Traces of Texas

Traces of Texas reader Bruce Tidmore took this photo of cowboy running boards near Amarillo a couple of days ago and was nice enough to share it. I like a cowboy with a "can do" mentality, and this is an example of that!

Thank you, Bruce. I love it.

Traces of Texas reader Sylvia Examilla graciously shared this nifty 1946 snapshot of her mom, Raquel Trevino (Later Raquel Escamilla), on the left, and friend Ofelia de los Santos dressed up for Charro Days in Brownsville. Can't you just IMAGINE that these two were a lot of fun? Great dresses, too!

The Texas Quote of the Day:

"Barbecue is eternal. It's like the Mississippi River, it's big and it's simple and it takes its own sweet time."

----- C.B. "Stubb" Stubblefield, iconic Texas barbecue pitmaster, owner of Stubb's barbecue in Lubbock and subsequently in Austin. An astute observation!

Janet Christensen kindly sent in this family photo, taken in McDade, Texas, in the early 1940s. The boy is named Johnny Strong. Johnny was born in 1938 and died in 2017. The lady worked for the family and was known as Aunt Laura. It's clear to me that she had a lot of love for young Johnny.

Traces of Texas reader Szesch kindly shared these two complimentary photos, taken in Mason, Texas at a parade on August 5, 1915. In the first photo, Sheriff P. C. Baird is posing on his horse. In the second photo, in the lower right-hand corner, you can see the photographer taking the first photo.

YouTube video by Micah N. Cruz Respect Your Elders - A clip from the film Second Hand Lions

In lieu of the usual Texas musical moment I normally post each night, my favorite Texas movie scene. I recognize that many Texas movie scenes are more artistic, emotionally compelling etc ... but are they this much fun?

youtu.be/Or2gV2aqZcs?...

"I don't know why I wandered out to this part of Texas drunk, and you took me in and pitied me and helped me to straighten out, marry me. Why? Why did that happen? Is there a reason that happened? ... See, I don't trust happiness. I never did, I never will."

---- Mac Sledge, Tender Mercies

Thinking of Robert Duvall (and Texas), I always liked "The Apostle," parts of which were filmed in Dallas and Denton. Robert wrote and starred in the movie, a Southern Gothic film about a charismatic Pentecostal Texas preacher named Sonny Dewey. Marlon Brando loved it and I do, too.

RIP Augustus McCrae. It was a helluva party.

YouTube video by Nat King Cole 11-Year-Old Billy Preston Performs Blueberry Hill | The Nat King Cole Show

Houston native Billy Preston and the great Nat King Cole when Billy was only 11 years old. What a great video!

youtu.be/QXX2Xw4FHBQ?...

Goodness gracious ... so cool!

Total joy: native Houstonian Billy Preston and his friend George Harrison.

Downtown Bartlett, Texas, played the role of 1923 Amarillo, Texas. in the TV series "1923," which is one of the shows in Taylor Sheridan's Yellowstone universe. The show ran for two seasons. Chad Mees, the mayor of Bartlett, sent this photo to me and said they had 800 cattle in Bartlett that day.

Mission Espada in San Antonio back in 1892 along with a current photo. Mission Espada, founded in 1690 as San Francisco de los Tejas near present-day Weches, Texas, was the first mission in Texas. In 1731, they it over to the San Antonio River and renamed it Mission San Francisco de la Espada.

A very Texan-looking man buys a saw at a small-town hardware store in San Augustine, Texas, 1943. What a face this customer has!

Taken by John Vachon.

YouTube video by Joe Ely - Topic Saint Valentine

Still hurting over Joe Ely's death. Glad I can post this song tonight.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mw9Z...

The whole album is great. But Marcia sure can sing. I'll bet I've seen her life probably 20 times.

The front and back side of a valentine sent from Paris, Texas in 1910. I love the old artwork!

Courtesy The Portal to Texas History

Photo of the funeral of Juan Valentine Ramirez. who died at the age of 19. This was taken in Houston's Magnolia Park. From L-R: Juanita Sanchez Rodriguez (Ramirez's fianceé), Mrs. Isabel Angela Ramirez (Ramirez's mother), Pedro Goza and Antonio Flores. Juan Valentine Ramirez was a saxophone player.

YouTube video by Live From Austin TX Asleep At The Wheel - "Miles And Miles Of Texas" [Live from Austin, TX]

Crossed that ol' Red River and this is what I saw ...

youtu.be/kLL7Eu7mdIo?...

One of the greatest music videos on the internet!

Traces of Texas reader Judith Booker graciously sent in this wonderful shot of young ladies swimming in the Temple Lumber Company mill pond in Diboll, Texas, back in 1913. Judith's grandfather, J.O. Booker, took this photo.

Thank you, Judith. I love seeing folks back in the day having a good time!

I have a hilarious story about one of the times I saw Katie Webster. Unfortunately, there's not enough space in 300 characters to tell it.

YouTube video by Marcia Ball - Topic Soulful Dress

Watch out ladies ... Marcia Ball is going to put on her soulful dress!

"If you wanna keep your man
You better keep as sharp as you can
I'll be at my best
When I put on my soulful dress"

www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VuO...

The Orphan Photo of the Day was sent in by Traces of Texas reader Steven Martin. It's a Kodachrome slide of siblings posing by a highway sign on U.S. 80 in West Texas. The slide is dated September, 1958 and was likely taken at least a month earlier. 7,093' Gomez Peak rises in the background.

Traces of Texas reader shared this super interesting photo. Jerry was riding his motorcycle on a Saturday afternoon and wound up in the little community of Polar, about 20 miles north of Snyder. This sign is in front of the Polar Cemetery along with a small stone set in the ground. Read the text!

As one who have lived here for 44 years, I disagree.

Sheriff Jim Halbert was the immaculate embodiment of an East Texas lawman in San Augustine when John Vachon took this in 1943. He looks like he could be the nicest guy ever, provided you were acting right, but also like he could be .... stern ... if you crossed over the line into tomfoolery.

It really is amazing how many musical traditions ended up colliding here in Texas and spinning off into new directions and new sounds!

YouTube video by Cody Jinks Cody Jinks - Loud & Heavy (Adobe Sessions)

Cody Jinks is a native of Haltom City, Texas, and attended Haltom High School. His dad gave him a guitar and he started learning country tunes, migrated into heavy-metal for about five years in the late 1990s-early 2000s, then sort of re-migrated back. I'm digging it. youtu.be/Vfv9ijR7e6M?...