Ranch has always had our own personal delivery guy who is very special to us . First it was Jerry , now it is Manny , who took over from Jerry 15 years ago . But Jerry delivered to here before Terlingua Ranch Road was even paved . He delivered our first solar panels to us down 18 miles of rough dirt road without breaking any . Surely he ’ s an important part of Terlingua Ranch history ?
As with Lucille , it was unsettling to me to realize that probably the majority of people in the area don ’ t have Jerry in their memory bank . Brad and Marilynn are attentive to people , and as involved and caring as anyone I know about others here on the ranch and in the community . If they don ’ t know of these characters , it ’ s unlikely anyone does .
I ran this by a few of my other friends , asking about Lucille and Jerry . As I registered their blank looks , I realized that they are all friends from only the past 15 years . My 35 years here put me in touch with more links to the past .
Last spring , I had a long conversation with Beechie , our local car mechanic and tow service . Beechie moved here about the same time I did and so he and I had a great time talking about things no one else seems to remember , like when Al and Alan were hauling water up my hill and their truck fell off the side of the cliff . And about the African American man with the cane who used to hang out at the mailboxes , not always fully clothed . It felt great to be pulling from the same memory bank . But Beechie died this past autumn . Who else would remember these stories ?
Lucille Muchmore at her home , circa 1995 .
pile to be passed over for now , maybe looked at again later . I didn ’ t know what to say .
We moved on and continued through more papers , some dealing with the history of hunting on the ranch . There used to be “ hunt sections ” where any property owner could hunt , but those had expired and been sold off years ago , although hunting was perhaps the main reason Terlingua Ranch came into existence .
Then I came to another newspaper article and photo . “ Jerry McComb !” I exclaimed as I turned the article and photo towards Marilynn and Brad . They both looked at me blankly . “ Our old UPS driver ,” I said louder , as though that might jar their memory . They both shook their heads . “ Jerry was our UPS driver for 30 years here on the ranch . He ’ s written up in books because he had the biggest territory in the U . S . How could you not know this man ?”
UPS delivery is hugely important around here , and Terlingua
Charlie and I played old country music at the Terlingua Ranch restaurant every Friday and Saturday night for over 10 years with Cooter . Cooter died about five years ago , but a photo of the three of us has sat on the fireplace mantle in the restaurant ever since . Recently I noticed it was gone , and it saddened me that Cooter was likely also fading into the fog of time .
I ’ m leaving Brad and Marilynn to decide what to preserve of this Terlingua Ranch history and how to do it . I ’ m back to culling through my vats . I figure that eventually I ’ ll also fade out and it will fall to my nieces and nephews to sort through all my stuff . I ’ m trying to make the task easier for them . And who knows what else I ’ ll find .
Meanwhile , Brad and Marilynn just had a little get-together , which included a few people they each work with and a few they know from playing dominoes at the ranch . They introduced me to Amy Law , who was postmaster in Big Bend National Park for a number of years , and it was ironic and almost funny to hear Marilynn say to me , “ How could you not know her ?” Perhaps I need to catch up with current history . History has to begin somewhere . �
Cenizo Spring 202321