The Odem-Edroy Times (Odem, Tex.), Vol. 18, No. 23, Ed. 1 Thursday, May 8, 1969 Page: 6 of 8
This newspaper is part of the collection entitled: Odem Area Newspaper Collection and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the Odem Public Library.
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Cregg Crosby Flies O ver The
Norris Cotton?: Patch Often
I have heard that editors and
poets have certain prerogatives
not accorded other professions.
This has never been adequately
proved to me, but this effort
should do it, I am going to re-
port an interview, using first
person.
Mr. and Mrs. Gregg Crosby
were recent visitors to Lake
Mathis, and their trailer was
the one that I chose to stop in
my weekley search for what w.e
call, “the lake story”. The trail-
er bore a Texas license plate,
but proved to be mis-leading
as far as the onwer and ocu-
jpants weile concerned. Their
first sentence betrayed the fact
that they were originally from
far north of the Mason-Dixon.
They admitted that they were
born and raised in up-state New
York, Liverpool to be exact.
Thep had known each other for
15 years, and had been married
10 years. Their two boys played
happilty near by, while mama
would have been prepaing
breakfast, had it not been for
a prying newsman.
The reason for this first per-
son approach is this: I had often
wondered what my old west
Texas cotton patch would look
like from 20,000 feet up in the
and Cregg was able to tell me.
He is stationed at Dyess Air
Force Base near Abilene, and is
just getting airborne when he
goes over my cotton patch in
his B-52 bomber on one of his
many practice missions.
In addition to flying over my
old home, Cregg was stationed
at Waco for a time, and that
is near the place where I held
my first preaching job, met my
wife and got married. He also
spoke of Roswell, New Mexico
and that is near where we lived
v/hen our first child was born.
Needless to say, despite the fact
that the Crosbys are from way
up north, I got to feeling like
we were almost kinsfolk.
Cregg is a radar naviagator
with a captain’s rank, has been
in the air force for 6 1-2 years,
and plans to make a career of
the service. He has flown 57
missions in Vietnam, and count-
less practice missions in the
states. The average practice
mission is roughly a 3,000 mile
jaunt, and technically he and
fcis crew has bombed about
every' major city in the US off
the map.
He has a degree from Syra-
cuse University in business ad-
ministration, but took ROTC
training in college, was assigned
to the^ir force for his military
obligation, and decided to stay
with it for a career. His wife,
Jvho grew up in the same ter-
ritory in which he was raised
didn’t go to college, but has
the equivilence of a college ed-
ucation that she has acquired
in her travels with an army man
She listed her hobby as cooking,
and Cregg said that he would
give her top rating in her ability
in that field. She cooks her hus-
band’s favorite meat and pota-
toes meals, but goes on a tangent
with Chinese and Italian foods.
They agree that their intro-
duction to Texas style Mexican
food is a gourmet’s delight.
Camping, hiking, exploring,
fishing, and boating is a main
form of relaxation for the fam-
ily, but then they observe very
closely the small, towns with re-
gard to government, attitudes
and atmosphere.
Like all visitors to the park,
they praised the management,
the apparent cleanliness and
what they called the nicely ar-
ranged camping facilities.
Their seven year old boy, the
eldest, was engrossed in the an-
tics of a newly caught crayfish.
Cregg predicted that the
craw-dad would make contact
with a finger, and that the boy
would learn the strength of the
crustacean but he didn’t forbid
the child to play with the live
toy.
Mrs. Crosby said that the life
of an army wife was divided
trie two distil ,t segiments. Dur-
fn«, war, their anxieties wore
understandably acute, but dur-
ing pace time, her concern fer
her flying mate was normal as
compared tc any other vocation,
sue just thought of her husband
at v ork, dong his job that he
had chosen for a life’s work
Cregg smiled when asked what
he did as a New York boy. and
answered that he guessed he just
did the norm:>! things, he had a
paper route, probably worked
at a filling . station or drug
store, and those things are nor-
mal, but Americans consider
them essential to a well rounded
education,
I have never been in a flying
airplane but I would be tempted
to ride with Cregg just one time
if he would navigate me and
his six man crew over my old
cotton patch at say about 30,
000 feet. Woudn’t that be some-
thing? Maybe the next time he
comes this way, I’ll get him to
agree to do just that.
BY VERH3^
A fantastic lake in Texas is the
impoundment generally known
Alcoa, near Rockdale It is
one of the most “constantly
good” fishing lakes of its kind.
Alcoa furnishes good fishing
for bass, crappie, bream and
catfish practically the year
around.
This lake was built by the
Aluminum Company of America,
when it opened its plant near
Rockdale back in the early fif-
ties.
Alcoa Lake was stocked by the
Old Gar»e & Fish Commission,
kept closed for a reasonable
time, then opened to public fish-
ing. Since then thousands of
pounds of wonderful fish have
been taken from the lake.
Alcoa has permitted a con-
cession in the lake, where boats
can be rented or supplies bought.
There are certain necessary re-
strictions, but none any good
sportsman wouldn’t approve.
It is a picturesque spot. Heavy
smokestacks of the aluminum
plant form a background that is
most interesting. Part of the
shoreline is rocky. There’ are
also many cattails, reeds and
willows along the banks. These
furnish fine cover for the fish.
Alcoa Lake is kept at a fairly
constant level because the com-
panp pumps in water from the
San Gabriel and Little rivers
some 12 miles away.
This lake is unusual from an-
other standpoint. It has a“built
in” hatchery, which produces a
good crop of brood fish earlier
than most other lakes in Texas.
Actually there are two lakes,
connected by a deep channel.
In one of these lakes the water-
used in the cooling process is
leased. This water is 10 to 20
degrees warmer than the water
in the main body of the lake.
Fishing is not permitted in this
water. As a result big brood bass
are developed and they spawn
early. Their young eventually
work on out through the channel
into the cooler water where
they grow big and sassy.
State biologists go to this
warm section every year and
take a number of large brood
bass for their own hatcheries.
This gives them production
much earlier than could be1 nor-
mally expected.
Alcoa also is one of the best
crappie lakes and many fine
strings are caught in the deeper
water. Bream are very plentiful
along the shoreline, offering good
sport for fly and light tackle
fishermen.
Alcoa is a popular lake not
only with residents of the nearby
towns, but with people from mire
than 100 miles away. It is one
Texas lake where anglers are
more likely to get a good mess
of fish than perhaps from, any
other lake.
Near the concession building is
a huge oak mott which provides
ample shade for a park. Tables
in the park make it a wonder-
ful recreation area. Users help
keep it clean by doing away
with their own litter.
This is a lake of many regu-
lars. The same people go there
time after time. They are well
acquainted with all the hot spots
on the lake. Perhaps that is the
reason there are so many good
catches reported.
This fabulous lake also has
meant much in te way of good-
will for Alcoa. The lake is a
necessity for the plant and it
could have been fenced off, like
so many other impoundments,
have been opened by the com-
everyone who fishes it is appre-
ciative of its qualities.
\
V
A TALE OF TWO BUILDINGS
James W. Walter, chairman of Jim Walter Corporationr
stands before the original Jim Walter Home, first of more
than 170,000 built by the company since 1946, and the
modern corporate headquarters of the diversified compa-
ny with assets approaching $600 million. Walter got the
idea for “shell” homes from a 60-cent classified ad he
saw in the Tampa Tribune in 1946. He recently received
the 1969 “International Prominent Citizens Award” from
the Association of Newspaper Classified Advertising
Managers, Inc.
Day on May 4 at 2 pm, when
every youngster 'mder 14, will
receive an official Little League
bat courtesy of the Astros. Sun-
day will, also be Family Day
with all youngsters 14 or under
and accompanied by an adult,
receiving a one-dollar reduction
on box and reserved seats
Night games are on tap May
2 and May 3 with the big Cash
Scramble features the selection
of three fans from the crowd
to scramble for $1,000 worth of
dollar bills that will be distri-
buted in the Astroturf infield.
This weekend will be the first
of three trips to the Astrodome
for the slugging Giants, a Wes-
tern Division competitor of the
Astros
Tickets may be ordered by
sending check or money order
to: Tickets, Houston Astros, Box
1691, Houston, Texas, 77001, and
we ask that you enclose 25 cents
for mailing charges. Box seat
tickets are $3.50 and reserved
seats are $2.50. General admis-
sion is $150 for adults and 50
cents for children, 14 years of
age and under.
Magazine Covers
Wide Variety Of
Wild Life
Austin — This month a va-
riety of subjects ranging from
butterlies to walleyes greet ’the
approximatleey 85,000 subscrib-
ers to Texas Parks And Wild-
Magazine.
Others subjects include the
Department research vessel, the
Western Gulf ,wildlife diseases
dangerous to man, flathead cat-
fish, and Palmetto State Park.
The Texas Parks and Wildlife
Magazine is the first place win-
ner of the 1967 international
award for magazine excellence
given by the American Associa-
tion for Conservation Informat-
tion.
Subscription rates are $3.12 for
one year and $5.20 for two years,
anl are available from the Texas
Parks and Wildlife Depatment,
John H. Reagan Building, Austn,
Texas 78701.
Try A Classified
PUBI-iC NOTICE
proposed CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT
N0MBEU ONE ON THE BALLOT (H.tR3) v
Astros Playing
At Home Now
Until May 16
“Bat Day” features Astros
next home stand
Willie Mays, Willie McCovey
and the San Francisco Giants
will meet the Houston Astros
in a three-game weekend series
in the Astrodeome on May 2,
and 4. These three games will
be the only home games for
Houston from April 24 to May
16
The weekend series will be
highlighted by the annual Bat
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE
LEGISLATURE OF THE
STATE OF TEXAS:
Section 1. That Sections 42,
46, and 48 of Article III, Sec-
tions 3a and 7 of Article VII,
Section 12 of Article VIII, Sec-
tion 3 of Article IX, Sections
1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 of
Article X, Section 10 of Ar-
ticle XI, Sections 3, 4, 5, and
7 of Article XII, Sections 1,
2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 of Article
XIII, Sections 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7,
and 8 of Article XIV, Sections
3, 4, 7, 13, 29, 32, 34, 35, 36,
38, 42, 45, 46, 54, 55, 57, 58, and
60 of Article XVI, Constitu-
tion of the State of Texas, be
repealed, it being specifically
understood that the repeal of
these sections shall not in any
way make any substantive
change in our present consti-
tution.
Sec. 2. The foregoing con-
stitutional amendment shall be
submitted to a vote of the
qualified electors of this state
at an election to be held on
the first Tuesday after the
first Monday in August, 1969,
at which election the bajjots
shall be printed to provide for
voting for or against the prop-
osition: “The constitutional
amendment to repeal the ob-
solete, superfluous and un-
necessary sections of the Con-
stitution.”
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Winebrenner, Mary Cornett. The Odem-Edroy Times (Odem, Tex.), Vol. 18, No. 23, Ed. 1 Thursday, May 8, 1969, newspaper, May 8, 1969; Odem, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1044702/m1/6/?rotate=180: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Odem Public Library.