Gene Austin, the original crooner whose recordings sold 86 million copies in the Twenties and Thirties, lost his battle with lung cancer on Jan. 24, 1972.
The popular singer and prolific songwriter was born Lemeul Eugene Lucas in 1900 in the north Texas town of Gainesville. He did most of his growing up near Shreveport, where his mother moved with her second husband after the death of Gene’s father.
Dear Rusty: I am 65 and currently working full-time. Can I apply for and start receiving my Social Security benefit? I’d expect to have to pay income tax on it if/when I do.
Signed: Curious Worker
Was Eunice Gray, who burned to death in a Jan. 26, 1962 fire that destroyed the Fort Worth hotel she had run for the past four decades, in reality the woman of western mystery known as Etta Place?
Yes, she could have been the widow of Harry Longabaugh, the Old West outlaw known as “The Sundance Kid.” For the better part of a century, Gray has been considered the leading candidate, but other promising contenders, each with her own devoted sponsor, continue to nip at her heels.
To most Texans, the name “Rambo” may mean little, but to Todd Compton it evokes memories from his childhood, when kinfolk spoke of 17th century ancestors who lived in what is now Philadelphia.
Peter Gunnarson Rambo (1611-1698) was most discussed, and Compton, now 52, remembers the accounts he heard in his grandmother’s kitchen. His genealogical interest ignited, he didn’t realize that the discussions would lead to a divine familial appointment in the summer of 2024.
Dear Rusty: For most folks collecting Social Security, you get back what you put in within 3-5 years, so for those that scream - “SS is not an entitlement, it is my money”- that is not entirely accurate beyond 3-5 years. For me personally 4.4 years is the number. But had I been able to invest that money over the 43 years.
Although everything was in their favor, the Kickapoos, who were only passing through West Texas en route to Mexico, went out of their way to avoid a fight on Jan. 8, 1865.
The first sign of the Kickapoo exodus from the Indian Territory was detected the previous month at the headwaters of the Brazos River. Militiamen on routine reconnaissance came across an empty camp of 92 wigwams and ten tents that had been vacant no more than a couple of days. The two dozen volunteers hurried home with the unfounded hunch that hundreds of hostiles were on the warpath.
If my ancient Uncle Mort could somehow “saddle up” the University of Texas’ mascot, and then lean forward, he’d literally be close to the center of BEVO’s horns.
As it is, this simple “what if” only figuratively describes his dilemma concerning the outcome of the upcoming Longhorn-Ohio State football game. Whichever team wins will reach the Holy Grail--the NCAA, major college, gold-plated championship football game. You’d think he’d be a hands-down fan of the burnt orange team. Instead, he’s sitting on his hands…
“Spell Check” -- first thought to be a handy computer feature to help us use the correct letters in the proper order for word formation--often goes haywire.
Like oft-discussed Artificial Intelligence (AI is the abbreviation, despite my thinking it to be short for “Alfred” in the early going), it can be dead wrong, redden faces and run far afield from what is intended. This may be true when the name of our current hometown--Burleson, TX, where we have domiciled in semi-retirement since 2002--is typed...
In just their fourth post-season appearance in school history, the Bears of Baylor University squared off against the heavily favored Tennessee Volunteers in the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1, 1957.
It was not for nothing that the Baptist college was known as the hard-luck member of the Southwest Conference. The Bears had won their last championship way back in 1924 and would not win another until 1974.
