ROAD TRIP: A BBM Game

[jpwagoneer1964]

Nado, Mx

[Meryl]

Old Elwood, TX

[MaineWriter]

Delhi, TX

There are lessons to be learned here...

Delhi, Texas, (pronounced DELL HIGH), is situated in one of the more thinly populated parts of Caldwell County. Eighteen miles east of Lockhart, if you can find where FM 713 intersects with Highway 304, head south on 304 and you'll soon pass a cemetery, church and a simple building identified as the Delhi Community Center.

The well-tended cemetery is on the left side of the road. Enclosed by a tidy, but far-from-quaint cyclone fence, the cemetery's identity is confirmed by the overhead arch saying DEHLI - 1881. Tiny Confederate and American flags, their number disproportionately large to the number of graves in general, snap in the near-constant breeze.

A granite marker stands just outside the cemetery gate seemingly too elaborate for a community that no longer appears on state maps. The explanation is in the number of inscribed names.

According to the Handbook of Texas, the population of tiny (never-had-a-railroad) Delhi never exceeded 200 persons. Nevertheless, from the Civil War to Vietnam, the town supplied 32 soldiers to various wars, "police actions" and conflicts.

The first thing that catches the visitor's eye is the duplication of surnames.

Like most Delhi men, Alford J. Fogle served in the Confederacy during the Civil War. The Fogle family didn't participate in WWI, but they made up for it in WWII when Julius, Marvin, and Willey Fogle served.

The Cox family had John G. in the Civil War, Jessie G. in WW I and Joe H. in WW II.

Bartlett S. Reid was in the Civil War and a descendent also named Bartlett S. served in WW II.

Glenn B. Reid served in WWII and years later Carroll A. Reid was Delhi's solitary Vietnam casualty.

Although Spanish-American troop trains to Florida passed as nearby as Luling, Delhi didn't have a participant in the all volunteer Spanish-American War.

But, by the time the U. S. became involved in WWI - Delhi was again ready.

Two Neeleys, Penn E. and Clarence J. served in The Great War and then Lloyd C. Neeley served in WW II. Tyre Pendleton was in WWI while descendent George M. Pendleton died in the Korean War.

Horace and Vernon were either brothers or a father and son that served in WW II.

[nova20194]

Irma, AB

Irma is a village in central Alberta 29 km northwest of Wainwright and 178 km southeast of Edmonton along Highway 14 and Highway 881.

The Village of Irma came into being in 1908 when the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway came through. Irma was later incorporated as a Village on May 30, 1912. The village was supposedly named after the daughter of the GTPR second vice-president General William Wainwright, although some believe it was named after one of the secretaries of a GTPR official. Records show three major fires in the downtown area. These broke out in 1911, 1931 and 1963. Most of the buildings on Main street were reconstructed after the 1931 fire.

[belbbmfan]

Arnold, Texas

[MaineWriter]

Ditto, TX

 Settlement of the area dates back to the late 1700s.

The town had originally been known as Agua Negra after the dark water of a local spring.

The first post office was called Mottomosa, but was discontinued by 1875.

In 1881 a new application was submitted to the postal authorities. Ditto was written into the space for the name - assuming that the authorities would understand that the town was requesting the same name as before - Mottomosa. The approval came for the name Ditto, Texas.

In 1884 Ditto fifty people called Ditto home, although their school was still Agua Negra. This seems to have been Ditto's high water mark.

In 1885 a petition was signed to make Ditto the Atascosa county seat. It would've won, had the women signers not been disqualified.

In the 1890s the population shrunk to 20 and the last time a census was taken - it was still 20.

In 1934 the Agua Negra School was consolidated with Poteet. After the war a few scattered dwellings occupied the area and remained into the 60s. Ditto no longer appears on maps and the few people who reside in the area would be surprised to hear that it was once a town.

[Meryl]

Oak Cliff, TX



The historic Texas Theatre in Oak Cliff

Oak Cliff was a town located in Dallas County, Texas (USA), that was annexed by the neighboring city of Dallas in 1903. It has since retained a distinct neighborhood identity as "Dallas' older, established neighborhood". As such, it is often called "The Cliff."

Oak Cliff also has some of the most beautiful turn of the century and mid-20th century housing, many parks and remarkably close proximity to the central business district of downtown Dallas without the heavy vehicular traffic or higher cost of housing commonly associated with Dallas' northern neighborhoods.

[nova20194]

Forestburg, AB


Forestburg is a village located in east-central Alberta, Canada. The rich farmland of the area was first settled in 1905. Soon after the first of many "gopher hole" mines, homesteaders were soon coal mining on the banks of the Battle River in 1907.

The site was surveyed in 1919 after the Canadian Northern Railway arrived in 1916, and Forestburg was incorporated into a village. Today Forestburg's economy is based on agriculture, coal mining, oil and gas activity, and power generation. With approximately 75 businesses, the rate of employment is good. Forestburg has a good variety of retail and services, with major employment by Atco Power Ltd., Praire Mines and Royalties.

[MaineWriter]

Gober, TX

Settlers began arriving in the 1840s and the community was first called Grittersville, after one of the first businesses - a steam-powered gristmill. In 1879 the town began receiving mail and the population increased during the 1880s. Residents decided they needed a better name and so the men who had built the gristmill ( J. F. and William Gober) were so honored.

The population was a healthy 250 by 1890. Gober's industrial base was helped by a quarrying business. The population reached its high-water mark of 300 around the start of the Great Depression and it subsequently declined - reaching about 200 by the mid-1950s. Gober had a population of 246 in the mid-1960s which has since declined to the current estimate of 146.

[Meryl]

Red Buttes, WY