Blog Archives
Plywood, weeds, and peeling paint
Here’s another shot of the endangered train depot in Snyder.
Had this been an old book, rather than an old building, that peeled part would be called foxing*. I don’t know what it’s properly called on a building.
Snyder, Texas
photographed 7.10.2013
*A condition issue affecting old books, prints and ephemera consisting of brown spotting caused by exposure to excessive humidity, extreme temperatures and/or the aging of inks originally used in processing
The depot was boarded up, and the train didn’t stop
A couple of years ago, Preservation Texas named this train depot as one of the 100 most endangered buildings in the state. There was a flurry of interest which appears to have died down.
As I took this photo, the north-bound train hurried past.
Snyder, Texas
photographed 7.29.2013
Roadside desolation
It was a desolate little building, that’s true.
But I actually liked it. I liked it a lot. See how the metal’s not even – one side is higher than the other? And the top of the tall part is all patched, like the first go-round wasn’t quite tall enough? And the stonework on the columns? And those other columns made from weathered wooden posts? And look at how the green moss on the highest sections of the metal roof are the same green as the new spring weeds?
Inside was just as good.
After I walked around (and looked around back, too), I stood on the porch and watched the traffic go by. It felt right.
near Lake Travis, Texas
photographed 3.9.2013
My friend Laurie recently gave up email, the internet, her blog – the whole thing. She says she likes it that way. Me? Not so much. I will return to internet-land on July 7; any comments on the blog will wait patiently until then. (At least, that’s what I asked them to do.)
Goal Post
I don’t think you have to even be a football fan to realize that maybe it’s been a season or two since teams took to this field.
(now defunct) Wellman Union School
Terry County, Texas
photographed 7.4.2012
The Dairy Queen
I went to college in a town that was an eight hour drive from home (In a Pinto. In a Pinto without an air conditioner. But that’s another topic). A drive that long required several restroom breaks, and small town Dairy Queens were the preferred place to stop. We’d skip the one in Post, as it was only 45 minutes away, but Sweetwater, Abilene, Eastland, Dublin, Hico, Meridian, Waco, Hearne, all the way to College Station – we knew ’em all. Of course, protocol demanded (Yes! Demanded. Protocol doesn’t “suggest.”) that we make a purchase when we stopped. So we’d get a Coke (in the vernacular, “Coke” referenced any carbonated beverage), thus ensuring yet another stop at another Dairy Queen somewhere further down the road.
But they weren’t there just for travelers. Dairy Queens were popular with residents in those little towns we drove through. The Rotary Club might meet there, or the Lions. Most teenagers worked there, and all of them hung out there. Families went there after church, or before a football game. The DQs would be decorated in the school colors, with mascot names painted on the windows. They were so much a part of town it was hard to imagine that someday they’d disappear.
Here’s an article from The Atlantic that’s got some photographs of Texas Dairy Queens.
This one, though, has gone away. It won’t return. You can tell by looking.
Earth, Texas
photographed 5.24.2013
