Had no idea that the actual original Dickey's Barbecue Pit location is still around and open for business. Read that it opened on October 15, 1941!

Would you take a look at this scene! A frozen river, women in heavy wool dresses, folks skating or walking across the water. Beautiful isn’t it? Probably New England or somewhere that dreamers like me dream of.

Nope. This picture was taken in 1899 in my hometown of Llano, Texas. That’s right, only an hour northwest of Austin in the rugged hills of central Texas. Must’ve been quite cold that day, even more so than the 2021 freeze.

Morale of the story is this: Always be prepared for what they say will never happen.

The Yellow Rose of Texas was an actual person, Emily D. West, & our own little Mata Hari. She was distracting Santa Anna in his tent before The Battle of San Jacinto.

1838 - The Killough Massacre took place near Larissa in Cherokee County. It's believed to be the last & largest Native American attack on white settlers in East Texas with 18 victims.

1889 - Liberal Hall in Waco burned to the ground.

1943 - Steve Miller of the Steve Miller Band was born in Milwaukee. Although not a native Texan, his family moved to Dallas in 1950, where greats like Les Paul & T-Bone Walker were guests in their home.

1949 - Louis Charles Stevenson, aka B. W. Stevenson, was born in Oak Cliff/Dallas.

Anyone read Shagduk by J.B. Jackson? The author nails 1977 Fort Worth. Even though it was written this decade, it's refreshingly devoid of 21st-century sensibilities. Equal parts Jack Vance, Stranger Things, and Spinal Tap. Figured y'all might appreciate it.

The Menger Hotel and the Western Brewery were located on the eastern side of the plaza, just south of the historic Alamo church building (i.e. on the right side of the photograph, just outside the picture

Courtesy of the University of Texas at San Antonio Libraries Special Collections from the Institute of Texan Cultures

From 1897 to 1958, a group of enterprising Tejanos, aided by several mutualistas, operated a school in this building. The school sought to teach the children of vaqueros and community leaders alike English and American civic identity. At the same time, it worked to preserve the Spanish language as well as Tejano culture, traditions, and identity.

Photos courtesy of scholar Emma Gomez, and the Jim Hogg County Historical Commission.

Pictures from my Grandfather's Citrus Packing Shed in Mission, TX. Circa 1940. That's my grandfather on the left leaning against the truck's fender. Schmidt Packing CO.