continued from page 21
such heavy steel, and all in A1
order too. Good road and
first-class service make travel-
ing a pleasure.”
Early next morning when
Grandpa Foxy walked in on
his friends at breakfast he was
greeted with a cry of delight
from the fair young bride as
she jumped up and ran to kiss
him.
“Foxy Grandpa, you dear
old thing; this place is just per-
fectly lovely, we were looking
at it from the gallery just now.
But sit down and join us, and
do tell me where they get such
nice steak, so juicy and ten-
der.”
“Why it grows right ‘round
here on these hills, Polly.”
“Oh, I mean where can I
get meat like it, for I am to be
a housekeeper, you know,”
looking at Charley with the
sweetest little blush.
“I see,” said Foxy
Grandpa. “You can get it
from Measday, child; he is the
butcher. I don’t know how he
does it but he always has good
meat. He knows what to buy
and how to kill and cut his
meat, and all you have to do is
to phone him what you want
and in 15 minutes you will get
just what you ordered, cut just
as you asked for it. But you
must go round to his shop and
see for yourself how clean it is
– no smell, no flies, the meat
cool and firm. But if he has
any barbecue meat cooking
I’ll bet if you get a “whiff” of it
you won’t leave without buy-
ing some, for he gets a flavor
on it somehow that beats the
band. Barbecue meat saves
cooking too this hot weather,
and that means saving the
roses on your cheeks little
housekeeper, so” – turning to
Charley – “don’t you forget
Measday Bros. when you get
your
cook-stove
going
Charley.
“Well, we’ve got a busy
day before us, so I’ll call up
Cas Edwards at the Alpine
Auto Company and have him
bring his car around for the
day.”
“Why, do you have auto-
mobiles out here too,
Grandpa?”
“Yes, indeed, and you can
hardly get along without one.
The distances are so great in
this big country that it is too
far to drive a team, there is
only one passenger train each
way, so that you can’t well get
about or do much business
without an auto. You had bet-
ter see Flow & Edwards,
Charley, proprietors of the
Alpine Auto Company and
talk with them about it. They
have some nice Buicks on
hand and they think it is the
best machine for this country.
It is simple, strong, always
under control – a child can
run one. They carry also a full
line of parts and repair mate-
rial and have an expert at
their garage who, if you have
trouble with your car, can
find it and fix it. Here’s the
car and we’ll have to hustle
for we have lots to buy.”
“Well, let’s buy lots first,”
chimed in Charley without
turning a hair.
“It’s a go,” said Foxy
Grandpa, “and we’ll go right
now and see Mr. A.
McCallum. Mac has been
here a long time; he knows
everybody and everybody
knows him, and you can rely
absolutely on anything he tells
you. He knows every foot of
land around here. He was
here when it never rained and
he was here when it poured a
flood and he knows what this
country can do. He has a lot
of property on his list over
town, some business lots,
some in the old town, some in
the recent additions and then
he has ten-acre lots just west
of town, of the richest kind of
orchard and truck land, and
not very deep to water.
“Then when you have
bought your land Mac will sell
you trees to plant on it. And
when you have built your
house he will sell you fire
wood to keep it warm or to
cook with – good sound
mesquite that he ships in by
the carload to his wood yard.
He sells it cheap and will send
a man along to cut it up for
you any size you want it. Now
you run along and talk to
McCallum, pick out your lot
and in the mean time Polly
and I will go shopping. We
will meet you at the Garnett
Hotel for dinner.” {End of
copy.}
A new beginning for a
newlywed couple, now long
gone. A century later, give or
take, Alpine is a bustling com-
munity with electricity (most
days) and things never imag-
ined a century ago. Most peo-
ple have automobiles. There
are telephones that double as
computers and fit in people’s
pockets.
Entertainment
comes in hundreds of forms.
The Garnett Hotel burned
down years ago, a second,
bigger Holland hotel was
built, and remodeled twice,
and motels line the highway
on both ends of town.
Murphy Street fell into
decline and is coming back,
growing business anew.
What would Charley and
Polly think if they knew that
future plans today would
include a large truck that
cooked food or that labeling
food as “healthy” would make
it something special? Would
they be able to imagine out-
door movies when motion
pictures hadn’t been invented
yet? These are pieces of the
vision for Murphy Street that
is on the upswing once more,
reinvigorated with love from
local residents.
Although Charley and
Polly are long gone (their exis-
tence perhaps questionable to
begin with), some patterns
remain as history is like a
snake curling around on itself.
One still needs a car to tra-
verse the vast land; floods and
droughts still take turns being
the king; the Rio Grande is
still breathtaking; and new
beginnings come to stay for
only a little while and then
they go.
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FM 170
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rentals & shuttles
desertsportstx.com
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Christina’s World
Folk Art • Jewelry from Around the World
Local Artisans • Fossils
Large Day of the Dead Collection
“Beauty is Critical”
The Boardwalk, Lajitas
Open daily 9:30 am to 5:30 pm
Needleworks, Etc.
Ladies Fine Clothing
Peggy Walker, Owner
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And other speciality brands
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First Quarter 2016
25