Throckmorton Tribune (Throckmorton, Tex.), Vol. 115, No. 11, Ed. 1 Thursday, December 7, 2000 Page: 1 of 11
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Serving Throckmorton County Since 1886
115TH YEAR NO. 11
PHONE (940) 849-7951
THROCKMORTON, TEXAS 76483 -THURSDAY, December 7, 2000
EIGHT PAGES and ONE INSERT
PRICE: 500
IT SEEMS TO ME
That, from time to time in our lives, we are reminded that
what we take for granted is not that way at all. The spectical
of our presidential election clearly illustrates that anything
can happen when a system gets, out of whack ! The
electorial process definitely is. A solution will be reached
— even tho we can't see how.
That's the good part of a small, weekly newspaper, you
have the electronic (TV) media and the wire services to
keep you in a state of agitation, we can stay close to home
in our reporting and avoid all of this mandating and name
taking. When it's over, we won't be any better off. We'll
just have a lower opinion of politicians and the news media
for milking this dry !!
Another subject — Folks, when you have a particular
request or statement to make about the newspaper and it's
content, just identify yourself when you call. I'll keep your
name and identity cofidential if you request it. But please
remember that the Tribune has an obligation to all our
readers, and we take it very seriously. We will not publish
an article or picture that we feel would be detrimental or
painful unless it is absolutely necessary.
Yet another subject — Thanks to all of you that have
helped us with our 5 PM Monday news deadline. It has
helped get articles in that might have not been published
until the following week.
Finally, the positive reports and news about
Throckmorton County Memorial Hospital, our ambulance
EMT's and Doctor-Staff during the Nov. 24 tragic bus
accident sorta gives us a lift. Maybe circumstances will
improve in days to come — I hope so ! CM
As this edition of the Tribune is
being printed, parade participants,
merchants, Throckmorton County
children (of all ages) are preparing to
celebrate the fourth annual 'Cow
Country Christmas'.
Not too many years ago, North and
West Texas small towns experienced
large groups of people on streets and
in stores, not only Christmas shop-
ping - but enjoying the spirit and
excitement that the holidays brought.
There were no shopping malls and
the Internet wasn't even a word. About
the qnly alternative to small town
shopping was Montgomery Ward and
Sears Roebuck & Co. catalog sales.
Even those packages came to the
local Wards and Sears outlets and
stores
Much has been lost with the im-
personal shopping we experience to-
day - anotherpart of Americana gone.
But not in Throckmorton! Santa
will be on hand across Minter East of
the Courthouse; parade, music and
Church Services all are included.
Aren't you glad you live in rural
Texas! cm
Woodson-1. S. D. Students
of the month of November
LETTERS TO SANTA
ARE DUE
TODAY
Junior Women's
Club Blood Drive
brings faithful
Donors
Woodson I. S. D. Students of the month of November are: Tanner
Thomas, First Grade, Randy Sullivan, Third Grade, Carol Anne
Jones, Seventh Grade and Jennifer Mathiews, Sophomore.
By: Wanda Sanders
Christmas is a time of sharing and
giving of ourselves and many
Throckmorton residents; and past resi-
dents came out to share themselves
for others. On Monday, Dec. 4, from
3:00 - 6:00 p.m., the Junior Women's
Club sponsored their last Blood Drive
of2000. The Red Cross from Wichita
Falls was on hand to collect dona-
tions in the Throckmorton School
Cafeteria.
Although the turnout was low, we
collected 10 pints of blood, which
will be needed during the holiday
season.
Plans are being made for the next
blood drive, which is tentatively
planned for February, 2001.
Breckenridge Fine Arts Center hosts
10th annual Christmas Tree exhibit
The Breckenridge Fine Arts Cen-
ter has finalized plans for its 10th
Annual Christmas Tree Exhibit for
Children. This year's theme is simply
called "Santa's Stuff. The exhibit
opened December 1, 2000 and will
be on display until December 21 on
which day the center will close for
the holidays. Installation is under the
direction of Travis Toland.
YOU'LL
FIND
STOCK SHOW
VALIDATION.....
.PG 2
LETTER..................
..PG 3
CHRISTMAS
CONTATA...........
.PG 4
SPINDLETOP.........
.PG 5
SIX MAN
ALL-DISTRICT.....
•PG 6
BASKETBALL !.. PG 6 &7
Each year >the center adds some-
thing different in accordance to the
Christmas theme. Christmas stock-
ing were chosen and with the help of
individuals and organizations the
variety of stocking items will make a
most intriguing display. There are
stockings of every size and descrip-
tion - all brimming with Santa's Stuff.
Additional attractions will be a
display of Christmas ornaments (all
fashioned ingeniously from used or
discarded materials and objects by
elementary school children) under
the supervision of teachers Teresa
Everett and Sue Henry.
Santa's Stuff will of course include
the annual Christmas trees, elves,
Santa Clauses, lollipops and Santa's
train.
The center is looking forward to
the Christmas season and cordially
invites each and everyone to join us
in celebration of this special time of
the year. The facility is closed on
Monday's; open on Tuesday through
Friday from 11:00 A.M.until 5:00
P.M.: Saturday's 10:00 A.M. until
3:00 P.M. There is no admission
charge. The center asks that groups
call 254 559-6602 for field trip reser-
vations.
Wild Game Needed for
Chamber Dinner on Janu-
ary 6, 2001. Chamber
will pay processing for
Deer-Wila Hog. Take to
R&R specify, 'Donated
to Chamber.4
CHAMBER 2000 AWARDS
Ballots at First National Bank, First State
Bank and Post Office.
Voting Deadline - December 15
Rose Drug has had a lonesome look since its’ closing a few weeks ago. Not so last night when
Santa Claus brought excitement to many.
The Depot Public Library
P.0. Box 6
120 E. Chestnut
Throckmorton, TX 76483
Down by tthe: Dci^,r
JikIbU
53^ toihl lltli fcftid' ' ifi£ txft fcfii T t$"’A ~ ~ LUA
By Pauline Daws
The holiday season is the perfect
occasion for gathering friends and fam-
ily together. For assistance in party
planning, see Internet website:
www.partvpop.com or visit
www.evite.com for party invitations.
You may want to put a note on the
front of your refrigerator as a reminder
that Christmas Day there will be a partial
solar eclipse. Learn more from:
sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/extra/
PSE2000Dec25city 1 .html. Be sure you
use the proper eye protection when look-
ing at the eclipse.
Big Country Library System News-
letter forwarded information about
MONEY FOR COLLEGE. "Finding
funds for college is getting easier." In
March, the U.S. Department of Educa-
tion launched a new site to help prospec-
tive college students compare the data
on more than 9,000 colleges and univer-
sities across the country. Besides sum-
marizing each school's financial aid pro-
gram, 1PEDS College Opportunities On-
Line (COOL) displays information on
tuition, book costs, housing, enrollment,
degrees offered, and student demograph-
ics. Each institution's description in-
cludes a link to its Website. The URL
for IPEDS is http://nces.ed.gov/IPEDS/
cool/search.asp. (IPEDS stands for Inte-
grated Postsecondary Education Data
System.)
The U.S. Department of Education
also has placed online its 2000-2001
edition of the Student Guide for Finan-
cial Aid. Which presents information
about the three major aid programs of
the Department: Pell Grants, Stafford
Loans, and PLUS Loans. See it at http:/
/www.ed.gov/prog into/SFA/
StudentGuide/2000- 1/index.html.
To top it off, the Texas Guaranteed
Student Loan Corporation (TG) is devel-
oping a statewide public outreach cam-
paign that will be promoted through
Texas public librarties. The campaign is
supported by t he Texas State Library and
Archives Commission and is designed to
educated families and students about the
financial aid process for postsecondary
education. All materials are free to par-
ticipating libbraries.
Many students get bombarded with
ads for search services that will (for a fee)
find funding information that could as
well be locared - for free - at the neigh-
borhood public library. Now there's a
See DEPOT..............PG 3
Once Upon A Time In Throckmorton
Part III
Continuing our discourse on the
Ford Model T car, we find more and
more ways in which it differed from
today's cars.
Last week we mentioned the bat-
tery. Yes, the ModetT had a battery
but you might not have been able to
find it unless someone showed you
its location. It was suspended in a
rack underneath the floorboard, un-
der the driver's feet. The floorboard
was just as its name implies—made of
wooden boards. A section under the
driver's feet could be removed, there-
fore gaining access to the battery. It
was relativvely easy to service it,
such as adding water, but it was quite
a chore to remove it.
This was just another thing the
automotive engineers had to learn
about the hard way.
The early generators did not have
the ability to cut off when the battery
was sufficiently charged, as today's
generators do. This meant that on
long drives, there was danger of
overcharging the battery, thus dam-
aging the battery. So it was not
uncommon to meet a Model T with
its headlights on; the driver was do-
ing this to, use the excess electricity
that was being generated.
They didn't know, as we do today,
that this is a safety measure.
One thing I must mention, and
also make a confession were the coils.
There were four of these, each about
2x4x6 inches in size, in a box under
the dashboard. I was never mechani-
cally minded enough to know just
exactly what these coils did, but I
know they were part of the electircal
system. I remember seeing my father
fiddling with the points on the coils
when he was having trouble starting
the motor.
One thing I remember about the
Model T was that it did not have a
very efficient cooling system, and
the water in the radiator boiled quite
by: Walter Merriman
often when there was a load bn the
motor such as going up a long hill or
running in deep sand. It was a com-
mon practice for motorists to carry
extra water in cans or canvas water
bags. Antifreeze was not avilable in
those days, if we thought we might
be going to have freezing weather,
we drained the radiator.
The early motorist did not drive in
the rain except in an emergency. First,
there was no pavement, and there
was danger of getting stuck in the
mud. Second, there was no wind-
shield wipers. Later, a windshield
wiper was installed, but it was oper-
ated by hand with a lever on the
inside of the windshield. This was
unhandy, but it was better than no
wiper at all. There was little danger
involved, as the cdr was moving very
slowly.
We mentioned how unhandy the
battery was. Well, the gas tank was
just as unhandy-it was under the
front seat. To add gasoline, the pas-
sengers vacated the front seat, and
the removable seat cushion was taken
off, exposing the tank. Then the cap
could be removed and the tank filled.
There was no gasoline gauge, so the
driver had to be mindful of about how
many miles he had driven since he
had filled the tank. To gauge how
much gas was in the tank, he had to
expose the tank, poke a stick into the
tank until it touched the bottom, then
withdraw it and look to see how much
of the stick was wet with gasoline.
There was no fuel pump as we
have today, the fuel reached the mo-
tor of gravity flow.
Also there was no oil pump, the
motor was lubricated by a splash sys-
tem.
The crank case and oil pan were
essentially the same as today, with
one glaring difference-there was no
oil gauge. The proper amount of oil
for the crankcase was four quarts.
There was a petcock on the side of the
oil pan at the level of the oil when the
crankcase was full. About an inch or
two below it and slightly to one side
was another petcock which indicated
when the oil level was a quart low.
But to obtain this information from
the petcock, it was necessary for the
motorist to lie down on the ground on
his back or side on the right side of the
car, just behind the right front wheel.
From here, with a wrench or pliers,
he could reach in and open either
petcock. If oil ran from the low0r
petcock, that was an indication that
the car still had sufficient ojl to oper-
ate safely. If no oil ran from this
petcock, it meant that oil needed to be
added. When filling the crankcase,
or just adding oil, the upper petcock
was opened, and when oil started
running from it, then the crankcase
was sufficiently full.
When the Model T's successor,
the Model A, came along, a dipstick
had been added, thereby simplifying
the oil checking procedure.
These early Model T's had leather
upholstery, but it was not the good
quality of leather that we see in today's
cars. This upholstery also was ex-
posed to the weather constantly, so it
deteriorated rapidly, hardening,
cracking and splitting. As a result, it
was not uncommon to see many of
the seats covered with blankets, so
the passengers would not have to sit
on the springs that were exposed.
No doubt many of you, after hear-
ing the description of these cars,
would look with distaste upon having
to ride in one. But remember, they
represented a great improvement over
the buggies and wagons that had been
providing the transportation.
Now, so many years later, we can
look on the Model T for what it was-
- an invention that changed the face
of a nation.
email: www.merrmian@westex.net
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Mayes, Cecil. Throckmorton Tribune (Throckmorton, Tex.), Vol. 115, No. 11, Ed. 1 Thursday, December 7, 2000, newspaper, December 7, 2000; Throckmorton, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1049328/m1/1/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Depot Public Library.