Business & Community Journal --- February, 2011
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Volume 4 Issue 45
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The County Line Business & Community Journal ● P.O. Box 1156 ● Eastland, Texas 76448 ● http://www.mycounty-line.com
Monthly Issue
February ,
2011
In This Issue:
“These Departments Should Not Be So Far Separated as to Have No Constitutional Control Over Each Other”
Growing Up Small Town: by Mike W. Norris
@Ranger Library
by Diana McCullough
Good Neighbors
by Clint Coffee NEW FEATURE!
Texas Traveler by Jeff Clark
Law of the Land by Doug Jordan
Tumbleweed Smith by Bob Lewis
Love Lessons
by Vicki Stiefer
Treasure Hunters by Jerry Eckhart
Star Pride
by Ginger Tobin
Out of the Past
by Luther Gohlke NEW FEATURE!
Texas History
by various authors
From the Backside
by Henry J. Clevicepin
Ruthie’s Page
by Mike & Ruth Norris
www.MyCounty-Line.com
THE FEDERALIST PAPERS
by James Madison, #48
by Chuck Norris
vol.4 Issue 45
By Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay For the People of New York, 1787
The Federalist Papers:
Texas Conservative
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t will not be denied, that power is of an encroaching nature, and that it ought to be effectually restrained from passing the limits assigned to it. fter discriminating, therefore, in theory, the several classes of power, as they may in their nature be legislative, executive, or judiciary, the next and most difficult task is to provide some practical security for each, against the invasion of the others. hat this security ought to be, is the great problem to be solved. Will it be sufficient to mark, with precision, the boundaries of these departments, in the constitution of the government, and to trust to these parchment barriers against the encroaching spirit of power? This is the security which appears to have been principally relied on by the compilers of most of the American constitutions. But experience assures us, that the efficacy of the provision has been greatly overrated; and that some more adequate defense is indispensably necessary for the more feeble, against the more powerful, members of the government. The legislative department is everywhere extending the sphere of its activity, and drawing all power into its impetuous vortex. n a government where numerous and extensive prerogatives are placed in the hands of an hereditary monarch, the executive department is very justly regarded as the source of danger, and watched with all the jealousy which a zeal for liberty ought to inspire. n a democracy, where a multitude of people exercise in person the legislative functions, and are continually exposed, by their incapacity for regular deliberation and concerted measures, to the ambitious intrigues of their executive magistrates, tyranny may well be apprehended, on some favorable emergency, to start up in the same quarter. ut in a representative republic, where the executive magistracy is carefully limited; both in the extent and the duration of its power; and where the legislative power is exercised by an assembly...it is against the enterprising ambition of this department that the people ought to indulge all their jealousy and exhaust all their precautions. The legislative department derives a superiority in our governments from other circumstances. Its constitutional powers being at once more extensive, and less susceptible of precise limits, it can mask, under complicated and indirect measures, the encroachments which it makes on the co-ordinate departments. n ELECTIVE DESPOTISM was not the government we fought for; but one which should not only be founded on free principles, but in which the powers of government should be so divided and balanced among several bodies of magistracy, as that no one could transcend their legal limits, without being effectually checked and restrained by the others. he conclusion which I am warranted in drawing from these observations is, that a mere demarcation on parchment of the constitutional limits of the several departments, is not a sufficient guard against those encroachments which lead to a tyrannical concentration of all the powers of government in the same hands. ~ excerpts from Federalist #48, by James Madison
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The County Line Business & Community Journal ● P.O. Box 1156 ● Eastland, Texas 76448 ● http://www.mycounty-line.com
3Growing Up Small Town ■
County Line Business & Community Journal ~ February, 2011 v4.45
, Mike W. Norris
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The Dallas Super Bowl Party! On the cover this month, we have a photo of the metal sculptures of a herd of Texas Longhorns outside the Dallas Convention Center. This weekend, thousands of football fans are flocking to the convention center to participate in the “NFL Super Bowl Experience.” In case you didn’t want to brave the wintery weather – including about 6” of fresh fallen snow – then here’s how it was described on the NFL website: “The National Football League will produce the 19th NFL EXPERIENCE at the Dallas Convention Center, beginning January 27, 2011. The NFL Experience is the most exciting continuous event surrounding Super Bowl XLV -- pro football’s interactive theme park offering participatory games, displays, entertainment attractions, kids’ football clinics, free autograph sessions and the largest football memorabilia show ever.” Ruthie and I are stuck here in Dallas this weekend, along with all those football fans, and I have to say that this is the closest I have ever been to the “big game.” Ruthie and I aren’t serious football fans. Ever since I graduated from high school, my enthusiasm for sports has steadily dwindled. But the Super Bowl has always been a favorite event that we try to catch every year – on TV of course! This will be the first time we have found ourselves in the destination city for the eyes of the sporting world. And let me tell you, with the Steelers and the Packers coming down here for the weekend, they brought more than just their more familiar winter weather with them – they brought their fans, too! Everywhere you go here in the city, you see people wrapped in the colors of their favorite team. Downtown, in Dallas’ West End, there were shouts between Packers and Steelers fans across the streets, followed with laughs and cat calls. I told Ruthie I had never seen so many people out in weather anything like this. Around the convention center, police had the streets blocked off and hundreds of people walked an extra block or two just to get to the building entrance. We had spotted the Super Bowl XLV display outside the center several days ago and I mentioned to Ruthie that I needed a picture of it, as well as the longhorn sculptures outside. So with camera in-hand, she and I went downtown this afternoon and caught a few shots of the scenes. The blanket of snow really added to the excitement in the air, and even as a retired football enthusiast, I found myself a little caught up in the event. I still don’t have a favorite team yet for the big game, but I hope the fans get their money’s worth either way. But one thing is for sure, Dallas is treating them to a Texassized Super Bowl party!
Super Bowl XLV - NFL “The Experience” - Dallas Convention Center, Dallas Texas. Photo by mwnorri
Send Comments to: smalltown@mycounty-line.com
The County Line Business & Community Journal ● P.O. Box 1156 ● Eastland, Texas 76448 ● http://www.mycounty-line.com
4Texas Conservative ■
County Line Business & Community Journal ~ February, 2011 v4.45
, Chuck Norris - The Man
Why Not Freeze Foreign Spending, Too?
Last week, in his State of the Union address, President Barack Obama was adamant about freezing U.S. government domestic spending over the next five years. But why not do the same for U.S. spending abroad? The president said: “So tonight, I am proposing that starting this year, we freeze annual domestic spending for the next five years. Now, this would reduce the deficit by more than $400 billion over the next decade.” Forget for a moment that I believe we need to cut government spending by at least 10 percent across the board (including in foreign support) and not just freeze it. Can you imagine American homes in which the primary breadwinners lost their jobs freezing their household spending but not doing the same in their financial support of almost every household in their neighborhoods? I’m not trying to be heartless to international need, just trying to get our stateside house in order. We can’t help others until we first fix ourselves. What wisdom is there in freezing domestic spending for five years and not doing the same with foreign spending? A crippled U.S. economy is no-brainer evidence of a nation that needs to pull back from being not only the world police but also the world provider. Despite the fact that I’m no fan of the United Nations, proof of the impotency and hollowness of U.S. foreign aid is reflected in the General Assembly votes from countries to which the U.S. offers aid, for they rarely translate into U.S. agreement and support. In other words, too many countries want and are overly dependent on U.S. generosity, without an iota of allegiance, business or trade reciprocity. The Heritage Foundation reported, “Of the 30 largest recipients of U.S. foreign aid that have voted during the past eight sessions (years), 29 countries voted against the U.S. in a majority of the non-consensus votes, and 25 voted against the U.S. in a majority of the important non-consensus votes.” In short, the feds are chronic enablers of not only their own U.S. citizens on welfare but also other countries on our foreign aid, preventing all of them from bearing their own responsibilities. The feds have become the parents in the global house, and they are making excuse after excuse as to why others can’t tie up their bootstraps, grow up and get along without our help. This “savior” mentality is crippling the U.S. and ushering in our economic demise, but it’s exactly the role of government that President Obama espouses and enacts. If I were president, here’s what I would propose for foreign realignment. I’d have the U.S. State Department inform all other countries that we are freezing domestic and foreign spending for at least the next five years. And at
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the end of those five years, we’d reassess U.S. support not only on the basis of the health of the U.S. economy but also, more importantly, on the basis of how other countries support U.S. interests and trade over the same time period. One might call that blackmail, but I call it business. The truth is that in the second five-year period, I would work voraciously to wean other countries off “U.S. milk.” They don’t need our finances to feel our support. There are many other ways. And in so doing, we’ll grow up to be a healthier global community. (I just learned that Rand Paul, the new senator from Kentucky, proposed ending all foreign aid last week.) And for those who would say that we have to give to get American interests and security, I would reply: Maybe the proof that other countries can’t be friends to America without our money is proof that they are no friends at all. No surprise that nearly 60 percent of Americans in a new Gallup Poll said they would be in favor of cutting foreign aid -- the highest percentage in the entire poll. In his State of the Union speech, President Obama even confessed to the deep need for change in our relations with the world: “Our success in this new and changing world will require reform, responsibility and innovation. It will also require us to approach that world with a new level of engagement in our foreign affairs.” So let me propose that the “new level” is no new level at all, but an old level -- a foreign policy articulated well by our Founding Fathers 200 years ago and other patriots today. I agree with Ron Paul, the father of Rand Paul and an exceptional representative and example of a constitutional statesman. In his book “The Revolution,” Ron writes, “It is time for us to consider a strategic reassessment of our policy of foreign interventionism, occupation, and nation building.” Our Founders would not endorse the global presence we have today, especially with the costs of doing so in light of our colossal deficit and debt. As George Washington said, “the great rule of conduct for us in regard to foreign nations is in extending our commercial relations to have with them as little political connection as possible. ... ‘Tis our true policy to steer clear of permanent alliances, with any portion of the foreign world.” Could it get more any wiser and simpler than that? In the end, the fact is that the U.S. economy could collapse, and the rest of the countries of the world would survive and probably even thrive. I pray that it doesn’t take that form of U.S. economic earthquake to prove that very case.
Send Comments to: chuck@mycounty-line.com
To find out more about Chuck Norris and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com. COPYRIGHT 2010 CHUCK NORRIS - DISTRIBUTED BY CREATORS.COM - Reprinted under license by Mike Norris for The County Line. The County Line Business & Community Journal ● P.O. Box 1156 ● Eastland, Texas 76448 ● http://www.mycounty-line.com
5@The Ranger Library ■
County Line Business & Community Journal ~ February, 2011 v4.45
, Diana McCullough
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As this terrified, oversized baby bull neared our trailer at breakneck speed... Life can go to Hell in a hand- the side corral panel and over; and nearly as their own, especially when you are a writer like basket in one split second--I quickly, this bull calf, never slowing, hurdled Stephen King. He says, “Get on with the d---am living proof. Everything over the furthest corral fence, bending metal in story!” About page 20, Susan Elizabeth Phillips was fine, best that I recall, two his wake. Jim was so still, it was scary. “What’s does just that. This is a romantic comedy with Sundays ago. I had been kind the matter?” No answer. So with more terror a dash of mystery--I totally enjoyed it. of nervous for about two weeks, in my voice I repeated, “What’s the matter?” Also at Eastland’s hospital, where our baby Jim reminding me fairly often that THESE “It’s my knee, I can’t walk.” Lora was born 22 years ago, works Paige were the wildest calves we had ever owned. Well, oh boy. I never really appreciated the Bearden. Her encouraging words still warm But as I opened the gate for the hasty departure value of a knee. But after spending the last four my needy heart. Her name graces the front of of the big mama cows, I wasn’t afraid. Moving days in doctor’s or hospital waiting rooms, I’ve a number of donated books which are checked that corral gate, shouting my observations, learned a new respect. For knees. We need out regularly. came naturally—this was not my first rodeo. them. All this education is so unwanted. And Man plans, God laughs. And as I recited We loaded up three trailer loads that Sunday Cowboy Bobby Willis, he’s going to get that afternoon, blissfully blessed. And we knew it. bull calf unless Jim beats him to it. Jim’s more that to Doug, our radiologist technologist, he The next day was Martin Luther King Day, Jim ready with each passing day. Thank the Lord. countered, “Yeah, and God plans, man laughs.” (There’s a lesson there, and we might ought to was off and I wasn’t, so soon after daybreak we take notice.) Our daughter Amy told her dad, “You’re too were back at our meager corral which harbored the last three calves and one big, black mama old to jump over fences,” to which he replied, Next week, I’m scheduled to be in Denton, “It wasn’t the launch, it was the landing.” I am participating in the PEARL project— cow. his witness. “Promoting and Enhancing the Advancement My dad has always warned me about mama So…let me express my appreciation to Bob of Rural Libraries”--but who knows what the cows, and the lesson has stuck for a lifetime. Because I am a mama cow—no joke. Your life Davis for keeping our library open all of our future holds? I sure don’t. As of this morning, is in danger when you mess with someone’s regular business hours as I sit with a book in Tuesday’s forecast calls for a 70% chance of medical offices. Life can take some bizarre wintry mix. All bets are off with me. baby. Beware! twists, but I am lucky in many areas, and our A great big thanks to my super capable Those first two calves were easily library patrons are lucky, for Bob Davis. Community Service Volunteer who re-installed maneuvered into the front part of our poor Wednesday morning, in the Eastland our library’s front storm door. It was probably boy trailer, which left that big bull calf and his frighteningly huge, mean-eyed mama. So Jim Memorial Hospital’s waiting room, I finished about two years ago when that same door was worked the corral gate that time. Big, mean- “Call Me Irresistible” by Susan Elizabeth falling off at its bottom hinges and I called City eyed mama took her exit, but I’m not going to Phillips. It was delightful! A little flowery at Hall. Adam Lopez showed up promptly, took claim that it was an easy feat. THAT would be first, reminding me of “On Writing” by Stephen that door off at its still-hinged upper hinges and a lie. Which left us with one, big black calf, King. Stephen King discourages unnecessary leaned it up against the kitchen table. I asked, terribly afraid, running beserk. This calf with adverbs—typically those words which end in “Can you put it somewhere, less in the way?” no name quickly, crazily, ran up into the chute, –ly that modify verbs, those ACTION words People were expected soon for this adjoining which should be strong enough to stand on community room. So Adam did, and the door and my husband followed—at stood in the kitchen corner ever the same speed. There IS so since. NOW it’s back where it many ways my story could have belongs, and I am grateful. worked out differently. I had suggested, “Why don’t we let I am MORE grateful for this last PAIR out?” And HE Ruth Norris’s successful organ said, “Let’s give it ONE more transplant! Congratulations to try,” so this is where we were. the Norris family for prayers It happened so fast. HE could answered with mercy and love. have shut that auxiliary gate. He I’ll never be Stephen King could have listened to his wife. and sometimes adverbs matter. He could have been less greedy As I close, I’ll share some the day before when this calf examples: Live simply. Love ran up into the chute followed generously. Care deeply. Speak by another bull calf, but oh well. kindly. Leave the rest to God. If I hadn’t been looking, I would Please take care, and as always… have missed it. ENJOY READING! As this terrified, oversized baby bull neared our trailer at breakneck speed, he leaped around, back towards my Send Comments to: rangerlibrary@mycounty-line.com husband. Jim vaulted onto The County Line Business & Community Journal ● P.O. Box 1156 ● Eastland, Texas 76448 ● http://www.mycounty-line.com
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County Line Business & Community Journal ~ February, 2011 v4.45
The County Line Business & Community Journal ● P.O. Box 1156 ● Eastland, Texas 76448 ● http://www.mycounty-line.com
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County Line Business & Community Journal ~ February, 2011 v4.45 Jack and Ruth Ann Craddock found this rock in Palo Pinto Creek in 1987. They were searching the creek just north of Strawn for rocks to fill in the underside of their home when they came across what looked like a petrified boot. There was an article in the County Line newspaper awhile back about the Spanish expedition in the south, looking for gold, and might have passed this way and someone lost their boot? I guess it’s just a rock, but it feels real when you look at it. I’ll bet there are other folks out there who have found interesting things in this part of the country. We have petrified forrests, arrow heads and who knows what other natural formations are out there. ~Robert Stogsdill, Strawn Museum
■ Good
HUNTER SAFETY COURSE - Feb 20th. Texas Hunter Safety Outdoor Skills course 1 - 5 pm on Sunday, Feb. 20th Eastland Rifle & Pistol Club Classroom at Ringling Lake Students must be age 9 or older to be certified All hunters born on or after 9/2/1971 must have certification Cost: $15 Contact: 325-518-3145 for more information
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Students will need to have already completed the online study course before attending the outdoor skills class. They must bring the completed test segments or completion certificate. Study course information is available online at: www.tpwd.state.tx.us/learning/hunter_ education/
Neighbors, Clint Coffee CLU ChFC State Farm Insurance® Agent
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Send Comments to: neighbors@mycounty-line.com
The County Line Business & Community Journal ● P.O. Box 1156 ● Eastland, Texas 76448 ● http://www.mycounty-line.com
8Texas Traveler ■
County Line Business & Community Journal ~ February, 2011 v4.45
, by Jeff Clark, Freelance Writer and Historian
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Bankhead Highway’s Thurber Hill Begins and Ends Many Lives
Roads have memories, just like people. Last week I retraced the abandoned Bankhead Highway as it climbed steep Thurber Hill, just west of Highway 16 in Eastland County. I used to call this uprising “Ranger Hill”, but that occurs farther west, where Loop 254 leaves Interstate 20. I’m parallel and north of Interstate 20, its big hill still hassling heavily-laden trucks as they head toward West Texas. Migrating west, 1930’s travelers received their first heaping spoonful of the bitter medicine up ahead. Thurber Hill rises 200 feet in a little over a mile. Model T’s attempted this incline backwards, sucking every available ounce of horsepower from their feeble engines. Folks were often driving rattle trap old vehicles that were one strand of bailing wire away from disaster. Gas tanks were rarely full. You didn’t stop until (not unless) you ran out of gas, broke down, or Nature called. Thurber Hill remains miserly with her secrets. Elders remember the roar of the Thurber-bricked roadway beneath thin tires, before Highway 80 asphalt replaced it. Like so much that’s happened here, this high-pitched ascent seems so unnecessary. I wonder what possessed planners to carve their road here and not along the more gently ascending Gone-to-California wagon road a mile to our south. During Ranger’s too-brief oil boom, twenty horsepower Tin Lizzies had two speeds – low and high. Gravity-fed gas tanks lurked beneath their driver’s seat in early models. Facing an uphill climb with a half-empty tank, fuel couldn’t reach the engine. That sputtering noise under your hood told riders that life was about to get exciting. The early Fords had three pedals (low, reverse and brake). When the high speed clutch band became worn, the reverse pedal was used to back up the hill. Today, the road narrows quickly from the bottom, the ground falling away to a deep gorge on the right. Tall hillside, then boulders soar above one’s sightline to the left. High grass and trees reach out to reclaim this black and white striped road. You can go forward. You can roll backward. There ain’t no turning back. Given the tightness of this road, 12 feet wide in places, and the dramatic stay-away-from-the-edge curves, surely Pacific-bound Tin Lizzies loaded with their family’s worldly belongings were followed on foot by their kin. Today, mesquites and cedar line the ledge once punctuated by guard rails (more for show, if hit very hard). Trucks that couldn’t make the climb backed down. If you blew a hydraulic brake line coming down, you’d need to go home and replace your shorts. This first climb is the steepest. When a heavy truck had to stop under strain of its load or a wobbly car broke down, there were no shoulders. No place to turn around. There’s no changing direction – unless you can fly. Coming down you’d have to stand on friction brakes, your Model T a little too anxious to achieve supersonic speed. This 1920s path struggles to peel itself away from the edge. The road whispers sadly, “it happened here, back in 1941.”
Jaime Falls and Dovie Gailey Hunt in front of Highway 80 sign pointing to Mineral Wells and Weatherford, circa 1930s.
A stopped-in-the-road truck loaded down with lumber blocked its lane, its broken axle not an easy fix. A nice car stopped to help, pulling up beside. This is a blind corner, until the next car coming along is almost upon you. Up at the top of Thurber Hill we see a second truck begin its descent, full to the sideboards with happy workers heading to East Texas cotton fields. When the lumber truck and the Good Samaritan car come shockingly into sight, the farm workers’ truck driver knows he has to stop. Pushing steel pedal hard to the floorboard, the doomed truck’s brakes fail, its speed faster and faster falling down the runaway road toward the star-crossed car and lumber truck. The careening truck’s driver aims heroically for the space between
The County Line Business & Community Journal ● P.O. Box 1156 ● Eastland, Texas 76448 ● http://www.mycounty-line.com
9Texas Traveler ■
County Line Business & Community Journal ~ February, 2011 v4.45
, Continued...
the two vehicles, to avoid taking his passengers through the rails and into mid-air. Whatever horror this poor truck driver imagines pales beside what happens next. The big truck crashes full speed into both lumber truck and car. Many were injured. Many needed help. The Ervins stop to help, to take the injured to Ranger’s hospital. The lumber truck driver lights flares to warn off further catastrophe. People busy themselves helping the wounded. The call goes in to Ranger – send help. Send everything you’ve got… The Ranger Fire Department had a siren mounted on top of their building that could be heard all over town. Its wail announced fires, tornado warnings, world war black outs and other emergencies. “Most of the young people who had access to cars would follow the fire trucks to the scene,” Dorothy Elrod told me. Fire trucks, ambulances, and “all of Ranger” left the little town, racing toward destiny. They say the fire probably started in the lumber, maybe a spark from the flares beneath its wheels. It might have smoldered unnoticed in all the chaos. Two loaded Greyhound buses stopped behind the accident. Their passengers piled off to get a better look. Cars from the surrounding countryside pulled to a stop, blocking more of the road. Some say four hundred souls watched as that lumber truck burst into flames. The fire quickly spread, igniting a saddle gas tank under the truck. A monstrous explosion erupted across the panicked
Looking east along Bankhead Highway as trees reclaim the road.
hillside, spewing burning gasoline across hundreds of onlookers like high tide slamming into a seawall. James L. Ervin was blown off the cliff by the blast. Faceless shapes ran in every direction across the hellish scene ablaze. The few who’d remained in their cars were uninjured, reports later confirmed. Whatever happened next, panic has erased from the record. There wouldn’t have been enough firemen to go around. There’s no water at the site. Time must have stopped, as shocked minds struggled to take in the end-of-the-world tableau. The injured, the dead and dying were taken to Ranger’s West Texas Hospital, whose rooms filled, whose hallway floors were quickly littered with occupied mattresses. Others were taken to the City-County Hospital in town, and a few to Eastland. Then as now, burn injuries are grotesque, among the most agonizing to ever be inflicted upon a suffering victim. Seven died that night. Thirty to forty more are said to have perished later from burns or Continued on page 13...
The County Line Business & Community Journal ● P.O. Box 1156 ● Eastland, Texas 76448 ● http://www.mycounty-line.com
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10The Law of the Land ■
County Line Business & Community Journal ~ February, 2011 v4.45
, by Doug Jordan
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Where There’s No Will, Here’s the Way: Texas Intestate Succession Law Part IV -- Other Intestacy Issues
Note - This article is the fourth and final in a series explaining how Texas Intestate Succession Law operates. The information presented is a summary of the work of Professor Gerry W. Beyer (Texas Tech University School of Law, Lubbock, Texas), used with his permission and to whom I am most grateful.
Choice of Law
Issues regarding the transfer of real property at death are governed by the law of the state in which the land is located. On the other hand, the law of the decedent’s domicile at the time of death governs personal property matters. Thus, you may need to apply the probate law of several states to determine the proper distribution of a decedent’s estate. Survival
To be an heir, the individual must outlive the decedent. At common law, survival for only a mere instant was sufficient. This rule lead to many proof problems as family members tried to establish that one person outlived the other or vice versa. Some of these cases read like horror novels as the courts evaluate evidence of which person twitched, gurgled, or gasped longer. To remedy this problem, probate Code Section 47 imposes a survival period of 120 hours (5 days). If a person survives the decedent but dies prior to the expiration of the survival period, the property passes as if the person had actually predeceased the decedent. Assignment or Release of Inheritance
1. Before Intestate’s Death Because a living person has no heirs, an heir apparent does not have an interest which rises to the level of being property. Instead, the hopeful heir’s interest is a mere expectancy. The person whom the heir apparent hopes will die intestate may prevent the expectation from being fulfilled by taking a variety of steps such as writing a will, selling the property, or making a gift of the property. Accordingly, an heir apparent has nothing to transfer. The heir apparent, however, may agree (1) to transfer the inheritance once received, or (2) not to claim a future inheritance. As long as the agreement meets all the requirements of a contract (e.g., offer, acceptance, and consideration), the court is likely to enforce the agreement if the heir apparent fails to perform upon the intestate’s death.
heir may assign his/her interest in the property to a third person under Probate Code Section 37B. Unlike with a disclaimer under Section 37A, the heir will be liable for transfer taxes and the property will become subject to the creditors of the heir. Disclaimers
An heir may disclaim or renounce the person’s interest in the intestate’s estate. In the normal course of events, heirs do not disclaim. Most people like the idea of getting something for free. However, there are many good reasons why an heir might desire to forego the offered bounty. Four of the most common reasons are as follows: (1) the property may be undesirable or accompanied by an onerous burden (e.g., littered with leaky barrels of toxic chemical waste or subject to back taxes exceeding the value of the land); (2) the heir may believe that it is wrong to benefit from the death of another and refuse the property on moral or religious grounds; (3) an heir who is in debt may disclaim the property to prevent the property from being taken by the heir’s creditors; and (4) the heir may disclaim to reduce the heir’s transfer tax burden (a “qualified disclaimer” under Internal Revenue Code Section 2518). Probate Code Section 37A provides the formal requirements for effectuating a disclaimer. The heir must disclaim in a written and acknowledged (notarized) document. The writing must be filed in the court handling the estate of the decedent not later than 9 months after the deceased’s death. The heir must give notice of the disclaimer to the executor or administrator of the estate by personal service or by registered or certified mail. The heir or beneficiary may “pick and choose” which assets to disclaim but if the person accepts the property, the right to disclaim is waived.
2. After Intestate’s Death Once an heir receives the property through intestate succession, the
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11The Law of the Land ■
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County Line Business & Community Journal ~ February, 2011 v4.45
, by Doug Jordan
Even a relatively small exercise of dominion or control over the property may prevent disclaimer. Once a valid disclaimer is made, the disclaimant is treated as predeceasing the person from whom the disclaimant is taking. The disclaimed property then passes under intestacy as if the heir had died first. The disclaiming heir cannot specify the new owner of the disclaimed property. Once made, a disclaimer is irrevocable. Disclaimers are an effective method for a debtor to prevent property to be inherited from falling into the hands of a creditor. The disclaimer is not a fraudulent conveyance and thus it may not be set aside by the disclaimant’s creditors. However, the United States Supreme Court has held that a disclaimer will not defeat a federal tax lien. Advancements
An advancement is a special type of inter vivos gift. The advancer (donor) anticipates dying intestate and the advance (donee) is an individual who is likely to be one of the advancer’s heirs. Although the gift is
irrevocable and unconditional, the advancer intends the advancement to be an early distribution from the advancer’s estate. Thus, the advancee’s share of the advancer’s estate is reduced to compensate for the advancement. When the advancer dies intestate, the advanced property is treated as if it were still in the advancer’s probate estate when computing the size of the intestate shares. Thus, the advancee receives a smaller share in the estate because the advancee already has part of the advancer’s estate, that is, the advancement. This equalization process is referred to as going into hotchpot. Probate Code Section 44 provides that property given during an intestate’s life to an heir is an advancement only if (1) the decedent acknowledges the advancement in a contemporaneous writing at the time of or prior to the transfer or (2) the heir acknowledges in writing, at any time, that the transfer of property is to be treated as an advancement. Equitable Conversion
If the intestate was in the midst of a real estate transaction
at the time of death, it may be significant to determine whether the intestate’s interest is real or personal property, especially if the intestate was married and the property is separate. Texas courts hold that equitable conversion occurs. Thus, after a contract for the purchase and sale of real property is signed but before closing, the seller is treated as owning personal property (the right to the sales proceeds) and the buyer as owning real property (the right to specifically enforce the contract). Ancestral Property
The common law policy of keeping real property in the blood line of the original owner lead to the development of the principle of ancestral property. This doctrine applied if an individual inherited real property and then died intestate without surviving descendants or first line collateral relatives. Under this doctrine, real property inherited from the intestate’s paternal side of the family would pass to the paternal collateral relatives and property inherited from the maternal side would pass to the maternal collateral relatives. Probate Code Section 39 provides that the doctrine of
ancestral property does not apply in Texas by stating that the intestate is treated as the original purchaser of all the intestate’s property. Liability for Debts of Predeceased Intermediary Heirs are entitled to their full inheritances without reduction for debts owed by a predeceased intermediary. It does not matter that the predeceased intermediary owed the debt to the intestate or to third parties. In other words, a debt owed to the intestate is not charges against the intestate share of any individual except the actual debtor. If the debtor fails to survive the intestate, the debt is not taken into account in computing the intestate share of the debtor’s descendants. By Doug Jordan Title Examiner/ Attorney, Board Certified in Farm and Ranch Real Estate Law Security Title Company Question or comments regarding this article may be emailed to the author at: doug@securitytitleco.com Send Comments to: landlaw@mycounty-line.com
Doug Jordan is a local Title Examiner and Attorney, Board Certified in Farm and Ranch Real Estate Law for Security Title Company. Questions or comments regarding this article may be emailed to the author at: doug@securitytitleco.com The County Line Business & Community Journal ● P.O. Box 1156 ● Eastland, Texas 76448 ● http://www.mycounty-line.com
12Tumbleweed Smith ■
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County Line Business & Community Journal ~ February, 2011 v4.45
, Big Spring
The Sweet Dreams Winery
Sweet Dreams Winery is difficult to find. It’s sorta like Luckenbach…if you can’t find, you’re not supposed to be there. It is extremely rural, so rural in fact that the GPS coordinates are on brochures. The winery is near the Elmwood Gardens wedding facility north east of Palestine and Montalba, south of Frankston, west of Neches. “It’s not your typical winery,” says owner Mike Pell. “It’s a niche winery. Our wines are sweet and more potent than other wines.” The name came about naturally because of Mike’s bad knee, which made him toss and turn during the night. “I was making wine at home,” says Mike. “We ended up in the winery business because all my friends were coming by and getting the wine from us in coke bottles. We needed a name for our business and my wife came up with it. I usually take a big glass of my blackberry grape wine at
night, put ice cubes in it and drink it while I watch TV. My wife says when I do that, I lay down and I don’t twitch or roll over and she gets to have sweet dreams.” His wines are made from East Texas fruits and berries, all manufactured and bottled by hand on the premises. He gets his fruits from a dozen or so farmers in a seven county area. All his wines have unique names: Blue Moon (blueberry), Elmwood Blush (mixed Muscatine), Bumble Bee Kiss (honey raspberry), Texas Moonlight (Muscatine scuppernong), Midnight in Texas (blackberry, blueberry, wild grape) and Summer Daze (sangria), just to mention a few. Wine tastings take place every Saturday from 11 AM to 8 PM. Mike is a Battalion Fire Chief in the Palestine fire department and learned to make wine through trial and error. “We already had the property and it just seemed like a sensible thing to do. Both of us, when we opened it four years ago, were about five years away from retirement and we decided to give it a go. If it’s making money we’ll keep it
going. If it isn’t we’ll shut it down and have one heck of a party place and all the wine we can drink for the rest of our lives.” It looks like they’ll keep it open. The winery has won sixteen awards so far, gold medals among them, in wine competitions as far away as Florida. I bought a wine called “Sweet Heat” made from jalapenos. We marinated steaks in it and used some to spice up a pot of pinto beans. Mike says it’s a cooking wine, but some people drink it in a wine glass. “You can put just a tablespoon of it in a cole slaw dressing to add flavor and spice.” A pavilion offers visitors a view of the nearby woods, once the site of moonshine still. Signs are on the wall. One reads: if you’re drinking to forget, pay up front. Weddings, parties and school reunions have taken place at Sweet Dreams. “People like it because it’s in the country and it’s quiet,” says Mike. “You wouldn’t believe the people we get from Dallas and Houston. They get a wine slushy we call wine-a-rita and just sit and relax. We have a lot of fun out here.” Send Comments to: tumbleweed@mycounty-line.com
The County Line Business & Community Journal ● P.O. Box 1156 ● Eastland, Texas 76448 ● http://www.mycounty-line.com
13Texas Traveler ■
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County Line Business & Community Journal ~ February, 2011 v4.45
, Continued...
1930s car descending Thurber Hill below Scenic Point rest stop, with view to Palo Pinto Creek valley.
other injuries. Several more were maimed for life. Hill many miles to the east. No one left unchanged. Rejoining the interstate’s service road up “It was a very sad time since some of our ahead, a cinder block building marks the location classmates were injured in the blast,” remembers of Offield’s Truck Stop and Café. Not too much Dorothy Elrod. Today the road is eerily silent. farther and the real Ranger Hill awaits. Like so “Nothing to see here,” this stretch seems to have much along this old highway, “what used to be” learned the hard way. A quick prayer, then back in holds center stage. the truck. I need to escape this place. Today I don’t much care what came next Ironically, the paved road widens to seventy feet – Highway 80 then I-20. Too much has been not too much farther up the path, a place designed uncovered, too many wounds unsealed. The gray for ascending cars and trucks to pull off and add asphalt reaches west finally toward Ranger, cutting water to overheating radiators, to let descending a slightly wider path through the cedar. Tens of car brakes cool. To marshal one’s courage for thousands passed by this spot heading toward, or away from something as our young nation reached another attempt at the summit. Just up the hill on the north side of the road, a adolescence. A few souls never made it. Interstate 20 caused the death of many Bankhead long northern curve to the right is lined with two WPA-looking brown stone gateways, marking the entrances to Scenic Point, a roadside park. People could’ve walked here from the wide place in the road. There are at least three barbeque pits built out of the same stone hiding in the brush. A rusted set of bedsprings pulled up to one fire for warmth. Once you enter the gateways, the pavement stops. Vintage photos show this to be a scenic hillside for picnics. There’s still a beautiful thighhigh rock wall lining the curving Bankhead out front. Easter sunrise services were held here. “I remember we were on high ground,” Dorothy told me. “The scene looking east was breathtaking, especially when the sun started rising. We had a sermon and sang gospel songs.” Back in the truck, the road finally reaches the crest of Thurber Hill. What takes a few minutes on Interstate 20, takes much longer here. But this road’s not through talking. As the pavement flattens, you notice concrete and brick ruins to the south. This was the original hilltop gas station, before the complex moved west to Ranger Hill when Highway 80 blew through. There’s a flat concrete slab observation deck hanging off the Jack Rogers, Elmer Gailey, and Jack Blackwell at Scenic Point stop. Blackwell later became a long time Eastland County hillside, from which you can see Thurber’s Italian rest commissioner.
Highway towns, I’m often told. But after today, I think that’s a symptom, not a life sentence. I invite those folks to travel Route 66, much less historically-important than the Bankhead brick and asphalt remnants still snaking through their towns. Route 66 is raking in the cash. Shorty Fox tells about when he and Mutt Lee were traveling to Ranger in 1939. They’d been to Fort Worth to pick up lumber for a National Youth Camp cabin or three, across from where the Ranger Library now sits. They were driving a packed-full Chevy truck. It popped a spark plug, hitting the inside of the hood like a snub nose bullet. The two men stopped, climbed out, scotched the wheels with rocks, and made their repair (most of Shorty’s stories involve duct tape or chewing gum, seems like). They got the truck running and started up the hill. I asked him about what he saw, as they rode that old truck up the too-steep road. “Listen,” he told me, as serious as he ever gets. “We’d just repaired a truck, we were loaded down with lumber, and we were struggling straight up this big hill in first gear – a huge drop off to the right. We were just happy to get to the top.” I’ve always heard about the “big hill” east of Ranger. Now I’ve driven it. I’ve listened to it speak. Thousands of long-ago echoes can be heard, if this hillside road’s memory is to be believed. I look back along the narrow road, its words softly speaking one last time. “I was just happy to get to the top.” Some of this story occurs on private property, entered with permission. A full recounting of the 1941 tragedy and its heroic aftermath may be read at www.angelfire.com/tx/rangerexes/1939a. htm (used with permission). Special thanks to Barry Franklin, Ken Falls, Shanon Hunt, Tommy Parks, Dorothy Elrod, Leo Bielinski, Rae Wooten, Shorty Fox, Mac Jacoby, Jack Blackwell, Mike Herrington, and Harlon Perrin. Send Comments to: txtraveler@mycounty-line.com
The County Line Business & Community Journal ● P.O. Box 1156 ● Eastland, Texas 76448 ● http://www.mycounty-line.com
14Love Lessons Learned So Far
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County Line Business & Community Journal ~ February, 2011 v4.45
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, Vicki Stiefer
Your Homeless Husband
My husband is the best dressed man in Texas. Everywhere he goes he knows exactly what to wear. I fight off the hussies at every single turn. However, underneath my sharp dressed man are underwear and socks that are holier than the pope! When I suggest he toss out the sad excuse for what used to be a sturdy piece of clothing he says, “The Elastic still works.” Forget the support system that is now gone. Forget that the twig and berries swing free from the tree now. I question whether he wears underwear because he has to or just wants to. He just smiles and tells me it saves money. But I can’t stand it. Why do men keep a piece of clothing until Jesus comes back? When I met him he had more holes in his socks than a whack-a-mole game at the carnival. I’m sure every wife on earth has dealt with this undergarment Valentine’s Day Massacre. So now I question how you get the old underwear sock combination out and the new in? Will his nose crinkle in disgust when he does not smell the semi-laundry fresh/detergent given up on getting this thing clean smell he is used to?
I have a couple of solutions to help the newly married figure this out so they don’t have any buyer’s remorse for the next 20 years. Once you’re in, you’re in so here are some things you can do. 1. Sneak Attack Grab the nearest broom handle and slap that bandanna around your nose cowboy style and head for the dresser. Open and quickly stab the first responders to get them out of the way. Stench and age will never overtake that fresh laundry smell. Grab the worst offenders and head for the undergarment Guantanamo Bay. 2. Angry Protest Response This is a grab and go technique. Slowly open the dresser drawer and toss in the ultimate tear gas to old holy underwear: a nice clean
mountain fresh dryer sheet! They can’t fight it! Even crunchy elastic will give out and wave the white flag. 3. The World War II Method Here’s what you have to remember, in the heat of battle even the oldest and holiest pair of underwear will gather the muster to dive bomb your head. Once you’re blinded it’s over and musty old crunchies rule the day. They can get top air time because the holes allow for air to pass through and lift them in to the sky. Holy underwear and socks know they are living on borrowed time. So, like the Japanese they will sneak attack! It’s nothing you as a patriotic American can’t handle. You declare war on the drawer and they surrender right and left. Take no Prisoners! Holy old underwear and socks are not American! The only problem you have left is if your significant other puts down his foot and refuses to let you get rid of the his old faithful broken down underoos. If he is determined to hang on to the same pair of underwear he wore on the day he graduated from high school (since the underwear or socks are probably only elastic they would still fit). All you can do is shrug and walk away right? NO! You are a woman and all women have god-given talents. Men are creatures of habit and more than that they are your number one savior. Your man will jump through hoops to make sure you
are protected and happy. So you only need to sweep your lashes in his direction. Lots of extra smooches with sexy red lipstick are pretty convincing. Adding something sweet in his lunch box that he finds unexpectedly should also do the trick. If you’re new to marriage you might call this manipulating. I call it keeping your household in working order. Men work and take care of business. They don’t always have the time to look in their dresser drawer and decide that holy underwear and socks have seen better days. Can you still pull them up? They don’t necessarily have to stay up or even provide any kind of support. Like my husband told me, “The elastic still works,” and that is enough for him. You can slip the new ones in and the old ones out while he’s out bringing home the bacon or sleeping on the couch. Either way have a little fun and enjoy your marriage. Comments, questions, ideas send them to ramblinritalouise@yahoo.com Send Comments to: lovelessons@mycounty-line.com
The County Line Business & Community Journal ● P.O. Box 1156 ● Eastland, Texas 76448 ● http://www.mycounty-line.com
15Treasure Hunters ■
County Line Business & Community Journal ~ February, 2011 v4.45
, Jerry Eckhart
Editor’s note: To see more of Jerry’s treasure finds, visit his Facebook profile. Just search Facebook for “Jerry Eckhart”
Love In The 1900’s
Today’s version of love is far different than a hundred years ago. Because there are very few folks around who were adults in the early 1900’s, we only have history books and personal letters to really know how courtship was at that time. The one thing most of us know for sure is that courtship was far different then than today. Modern day lovers have many ways to communicate. There is the telephone, cell phone, text messaging, e-cards and much more. In 1915, there were few telephones and even those were not to be used except for serious business, certainly not courtship foolishness. From three to six persons shared the same phone line at that time. Those party lines had a separate ring for each user on it. Whenever the phone ring, although the call was for just one person, many of the other customers picked up and listened in. A young lover certainly did not want all the neighborhood gossips listening to their sweet talk so they avoided using the telephone. Instead, they relied on cards and letters. Most communications of any type were far more formal than those found today. Language was closely guarded, especially in regards to young ladies. Familiar terms that we use today were unheard of back then. Even if there were endearing terms, should they have been used and someone saw or them it would be scandalous.
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My grandmother, Ruth Beene Morris was a country girl, raised north of Cisco at the now ghost town of Harpersville. She and her family lived in a house back in a pasture, about a quarter of a mile northwest of the present Marvin Beene home. She was 19 when her dad, Charles Morris, decided to move to Duncan Oklahoma in order to find steady work. On November 11, 1911, he packed a covered wagon with his family and their few belongings, then started across mostly open rangeland, headed for the Waurika Crossing of the Red River. It was his hope that a larger town such as Duncan, would provide a better life for his family. Charles also hoped that Ruth, considered an old maid at 19, would find a suitable mate. After two weeks of travel, they arrived in Duncan, rented a house and set up housekeeping. Within just a few days, my great grandfather found work as one of the street commissioners in Duncan. The street commissioners of that time were what we would call road maintenance workers
The County Line Business & Community Journal ● P.O. Box 1156 ● Eastland, Texas 76448 ● http://www.mycounty-line.com
16Treasure Hunters ■
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County Line Business & Community Journal ~ February, 2011 v4.45
, Jerry Eckhart
today. They were the ones responsible for filling holes, replacing gravel and keeping the roads graded. Since Ruth was the oldest of the children, she had to help contribute to the family income. She took job as a waitress at the Duncan Hotel. The dining room at the hotel was a busy place, always filled with cattlemen, oil wildcatters and traveling salesmen. She may have been busy, but she still had time for a friendly word with each of her customers. It was there that she met traveling salesman, Charles Eckhart. He was one of the last group of salesmen to use a horse and buggy for transportation. Charles made the Duncan Hotel his temporary headquarters and traveled throughout southern Oklahoma selling Arbuckle Coffee (now Yuban) to small town grocers. Each time he returned to Duncan, the romance between Ruth and Charles developed a little more. When Charles Eckhart was transferred to another district they kept in touch by letter. Sometime back in 1980, while looking for something for my grandmother, I came across a cardboard box filled with Arbuckle Coffee Company records. It was shoved back into a dark corner on the top shelf of Ruth’s closet. In addition to those records, the box contained a series of letters my grandmother had written to my grandfather during their courting days. Apparently he had saved them all. Formality was the key in their developing relationship. The earliest, dated early November, 1915 began, “Dear Mr. Eckhart”. As their relationship developed, the letters became more familiar, although a formal tone remained. On November 21, 1916 Ruth wrote, “My Dear Friend, I received your letter this morning and as I expect to be
very busy for the next few days I am writing you this afternoon. I was very glad to hear from you. It was so nice of you to write so it would reach me today. I thank you very much for those cards. I sure enjoy them. I hope someday to visit Lawton for I am sure it is a very nice place. I am as ever your friend, Ruth Morris.” It must have been a whirlwind romance, because thirty days later, on December 21, 1915 “My Dear Friend,” became “My Dear Charles.” She also wrote, “I received your letter Sunday. I was very much pleased to hear from you. I got the nice present you sent me this morning. I think it is just grand. Mr. Biggs was here today. He sure said some nice things about you and sure do like to hear any person say nice things about you. With much love and best wishes, Yours, Ruth” That was quite a change in such a short time. The romance culminated in the marriage of Ruth Morris and Charles Eckhart on February 29, 1916. With the encouragement of his new bride, Charles rose into the ranks of the top salesmen for Arbuckles, consistently placing in the top six salesmen for his district. His travels placed a strain on the family so he left Arbuckle and the newlyweds settled down on a small farm near the southwest corner of Lawton, Oklahoma. It was there, Morris (my father) and, Hester, were born. The future looked promising for the family until tragedy struck. Charles Eckhart was returning from Lawton where he kept a small real estate office when something blew across the road and spooked the horse he was driving. The horse reared and tried to run. Charles fought to keep control but was unsuccessful. In its panic, the horse jerked the light buggy from side to side until it turned over. The
horse then broke loose, but Charles was trapped beneath the wreckage. His spine was damaged and he remained in pain and unable to do more than a little paperwork from then on. His injuries never healed. Ruth wasn’t about to let her family live in poverty so they sold the farm and bought a small house in Lawton. She then went to work as a laundress at nearby Fort Sill where she worked for the next 20 years. United, the family made it through those trying times. Love isn’t always chocolate hearts or candy flowers. It isn’t romantic music or mushy words. Love is caring enough for one person to stick by them through everything life throws at them. Maybe that is the problem today. Many want the glamour of love, but lack the grit to make it work.??? Send Comments to: treasure@mycounty-line.com
FBC Eastland to host Youth Basketball Tournament First Baptist Church in Eastland will be hosting a Youth Basketball Tournament March 3rd-5th. The event is a fundraiser that will help support the youth of FBC Eastland on their Mission Trip to Casper, WY. There will be four divisions - 3rd-4th Girls, 3rd-4th Boys, 5th-6th Girls, and 5th-6th Boys. It will be doubleelimination and any team is able to participate. For registration information or if you have any questions, please contact Andy Rodgers at 254-629-3355.
The County Line Business & Community Journal ● P.O. Box 1156 ● Eastland, Texas 76448 ● http://www.mycounty-line.com
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County Line Business & Community Journal ~ February, 2011 v4.45
Angel Food Ministries Ordering Cut-Off Date Friday February 18th Go online to Order: www.angelfoodministries.com
Distribution Saturday February 26th Call Ilene for more information
(254)442-1969
Eastland Bagged Leaves Pickup:
December 10, December 24 January 14, January 28 February 11, February 25 March 11, March 25
Persons wishing to have bagged leaves picked up by IESI MUST call City Hall: 629-8321 at least 24 hours before the scheduled collection date to be added to the route list. IESI personnel will not pick up bags at addresses not on their lists.
The County Line Business & Community Journal ● P.O. Box 1156 ● Eastland, Texas 76448 ● http://www.mycounty-line.com
The County Line Business & Community Journal ● P.O. Box 1156 ● Eastland, Texas 76448 ● http://www.mycounty-line.com
19Star Pride ■
County Line Business & Community Journal ~ February, 2011 v4.45
, Ginger Tobin
SATURDAY CLUB NEWS FROM RISING STAR
The Saturday Club had its regularly scheduled meeting on Wednesday, January 19, 2011 at the Rising Star library. Ten members immensely enjoyed a short business meeting and a scrumtious salad luncheon complete with tomato basil soup and vegetable crackers. Each member attending brought one ingredient for the salad; lo and behold, no one brought the same ingredient! Lettuce, spinach, tomatoes, cheese, cucumbers, chicken chunks, garbanzo beans, and broccoli with a delicious dressing was a wonderful way to start the new year by having a healthy entrée. There were no complaints either about Gwen Eberhart’s homemade tomato basil soup, which seemed so perfect for the chilly and breezy weather. After visiting with other members and catching up on holiday news, the meeting adjourned at 3 p.m. By reporter, Ginger Tobin
■ Out
of the Box, Joellen Hodge
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Love It or Hate It
With Valentine’s Day this month, I thought I would make a list of some of the things I love. Because I so love balance in my life, I also made a list of things I hate…just to level the playing field a bit. There are no personal names on this list; the people I love know I love them. And you can bet your whole box of chocolates that if I do not like you, you know. You know. Love It Coke Zero-I am not sure what is in the can, but this stuff tastes great! No calories, no carbs, and no “nasty, somebody used this stuff to boil frogs in aftertaste.” Try it. Ride Around in the Country and Crochet Trips-Sounds weird, but gives me a sense of peace and accomplishment all rolled into one. Get a designated, not crocheting, driver for safest execution. Real Housewives of Beverly Hills-I may hate to admit it, but I love these rich, spoiled, and rotten to the core broads. Makes my life filled with hard work, goal oriented career choices, and stupid mistakes not seem so bad after all. Scooters-They may not be so cool or so elite as my local dealer was quick to point out to me after he sold me a bad battery, but hey, he was having a real bad day. The wind in your hair, blue skies, and just puttering along feels good. You cannot crochet on a scooter, but I am always hopeful that modern science will step forward. Pedicures-Took me forever to get one, but this has got to be the greatest poor girl luxury on the planet! How nice to have someone tend to your toes, massage your feet and make you look and feel pretty for around 20.00 bucks. Men, take note, it is cheaper than a movie date.
Hate It Domino Pizza Focus Groups-Any group of people so stupid they are unsure that real tomatoes are going into pizza, (Did she think it was really well spiced beet puree?”), probably are not your best bet to make decisions about your product. Ghost Catcher Television-Hey, I love the idea of another realm, another chance at meeting family members. But come on, people…this is television! Movies invent a million new special effects every day to dazzle us. Adding spooky music, electronic voice catchers and great camera angles could make Sesame Street scary! Twenty years in editing rooms has taught me you can do just about anything with good equipment. People Who Don’t Wait Their Turn-Just last week, a woman rushed to the head of the line screaming that she had a “Funeral Emergency.” Ok, two things I would like to point out here. One, we were at WalMart. I am not aware of any funeral department at the local Wally World. Maybe in the city, but not the more rural areas. Two, if there is a funeral, the emergencies are over, finished, done. Flipping Off-So overdone. So yesterday. So…how about a thumbs up sign to let that other special person in traffic who just rammed the back of the police car trying to get through a yellow light at lunch know how much you have enjoyed her decision to be a total idiot! Television Acne Commercials-Yes, it is a problem. Yes, there is medication for it. No, it is not necessary to show me a computer generated pimple to get me to buy your product. Not ever… Now, step up, and ask somebody out for coffee, lunch, dinner, or the rest of your life this Valentine’s Day. If you already did all this, do it again and let the most special person you have that you would do it all over again. It will be the most romantic gesture you can do.
The County Line Business & Community Journal ● P.O. Box 1156 ● Eastland, Texas 76448 ● http://www.mycounty-line.com
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County Line Business & Community Journal ~ February, 2011 v4.45
The County Line Business & Community Journal ● P.O. Box 1156 ● Eastland, Texas 76448 ● http://www.mycounty-line.com
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21Out of the Past ■
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County Line Business & Community Journal ~ February, 2011 v4.45 , Luther & Pat Gohlke
Whitesboro’s Surprise Play
In the fall of 1946, I entered Denison High School as a freshman. Our family lived at 307 West Texas Street and my brothers Gene and Duane and I attended Peabody grade school which was one block from our home in the south part of Denison. I skipped 2nd grade and went into 3rd grade because of a new state law that added 1 year to the grade school system in Texas. This made 8 grades for grade school, but continued 4 grades for high school. During the fall of my 7th grade year, the Denison School system organized a city wide grade school sports program for boys. I played football and baseball both my 7th and 8th grade. The city wide sports program was very successful. Football and fast pitch soft ball were the main sports. So, when I entered high school the fall of 1946, I was very interested in sports, and went out for football. The freshman team was called the Yannigans and was coached by Concy Woods. He was also our wood shop class teacher and was recruited to coach because the coaching staff was short one coach and Mr. Woods had been a coach in the past. I’m not sure how the term Yannagans came about. I do know that the new grade system apparently caused a shift in the high school sports program and the need for more coaches. Some school district programs did not have freshman teams so we were forced to play teams of smaller schools. Since their smaller school systems had a much lower enrollment. They, therefore, had a smaller number of boys to select from. So most of them could barely muster enough players out of their high school system for just one team. The team would be comprised of a few players from each class freshman, sophomore, junior and senior. One such school was Whitesboro about 30 miles west of Denison; and arrangements were made for us to play them. The event occurred downtown Whitesboro on some large vacant lots. No bleachers, no pruned ball field with green grass. Just an ordinary vacant lot marked off crudely with lime. We all questioned its dimensions. The field was rough as a corn cob, very uneven, with cracks you could stick your hand in - it must have been a very dry year. No referees, just a couple of local citizens with whistles. Their players were of all sizes. The largest about 6’4” and about 240 lbs. Their team was rather makeshift. Some had pads, some not, sweatshirts with homemade numbers sewn on, tennis shoes. None of the equipment was first class including their football. We had to use one of our footballs for the game. They had only one coach for the whole school. I think their total team numbered 13 or 14. Not all had head gear. To say the least, a ragged looking bunch. We thought we were going to beat the socks off them!
had practiced. We also had lettered jerseys. Surely not polished and great, but a pretty good freshman team. We were very proud! The game started, a cool fall Saturday afternoon as I remember. A few people on both sidelines, mostly Whitesboro fans. Their team apparently had no plays and I don’t believe they really worked out much or had played other teams. They seemed to have had little experience in the sport of football. We were soon to find out that they didn’t need any! Just a bunch of tough farm boys in my opinion. They seemed to have one play. Their QB would take the snap and pitch or hand off the ball to that 6’4” 240lb senior who could and did run over us and around us at will. There would be one of our players on his back and 1 or 2 hanging on each of his legs to finally bring him down. On defense, he was it. They literally beat the socks off us. We were bruised, bloody and down, ready to hit the road home by half time. The only touchdown we nearly made was by Jim Palmer. I’ll never forget it. He got loose and was headed for the goal line, not a defensive player within 15 yards. Would you believe that a big collie dog tackled him on about the 20 yard line? Their mascot? I don’t know! Sicced on him by someone on the sideline? I don’t know! But after this we all started laughing and really having a good time, both teams and fans. Our team got roughed up and with a bad loss. But came to find out after it was all over they were just a bunch of good old boys just like we were. A lesson learned: don’t ever underestimate the power of a small town team and a large collie dog! Send Comments to: outofthepast@mycounty-line.com
Now Denison high school was a large school. Our players had hand me downs that were about worn out from use by the A and B teams. But we all had pads, head gear, shoes with cleats and a number of plays we The County Line Business & Community Journal ● P.O. Box 1156 ● Eastland, Texas 76448 ● http://www.mycounty-line.com
22Texas History
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County Line Business & Community Journal ~ February, 2011 v4.45
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Belle Starr Killed By Her Own Flesh And Blood?
The legendary Bandit Queen saddled up for a twilight ride on Feb. 3, 1889 never suspecting it would be her last.
Myra Belle Shirley never blamed her life of crime on an impoverished childhood. Her folks were, in fact, downright well-todo. Daddy owned a block of businesses in Carthage, Missouri, and the doting couple gave their little darling the best of everything. As a border state caught in the North-South crossfire, Missouri became a battleground after secession. When Carthage was torched and a son slain by abolitionist raiders, the Shirleys decided to spend the rest of the Civil War in Texas and moved to Scyene on the eastern outskirts of Dallas. Teenaged Belle fell head over heels for a dashing young fugitive. The impulsive girl took off with Cole Younger and his sidekick Jesse James and wandered back home only after the gunfighters resumed their robbing ways. The following year, Belle gave birth to a baby girl she named Pearl Younger. Her folks bought the story that Cole tied the knot before skipping town, but skeptical neighbors ostracized the unwed mother. In the dance halls and saloons of Dallas, where Belle worked as a part-time entertainer and full-time gambler, she met Jim Reed, father of her son Ed. Reed was an Indian, like all of Belle’s lovers after Younger, and a third-rate bandit who introduced her to the exciting world of the frontier outlaw. After Belle and her latest beau stole $30,000 worth of gold in Oklahoma, Reed was shot to death by a friend near Paris, Texas who killed him for the reward. His financially secure widow temporarily retired to a respectable life in Dallas, where she tried to mold her daughter into a child star. Auditions were easy to come by for a pistol-packing stage mother, and at age 14 Pearl made her vaudeville debut. But, as is so often the case, the offspring’s talent did not measure up to mama’s ambition. Belle, even on her best behavior, was a wild and unpredictable hellion. Following arrests for arson and horse stealing, she abandoned the straight-and-narrow and headed for the Oklahoma Territory. Serving a life sentence in the federal penitentiary at Stillwater was Belle’s first love. But to break Cole Younger out of prison or to buy his freedom, she would need a mountain of money.
The romantic trailblazer showed a scandalous preference for younger men. When she was pushing 40, they were barely out of their teens. The objects of her affection had a short life expectancy as six successive paramours met violent ends in just four and a half years. Marriage to Sam Starr gave Belle her famous last name plus a sizable chunk of Oklahoma real estate. The property, which she indelicately called Younger’s Bend, was accessible only through a narrow canyon and, for a steep price, provided perfect sanctuary for criminal associates on the run. Younger’s Bend evolved into an infamous hideout for highwaymen, horse thieves, bank robbers and bootleggers all under the cunning control of the Bandit Queen. Except for a lone conviction that resulted in a nine-month stretch in the county jail, Belle brazenly operated beyond the reach of the law. After Sam Starr perished in a December 1886 shootout, Belle picked a replacement 16 years her junior. When the independent female refused to take his surname, Jim July tacked Starr onto his own. Belle was bushwhacked while horseback riding in February 1889. The ambush happened the week before her forty-second birthday, and the grisly coup de grace was a shotgun blast in the back. The sensational unsolved murder yielded a bumper crop of suspects. A local farmer allegedly blackmailed by the victim was questioned and released. Jim July Starr was a popular choice, while another leading candidate was the vengeful brother of a dead boyfriend. The most sinister innuendo hinted that the killer was none other than Ed Reed, Belle’s own flesh and blood. Neither of her children won any “good citizen” awards. Pearl’s adult performances were private affairs in Arkansas brothels. A prostitute and notorious madam, she died from natural causes in 1925. As for her half-brother Ed, he was a three-time loser when gunned down at the age of 22. Although her colorful exploits inspired a stack of books, several movies and television shows and two Broadway plays, the Bandit Queen could not get the time of day from her original love. Bitter over Belle’s failure to spring him from prison, Cole Younger did not even mention her name in his 1903 autobiography. Column collections available at twith.com or request list from Bartee Haile, P.O. Box 152, Friendswood, TX 7754. Send Comments to: texashistory@mycounty-line.com
Bartee Haile lives in Friendswood, TX and is the author of one of the most long established Texas History newspaper columns in the state. You can view more of his work at his website ~ http://www.twith.com The County Line Business & Community Journal ● P.O. Box 1156 ● Eastland, Texas 76448 ● http://www.mycounty-line.com
23From The Backside ■
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County Line Business & Community Journal ~ February, 2011 v4.45 , Henry J. Clevicepin
The Brain Droppings of Henry J. Clevicepin By Henry J. Clevicepin Collaborated by Nellie Frecklebelly and Agnes & Ophilia Fudpucker
Well, January is nearly gone here in Buzzard’s Roost. This old weather has been like a roller coaster….cold then warm, cold then warm, but still no moisture. Me and ol Nellie Frecklebelly been practicing our nude rain dance in case we have to resort to that. But before you know it Spring will be here and the women will be wanting all the men to do their Spring honey do’s. That reminds me of the old Indian Chief and his wife that passed thru Buzzard’s Roost one time and ol Estee K. Bibbles, my mule barn partner, ask the old chief what his wife’s name was. The old chief replied “her name Five Horses”. Estee K. said, well, that’s a strange name, what does it mean? The old chief said “in Indian it means….nag, nag, nag, nag, nag !!!!!!” Now speaking of funny things that happen here in Buzzard’s Roost, ol Estee K. was walking by Buzzard’s Roost Bubba’s barn the other day and looked in and Bubba was in there in front of his John Deere tractor doing this kinda erotic sexy dance. He was dancing around in front of the tractor and pulled one strap off on his overalls and then the other one, then unbuttoned his shirt, then jerked it off and thru it in the corner and continued this country version of a sexy erotic dance. Well, ol Estee K. couldn’t stand it any longer so he walked in and ask ol Bubba….”what in the heck are you doing????” Bubba said “ well me and my wife been having trouble with our love life so I went to see a therapist and he told me just go home and try doing something sexy to a tractor!!!!!” (now don’t make me splain this to you….read that line out loud to yourself ) Speaking of funny things….Obama gave his little State of the Union address last week. I think it should have been called State of Confusion address. Them Presidents have always come out and started their little speech with “I am here to tell you that the State of the Union is strong”. Now, how in the cornbread world did Obama, with a straight face, stand up there and tell us the Union is strong. He said we were poised for progress…. looks to me like we are poised for a wreck if they don’t quit spending money we ain’t got. This ol From the Backside Sponsor
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country has more problems than a mule in a glass stable !!!! We’re 14 trillion in debt….that’s almost $50,000 for every man, woman & child in the USA. Now ol Estee K. was wondering if those illegal aliens had to take on their share of this debt. You know, they come over here and don’t pay any taxes, get all of the benefits of our great country and usually bring their wife over here and let her have a pup and it is automatically a US citizen. When are we going to stop this bull (that’s half of a word)? Like Estee K. says “calling an illegal alien an undocumented immigrant is like calling drug dealer an undocumented pharmacist!!!!!” We still got almost 10% unemployment, Social Security is broke, Medicare is going broke and 6.3% of Americans are in poverty. And what do them illustrious idiots in Washington do……they keep spending money we ain’t got. And then they keep trying to figure out sneaky ways to put more taxes on us to take care of their runaway spending. I bet you haven’t heard about ol Obama’s little Finance Team is recommending that they put a 1% transaction tax on all transactions at financial institutions. That means every time you make deposit, write a check, use your debit card or any other transaction at the bank, you are going to pay a 1% tax. Even Social Security direct deposits will be taxed 1%. Now this is the same sapsuckers that wouldn’t give the old folks a cost of living raise on Social Security and now they are going to tax them 1% on it. What happened to Obama’s promise that people making under $250,000 would not see one penny of new taxes ???? And I love it when they call Social Security an entitlement…..well, hell yes, we are entitled to it….it is our money that we put in there for years and them thieving From the Backside Sponsor
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crooked sapsuckers stole it out of the Trust Fund and spent it. Now in Buzzard’s Roost that is pure dee theft and we hang people like that out behind the Buzzard’s Roost Bar & Grill !!!!! I can’t believe that when you look at their website or letterheads it has the word Honorable in front of their name. And they wonder why the Tea Party bunch still have their panties in a wad over this crap. Speaking of crap…ol Estee K. was telling me about a fat alligator & a skinny alligator living in Washington D. C. The shinny one asked the fat one how he stayed so fat. The fat one said I just eat me a politician ever once in a while. The skinny one said , “well, that’s what I eat but I don’t get fat.” The fat one ask him, how do you catch them? The skinny one said I just lay around under one of them Mercedes or Cadillacs out in the parking lot and when they come up I grab them and shake the crap out of them…then eat’em. Well, the fat gator said “there is the problem.” When you shake the crap out of one of these politicians there ain’t nothing left but a silk tie and a briefcase!!!!” Well, I got to go find ol Nellie Frecklebelly and practice our nude rain dance. Words of Wisdom from Henry J : If you are attacked by a group of clowns always go for the juggler !!!!!!!! (I don’t have to splain this one too....do I ??? ) You can email Henry J at : henryjclevicepin@aol.com Send Comments to: backside@mycounty-line.com
The County Line Business & Community Journal ● P.O. Box 1156 ● Eastland, Texas 76448 ● http://www.mycounty-line.com
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