x marks the spot

 

A handy way to remember where you parked your pickup is to put it under the red X.  This building, currently serving as a garage, probably had a multitude of lives from gas station to cafe to whatever Red-X is.  A google search only raised questions because the place probably didn't sell smoke shop vapors nor testosterone steroids!

 

Floydada, Texas

2.19.2017

alley cat

 

Get off the main streets and wander down some alleys.  Sometimes you find the most interesting sights.

 

Punkin Days

Floydada, Texas

10.10.2015

pit stop

 

If visiting a street fair, where else would you expect the facilities to be?  But why just two at a four-way stop?

 

Punkin Days

Floydada, Texas

10.10.2015

sitting on the court house square

 

Here are some of the citizens I met yesterday in Floydada.  They were sittin' on the square watching all the goings on.

 

Punkin Days

Floydada, Texas

10.10.2015

 



ghost pumpkin

 

A short drive today took me to the Pumpkin Capital of Texas for the 28th annual Punkin Days.  Floyd County grows about fifteen hundred acres of pumpkins, producing about 20,000 to 50,000 pounds per acres in a good year. That's approximately ten to fifteen million pounds of pumpkins-- or about one million pumpkins! There was a fair-like atmosphere around the court house square with food vendors, pie eating contest, car show, cake walks and, of course, cow pattie bingo.

 

Floydada, Texas



arf arf

Today's post is a travel tip.  If you're into Boston Terriers, and I have friends who are, then plan a trip to Floydada to visit the Boston Terrier Museum.  What is now the Museum used to be Pitts Hospital, where a lot of people from Floydada were born. It was later turned into a pharmacy but was vacant for years.  Opened in 2007, the Boston Terrier Museum houses a collection of dog-related memorabilia that outgrew house and shop.  But hurry if you want to see Boston Terrier candy dishes, door stops, shot glasses and whatever else the collector found in his travels, the owner is in his 70s and museum hours are irregular.

Boston Terrier Museum
206 W. Houston
Floydada, Texas
2.1.2014

top prices

 

The ghost signs on this abandoned elevator proclaim "Marshall Buys Grain" and "Top Prices."  These tall symbols of small towns have lost business but still stand as landmarks.  There are scores of photographers who specialize in grain elevators and across the nation, historical societies preserve this aspect of our history.  As you drive across the plains, note the number of grain elevators you see -- they're usually the first thing you'll notice on the horizon.

 

Marshall Elevator

Floydada, Texas

2.1.2014



diversification 2

 

If you are taking a drive to Floydada, don't plan at eating or drinking at this restaurant/private club -- it's closed.  According to some research, Babe was a businessman in town; after buying trucks and trailers here you could go across the street to his tire store for service.  Don't plan on eating at Leonard's Café either  -- it's closed as well. The two places had an interesting connection, according to the Plainview newspaper.  Sorry I missed the gorilla.

 

Babe's Steakhouse and Private Club

Missouri Street

Floydada, Texas

2.1.2014

conoco

 

I know -- I've been on an old truck kick lately.  This gasoline tanker was spotted behind the Continental Oil Company in Floydada.  Better known as Conoco, the Continental Oil Company was founded in 1875.  Despite several mergers, the familiar red bar and triangle logo was used from 1930 to 1970.  Starting in 1909, Conoco built filling stations and then established fleets of trucks to deliver fuel. This particular truck stopped delivering a few decades ago.

 

The photo below also has a Conoco delivery truck, if you look closely under the "warehouse."  My grandfather W. O. Fortenberry and his brother Albert were influential Lubbock County businessmen in 1930-40s .  Bill built the gin at New Deal; Albert had the Conoco dealership.  His trucks delivered throughout the West Texas region and New Mexico.  Right to left: Bill Fortenberry, his wife Bonnie, and Albert in the white suit.

 

 

Fortenberry Gin at New Deal 1939

 



Little known Conoco facts:

In the 1940s the oil company produced an "anti-squeak" crayon under the Conoco label.

The 1957 Wham-O Hula Hoop was made with Conoco/Phillips plastic.

 



diversification

 

Running a restaurant in a small town is tough business.  The secret to success must be diversification:

 

1.  Take out orders

2.  Today chile rellenos

3.   Menudo -- rated #1 in the Panhandle

4.  Laundry drop off service

5.  Booth rental spaces

6.  RV park - discount lowest rate in town (includes free meal)

 

Unfortunately, one can't do business if the place is closed at 1:00 pm on a Saturday.

 

El Rancho Restaurant

1109 Ralls Highway

Floydada, Texas