Innholdsfortegnelse for January 2017 i Texas Highways Magazine

“I thought, ‘Oh, how hard can it be to hit people on roller-skates?’ Little did I know that it was extremely hard.” WHAT BETTER WAY TO ESCAPE the winter doldrums than to watch outrageously dressed athletes on roller-skates race around a track, shoving and hitting each other along the way? Roller derby leagues across Texas start their seasons with the new year, featuring energetic “bouts,” live rock bands, food and beer, and hundreds of fans—some dressed in crazy costumes—cheering on the skaters. More than 15 roller derby leagues—most of them made up of women—call Texas home, from Beaumont to Stephenville and Austin, where a group of women revived the sport in the early 2000s and sparked a national trend with a cult following. The thrill of watching roller-skaters compete against…

EVERYONE LOVES A GOOD STORY, PARTICULARLY when it involves Pancho Villa, gunslingers, and border crossings. Such is the legend-soaked history of South El Paso Street in El Paso. Here, Pancho Villa once entertained admirers at the long-gone Roma Hotel, sharpshooters like the lawman Dallas Stoudenmire once gunned down four bad guys in five seconds, and jumbo speakers now pump Mexican hip-hop and Norteño tunes from the many stores serving shoppers up from Mexico for the day. Dating to the 1800s, South El Paso is the oldest street in town, as well as the main thoroughfare linking downtown El Paso to the Paso del Norte International Bridge, the great concrete arc that shuttles thousands of people and cars between the United States and Mexico each day. Although the sunbaked adobe dwellings…

INSIDE DAS PEACH HAUS’ WEATHERED WOODEN storefront off US 87 in Fredericksburg, the shelves lining the store’s perimeter overflow with dozens of brightly colored jars of salsas, jams, and jellies. Overhead, oldfashioned roadside signs advertising fresh produce decorate the walls from floor to rafters. The “sampling hub” of the food company Fischer & Wieser, which started in 1969 as a humble peach stand, Das Peach Haus has recently expanded its offerings with the new Fischer & Wieser’s Culinary Adventure Cooking School. The classes began in September with themes such as Hill Country German Cuisine, Tuscan Feast, and Sunday Brunch. I’m here with a small group to learn how to make traditional German jägerschnitzel. We’re gathering at the new instruction kitchen, which includes demonstration and cooking space for students, as well…

The architectural styles found along Texas main streets stack together like a timeline of the state’s historical development and shift ing tastes. In four towns in particular—San Elizario, Tyler, Waco, and Dallas— building shapes and facades illustrate specific chapters of Texas history, from the early 1800s to the present. From squat adobe structures to towering glass skyscrapers, the buildings on these central thoroughfares resonate with distinctive aesthetics of time and place. “The buildings of main street tell us who we were and what we will be,” says Stephen Fox, an architectural historian at Rice University. “San Elizario, with its plaza-centered Mexican urbanism, contrasts with the predominant type of Anglo-American main street, punctuated by a public square containing the county courthouse, as in Tyler and Waco. In Dallas, they built their…

It’s a weekday morning in La Grange, and the courthouse square bustles with activity. A roundtable of retirees deliberates current events over mugs of hot coffee at Latt e Café. A few doors down, customers pick up cuts of beef and pork at Prause’s Meat Market. Across the street, locals come and go from the Fayett e County Courthouse. Nearby, a bus rolls to a stop in front of the Texas Quilt Museum and drops off a passel of tourists. With its spreading oak trees and architecture from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the scene is what you might expect to see in a cinematic depiction of Texas small-town life before interstate highways, strip malls, and big cities wrested rural downtowns of their vitality. But this is no…

33º 12' 54.19" N 97º 07' 58.83" W THE DENTON COUNTY Courthouse-on-the-Square sits east of the University of North Texas in downtown Denton. The 1896 Romanesque Revival structure, with influences from Second Empire style, was constructed of limestone, pink granite, and red and tan sandstone. Today, the building houses a museum with photographs and artifacts recalling Denton County’s early days. For more information on the courthouse, visit cityofdenton.com/visitors/dentonhistory/courthouseon-the-square.…

MUSIC HAS DRAWN PEOPLE TO THE DEEP Ellum neighborhood of Dallas since the 1920s, when Leadbelly, Blind Lemon Jefferson, and other country-blues guitar greats played for tips on street corners, and ebony divas Bessie Smith, Ida Cox, and Lillian Glinn sang in the clubs and theaters. Also called “Central Track” for the depot of the Houston and Texas Central Railroad that all the saloons grew up around, Deep Ellum was the Beale Street of Texas, where the nightlife jumped and juked to jazz and blues. But the current stars of Deep Ellum, which takes its unusual spelling from how the blues musicians pronounced the main street Elm, are the chefs and owners of such eateries as Pecan Lodge, Luscher’s Red Hots, Tanoshii Ramen, Independent Bar & Kitchen, Café Salsera, Cane…

Browsing the stands at a new farmers market in Fort Worth, I was slowly making my way through produce and cheese offerings when a friend grabbed my arm. “Come look at this,” she said. “Lindsey has fried pies!” Hoping I didn’t knock anyone down in the process, I quickly navigated a crowd thick with dog-walkers and stroller-pushing shoppers to the table manned by Lindsey Lawing, the pastry chef and proprietress of Sweet Lucy’s Pies. There, just as my pal promised, was a pile of wax-paper sleeves bearing labels like Apricot and Blueberry-Goat Cheese. I peeked inside to see half-moon-shaped, golden-brown bundles with wide, hand-crimped edges. “You’re making fried pies?” I exclaimed, startling Lindsey and other patrons. “Do you know how exciting this is?” That my hometown’s favorite pie baker had…

Nightlife in Texas means a local craft beer on a dimly lit patio, a rockin’ concert in a small venue, a glass of wine and conversation in a quiet wine bar, or an unforgett able late-night burger. Whatever you choose, these towns and cities across the state provide some of the best streets for nightlife. Denton Two universities, a lively arts community, and a reputable music scene make this North Texas city a major player when it comes to nightlife, especially on the streets around the courthouse square. For a glimpse into the art scene, check out West Oak Coffee Bar on West Oak Street, which provides a space for local artists to display their work. Everything about West Oak Coffee Bar supports the community, including the leather coasters and…

Hernández’s homegrown sound blends traditional Mexican Norteño, American countrywestern, and jazz—spiced with rock and Latin beats. AT AGE 76, “LITTLE JOE” HERNÁNDEZ HAS SPENT MORE THAN half a century performing his personal brand of Tejano music on stages across the Lone Star State and well beyond. A lifetime resident of Temple, he grew up the seventh of 13 siblings in a family short on money but rich in music. He picked cotton and worked odd jobs before joining his cousin’s band as a guitarist at the tender age of 15. Several years later, in 1959, he took over the band, eventually changing the name to “Little Joe y la Familia” in 1970. Hernández’s homegrown sound blends traditional Mexican Norteño, American country-western, and jazz—spiced with rock and Latin beats. The songs…

OUR FAVORITE SOCIAL MEDIA OF THE MONTH I had a blast at the National Videogame Museum [November] and I’m not even into video games! Worth the trip! JAMIE CROSBY TUCKER, AUSTIN Think I gained a pound just looking at that Bevers chickenfried steak picture [November]—a pound well worth it, I’m sure. JULLEE GREEN Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram Musical Pioneers How can you write an article about Texas music [December] with no mention of the Vaughan brothers, one of whom is arguably one of the greatest guitar players in the history of this country? Carl Smith, Garland The absence of any reference to Harry James, the legendary trumpeter and bandleader of the swing era, was disappointing. James was a product of Beaumont. Al Christensen, Granbury Recipe Appeal Funny…

Once designers glimpsed those stunning rows of columns inside the abandoned reservoir, they quickly halted its demolition. I’M HUDDLED WITH A HALF-DOZEN STRANGERS in Houston, shouting into the darkness. The echo, which turns our calls into an eerie, multi-tonal melody of highpitched peaks and low moans, stretches for 17 seconds. Though disconcerting, the scene is more magnificent than scary. Underneath a bustling section of Texas’ largest city, we’re touring the Buffalo Bayou Park Cistern—an 87,500-squarefoot architectural relic that served as a City of Houston underground drinking water reservoir for 80 years. Now decommissioned and opened to the public for guided tours, the Cistern allows visitors to walk into these hidden depths, surrounded by concrete walls, dim strings of LED lights, and strategically placed emergency exits. But the stars of the…

MY DINING PARTY IS ENJOYING OUR COBBLER when a clang pierces the hum of lunch conversations at Ranchman’s Cafe in Ponder, a small North Texas town 10 miles west of Denton. “He just got his bell rung,” chuckles Dave Ross, the owner and patriarch of Ranchman’s. He points to a nearby customer who is polishing off his chicken-fried steak. There is much to celebrate at Ranchman’s, a restaurant also known as the Ponder Steak House. The bell is a relic from a boxing ring; Dave found it at a garage sale in Wisconsin. A festive clanging generally commemorates birthdays—in this case, that of Bobby James, who’s here from Hurst with his spouse, Kim. It is not Bobby’s first encounter with the Ponder Steak House, nor likely his last. “I started…

When you sit at the bar at The Liberty Bell on the brick-paved Main Street in Nacogdoches, many things could happen. You could strike up a conversation with locals about their homemade apple-pie moonshine or where to find Caddo Indian mounds on the back road to Crockett . You could saunter outside to Cole Art Center, formerly an opera house where the Marx Brothers once performed. And while you’re at it, you could stop in to the Visitor’s Center and ask the informed fellows behind the counter if Nacogdoches is really and truly the oldest town in Texas. Because, while digging into your tacos and tequila at The Liberty Bell, you are in the midst of a phenomenon happening in small towns across Texas. You are part of a movement…

Main Street. For many Texans, these words evoke memories of Saturday shopping trips, favorite lunch counters, and aft ernoon movies with friends. In the old days, every town had a main street or main drag, those few blocks where a town’s social, cultural, and economic threads wove together—the community’s heart and soul. As Texas’ cities grew, small-town main streets fell on hard times. Some main streets weathered the turbulence, while others bounced back when communities recognized what they had lost. Today, these streets work a bit like time machines, taking us back to a different era, rich in history yet full of life. For a time warp experience, here are five Texas main streets that offer a nostalgic step into the past along with contemporary fun. POSTOFFICE STREET, Galveston In…

GRANBURY Pearl Street forms the southern boundary of Granbury’s historic town square, which surrounds the Second Empire-style Hood County courthouse. The courthouse’s prominent clock tower keeps shoppers and diners punctual as they explore the square’s 30 stores and more than a dozen eateries. Located one block west of the square, a 1933 Sinclair gas station has been reborn as the café Pearl Street Station, which now welcomes customers with a wide porch outfitt ed with picnic tables and ceiling fans. The café’s menu focuses on barbecue and Cajun cuisine, with daily specials like smoked brisket, crawfish étouff ée, and blackened catfish. Another iteration of regional cuisine comes in the form of Ketzler’s Schnitzel Haus & Biergarten, also on Pearl Street. Owned by German natives, the restaurant offers traditional fare like…

INSIDE THE ADMINISTRATIVE AND ARCHIVES office of the Texas Prison Museum in Huntsville, I thumb through old photographs and booklets that archivist Sandra Rogers has pulled for me to examine. One photo from 1941 shows more than a hundred people— men, women, and children—waiting in line to enter an imposing red-brick building. Another photo from 1944 depicts a well-dressed audience in an auditorium, smiling and laughing at whatever’s happening onstage. Still more photos reveal the performers, dressed in white: an all-female string band, a comedy duo, hymn-singing quartets, Mexican string orchestras, hot jazz bands, blues singers, tap dancers, spoon players, and brass quintets. For decades, the Huntsville unit of the Texas penitentiary had a rich tradition of inmate musical groups that were immensely popular in their time. One might assume…

Caddo Mounds State Historic Site protects and interprets the remnants of a Neches Valley village occupied by the Caddo people for about 500 years starting in the ninth century. Last summer, site staff members, volunteers, and Caddo tribal members built a 25-foot-diameter traditional grass house using locally harvested pine poles, willow branches, and switch grass. One or two families may have occupied a house of this size, archeologists believe, and the village could have contained up to 40 of the beehive-shaped grass houses at any given time. www.visitcaddomounds.com…