doorway to the stars

 

I wish I'd seen the Ector Theatre in its prime with the Art Moderne style highlighted with geometric designs outlined in neon.  The Ector opened in 1951 but closed in 1985.  The City of Odessa purchased the building, did renovations and opened as a tribute theater; however, I found no listings since 2013.   The box office is located on the right side of the entrance doors and has a pattern of aluminum around the base.  The lines in the box office repeat the lines of the fluorescent bulbs.  The stars on the floor bore names of box office stars - even if Doris Day and the others were written with markers.

Ector Theater
500 N. Texas
Odessa, Texas

(image from Google - no credit available)

"My lands are where my dead lie buried."

The Crazy Horse Monument , as shown in the model, is a sculpture of the Lakota warrior Chief Crazy Horse astride a stallion with his arm and pointed hand stretched out over the horse's mane. It's been 64 years in the making, begun by Korczak Ziolkowski in 1948.  When finished, it will be taller than the Washington Monument and well over two football fields wide — the extended left finger is 28 feet long. Crazy Horse, a tribute to Native Americans, is the largest mountain carving in progress and will dwarf Mount Rushmore.  Crazy Horse, revered as a spiritual leader of the Lakota said "My lands are where my dead lie buried." His extended hand on the monument is to symbolize that statement.

 



Crazy Horse Monument
Black Hills, South Dakota
6.9.2014

back to nature

 

While the rest of the family was enjoying home-made ice cream in the backyard, five-year old Clara ventured out to play in the mud.  Recent rains have created puddles to play in.

 

Hamilton Farms

Lubbock County, Texas





Majestic, and stoic of stature;
master of the open ground.

(Ode to the American Buffalo -- Geiger)


There is a bill in Congress "to adopt the bison as the national mammal of the United States." The bison, or American buffalo, is already the state animal of Wyoming, Oklahoma and Kansas. South Dakota has 33,000 bison one-sixth the national total (although the state animal is the coyote). Sen. Tim Johnson says "The bison has played an important role in our nation's history, holds spiritual significance to Native American cultures and remains one of our most iconic and enduring symbols."  What a sight to see a vast herd of bison with calves frolicking alongside their mothers while the bison bull surveyed his kingdom from atop the hill.

 

Custer State Park

South Dakota

6.10.2014

little spearfish falls

 

The origins of the name of Spearfish Canyon can be debated. Many believe the Sioux Indians speared fish from Spearfish River, while others think that white men simply coined the name because it looked like it would be a good area to spear fish from. The limestone palisades of this creek-carved gorge are more ancient than the Grand Canyon. Accessible only by horseback until 1893, Spearfish Canyon’s narrow, 1000-foot walls are among the most spectacular scenery in the Black Hills. Spearfish Canyon is known for its beauty and its waterfalls.

Little Spearfish Falls
Spearfish Canyon
South Dakota

the badlands

 

This broken landscape earned the name "the Badlands."  Difficult terrain, bad water and sometimes bad guys were encountered in early days.  With each passing cloud, the lighting changes the color of the strata.

 

The Badlands

South Dakota

6.11.2014

lakota dancer

 

Down the road from the monuments honoring the Presidents is a work in progress.  The Crazy Horse mountain sculpture will honor Native Americans.  Tour of the site includes the sculptor's log cabin, a model of the finished monument and native dancers.

 

Crazy Horse Memorial

South Dakota

the buffalo nursery

 

We were fortunate today to see hundreds of buffalo with their cinnamon-colored calves, many newly-born.  It was a perfect day with blue skies, green grass and yellow sweet clover in bloom.  Nearly 1,300 bison, commonly called buffalo, roam the prairies and hills of Custer State Park, which they share with swift pronghorn, shy elk and curious burros.

 

Custer State Park

South Dakota

Sunset at Sylvan Lake

Black Hills

South Dakota

seattle's best in south dakota

 

Seattle's Best Coffee Shop in the Alex Johnson Hotel is a cozy place to get out of the rain while sight-seeing.  This historic hotel, which is listed on the Historic Hotels of America, a National Trust for Historic Preservation  was built in 1928 and features Native American motifs, including carved Indian heads like on the famed nickel.  Unlike the six Presidents who have stayed here, I am at the Howard Johnson up the hill.

Alex Johnson Hotel
Rapid City, South Dakota

dumpsters as art

 

A designated alley in downtown Rapid City is full of graffiti, framed art and other creative works. Even the dumpsters are part of the art. Art Alley has been described as a "totally post-modern art gallery, wherein one can view artworks that range from the total abstract, to pop art, to photo montage, installation art and skilled works that obviously found their origins in the passions of urban graffiti."  Despite the prose and some interesting pieces, it still looked like spray paint gone wild to me.

 

Art Alley

Rapid City, South Dakota

Rapid City


cold beer

 

Years ago I did a photographic series on musicians, including Waylon Jennings.  Selling beer legally had just become an option for Littlefield and Waylon's brother turned his gas station into a liquor store/museum.  This mural of "no ordinary dude" is painted on the back wall of the station and I photographed it in 2007.  A recent trip through Littlefield found the mural faded with stuff piled up against it.  But you can still buy cold beer there.

 

Waymore's Museum and Drive-thru Liquor Store

Hall Avenue and Waylon Jennings Boulevard

Littlefield, Texas

1.27.2007

fix it today

fix it to stay

 

The Welch Plumbing sign still bedecks, although not brightly, the brick building at 14th and Avenue J.  Apparently Welch's Plumbing has been in business since 1942, but I don't know whether they started at this location.  The building was built in 1934.  About 2000 it was purchased and turned into urban lofts with masonry walls, exposed steel beams and storefront windows.  In the background is some of the downtown skyline.  The Pioneer Hotel was built in 1925, sat vacant for years and then was renovated into up-scale condos -- and still sits vacant.  The buffalo is the emblem for Plains Bank which has its operating center in the former Hemphill-Wells building -- a premiere department store long out of business.  Downtown is not quite on life support but it certainly isn't bustling.  However it does seem that urban lofts do better than upscale condos.

 

View from 15th and Avenue J 

Lubbock, Texas

 

Bonus:  This building was also at one time home to the Jackson Motor Company.  I deduced that from the ghost sign in the alley.  I know Jackson Motor Company was in business pre-1960s because the phone number is 4644 -- long before the prefixes of PO, SH and SW!

 

 

 

window bars

 

Most people zipping along the Marsha Sharp Freeway probably don't notice the alleyside of buildings like I do.  This morning I finally exited and got a closer look at this barred window which keeps getting my eye. The front side of the building is much less interesting--all boarded and painted a solid color.  Businesses on that stretch of road have had a rocky path.  In Lubbock's early days this passage was the main route north to Plainview and Amarillo as well as towns in between.  Immortalized by the Maines Brothers in a song written by Terry Allen, "Amarillo Highway" was how the road was known for years.  State Highway 9 was one of the original 26 Texas highways and in 1919, its routing followed the Amarillo Highway, which became US 87 in 1957  and later I-27 (completed in 1992).  If those name changes weren't enough, Lubbock had designated this road as a city street naming it Avenue H.  Everybody living north of Lubbock used Avenue H  to get to "town", and knew they had arrived downtown after emerging from the railroad underpass just south of this building.  In 1957, Spur 326 forked off US 87 along North Avenue Q and busy drivers bypassed Avenue H. The city fathers decided to rename the street in honor of Lubbock native Buddy Holly and in 1996 another name was applied to the street.  Whatever the reasons, this building has lost its identity and is vacant -- barred windows and heavy mesh screens protecting its empty interior.

 

337 Buddy Holly Avenue (previously known as Avenue H, US 87 and SH 9)

on the corner of 4th Street (obliterated by the Marsha Sharp Freeway service road)

Lubbock, Texas

fresh produce

 

Although the window advertises "fresh produce" there hasn't been anything fresh in this building in decades.  In fact, there hasn't been much business in the village since the Folsom man wandered here 10,000 years ago.  In the late 1800s, Folsom boasted two mercantiles, one of which is now the museum.  Today the 57 inhabitants have to drive 37 miles to Raton to shop Dollar General or another 20 miles on to Trinidad, Colorado for "fresh produce" at Wal-Mart.

 

Highway 25

Folsom, New Mexico

8.19.2013

the back of the building

 

Often, the rear of a structure has more character than the streetside.  This is the case of the former ice house in Raton.  The building has been around since 1903 when the Raton Crystal Ice and Cold Storage Company was started.  Over the years it has been a feed store, an oil distribution hub and in 2000, it opened as the Icehouse Restaurant -- currently it is a BBQ place.  Since the ice house was near the railroad tracks, its early business was probably the rails cars transporting foods.  Regardless of its occupants, the barred windows and bricked-up openings, the rear of the building retains the ghost sign of the original business.  Don't just journey down the main drag, explore the alleys and by-ways as well--the backside may be more interesting.

 

Raton, New Mexico

8.18.2013

brothers

 

The Bell Boys

Hale Center, Texas

big boots to fill

 

I did a photo shoot today with Breagan and little brother Braddick.  Daddy wanted photos taken with his fire gear.  We obliged him.

 

Hale Center, Texas

the lone star state

 

Civic gatherings in Texas pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America but we also pay homage to Texas flag and have since 1836.

 

Honor the Texas Flag;

I pledge allegiance to thee, Texas,

One state under God,

One and indivisible.

 

This morning at the dedication of the Recorded Texas Historic Landmark at the Lubbock Women's Club we both pledged and sang "Texas Our Texas."  Bet you don't know the words to that either!



mother teresa of the plains

 

Art is where you found it and here it was on Farm-to-Market Road 835.  For many years, the Strip and liquor stores in the county were the only places to buy beer.  After the liquor referendum, packages stores popped up on every block in town and places like the Lakeway Mini-Mart and Beer Store went out of business.  Lakeway, on the way to Buffalo Lake, was a more convenient stop than its rival Pinkie's--on the other side of the road.  Today the building has new life.  My educated guess, after peeking in the windows, is that it will be a motorcycle shop.  It's not yet open for business but the mural attracts attention.  I'm curious about the purpose of the art which features Mother Teresa, Ghandi and Martin Luther King.  Mother Teresa is emaciated, Ghandi resembles E.T, and MLK is a bit Picasso-esque-- but still a great example of street art for Lubbock.  This will be an interesting place to watch.

 

5706 FM 835

Lubbock County, Texas

strolling in style

 

The call for entries is out for the annual "Putting on the Dog" photography exhibit.  All year, every place I've gone, I'm on the look-out for dogs.  I spotted this pair of Maltese in Hot Springs.  While I'm pounding the sidewalk on Bathhouse Row getting all sweaty, these pampered pups are being pushed-- with portable shade and a built-in water bowl! It's certainly "a dog's life" for these two.

 

Hot Springs, Arkansas

9.9.2013

salute to the unknown soldier

 

Memorial Day 2008 I was at Arlington Cemetery, along with about 70,000 veterans on motorcycles who were participating in the annual Rolling Thunder rally.  The purpose of Rolling Thunder is to honor military veterans, particularly those Prisoners Of War-Missing In Action (POW/MIA).  In addition to the "Ride to the Wall" to visit the Viet Nam Memorial, veterans also attend the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

 

Arlington National Cemetery

Washington, DC

5.24.2008  



fallen on hard times

 

The farmers settled in Floyd County in the early 1900s chose the name Harmony to reflect their close-knit community.  Now there's not much but stretches of road between old school, now called a community center, and the church down the way.  Neither showed much sign of activity although the Carr's Chapel has a sign of services at 9:00.  No one attended today; there were no tire tracks in the mud.  This home was probably one of the largest and finest in the community; now it is fast finding harmony with nature.

 

Farm Road 37

Floyd County, Texas

long-waited rain, wet fields, green corn and a rainbow

all reasons to give thanks

 

Lubbock County, Texas



a good day for farming

 

The one and a half inches of rain not only raised the farmers' spirits but also helped raise the cotton.  The cottonseed recently planted is now sprouting.  Many farmers took to the fields to do some finger-scratching.

 

Cotton germination begins as the seed absorbs water and oxygen through its seed coat 4 to 14 days after after planting. The water swells the dormant tissues, and cell growth and division begin to take place. The radicle emerges through the micropyle, turns downward, and grows deeper into the soil, providing a taproot that will supply water and nutrients throughout the life of the plant. The hypocotyl elongates from the radicle and forms an arch or crook that begins to push up through the soil, a brief period often referred to as the “crook stage”. (Courtesy of Ag Extension)

 

 

Hale County, Texas

wow

 

What? You don't think this building in Hale Center has that wow factor?  It is the home of Woodmen of the World, a "fraternal benefit society." Founded in in 1890 in  by Joseph Cullen Root after hearing a sermon about "pioneer woodsmen clearing away the forest to provide for their families". Root wanted to start a Society that "would clear away problems of financial security for its members." Today WOW offers life insurance and annuities to its members.  The organization may be best known for its tombstones.  Surely in your excursions through cemeteries you've noticed those grave markers that look like tree trunks.  Early WOW life insurance policies included a free tombstone.  That practice was discontinued in the 1920s primarily due to cost; however, the society ensures that "no Woodmen shall rest in an unmarked grave."  WOW marker design was a four to five foot high tree trunk monument and included symbols like axes, wedges and other types of tools used in woodworking.  Doves were also popular motifs.

 





Floydada Cemetery

 

 

Woodmen of the World

121 W. Stevenson

Hale Center, Texas

5.16.2014

 

order for the schwan man

 

Evidently this resident on Old Agnes Road tired of being asked if he wanted any of the specials from the home delivery service.  He posted a standing order on the fence.  Agnes was a settlement in Parker County. By the mid-1880s two churches, a public school, a blacksmith shop, and Barnard's General Store served the seventy-five residents.  Postal service was discontinued in 1907, though Agnes continued as a "dispersed rural community" outside Springtown.  The school still exists as a community center overlooking the "new" Agnes road known as State Highway 199.

 

Old Agnes Road

Springtown, Texas

spring round-up

 

SH 114

Baylor County, Texas

4.23.2014

the barn cat

 

Hale Center, Texas

5.16.2014

ten-hut

 

Twenty-four washing machines stand at attention -- although dented and battered -- ready to wash your clothes.  Laundromats have been around since about the 1920s, first with attendants, then coin-operated and like Bud's in Hale Center "stand alone."  In Texas we often refer to these places as "wash-a-terias."  The first washateria so named was opened in 1936 in Fort Worth.  We even had a washateria in New Deal.  It was housed in the former Baptist church.  I remember, as a child, going with Mother and her friend Ruby.  It was my first experience, literally, with bluing! Laundromats may be a dying (not drying) industry due to high rents, water mitigation fees and home machines.  However, if you need to do a few loads, there doesn't appear to be any waiting at Bud's.

 

Bud's Laundry

164 W. Stevenson

Hale Center, Texas

bud's laundry 

English Nursery Rhyme, 1849

They that wash on Monday
Have all the week to dry;
They that wash on Tuesday
They have pretty nigh;
They that wash on Wednesday
Have half the week past;
They that wash on Thursday
Are very near the last;
They that wash on Friday
Wash for need;
They that wash on Saturday
Are sluts indeed.       

Most of my adult life, I've done laundry on Saturday -- because that seemed to be the most convenient time for a working gal.  Little did I know that I thus labeled myself!

 

There was no one washing nor drying at Bud's Laundry on Friday, so nobody must have been in need. One probably must be really in need to frequent this establishment-- the Coke machine was the newest piece of machinery in there!

Bud's Laundry
164 W. Stevenson
Hale Center, Texas

k-9

 

It's time for the annual "Putting on the Dog" photograph exhibit so I was reviewing my dog pictures.  This one is more snapshot than fine art photography but is indicative of the time I've been spending in airport.  Perhaps it fits in the category of "working dog." (And yes, I had asked the smiling officer if I could photograph!)  Nothing I had "alerted" the dog so my passage was secure.

 

Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport

Little Rock, Arkansas

9.17.2013



house or sculpture?

 

Before you say to yourself "Oh Sandy went to Ransom Canyon to photograph the Bruno House," I'll let you in on a little-known secret.  There is a model of the Steel House in Lubbock.  The late Robert Bruno spent decades constructing this residence/sculpture art on the bluff overlooking Ransom Canyon Lake.  It attracted scores of photographers, generated tons of discussion and served as the background for the 2007 Neiman-Marcus catalog.  Now a private residence, the house is sometimes open to the public during Christmas tours.  However, a model of the Steel House can be found in a weedy field on the east side of Lubbock.

 

66th Street and MLK

Lubbock, Texas

train depot

 

If it weren't for the cars in the parking lot, this train depot would look much like it did when constructed in 1925.  Today the Lubbock County Historical Commission held its meeting here.  The dilapidated train deport was purchased in 2011 and relocated to Wolfforth, undergoing renovations but maintaining its heritage.  It is an excellent example of alternative use historical buildings as it currently serves as the business offices for the Lubbock and West Texas Railway.  The depot was built according to Southern Pacific's Standard Plan #3 dictating the floor plan and layout of the waiting room, agent's office and freight room -- down to the paint colors of colonial yellow and bronze green with red roof.

 

 Permian Basin Logistics

103 Steck

Wolfforth, Texas

 

 

road construction ahead

 

Drivers' dreaded signs:

*Road Construction Ahead

*Fines Doubled in Construction Zone

*Be Prepared to Stop

*Road Work Next 18 Miles

in memoriam

Jean Smith Fortenberry

1926-1999

 

Jean's full-time job was mother to three children.  She served as church secretary, precinct judge, den mother and any other need in the community. After the kids were older, she worked at Texas Agricultural Extension where she retired after 30 years.  Her next passions were the six grandchildren.  She would have dearly loved the greats!  Here she's all dressed up for church in front of the house at New Deal.  Daddy's other pride  was his 1948 Buick.

 

 



ignominy

 

Visitors to the garden feel the shame of this statue (perhaps a handmaiden of Bacchus with the grapes in her hair?). Festoons of cobwebs adorn her coif -- caused by lack of rain. And then that damned bird uses her head as a perch!

 

Clark Gardens

Mineral Wells, Texas

4.25.2014

the bird

 

Macaws are part of the attractions at the Walk-a-bout at the Wildlife Ranch.  Other animals include Gibbons, Lemurs on their own island, peacocks and even chickens and goats in the petting zoo.  Be sure to stop in the Safari Grill or Trading Post gift shop to spend more money.

 

Wildlife Ranch

New Braunfels, Texas

5.2.2014



dry dock

 

The Marina Café is on Marine Avenue.  You're right that Marina refers to a harbor for pleasure boats but the Marine in the street name refers to Camp Lejeune, the Marine Base a few  miles down the road.  The population of Onslow County is about 200,000 -- 75 per cent of that is base-related.  The land mass of Jacksonville is about 45 square miles -- Camp Lejeune occupies 246 square miles of the county.

 

Marina Cafe

110 S. Marine Avenue

Jacksonville, North Carolina

love under the willows

 

I captured these lovers at the New River Waterfront on Old Bridge Street.  New River begins in Onslow County, home of Jacksonville, flows through Marine Base Camp Lejeuune and empties 50 miles away in the Atlantic Ocean.  I never found the New Bridge or the Old River.

 

New River Waterfront

Old Bridge Street

Jacksonville, North Carolina

truth in advertising

 

For those of you dying to know, the difference between a coffin and a casket is the number of sides.  A coffin is six-sided (think Western coffins buried in Boot Hill); caskets are four-sided rectangles.  The adjacent window awning of this business reads "monuments" which a more elegant word than "grave marker."  For more information on coffins and caskets, visit the Tombstone Tourist's blog  A Grave Interest.

 

Heritage Memorials

1996 S. San Antonio Street

New Braunfels, Texas

5.1.2014

black and white stripes

 

Zebras at the Wildlife Ranch

New Braunfels, Texas

5.3.2-14

a little dab'll do ya

 

This emu at the Wildlife Ranch is in need of a dab of Brylcreem.  The animals on the drive-thru safari are so accustomed to being fed (sacks of pellets are another revenue stream) that they stick their heads in your car windows!  As you can tell he was eye level.  The horned animals like Aoudad or the zebras (the sign warns they may bite) are more disconcerting up close.

 

Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch

26515 Natural Bridge Caverns Road

San Antonio, Texas

 





preparing to paint

 



The Brock Building on the square in Lockhart was built in 1898 and is a National Historic Landmark.  The Lockhart National Bank occupied the building for many years.  Like many of the structures around the square, the Brock Building displays interesting brickwork.  For more architectural details click  here. Today the first floor houses the Southwest Museum of Clocks and Watches.  Unfortunately the place was closed and I couldn't explore the history of horology.  A 116-year old building requires maintenance.  I caught the painter on the second floor as he was moving his ladder in place.  When he looked, I waved.

Brock Building
Courthouse Square
Lockhart, Texas

chon's place

 

What first caught my eye on this building were the diamond windows.  Chon's Place (I first misread the sign as Chong's but a closer look corrected me) is the kind of joint that looks closed but likely starts jiving after dark.  I probably won't be in the vicinity after dark.

 

Chon's Place

2007 Spur Street

New Braunfels, Texas