I started my trip to see my cousin Karen and my Cousin-in-Law Dave about 3 weeks ago.  I had vowed that this trip was going to be different for several reasons.  One was that I was going to try to travel as much on U.S. and State Highways. Stay off  the interstates as much as utterly possible.  Second objective was to return to my parents humble beginnings as man and wife and to learn as much as I could about the period that they were there (please see my open letter to Mom and Dad.) The third thing was to meet cousins that until fairly recent, did not know they even existed.  I was able to accomplish everything I wanted - and them some,

When I left San Antonio way back on Sept 7.  I had already out where my first photo-op would be. That did not happen.  It actually ended up about 25 miles earlier.  I was traveling on Hwy 90, west of Del Rio TX and went over a bridge.  I looked - could not stop on the bridge - but went to the other side, turned around to go back.  This was absolutely beautiful.  This is the Pecos River.  Never in a hundred years did I ever expect this in Texas.

Now my education began.  What was to be my first place to stop for pictures (now second) was Langtry TX.  This was the home of Judge Roy Bean.  If you have never heard of Judge Bean I will tell you a little.  He was self imposed judge.  He as actually no more than a Justice of the Peace, but he administered his own brand of justice.  He was hung up on an opera star in New York by the name of Lilly Langtry.  He wrote her often to invite her to the town that he named after her.  He even named his house the Operal House.  Sadly, she did not show up until the Judge had died several months earlier.  This is where my education began.  Langtry was not named after Lilly but after a civil engineer that worked for the railroad.  Towns sprung up along the rail routes that were named after such folk, such as Sanderson, Langtry and Comstock.

Who woulda' thought that out in the middle of no-where would you expect to find a Prada store.  But, low and behold, there it was.  Nothing else around.

This was built several years ago and was meant to be a piece of art.  It is an actual building with the exception that it is not a deep as a regular size store.  It is just a store-front.  The handbags have the bottoms cut out, the shoes are screwed to the shelves.  It has been broken into several times and the would be thieves tried stealing the items.  They were surprised.  This building has now been put on the Texas Museum Registry and now it is up to the state for the upkeep.

The next day, it was off to White Sands National Park in New Mexico.  I have not been there since I was about 7 or 8 years old.  It still amazes me.

 This place has the whitest sand you will find anywhere.  It is said that the sand is still another 30' underground.  It shifts with the wind and what you see today could and will be totally changed tomorrow.  On bright sunny days, sunglasses are required because of the possibility of blindness. That's how bright and white the sand is,

OK - that's enough for today.  I will continue with the Petrified Forest, Painted Desert and Monument Valley next time.

Here I am again on another road trip.  Going back to Durango CO, and just as last year enjoying every last minute.  This year I have taken an entirely different route.

In fact, I am doing something a little unusual for me.  I am going to start off my blog on the second leg of my journey.  My second blog will start with the first part of the trip.  Now that I every one confused, I am going to do something else that may seem a little strange, but hopefully everything will come together.  So here goes.


September 10, 2014


Dear Mom and Dad

I apologize for not writing sooner.  Since I retired, retired I have just been so busy.  In fact, I am busier since I retired than when I was working.

I am on my second road trip to Durango CO.  I went there last year to visit with Karen and her husband Dave.  I think you remember Karen.  She is Uncle Chuck's daughter.  In fact I really did not know she actually existed until last year.  So now we have become very good friends.

In case you forgot what she may have looked like, this is her and Dave taken at the beach in Stuart this past may.

Also, this past year I found cousins I didn't even know I had.  You all may remember Marion, Uncle Chuck's daughter from his second marriage of Decatur AL, her brother Marshall Steele, of Silver City,NM, two of Marion's sons, Sean of Portales NM and Chris of Clovis NM.  Anyway, I'm getting away from everything.

On this trip I decided to come through Silver City.  I have been trying to find some type of employment records when you, Dad, worked the copper mines in Santa Rita.  Nothing to be had. Records were destroyed long ago.  Such a shame.  So much history gone.  But, not all the history is lost, thanks to a gentleman by the name of Terry Humble.  He is an amateur historian of Santa Rita, Bayard and the mining that went on in the area.

If you all came back here today, you all could teach me as much or more that what Terry has taught me.  So with all that being said, I would like to take you all down memory lane.  At least some of I have learned over the last couple of days.

I learned that you all stayed in a hotel, until your house was ready.  Apparently, you lived in that hotel from July/August 1937.  You moved into the house in April 1938 and you were the very first residents.  This hotel was constructed in 1926 and was demolished in 1956.

Your house was on the 3rd street closest to the mine and ball field and the 6th house down the street. It is the first house you can see in the bottom picture, just past the tree.  I know that this is kind of hard to see, but nonetheless, there it is.  After you all moved out, it was occupied by 3 other families. The last family there bought the house from the company and moved it into Silver City in 1956.

This is the house today.  In fact, it is still being occupied by decedents of the family that moved the house.

I found out that there were over 400 houses moved from the mine area to areas all over Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and I think Mexico.   The rest were just destroyed, about 200 homes.  They are affectionately know as the Santa Rita homes.

Here is a picture of the way Santa Rita looked back then.  The homes along the right side was where you all lived, not far from the ball park and to the left was where the hospital was located.  Of course now that area is nothing but an open pit mine.

Again, hard to see because this picture was taken from a picture.  I will have some of this pictures enlarged and send them to Sydney and Jean and maybe they will come out better.  I hope so.

I almost forgot to send you a copy of the "Kneeling Nun"  To those that may be reading this letter I will try to explain a little about the natural rock formation.  This was formed by a volcano (I think) thousands of years ago.  The small column is the nun in a kneeling position and praying to the alter right in front of her.

I have learned over the last couple of days so much so that my brain hurts.  I found out that the mine not only mines copper, but iron ore, gold, silver and some other minerals.  Dad, since you worked the mine, it has been bought and sold many, many times   At one time Standard Oil of Ohio and British Petroleum has owned it.  Found out is more that they bargained for.  They are oil companies and mineral mines experts.

I apologize that I didn't get pictures of Marshall Steele and Terry Humble.  It was on my mind, but with everything going on, my mind was just on overload.

Well, I hope that I have been able to take you down some what of a memory lane.  I know they were some hard times back then.  Mom, especially you because you had just gotten married and this had to be somewhat of a culture shock to you, plus being away from your brothers and sisters and your mother for the first time.  You were such a strong woman.  One that really kept the family together, right up to the end.

I'll close for now, but I promise I will keep in touch more often.  I can tell you all this, and that I think about you all often.

Love Ya

Jack

I would like to take this opportunity to introduce (for some of you, re-introduce) you to Lackland AFB TX. Lackland has that uniqueness about it in that this is the only Air Force Installation that has the Air Force basic training or boot camp.  The other branches of the service have 2 or more installations that conduct their boot camp.

Because of this uniqueness, Lackland is the "Gateway to the Air Force.  Not only is basic training conducted here, the Defense Language Institute is located here, the K-9 training for all branches of the military, Boarder Patrol, Traffic Safety Administration, etc., and other schools for our allied nations military.

I drove around the base looking primarily for a couple of specific things.  The first was the type of barracks I spent my time in.  This is a World War II type of structure that was terribly hot in the summer and I would assume very, very cold in the winter.  No insulation, the boarding around the building had openings that would let the wind come on through and of course no heating or air conditioning.  The picture below is an image of the only WWII barracks left on base.

This is what I lived in, the structures of today are entirely different.  Not only are they well insulated with heating and air conditioning, they are constructed for 2 per room, underground pads for marching drills that can be used in all weather (we were outside).

It was kind of funny when I took this picture.  A training instructor came up to me and asked what I was doing.  I told him that I was going around the base just taking a few pictures.  He said that I was not allowed to take images of dormitories.  I then asked him about the old WWII barracks and he said that was OK.  I asked him about a picture I took of a chapel and he said that was OK also.  Then, knowing that I kind of had the upper hand, I asked him our someone was supposed to know what to take picture of and what I can't.  I said that there is no sign, so the just turned and walked away.

The other thing I was looking for was a static display of a F-101 VooDoo and I'm sorry "Cousin-In-Law" David Feller, I could not find one.  A lot of other aircraft but not the F-101.  Here are a few:

A few years ago BRAC (Base Realignment and Closure) came to San Antonio and it really ending up being a good thing and a little-bitty bad thing.  The bad thing about it all was that one of the landmarks of Lackland and even San Antonio, was that Wilford Hall Medical Center was going to close.  All hospital beds and the Level 1 Trauma Center was going to close and all this was moving to Ft. San Houston.  With the Trauma Center closing, it only left 1 center in San Antonio.

When it was determined that WHMC was closing and the icon was going to be on the destruction block, they are almost done with a new building that will act as different clinics.  WHMC will be comming down in the very near future.  And because of BRAC, the hospital at Ft. Sam Houston more than doubled in size. Their Trauma Center is the best in San Antonio and probably throughout the military.  Also, because of BRAC it was determined that all medical training from all branches in the military will be conducted at Ft. Sam Houston.  Over $1 billion in construction on Ft Sam alone, not just the hospital but to dormitories and other facilities.  Because of all that, the recession did not hit us as hard.

The top picture is of WHC and the bottom is the new clinics.

The name has been changed from BAMC (Brooke Army Medical Center) to SAMMC (San Antonio Medical Military Center).  This is one huge facility and just to see the magnitude of it all, needs to be seen in person.

I hope this works.  I have been experimenting in hope I can publish "Livin' the Dream" and I can only hope it is working.

Today, with my son Tieg and 2 of his children, went to the Ft. Sam Houston Quandrangle.  As some of you know, or even may not no, Ft. Sam Houston, right here in San Antonio is one of, if not the oldest active military installations in the United States.

The Quandrangle built in 1876-77 originally as a supply depot.  In 1917, General Pershing was stationed here as well as General Eisenhower.  Also as a little history of your movie buffs, two scenes from the movie WINGS were filmed in the Quadrangle.  WINGS was the first film to receive the Academy Award for Best Picture.

The tower pictured above was built in the center of the courtyard, is 90 feet tall and was originally used as a watch tower and as a water tank.  The sentries were posted at the 60 level and a clock was installed in 1882 with the faces of the clock changed in 1907.

The Quandrangle, not only was used as a Headquarters, but was the main part of the post.  Inside were the workshops for blacksmith and wheelwrights, stable for the horses and mules.  A Signal Corps shop was added on the north wall along with a telegraph office and supply office in the courtyard.,

Aside from great American heroes being stationed here, the Quandrangle had one more guest in 1886.  And, that was the great Apache war chief Geronimo (Goy-ah-kla.  One Who Yawns). This I didn't know until today, that is his real name and what it meant.

On Sept 1, 1886, after a grueling battle across New Mexico and Arizona, Geronimo surrendered to Gen Mills and was ordered to be sent to Florida as a PoW.  He and 32 other Apaches boarded a train on Sept 8 and headed East, arriving at the Quandrangle on Sept 10.

To make a long story short, Geronimo departed San Antonio on Oct 22, 1886 for Florida. Germino was sent to Ft. Pickens, Florida and the rest of the prisoners , women and children were sent to Ft. Marion, Florida.

After two years at Ft Pickens, Geronimo and his group were transferred to Mt Vernon Barracks, Alabama.  In 1894 they were transferred to Ft. Sill OK with Geronimo dying in 1909.

There was considerable public interest in Geronimo when he was in San Antonio.  Some soldiers took him up in the tower to show him the surrounding countryside.  The bell in the clock struck the hour and, so the story goes, frightened Geronimo such that he jumped out of the tower.  A part of the story is true in as such the he did ascend up the tower, but he was afraid the soldier were going to throw him off the tower so  he did not go out onto the balcony.  Could he have survived a fall from 60 feet and die of natural causes in 1909?  Highly unlikely.  

Presently, in the Quandrangle are offices, it is a tourist destination and located in the courtyard are deer, peacocks, duck, geese and chickens.

The white birds you see here are white peacocks.  I have never seen white peacocks before.

I was sitting in my apartment this morning wondering what I could do today.  What kind of mischief I could get into and what was cheap.  Then it struck me to do something that was meaningful and maybe appropriate.  You see, San Antonio, and more specifically Ft Sam Houston has a very large National Cemetery.

I am somewhat ashamed to say that it has been since the 70's since I have been there.  What is so sad is that so many young soldiers are now there.  So I went over to take a few pictures and thought I would share a few.

What was no nice today was the flag was not flying at half-staff.  That means that no funerals were scheduled for today.  And, I remember as a youngster growing up in So. Illinois and being in the Cub Scouts that every year for Memorial Day we would go to the National Cemetery and place flags at every head stone.  This is still being done by the scouts.  From what I understand. because this cemetery is so large, it took them a couple of days to accomplish this feat.  So my hat is off to the scouting program.

The bells, benches and the above plaque are near the front entrance to the cemetery.  The benches represents Medal of Honor recipients.  These are just three of many.

It has always amazed me just how all headstones are in neat rows and how they all look whether looking straight down, diagonally or left to right.  They are lined up.

These last two pictures are of a husband and wife.  His name and service information is on the front side of the headstone and her's in on the reverse.  For those that don't know, when husband and wife are buried, they are stacked.