3/29/14

Campground walkabout

The campground is called Piney Point.  Perhaps these first couple of pictures will illustrate why.





If this birdhouse seems okay to you, then your head may be a bit tilted.



Brave birds


For the most part, Spring was just on the verge of bursting. Only a few trees had not yet sprouted a few green buds.  And then there was this lovely lady, all pink and glamorous.  I don't know what kind of tree this is, but the sweet fragrance was intoxicating!






Happy trails!

Next week:  Saginaw, Texas



3/28/14

Around the campsite

We spent 4 glorious days and nights at the beautiful campground with my parents.  The weather was nice with a mixture of sun, clouds and a few sprinkles thrown in. The mornings and evenings were cool--just right for sitting around a fire. As you well see below, we went through a stack of wood. We only left camp once for a quick trip to town. My next post will have pictures I collected on our walks around the campground.

The view from our trailer door

The wood pile: before and after



clockwise from upper left:
 Cheesy  beefy casserole, Sweet Lemon shrimp,
Waffle corn dogs, Beef stew






3/26/14

Into the wild

Well, not exactly. My version of camping doesn't get too primitive . But that title sounds more exiting than "Back to Nature" , don't you agree?
This is an experimental posting from my phone.  Short and sweet may be the MO.

You can see our trailers through the tree.

3/22/14

Bits of History - Corsicana, Texas

We happened by this striking building one afternoon as the sun was going down.  The light shining through the upper windows caught my eye, so I snapped away.  Later I learned about the history of the Beth El Temple.



 Temple Beth-El is an historic Moorish Revival synagogue located at 208 South 15th Street in Corsicana, Texas. It became a Recorded Texas Historical Landmark in 1981.
On February 3, 1987, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
The synagogue was built by a Reform Jewish congregation in 1898-1900. It is a wood frame building, with clapboard siding, keyhole windows in the front doors, and a pair of octagonal towers topped by onion domes.
The Jewish community of Corsicana, established in 1871, dwindled in the late twentieth century, spurring the Navarro County Historical Society to take responsibility for the synagogue which, because of its unusual architecture, has been restored and is now in use as a community center. [source]
[source]


During our walk downtown we discovered this park nestled between 2 buildings.  The plaque told it was a "Pocket Park".  I think this is a fascinating idea!






The Texas Electric Interurban Railway operated up to 12 daily round trips between Dallas and Corsicana from 1913 to 1941. Corsicana served as the terminus for this branch of the line with the turnaround located at this intersection.  [more information]
Interurban Railcar No. 305



The sign reads: The original Wolf Brand Chili was first sold on this street corner in 1895 in the front of
what was then the Blue Front Saloon.


Here's how the story goes, according to Historic Walking Tour booklet from Corsicana Visitor Center:
One clear, sunny day in the fall of 1895, sixteen year-old Lyman T. Davis appeared in Corsicana driving a rickety old wagon. In the bed of the wagon there was a small barrel of crackers and a basket full of earthenware bowls.  There was also a long, flat pan-like device that had been built by a blacksmith.  The pan was filled with glowing charcoal embers and a large cast iron pot sat on top of the embers.

Davis reined the team to a halt in front of the Blue Front Saloon on Beaton Street and hopped off the wagon.  He opened the cracker barrel, spread some bowls on the back of the wagon and took the lid off the pot full of simmering, bubbling, home-made chili. Davis stirred the chili a few times with a ladle, then announced to one and all "Come and get it." Chili was five cents a bowl, including all the crackers a customer could eat.  The Blue Front Saloon supplied the beverages and a booming downtown business was born.

Davis later opened his own meat market on Beaton Street, but continued to cook chili daily and serve it from the back of the market.  People loved the spicy meaty produce Lyman created and often asked to take some home. Davis would sell them a "chili brick". The chili business was so successful, Davis decided to begin canning his product in the early 1920's

Needing a label for the new canning operation, a local photographer suggested using an image of Mr. Davis' pet wolf, "Kaiser Bill", and calling the product "Wolf Brand Chili".  Kaiser Bill, walking with Davis around town or riding in his special cage on the Wolf Brand Chili Can cars, became a common sight.

The highly successful Wolf Brand Chili continued to be produced in Corsicana until the 1980's when Quaker Oats moved production to Dallas. One of the most well-known tag lines in marketing history "Neighbor, How Long Has It Been?" was created for the company by the Crooks Company of Dallas in 1960.  The radio line was delivered by E.L. "Pop" Myers, a former announcer for the Lightcrust Doughboys and hosts of the "Early Bird" radio program in Fort Worth.  The rest is history, as they say.

Corsicana continues to claim its heritage as the birthplace of Wolf Brand Chili celebrating each year with a Chili Championship Cook-of during Derrick Days in April.

Click [here] to see the scrapbook of Mr. Davis, Kaiser Bill, and the can cars.

[source]

I hope you have enjoyed visiting Corsicana as much as we did.  
I wonder where we'll end up next?

3/18/14

Treats and Eats at Corsicana



Can someone explain the misplaced 't' in the sign?

Same (mis)spelling on the menu:  "Mexicant Restauran"



Baby back ribs--wanna guess where we ate this night?

Awesome salsa

They had me at "buttery cornbread"

Loved the cornbread bun!


Oh my..........

Chocolate as far as the eye can see.


I will spare you all the pics--it would just be rude. ;)


It looked like the Easter Bunny exploded in the store.
Chocolate bunnies and jelly beans galore!




Yes, we got souvenirs!  Lots of them.  ;)


Doors of Corsicana



I like the reflection of the antique sign in this one







.......and one window......




3/15/14

Cotton seed/grain bin in Corsicana

 This awesome monstrosity was on our main thoroughfare to and from the hotel and eating/shopping.  I was smitten the first time I saw it,enjoyed it at every passing, finally taking time to photograph it one afternoon. I put a car in the picture to try and convey just how huge it is.





I loved the roundness, the rustiness, the pointy top pushing into the blue sky.





I wanted to climb the scant winding staircase.....




 .....and see on the other side of this little door.


It reminded me of a chubby land-locked lighthouse.



To add to the novelty: this bin is located at the intersection of
7th Street and 7th Avenue.

In contrast to the tall, round white of the bin, stands a no less huge angular and red structure,
yet they seemed to go together like a long married couple


What little information I could find:

Built in 1952, the renovated grain silo has been used as a hat shop, a vegetable shop, a resale shop, a donut shop and a teenage club. The upstairs was used as businesses and beauty shops, and apartments. [Source]

At one time there were plans for this to be an antiques/skating/eating establishment.

Both appear to be vacant today. I wonder what future lives are in store for these two old beauties.


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