Sunday, March 30, 1997
Bluebonnets, books, courthouses, and calves
ALBANY - Along the highways I have yet to see many Texas bluebonnets,
but I have seen a few. The most bluebonnets I've seen growning
in one place are on the grounds of the Shackelford County Courthouse
in Albany.
The courthouse, which is currently undergoing a little bit
of fixing up, is one of the oldest and most beautiful courthouses
in the state. It was built in 1893, which was a time when public
buildings seemed to be more beautifully constructed. Even the
old courthouse clock continues to keep good time. Even without
the bluebonnets the courthouse is very pretty, but now it is even
prettier.
Just across the street from the courthouse is The Lynch Line
antique and bookshop that is housed in an old stone building that
looks like it was built from the same stone and at about the same
era as the courthouse. The place used to be the Lynch Building,
hence the name of the shop.
The Lynch Line's owners, Shirley and Clifton Caldwell were
out when I dropped in Friday, but Debbie Beasley, who takes over
when the Caldwells are away, was there. She told me that the Caldwells
were very active in historical preservation projects and were
active in historical commissions and societies.
That was easy to believe because the shop was filled with books
about Texas history. And it is rare, indeed, to see such a fine,
sizable book collection in a community the size of Albany.
"Anything on Texas, just about, she's (Mrs. Caldwell)
got it. If she doesn't have it, she'll get it," Beasley said.
TWO-FACED
ROTAN - Friday this newspaper published a story I wrote about
a two-faced calf that was being cared for by Rotan agricultural
students. The calf was born Monday.
News about the calf traveled fast -- a reporter here at the
Reporter-News told me he had taken a call from an acquaintance
who heard the story about the calf being read on a Denver, Colo.,
radio station.
Friday morning I received a call from an Abilene resident,
David E. Rosengrants, a retired Air Force colonel. Rosengrants
said he had in his possession a recent newspaper from Springfield,
Colo. The newspaper carried, he said, a story about a two-headed
calf that was born in the Sprinfield vicinity March 9. The calf
was still living, Rosengrants said.
Maybe that Colorado calf explained the Colorado radio station's
interest in the two-faced in Rotan.
By the way, Rotan High School's agricultural teacher, Norman
Fryar, said Daisy, which is the two-faced calf's name, was doing
pretty well. She still could not walk, but was doing her best
to exercise her legs while being suspended from a sling.
"The boys keep checking on her periodically. She's using
her front legs, but not her back legs," Fryar said.
But then Fryar clarified himself. The calf does use her hind
legs but does not use them for walking, as one of Fryar's students
found out.
"We found out she packs a pretty good wallop. She kicked
one of the boys a while ago," Fryar said as he laughed.
Fryar did not say so, but it sounded to me like that kick,
an indication of the calf's increasing strength and alertness,
had cheered him a bit.
This column covers the cities and communities of this part
of West Texas. To contact Ken Ellsworth, call (800) 588-6397 or
(915) 673-4271, Ext. 381, or write to P.O. Box 30, Abilene, TX
79604.
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Copyright ©1997,
Abilene Reporter-News / Texnews / E.W. Scripps Publications
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