The Seminole Sentinel (Seminole, Tex.), Vol. 86, No. 24, Ed. 1 Sunday, January 17, 1993 Page: 4 of 16
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PAGE 4* Seminole (Texas) Sentinel, Sunday, January 17. 1993
Opinion
>
Currant 1-27
routa: Amarillo
to Lubbock ;
Amarillo
Lubbock
\/^r
SO -
Pi**lbl« axtentlonroutM"
A-J Qraphlc/Jo# Landin
IllSfe JilJ&yi
pit I
'.ililMTlTIlifffff
tourisaa USED -TO Be >
-THE /C/A/G ON OUR LOCAL
ECONOAAIC CAKE-BUT
NOW l"T /5 THE (W/ y
^elcometcuRI
Interstate 27, FMs
by M. Gene Dow, Publisher
T/?6>iW 77/E SCRIPTURES-- ’’A JugAway sAa// be
there, and a road,. And it shall be called the Highway
of Holiness". Isaiah 35:8
* * *
Early next month the stale transportation
department will select an engineering firm to conduct
a study on the feasibility of proposed routes for the
southern extension of 1-27 from Lubbock to 1-20 and
possibly MO.
Three routes are iui icmly
listed as possibilities: (1) US 62
385 through Brownfield,
Seminole, and Andrews to
Odessa; (2) US 87 through
Tahoka, Lamesa to Big Spring;
and (3) US 84 through Slaton,
Post, Snyder to Roscoe.
Although it will be at least a
three-year study, several towns
along the possible routes are already gearing up to
promote their interests.
Seminole and other cities along 62-385 should be
making such plans as well. Advantage of the local
route is that it would be the closest connection with I-
10 to San Antonio and Houston, as well as with 1-20
to Dallas-Fort Worth or westward and US 180. Mel
Pope District highway engineer also has made the
statement that the route could even head out across
the county. This could also keep open a route along
our Telephone Road and SH 1788 which could be
promoted heavily in favor of the National CAF
headquarters between Odessa and Midland.
I believe being on an interstate highway route
would be a big plus for economic development for
Seminole. There are some who believe a by-pass can
"dry up" a small town. But generally it is believed
being by-passed by a mile would be better than being
by-passed by 40, maybe 100 miles.
The Chamber of Commerce, the Industrial
Foundation, other interested groups and influential
officials should begin working to promote the local
route. Travel and tourism is a big industry, and one
which doesn’t have to be "bought" like prisons,
factories, stale and federal facilities, etc.
Diggiti' Crawfish
THE OLD INDIAN CHIEF SAYS--"The road to
success is always under construction and has many
builders."
* * *
On the subject of roads, we have become quite
concerned about the number of traffic fatalities that
occurred last year on our rural roads-mainly in the
northeast part of the county. Of the eight fatal wrecks
and 10 traffic deaths in the county last year, five of
the accidents and seven deaths occurred on Stale FM
roads in the north east pan of the county.
It is true that the roads were not the primary factor
in the cause of the fatal accidents since drinking,
speeding, defective vehicles, weather conditions, etc.
were involved, but road conditions and design have to
be a contributing factor. Most qf the accidents
occurred on FM 1757 and FM 2055. Both are very
old roads, narrow 20’ pavement with some sharp
turns. FM 1757 is badly deteriorated, ragged edges
and numerous outmoded low-water crossings. FM
2055 has fair pavement, but the road is narrow, built
with a high crown, and deep bar ditches. If a vehicle
runs off the edge of the road, it is almost certain to
overturn.
We have contacted local highway engineer J. W.
McCann and District Engineer Jim Combes asking if
there are any immediate plans to improve the roads.
We were advised that the rebuilding of FM 2055 is
scheduled within two to three years. Applications
have been made for FM 1755 improvements, but the
work never gets approved, mainly because of
declining traffic.
Highway Department road building and
improvements are being directed mainly to high
volume, congested roads nowadays.
However, with the number of fatalities
experienced, and with some support from our state
legislative representatives, perhaps these projects
could be pushed ahead.
Linus Tucker of Big Spring has some of the best
specimens of native pecan trees in the state. He has
thirteen pecan trees around his house, some 60 feet
tall, all straight and healthy.
Linus takes good care of them, fertilizing them
once a year and watering them for 6 hours every
week. He prunes them after the leaves fall in the
autumn. The trees put his house in complete shade
in the summer and provide him with plenty of
pecans in the winter.
When he planted them in 1943, Linus was a
newlywed working for the railroad. He had built a
new home on a bare lot and wanted to make it more
attractive by adding the trees.
He went down to his old home place in Palo
County and carefully dug up some native pecan
trees not yet two feet tall. When he planted them in
his yard, some of his older neighbors told him
pecan trees would not grow in Big Spring, Texas.
But Linus proved them wrong.
He knew pecan trees required plenty of water,
but he felt he couldn’t afford city water for his trees.
So he hired someone to dig a well on his property.
Linus was disappointed to see such a trickle of
water from his well. It provided him with just two
gallons of water a-minute. He considered getting a
windmill and a storage tank, but decided against
,, ^,tbat, thinking he didn’t want a fall windmill making ,
all that noise and disturbing his neighbors. He
chose a small pump.
Linus wanted more water pressure. He looked at
all sorts of electric engines, pumps and water well
items. Then he remembered that back when he was
a boy, crawfish in a spring-fed tank used to go
toward fresh water when the tank got low.'
So he went back to his home place again, hired
some boys to catch him a mess of crawfish and
transported them to Big Spring. He wanted the
crawfish to improve his water flow by giving him
better access to fresh water.
He put eighteen crawfish in a paper bag and
lowered it into the well with his rod and reel. After
giving the paper bag enough time to become
soaked in water, Linus jerked on the line and pulled
out the paper bag. Sure enough, it was empty. The
crawfish were on the job.
Linus turned on his pump and discovered so
much increase in water flow he could run his pump
day and night and never run out of water. The
pressure is strong and the water is cold. It has been
that way for fifty years.
Linus was impressed with the job his crawfish
1-27 extension possibilities
Tumbleweed
Smith
did on improving his water situation, so he
rewarded them by feeding them oatmeal.
He wishes some of those old timers who told
him pecan trees would not grow in Big Spring
could sec his place now, with its tall trees on a neat,
healthy lawn. He credits it all to crawfish.
Days Past
...From the Files of Seminole Sentinel
FIVE YEARS AGO - 1988
Rudy Gatlin of the Gatlin Brothers Trio, a well-
known singing group, appeared before Spminolc
students to share his story of drugs and alcohol.
His appearance was 1 sponsored by the youth
committee, Seminole Alcohol & Narcotics
Education (SANE).
TEN YEARS AGO -1983
The Seminole girls swim team captured first
place at the Fort Stockton Invitational swim meet
racking up 235 points against their competitors.
* * *
Dean Nolen and Greg Tankcrsley were named
to the honor squad at the Area All-State Choir
Auditions.
* * *
4
Winners in the Gaines County Junior Livestock
show were: Steven Yates, grand champion
heavyweight cross steer; Bryan Shaw, champion
Hereford; Mark Nichols, champion Angus; Glen
Phillips, grand champion swine; Bryan Shaw,
grand champion Iamb; Twyla Woodall, grand
champion rabbit; Toby Floyd, first in aged mares
and 80-82 mares; Shea Floyd, aged geldings; and
Tracy McPherson, 80-82 geldings
* * *
TWENTY-FIVE YEARS AGO -1968
Winners of the Gaines County Junior Livestock
Show were: Mark Nichols, grand champion
Herford steer; Mike Green, grand champion mare;
Lynn Emfinger, grand champion gelding; Baron
Bryan, grand champion Duroc swine.
Talk of Texas
Cofjyright. 1990, by Jack MaGuire
State Capitol Building
renovations then and now
FOOTNOTE TO HISTORY-With a new
Legislature in session Texas’ ornate Capitol, the
members may recall that public service wasn’t
always pleasant.
In 1837, when the Congress of the Republic of
Texas convened in Houston, the Session had to be
postponed for a month. The new Capitol there had
no roof! Neither were there desks for members or
even chairs to sit in.
Members hoped that the muddy village of
Houston, as the "temporary" capital, would have
better accommodations than the fledgling
government previously had. They were
disappointed.
Even Washington-on die Brazos, where the
Declaration of Independence had been signed on
March 1, 1836, had a building with a roof but few
other amenities. From there, the government had
been on the move. This required travel by
horseback, sometimes by boat and often by
walking to new sites.
First stop was Harrisburg, which had neither a
suitable building for meetings nor sleeping
accommodations. New Washington (now
Morgan’s Point), Galveston, Velasco, and
Columbia each was tried and found wanting. A
few stayed in private homes. Most-Including
President David C. Burnet-lived in tents.
Now the Legislature has been displaced again.
The Austin Capitol is undergoing a lengthy
renovation. For the first time in a century, even the
Senate has to meet in other quarters. But it’s not
quite like 1837. The Governor’s Mansion is intact.
For legislators, first-rate lodgings and excellent
meals are available at dozens of hotels. And
lobbyists often pick up the tabs.
YOU MIGHT LIKE TO KNOW-That aloe
vera, the plant that many credit with a variety of
medicinal uses, is not a cactus. It’s a lily.
There are 250 species of the plant, but only four
have been found to have curative powers.
* * *
WHAT’S IN A NAME?—In 1903, a cowboy
named H. Grady Fields opened a small store in
Yoakum County. A settlement grew up around it.
One day a Yankee shoe salesman passed
through and offered a cowboy $5 to demonstrate
the art of riding a bronco. After the show, the
drummer asked Fields why the place didn’t have a
name. The merchant replied that the Post Office
Department had turned down the names he had
submitted.
’’How about ‘Bronco’?’’ asked the visitor? !
Fields submitted that name, and the town is
Bronco today.
* * *
SITES TO SEE~It’s worth a two-mile detour
off Interstate 20 east of Odessa, Ector County,
to see America’s second largest meteor crater.
When it fell from the sky eons ago, the meteor
dug a hole 100 feet deep and a city block wide.
The hole has filled with sand over the years,
however, and today the depression is only 12
feet in depth.
In 1965, the site, was made a National
Historic Landmark.
* * *
MOVE OVER, MINNESOTA-In 1913, Texas
had only one large lake. It was Medina, near San
Antonio, which had 254,000 acre feet of water.
Today Texas has almost 200 such reservoirs
with a total capacity of some 60 million acre feet
of water. At last count, Texas’ 4,790 square miles
of inland water was second only to Minnesota’s
4,854 square miles. ©
FIFTY YEARS AGO -1943
l he arrest ot live gypsies on charges of petty
theft by Sheriff Charlie Trimble last Friday has
resulted in a Federal investigation of a band of
gypsies operating in West Texas.
* * *
The official temperature reading for Seminole
on Monday?Jan 18, 1943, was one degree above
zero, the coldest weather recorded in the County
since 1933 when it was reported to be 23 degrees
below zero.
* * *
The First Presbyterian Church, built for a little
over a year, will be dedicated Sunday, Jan. 31,
when Rev. Fred W. Tyler, local pastor during the
construction period, will return to Seminole for the
dedication sermon.
* * *
Directors of the Seminole State Bank elected J.
D. Mitchell of Odessa president; J. G. Nisbett of
Dumas, vice president; L. G. Daugherty, vice
president; and Wilma Daugherty, cashier.
Bits fn Pieces
The person who gets the most satisfactory
results is not always the person with the most
brilliant mind, but rather the person who can best
coordinate the brains and talents of associates.
***
In the midst of great joy do not promise
anyone anything. In the midst of great anger do
not answer anyone’s letter.
Chinese Proverb
***
INSIDE every older person there’s a younger
person wondering what happened?
The Seminole Sentinel
P. O. Drawer 1200 (USPS‘489-400) Ph. 915-758-3667
FAX No. (915) 758-2136
Oldest Established Business in Gaines County
Published each Wednesday and Sunday at The Seminole Sentinel
Building, 406 S. Main, under the act of March 3,1879.
Entered as Second Class Matter at the Seminole, Texas, Post
Office, Seminole, Texas 79360.
M. GENE DOW
Editor and Publisher
David Fisher ........................................................News Editor
Joyce Dow................................................................ Social Editor
Robbie Blount............................................ Advertising Manager
Misty Ramirez......................................Classified & Composition
Patricia Roberson .....................Office Supplies & Radio Shack
Irene Espinoza................... Circulation
Gene Gaines ............................ Photography
Paula Kubicek............................................... Bookkeeping
Sherry Russell......................... Distribution
In County by Mail or Home Delivery in Seminole......$22.50
In Adjoining Counties by Mali ...................................... $26.50
Elsewhere by Mail............................................................$29.50
Any erroneous reflection upon the character of any person or
firm appearing in these columns will be gladly and promptly
corrected upon being brought to the attention of the manage-
ment.
Letters policy: Letters to the Editor arc welcomed. All letters
should be kept as brief as possible. They must be signed with'
name, address and telephone number, In case need for vcrifica-'
tion arises (address and phone number will not be printed). The |
Sentinel reserves the right to edit letters to prevent llbd, invasion'
of privacy or untastchil language without changing the desired
context. If requested, cd itors will use Initials only, but only rarely
and for compelling reasons. A signed letter carries more weight
with readers. Letters do not necessarily reflect the editorial
policies or beliefs of this newspaper. No letters about candidates
seeking election or "Thank You" letters will be accepted.
MEMBER 1993
TEXAS PRESS ASSOCIATION
WEST TEXAS PRESS ASSOCIATION
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Dow, M. Gene & Fisher, David. The Seminole Sentinel (Seminole, Tex.), Vol. 86, No. 24, Ed. 1 Sunday, January 17, 1993, newspaper, January 17, 1993; Seminole, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1049356/m1/4/: accessed July 4, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Gaines County Library.