Texas Tidbits: First Monday Trade Days in Canton!

This is a post I've been wanting to write for quite a while. I have been holding off doing so until just the right moment. This is just the right moment.

Spring is just a few days away and that of course means that folks will be once again enjoying the beautiful outdoors of our great country and day trips will again be the rule rather than the exception. The place I am going to write about today is a place I have been to many times, especially as a kid. Mom, Dad and my sisters and me would all pile into the Family Hoopty and head east in I-20 to Canton and the First Monday Trade Days! If you've never been to First Monday or if it's been a while since your last visit, this is definitely something you'll want to do a few times this spring and summer. From those who have never experienced First Monday, I am hearing a question being shouted in unison, "What the hell is First Monday Trade Days?". The short answer is First Monday is a flea market. A real BIG flea market. If it can be bought or sold, chances are you'll find it at First Monday. There's acre after acre of merchandise on display. Here's a quick look at First Monday from their website.

The history of First Monday gives us a little more insight as to why it has been around for over 150 years! 
"In the 1850s when the circuit judge stopped in Canton on the first Monday of each month to hold court, people from across Van Zandt and surrounding counties came to the Courthouse square to watch court proceedings and take care of business. Many brought their own goods to sell or trade, including produce, farm equipment and livestock. It was common to see wild horses, which were rounded up in the region, for sale on Trade Day. Canton's First Monday earned a statewide reputation as the best place to buy a good horse." I never knew that until a few minutes ago and I think that it's pretty cool. There's a lot more First Monday history as well as info on being a vendor, places to park an RV and so on, so be sure to check it out. While you're on their website, click on all the links they provide and you'll find out about the food, fun things and other stuff that First Monday in Canton has to offer you!

Texas Tidbits: Inks Lake State Park, A Well-Kept Secret

A Hidden Jewel

A few days a go I talked of how I am little homesick. It's this time of year when the fishin' heats up as many species are going through their annual spawning rituals and the likelihood of landing a wall-hanger increases exponentially. In prior years, I didn't much of an excuse to just go where ever and whenever I wanted to. Traveling a few hundred miles to go fishin' in a new spot, or a trusted old spot, was as common for me as going to WalMart was for everybody else.

One such "Man, that looks like a great spot to try" fishin' holes was Inks lake located in Burnet County. I don't remember exactly how I found Inks Lake but it was probably in write up in the Dallas newspaper. I am glad I found it. The lake isn't very big at a touch over 1200 acres, but man, was it loaded with good keeper sized largemouth bass. I didn't have a boat so I was limited to walking the bank looking for likely places to encounter and decimate some fish. When fishing unfamiliar water, I first check out the surface for obvious signs of "fishability"...things like tree stumps, weed beds, fallen trees in the water, cliffs, etc. I then put Texas Rigged plastic worm to good use. I have been fishing with plastic worms for well over 30 years and there's nothing I'd rather have in my tackle box. Period. one of the reasons I like to use the plastic worm is because it becomes my "underwater eyes" as I probe the bottom of the lake for tell tale signs of fish habitat. Each feature on the bottom of a body of water has a distinct "feel" to it as the worm makes contact with it. That? that was a rock. That? A clump weeds. And that? An underwater log. See what I mean? It's as if the worm has a tiny camera transmitting video to my brain. Another reason that Fish.Fear.Me.

At any rate, Inks Lake is a great place for a day trip of fishing or a week's vacation. It has all the amenities, or is relatively close to a place that has what you may need, like food. Inks Lake State Park also has showers for public use as well as a few limited use cabins. Let's just hop on over to the TexasOutside.com website that contains plenty of info on Inks Lake. Look it over here. One of the things I like about Inks Lake is the fact that it is so close to other parks in the Texas State Park family.

It's that time of year, so you'd better make plans now for your trip to Inks Lake State Park. With the economy still in the crapper, I've got a feeling that many people will be taking vacation trips a little closer to home than they otherwise might and Inks Lake is a little-known gem right in your own back yard.

Plus One: Regent, North Dakota UPDATED!

Regent, North Dakota? Yes, Regent, North Dakota. Regent is a rockin' place. I have never been to North Dakota, much less Regent, but I found a news story about Regent and I am all over it like a duck on a June bug. I originally posted the story on Because Toby Said So, but I am so enamored with Regent that I am adopting it as my Honorary Home Town. Read the post below and you'll see why I am, if they'll have me, A Son of Regent.

Sculpture by Gary Greff, Regent, ND

I hate like hell to start off a post with a disclaimer, but I think it's the right thing to do on this occasion. Disclaimer: I love small towns. The smaller, the better. Good fences make good neighbors and all that. I'd give my eye teeth to live in a small town yesterday if it were possible and I had the okie dokie from my wife. So both of you in Regent, North Dakota, I'd love to visit your town at any time. You wanna pony up for a trip from Maine to Regent for me, my wife and two children, I am all in. I'll do a "play by play", as it were, of the trip on this very blog , if you so desire. Email me at tobysaidso AT gmail DOT com with travel arrangements. I'm just sayin'. End of disclaimer.

The aforementioned Regent, North Dakota has as one of its citizens, a man named Gary Greff. Mr. Greff is renown around Regent as a sculptor. his work with iron has been transformed into deer, fish, grasshoppers and other animals and those works of art adorn a road called the Enchanted Highway. Sounds like a cool deal. Mr. Greff has now set his sights on a new sculpture that he hopes will bring in some much-needed cash flow from tourists traveling to the Annual Sturgis (SD) Motorcycle Extravaganza and Drunken Brawl. This new piece of art, a motorcycle, will be displayed on Main Street in Regent if all goes well. Greff plans for the bike to be 102 feet from tire to tire and 42 feet from ground to handlebars. The hope is that Greff can assemble motorcycle during the winter of 2011-2012, with the aim of getting it displayed in the summer of 2012. I think I love the town of Regent, North Dakota and I really like Gary Greff. Here's why: instead of bitchin' and moanin' and squawlin' and bawlin', the town and Gary Greff yanked up their collective boot straps and did and are doing a great thing by finding their own solution to their own problem. The best part is they did NOT call anyone in the State or Federal gubmint and ask for one single frakkin' dime! These people could be Texans, like me!  :) There are only 211 people who live in Regent and I want to salute every last one of them for their "do-it-yourself" attitude. That attitude is also known by the moniker of the American Way. I wish I could buy all 211 Regent-ites(?) the beverage his or her choice. Kick ass and take names, Regent!

If there's anything at all that I can help you with - PR, planned fund raisers, bake sales, ANYTHING, I will be more than glad to help. I run six blogs that get more than a few page hits every day and, if I need to, I can go All Regent, All the Time. OK, I made up that last part about All Regent, All the Time, but I am serious about helping you out if I can. The email address is in the "disclaimer" at the top of this post. Please feel free to use it anytime. You've got a big fan in Augusta, Maine.

Because Toby said so.

UPDATE: I found a website that features Gary Greff's magnificent sculpture work and it has some of the details on each one. This stuff is sick (in a good way). See for yourself here . I have Mr. Greff's phone number and will be contacting him either today or tomorrow. I am on a mission, please join me in sharing the news about Regent, North Dakota and The Enchanted Highway.

UPDATE 2 : There is a "Donation" button on the Enchanted Highway website. Please help out the folks in Regent, North Dakota. NO I DON'T GET A DIME AND DON'T WANT ONE FROM THE ENCHANTED HIGHWAY SITE. I AM PROMOTING THIS CAUSE BECAUSE I BELIEVE IN IT. NOTHING MORE, NOTHING LESS. NOW SEND THEM SOME MONEY!!!!

Posts Will Be Late Today

I have some personal business as well as some medical stuff to take care of this morning, so posts will be up late today. Check out the archives for some good stuff you may have missed!

Thanks,
Toby

Texas Tidbits: Pancho Villa, the KKK and My Grandmother

Brewster County, Emory Peak, Elevation 7825 ft above sea level

Wow! Have we covered a ton of Texas History in the last couple of weeks or what? I kind of wanted to take a break from that for at least a few days to rest my brain. I thought today that we'd take a trip to Nowhere. And by Nowhere, I mean Brewster County located waaaaayyyyy out west, home to Big Bend National Park and the City of Alpine. My maternal Grandmother grew up in Alpine and she would sometimes talk about how life was when she was a child in the late teens and 1920s.

Grandmother once told me a story about a group of Mexican banditos who would occasionally come to her home when she was a little girl. This particular group of men was led by an hombre called Pancho. Pancho Villa. As I remember, she said that Pancho Villa and his men would come for food and water and stuff like that. I don't remember the whole story, but I do remember her saying that Pancho and his men didn't seem like a bunch of bad guys and he and his men treated my Grandmother's family with respect. I'll have to get in touch with my aunt (Grandmother's youngest kid) and see if I can get more details of the story. Anyway, I thought that was the coolest thing when I was a little boy. Pancho Villa! At my Grandmother's house! Wow!

I remember another story that she told me only one time and I never heard another word about it. Grandmother and her family were very devout Catholics, as am I and the rest of the maternal side of my family. The story involved men in white sheets burning a cross on Grandmother's front yard when she was just a small child. Yup. The dickweeds of the KKK did it. Is it just me, or is it ironic that an outlaw like Pancho Villa treated her family with great respect and the "good guys" (excuse me while I go puke) of the Klan would do something as vile as a cross-burning in her front yard simply because they were Catholic? I can only imagine what that must have been like for a little girl to witness such a cowardly yet terrifying thing. Pardon me for a moment while I send a heartfelt, personal message to the boys in the KKK. FUCK YOU AND ROT IN HELL YOU PUSSIES! Other than that, have a nice day, assholes. :) END OF PERSONAL MESSAGE TO THE KLAN. There. I feel better.

My intent when I decided to write about Brewster County was to actually write about Brewster County, but I got so into the stories my Grandmother told me when I was a kid that it kinda veered off in that direction. I was and still am very proud of my Grandmother. She is probably the toughest human being I have ever met, and I have met some dandies, trust me. She was about 5 foot nothin' and about 90 pounds soaking wet and tough as an acre of snakes. I have some more stories from her that I could tell you about but let's save that for another time.

Texas Tidbits: Remember the Alamo!

It 175 years ago today that, after thirteen days, the Alamo and all its combatants fell to the Mexican Army of General Santa Anna. Outnumbered by more than 10 to 1, the defenders of the Alamo were no match for the better-equipped Mexicans. The siege of the Alamo was over.

For the definitive last word on this subject, we go to The Handbook of Texas Online. "On March 5, day twelve of the siege, Santa Anna announced an assault for the following day. This sudden declaration stunned his officers. The enemy's walls were crumbling. No Texan relief column had appeared. When the provisions ran out, surrender would remain the rebels' only option. There was simply no valid military justification for the costly attack on a stronghold bristling with cannons. But ignoring these reasonable objections, Santa Anna stubbornly insisted on storming the Alamo. Around 5:00 A.M. on Sunday, March 6, he hurled his columns at the battered walls from four directions. Texan gunners stood by their artillery. As about 1,800 assault troops advanced into range, canister ripped through their ranks. Staggered by the concentrated cannon and rifle fire, the Mexican soldiers halted, reformed, and drove forward. Soon they were past the defensive perimeter. Travis, among the first to die, fell on the north bastion. Abandoning the walls, defenders withdrew to the dim rooms of the Long Barracks. There some of the bloodiest hand-to-hand fighting occurred. Bowie, too ravaged by illness to rise from his bed, found no pity. The chapel fell last. By dawn the Centralists had carried the works. The assault had lasted no more than ninety minutes. As many as seven defenders survived the battle, but Santa Anna ordered their summary execution." More details on the conclusion of this extraordinary story can be found at the Texas State Historical Association website.

The bottom line is that the Alamo was lost to the Mexican Army, but the bravery of her defenders bought time for the fledgling Nation to officially declare its independence from its oppressors in Mexico, write a Constitution and put together an Army that was capable of defending Texas, her people and their Liberty. With the Alamo lost, a rallying cry for Texian troops was born. Remember the Alamo! And less than two months later at San Jacinto, a new Nation would emerge from the nearby bayous...the Republic of Texas was born.

God bless Texas!

Texas Tidbits: The Alamo, Victory or Death

We have come to an important moment in the Texas Revolution. The end of the siege of the Alamo is at hand. In less than twenty-four hours, there would be no defenders of the Alamo left alive. The sheer numbers of the Mexican troops alone were overwhelming enough. Combined with exhaustion from very little sleep, mental exhaustion, lack of supplies, etc. and the Texians were no match for much more powerful Mexican forces.

Over the last few days' worth of posts, one could almost feel the tension of the men at the Alamo, as they bravely awaited their fate at the hands of the Mexican Army. As Colonel William B. Travis had so eloquently written in his letter to the American people, ", I am determined to sustain myself as long as possible & die like a soldier who never forgets what is due to his own honor & that of his country. Victory or Death". 

A recap of this week's posts:

• Time is Not an Ally
• A Nation is Born 
• Texas Independence Day, March 2, 1836 
• The Siege of the Alamo, Day 10   
• The Siege of the Alamo, Day 11 

If you get the time to do so, please try to read all those posts back to back. It's a gripping story of a fledgling Nation, seeking Independence from a tyrant who ruled with an iron fist, leaving no man, woman or child with Freedom or Liberty. However, in the breasts of great men like Sam Houston, Davy Crockett, William B. Travis, James Bowie and all Texans, before and since the Revolution, beat hearts that call for, nay demand Freedom and Liberty, as endowed by God Almighty Himself. Quoting Colonel Travis again, "die like a soldier who never forgets what is due to his own honor & that of his country. Victory or Death". The people of Texas would settle for nothing less than that which is due them by Providence, for they were Texans, people forged of a hotter fire. God bless Texas!