Treasures of Texas and the seasons

Traces of Texas:

 I have posted about the fabulous Hexagon Hotel in Minerals Wells a couple of times, but never this photo. The hotel was built in 1895 by David G. Galbraith — the inventor of the paper clip and co-developer of acetate synthetic fiber. The twelve-sided hotel was clad in clapboard and set atop a solid stone foundation. Two English stonemasons handled all the stonework, likely including construction of the nearby DC power plant.

Inside, the rooms were hexagon-shaped, with each pair sharing a bathroom. The top floor served as a reading room, which was a popular amenity of the era, especially because whatever breeze their was could move through it easily when the windows were opened. The whole hotel was designed with exceptional ventilation. Its unique “honeycomb” structure was a marvel of comfort in the days before air-conditioning. The hotel officially opened for business in December, 1897.

Behind and to the left of the main building stood the hotel’s powerhouse — a stone structure that generated electricity for lights and ceiling fans (for an extra fee) in every guest room. The first floor also housed a steam laundry and ice house, while the second floor contained the hotel’s dining room.

From Traces of Texas FB page.

----------------

Another photo and story from the same FB site.

Traces of Texas reader Chelle graciously sent in this nifty 1940s photo of a waitress from LouAnn's in Dallas making a takeout delivery to a very special customer. LouAnn's was a legendary place from 1939-1970. Ann Bovis was the owner and she was quite a character. She opened it up as a restaurant, but it quickly evolved into a club. Ray Charles, Tommy Dorsey, Harry James, Lawrence Welk, Guy Lombardo --- all of the big acts of the 40s and 50s played there.

Said Ann in 1977:

“At first, it was the older crowd.They’d bring their kids in here and park them in booths with another couple and go out on the porch and dance. Then SMU found us. Before long we had to expand the dance floor.

In 1940 we had an elaborate 110 speaker sound system installed by RCA for $10,000. They were so excited by such a big sale that they threw in a free TV set, but it wasn’t much good because there was no TV station here until eight years later. By that time the set wore out from people fiddling with it.

“Mothers and fathers would call here all the time and ask me to go out and look to see if their son or daughter was here, without it being obvious as to what I was doing. I don’t care what the Liquor Control Board said, those kids were a lot better off down there with me than in some beer joint. Goodness knows we were doing everything we could. The girls would hide sloe gin in their girdles or between their legs. If the kids were from a good family, I’d just take the bottle away from them. A lot of the 16-year-old girls couldn’t even get permission to date unless the boy agreed to take them to Louann’s."

The above citations are from a 1977 interview in D magazine. Ann Bovis died in 1993.

-------------

Emergence Magazine has recently posted a very nice essay about changing seasons. The author, Holly Hayworth, apparently grew up near where I now live, speaking of the French Broad River of Southern Appalachia.

A Circling Story is an excellent read with a cup of your favorite beverage...as I enjoyed it myself.