Texas Tidbits; Insider Secret - Where We Get Some of Our Tidbits

All About Texas

The Texas Almanac has been a leading reference book for those who are in search of information on any number of topics about Texas since 1857. While there were years when the Almanac wasn't published, it has been a yearly fixture of Texas publishing since 1925. I was browsing through it when I found an article about the early days of the automobile in Texas. Published in 1911, less than fifty years after the end of the War of Northern Aggression (Yankees call it the Civil War or The War Between the States), this article paints a picture of Texas as a very different place from what we see throughout the state today.

Remember that this article was published in 1911. It states, "Ten years ago an automobile was a curiosity in the leading cities of Texas. Five years ago the people in many counties had never seen what was then known as the horseless carriage. Today it is estimated that the number of automobiles in actual service in Texas will reach nearly 30,000 and that over $40,000,000 is invested in the machines. Reports, dated August 1, 1910, from 180
counties in the State show a total of 14,276 automobiles. A canvass by the Commercial Secretaries’
Association places the number at 30,000, which, at an average value of $1,500 each, would make the investment $45,000,000. This number is constantly increasing, and counting the life of a machine at three years, the new machines purchased to take the place of old ones cost $15,000,000 annually."Thirty thousand cars in the whole state? How hard to imagine is that? On any given rush hour, you'll find more than that many cars on Loop 610 in Houston alone. In 1911, there were barely over a thousand cars in all of Harris County. Dallas County weighed in with a hefty 1390 automobiles in 1911.

To view the entire article, click here and scroll down to the last article link on the page. There are other articles from the Texas Almanac at the link that tell us about the schools in Texas in 1873, the State Legislature in 1870 and the Almanac lists the composition of the State Congress as "Democrats and Conservatives 40; Radicals, 50...." What the hell would the publishers of this story in 1870 think about politicians today? I shudder at the thought. There is also a piece on survivors of the Texas Revolution written in 1872. I think you'll find some stuff that'll trip your trigger when you follow the link to the stories. As I mentioned earlier, the Texas Almanac holds a mountain of information regarding the Lone Star State, its people and its history and it's just a mouse click away. Go ahead. Click. You know you want to. You'll thank me later.  :)

Texas Tidbits: Mr. Spock - Vulcan or Texan?

The Rod

The answer to the question in the title of this post is a definite "kind of". Let me splain. Mr. Spock is a product of the fertile mind of one Eugene Wesley Roddenberry, creator of the phenomenon known as Star Trek. "OK, so what's the connection to Texas?", you ask. Gene Roddenberry was born in El Paso on August 19, 1921. There's your "Texas Connection".

Star Trek is the everlasting legacy of Gene Roddenberry, no doubt, but the man had quite an interesting life before creating Captain James T. Kirk, his crew and the USS  Enterprise. Gene was raised in Los Angeles, where his Dad was a cop. Gene attended several colleges, earned an Associate of Arts degree  from Los Angeles City College and later studied pre law and aeronautical engineering. It was also during this time that he became a licensed pilot. During World War II, Roddenberry piloted the B-17 Flying Fortress on 89 missions earning the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal. After the war, Gene was a pilot for Pan Am and later an LA Policeman. It was 1953 when Roddenberry left the LA Police Department to become a full time screenwriter. That decision had an impact on television and hundreds of millions of people who would later become "Trekkies". I'll have more on that in a minute.

A few years after becoming a screenwriter, Roddenberry became the Head Writer for a great old TV Western called Have Gun, Will Travel". He would later produce a TV show called The Lieutenant, which is said to be the inspiration of the G.I. Joe Action Figure. From the website Famous Texans.com, we get this: As a fan of science-fiction, Roddenberry saw similarities between space explorers and American pioneers.  He envisioned a science-fiction series for television that, like the westerns he wrote, would have continuing characters. At the time he conceived it in 1963, this would have been a first for TV. Based on the popular show, "Wagon Train," Roddenberry called it a "wagon train to the stars," or a "star trek." With the airing of the first episode of Star Trek in 1966, Roddenberry not only created a history-making TV show, but an entire industry built around it. I think it's safe to say that there have been hundreds of billions of dollars spent on Star Trek merchandise and memorabilia since its inception. Star Trek conventions are held by the hundreds every year all over the world, Star Trek movies have grossed hundreds of millions of dollars and the original TV show has inspired (insert number here) spin off TV series. The Star Trek brand is a monster that keeps feeding on its own and producing new monsters like rabbits make babies. And I mean "monster" in a good way. The continued success of all things Star Trek is truly mind boggling, especially considering it's been almost fifty years since the original TV series made its debut. Not a bad run, huh?

(Doing my best "Scotty" impersonation) Dammit, Jim, I gave her all she's got! And I have given her all she's got in this post. I have only one thing to say. "Beam me up, Scotty".

Texas Tidbits: The Glass Bottom Boat and SpongeBob

Looking For SpongeBob

I was recently recalling one of my fondest child hood memories. It involved traveling south on I-35 to Austin, San Antonio and San Marcos. I can't recall what we did in Austin, but I think we went to the Capitol Building, which was real cool for a kid my age. I was maybe 6 or 7 at the time. In San Antonio, we of course, went to the Alamo. I still remember being that most sacred of Texas monuments and replaying the Battle of the Alamo, probably recalled from the John Wayne movie about the battle. In my little boy mind, I was Davy Crockett, fighting off the attacking Mexican soldiers with Old Betsy, my trusted long rifle. Bang! I shot one of the bad guys. Smack! A rifle butt to the chops! Davy (me) saves the day! Then reality sets in when my Dad calls me over to look at another exhibit in the mission. From the Alamo went up to San Marcos to visit something called "Aquarena Springs". I wasn't very enthused by having leave the Alamo before Davy Crockett (me) could save the day, but this was my fate. Aquarena Springs it was. I quickly changed my mind when I discovered that the boat we were getting ready to board, had a glass bottom! From Davy Crockett, I was now a miniature Jacque Cousteau, exploring the crystal clear waters of the San Marcos River. Through that galass bottom I could see all manner of fish, soft shell turtles, giant squid and man-eating sharks! I made up the part about sharks and giant squid, but a kid can pretend, can't he? That glass bottom boat was one of the best things I have ever seen in my life! I almost forgot about the diving pig! They put a pig on a diving platform way up in the air and a pig actually dived off of it! Way frakkin' cool. Here it is, almost fifty years later, and I remember that boat ride like it was yesterday, giant squid, sharks and all.  :) My family and I are tryin' like hell to get a trip to Texas to fit into our summer plans this year. Maybe my two little girls will see the magic in that glass bottom boat that I saw on that summer day so long ago. I get this sneaky feeling that Bailey the 4 year old will say something like, "Daddy, I just saw SpongeBob!" And that will probably be her memory of the glass bottom boat fifty years from now. I know I'll believe it. After all, I saw that giant squid and those man-eating sharks.

Quick Note to Readers in Texas Whose Homes Suffered Storm Damage

Once in a while I'll come across a business that stands out amongst its peers. Today, I am proud to recognize a guy and his business for going above and beyond the call of duty in helping fellow Texans facing a tough situation.

Let me state up front that I have been away from the internet and TV for most of the last two days, so I have missed out on a ton of stuff making the news. It is my understanding that parts of Texas have been blasted with severe weather over the past few days and quite a bit of property damages was done by high winds and hail. That infers that roof damage to homes in the area must be pretty widespread, leaving thousands of folks needing roof repair ASAP. If you fall into this category, I have found a company for you that does things the Old Fashioned Way - with deference to the needs of the customer and with quality that would make your Mother proud - Tice Roofing.

A guy I went to High School with and know to be a good man, Joe Henderson, is one of the main guys at Tice Roofing. I was looking over my Facebook page this morning and it's loaded with testimonials from satisfied customers with which Joe and Tice Roofing have dealt. Not only homeowners, but realtors and others have have had the pleasure of doing business with someone they know and trust. It couldn't hurt to at least give Tice a look-see and learned for yourself what they are all about. Their website can be found here.

I am NOT getting paid or compensated in ANY WAY by Tice Roofing and NOBODY asked me to write this post, I am simply going by the comments of people I know and trust. If they say Tice Roofing is the way to go, then that's good enough for me.

Texas Tidbits: Prehistoric Texas

Granado Cave

On this very blog, I regularly write about Texas History. To me at least, it's a fascinating topic and I am always on the lookout for new sites that cover some kind of Texas History. Today, I bingo'ed when I found a site called Texas Beyond History. I have always been curious as to who lived in Texas thousands of years ago, before the Europeans and Indians from other parts of the New World made it into Texas and Prehistoric Texas filled in the blanks for me.what really got my attention about ancient peoples in general, was the discovery of human remains in Israel that are believed to be 200,000 years old. Enter my curiosity and Texas Beyond History, TBH courtesy of the University of Texas at Austin.

Yesterday, I published an article about the recent discovery of the biggest cave in the world in Viet Nam. That got me to thinking about the caves in Texas and the history associated with them,, Then, like a lightning bolt out of the blue, I found Texas Beyond History. Ask and ye shall receive! I navigated my way around the site in search of caves and I came up with a cave in the Rustler Hills of  West Texas called "Granado Cave". Following is what I learned.

For more than 1200 years, Indians in this area used Granado Cave as a seasonal or temporary home. These early inhabitants left behind a treasure trove of artifacts and evidence of the activities of their daily lives. For archeologists, "Granado Cave provides a window into the past and small glimpses of innovative and caring peoples trying to make a living in this harsh desert area. The cave's protective shelter and the region's dry climate have preserved fragile artifacts and other remains of prehistoric life that would not have survived in most other areas of the state".The early inhabitants of Granado Cave also left behind "fragments of meals, cooking "appliances," tools, mats and basketry. They also left haunting reminders of tragic events long ago—the deaths of loved ones."


Click on over and give the entire article a look-see. You'll find a wealth of information in such a short piece, but more importantly, you'll be able to visualize in your mind a movie of almost exactly what it was like to be one the Ancient Ones of West Texas. Your mental motion picture will take you through the daily lives of the Rustlers Hills people, or Castile culture, as they hunt and gather, prepare meals, weave baskets and shoes from local plants and other fascinating things that will make the movie playing in your thoughts as real as the people who performed these tasks so long ago.

This is Texas History.

Under the Weather

Sorry about the lack of new posts today, but I have the CRUD that my wife and kids had last week. I'll be back with more blogging brilliance tomorrow, I hope.

Thanks,
Toby

'Tis the Sabbath - Three Materpieces for a Sunday

Icky Twerp

It's another glorious New England Sunday with nary a snow flake in sight. Just beautiful, warm, revitalizing sunshine. Sigh I may, just may mind you, fire up the grill later today for our first cookout of the Spring. The rib eye steaks are calling to me with their siren song of medium rare. Sigh The vegetables in my my El Cheap-o Walmart Teensy Weensy Greenhouse are shoosting to the sky (hat tip Green Acres) and I've got my three girls by my side. Life is good. Sigh

With such splendor around me, how can I be expected to actually work today? Right1 I ain't gonna work today! I will not, however, leave you at the proverbial blogging altar. I am carefully perusing the Three States Plus One archives of literary masterpieces to re-acquaint you with the Shakespearian prose for which this blog is known, to find the posts that have made me an Internet Pariah Sensation. That's just how I roll. You can thank me later.

I will tell you that you might want to wait until after Church to read this stuff, it's not a good thing to go into the Lord's House with a mind cluttered with impure thoughts. the rest of you may read on. :)

• Icky, Harold and Mrs. Baird - My memories of TV stuff from when I was a little boy in Fort Worth, Texas.
• A Haunted Lighthouse - Miane is home to over sixty lighthouses and this one is said to be haunted by the spirits of the long-dead people who once lived there. It's from last Halloween.
• Denver Suburb Goes to the Coyotes? - Wile E. Coyote and his coyote cohorts make them selves at home in suburban Denver.

There's your Sunday lineup of literary nirvana for today, friends. Just remember, you'll not find writing of this quality anywhere ealse on the World Wide Web. That is unless you can access the local elementary school poetry contest on the school's website. Hey! What do you want from me? I do this for FREE! :) Have a goodern. Adios.