time out

 

My Sunday drive destination was streets I'd not driven on in search of photo ops.  Lubbock's streets are numbered; the avenues are named alphabetically A, B, C east of the courthouse square, after cities east of Mississippi (Akron, Boston, Canton) to the west of the court house and after universities  to the northwest (Auburn, Baylor, Colgate).  East of the alphabet avenues are the "trees" (Ash, Beech, Cherry) which is where I headed.  Who knew there was a June tree (actually the June Berry tree) or that kapok really came from a Kapok tree?  I found this dilapidated, bullet-pocked backboard near the Compassionate Heart Ministries, which doesn't appear to offer outdoor youth activities.  This section of Lubbock probably has the majority of the 452 churches, with some type of chapel about every other block.

 

Compassionate Heart Ministries

3rd Street and June Avenue

Lubbock, Texas



shopping mecca?

 

Don't be looking for bargains at the Redneck Department Store on FM1729  -- it's out of business.  When I was by there a month or so ago there was lots of interesting junk out front.  Today only the medical potty chair remained.

 

Redneck Department Store

FM 1729

Lubbock County, Texas

marsha sharp supporters

 

Marsha Sharp was the long-time coach of the Texas Tech Lady Raiders national championship basketball team.  The East-West Freeway, in development since the 1980s and with final phase 5 ending completion with the Milwaukee Avenue overpasses, was renamed in honor of Marsha Sharp.  These concrete pillars support the overpass at Avenue H.

 

Marsha Sharp Freeway

Lubbock, Texas

cool dude

 

My preferred photographic subjects are still lifes and landscapes, but sometimes I hire out for family shoots.  Braddick is a solemn little boy with infrequent smiles.  Capturing (literally) him and big brother was a challenge.  Props help.

morada de talpa

 

 

The places names in Talpa are bigger than the town.  We ventured along Highway 518 to see the church - San Juan de los Lagos.  On the way we saw the Nuestra Senora del Carmen Cemetery, but it was too muddy and weedy to explore.  The cemetery has a chapel and morada -- a sanctuary  where the devotions of La Hermandad or Penitentes are practiced.

 

Talpa, New Mexico

5.23.2015 



utilities

 

If you arrive in Raton aboard the Southwest Chief at the 1903 train station and wish to stretch your legs during the stop, you can cross First Street (beware of construction) and catch a bite at the only place to eat in the historic downtown district before boarding again.  Except for the thousands of Boy Scouts bound for the Philmont Ranch camp, not many passengers have Raton as their final destination. 

 

Historic Downtown

Raton, New Mexico

5.22.2015

open invitation

 

Shouldn't the sign read "walk in" rather than "drive thru"?  That door hardly seems appropriate for cars.  It doesn't really matter since the place is closed.

 

Division Street

Slaton, Texas

6.20.2015

pink cadillac

 

Sometimes you're driving down the street and see something that makes you think "what?"  So you turn around and go back and then you wonder "why?" After you look at it awhile, you decide "why not."  I can't think of a better use for the front and rear ends of a 1964 pink Cadillac de Ville than as window awnings.

 

Sharp's Laundry

7307 19th Street

Lubbock, Texas



myrtle the turtle

 

Safe in her shell, Myrtle watched me photograph her.  I wondered what type turtle Myrtle might be and google led me to "chicken turtle."  Why chicken I wondered because turtles eat mostly bugs and plants.  Then I learned that chicken comes from the taste.  I don't plan on eating Myrtle.

you've got mail

 

48 mailboxes seem sufficient for the population of Afton, Texas.  The signs advise that mail will be up by 9:30 and post office hours are M-F 8:00 - 12:30 and Saturday 8:00 to 10:00.  With recent post office closures, Afton is lucky to still have one.  The story goes that this community was first known as Patton Springs, which is the school's name, prior to the 1890s. The first post office was Beckton after the first postmaster; when it closed the community called itself Cottowood but reapplication for a post office had the name already in use.  So citizen Myra Kelly suggested the name Afton from the English song "Flow Gently, Sweet Afton."  The new post office opened in 1900 when the town was populated by Myra and nine of her friends.  There's not many more than that there today.

 

U. S. Post Office

Afton, Dickens County, Texas

6.13.2015

 

ed

 

"ED" is all the neon left on this sign on the eastern end of Dickens; but there's not much left of Edith's Place either. If you require liquor or beer, Tip's is the better choice.

 

Dickens, Texas

6.13.2-15

country rustic

 

The rains have brought a profusion of wildflowers (or weeds by other names) which make even run-down places look scenic.

 

East Erskine

Lubbock County, Texas

6.13.2015

Victoria

 

In Latin Victoria means triumphant.  However, this Victoria, a surplus tanker used by the Ralls Volunteer Fire Department, is no longer victorious.  She's parked permanently behind the red building which is the base for the 17 community members who show up when the fire bell rings.  Reese, another piece of surplus equipment painted bright yellow, still functions.  She was parked at the intersection with fire volunteers and their "fill the boot" campaign. We contributed.

 

Ralls Volunteer Fire Department

Ralls, Texas

barn doors

 

Sometimes I am privileged to be asked to photograph some interesting places.  Such was the case on Thursday at the Texas Tech Dairy Barn. Despite the 95+ degree heat, Dr. John White of the TTU College of Architecture and I entered the dusty interior of the long empty building abandoned in 1966.  We even climbed the narrow stairs -- by flashlight -- to the hay loft. These interior doors separate the "milk room" from the feed rooms and office. The Dairy Barn, built in 1927,  has regained some status with its exterior renovations and new surrounding landscape.  Watch for more news about this building which was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992.

 

Texas Tech Dairy Barn

Lubbock, Texas

here we are

 



For over 60 years, the iconic TV sign lured customers to Manette TV and Radio.  However, the owner retired a few years ago to collect his social security, saying "when something breaks people throw it away rather than fixing it."  The giant letters on the former neighborhood shop are visible from the Manette Bridge connecting to Bremerton. I don't know if there's a business currently in the building but there's a Schiltz sign in the window. Schiltz and TV seems a natural pairing.

Manette Radio and TV
Bremerton, Washington
3.29.2015

my motto

 

This sums it up:  I stop for old cemeteries and country churches.

 

Mt. Hope Cemetery

Franklin, Tennessee

6.4.2015

barrels - no beer

 

The top two products of Lynchburg, Tennessee are whiskey and barbecue.  The BBQ Caboose on the square was cute with barrel tables but I ventured down the side street to  Barrelhouse BBQ for my "grilled cheese on crack" sandwich, consisting of pulled pork, pepperjack cheese and habanero sauce (optional for me!).  Instead of the usual beer, I had the customary sweet tea.  Did I mention Lynchburg is a dry town?  Barrelhouse BBQ is famous for the TV appearance of owner Chuck Baker on BBQ Pitmasters.  I regret not having the Jack Daniel's bundt cake with Jack Daniels icing -- in a dry town! 

 

 

Barrelhouse BBQ

Lynchburg, Tennessee

6.5.2015



circles and squares

 

Returning from the hills and trees of Tennessee, the landscape of the Plains from the air is welcoming.

 

Lubbock County, Texas

10,000 feet

antiques for sale

Today I drove the backroads of Tennessee through such towns as Lynchburg, Tullahoma, Normandy, Wartrace and, my favorite name, Bell Buckle, population 506.  According to tradition, the first white man to traverse the area now known as Bell Buckle discovered carvings in the shape of a cowbell and buckle on a tree near a free-flowing creek, which was interpreted as a warning from Indians that the domesticated animals of white civilization were intruding upon their lands. Thereafter the creek was referred to as Bell Buckle Creek and, logically enough, the town, which grew up on the banks of that creek, adopted its name. Today the small town is known for arts, antiques, and home cooking.  I was just a bit early for the annual RC Moon Pie Festival to be held June 20.

Bell Buckle, Tennessee

relaxing in leiper's fork

 

Leiper’s Fork is the only historic village on the Tennessee portion of the Natchez Trace Parkway and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The green rolling hills invite you to sit and relax.  Besides, there's not much else to do -- one grocery store with two gas pumps, one café, a few shops and one church.

 

Leiper's Fork, Tennessee

magnolia

 

 

The magnolias are blooming in Tennessee.  It's the state flower of Louisiana and the state tree of Mississippi.

masonic home

 

We are training this week at the Mid-Cumberland Health Facility in Nashville, Tennessee.  Two buildings dominate the more modern brick buildings at the complex.  At first glance the older buildings appear to be Southern antebellum style; a closer look shows vacant dormers, boarded windows and a chained door.  These abandoned, creepy buildings once housed the Masonic Home School and later mental institution.  Talk about southern Gothic!