Texas Bucket List

Texas Bucket List

Simmons Bank

The Texas Bucket List – Number 1 British Flying Training School Museum in Terrell

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Terrell – Terrell, Texas feels like your typical town here in the Lone Star State. Its historic downtown is usually buzzing with business, but back in the early 1940’s, it was a plethora of planes buzzing the sky that created commotion. To learn more about why this area was so active with airplanes, we headed where else but the airport to visit the Number 1 British Flying Training School Museum.

“I like history. I’m passionate because Terrell is my hometown and I didn’t learn about the school and the people here until I came after I retired… That it affected so many people that I knew,” said Rudy Bowling. Rudy is the executive director of the Number 1 British Flying Training School Museum, and he grew up in Terrell when this school played a vital role in World War II.
“This is a four year period that was very important to Texas, and the United States and Great Britain,” he explained.

This small airport was constructed back in 1941 to train British cadets how to fly. It was built before the United States involvement in the war through the Lend Lease Act, which allowed the US to supply military aid to foreign allies while remaining neutral in the conflict. More than 2,200 Royal Air Force pilots earned their wings here.“We were a microcosm of two cultures coming together. The young men that came from 3,000 miles away to a place that they thought still had Indians and Cowboys everywhere. They were a little disappointed when they got to Terrell,” said Rudy.

But the cadets where not disappointed by the Texas hospitality. “The locals took them under their wing. They knew they were far from home, so they tried to give them something to do on the weekends. They supported them. So, there’s a real connection between the culture of England and the culture of Terrell, Texas,” he explained.

“Everybody we know, our grandparents were involved, they were helping train British soldiers go and fight,” said local, Kaitly Bray. “They were thousands of miles away from home and the people of this town opened their homes and their hearts and treated them like their own children,” added another local, Beverly Mardis. “To Terrell, it means quite a bit,” said Army veteran, Carl Nelsson.
“We brought them into our homes. We shared holidays with them, we taught them to fly and to defend their homeland. And they needed that ally and we were there for it,” said Kaitly.
“I’m so proud of the hospitality that this town showed during that time,” Beverly expressed.

Cadets trained in PT-17s and the AT-6, which is a plane appropriately named the Texan. For six months, they were taught by civilian instructors. Some of the cadets that came through here included men such as Robert Hardy, who would later become an actor in movies like Harry Potter, Thomas Round who would end up being a opera star and even a few Americans trained here like Lieutenant Richard Hill who had the unique distinction of earning two sets of wings. “I want to show you this very unique situation here. This is a uniform coat from an American cadet here at the school. His regular Army Air Corps uniform. And if you’ll notice it has two sets of wings on it. The American set and the English. And the reason for that is that this school taught under the British Syllabus. And if he learned under the British Syllabus, they decided, the powers that be, that he could wear the British wings on his other pocket. And it was kind of a mark of honor for them to get to do that,” explained Rudy.

When you look at the faces that came here you realize how young these brave men were. “They were very young, they were very young,” confirmed Carl. “I look at the faces of the kids, literally kids that were here. All of those cadets that were here and they’re my grandchildren’s age… My heart just clutches every time I think about my kids going off to do the things that these men did,” said Beverly.

When these pilots flew down interstate 20, they had to put themselves in another place in order to get an idea of what it would be like flying over Europe. The school made a map that would represent that distances between cities in the old world with towns here in Texas and close by. “This is a representation of a training map that they used here at the school, during the war. And on it, Terrell represents London…Terrell to Berlin, which is very close to Pine Bluff, Arkansas. And that gives people, especially visitors, an opportunity to make it relative… [From Dover to Dunkirk] 15 miles…Very, very close,” said Rudy. “And you’ll notice that England fits nicely within the state of Texas with a little overlap into Oklahoma [and that is starting in between Waco and Dallas].”

Getting such a detailed look at this little-known story of World War II is an inspiring tale of true courage. Many of the men who went on to fight in the war, sacrificed their lives to preserve their way of life and it all started right here in the Lone Star State.

“My respect for them knows no bounds,” said Beverly. “It’s not just a story about England and Texas, or England and America, and it’s a story about people,” Rudy explained. “They were being devastated in a faraway land, we made them feel at home. We made them comfortable. We brought them into our homes and celebrated holidays with them. And then we trained them to do their best to fight the war. We were their allies,” said Kaitly. “They felt empowered to go fight the war because they felt they had been trained well while they were here in Terrell, Texas,” confirmed Rudy. “It’s another level of pride in who we are as Texans to know that we participated in this,” added Beverly. “Thank you, for what they did,” concluded Carl.

The Texas Bucket List – Perot Museum of Nature and Science in Dallas

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DALLAS – When you drive through Dallas, there’s a Texas treasure that’s pretty hard to miss. You can see it from the Woodall Rodgers Freeway, and it’s filled with all sorts of amazing stuff. We urge you to go inside-just make sure you have your walking shoes.

The Perot Museum of Nature and Science is truly an incredible museum for all ages.

“It’s a gorgeous museum and not only for what is inside, but architecturally we get recognized around the world because it’s a very unique space,” said Krista Villarreal- Moore, Director of PR and Communications at the Perot Museum.

Villarreal-Moore is a former TV meteorologist who kept her calling for science and nature alive by taking a job at the museum dedicated to it.

“A lot of people think, ‘Oh, science isn’t for me,’ but if you’re curious about your world, that’s science,” Villarreal-Moore said.

The massive complex is a combination of three, long-time Dallas museums in one. The Dallas Museum of Natural History, The Science Place, and The Dallas Children’s Museum. The three united in 2012 to form the Perot Museum of Nature and Science. With five levels and 180,000 square feet, this museum takes a big bite out of all sorts of subjects in a fun, interactive and inspiring way.

“Our mission is to inspire minds through nature and science, but the reason that’s important is that STEM Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math careers are going to be central to, not just our region’s economy, but the nation’s economy going forward,” Villarreal-Moore said.

The learning starts as soon as you walk in and head up an escalator.

“So this is the ride up to the T. rex (Tyrannosaurus rex). We have a new T. rex that greets visitors at the top. His name is Stan,” Villarreal-Moore said. “We did not name him, but he came to us that way. He’s the second most complete T. rex ever discovered. It’s a neat way for visitors to get their sort of first dinosaur experience as they’re coming up our escalator, which sticks on the outside of the building.

He’s friendly though, harmless. He’s from South Dakota. Lots of dinosaurs, especially T. rex were found there in the Badlands.”

Don’t expect just dinosaurs. The museum has it all. We rocked out in a gallery that knocks out two birds with one stone, telling the history of our Earth while showcasing some amazing beauty.

“This is our gems and minerals hall and I’ve got to show you what we call our grape jelly geode.” Villarreal-Moore said. “You’ll see why. It’s a 2000 pound amethyst. This was the first piece installed in the Perot Museum because we wanted to make sure that we got it installed and that it would be safe, as everything else was starting to move in. What I find fascinating about this is that this is how it was naturally found. This is just nature. A lot of times you’ll find minerals in the ground, but when you see it in a piece of jewelry, it’s because it’s been cut and polished and faceted, but no, this is just nature’s beauty.”

You’ll also find a new, birthstone exhibit inside the museum and a dazzling display of gems from around the world.

But learning about our bodies and what it takes to make us tick is what we found totally mind blowing.

“This is a real, human brain,” Villarreal-Moore said. “This is one of the only places in the world to see a brain still connected to its spinal column with the nerve ending displayed this way. It’s so interesting t

o be able to see it up close, because we all see photos and pictures, but to be able to see the intricacies of what’s making us all tick, I think is just a really unusual, unique experience.”

After learning about the human body, Villarreal-Moore takes us to Dinosaur Hall. Not only will you see real dinosaur bones found in Texas, but you get to see an actual paleontologist in their element-finding fossils.

Dr. Ron Tykoski knew from an early age that he wanted to work with dinosaurs and it all started when his parents took him to museum. Imagine that!

“I remember when I was five years old, they said, ‘Maybe someday if you do really well in school, you can come and work here and work on the dinosaurs’ I said, “Okay,” Tykoski said.

Today he’s living the dream, a rock star when it comes to digging into rocks. Folks get to watch him work all day.

“You can watch, in real time, our paleontologists and volunteers doing their research so they may be right in front of your eyes discovering a new species of dinosaur because our paleontologists have thus far identified several new species that were previously not known to science,” Villarreal-Moore said.

“We really don’t know what comes out of these rocks any given moment, any given day, something can appear out of here. You can be the first human being to ever see some element that appears out of one of these rocks,” Tykoski said.

Being able to see the exhibits and exhilarating history of the Perot Museum of Nature and Science is the perfect family outing, but getting to see actual science is a bonus big enough to make this wonderful world of all things wondrous well worth a stop.

“I’m pushing science and knowledge forward,” Tykoski said. “What greater contribution is there than that?”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Texas Bucket List – Waymore’s Liquor Store

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Littlefield— Former country music star Waylon Jennings began his life and career in the little town of Littlefield.  Sitting high on the Llano Estacado, finding a libation in this little town isn’t as laborious as picking the cotton in these parts.

All you have to do is drive to the center of town to visit Waymore’s Liquor Store where you’ll find one of the town’s native sons.

“James D. Jennings…I just happen to be Jimmy Jasper James D, that’s what my daddy called me. [I go by] James Jennings…Or whatever will get me in the door,” joked James Jennings.

James has a unique connection to one of the most celebrated singers of country music— he’s the last living brother of Waylon Jennings.

“I’m the third one down… there’s Waylon, and Tommy, and me, and then my younger brother, Bo, we called him, Phillip Dole was his name… Last man standing, like Willie’s got that song, I guess, yes,” said James.

Waymore’s is way more than just a liquor store, it is a sanctuary of special things relating to the relationship James had with Waylon.

“I needed somewhere to put this stuff I had,” he said.

Don’t’ let him fool you, James loves telling stories about his big brother.

“You know, you get to sit and watch somebody more or less get plum out of a cotton patch right to where he made it in country music. I’d say that’s pretty neat,” he said.

It all starts in an old house just north of town where Waylon Jennings was born in 1937. Back then, Bob Wills was King and cotton farming was commonplace.

“We [were] just dirt poor people,” said James. “My daddy, he would be out in the farm working somewhere, and we’d go with mama to the cotton patch, she pulled cotton, but when you’re poor, and you’re growing up and everybody around you is in the same shape over there where we lived at, you don’t realize it. You think… everybody else is the same way, but they’re not.”

“And this is Daddy, and this is Tommy, and that’s Waylon, and I’m the hood ornament. And see them guns right there? That’s what they got for Christmas. Mom and Daddy got him on Kodak. Saved her money up, when she took that picture… that was on Christmas day,” he recalled as he pointed to a family photograph.

By the time James came around, Waylon was already playing guitar. At the age of 12, he had his own local radio show and would play with anybody, anywhere he could.

“Anybody that was involved in music that could go out halfway keep a beat, well he had them as a band member,” said James.

The early memories of Waylon’s career in country music makes James feel like a kid again, but when talking about the 70’s and 80’s, when James was able to experience life with Waylon, that’s when things got interesting!

“It’s 1,056 miles from here to Nashville, I can tell you,” said James.

“Waylon was going at it pretty hard, but he was just a hell of a good ol’ boy,” he said. “He liked having fun, having a good time, and don’t bother nobody, don’t hurt nobody, but just don’t take [nothing] off nobody.”

Turns out Waylon was exactly as you’d imagine him.

“There’s two or three things I can tell you about Waylon. His first love in his life was that guitar. His second love in his life would getting on that stage and singing and entertaining. His third love was chasing women,” said James.

Then there were the Highwaymen.

“Got your money’s worth out of that show, I promise you,” said James. ”That’s me, my wife, my step daddy, mama, Tutsi, Jesse Coulter, and June Carter Cash. We went to Mirage in Vegas, at the Highwaymen tour. It was [a] sure good show.”

James continued to recount his memories of his time with Waylon in the country music world.

“You sitting on the bus, and Hank Williams Jr. comes out there, and and sits around the bull, and Johnny Cash. You get sat around, and listen to them guys talk, and talk to them, and they visit back and forth, and every one of them that I ever met were just good ol’ boys. Most of them are, well I don’t think they was quite as poor as we wer maybe, but they was brought up on red beans and fried taters just like we was, and they know what it’s like, and they’re just good ol’ boys, just got the talent to sing. God give it to a few. He didn’t give it to all of us,” said James.

Before you know it, you’re talking about all the hits and the show that started your Saturday morning.

“Dukes of Hazzard…I get gobs of people come in here talking about their Dukes of Hazzard car, and getting in front of the TV, and playing Dukes of Hazzard, jumping everything with it,” said James.

Getting a chance to hear firsthand accounts of what life was like for the Jennings and all the music legends they got to live life with makes Waymore’s Liquor Store a lively stop on The Texas Bucket List.

“We have a lot [of people] for this [the museum], and well, we sell a lot of liquor, too,” said James.

The Texas Bucket List Check It Twice – USS Lexington in Corpus Christi

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Corpus Christi⁠—Back in 2013, we took you down to Corpus Christi to visit the USS Lexington. This amazing aircraft carrier built in the early 40’s is a true marvel to explore, so when we found out they added something very unique to the ship, we figured it was about time to check it twice!

“Most of us naval aviators have a big attachment to the ship you did your first landings on and Lexington was the home for most of us,” said Rocco Montesano.

One the very first season of The Texas Bucket List, we meet Rocco Montesano, the executive director of the USS Lexington. The former Navy pilot served for 27 years and worked on the Blue Ghost for 20 years. In 2018, the man who loved this ship set sail for the sea in the sky, but his inspiration lives on.

“A lot of times you can’t drag your kids to a historical monument so we have to make ourselves more of an attraction. A fun place,” said Rocco.

“He was a mentor of mine, a friend, and a just an incredible guy. We miss him dearly,” expressed Steve Banta.

Steve now fills the sizable shoes Rocco left behind. Fortunately, the former Navy captain is holding the ship steady by continuing the mission.

“We are always looking for ways to make this place relevant. It’s important for us to preserve the history of the USS Lexington and then share that with all of our guests,” he said.

The crew decided to take it up a notch by adding an escape room that gives brave visitors an escape from reality.

“It’s the only one that’s on a historic aircraft carrier in the entire world,” said Steve.

“The idea of trying to escape from an actual World War II aircraft carrier seemed to me very cool,” said Rodolfo Magnus.

Rodolfo is the technical advisor on the ship and he was locked into the idea of adding this engaging expansion.

“When I approached them in the beginning it was ‘Oh, you’re crazy. It’s not happening,’” said Rodolfo.

“I was a little skeptical just because I wasn’t sure. It was brand new for us, but the fact is he has been very successful in his ideas with us in the past, and…it was a worthwhile experiment,” explained Steve.

“So this is the entrance to the escape room area of Lockdown On The LEX. We have our first mission. Beat the Blast… A guy stowed away on board the ship. He’s got a nuclear bomb and you’ve got to defuse it,” said Steve.

If you’ve never been in an escape room, the basic concept is you must use clues in the room to advance to the next room and eventually escape. Some can be extremely detailed and without a doubt, this escape room has an all too real feeling and deals with subject matter that actually pertains to the ship’s history.

“This ship’s last operational mission was in the Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962. So the basic story is there’s a guy, his dad, a Russian guy, was disgraced by the Cuban Missile Crisis. They did not get what they wanted. The son grew up knowing that, he’s bitter about the Lexington, and so he has stowed away on board the ship, smuggled in a nuclear bomb and he’s allowed you to have one chance to help and solve it, so that you can save the day,” said Steve.

“I think it was a brilliant idea to tie the escape room story to the actual history of the ship. So then we had to think about how to tie it to real events that happened on this ship,” said Rodolfo.

“We love sharing the history of this amazing ship, but there are people who maybe aren’t into museums and history, but they’re into these kinds of games. And so we’ve got this whole new demographic that comes on board,” said Steve.

“So when the timer goes off and you start, you hope that the team will work together by separating and finding things and telling each other what they’re finding… if we’re not communicating you’re not going to make it out,” he said.

“You will operate real Naval equipment that sailors used onboard this ship, radar scope, communications gear. It might help to know Morse code.” said Steve.

“It’s a unique opportunity to interact with real World War II equipment inside of a real World War II aircraft carrier,” added Rodolfo. “In all my life I wanted to have a big countdown clock over a bomb. Well now we have it.”

So if you’re into history, teamwork, and unique adventures that make you think, experiencing the escape rooms of the USS Lexington, it’s all hands on deck on The Texas Bucket List.

“This ship, I mean it’s an icon for the local area,” concluded Steve.

“You can have a lot of fun aboard this magnificent piece of a US history,” remarked Rodolfo.

“Come for the fun of it and we’re going to slip some education and history while you’re here,” said Rocco Montesano.

The Texas Bucket List – National Videogame Museum in Frisco

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Frisco – If the theme song to the old Nintendo game Super Mario Brothers still strikes a cord when it comes to your childhood, and a chance to play the game itself floods you heart full of memories. Now, you can Super Mario until the sun sets at a stupendously sized museum in Frisco known as the National Videogame Museum.

“I feel like I’m 14 again,” Michelle Ybarra said.

John Hardie heads the charge when it comes to these plug and play pieces of equipment that have stood the test of time for the most part.

“Everyday, I turn them on, and it’s like, ‘What’s not gonna come up today?,’” John said. “They’re that finicky, you know?”

Originally from New York,  John moved down to Texas when his museum become a reality in 2017.

“…My wife’s from Texas,” John said.” I lived in San Antonio for five years in the 80’s, so that made me an honorary Texan. They allowed me to move back.”

John and a couple of buddies had a big collection of back in the day technology. What used to be a traveling display of yesteryear’s hottest Christmas toys has turned into a full time interactive collection at the museum where having fun is not frowned upon.

“Traditionally, you hit a button and maybe something lights up,” John said. “There’s not much interactivity in a museum, and we felt that we had to turn that model on its head and do something complete out of the … everything had to be interactive. Kids today, they’re adaptable. They’ll play anything, right? They like the new stuff, of course, but they’ll play the old stuff, even though the graphics aren’t as pretty or whatever. Dads like us, you know, you and me … we grew up with this stuff. So it was second nature to easily … to bring those people in.”

While showing up your kids at your kind of games in popular around here, it’s also about showing the younger generation what life was like back in the 80’s.

“So this is two of my favorite exhibits,” John said.  “We have recreations of an 80’s living room and an 80’s bedroom. The 80’s living room is something we’ve been doing since we started doing shows. We always had just a couch and a TV and period/era type stuff, and people always identified with it. The wood paneling, the fake plant. Right? Your afghan on the back of the couch. This was your mom’s or your grandma’s living room, you know?”

One of the most popular spots in the whole complex is a recreation of an 80’s video arcade.

“It’s called ‘Pixel Dreams’, and 42 arcade machines from the era,” John said. “Neon, blacklight. The 80’s music. We have a high score board. You get your name up there if you beat the house champion. And you can see all pretty much every classic that people really will remember or identify with.”

The amount of games, gadgets and interactive displays seems as long as the list of game titles the ol’ Blockbusters used to have.  From virtual reality, one of kind games, to prototypes of popular gaming accessories like the original power glove this museum has it all.

“I think there’s still a stigma today,” John said. “You talk to somebody, ‘What do you do?’ ‘I run a museum.’ And I shouldn’t feel this way, because I know what it is, but they’re like, ‘Oh, what kind of museum?’ I’m like, ‘Video games,’ you know? And it’s just the way I was raised, because even growing up, there came a point where you were supposed to stop playing video games.”

We’re all still kids at heart, and the National Videogame Museum doesn’t just bring us back. It lets us show our kids just how totally radical life was all those years ago making it a fun filled stop on the Texas Bucket List.

I like how there’s the games when my father was a kid here, and I never knew it’d come this far in these years all the way from the 1900’s to the 2000’s,” Andy Castillo said. “It’s a long time.”

 

The Texas Bucket List – Traintopia in Frisco

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Frisco – In a big building dedicated to discovery in Frisco, you’ll find a smorgasbord of things to do.  If you stay on track, all the way to the back of the building you’ll find a mighty display on a miniature level.

It’s called Traintopia and it’s part of the Museum of American Railroad in Frisco.

“You’ll see trains moving about while you actually walk around the entire layout,” Bob LaPrelle said. “You’re going to see seven different operating lines.”

Bob is the President and CEO of the Museum of the American Railroad. The museum is home to all sorts of big trains, and they are all historically significant.

“It’s an amazing creation,” Bob said.

Bob was all aboard when the museum was approached about receiving the train set as a donation from Jane Sanders.  She had inherited the collection from her husband Steve. Steve was a former oilman and precious metals collector who owned a hobby shop and had a lot of love for little locomotives.

“She was in a real dilemma about what to do with this $1 million train layout that Stephen had built and it’s a win-win situation, because she was able to get it out of her home, sell her house, and we were able to add a fantastic exhibit to the museum,” Bob said.

Piece by piece, the train set was moved to Frisco and painstakingly reassembled.

“It really appeals to people of all ages,” Bob said. “I mean adults love it. The thing to notice on this layout is also the mural, the backdrop, which was actually hand-painted in the Sanders’ home and then we photographed it and reproduced it on the wall here in Frisco.”

Depicting the American Southwest from Dallas to Colorado, the massive 2500 square foot set with a quarter mile worth of track is stacked with scenarios.

“You’ve got the curio shops and the little tourist courts up here in New Mexico, very similar to what you would have seen in Cimarron Canyon,” Bob said. “New Mexico kind of transitions into Arizona. You start getting some beautiful colors and hues. Then it transitions into West Texas, so you got the oil refineries and you got the tank cars at the refinery loading up crude oil, going out by rail obviously, and then a small West Texas town. Downtown Dallas is really where it all culminates, and you have a very active Main Street from about 1965 showing all the theater marquees, all the tall buildings, the Magnolia building, the Adolphus Hotel, and even Durand Chevrolet. Then finally you end up at Dallas Union Terminal, where all the passenger trains arrived and departed from Dallas. Every time I look at this layout I see something new. There’s just so much finite detail, you know, that they brought into this layout, and they all tell a story of Steve Sanders. That’s what’s amazing. “

The town transitions between day and night.  Blinking lights, signs, and the Palo Duro drive in take on an all new life in the darkness. It has been said the Devil is in the details, but here that means so much more.   It’s the particulars in the people, and the curious conversations they all seem to be having with minute meanings in everything.

“One of the things that we’ve really tried to do with this layout beyond entertainment is to inspire a new generation, introduce them to the world of railroads and the world of trains,” Bob said. “There are still careers out there that people can pursue in the railroad industry and there’s a lot to learn from this layout. “

Be it day or night, you can stop by Traintopia and get a first class ticket to a world frozen in time on the tracks that now a treasure Texans can hop on board with. Traintopia certainly makes for a unique stop on The Texas Bucket List.

“This was only available to a small number of people that Steve knew and now everybody can enjoy it, so it’s a must see,” Bob said.

The Texas Bucket List – Fort Chadbourne in Coke County

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Coke County-This week, we take you to a fort in Coke County, Texas that is filled to the brim with artifacts from another time.  It’s the grounds of this old fort and a man’s passion for telling this story that makes Fort Chadbourne well worth a stop on The Texas Bucket List.

We’re in Coke County at Fort Chadbourne.

“If you’re transferred to Fort Chadbourne in 1852 as a soldier, you’re sitting in the middle of Comanche territory,” Garland Richards said.

Garland knows this old post inside and out because he’s been exploring it since he was boy.

“I assumed that everyone had a fort in their backyard,” Garland said. “Seriously, I did not know any different.No one has enjoyed Fort Chadbourne more than me.”

Garland’s great-great-great grandfather Thomas Odem established a 150,000-acre ranch here in 1876.

“It stretched from Fort Chadbourne almost to San Angelo, encompassed a portion of Ballinger,”  Garland Richards said. “Got to realize that in 1876, there were no fences and it was all open range and this is where he chose to bring his family and raise 13 kids and utilize as the ranching headquarters for his cattle operation.”

Passed down through eight generations, Garland is now the caretaker of his own parcel that happens to feature this old fortification. A few years ago, he couldn’t bare to watch it continue to fade from memory.  He decided to rebuild and reinforce Fort Chadbourne.

“This is not the brightest thing that I’ve ever done financially,” Garland said.

In 1999, he founded the Fort Chadbourne foundation and funded this entire project privately.

“They told us that you can’t raise the funds needed to complete this project without governmental funding and we did it,” Garland said.

Each building on the property was painstakingly brought back to life.

“This is the ranch headquarters building,” Garland said. “This was a double officer’s quarters. This is where my great-great-great-grandfather comes in and he chooses these two structures that are joined together and he raises 13 kids. The archaeological excavation of this building told us how it was actually constructed. That’s the way we did it. Tried to keep everything as authentic as we could keep it. I’ve been working on this for about 20 years.”

During the renovations, artifacts were constantly being found. Even today, you can find things laying around all over the fort among the red velvet mites.

Now, we’re in the Butterfield Stage Stop,” Garland said. “You’ve got pieces of hinges, you’ve got the … this is a green beer bottle. You’ve got square nails. You are literally picking up artifacts off the ground. You’ve got a piece of glass, there’s the maker. You could actually find the … There’s a BDK on the bottom of it, you could actually find who made that bottle and when. That’s all you need is three letters to figure out that all that history.”

All the military and personal items Garland and his team have found can be see just a few feet from where they originated in the Fort Chadbourne visitors center.  

“There are about a million artifacts that have come from Fort Chadbourne,” Garland said. “This is one of the most historically significant, pristine, unmolested sites of any of the frontier forts in the United States.“

Since the fort has been privately owned all these years, Garland has been able to painstakingly catalog and display everything they’ve come across. I do mean everything.

“ A lot of the artifacts from Fort Chadbourne are located in some of the drawers,” Garland said. “All of these drawers are filled with artifacts. Anything from cannonballs to musket balls to surgical instruments. These came out of the cannonball shrapnel field. This is where they actually blew up. Anything from shotgun shells, to gun parts, to coffee grinders.”

Perusing the preposterous amount of pieces that were actually found on the property is impressive.

“Anything that was dropped from 1852 to 1876 there’s one of in here,” Garland said.

Coins, wedding rings, glasses and all sorts of military memorabilia have been found here.

“The buttons that you see in this case, you’ve got artillery, you’ve got the dragoons, you’ve got the cavalry, you’ve got mounted riflemen, infantry,” Garland said. “There’s Texas Military buttons. All found here. It’s part of the history of Fort Chadbourne.”

Every little thing here helps tell the story of Fort Chadbourne. With the abundance of artifacts, it’s a Texas-sized story.

“You’ll go out there and you’ll find other little pieces to the puzzle and when you put enough pieces to the puzzle back together, all of a sudden you can see the whole picture,” Garland said.

During it’s time as a fort, 27 soldiers lost their lives here. Six of them were awarded the Medal of Honor.  As a tribute, you’ll find all 3,500 recipients of that honor listed among a collection of actual Medals of Honor.

“These are the current Medals of Honor,” Garland said. “This is one of the early Civil War Medals of Honor. The rarest one in here is the Tiffany Cross. To be able to walk in and see all of these all in one place is pretty incredible.”

Seeing this incredible collection, hearing the stories, and exploring the fort is truly a treat for any Texan. As an added bonus, Garland brought out the big guns: A replica mountain howitzer cannon.

If you’re looking to dive deep into some valuable Texas History, Fort Chadbourne is well worth a stop on The Texas Bucket List.

“We’ve still got a lot of work to do at Fort Chadbourne,” Garland said. “I’ll die long before I ever get my job done. Somebody else will come in and take it over.”  

The Texas Bucket List – Roy Orbison Museum in Wink

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Wink- Way out in West Texas, where working in the oil fields are a way of life, you’ll wind up in Wink.  What once was a town of thousands is now a community trying to literally stay on the map. A massive sinkhole known as the Wink Sink might play a role in that one day. For now, time seems to be standing still.  “All I Need Is Time” to make a stop in a city like this. At least that’s what one of Wink’s most famous residents once sung about.

We’re at the Roy Orbison Museum in Wink.

“Very important figure to the town of Wink because I would say that he put Wink on the map,” Barbara Sabonya said.

Barbara is a volunteer at the Roy Orbison Museum which is a little pit stop in Wink that you’ll miss if you blink.  Chances are even you’re too young to know who Roy Orbison was, you’ve heard his music.

“”Crying” is the one I always try to sing in the car. I can never get that, ‘Crrrrryyyyin’,” Barbara said.

The man with the legendary and distinctive voice first moved to Wink with his family in 1946. By 1949, he had built a band known as the Wink Westerners.

“The earliest yearbook we have is 1949, and he’s pictured in that yearbook and he’s already wearing glasses,” Barbara said.

The Wink Westerners would play regularly on the radio in the region even back when Roy was just a regular kid.

“We have Roy Orbison Drive and we have the museum,” Barbara said. “We do have some people here that had a personal connection with Roy, unfortunately I’m not one of them.”

Helen Voyles and her husband Billy did have connection to the one of a kind crooner.

“Well, he’s a person that you’ll never forget,” Billy said. “He was just a good guy.”

They used to hang out with Roy during their high school days, and Helen was even Roy’s date to prom.

“We just went as friends, you know,” Helen said. “It was just friends and all, and just had a blast. I wore a pink formal. I’ll never forget that.”

Spring of ‘54 was a much simpler time, and Helen still remembers the night from all those years ago.

“Well, we double dated with another couple, and Roy didn’t have a car,” Helen said.
“We just had a blast and dance our heads off all night, and then we went to Monahan’s and had french fries and Cokes over there. They were the only one place that was open.”

Hearing Helen tell her incredible story was an added bonus to visiting the museum that has more than just a few old pictures and records.

“Our most treasured possession, in my opinion, is under the counter,” Barbara said. “It’s a pair of his actual glasses.”

Getting to see and touch the rock and roll legend’s storied sunglasses is like strumming Willie’s famous guitar, wearing one of Johnny Cash’s black shirts, or driving Elvis’ pink Cadillac. Expect, there’s only one of them that you actually check off the list.
“People who’ve looked through say you need to be careful,” Barbara said. “You feel like you’re either on a boat or inebriated. Don’t move around when you have the glasses.”

While Roy’s glasses were his visual trademark, it was his voice and songs that have stood the test time making this marvelous museum a must stop on The Texas Bucket List.  

“He’s just one that we’ll never forget,” Helen said. “Roy’s just … he’s just a part of Wink.”

The Texas Bucket List – Museum of the Gulf Coast in Port Arthur

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Port Arthur- One of my favorite parts about our great state is its history.  There are so many stories to tell, from mammoths that made their way across the land, to the natives who called the plains home and the formation of a nation, every part of Texas has something of which to be proud.  

Over in Southeast Texas, you’ll find Golden Triangle local’s stories at the Museum of the Gulf Coast where history and pop culture meet.

“We knew we had some stories to tell in the music area, the sports area,” Tom Neal said.

Tom is the director of the museum which is housed in a mammoth-sized building that was formerly a bank.  As a member of the Board of the Port Arthur Historical Society, Tom is a Southeast Texas native. Before getting to the incredible contributions that people from this section of our state have been a part of, the museums starts visitors off with a journey through the history of the area.

“This is a mural in the museum,” Tom said. “It covers a timeline from before early man through early man, then Cabeza de Vaca … a shipwreck in Matagorda Bay. Being past the Dick Dalling battle that they held there, and it goes all the way up to the Spindletop.” It’s 125 feet long by 28 feet tall. Could be the largest in Texas, I’m not sure.”

Spindletop is synonymous with the rich history of our state and even the entire country.  The moment this massive gusher was discovered changed the world. The camera that caught that particular point in time is on display at the museum.

“Actually this particular camera that you see here was one of Mr. Trough’s cameras that actually took that picture which you see below there of the gusher when it was going,” Tom said. “The Spindletop. It went … it changed the whole world.”

The historical artifacts and stories that are told are a big part of this massive museum.  However, the biographies of the big stars with ties to this part of Texas are what truly stands out.

“This is our sports exhibit,” Tom said. “We have a lot of love for sports in this area, and we have a lot of folks that have done very well. More than seventy people who’ve made it and excelled in areas of football, basketball, baseball, boxing … you name it. Racing. Here’s two gentlemen, a father and son, Bum Philips and Wade Philips. They’re both in our … Wade grew up in this area and played football here, and his dad coached two of the local high schools. So there’s Bum’s exhibit, and there you see a Super Bowl trophy that Wade provided us for his exhibit. Our third graders love that. They head to that and they think that’s the greatest thing that they’ve ever seen.”

Professional wrestlers, baseball greats, football stars, head coaches and world champions make the Golden Triangle’s list of sports stars a literal hall of fame. What’s even more amazing is the amount of musical talents Southeast Texas has turned out.

“George Jones, Tex Ritter … we’ve got quite a variety of people that have come in here and done a great job,” Tom said. “The Big Bopper … The Big Bopper. J.P. Richardson. You’ll see over here some of his memorabilia and music, and the items that were with him in the plane crash, the day the music died …” Along with the sheet music. He had that in his briefcase. “The favorite part I have has gotta be the music. That’s kind of been the fiber of everybody’s life. They hear a song, and they remember where they were at a certain time. We’ve had over seventy musicians that have been in the music scene that have a difference. “

But the one artist from here that draws in visitors: Janis Joplin.

“Janis’ people come from all over the world,” Tom said. “She’s one of the big attractions we have here, people wanting to know more about her and things about her life. We have quite a few things that the family has graciously provided to us. Family pictures and heirlooms so that we can better tell the story of Janis. She was a very talented artist in high school. She grew up, and these are pieces from some of that time frame.”

It’s amazing what the Golden Triangle’s been able to give to not only Texas, but the entire United States  with everything they’ve offered. For sports, music and history buffs alike, The Museum of the Gulf Coast in Port Arthur, Texas is well worth a stop on the Texas Bucket List.

“It’s funny, because you can be in another part of the country and somebody will ask you where you’re from, and you say Port Arthur, Texas,” Tom said. “They start telling you, ‘That’s where Janis Joplin lives,’ you know? “

 

The Texas Bucket List – The “Come and Take It” Cannon in Gonzales

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Gonzales, Texas-  A town synonymous with Texas history.  Originally the capital of DeWitt’s colony, the stories surrounding this legendary Lone Star State location can be found as far back as 1825.  

Down in Gonzales, you’ll find a historic stop that is quintessential to any lover of Texas, and it all centers around a cannon. Specifically, the Come and Take It cannon.

“I always liked Texas history and so then, of course, to be right in the Lexington of Texas and Gonzalez, it was right down my alley to be here,” Gary Schurig said.

The director of the Gonzales Memorial Museum has one of the coolest job descriptions you could imagine.

“Hi, I’m Gary,” Gary said. “I’m the guardian of the Come and Take it Cannon.“

Gary Schurig was born in Gonzales, so being a defender of all things Texan comes naturally to this native.  He proudly tells the story behind the cannon that helped create a country.

“It’s a small museum so you kind of limited in what you can have in here,” Gary said.
“But you have a gold mine. “

The story behind the cannon starts in 1831 with a request to the Mexican government from Green DeWitt. A cannon was provided for protection against hostile Indian tribes with the stipulation it be returned to authorities upon request.  The cannon was more a visual deterrent since it was rigged not to fire, but it didn’t take long to fix that.

“Right here is where they had driven the nail into satch hole so that it wouldn’t shoot,” Gary said. “And, fortunate enough that the blacksmiths was able to repair this area here. ……..So it wouldn’t have done any good to keep his hole. So they were able to put some bushings in there to close up that hole to make it as if it had never been drilled. And in turned it a few degrees and drill another hole in the top. By doing that then they’re able to make a cannon that’s fully functionable to pack the powder in there, and pack whatever you’re going to shoot out of it and set it off right there at the touch hole.”  “Yeah. Because there’s no purpose for a cannon to have two separate holes, even if this one was open it wouldn’t function.”

Four years after receiving the cannon, the Mexican government sent their request to return the ordinance.

“In 1835, when there was a rumble of Texas independence, a revolution, Santa Ana sent out word that he wanted the … he wanted all of his guns back into his possession,” Gary said.

In September of 1835, 100 Mexican troops marched on the banks of the Guadalupe river to retrieve said cannon. They were greeted by a group of 18 men and, in that moment, the Texas revolution began.

“They said if you really want this cannon you can come and take it, and they fired it at them,” Gary said.

Referred to as the “Old Eighteen,” it was this small group that started the Battle of Gonzales. Six months later the siege at the Alamo and the Goliad massacre took their toll on Texas.  On April 21st, 1836 the Texas Revolution came to end with the Battle of San Jacinto. Texas was independent.

“Naturally if you come here you need to go to Goliad, you need to go to San Antonio to the Alamo, and then you need to go to San Jacinto,” Gary said. “So, this is just the beginning, and if you don’t have that it’s just like reading a book and starting in the middle of the book. You don’t know how you got started or how they got there.”

 

Seeing the actual cannon that had a role in one of the most well-known stories of the Lone Star State truly gives you chills especially when you consider how it was rediscovered.

“They get out about 20 miles west of town on the Sandies Creek and the wheels on their cart breakdown,” Gary said. “So, between Ben Milam and Almaron Dickinson they decide let’s just bury the cannon, we can always come back and get it. That cannon will stay buried from 1835 until July of 1936 when we have a flood, and it will unearth it. And there are a couple of boys, the story is, that they were out looking for survivors and they ran across what they thought was a piece of pipe in the mud. When they pulled it out actually it was a cannon. “

 

Eventually, the cannon found its way back home to Gonzales. It now sits just a few miles from the spot that the battle for Texas’s independence began.  Being able to see this cannon in person is truly awe inspiring and brings you even closer to roots of our great state, making it well worth a stop on The Texas Bucket List.

“I don’t want to live anywhere else but Texas,” Gary said.