The 1945 Hit Parade Magazine! Faded Fort Worth Musical Memories and Some You Might Still Remember

It was a hot Saturday afternoon.  I was out prowling a nice little antique mall just off the main drag in Handley that was just slightly too warm for my comfort. I picked up a postcard folder that I liked and was just about to check out when I found a little gem. At least for music lovers like me.

I was only about 9 years old and really wasn't much interested in pop music when this issue came out, but I still remember seeing these magazines in drug stores and grocery stores and other places. The big old radio at our house was the only music source and I was totally at the mercy of my parents, whose music tastes had matured in granite in the 1920's. My grandmother thought these magazines were scandalous.

 Pop music started rolling after prohibition was repealed, moved into the 1930's and then the 40's with the advent of the big dance bands, the popularity and acceptance of night clubs & dance halls during the great depression and the huge number of radios that were installed.  In addition, motion picture "musicals" like "Meet Me in St. Louis" with singer Judy Garland became very popular and often featured well known live bands.
 

The average music fan was a good deal older than the tiny teeny kids that rule pop music today. Little kids did not go to dances or concerts. Music was not portable and few cars had radios in them. More likely, they were new teenagers just learning to dance and listening to live bands locally.  It was important to know the lyrics to the latest songs. Magazines like this were the source.

The Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra was one of the most popular dance bands on the touring circuit and featured top notch instrumentalists and singers.  Jimmy, the brother of the better known Tommy Dorsey, was a constant performer at the Lake Worth Casino Ballroom and the better nightclubs around Fort Worth.

It seems strange to us now, but it's important to remember that except for the records (78's) that you bought in the store, all music was LIVE until the musicians union boycott was settled in 1948. Some exceptions were made for live performances in movies, but there was no recorded music on radio at all. Therefore, no DJ's. It was always:  "And now, live from the Blackstone Hotel Ballroom" etc., etc. The Lucky Strike Hit Parade was live.

In the 40's the Jitterbug was the dance for those that didn't need to move slowly and it has survived through till today in various forms. The Boogie-Woogie with its strong left hand and beat, was hot and it all got mixed up with jitterbugging.  Linda Darnell, who lived in Dallas was an aspiring singer who eventually made it as an fine actress in Forever Amber, before her life fell apart.

1945 was still in the time when every home needed a piano and lessons were a requirement of an early age. So, sheet music was always a part of every edition of magazines like this. The publishing rights to this epic probably didn't cost them a whole lot.

They had some space at the end song lyrics on this page and so a little pulchritude was pasted in. Or did the picture come before the lyrics?

Not a whole lot of anything really historic here.  But maybe a nice view of how Fort Worth and American music lovers were in 1945..

Granbury: Off-The-Square & Into Some Lost History

The Sunday before Independence day my wanderlust took me down US 377 to Granbury to scout around a little.  As expected,  the town was hopping with the flags flying and the vendors set up all around the classic Hood County courthouse.

Hood County Courthouse Square in Granbury

While it looked like fun, it was blinding hot and I really didn't have much interest although it looked like the city had done its usual classy job of getting things set up and moving..  I had stopped at Witherspoon's Antique shop on the way in and had scored some nice stuff at a good price, so I decided to move on around on the fringes and see if there was anything unusual and/or interesting.

Map of Granbury with Courthouse Square at lower left

The Google map shows the Courthouse at the bottom left.  I turned north on west side of the square on FM 51 and drove up toward the FWWR railroad tracks and the old restored Frisco Depot which is marked on the map at teh top left.

Restored Frisco Depot at Granbury

Granbury was the first major stop on B.B. Paddock's Fort Worth & Rio Grande Railroad in 1887.  By the time this station was built in 1914 to replace an earlier depot, the Frisco railroad owned the FW&RG and later, the Santa Fe came to own the railroad. The depot is owned by the city and has been restored.  I'm always proud of Granbury for doing this, since other towns like Comanche have let historic places like this fall to ruin or be demolished. I took too many pictures of the depot to show here and then headed east on Ellis toward Brazos street.

1904 Granbury Light Plant Historic Site

The 1904 Granbury Light and Power plant is not one of Granbury;s featured historic places, but it has been preserved and conserved and in my opinion has a great deal of Interest as an early 20th century industrial site.  The location is shown at the top right of the map..

I'm a sucker for cut limestone masonry and this is a fine example of rough squared stone construction without any pretense.  Over the years the stone and mortar have developed a patina that almost glows golden when the sun angle is right.

Front exposure of the Granbury Light Plant

The fence was not closed, so I walked inside and caught some close up images.  Above is the front or west exposure shooting from the south corner. Below is a window detail shot..

Masonry & window detail - Front exposure

Front exposure looking from the North corner

South side of the Granbury Plant

The windmill is probably over a well that provided water for the original steam boilers before the later diesel engines were installed. It looks like the stacks have been shortened since the plant is no longer in use.

North side of the plant

Plant interior through a dirty window

A look inside through the windows shows the old power plant frozen in time. Much as it was when the engines and generators stopped working in 1954.  We can hope that maybe sometime in the future tours might be available since it is a genuine modern archaeology site.

Hand laid dry stone wall under construction on Barton Street

 I turned north across the tracks by the old plant and wandered up to Barton Street then turned left toward FM 51.  About halfway down the street I found this man laying up a couple of dry stone walls on either side of his driveway. He gave me permission to use the picture because he said it will prove to his wife he was really working!

Several blocks west of the square

Time and light were running out, but I decided to head over to the historic area west of the courthouse.  I found this couple out working on their yard in the high heat and obviously enjoying themselves. They were kind enough to let me take the picture.

Beautiful home all decked out for the 4th

 Granbury is a city of many beautiful homes.  I couldn't resist including this one..

Brazos Motel

 On the way out of town I finally took the time to get a picture that I have wanted for years. This forlorn sign stands next to a dilapidated old green building that is all that is left of the earlier tourist hospitality business before things went big-time in little Granbury.  Right next to it on the lake is a monster development and I'm sure that this little landmark will quietly disappear in the near future. 

In spite of its growth and all the kitsch, Granbury is a town that understands about history.  It retains a charm and works hard to keep things from spilling over into the gaudy.  It's a good place..  

1953 ~ Let's Go SCCA Racin' With Carroll Shelby In Fort Worth!

Many years ago I picked up the brochure below somewhere that I now can't remember.  I've always been a sports car fan and have owned but not raced a few back in the day.  NASCAR was in its infancy. The amateur Sports Car Club of America races generated a lot of interest and there were many owner-drivers. The SCCA was a training ground for many drivers who later became famous in Formula 1, Indy and others as well as NASCAR. 

Front Cover ~ Click to enlarge

The brochure was in a batch of other stuff, but I really liked the cover and the legendary Jaguar XK 120's on the back cover were always a favorite of mine. They were the hot ticket in both the racing and street sports car wold of the early 1950's.  This race took place when I was about a junior in high school and a long way from Fort Worth. And of course, I knew nothing about it at the time.  

Back Cover ~ Click to englarge

I have read auto magazines of all kinds all my life and was a charter subscriber to Car & Driver.  I followed the drivers, especially those that drove the sports cars and open wheel machines with a lot of interest. When I got this brochure, I flipped it open for a minute to the list of cars and drivers, but really didn't pay much attention to it since I was involved in making the purchase and toting everything off.  I got it home and scanned and really kind of forgot about it. 

Inside pages: Entry list of cars & drivers  ~ Click to enlarge

One day I read somewhere that Carroll Shelby had started racing in the SCCA in the early 1950's before his salad days in racing in the late 1950's and 1960's and long before the Cobra and the Shelby Mustang.  In 1953 Shelby would have been in his second year of SCCA competition. So I dug out this brochure and scanned the entry list. Bingo! Entry #11..

Carroll Shelby Driving ~ Click to enlarge

And look what he's driving!  A honkin' big 1952 J2X Cadillac-Allard road racer....  Be still, my heart..

1952 Cad-Allard Driven By Carroll Shelby ~ Click to enlarge

As many of you know, this car was a hybrid of the superb British Allard sports car and a 5+ liter Cadillac V8 wedged into the engine room. Sydney Allard made this chassis especially for large American engines including the Fords and Chrysler as well as the Cadillacs. The independent rear suspension was rare for its time. 

Here's another view of an Allard J2X

I have no idea whether Shelby and this car won on that day in 1953. But in the 1990's as I was attending one of the last SCCA races at the old Marine airbase which was by then part of the Kenneth Copeland complex, I thought about all the great old cars and the tough guys that raced on that bumpy runway many years ago.

All images from The Electric Books Collection  

Ghost Towns on the Brazos ~ Shades of Forgotten Oil Towns and an Old Grist Mill

This post was originally written several days ago.  Since then, the fires that have raged in the PK area south of Graham have ravaged much of the entire area.  As far as I can find out, neither South Bend or Eliasville which both lie on the south bank of the Clear Fork of the Brazos were engulfed.

Some time ago I picked up a bad postcard of Stovall's Hot Well.  It had been over 20 years since I had been out in that area just south of Graham. So, early in April, I took a Sunday morning scout to see if there was anything left of the old place. The weather was pretty good and it was just at the time that the mesquite was leafing out in sharp contrast to the cedar and hardwoods. I went out through Mineral Wells and Caddo and then slanted back on SH67 up to South Bend.  

Trip map ~Click to enlarge map

South Bend is located on a big bend of the Clear Fork of the Brazos river upstream from Possum Kingdom lake. The Clear Fork is pure hell when it floods, but today it was beautiful and placid. This is the river that John Graves paddled down before he wrote the Texas classic Goodbye to a River in 1959. The area south of Graham down to South Bend was locally known as Tonk Valley, since the land was once part of a short-lived Indian reservation where some of the Tonkawa tribes were placed. 

1925 Young County GLO Oil Map ~ South Bend-Eliasville-Reservation

In the early 1920's South Bend was a roaring boom town, filled with activity. The antique map above shows the scope. Oil wells were coming in, found in multiple sands from 1350 to 4250 feet. Some of them were big gushers. It had its own water system, post office, schools, hotels, gambling hells, churches and even a couple of plants to produce casing head gasoline.  

Now, South Bend is just a sad collection of dilapidated or abandoned little buildings that fully justify its ghost town image.

Click to enlarge image

There are still a few buildings more or less intact in South Bend including one restored as a home as well as a small group of mobile homes around the crossroads..

Abandoned Motel at SH67 & FM701~Click to enlarge image

The oil play in the area from Graham down to Breckenridge was so great that the Kell properties built the Wichita Falls and Southern railroad from Graham to South Bend, Eliasville and south to a junction point just north of Breckenridge to meet the demand. The railroad has been gone for over 50 years but remnants remain.

Piers & massive stone abutments for South Bend Main Street Overpass

Not only did South Bend have an oil boom going, but in 1921 one of the deep wells on the Stovall property just across the Brazos river started pushing up hot mineral water!  Instantly "miracle" cures for almost anything that ailed a person were apparently happening after extended immersion in the healing goop. A little resort developed out on the flats northwest of South Bend.

Click to enlarge image

The Hot Well stayed in business until sometime in the 1990's until a fire took most of it out.  I drove out Hot Wells Road to look, but couldn't find anything much.  South Bend and the Hot Well may be gone, but today, the big and little pump jacks are still turning out that $100+ per barrel oil.

The day was still early and the light was good so I decided to run down FM701 toward Eliasville about 10 miles away.  I don't believe that I have ever traveled this road before.  Staying on the south side to start, it more or less follows the Brazos down and the old Wichita Falls & Southern right-of-way meanders along there as well.  At the first crossing of the Clear Fork several miles from South Bend there are some old road bridge piers that remain in place. 

Bridge Piers~ Click to enlarge image

The road is scenic. It winds a little and you catch some neat glimpses of the river as we head west and a little south. There is less cedar and mesquite along this way.

Steel Truss Bridge ~ Click Image to englarge

About 5 east of Eliasville, FM701 crosses back to the south side of the Clear Fork.  Just to the north of the highway bridge is a fine old steel truss road bridge still in place without any decking. 

At this point the road is pretty level but as we get further along the terrain starts getting more broken.  We're just about at Eliasville.

1920 Ad From the FW Star-Telegram ~ Click to enlarge image

Eliasville was a sleepy little mill and cotton town dating from 1874 until the oil boom hit right after World War I. Then, everything changed. Oil brought money. Money brought developers with big dreams. The promise of the railroad coming in 1921 fueled the fire even more.  Lots were sold, good brick and stone buildings were built. Houses erected. Things looked good. 

As you come into Eliasville from the east, signs start warning us of steep grades. Just before the road drops off, a gravel road leads to the left toward some substantial buildings on the bluff. On this Sunday morning, two old churches of good proportion stood facing each other, along with modest old parsonages and what must be the ruins of the old stone school. There were too many folks getting out of church just then so I didn't get any pictures.

Eliasville Business District ~ Click to enlarge image

After a corkscrew drop down the steep bluff I came to the crossroads of FM1974 and the Breckenridge road, FM701 south. This building which looks abandoned, which was probably once a bank and perhaps the now-gone post office and the home of other businesses, is the sole remainder of what once was a thriving little city.  There once was a nice square, but it is now overgrown.  Eliasville had a tendency to catch fire a lot and when the oil business faded, so did the town with little of it ever rebuilt. 

Grist mill shell and dam ~ Click to enlarge image

I headed west for a little ways past the old building and crossed over the Brazos again on a high bridge. I glanced to the south and was surprised to see this old mill and dam, with a number of people enjoying the grounds. I was totally unaware of its existence for some reason.  There is a huge amount of history here that I don't have space to go into. However, discovering it really made my day.

At that point I headed south down FM701 toward Breckenridge and then back on US 180 toward Fort Worth.  A day well spent..

Note:  Thanks to railroad historian Steve Goen for some corrections to several items related to the Wichita Falls & Southern railroad bridges.  The old oil map above does show that the railroad stayed south of the Brazos between South Bend and Eliasville. 

All maps and images from the Electric Books Collection

On Books: Comanche Sundown, The Undertakers Wife & Other Recent Reading

It's been a while since I posted on books. Here's some of the better stuff:

Comanche Sundown by Jan Reid:  Last year when I was reading the non-fiction  Empire of the Summer Moon by S.C. Gwynne, several people suggested that I read this book. In March of this year it was given to me as a birthday present. I was a little pessimistic about the premise of yet another fictional book on the Comanches and Quanah Parker. After all, the Quanah tale has been done to death.  I'm happy to say that this is a great book.

Reid manages to intertwine Quanah Parker, Bose Ikard, Charley Goodnight and all the other improbable characters and suspects of the period into a fabulous tale that leaves you wondering if all this might not have happened after all. Well it didn't. However, I've heard from people that were not very well read on the subject that they just accepted it as the real truth and were surprised to learn it wasn't. When you can put together a story that well, then it's something really worth reading. But keep grounded. Remember, it didn't happen.. 

The Undertaker's Wife by Loren B. Estleman:  This is another birthday book that really hit the mark. I have been reading Estleman since the 1970's and have enjoyed almost everything he does. In spite of being categorized as a writer of crime and western novels, he has a very wide range and has quietly racked up some impressive awards for his writing. Some time ago I posted on The Branch & the Scaffold which was his fictional take on the days of Isaac C. Parker, the "hanging Judge" of Fort Smith, AR. The Undertaker's Wife also has a western theme of sorts but it is more about the struggle of maintaining a marriage under tough conditions. There is also a good back story line with a little mystery to it. I suspect that almost everyone will like this book, as I did..

Fever Dream by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child:  I am a voracious reader and it hurts to wait for books I know will be good to come out in paperback so I can afford them. This is one of the best by Preston & Child in a long series that goes back years. It's kind of a prequel and yet stands all on its own.  Preston & Child separately write fine books, but I believe they do even better when they write together. A very good thriller with a touch of Cajun Gothic.   If you haven't gotten into their books, give them a try..

Dead Watch by John Sandford:  Another one of my favorite thriller writers introducing a new character in his cast.  One that specializes in forensic bureaucracy, if you will. Sandford writes in a relaxed, intelligent way with some real humor, developing good characters with stories that hang together. Always a good read and when you're done, you will probably want to pick up another of Sandford's books. 

Lost Fort Worth Musical Treasures Found in a Heap On The Floor

Several weeks ago I was scrounging around in one of the local antique malls and came across a couple of old pieces of sheet music that have lots of Fort Worth history attached to them.  They were in a bin on the floor.

Click to enlarge image

Many of you will recognize Fort Worth's famous Euday L. Bowman as the composer of this piece.  Bowman was born in Fort Worth in 1877 and lived here much of his life in the city with his sister Mary Bowman. His most famous composition was the Twelfth Street Rag which was written in 1914 and became very popular with recorded versions by many bands, but it didn't became a big popular hit until after World War II.

Euday Bowman was also a fine musician as well as a composer. He played by invitation in many Fort Worth venues as well as other places including Kansas City. It was there that he wrote several other compositions named after Kansas City streets as well as this piece, named for the city itself. Bowman also wrote the Fort Worth Blues, Shamrock Rag and many others which were popular with the dance and recording bands of the period. 

The Kansas City Blues was written between 1914 and 1917. This particular copy may have come from as early as this period or a little later.  The cover design and color is striking although the sheet itself is very fragile and tattered.  The music itself is intact. Unfortunately, Euday Bowman sold his copyrights very early on to his publisher for only $100 and did not benefit much from the popularity of his works. At the time of his death in 1949 he was working to regain his intellectual property rights. He is buried in Oakwood Cemetery in North Fort Worth. 

Click to enlarge image

This is an arrangement of the Yellow Rose of Texas which was originally composed in 1858 and which was apparently specially revised for use during the Texas Centennial in 1935 by Mary Daggett Lake and William J. Marsh. Mary Daggett Lake (1881-1955) is a famous name in Texas history as a descendant of one of the original Fort Worth families and a city activist and historian as well as the composer of several published Texas-themed songs. William J. Marsh (1880-1971) was an equally well known musician and composer who co-authored Texas Our Texas, which became the official Texas state song in 1924.

Printed in red at the bottom of the cover sheet is "Especially Featured by PAUL WHITEMAN AND THE KINGS MEN at the Fort Worth Frontier Centennial, 1936".  On the second page is a copyright notice for Lake and March dated 1936. 

This piece of music is in such good shape that I can't tell whether it is a later facsimile or original.  In any case, it's interesting and Centennial related. Once in a while, it pays to paw through the piles of stuff in antique shops and malls. Doesn't happen often, but it is fun to find old stuff like this..