Be Back Monday

I Hope They're Bitin'

I am taking the weekend off from the blog so I can let my wife and kids harass me for a couple of days. If this is your first visit here (or if it's been a while since you've paid us a visit), please stroll through the archives. There's some good stuff in them. Be safe and have a great weekend !

Toby, aka, FishFearMe

Texas Tidbits : A Preacher Armed With The Word (And a Pistol)

You just know you're in a rough and tumble place when a Methodist Preacher carries a sidearm. Such is the case with the Reverend Jesse Lee in 1903 Trinity County. You see, 28 year old Lee had been a preacher in Malakoff and Beaver Valley before being sent to Groveton. Malakoff and Beaver Valley were filled with fine, law-abiding citizens and congregation members. Groveton? Not so much. When Lee arrived in Groveton in 1903, he was, shall we say, appalled, at the lack of law enforcement and the open sale of the Demon Rum, which was supposedly illegal. The young Padre ( I know he wasn't Catholic, I just like to call preachers "padre") didn't exactly make a good first impression on some of the fine citizens of Groveton. From texasescapes.com : "On his first morning in Groveton Lee presided at the funeral of a young church member who had been murdered. He soon named criminals from his pulpit and where they gathered." Not. A. Good. Move. Once when Jesse went to see the Head Methodist Guy in Crockett, some folks in Groveton burned down his church! Not exactly what you'd call the "Christian attitude": read the rest of the story here. It gets better and I won't spoil the ending. Armed with The Word is powerful enough. But, when a preacher is packin' heat, too, that could be a sign. Just sayin'.

Colorado Chronicles : Granby

See that photo up there^^^? That's what I'm talkin' about ! That is Lake Granby,near Granby, CO, about 85 west of Denver. I have been there and as beautiful as this picture is, it still doesn't do justice to what is shown. In person Lake Granby is even more visually stunning. Imagine that if you can. At 7935 feet high in the Rockies and home to a touch over 1500 lucky people, Granby is in one of the most scenic locales in the world. The town was founded in 1904 by a  lawyer named Hilyer Granby and was incorporated in 1905. As you have probably surmised by now, in the summer months there are numerous outdoor activities to take advantage of and some oustanding places to visit while you're in Granby. Just beacause Old Man Winter makes his annual trek through the Rockies, doesn't mean you have to be stranded inside for several months. Au contraire, podnuh. Granby is just a hop, skip and a jump from some of the best snow skiing in the world at Winter Park. Towns like Granby are just one of several thousand reasons I'd live in a small town over the city any day of the week and twice on Sunday.

Maine Minutiae : Hallowell (Home of 2 New Fishin' Holes)

Hallowell Classical and Scientific Academy, 1882 (courtesy vintagemaineimages.com)

I was in Hallowell yesterday. Actually, I was at the reservoir there watching the wife and kids do some swimming. Add to that, the fact that I found a new fishin' hole and it was a good day. Not bad for an 11.6 mile round trip. Hallowell was first settled in 1762 by Deacon Pease Clark, his wife and son Peter on what is now Water Street in downtown Hallowell. As far as commerce in early Hallowell, Wikipedia informs us : "Thriving industries included shipbuilding (between 1783 and 1901, 50 ships were launched from Hallowell's wharves), trading, publishing and logging. Two grist mills, five sawmills and two slaughterhouses served the needs of residents near and far." Of course being on the banks of the Kennebec River played a large role in these businesses. Augusta was considered part of Hallowell until 1797 when it became its own city. Today Hallowell is home to artisans, musicians and folks who've lived their entire lives there. Ooooooooooooohhhhhh...I am almost forgot that while looking up stuff for this post, I found this old granite quarry. I just might have thoroughly investigate whether or not any species of the piscatorial variety inhabit that water.

Texas Tidbits : Texas Monthly's Top 10 Hiking Trails (For Tim F.)

With 267,000 square miles to explore, it makes sense that Texas would have some great places to take a hike. And it does. Today we'll take a look at Texas Monthly Magazine's choices for the Top 10 hiking trails in the Lone Star State. Before getting started, I'd like to dedicate this post to a long-time friend, Tim F., who recently had some major heart surgery. Tim, I know you have two speeds - full tilt boogie and asleep - so I offer to you these places to get some rehab in, since a large part of your rehab is walking. Tim, these are ten of the best places in Texas to walk! So, get walkin', Mister! :) These trails stretch  from the Davis Mountains in Far West Texas to my personal favorite The Big Thicket in Southeast Texas. (Village Creek in the Big Thicket is one of the hidden jewels of Texas fishing. Trust me on this. I have fished there hundreds of times. It's Top 10 worthy itself). With all that said I'll send you off to Texas Monthly's website to get the full story. Tim...click this link !

Maine Minutiae : Waterville

About twenty miles up I-95 from my house is the city of Waterville, home to about 15,000 Mainers. Despite the fact that it's not a large city, Waterville is a bustling town with plenty of major retail chain stores and restaurants doing business there. It seems as it's always been that way throughout the city's history. Waterville's location at the confluence of the Kennebec and Sebasticook Rivers plays (played) an important role in its developement. Wikipedia passes this along : "Early industries included fishing, lumbering, agriculture and ship building, with larger boats launched in spring during freshets. By the early 1900s, there were five shipyards in the community. Ticonic Falls blocked navigation further upriver, so Waterville developed as the terminus for trade and shipping." Here's a brief history of Waterville from watervillemaine.net. There are three things that attract me to Waterville, the aforementioned Kennebec and Sebasticook Rivers and Messalonskee Stream . I can smell the trout in that stream from here. Fish.Fear.Me. :)

Texas Tidbits : Bonnie and Clyde

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia

The 1930's will be remembered for at least two things : The Great Depression and legendary criminals...Dillinger, Capone, Baby Face Nelson and perhaps the two most famous of all, Bonnie and Clyde. Texans, both, Clyde was born in Ellis County in 1909, Bonnie in Rowena in 1910. Both were gunned down by just-as-legendary FBI man, Melvin Purvis and other law enforcement officers in Bienville Parrish, Louisiana on May 23, 1934. I've (and I'm sure you have, too) heard about Bonnie and Clyde literally my whole life and am somewhat familiar with their escapades. But, it struck me like somebody hit me between the eyes with a Louisville Slugger when I actually looked at their birthdays and death date. Clyde was 2 months past his 25th birthday and Bonnie was still a young woman ("lady" hardly seems like the appropriate word) of only 24. My KIDS are older than that! Wow! Bonnie and Clyde have been memorialized in song (Merle Haggard, The Legend of Bonnie and Clyde, 1968), movies (Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty, 1967) and a enough books, if laid side-by-side, to reach from El Paso to Texarkana. The way these two have been romanticized, you'd think they were John F. and Jackie Kennedy. Just remember, they were bank robbers and cold blooded killers, no different than Al Capone or John Dillinger. I checked out the FBI site for some information, and they've got a thumbnail sketch of their rundown of Bonnie and Clyde. It's a quick and interesting read. Until next time, y'all !