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History in a Pecan
Shell
It’s unclear exactly when Nell was established, but it’s been
narrowed down to “between 1910 and 1930.” That is when the land was subdivided
into lots. In the mid 1930s the town reportedly had three businesses and a school.
By the mid 1960s nearly everything had shut down, including the school.
Photographer’s
Notes:
If you look at a county map you will think the community
of Nell insisted on being in Live Oak County as the northern boundry ells at the
northern tip to keep Nell away from nearby Bee and Karnes Counties. This ranching
community is a quiet place now with a handful of residences. The local tavern
/ pool hall was the last remaining business and now even that is silent. A local
resident who works in Three Rivers told me
there’s a famous cookie company in the community that ships worldwide. I wish
I could have found it when I was passing through. - Will
Beauchamp, May, 2009 |
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Panthers in the
Moonlight
One of my favorite hunting stories I like to tell is my
“Big Cat Call” which took place in Nell. In the early 1980's a hunting friend
of mine asked me to come over and pick him up to do some hunting. He lived across
from the pool hall in Nell, so after a couple of games of pool we went south of
town a short distance and set up in a field about 30 yards from a brushy draw
or shallow creek bottom. It was a crystal clear night and so still you could
hear someone talking half-a-mile away. I started using my rabbit-in-distress
hand call and after just a minute or so we heard exactly what had been described
to me by my grandmother: a lady screaming at the top of her voice! Believe me,
it will certainly make the hair stand up on the back of your neck. The scream
was so close that it echoed down the creek bottom.
My grandmother’s description
of the panther screams she heard growing up in the country – I finally heard for
myself. The big cat didn’t scream again, but we could hear it walking in the leaves
under the oak trees. We spotlighted the creek with no results as the cat would
never look into the red beam of the spotlight. After a couple of minutes I'm sure
the big cat was too smart for us and moved on. My friend moved away from Nell
a couple years thereafter, but whenever we visit we recall the scream we will
always remember. - Will
Beauchamp
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