Texas Highways – September 2019

I have traveled all

over the world, and

one of the best trips

I have taken was

through rural

Te x a s—f r om E l P a s o

to Galveston. Some-

times it was so

remote I couldn’t get

anything on my car

radio. A great state.

Tom Jeffris, Janesville, Wisconsin

SEPTEMBER 2019 7

Small Town Talk
I was so excited that Orange made the
list of small towns [“Small Towns to
Visit Now,” August]. We’ve lived here six
years, and we love this little town! But I
am confused why the article suggested
the neighboring town for food instead of
listing one of the many amazing locally
owned cafés we treasure here in Orange:
The Old Orange Cafe, Boardwalk Grille,
Lucy’s Cafe and Bakery, Spanky’s, Rob-
ert’s Meat Market and Steakhouse (that
is still a genuine working meat market!),
Guadalajara, Reel Cajun... These are all
local gems.
Kimberly Murray, Orange

I have two nominations for small-town
spotlights. I live in Amarillo, and my fa-
vorite drive is to Dumas, about 47 miles
north. The Window on the Plains Mu-
seum details Moore County and has an-
tique tractors, buggies, automobiles, and
toys, plus an art museum with work by
area artists. I also enjoy going to McLean,
about 75 miles east of Amarillo. It has
The Devil’s Rope Museum, which covers
barbed wire and its history. Plus, McLean

KATHERINE ANNE

PORTER’S TEXAS

I took my Hamilton High School

students to Indian Creek. We sat

by Katherine Anne Porter’s grave

and read one of her stories.

Donna Anglin, Hamilton

FRIO 101

I grew up in Texas but never

made it to Garner State Park.

Made my fi rst trip this Memo-

rial Day. It was fantastic, and

the Frio River was so beautiful.

The trip sparked an interest to

rent a camper for our next trip

in the fall.

Gina Bischoff Ferriera,

The Woodlands

MERGE

READERS RESPOND

hearts—both white and black.

Mark Greathouse, Fairfi eld, Pennsylvania

Nostalgic Nod

Thanks for the great article by Wes

Ferguson on the Sabine River [“Ghosts

of Pine Island,” July]. It brought back

so many memories of my childhood.

I grew up in Port Arthur in the ’50s,

and my uncle had a camp on the river

between Orange and Deweyville, a little

community called Morgan’s Bluff. We

used to walk through the woods to a

secluded little lake called Will Cooper. I

caught my fi rst bass there and also used

to set trot lines across the Sabine. Simple,

fun times for sure.

Roy Birkelbach, La Marque

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is home to the very fi rst Phillips 66 sta-

tion, which is still standing and makes

a great place for pictures, especially if

you’re driving an antique automobile

along old Route 66.

Debbie McDougal, Amarillo

Down at The Stampede

I was born and raised in San Angelo but

have lived in the Midwest for more than 10

years. Mary Helen Specht’s article [“Let’s

Waltz, Boys!” August] truly hit home for me.

She writes wonderfully about the singular

experience of coming from an out-of-the-

way stretch of West Texas and the mixed

emotions and sense of dislocation one

feels after leaving such a place.

Tyler McGaughey, Chicago, Illinois

Mary Helen Specht does a great job

capturing the essence of Big Spring and its

musical heritage, but then simply cannot

resist the temptation to cast race into the

mix. She refers to country music culture as

lily-white, a slap at great black artists like

Charley Pride, Darius Rucker, Trini Triggs,

Cowboy Troy, Kane Brown, and numerous

others who’ve sung their way into fans’

Cover:Digital collage by Judy Paul

JULY 2019

Small Towns We Love

S^1 MALL^5 TOWN^ S^

TO VISIT^ NOW

MTARGTAAHVZE EINL E

OF TEXAS