Telling the stories of Texas with photographs (and words too...)
David Mighell Pacey+ (January 29, 1952 – June 20, 2019)
A few years ago, Margie’s father, David Pacey, started to paint again after not doing so for many years. That Christmas he gave me a painting he made of the exterior of The Rock Church (the old St. Olaf’s Lutheran Read More …
The Southern Pacific (indirectly) moved Dime Box…
The original site of Dime Box (now Old Dime Box) is on SH 21, which roughly follows the path of the Old San Antonio Road through Lee County. After the Southern Pacific ran tracks a few miles to the southeast Read More …
How Quilts Saved the March of Dimes Broadcast in Dime Box, Texas
When the CBS crew was shown to the SPJST Hall in Dime Box to set up for the kickoff of the 1944 March of Dimes campaign, they quickly realized they had a problem. The floor of the stage was wooden, Read More …
Welcome to Dime Box, Texas – Postmaster: Mr. Stamps
Since my recent post about Dime Box and the 1944 March of Dimes campaign kickoff, I’ve learned from Ray Spitzenberger (who remembers the big day) that at the time, the Dime Box Postmaster’s name was “Mr. Stamps” and that (of course) Read More …
How a Mailbox Full of Dimes from Dime Box, Texas Ended Up in the White House
The population of Dime Box, Texas has remained fairly consistent over the last hundred years, peaking at around five hundred in the Roaring Twenties. If you’re driving up what used to be the Old San Antonio Road (now SH 21), Read More …
Ray Spitzenberger, Author and Artist
I will return to our regularly scheduled programming soon – things are a bit hectic around here; Margie’s father is visiting us and has had to be hospitalized unexpectedly. Over the weekend, we were talking with the folks we were Read More …
Of Tarantulas and Texas German
My children’s great-grandfather, Leonard Groeschel, was the first person I knew who was from Serbin. It was always interesting to hear him tell stories of his childhood about going to the store in town (I tried to imagine what it Read More …
To Generalize or Not To Generalize, That is the Question
When it comes to the study of history, generalization is (in general) a problem. (See what I did there?) That being said, it’s difficult to begin the study of any historical event without starting with generalities. One such generality is Read More …
A Voyage of Hopes and Dreams by Frank Wissel
The largest group of Wends came to Texas in 1854 on the Ben Nevis, but they weren’t the first (or last) Wends to emigrate. Two smaller groups arrived in 1849 and 1853, and others came after the War Between the Read More …
“And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone…”
It’s early 1855. You are one of the fortunate ones who survived the two-month trip across the Atlantic in the Ben Nevis. The brutal winter will, in a few months, give way to Spring. Unfortunately, though, your husband was one Read More …