I often times think about going back to Crystal City to see if I can help to improve its economy. It is not that I have any particular education in that background but I do have a love for the city and what I think could be a good direction for it.
I detailed some of my ideas not long ago to a classmate but I wanted to share them here as well.
Crystal City at one time was considered the "Spinach Capital of the World". It is not that so much now even though they still do celebrate the Spinach Festival.
Crystal City is/was an agricultural town and called itself the Winter Garden area.
Crystal is also best known for two events that took place there, that of the Walkout in the late 60s early 70s, when there were some events that took place that caused a racial divide, and that of being the location of a WW2 Internment camp. While I know these events are a permanent part of Crystal, I think it is unnecessary and undesirable to continue to have the town define itself by those events when the area has so many other things that it could promote.
I see Crystal City as a potential "Winter Playground". If the infrastructure were in place, the right attractions built and a large effort put into beautifying the city it could be as much of a destination as Las Vegas and have so much more going for it in the way of natural resources than the desert of Nevada!
Crystal should not, in my opinion focus on one particular culture when it has so many things going for it. Crystal should focus on the ranchers and farmers, the Cowboy culture, the Mexican culture and the culture of its early inhabitants, the Coahuiltecans. It should also take advantage of the fact that it was part of a strip of land that was once known as the "Wild Horse Desert" where banditos and outlaws used to roam because the area was neither officially Mexico or U.S. for a time. If the Wild Horse Desert and the Coahuiltecan culture doesn't beg to be noticed and promoted, I don't know what does!
I think that the native resources could also be used to promote the economy. C.C. could become the largest producer of Mesquite Flour and breads and pastries made by the flour. They could also promote custom wood products made by the Mesquite tree. The prickly pear cactus also has many nutritional and delicious uses and should be used as well. I envision a western/Mexico themed restaurant that serves Mesquite Grilled steaks and prickly pear margaritas!
C.C. could also take a cue from its neighbor, Mexico and begin farming agave to produce Mescal. The fiber in the agave can also be used to make rope and what Cowboy/rancher would not want authentic agave rope?
The area surrounding Crystal also has the potential of attracting hunters to the area and I know that is promoted to some extent already.
As I say, I don't pretend to be an expert but I do think I am someone who knows the area and sees incredible potential for the town becoming a huge attraction if it promotes its culture and mild winters. It truly could be a "Winter Playground and Paradise".
Showing posts with label Crystal City and Its People. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Crystal City and Its People. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 18, 2014
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Edgewood Cemetery
In my little hometown of Crystal City, Texas is a cemetery called Edgewood Cemetery. Edgewood is a place of memories, a place of family, and even life lessons and culture.
Most of my family, my mom and dad included, and other family are buried there.
When I go to Crystal, I always see to it that I stop by the cemetery and take flowers to my parents' graves. I have to buy plastic or silk flowers because nothing else will stand heat down there for very long. I also have to make sure I have a screwdriver or similar object, to make a hole in the cement hard dirt, because it is usually best just to push the stems directly into the ground, otherwise, vases and such, as we have learned, will just get blown over.
There is one other empty plot by my Mom and Dad, and my siblings and I have joked about who will get that plot. We all say we want to be buried in Crystal, so how 'bout if we just have Leonard's Funeral home just dig that hole extra deep and stack all four of us like cord wood after we all kick off? We have a pretty good laugh about that.
As I said, I have other family there at Edgewood, and at times when I have had my kids with me at Crystal, I have seen to it to show them where my grandparents, aunts and uncles and other family are buried. Being an amateur genealogist I keep notes about it.
As we drive around, we notice the Mexican family graves and how beautifully adorned with flowers they always are and how ornate some of the monuments and headstones are. It is their culture and they are very devoted to remembering their loved ones who have died.
Sometimes I look at the Mexican graves and the graves of the Anglo people, and it seems that we don't honor our loved ones as much, but then I realize that really we all do honor our loved one all the same; we just do it different ways.
For example, one of the ways I honor my loved ones that have passed on is with the family history research I do. I have diligently traced my family history since I was 18 years old and I have done it for only two reasons. 1.) to know where I came from and 2.) that my ancestors would not be forgotten.
I keep records on Edgewood Cemetery and who is buried there and I keep records on the cemeteries where other family is buried and where those cemeteries are located so that my descendents can find those places should they choose to do so.
As I walk those dusty roads between the graves, and read the headstones, I see the names of people we used to sit by in church, the church secretary, former teachers, and even former classmates. Oh, then there are some of those life lessons! Some of those things I wish I had said when I could have! Wish I had stayed in touch! Wish I had known when they passed away! It seems that my once vibrant hometown is relocating itself to the cemetery! It is about the time that realization hits me that I walk back to my car and drive away.
Most of my family, my mom and dad included, and other family are buried there.
When I go to Crystal, I always see to it that I stop by the cemetery and take flowers to my parents' graves. I have to buy plastic or silk flowers because nothing else will stand heat down there for very long. I also have to make sure I have a screwdriver or similar object, to make a hole in the cement hard dirt, because it is usually best just to push the stems directly into the ground, otherwise, vases and such, as we have learned, will just get blown over.
There is one other empty plot by my Mom and Dad, and my siblings and I have joked about who will get that plot. We all say we want to be buried in Crystal, so how 'bout if we just have Leonard's Funeral home just dig that hole extra deep and stack all four of us like cord wood after we all kick off? We have a pretty good laugh about that.
As I said, I have other family there at Edgewood, and at times when I have had my kids with me at Crystal, I have seen to it to show them where my grandparents, aunts and uncles and other family are buried. Being an amateur genealogist I keep notes about it.
As we drive around, we notice the Mexican family graves and how beautifully adorned with flowers they always are and how ornate some of the monuments and headstones are. It is their culture and they are very devoted to remembering their loved ones who have died.
Sometimes I look at the Mexican graves and the graves of the Anglo people, and it seems that we don't honor our loved ones as much, but then I realize that really we all do honor our loved one all the same; we just do it different ways.
For example, one of the ways I honor my loved ones that have passed on is with the family history research I do. I have diligently traced my family history since I was 18 years old and I have done it for only two reasons. 1.) to know where I came from and 2.) that my ancestors would not be forgotten.
I keep records on Edgewood Cemetery and who is buried there and I keep records on the cemeteries where other family is buried and where those cemeteries are located so that my descendents can find those places should they choose to do so.
As I walk those dusty roads between the graves, and read the headstones, I see the names of people we used to sit by in church, the church secretary, former teachers, and even former classmates. Oh, then there are some of those life lessons! Some of those things I wish I had said when I could have! Wish I had stayed in touch! Wish I had known when they passed away! It seems that my once vibrant hometown is relocating itself to the cemetery! It is about the time that realization hits me that I walk back to my car and drive away.
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Shopping for the Tree and Meeting "El Arabe"
I know I wasn’t
very old, maybe five years old, when our family drove down to a tree lot in
Crystal City one December to pick out a Christmas tree. This was before my
youngest brother Robert was even born.
The tree lot was near the intersection of 7th
Ave. and Lake Street and it was my first memory of not only picking out a
Christmas tree, it was also my first memory of seeing our town’s homeless
man. This man known as Assi Alli, or “El Arabe” was of Lebanese heritage
and went around town picking up trash. There was a lot of mystery about Assi
Alli. It is believed he took to the streets after a personal tragedy. One of
the stories is that his wife left him for another man, but there were many stories
and no one knows which, if any of them, were true.
Assi Alli always wore a little United States flag in his hat
and was often seen praying towards Mecca.
Townspeople often gave him food and more were kind to him
than not.
That first time I saw him though, I was only a little girl,
and to me, this old man in disheveled clothes and gray hair and beard,
muttering something in what sounded like another language, frightened me.
He did wave, but I inched closer to my mother.
My parents, my sister, brother and I continued to look
around at all the trees but I kept a watchful eye for that man that waved at
me.
We had started at the front of the lot and worked our way
back, looking at an endless number of tall, short, skinny and fat trees. Some
were too smushed on one side or had some other deformity. It seemed to take
forever.
Mom and Dad didn’t seem to like any of the trees. Finally though we
walked back to the front of the lot and Yep, you guessed it, they chose the
first tree they had laid their eyes on, paid for the tree, and then the lot
attendant helped Dad tie the tree to the luggage rack on top of the station wagon
and we drove home.
Friday, August 10, 2012
Frozen in Time - Documenting Your Hometown in Photos
When I first saw this picture, it made me realize the importance of documenting your hometown. How I wish I had gone around back then taking pictures of places so that I could have a record of all the places around town as I remembered them from back then.
I can't show my children the hospital I was born in which me and other locals all affectionately called "The Pink Hospital", because it has been long since been demolished.
I can't show pictures of the business store fronts where we used to shop or my schools as I remember them.
I can't show the old empty houses from the WWII internment camp that I used to pass by when my mom drove me to grade school, they are long gone now.
The first city pool where I learned to swim, it to is long gone. The first courthouse, also no longer there.
As with every city, Crystal City is a city of change and I am sure what it is now is nothing like it will be in the future.
My hope is that whoever is reading this, especially if you are a parent or grandparent, that you will take the time to document your town for your younger generation. It is a priceless gift they will cherish forever.
If you can at least start the process and then teach them to continue it, they will not only have a great gift, but you will be preserving history as well.
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Summertime Memories
Summer time always makes me feel nostalgic about days gone by, growing up in Crystal City.
I started making a list of things it reminded me of and here is the list in no particular order and in different stages of childhood. They are simple memories and they are of course my own memories, but maybe they will remind you of some sweet memories of your own and if so, then this post will have served it's purpose.
*Playing in the sprinkler
*Washing the car and my siblings and I spraying each other
*Raspas! (sno-cones) and Icees from Dairy Kreme
*Walking over to the high school to play on the fire escape
*The city pool
*Window washing at the house which included spraying each other through the screens when we were cleaning the screens
*Trips to the city library and being in the summer reading program there
*Vacation Bible School
*Alto Frio Baptist Encampment (summer camp)
*The Poteet Strawberry Festival and putting up strawberries
*Trying to dig a hole to China and being afraid once we got the hole in the dirt really deep that a China man would pop out of that hole!
*Trying to make bricks out of mud and dried grass like the Hebrews in Moses' time
*Making mud pies and using china berries for decorations on top of our "pies"
*Hop Scotch!
*Sky Watching with my Dad even when I was so little I had to stand on a stool to see into the telescope
*Trying to ride those old wooden skate boards with the shark emblem on it.
*Playing with pill bugs
*Homemade ice cream
*Drawing on the sidewalk with chalk
*Catching grasshoppers
*Climbing trees
*Exploring the vacant lots in the neighborhood
I started making a list of things it reminded me of and here is the list in no particular order and in different stages of childhood. They are simple memories and they are of course my own memories, but maybe they will remind you of some sweet memories of your own and if so, then this post will have served it's purpose.
*Playing in the sprinkler
*Washing the car and my siblings and I spraying each other
*Raspas! (sno-cones) and Icees from Dairy Kreme
*Walking over to the high school to play on the fire escape
*The city pool
*Window washing at the house which included spraying each other through the screens when we were cleaning the screens
*Trips to the city library and being in the summer reading program there
*Vacation Bible School
*Alto Frio Baptist Encampment (summer camp)
*The Poteet Strawberry Festival and putting up strawberries
*Trying to dig a hole to China and being afraid once we got the hole in the dirt really deep that a China man would pop out of that hole!
*Trying to make bricks out of mud and dried grass like the Hebrews in Moses' time
*Making mud pies and using china berries for decorations on top of our "pies"
*Hop Scotch!
*Sky Watching with my Dad even when I was so little I had to stand on a stool to see into the telescope
*Trying to ride those old wooden skate boards with the shark emblem on it.
*Playing with pill bugs
*Homemade ice cream
*Drawing on the sidewalk with chalk
*Catching grasshoppers
*Climbing trees
*Exploring the vacant lots in the neighborhood
Friday, December 30, 2011
December Remembrances
The month of December always takes me back to my hometown of Crystal City.
I remember walking up and down the sidewalks downtown and shopping and peering in the windows of the storefronts.
I remember Christmas plays where I played an angel in the nativity scene only because I had blonde hair and they thought at the time I guess that angels needed to have blonde hair!
I remember the Christmas lights decorating contests in neighborhoods.
I remember our hometown's homeless gentleman, Assi Alli, walking around near the Christmas tree lot where my Dad took us to buy a tree one year. I was afraid of that man in the ragged clothes and the American Flag bedecked hat, but as I got older I learned more and more what a kind soul that man was, and was saddened to learn years later that he died on Dec 26th, the day after Christmas.
I remember counting on getting new Nancy Drew books every year to read and add to my collection and the year my parents decided I was old enough to have a transistor radio and the year they decided I could wear makeup and gifted those items as well.
I remember a few years when Dad decided to help Mom with the Christmas shopping. When we were little, he gave me a little robot and a steam engine plant powered by sterno fuel and a remote controlled airplane. When I got to be a teenager I remember one year him buying me perfume...this was not long before he passed away.
I remember helping to cut branches from our juniper bushes and tying them to the fence in front of the house just before stringing Christmas lights over them.
I recall the year my mom, feeling festive, put a blue light bulb in the porch light, to go along with the other decorating and then wondering why the police car drove slowly by our house...
I remember some cold and rainy winters and some winters where I was still wearing shorts.
Christmas school holidays!
And then as the month draws to a close as it has now, I recall that my mom always said that all the world would be celebrating her birthday on the the 31st. Happy Birthday Mom, Happy New Year!
I remember walking up and down the sidewalks downtown and shopping and peering in the windows of the storefronts.
I remember Christmas plays where I played an angel in the nativity scene only because I had blonde hair and they thought at the time I guess that angels needed to have blonde hair!
I remember the Christmas lights decorating contests in neighborhoods.
I remember our hometown's homeless gentleman, Assi Alli, walking around near the Christmas tree lot where my Dad took us to buy a tree one year. I was afraid of that man in the ragged clothes and the American Flag bedecked hat, but as I got older I learned more and more what a kind soul that man was, and was saddened to learn years later that he died on Dec 26th, the day after Christmas.
I remember counting on getting new Nancy Drew books every year to read and add to my collection and the year my parents decided I was old enough to have a transistor radio and the year they decided I could wear makeup and gifted those items as well.
I remember a few years when Dad decided to help Mom with the Christmas shopping. When we were little, he gave me a little robot and a steam engine plant powered by sterno fuel and a remote controlled airplane. When I got to be a teenager I remember one year him buying me perfume...this was not long before he passed away.
I remember helping to cut branches from our juniper bushes and tying them to the fence in front of the house just before stringing Christmas lights over them.
I recall the year my mom, feeling festive, put a blue light bulb in the porch light, to go along with the other decorating and then wondering why the police car drove slowly by our house...
I remember some cold and rainy winters and some winters where I was still wearing shorts.
Christmas school holidays!
And then as the month draws to a close as it has now, I recall that my mom always said that all the world would be celebrating her birthday on the the 31st. Happy Birthday Mom, Happy New Year!
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
CCHS 2011 Class Reunion
It is my understanding that the 2011 CCHS Class Reunion is in the works and set for October 8, 2011. If you are interested in attending the reunion and helping with the reunion, please use the contact form below to contact me and I will put you in touch with the organizer of the reunion for more information.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Bad Day for a Salesman
At one time in the town of Crystal City, where I grew up, most of my Dad's family all lived in houses on the same street and one day a door to door salesman came knocking on my grandmother's door.
When the salesman attempted to make his sales pitch she replied "No we don't want any", and sent him on his way.
Suddenly, sensing some fun to be had, grandma raced out the back door of their house and into the back door of the neighbor's house (which was another relative) just in time for the salesman to knock on the door and for her to answer it.
The salesman was a little confused seeing the woman he had just seen at the previous house and once again grandma sent him on his way.
Not finished with the salesman yet, my grandmother ran out the back door and answered the door of three more houses before the salesman gave up calling on houses on that street and walked away muttering and shaking his head.
When the salesman attempted to make his sales pitch she replied "No we don't want any", and sent him on his way.
Suddenly, sensing some fun to be had, grandma raced out the back door of their house and into the back door of the neighbor's house (which was another relative) just in time for the salesman to knock on the door and for her to answer it.
The salesman was a little confused seeing the woman he had just seen at the previous house and once again grandma sent him on his way.
Not finished with the salesman yet, my grandmother ran out the back door and answered the door of three more houses before the salesman gave up calling on houses on that street and walked away muttering and shaking his head.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Topaz City by Another Name
I've been told that Max Stalling's "Topaz City was written with the town of Crystal City in mind. Listening to the lyrics I would tend to agree, especially when you get to the part about "stop signs with no point".
Monday, November 15, 2010
Spinach Fest
I actually almost made it to the Spinach Festival in my hometown of Crystal City, this weekend. I had gone to visit nearby family so I didn't have a lot of time. Add to that I am in an air cast right now from a stress fracture, but I thought for sure I could at least make it to see the parade and hopefully see a few former classmates.
As luck (or the lack of it) would have it, I got sick while I was visiting my siblings and then I found out the parade would not start till afternoon, when for some reason I thought it started in the morning. Anyway, it would have me on the road home too late in the day so I had to pass on the festival "aka a trip down memory lane" for this year. Oh well, maybe next year, and next year I wont be hobbling around in a cast so I guess it was for the best all the way around.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Window Cleaning
The windows on our cinderblock,flat roofed home were casement windows that had heavy metal frames and several panes of glass that were held into place by putty. There were two panels of these panes to each window that opened and shut by a crank handle. The screens were the old metal screens that lasted forever.
What I remember most about these windows was cleaning them. On window cleaning day, Mom, Dad and we kids would spend the day out in the yard hosing down the screens which had been removed from the windows and laid out on the grass. The next step was to use a scrub brush and scrub down both sides of each screen.
While the screens were out of the windows we would also clean the windows themselves, which usually involved one person in the house turning the handles to crank open all the window panels and someone outside cleaning them.
The windows in the back of the house were higher off the ground and required sitting on a small step ladder to clean them.
Some of the window handles were broken or missing, which made it harder to open some of the windows. It seems like I remember mom having one loose window handle that she would carry around to the broken ones and stick that handle in each one to open it. I don’t know why the handles weren’t just fixed unless it were a situation where they couldn’t find anymore replacement handles.
I never thought of window cleaning day as a chore. I remember playing in the water and spraying my sister with the water hose while we sorta kinda scrubbed the screens and leaned them up against the house to dry. Maybe the reason Mom never complained about our spraying each other was that she was just glad it kept us out of her hair.
While we were cleaning windows Dad would busy himself with repairing any broken panes and reputtying them so they were good till the next window day.
I guess the best thing about window cleaning was that we did it as a family. In fact in those days, we did just about everything as a family so something that would be considered a chore, became a treasured memory.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Passing of a Classmate
I was saddened this past week to receive word from Sheila Arthur Taylor that one of our classmates passed away. Jesse "Sandia" Rodriguez recently of Milwaukee, passed away while visiting family in San Antonio on March 25 2009.
As we have shared thoughts about Jesse in the Crystal City Bulletin group, we all remember his mischieviousness and his warm smile. He was a good person and will certainly be missed.
Services were held at 9:30am at the M.E. Rodriguez Funeral Home on March 28,2009
As we have shared thoughts about Jesse in the Crystal City Bulletin group, we all remember his mischieviousness and his warm smile. He was a good person and will certainly be missed.
Services were held at 9:30am at the M.E. Rodriguez Funeral Home on March 28,2009
Jesse is 4th from the left in this picture which was taken at the Crystal Community School in Crystal City, Tx
This link will take you to Jesse's page at the funeral home website:
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Betty Harper
Susan Harper (Clarence Harper/Harper Motors) emailed to say that her sister Betty Harper passed away 10/31/07. Betty had been very ill for the past five years.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Assi Alli
I couldn't believe that I had not posted a picture here of Assi Alli or "El Arabe". Actually I think I did post it once but it got deleted when I was overhauling the website. I think that everyone who ever lived in Crystal City would remember this man.
The photo is provided thanks to Frances Tovar Guerrero.
Below is the write up on Assi Alli that was published in the Zavala County History Book - "Zavala County Then and Now" some years ago.
ASSIN ALLI JESSINI
None of us really know the story of Assin Alli, but so the story goes... He had a very lucrative business; but alas his wife left him for a traveling salesman. He became a hermit-type person.
This we know – he was a Moslem, born in Lebanon. He wore a little U.S. Flag in his hat and went about the town cleaning up “trashy places” and blessing the rest of us. He died December 26, 1967
The photo is provided thanks to Frances Tovar Guerrero.
Below is the write up on Assi Alli that was published in the Zavala County History Book - "Zavala County Then and Now" some years ago.
ASSIN ALLI JESSINI
None of us really know the story of Assin Alli, but so the story goes... He had a very lucrative business; but alas his wife left him for a traveling salesman. He became a hermit-type person.
This we know – he was a Moslem, born in Lebanon. He wore a little U.S. Flag in his hat and went about the town cleaning up “trashy places” and blessing the rest of us. He died December 26, 1967
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Max Sings Dime Box
One of Crystal City's Own.....Max Stalling
Got my Max Stalling email newsletter and this video clip was in it so thought I would share.
Max Stalling singing "Dime Box Texas"
Short interview of Max
Got my Max Stalling email newsletter and this video clip was in it so thought I would share.
Max Stalling singing "Dime Box Texas"
Short interview of Max
Friday, January 30, 2009
Crystal City Memories
I thought I would share these Crystal City Memories gleaned from an email that was going around. This is wonderful stuff from an earlier, simpler time in Crystal. Nancy
Classmate 1 - I also remember distinctly the dry cleaning being delivered to our house for my mom and the dry cleaning guy that delivered it of course back then only took cash, and he gave out change from a little change purse thingy that he wore on his belt. I always thought that was very odd when I saw him get change out of a "man purse'! haha.
Also, I remember Dr. Poindexter coming by the house once to check on one of us kids, something only the very rich enjoy today and even then is rare!.
Oh, and one other one, remember (for those of us that had the tv cable during the early 70's-all 4 channels) you tuned in to a special channel to see the wind-temp-barometric pressure gauges on TV and they had the elevator music playing while the camera would pan from one gauge to the next! SWEET!
Classmate 2 - Remember picking up coke bottles, for the deposit,5 cents for the small ones and a dime for the 12 ounce ones, then going to the 5 & 10 store for stuff.
Going to the Olivares Brothers Barber Shop, where you picked out your haircut style from the pencil drawings across from the chairs by number?. I'm thinking the cuts were either a dollar or two?.
Of course the best fast food was/is Dairy Kreme....
Classmate 1 - Yep, used to pickup coke bottles in the vacant lots and alongside the road and take’em down to Joe's Short Stop to buy all the candy and pop I needed! I used to get my haircuts downtown at Mr. Black's shop, and there was only one choice that I remember, BUZZ CUT! hahaha But I used to like going in there cause he always had the air conditioner going and lots of those puzzles hanging on the indoor puzzle tree he used to have in there. I think he even had this little electric shock machine set up on a table, where you would put your finger on 2 wires that were nailed down to a board and he'd crank a little generator by hand and it would give you a little jolt. Oh boy, the simple things in life we had back in the day. My grandson would be so bored, or would he?
Classmate 1 - I also remember distinctly the dry cleaning being delivered to our house for my mom and the dry cleaning guy that delivered it of course back then only took cash, and he gave out change from a little change purse thingy that he wore on his belt. I always thought that was very odd when I saw him get change out of a "man purse'! haha.
Also, I remember Dr. Poindexter coming by the house once to check on one of us kids, something only the very rich enjoy today and even then is rare!.
Oh, and one other one, remember (for those of us that had the tv cable during the early 70's-all 4 channels) you tuned in to a special channel to see the wind-temp-barometric pressure gauges on TV and they had the elevator music playing while the camera would pan from one gauge to the next! SWEET!
Classmate 2 - Remember picking up coke bottles, for the deposit,5 cents for the small ones and a dime for the 12 ounce ones, then going to the 5 & 10 store for stuff.
Going to the Olivares Brothers Barber Shop, where you picked out your haircut style from the pencil drawings across from the chairs by number?. I'm thinking the cuts were either a dollar or two?.
Of course the best fast food was/is Dairy Kreme....
Classmate 1 - Yep, used to pickup coke bottles in the vacant lots and alongside the road and take’em down to Joe's Short Stop to buy all the candy and pop I needed! I used to get my haircuts downtown at Mr. Black's shop, and there was only one choice that I remember, BUZZ CUT! hahaha But I used to like going in there cause he always had the air conditioner going and lots of those puzzles hanging on the indoor puzzle tree he used to have in there. I think he even had this little electric shock machine set up on a table, where you would put your finger on 2 wires that were nailed down to a board and he'd crank a little generator by hand and it would give you a little jolt. Oh boy, the simple things in life we had back in the day. My grandson would be so bored, or would he?
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Crystal City and Area Deaths
**As sad as it is to post this kind of news, I felt that it was important. These people may not be all Crystal City residents, but as we all know, the south Texas "community" is quite large so in an effort to get the information to those interested I have posted all the area death notices I have received and the name of the person who provided the information. If you care to make a comment that is private, you can use the form at the bottom of the page. No one will see it but me.
Nancy Chisum
*******
Louella Carr emailed me yesterday informing me that my dear mentor Helen Solansky had died. I am assuming maybe on the 16th from what I can tell by the email.
I thought Linda, her daughter was a memeber of this group...Nancy do you know. I cant seem to find her email address in the members list.
Helen was a wonderful, wonderful woman. She broke me into Emergency Department nursing...I could go on for hours about the trully unselfish things she did as a person/nurse....but Helen was too meek to let me do that. She was a huge part of my life as a person and mostly as a nurse...
Link to online obituary. You can leave comments to the family here.
Helen Solansky Obituary
By Sheila Arthur Taylor
*******
Mike Bradshaw, age 61, of Carrizo Springs, died yesterday, Jan. 19th, in the afternoon
while fishing at Port Mansfield with a fellow Game Warden at Port Mansfield.
The cause appeared to be a massive heart attack.
His wife, Debbie of C.S. survives him, along with children, daughter Leslie and family,
son Jake and family. His two sisters also, Jan Mitchell of Carrizo Springs (my
son's mother-in-law), and Kay of Castroville.
Mike's book is in the process of being published. It was in the making for years.
Mike had distinguished himself in the service
of Texas Parks and Wildlife.
He's retired and taken a job training new Game Wardens in the Valley while Debbie
had accepted a fine job in banking in San Antonio. They have kept their home in C.S.
Just found out the funeral arrangements:
Thursday, January 22, 2009
2 p.m.
First Baptist Church
Carrizo Springs, Texas
By Lynn Terrell Brady
*******
Pauline Pond, wife of the late Jim Pond, passed away last night. Visitation will be Friday, January 23, from 2:00 PM until 9:00 PM at Hurley Funeral Home, Pearsall. Services will be Saturday, January 24, 2009, at 10:00AM, 1st Baptist Church, Pearsall; interment will follow in Brummett Cemetery, Frio County
By Brenda Nelson
Nancy Chisum
*******
Louella Carr emailed me yesterday informing me that my dear mentor Helen Solansky had died. I am assuming maybe on the 16th from what I can tell by the email.
I thought Linda, her daughter was a memeber of this group...Nancy do you know. I cant seem to find her email address in the members list.
Helen was a wonderful, wonderful woman. She broke me into Emergency Department nursing...I could go on for hours about the trully unselfish things she did as a person/nurse....but Helen was too meek to let me do that. She was a huge part of my life as a person and mostly as a nurse...
Link to online obituary. You can leave comments to the family here.
By Sheila Arthur Taylor
*******
Mike Bradshaw, age 61, of Carrizo Springs, died yesterday, Jan. 19th, in the afternoon
while fishing at Port Mansfield with a fellow Game Warden at Port Mansfield.
The cause appeared to be a massive heart attack.
His wife, Debbie of C.S. survives him, along with children, daughter Leslie and family,
son Jake and family. His two sisters also, Jan Mitchell of Carrizo Springs (my
son's mother-in-law), and Kay of Castroville.
Mike's book is in the process of being published. It was in the making for years.
Mike had distinguished himself in the service
of Texas Parks and Wildlife.
He's retired and taken a job training new Game Wardens in the Valley while Debbie
had accepted a fine job in banking in San Antonio. They have kept their home in C.S.
Just found out the funeral arrangements:
Thursday, January 22, 2009
2 p.m.
First Baptist Church
Carrizo Springs, Texas
By Lynn Terrell Brady
*******
Pauline Pond, wife of the late Jim Pond, passed away last night. Visitation will be Friday, January 23, from 2:00 PM until 9:00 PM at Hurley Funeral Home, Pearsall. Services will be Saturday, January 24, 2009, at 10:00AM, 1st Baptist Church, Pearsall; interment will follow in Brummett Cemetery, Frio County
By Brenda Nelson
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Fly Junior High Teachers
Top to bottom
Left to Right
Row 1
Miss Adams
Mr Aldape
Mr Andrade
Mr Bean
Mr Chimney
Row 2
no photo
Mr Delgado
Mr Eardley
Mr Escamilla
Mr Garza
Row 3
no photo
Miss Hernandez
Mrs Kingsberry
Mr Lair
Mr Mata
Row 4
Mrs Mckinney
Mr Pena
Mr Perez
Mr Seale
Row 5
no photo
Mr Staton
no photo
Mrs Taylor
Miss Thompson
Row 6
Mr. Zarate
Friday, January 9, 2009
World War II Internment Camp in Crystal City
The first link below will take you to a video of the Internment Camp that operated in Crystal City in the forties.
I remember seeing some of the buildings of the internment camp on my way to grammer school each day. The buildings were later torn down and a monument placed nearby.
The other two links provide photos and some additional history.
Crystal City Internment Camp 1945
CC Internment Camp Photos
World War II Civilian Internment Camp
I remember seeing some of the buildings of the internment camp on my way to grammer school each day. The buildings were later torn down and a monument placed nearby.
The other two links provide photos and some additional history.
~~~~
Thursday, January 8, 2009
California Or Bust by Dale Walker
CALIFORNIA OR BUST – AND I THINK THEY DID ‘BUST’
This story is one of those that comes from memory. This happened in 1922 or 1923. I was delivered into this world April 5, 1924 so you can see why I say it comes from memory.
I remember my mother telling about breaking the windshield out of the truck the day before they were to leave. Back then, it wasn’t like it is today – go to the phone or better yet, take your phone out of your pocket and call some company in Eagle Pass or Uvalde and tell them you needed a windshield and they would come and fix it the same day. No,. some different back then. Soooo, they drove to California without a windshield and back home too. I would imagine the budget wouldn’t allow fixing it anyway. Times were hard back then – that was the reason they were going to California to work; cash in on some of those hi wages!
My grandfather Rule – my mom’s dad – came to this country from Iowa and bought a farm here in Zavala County, a farm in Taft, Texas and property in Corpus Christi, Texas. I guess one could say he was quite wealthy. However, in the process of farming and things not going the way they should such as crop failure, river going dry leaving no water to irrigate with and train cars of vegetables getting lost on their way to the markets in the north or most likely, being stolen. He had borrowed all the money he could from local banks and ended up a broke man. He lost all the property he had acquired by the early 1920’s. He came to this country about 1910 give or take. He had a daughter living in California who was from his first marriage and he had another daughter and three sons. These three sons, I learned from my mother, helped him go broke. As I said, he had borrowed all he could and had cashed in on his insurances to try to help his sons and lost it all. His first wife had died back in 1890 give or take and he married my mother’s mother some time after. My mother was born in the year 1896. He and my grandmother went out to California and I don’t know if he was sick when he went or if he became ill after he arrived. Seems like his daughter lived somewhere near L.A. At any rate, my grandfather died.
Times were hard here so my grandmother tried over and over to get my mom and dad with their three kids to come out to California – wages were very good and she knew they could do well out there. My dad had a flat bed truck which he did hauling with when he could find some to do. They also had a farm out north of Crystal on the Nueces River they were trying to farm. He fixed his truck so he could haul spinach and did some hauling of groceries for a store here in Crystal. I remember him talking about going to Del Rio for these supplies for this store.
This truck was the one they went to California in. He fixed bows up and over the bed of the truck and extended the top forward enough to reach the windshield. This truck did not have a cab on it. And remember, my mom had knocked the windshield out the day
before they left. He stretched canvas over the bows and fixed a pretty good tent on wheels.
Okay, now you know why they were going to California and how they were going.
My grandparents on my dad’s side were the J.P. Walkers – some of you older readers may remember them. Their youngest was a daughter whose name was Gladys. They didn’t like some of the company she was keeping here at home so they decided to send her to California with my dad and mom to get her away from this undesirable company. When arriving my mom’s half sister’s in California, a young freight conductor came by to visit this sister’s family whose husband also worked for the rail road. To make a longer story shorter, he, the young conductor, swept Gladys off her feet, married her and took her to North Platte, Nebraska where they lived, raised their family and died there. (years later.)
Okay, now we shall start the trip to California as I remember being told.
They left here heading to Del Rio and the first thing of excitement was crossing the Pecos River between Comstock and Langtry. I’m sure most of you have been across the Pecos River high bridge and will agree that it is a beautiful piece of scenery. Back then, you had to go all the way to the bottom of the canyon to cross the river on a cement slab and then up and up on the other side. I remember them telling about having to run into the side of the road which was straight up and down to stop the truck in the steeper places. The brakes on that Model T Ford just wouldn’t hold enough. Now, going up the other side was another story. The road was pretty steep and the fact that the truck’s gas tank was under the seat and the system used gravity flow to supply the carburetor with gasoline and going up steep places placed the gas tank level lower than the carburetor and all of a sudden, you were out of gas. Well, what they had to do was turn the truck around and go up the hill in reverse. Well, that worked pretty good until they found that on the steeper places, the truck didn’t have enough power to climb it. Okay, what they did was to unload a lot of their cargo making the truck lighter and take some on up to the top and then come back down and load up what they had left and go back to the top and load up and head on west.
On west mother said they were about to enter the desert and were hoping to find a store somewhere along the way – they needed some bread. Sure enough, they came to a little store along the way and they did have a loaf of bread. Mom said they bought the bread and headed on west and after a few miles they said it was time to camp. Mom said when they opened the bread, it was molded so bad that they couldn’t use it. She said she thought that the store keeper knew that the bread was molded and was glad to pond it off on some poor travelers. Out in the desert there was a vehicle that came up behind them and after following them for a ways, wanted to pass them. The road was very narrow and really not enough room to pass but decided to go around. Well, okay, sure enough the guy got stuck in the sand. My dad stopped and backed up to him and with a chain, pulled the guy out. After that, the fellow decided he could stay behind.
Some where along the way and I don’t know if on the way out or their way back home. They were camped in a place where they could be off the road a ways. Dad said another out fit had camped a little ways from them. Sometime after they had gone to bed, they heard voices out side in a low tone. Dad said he reached and got his Winchester and worked the lever to load it. He said the voices got quiet and then one of them asked, “you got any salt?” Dad said he answered back and said “no salt”. He said those guy left. You know, its funny how a very familiar sound can make a big difference. There is nothing else that sounds like loading a model 94 Winchester and those guys knew what it was.
Finally arriving in California at their destination they rented a house. My dad got busy hunting for work and ended up getting hired as a carpenter’s helper . I don’t remember them saying they ever worked in any of the harvest in the area.
My oldest brother, John, was 4 or 5 years old and my twin brothers, Jim and Harold, were 3 or 4. I remember mom and dad telling about Jim getting run over by a car – I think they were playing in the street. Most likely an old model T or something else going slow. Boy, this day in time, it most likely would have been different. I don’t think it hurt him very much.
I don’t remember just how long they stayed there in California – if it was weeks or months but I think they decided the margin of profit wasn’t enough. The cost of house rent and higher cost of living evidently was more than here in Texas at home. At any rate, they decided they would come home. They gave the proper notice to the land lord and low and behold, the land lord rented the house to some one else and these people moved right in on them This caused a lot of confusion as you can imagine. My mother said she lost her prize ring and she knew those people stole it.
They got their act together and headed home back to Texas. The trip home my mother said, took them 14 days and it rained on them 12 of those days. They said the trip out there took only 12 days.
Back in Texas, they stayed north coming through Sonora and Ozona in order to cross the Pecos River in flatter country and on to Rocksprings and down to Uvalde and down to Crystal City. However, near Rocksprings there is an attraction they wanted to see called The Devil’s Sinkhole. I just looked on the map and the Sinkhole is about 6 miles north east of Rocksprings.
On home now and settled in. I came along April 5, 1924 and grew up during the Great Depression. In 1930 we moved to the farm on the Nueces River and that same year, I started to school. My dad got a job driving a school bus and stayed with that job my whole 12 years in school. On the farm we lived off the land. Beef calves were sold so to have money to buy clothes and other necessary items – we lived off the land as I said. We boys learned to hunt early in life which furnished meats for the table such as rabbits, squirrels, deer and turkey. I never remember going hungry – mother always had food on the table and all we wanted. We did butcher hogs once in a while in the winter. Hogs furnished good meat as well as lard for all cooking needs.
You have read about how tough things can be and if you try, you can pull through. We four boys all graduated from high school here in Crystal City and all four served our country during World War II and all returned – luckily! I lost my twin brothers, both died back in the 90’s. That leaves my oldest brother (almost 91) and myself. (almost 85) My wife and I both fully retired back in 1998 and since then, I have written and published two books. Both full of stories about things that happened to me or things I caused to happen since about 1928 and just a few years ago. This first book, RAMBLIN’ ON can be ordered directly from Dale R. Walker,for 10 dollars plus 3 dollars postage. Please contact the blog host on the contact form below and she will give you ordering details. My second book is titled RAMBLIN’ ON AND ON and can be ordered on my web site – www.ramblinonandon.com
This story is one of those that comes from memory. This happened in 1922 or 1923. I was delivered into this world April 5, 1924 so you can see why I say it comes from memory.
I remember my mother telling about breaking the windshield out of the truck the day before they were to leave. Back then, it wasn’t like it is today – go to the phone or better yet, take your phone out of your pocket and call some company in Eagle Pass or Uvalde and tell them you needed a windshield and they would come and fix it the same day. No,. some different back then. Soooo, they drove to California without a windshield and back home too. I would imagine the budget wouldn’t allow fixing it anyway. Times were hard back then – that was the reason they were going to California to work; cash in on some of those hi wages!
My grandfather Rule – my mom’s dad – came to this country from Iowa and bought a farm here in Zavala County, a farm in Taft, Texas and property in Corpus Christi, Texas. I guess one could say he was quite wealthy. However, in the process of farming and things not going the way they should such as crop failure, river going dry leaving no water to irrigate with and train cars of vegetables getting lost on their way to the markets in the north or most likely, being stolen. He had borrowed all the money he could from local banks and ended up a broke man. He lost all the property he had acquired by the early 1920’s. He came to this country about 1910 give or take. He had a daughter living in California who was from his first marriage and he had another daughter and three sons. These three sons, I learned from my mother, helped him go broke. As I said, he had borrowed all he could and had cashed in on his insurances to try to help his sons and lost it all. His first wife had died back in 1890 give or take and he married my mother’s mother some time after. My mother was born in the year 1896. He and my grandmother went out to California and I don’t know if he was sick when he went or if he became ill after he arrived. Seems like his daughter lived somewhere near L.A. At any rate, my grandfather died.
Times were hard here so my grandmother tried over and over to get my mom and dad with their three kids to come out to California – wages were very good and she knew they could do well out there. My dad had a flat bed truck which he did hauling with when he could find some to do. They also had a farm out north of Crystal on the Nueces River they were trying to farm. He fixed his truck so he could haul spinach and did some hauling of groceries for a store here in Crystal. I remember him talking about going to Del Rio for these supplies for this store.
This truck was the one they went to California in. He fixed bows up and over the bed of the truck and extended the top forward enough to reach the windshield. This truck did not have a cab on it. And remember, my mom had knocked the windshield out the day
before they left. He stretched canvas over the bows and fixed a pretty good tent on wheels.
Okay, now you know why they were going to California and how they were going.
My grandparents on my dad’s side were the J.P. Walkers – some of you older readers may remember them. Their youngest was a daughter whose name was Gladys. They didn’t like some of the company she was keeping here at home so they decided to send her to California with my dad and mom to get her away from this undesirable company. When arriving my mom’s half sister’s in California, a young freight conductor came by to visit this sister’s family whose husband also worked for the rail road. To make a longer story shorter, he, the young conductor, swept Gladys off her feet, married her and took her to North Platte, Nebraska where they lived, raised their family and died there. (years later.)
Okay, now we shall start the trip to California as I remember being told.
They left here heading to Del Rio and the first thing of excitement was crossing the Pecos River between Comstock and Langtry. I’m sure most of you have been across the Pecos River high bridge and will agree that it is a beautiful piece of scenery. Back then, you had to go all the way to the bottom of the canyon to cross the river on a cement slab and then up and up on the other side. I remember them telling about having to run into the side of the road which was straight up and down to stop the truck in the steeper places. The brakes on that Model T Ford just wouldn’t hold enough. Now, going up the other side was another story. The road was pretty steep and the fact that the truck’s gas tank was under the seat and the system used gravity flow to supply the carburetor with gasoline and going up steep places placed the gas tank level lower than the carburetor and all of a sudden, you were out of gas. Well, what they had to do was turn the truck around and go up the hill in reverse. Well, that worked pretty good until they found that on the steeper places, the truck didn’t have enough power to climb it. Okay, what they did was to unload a lot of their cargo making the truck lighter and take some on up to the top and then come back down and load up what they had left and go back to the top and load up and head on west.
On west mother said they were about to enter the desert and were hoping to find a store somewhere along the way – they needed some bread. Sure enough, they came to a little store along the way and they did have a loaf of bread. Mom said they bought the bread and headed on west and after a few miles they said it was time to camp. Mom said when they opened the bread, it was molded so bad that they couldn’t use it. She said she thought that the store keeper knew that the bread was molded and was glad to pond it off on some poor travelers. Out in the desert there was a vehicle that came up behind them and after following them for a ways, wanted to pass them. The road was very narrow and really not enough room to pass but decided to go around. Well, okay, sure enough the guy got stuck in the sand. My dad stopped and backed up to him and with a chain, pulled the guy out. After that, the fellow decided he could stay behind.
Some where along the way and I don’t know if on the way out or their way back home. They were camped in a place where they could be off the road a ways. Dad said another out fit had camped a little ways from them. Sometime after they had gone to bed, they heard voices out side in a low tone. Dad said he reached and got his Winchester and worked the lever to load it. He said the voices got quiet and then one of them asked, “you got any salt?” Dad said he answered back and said “no salt”. He said those guy left. You know, its funny how a very familiar sound can make a big difference. There is nothing else that sounds like loading a model 94 Winchester and those guys knew what it was.
Finally arriving in California at their destination they rented a house. My dad got busy hunting for work and ended up getting hired as a carpenter’s helper . I don’t remember them saying they ever worked in any of the harvest in the area.
My oldest brother, John, was 4 or 5 years old and my twin brothers, Jim and Harold, were 3 or 4. I remember mom and dad telling about Jim getting run over by a car – I think they were playing in the street. Most likely an old model T or something else going slow. Boy, this day in time, it most likely would have been different. I don’t think it hurt him very much.
I don’t remember just how long they stayed there in California – if it was weeks or months but I think they decided the margin of profit wasn’t enough. The cost of house rent and higher cost of living evidently was more than here in Texas at home. At any rate, they decided they would come home. They gave the proper notice to the land lord and low and behold, the land lord rented the house to some one else and these people moved right in on them This caused a lot of confusion as you can imagine. My mother said she lost her prize ring and she knew those people stole it.
They got their act together and headed home back to Texas. The trip home my mother said, took them 14 days and it rained on them 12 of those days. They said the trip out there took only 12 days.
Back in Texas, they stayed north coming through Sonora and Ozona in order to cross the Pecos River in flatter country and on to Rocksprings and down to Uvalde and down to Crystal City. However, near Rocksprings there is an attraction they wanted to see called The Devil’s Sinkhole. I just looked on the map and the Sinkhole is about 6 miles north east of Rocksprings.
On home now and settled in. I came along April 5, 1924 and grew up during the Great Depression. In 1930 we moved to the farm on the Nueces River and that same year, I started to school. My dad got a job driving a school bus and stayed with that job my whole 12 years in school. On the farm we lived off the land. Beef calves were sold so to have money to buy clothes and other necessary items – we lived off the land as I said. We boys learned to hunt early in life which furnished meats for the table such as rabbits, squirrels, deer and turkey. I never remember going hungry – mother always had food on the table and all we wanted. We did butcher hogs once in a while in the winter. Hogs furnished good meat as well as lard for all cooking needs.
You have read about how tough things can be and if you try, you can pull through. We four boys all graduated from high school here in Crystal City and all four served our country during World War II and all returned – luckily! I lost my twin brothers, both died back in the 90’s. That leaves my oldest brother (almost 91) and myself. (almost 85) My wife and I both fully retired back in 1998 and since then, I have written and published two books. Both full of stories about things that happened to me or things I caused to happen since about 1928 and just a few years ago. This first book, RAMBLIN’ ON can be ordered directly from Dale R. Walker,for 10 dollars plus 3 dollars postage. Please contact the blog host on the contact form below and she will give you ordering details. My second book is titled RAMBLIN’ ON AND ON and can be ordered on my web site – www.ramblinonandon.com
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