take a tip from tip's

 

The tip from Tip's might be "buy your beer here."  Maybe you passed up Sue's Liquor 25 miles back in Crosbyton and not realize if might be another 90 miles to the beer store in Seymour.  Probably no need to comparison shop since Tip's doesn't have much competition in town.  Dickens voted "wet" in 1964 but Tip's has only been there since 1998.  Prior to the alcohol referendum Dickens was a "prohibition" county--which did not necessarily mean there were no drinkers.  Imbibers just had to know where to find the bootleggers.  Bootleggers have been around about as long as the settlers.  There is a story about Samuel G. Flook, bookkeeper at the Espuela Ranch in Dickens County in the late 1800s.   Flook was discharged "because of drunkenness." He then  moved to Dickens and opened a store, to-wit:

                                          Sam´l G. Flook, Dr.

                                          Hardware, Tinware, Glassware

                                          Saddlery, Etc.

 

Wonder if the "Etc." included booze from the back room?

 

Tip's Liquor

Highway 82

Dickens, Texas

4.23.2014

hands across time

 

My dad and the newest great-granddaughter Ava share birthdays in March -- born 90 years apart.

iris

 

Today is a good day to post the obligatory spring iris image.  We are counting the number of "red flag alert" days we can have in a row -- today is #3.  According to the National Weather Service, this means:

     WIND...WEST NORTHWEST AT 25 TO 35 MPH. 

     HUMIDITY...NEAR 10 PERCENT DURING THE AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING.        TEMPERATURE...MID 70S TO LOW 80S

     BLOWING DUST...LIMITED VISIBILITY

At my recent visit, the lady at Clark Gardens apologized for the lack of irises.  They were victims of the last freeze.  There were still limited varieties to see' overall the gardens have been affected by the severe weather as well as the drought. 

Clark Gardens
Mineral Wells, Texas
4.25.2014

 



open for business

 

The Newcastle Farm Supply appeared open for business.  The man in the recliner observed as I made several drags down the main street.  I parked and approached.  I told him I was interested in old buildings and signs and asked if I could photograph.  He smiled and nodded.  I took a series of shoots and then asked if I could go inside the store.  He smiled and nodded.  The store interior looked like ancient garage sale stuff -- the collapsing tin ceiling is probably worth triple the contents.  I thanked him for allowing me to take pictures.  He smiled and nodded.  Nary a word spoken as I chatted away.  I suppose it was an interesting afternoon diversion as he smiled and nodded.

 

Newcastle, Texas

Young County

US 380 and FM 926

4.25.2014

 

 

79540

 

The former post office building in Old Glory stands in tribute to a community's past where getting the mail was a social event.  The weathered frame structure, even with modern ADA improvements, has character.  The new post office, built according to Handbook AS-503, Standard Design Criteria, looks just like hundreds of small town post offices everywhere.  Despite the new steel building,  the post master (or postmistress) probably still knows everybody and folks still gather about 10:00 a.m. to cuss and discuss.

 



79540

 



Old Glory, Texas

4-25-2014

old glory

 

Old Glory is a community in Stonewall County.  While I was standing in the middle of the road photographing, Dewey Dudensing stopped his pickup to ask if I knew the history of the town.  Settled by Germans around 1900, the original name was Brandenburg.  The outbreak of World War I and rising anti-German sentiment caused the settlers to petition the Post Office to change the name.  The residents chose Old Glory to reflect the community's patriotism.  The post office still remains in Old Glory but the school, church and mercantile are gone.  Dewey says the few remaining houses have been sold to hunters as deer camps.  Dewey was on way north arrowhead hunting -- his odds were probably better than searching for rumored buried Spanish treasure or lost gold or silver mines. 

 

Old Glory, Texas

Loop 128 off US 380 and FM 1835

Stonewall County, Texas

columbine

 

Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden

Dallas, Texas

betty a la marilyn

 

1930s sex symbol Betty Boop does a 1960s sex symbol Marilyn Monroe pose on the side of a defunct gas station in Dickens.  Or did Betty do the cheesecake version first?  With the "dry line" this morning, there was definitely wind to blow one's skirts up.  (Blue jeans not so much!)

 

Dickens, Texas

the tunnel

 

As part of my job in emergency planning, I visit some hidden parts of the Texas Tech University campus.  Most recent tour was part of the underground tunnel system.  The subterranean maze of almost 10 miles carries most of the campus utilities like fiberoptic cables, steamed and chilled water, and telephone lines.  This tunnel runs from CHACP 2 (Central Heating and Cooling Plant) to the University Medical Center (UMC).  We were looking at tornado safe sheltering areas.  The tunnel is protected -- unless the pipes break or debris blocks egress.  In that case, one would go to the nearest fan room along the tunnel, climb the vertical ladder, use the adjacent bolt cutters on the grate and exit outdoors -- somewhere in the grassy area between CHACP 2 and UMC south of 9th Street.

 

The tunnel system originated in 1929 with the construction of the Administration Building.  As new buildings are built, they are tied to CHACP 1 on Main Street.  Click here for more information on Texas Tech Utilities.  Go here if you're interested in a ghost story related to Tech tunnels.

flower girl

 

Waiting for the wedding to begin can be stressful for flower girls.  This lass with her fancy dress and spool heels occupied herself with Cheetos before picking up the flower basket and sprinkling petals down the aisle.  Wonder if the white petals had a dusting of orange powder?

 

South Fork Ranch

Dallas, Texas

11.9.2014

spring color

 

The undulating display of salvia and Mexican feather grass along Main Street is dazzling.  Texas Tech dug up the evergreen junipers and replaced them with xeriscaping.  Great decision.

 

Main Street

Texas Tech Campus

Lubbock, Texas

smith homestead

 

As a child, I thought the Smiths lived in a big house surrounded by stately trees.  Today's reality didn't match my memories.  My Uncle Ed said it was all right to wander around and photograph the barn.  I didn't ask when the barn was built but it predates the 1950s tractor still inside.  Uncle Ed's father moved to Lorenzo in 1910 around age 11 -- before the town was incorporated. The Smith family engaged in farming and had a gin. Ed, the Lorenzo ginner's son, married my Aunt Betty, the New Deal ginner's daughter (guess who was flowergirl).  Uncle Ed, age 84, still "supervises" son and grandson who farm the family land.

 

Lorenzo, Texas

our lady of good remedy

 

DEAR LADY OF GOOD REMEDY, source of unfailing help,

thy compassionate heart knows a remedy

for every affliction and misery we encounter in life. 

Help me with thy prayers and intercession

to find a remedy for my problems and needs.

 

Mortuary Chapel dedicated to our Lady of Sorrows

San Xavier Del Bac Mission

Tucson, Arizona

2.27.2014

anachronism

Anachronism:  something from a different period of time
  1.  swamp cooler
  2.  aluminum screen door
  3.  phonographs
  4.  records
  5  a bustling downtown

305 West 4th Street
Littlefield, Texas
4.12.2014

church on basin

 

This church on Basin Street (not that Basin Street in New Orleans, but the one in Littlefield) is one of the defunct ones.  It's not as dilapidated as some of its neighbors but probably has not been closed as long.  The concrete ramp is interesting.  It probably pre-dates ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) because the slope doesn't meet ADA requirements.  Perhaps the ramp was built to make it easier for pallbearers to carry caskets in for services.  Surely it wasn't for little old ladies in wheelchairs--  making for speedy heavenly departures.

 

Church with no name

Basin and Elm Streets

Littlefield, Texas

4.12.2014



church doors

 

The doors of this abandoned church in Littlefield have not welcomed a congregation in years.  If the doors opened, parishioners would find only rafters fallen from the collapsed roof.  I realized that the right-hand door was a replacement but I pondered, puzzled, for a moment.  The door leaning against the wall looked just liked the left-hand door--how could that have worked?  Then I realized it was placed backwards.  The door mechanism was the give-away!  I wondered what the name for that piece of gear might be, and a diligent search rewarded me with "door opener." Such a mundane word for that equipment.  If you want to buy a "door opener" be sure to specify hydraulic, pneumatic, electric, left-handed, right-handed, non-handed, heavy duty.  The descriptors are more interesting than the name of the device.

 

Church with no name

Hilbun and Basin Streets

Littlefield, Texas

4.11.2014

sign of the cross

 

 

I surmise that the Primera Iglesia Baptista recently "moved" up into a building vacated by another congregation that also moved up.  Evidently the budget did not allow to replace the sign.

 

Primera Iglesia Baptista

Hall Avenue and 14th Street

Littlefield, Texas

no services on sunday

 

The small neighborhood on the north side of Littlefield once supported four or five churches.  Today three stand in disrepair.  I can understand a congregation disbanding and abandoning the building, but to leave the pulpit, pews and organ behind is incomprehensible.  I like the way the bars of sunlight and shadow fall through the roof.  And I like the repetition of the pulpit's cross on the chair cushion.

 

Church with no name

Texas and Martin Luther King Avenues

Littlefield Texas

april is the cruelest month

 

The tulips on the Texas Tech campus were at their peak on Sunday - a beautiful spring day.  On Monday another front with blowing dust -- scattering petals hither and yon.

 



for lease

 

There's not much information on this property except I found a "for lease" ad on the Internet.  I'm still not sure what the "notox" means.  There weren't any hazmat placards that I noticed or "beware" signs.  However, as a potential tenant, I would have questions -- especially about what caused the stains on the walls.

 

1405 Avenue A

Lubbock, Texas

double x

 

Apologies for the sporadic postings.  I have been dealing with my annual spring respiratory ailment and am on the thirteenth day of "no voice." However, I think I am on the "notox" side of it.  That's more than I can say for this warehouse on the backside of Avenue A, alongside the railroad tracks and across from "tent city" the homeless compound.

 

1405 Avenue A

Lubbock, Texas

spring garden

 

Gateway Plaza Park is awash in riotous color but not with the bloom of spring flowers -- it's pinwheels.  Sidewalks are lined with hundreds of the colorful objects with the slogan "Spin into Action" to promote April as Child Abuse Awareness Month.  Spring breezes turn the pinwheels and one can note the "variable West Texas winds" as the center row spins while other rows are stationary.  Never heard of Gateway Plaza Park?  It is supposedly is the entrance to downtown but recent razing of the former Halsey Drug Store on the north side of Broadway and the buildings on the south corner, the "gateway" is fairly stark.  Gateway Plaza Park is also home of the 1970 Lubbock Tornado Memorial inscribed with the names of the 26 who died.  The original memorial on the Lubbock Memorial Civic Center was demolished when the fountain was razed.  We seem to do more "razing" than "raising" lately.

 

Gateway Plaza Park

Broadway and Avenue Q

Lubbock, Texas