ROAD TRIP: A BBM Game

[jpwagoneer1964]

Nanchititla, Mx

 

 
Mark

[belbbmfan]

Abee, Alberta

[moremojo]

Eagle Lake, Texas

--situated in Colorado County; "located by 3,000-acre lake of same name...has meat-packing plant, wholesale houses [1945]"

[jpwagoneer1964]

Elmendorf, Texas

ELMENDORF, TEXAS. Elmendorf is at the junction of the Southern Pacific Railroad and Farm Road 327, some seventeen miles southeast of downtown San Antonio in southeastern Bexar County. The town was established in 1885 and named for Henry Elmendorf, former mayor of San Antonio and promoter of the first brick plant in the vicinity. W. F. Saenger discovered that the clay in the area was suitable for pottery, and that became an important local industry. A post office opened at the community in 1886, and by 1890 Elmendorf had a pottery, a general store, a hotel, and a population of fifty. The settlement grew rapidly after 1900, and by 1914 it had nine general stores, a cotton gin, a hotel, and a population of 300. The community's largest employer for many years was Star Clay Products, a firebrick factory. The population of Elmendorf was consistently reported as 300 until the 1950s. During the 1960s it fell to 200, but later it grew steadily, and in 1990 the town reported 568 residents and eighteen businesses. The population in 2000 was 664.

Mark

[memento]

Friendship, TX

Friendship and a nearby town called Old Friendship (AKA Allison) were founded in the 1880s. According to information provided by Harold Grinstead, the land was first settled by Elihu Creswell Allison in 1847. Allison was partially destroyed in a 1921 flood.

In the 1970s it was decided to impound the waters of the San Gabriel River. Laneport Dam (the original name) was the result. It was renamed Granger Dam some time later. Graves in the Friendship Cemetery were reintered at other cemeteries and the Friendship school consolidated with Granger schools in 1958. The former Friendship Community holds a reunion every year on the third Saturday of October.

The Deadly Flood of 1921

The rain started at 6 p.m. on September 10, 1921 and continued until 6 a.m. on September 11th. Although no official measure was mentioned - it was estimated that 50 inches of rain fell. One Henry Rozacky (who was 83 when he gave his report to the paper) had no trouble recalling the soggy events. He reported that a "dry and empty" 50 gallon drum in his backyard was overflowing about 2 a.m. and that the lightning was giving everything a greenish tinge. He reported that the blacksmith shop was washed away and that the general store was a total loss. He and a neighbor rescued 26 bales of ginned cotton that were bobbing away from the gin. In Mr. Rozacky's words: "You'd be surprised how readily 500 and 600 lb bales of cotton can float." He continued: "we got hold of them and pushed them before us until we reached a hill at the old Brookshire place. "...and you know, no one gave us a dime for their bales as they came to take their own." "One man tied a bale onto a tree and after the waters receded that bale was suspended in mid-air."

The flooding wasn't just in Friendship, either. Further west, the waters took out the North San Gabriel River bridge in Georgetown.

A family of three in Friendship lashed themselves to a tree but all drowned. Twenty-six people were trapped at Laneport - when they were "engulfed" by the flood. All were later found drowned - and Mr. Rozacky said he helped construct the twenty-six coffins. Rozacky went on to say that "not a single bridge of any type was left standing." "The bridge across the San Gabriel at Hoxie was swept away and the railroad tracks at Circleville stood on end in an arc." One house (the C.B. Arnold home) was carried downstream and deposited "where it now stands." Several other homes were involuntarily moved great distances by the surge of water.

After the rains, mud was everywhere -- its quantity nearly matched by its depth. With the bridges gone, horses became the best method of transportation. One man on horseback sank up to his saddle and had to be pulled out by a block and tackle. Scores of domestic pigs turned feral and had to be shot.

The old iron bridge at Hoxie was moved to Wilson H. Fox Park on Lake Granger and became part of the nature trail.

Finally it was decided that it just wasn't worth it - if the water wanted Friendship so bad - let the water have Friendship. In the summer of 1977 the spillway for the dam was constructed.

[MaineWriter]

Podunk, TX

Before suburbia, gated communities, and strip shopping centers - back when convenience stores were corner groceries and before pedestrians became extinct; Texas cities had very distinct neighborhoods. These self-reliant communities were usually held in place by stable landmarks like high schools, fire stations or theaters. When residents needed something really important - there were buses to take them on a downtown adventures. Sometimes these communities had their own parks and sometimes they even had their own watertowers. This is the story of one such community, its watertower and the mystery of the name. It's also the story of a record-breaking basketball game played by an underdog team of fourteen-year olds in 1948.

Houstonian author Jay Grady has started a grassroots movement to have his old neighborhood officially recognized as "Texas' Official Mythical Town."

The neighborhood went by other names, but the most popular was and is Denver Harbor. The original boundries of "Podunk" were west of (what is now) Wayside, north of the tracks and not far from from the notorious juncture of Lyons Avenue and Jensen Drive (aka "Pearl Harbor").

Former Denver Harborites or anyone wishing to sign Dr. Grady's petition for Official recognition are encouraged to visit his website www.podunktexas.com.



Leslie

[jpwagoneer1964]

Kerens, Tx

 Welcome to the City of Kerens, Texas
[Mandatory Water Shortage]

a growing and friendly Central Texas city conveniently situated between Corsicana and Athens on SH 31. The city lies about 70 miles southeast of downtown Dallas and some 180 miles from Houston.

One of the city's most well-known hometown boys is Big Tex. He now stands on the grounds of the State Fair of Texas and greets visitors from around the world. But Big Tex started life in Kerens as the world's largest Santa Claus. He was built and erected by local citizens and stood in the middle of Colket Avenue, the Kerens main street, during the years of 1948 and 1949. From there he warmly welcomed passersby during the holidays. After two years, however, he was adopted by the State Fair of Texas and became Big Tex.

We invite you to visit us whenever you can. We hope to see you soon!


THE SYMBOL OF THE STATE FAIR OF TEXAS, Big Tex was born on the main street of Kerens. In 1949 the citizens of Kerens, under the leadership of the Chamber of Commerce, set about to build the world's largest Santa Claus. For a couple of Christmas seasons the red-suited figure was the talk of the country. An enterprising Chamber official sold the metal framework to the State Fair of Texas where he has been ever since. During the centennial celebration in 1981, Big Tex came "home" for a week where he presided over the 100th birthday of Kerens.

[moremojo]

San Saba, Texas

--the county seat of San Saba County; "trading, shipping center for wool, mohair, cattle, turkeys, pecans [1945]".

[MaineWriter]

Adobes, TX

The five lines in the Handbook of Texas say that it came into being in the 1870s as "farming community" - as unlikely as that seems today. Sheep were raised as well as whatever crops they could coax from the rocky soil. But the Rio Grande did provide abundant water and in 1914 irrigation pumps allowed the residents to grow cotton. By 1930 Adobes had 750 irrigated acres.

Reportedly still operating in the 1980s, Adobes today offers the visitor a melancholy but memorable vision of what most people imagine a borderland ghost town to be.

A former residence in Adobes:




L

[jpwagoneer1964]

Sterling City, Tx

 

STERLING CITY, TEXAS has been called the "Windmill City" because at one time, the number of windmills standing in the city boundaries was near 150. However, the number of windmills has diminished within the City, but windmills can still be seen throughout the range land and still serve a valuable aide for ranchers of Sterling County.

    Sterling City, the county seat and only city in Sterling County, is a

    community with 1081 people enjoying the pleasures and the

    comforts of living in a small town.

    In the past few years, Sterling City has gone through some noticeable changes to include beautification projects, water well improvements, the renovation of the Sterling City Depot, and others.

Sterling is also the brand name of a car marketed tin the USA from 1987 to 1991 produced by the now defunct Rover in the UK. Although the Honda power train proved reliable the cars suffered from indifferent quality and poor US dearler service.

Mark