Traces of Texas
@tracesoftexas.bsky.social
Purveyor of Texas history and culture. Cowboy boots junkie and advocate of all things Lone Star. 100% organic, free-range Texas content. A politics-free feed. DON'T get political! Buy me a coffee? Click here: https://buymeacoffee.com/tracesoftexas
Black Pumas version of the classic Wichita Lineman is pretty dang good!
youtu.be/lSUhCxSNXo0?...
Another super Texas band!
youtu.be/lSUhCxSNXo0?...
Another super Texas band!
Black Pumas - Wichita Lineman (Amazon Original)
YouTube video by Black Pumas
youtu.be
December 7, 2025 at 3:39 AM
Black Pumas version of the classic Wichita Lineman is pretty dang good!
youtu.be/lSUhCxSNXo0?...
Another super Texas band!
youtu.be/lSUhCxSNXo0?...
Another super Texas band!
Traces of Texas reader Gloria Martinez kindly shared this photo of her cousin, Matt Martinez, founder of Matt's El Rancho in Austin. The iconic restaurant will be 75 years old in two years. I was just hankerin' for some Bob Armstrong dip!
Thank you, Gloria. Super duper!
Thank you, Gloria. Super duper!
December 7, 2025 at 2:11 AM
Traces of Texas reader Gloria Martinez kindly shared this photo of her cousin, Matt Martinez, founder of Matt's El Rancho in Austin. The iconic restaurant will be 75 years old in two years. I was just hankerin' for some Bob Armstrong dip!
Thank you, Gloria. Super duper!
Thank you, Gloria. Super duper!
Costumed young men and women in Gatesville, Texas circa 1895. The clothing is very elaborate. What do y'all reckon the occasion was? A homecoming queen and her court? A play? Glorious shot!
One of many great photos Traces of Texas reader Mary Newton Maxwell donated to the Portal to Texas History.
One of many great photos Traces of Texas reader Mary Newton Maxwell donated to the Portal to Texas History.
December 7, 2025 at 12:30 AM
Costumed young men and women in Gatesville, Texas circa 1895. The clothing is very elaborate. What do y'all reckon the occasion was? A homecoming queen and her court? A play? Glorious shot!
One of many great photos Traces of Texas reader Mary Newton Maxwell donated to the Portal to Texas History.
One of many great photos Traces of Texas reader Mary Newton Maxwell donated to the Portal to Texas History.
Two men talking at the railroad tracks in Rayondville, Texas. My impression is that the man on the left is a laborer and the man on the right needs labor of some kind. Russell Lee took other photos of this scene and it's pretty apparent that it was a gathering site for day laborers.
December 6, 2025 at 11:00 PM
Two men talking at the railroad tracks in Rayondville, Texas. My impression is that the man on the left is a laborer and the man on the right needs labor of some kind. Russell Lee took other photos of this scene and it's pretty apparent that it was a gathering site for day laborers.
Two sisters (I presume) in Canadian, Texas circa 1915-1920. I think they might be redheads. They appear to be having a good time, don't they? It's so nice to see smiles from back then. I love the way the one sister is trying to look coy in the photo on the right. Another great shot from Julius Born.
December 6, 2025 at 9:30 PM
Two sisters (I presume) in Canadian, Texas circa 1915-1920. I think they might be redheads. They appear to be having a good time, don't they? It's so nice to see smiles from back then. I love the way the one sister is trying to look coy in the photo on the right. Another great shot from Julius Born.
Texas Tech is going to win the national championship in football, aren't they? Guns up!
December 6, 2025 at 8:30 PM
Texas Tech is going to win the national championship in football, aren't they? Guns up!
The Texas Quote of the Day: "Calves are just heavy puppies."
---- one old farmer reacts to another old farmer telling him that his newborn calf is a happy, affectionate calf, as overheard at Steglich Feed & Farm Supply in Bartlett, Texas. I like it. I've known a few that meet that description.
---- one old farmer reacts to another old farmer telling him that his newborn calf is a happy, affectionate calf, as overheard at Steglich Feed & Farm Supply in Bartlett, Texas. I like it. I've known a few that meet that description.
December 6, 2025 at 6:33 PM
The Texas Quote of the Day: "Calves are just heavy puppies."
---- one old farmer reacts to another old farmer telling him that his newborn calf is a happy, affectionate calf, as overheard at Steglich Feed & Farm Supply in Bartlett, Texas. I like it. I've known a few that meet that description.
---- one old farmer reacts to another old farmer telling him that his newborn calf is a happy, affectionate calf, as overheard at Steglich Feed & Farm Supply in Bartlett, Texas. I like it. I've known a few that meet that description.
Santa Fe’s train No. 67, northbound, leaving Dallas enroute to Paris, Texas, in 1952. The trip, which is about 111 miles, took a little less than four hours to make. Such cool trains back then. I'd love to ride in a train that looks like this one.
December 6, 2025 at 3:30 PM
Santa Fe’s train No. 67, northbound, leaving Dallas enroute to Paris, Texas, in 1952. The trip, which is about 111 miles, took a little less than four hours to make. Such cool trains back then. I'd love to ride in a train that looks like this one.
If folks ask about high school football in Texas, just show them this video of the Henrietta football team's sendoff for its playoff game about a week ago. Henrietta is a town of about 3,000 in North Texas, 18 miles southeast of Wichita Falls.
youtube.com/shorts/IGCzC...
It's different here.
youtube.com/shorts/IGCzC...
It's different here.
Henrietta, Texas football team gets another big sendoff
The horses were back for the Henrietta, Texas football team.
youtube.com
December 6, 2025 at 2:00 PM
If folks ask about high school football in Texas, just show them this video of the Henrietta football team's sendoff for its playoff game about a week ago. Henrietta is a town of about 3,000 in North Texas, 18 miles southeast of Wichita Falls.
youtube.com/shorts/IGCzC...
It's different here.
youtube.com/shorts/IGCzC...
It's different here.
An arial view of the capitol 1950. Austin looks like a sleepy, pastoral, bucolic burg, doesn't it? Hardly any traffic! Little did folks sitting out on their porches drinking lemonade or ice tea on a drowsy Sunday afternoon suspect what a metropolis it would become. From the Austin History Center.
December 6, 2025 at 12:30 PM
An arial view of the capitol 1950. Austin looks like a sleepy, pastoral, bucolic burg, doesn't it? Hardly any traffic! Little did folks sitting out on their porches drinking lemonade or ice tea on a drowsy Sunday afternoon suspect what a metropolis it would become. From the Austin History Center.
A child feeds with a wagon feeds his/her chickens somewhere in Texas. This photo is undated but it's a cabinet card so probably early 1900s and most likely in Dallas, since that's where the collection from which it comes is a Dallas collection. Courtesy SMU's Degolyer Library.
December 6, 2025 at 11:00 AM
A child feeds with a wagon feeds his/her chickens somewhere in Texas. This photo is undated but it's a cabinet card so probably early 1900s and most likely in Dallas, since that's where the collection from which it comes is a Dallas collection. Courtesy SMU's Degolyer Library.
The portraits that Julius Born was able to take in the makeshift studio in the back of his store in Canadian, Texas, are art. This photo of a cowboy was taken by Julius circa 1915. I say he's a cowboy but he might just be a drugstore cowboy, Simple but stunning. From the Portal to Texas History.
December 6, 2025 at 9:30 AM
The portraits that Julius Born was able to take in the makeshift studio in the back of his store in Canadian, Texas, are art. This photo of a cowboy was taken by Julius circa 1915. I say he's a cowboy but he might just be a drugstore cowboy, Simple but stunning. From the Portal to Texas History.
A Comanche woman with son in a cradleboard, sometime between 1907-1930. The cradleboard is a pretty neat piece of engineering, keeping a baby safe, upright, and secure while the mother went about the business of daily life—traveling, gathering food, tending horses. Taken by Edward S. Curtis.
December 6, 2025 at 8:00 AM
A Comanche woman with son in a cradleboard, sometime between 1907-1930. The cradleboard is a pretty neat piece of engineering, keeping a baby safe, upright, and secure while the mother went about the business of daily life—traveling, gathering food, tending horses. Taken by Edward S. Curtis.
A bartender at a classy joint in Fort Worth circa 1936. He looks like a man who would pour you an honest drink. I hope y'all are having a good Friday night!
Taken by noted Fort Worth photographer Byrd Williams III.
Taken by noted Fort Worth photographer Byrd Williams III.
December 6, 2025 at 2:15 AM
A bartender at a classy joint in Fort Worth circa 1936. He looks like a man who would pour you an honest drink. I hope y'all are having a good Friday night!
Taken by noted Fort Worth photographer Byrd Williams III.
Taken by noted Fort Worth photographer Byrd Williams III.
Traces of Texas reader Mitchell Hunt was nice enough to share this lovely portrait of his grandmother, Mary Walker, in Jacksonville. It was taken 100 years ago, in 1913. Mitchell didn't say it but it looks like the other girl might be Mary's sister. Twins, perhaps?
Thank you, Mitchell! Lovely!
Thank you, Mitchell! Lovely!
December 6, 2025 at 12:02 AM
Traces of Texas reader Mitchell Hunt was nice enough to share this lovely portrait of his grandmother, Mary Walker, in Jacksonville. It was taken 100 years ago, in 1913. Mitchell didn't say it but it looks like the other girl might be Mary's sister. Twins, perhaps?
Thank you, Mitchell! Lovely!
Thank you, Mitchell! Lovely!
"Remember the Alamo" was not just a wise piece of advice when this photo was taken circa 1905 and at San Jacinto in 1836 but for those of us living today.
December 5, 2025 at 10:50 PM
"Remember the Alamo" was not just a wise piece of advice when this photo was taken circa 1905 and at San Jacinto in 1836 but for those of us living today.
Here's one of the coolest photos I've posted: a worker on a staircase leading to the Cape Igvak, a ship under construction in Beaumont's Pennsylvania Shipyards, 1943. Named for Cape Igvak in Alaska, the ship was a C1-A cargo ship and destined for the Pacific. Taken by John Vachon. A super photo.
December 5, 2025 at 9:28 PM
Here's one of the coolest photos I've posted: a worker on a staircase leading to the Cape Igvak, a ship under construction in Beaumont's Pennsylvania Shipyards, 1943. Named for Cape Igvak in Alaska, the ship was a C1-A cargo ship and destined for the Pacific. Taken by John Vachon. A super photo.
Where were you in October, 1963 when Sunny Ozuna brought the San Antonio sound to the world, reaching #12 on the Billboard chart with this gem?
youtu.be/ZWiuYzbyWx0?...
It just SOUNDS like 1963.
youtu.be/ZWiuYzbyWx0?...
It just SOUNDS like 1963.
Talk to Me
YouTube video by Sunny and the Sunliners - Topic
youtu.be
December 5, 2025 at 3:48 AM
Where were you in October, 1963 when Sunny Ozuna brought the San Antonio sound to the world, reaching #12 on the Billboard chart with this gem?
youtu.be/ZWiuYzbyWx0?...
It just SOUNDS like 1963.
youtu.be/ZWiuYzbyWx0?...
It just SOUNDS like 1963.
My friend Tony Drewry kindly shared this shot that he took of Butch Hancock as Butch played his harmonica at the Tolbert Chili Cookoff in Terlingua last month. Butch, perhaps the greatest Texas songwriter of them all, was onstage and Tony at the back of the crowd with a 400mm lens. So evocative!
December 5, 2025 at 2:03 AM
My friend Tony Drewry kindly shared this shot that he took of Butch Hancock as Butch played his harmonica at the Tolbert Chili Cookoff in Terlingua last month. Butch, perhaps the greatest Texas songwriter of them all, was onstage and Tony at the back of the crowd with a 400mm lens. So evocative!
The El Paso White Sox baseball team circa 1915-1920. Such a glorious shot. I think my favorite is the kid (bat boy, perhaps?) sitting up front, staring a hole through the photographer. He appears to be pretty serious about the whole affair. He was probably a great bat boy!
December 4, 2025 at 1:15 AM
The El Paso White Sox baseball team circa 1915-1920. Such a glorious shot. I think my favorite is the kid (bat boy, perhaps?) sitting up front, staring a hole through the photographer. He appears to be pretty serious about the whole affair. He was probably a great bat boy!
Polish American Paul Minka, his wife, and their daughters outside their home in Panna Maria, Texas circa 1900. Panna Maria, the first significant Polish colony in the U.S., got it start 171 years ago today when 100 Polish families arrived in Galveston. They then walked 134 miles to their new home.
December 3, 2025 at 5:30 PM
Polish American Paul Minka, his wife, and their daughters outside their home in Panna Maria, Texas circa 1900. Panna Maria, the first significant Polish colony in the U.S., got it start 171 years ago today when 100 Polish families arrived in Galveston. They then walked 134 miles to their new home.
Photos of Washington Fire Company No. 1 at 605 Brazos St in downtown Austin, undated. Austin’s early fire protection was a patchwork of volunteer companies. Washington Fire Company No. 1 organized in 1868 and 1st operated on 6th Street. In 1885 they built this firehouse. Second shot is a closeup.
December 3, 2025 at 12:30 PM
Photos of Washington Fire Company No. 1 at 605 Brazos St in downtown Austin, undated. Austin’s early fire protection was a patchwork of volunteer companies. Washington Fire Company No. 1 organized in 1868 and 1st operated on 6th Street. In 1885 they built this firehouse. Second shot is a closeup.
When Isaac Brock died in China Spring, Texas in 1909, folks believed that he was 122 years old. His grave marker, in the China Spring cemetery, shows that he was born in 1787. But nobody really knew. Having done a bit of research, I think he was closer to 95-100. Still, a great Texas story.
December 3, 2025 at 9:30 AM
When Isaac Brock died in China Spring, Texas in 1909, folks believed that he was 122 years old. His grave marker, in the China Spring cemetery, shows that he was born in 1787. But nobody really knew. Having done a bit of research, I think he was closer to 95-100. Still, a great Texas story.
A blacksmith and his son in San Augustine, 1943 He looks like Longfellow's Village Blacksmith:
Under a spreading chestnut-tree
The village smithy stands;
The smith, a mighty man is he,
With large and sinewy hands,
And the muscles of his brawny arms
Are strong as iron bands.
Under a spreading chestnut-tree
The village smithy stands;
The smith, a mighty man is he,
With large and sinewy hands,
And the muscles of his brawny arms
Are strong as iron bands.
December 3, 2025 at 8:00 AM
A blacksmith and his son in San Augustine, 1943 He looks like Longfellow's Village Blacksmith:
Under a spreading chestnut-tree
The village smithy stands;
The smith, a mighty man is he,
With large and sinewy hands,
And the muscles of his brawny arms
Are strong as iron bands.
Under a spreading chestnut-tree
The village smithy stands;
The smith, a mighty man is he,
With large and sinewy hands,
And the muscles of his brawny arms
Are strong as iron bands.
Speaking of chili and beer and beans, William Clark Greene, singing in San Marcos' Cheatham Street Warehouse, has some thoughts on the subject:
youtu.be/Df0FmkQKQCg?...
youtu.be/Df0FmkQKQCg?...
William Clark Green - "The Chili Song" (Live At Cheatham Street Warehouse)
YouTube video by William Clark Green
youtu.be
December 3, 2025 at 3:45 AM
Speaking of chili and beer and beans, William Clark Greene, singing in San Marcos' Cheatham Street Warehouse, has some thoughts on the subject:
youtu.be/Df0FmkQKQCg?...
youtu.be/Df0FmkQKQCg?...