ROAD TRIP: A BBM Game

[MaineWriter]

Aleman, TX

Originally settled in the 1880s and called Pleasant Point, the town name was clanged in 1907 to the inglorious sounding Piggtown, Texas after land promoter Mack Pigg. It relocated a mile from its original location to be on the railroad.

The name was exchanged for the more dignified (and appropriate) name of Aleman. Since the town had been settled by relocated German immigrants from Washington County, the Mexican railroad workers called the place after the Spanish word for German.

The Aleman post office closed its doors in 1943, but the town has continued to survive, despite the modest population.

[belbbmfan]

Naruna, Texas

NARUNA, TEXAS. Naruna is on Farm Road 1478 eighteen miles northwest of Burnet and three miles south of the Lampasas county line in northwestern Burnet County. A post office was established there in 1878 with William M. Spitler as postmaster. The name Naruna was suggested by Spitler in honor of the ship that had brought him to Texas. In 1884 Naruna had three churches, a school, and 150 residents; cotton and livestock were the principal products shipped by area farmers. The initial growth of the community was stunted in the later 1880s, however; population estimates fell to twenty-five by 1890. It is possible that the completion in 1885 of the Lampasas-Brownwood section of the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway, which bypassed Naruna to the north, prompted residents to move to towns on the railroad. The population in Naruna rose to seventy-five by 1892, but the community did not recover its earlier prosperity. The post office was discontinued in 1906, and mail for Naruna was sent to Lampasas. The population was ten in 1933, forty-five in the mid-1940s, and seventy-five in the mid-1960s; it was reported at forty-five from the 1970s to 1990. The Naruna school was consolidated with the Lampasas schools in 1944.

[nova20194]

Acme, AB


Acme is a village 83 kilometres (52 miles) northeast of Calgary, Alberta. It was the first village to be incorporated in the Municipal District of Kneehill. The population of Acme as of 2004 is 648. The village has a Bank of Montreal, General Motors dealership, lumberyard, a couple of restaurants, (NA&W, And Chinese Food) a couple of gas station convenience stores, (The Corner Store, Roadrunner Stop And Go(Formerly Marlenes)) NAPA Auto Parts store, a Pub, a Camp Ground, an Elementary School, a Senior High School (Junior High is in Linden), a senior's centre, a Royal Canadian Legion hall, a curling rink, outdoor skating rink, ball diamonds, a golf course, and a Centenial swimming pool. The community hall burned down in the spring of 2004 but has since been replaced - the new centre opened in spring of 2006. The village's baseball diamonds regularly attract summer baseball tournaments, which held the 2006 Midget AA baseball provincials (July 28-31, 2006).

[MaineWriter]

Elliott, TX

in Roberston County, pop 55...

or maybe it is Elliott in Willbarger County, pop 50.

L

[belbbmfan]

Three Forks, Wyoming

[nova20194]

Seebe, AB

Seebe is a hamlet in the north of the Kananaskis Improvement District in Alberta, Canada. There are tentative plans to redevelop the area into a small town, retaining the same name.

Seebe housed a Prisoner-of-war camp in the Second World War. An ecological and environmental research station of the University of Calgary is located nearby, on provincial highway 40 at Barrier Lake.

The tiny town of Seebe was located on land owned by Canadian hydroelectric giant Trans Alta Utilities since 1909. In 2004 Trans Alta decided to exit the real estate business and it sold the town, houses, a church, a schoolhouse, and a store to Moondance Land Company, displacing about 100 Seebe residents.  The Stoney Nation, which owns land on the opposite side of the river, has land options which it might exercise in order to partner with Moondance. A mixed use development including condominiums, a golf course, and a clubhouse is one highly likely possibility. It is hard to imagine a more scenic spot, the lovely Bow River nearby and the majestic Canadian Rockies looming to the west.

The scene in Brokeback Mountain where Ennis and Jack jump off the cliff into the river was filmed here.

[MaineWriter]

Elm, TX

There are four Elms in Texas, in Collingsworth, Karnes, Limestone, and Rains Counties.

[jpwagoneer1964]

Mills, Wy

[nova20194]

Stettler, AB

Stettler is a town in Alberta, Canada. It is located 101 km east of Red Deer at the junction of Highway 12 and Highway 56. The town is located in the eastern region of central Alberta and nicknamed "The Heart of Alberta."
Stettler is also home to Alberta Prairie Railway Excursions, a popular attraction delivering rail tours to people from around the world.

The town also serves as a commercial hub for several smaller communities in the area, serving a population of approximately 30,000. Nearby communities include the villages of Big Valley, Gadsby, Donalda, and Halkirk, and the hamlets of Byemoor, Endiang, and Erskine, among others.

Stettler has recently been flourishing due to the province wide economy boom. Despite a disappointing loss to Fort Macleod for the new RCMP training facility, Stettler continues to prosper due to a strong agricultural and petroleum based economy . It is home to the Stettler Auction Mart the oldest Livestock Auction Market in Alberta (1954) and is undergoing its largest real estate boom in its history including major commercial and residential real estate activity. Recent activity includes a brand new 79 room Ramada hotel, a 30 room addition to the Best Western Crusader Inn, Wal-Mart, Tim Hortons, UFA bulk station, a relocated and redeveloped John Deere dealership, and many many more well known brands.

In 2005 Stettler celebrated its centennial along with the province of Alberta. Throughout July there were many celebrations.

Stettler was founded in 1905 and was named after Swiss immigrant Carl Stettler, who also founded a settlement east of the town at Blumenau, as well as being influential in the nearby community of Castor.

Stettler was home to the last man to be hanged in Alberta. In 1959, police discovered Raymond and Daisy May Cook and their five children shot and bludgeoned to death in the garage of their Stettler home, marking the most gruesome mass murder in the province's history. Evidence led police to the Cook's eldest son, Robert Raymond, who was released from prison only days before the crime.
It took 18 months and two trials for Cook to be sentenced to death. At midnight, on November 14, 1960, he was led from his cell in Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, to the execution chamber. He was pronounced dead at 00:18, and would be the last person to be hanged in the province.

[MaineWriter]

Reagan, TX

 Reagan was named after William Reason Reagan who donated the land. It dates from 1873 when the Waco and Northwestern Railroad laid tracks between Bremond and Ross.

During the mid-1880s Reagan reportedly had nine (!) Cotton gins, five stores, and two hotels.

By 1890 they had a weekly newspaper and a thriving population of 500 people.

In 1905 there were two one-teacher schools for Blacks and one three-teacher school for others. Reagan schools consolidated into the Marlin ISD during the wave of school consolidations after WWII.

Reagan reached its high-water mark in 1914 with 600 Reaganites. Population fell during the 1920s and even further in the 30s. It was down to 353 by the time the U.S. entered WWII.

The Southern Pacific discontinued rail service in 1965.

The Reagan skyline: