcher. We connected
with a local gentleman who had grown up and went to the school
back in the early sixties. He stated that he had carved his name
in the steeple of the building, along with several others.
Approximately seven months ago, the structure failed and came
down. The pic says it all. Disappointing, but, it was great to
be able to find it. - Gary Hall and Tom Nix, November 08, 2004
- Rush
Creek, Wise County
We have sincerely been enjoying the information about the Ghost
towns in and around the DFW area. We will have to share some of
our findings about some of the visits we have had.
We just stumbled across an old City Cemetery, quite by accident.
We were traveling North on Highway 730 above Decatur, when a cemetery
sign showed up at the side of the road. It was also CR (County
Road) 2750. We followed it and about 1.8 miles down, it appeared
on the right, just before the one-lane bridge. It is slightly
unkempt right now, but it appears that there are still some families
being buried their to this day.... - Gary Hall and Tom Nix,
November 07, 2004
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