Bruce and Bobbie's Winter Adventure
Part I - Charlotte and Atlanta
Part II - The Gulf Shore and Panhandle of Florida
Part III - New Orleans (The Big Easy)
Part IV - Dallas, Texas (Visiting Bruce's Early Youth)
Part V - Ponca City, Oklahoma (Visiting Doug and Sue)
Part VI - Missouri and Indiana
January 27 - March 12, 2013
Part IV - Dallas, Texas - Visiting Bruce's Early Youth
Bobbie and Bruce at
Twisted Root Burger Company
We left early in the morning for Dallas, Texas which was a full day's drive from New Orleans though we had two stops before reaching Dallas. We first stopped at the Visitor's Center after crossing the border into Texas. You couldn't miss it because of the prominence of the Texas flag there and everywhere else you looked. We also stopped in Tyler, Texas before reaching Dallas. I will mention the significance of Tyler, Texas to 'Senex' in just a moment.
Entering Texas
The Visitor's Center
Tyler, Texas
My family lived in Dallas from 1954 - 1960 but while we were there my older brother and I experienced what we all do at some point in our life. "OUR FIRST JOB" That job was selling 'Fresh Cut Tyler Roses' in front of Grocery Stores in Dallas. We were young and I suppose age and work permits didn't have the importance they may have today. I sent a text to my brother and I said, "I was in Tyler, Texas and I was remembering David Johnson". His response was "Fresh Cut Tyler Roses - 35 Cents a Dozen and Three (dozens) for a Dollar". Could you imagine buying a dozen roses for 35 Cents?
Arriving In Dallas
As we drove into north Dallas, I was wondering what happened to all the space. I had a vision or, I suppose, a memory of openness that didn't exist anymore.
Lovers Lane
Our Hotel
You have to keep in mind that we left Dallas when I was 12 years old and I am now 63, so with age there is a change in perspective. This was no loner the post WW II community with moderate and improving housing. I saw a neighborhood that I would describe as upscale.
Briarwood
Briarwood-George Christie
Horseshoe Trail
My sister and youngest sibling was born in 1958 so my parents bought a house to fit the needs of our growing family. That house was located at 5127 Horseshoe Trail.
5127 Horseshoe Trail
The Johnson Siblings in Dallas
(from left to right: Douglas, David, Bruce and Brian with Anne in the center)
This picture was taken in the living room which was at the front of the house and to the right of the front door as you face the house.
I am sure it has a much different look to it today.
Johnson Siblings in 1999
from left to right: Douglas, David, Anne, Bruce, and Brian
The Alexander's
The Zable's
Jimmy Swift's Home
Billy Arnquist's Home
This was an empty field which we turned into a Sand-lot Baseball Field at the end of Lilac Lane and Briarwood.
After a few too many broken windows and a fire of unknown origin we were forced to move across Briarwood to another open field that has also disappeared now.
Our Briarwood Sand-lot Baseball Field - I think but with all these new houses it is hard to remember. At the back of this field was the rear entrance to a gravel pit that we weren't suppose to enter but you know kids and especially boys.
Now, Back around Horseshoe Trail before Heading to Sudie Williams
I think a young girl by the name of Linda Majors lived here - just another childhood memory.
There were driveways of all kinds that I didn't remember as a kid.
This house was on Horseshoe Trail but not when I lived there. I think it must have been built over the demise of a dwelling that only exists in the memory of someone in the Nether Regions.
The Alexander's were old when I was very young but very nice people too. They had a grandson, though, whom they wanted to have someone to play with when he visited. This was before the days of play dates but his grandmother arranged, I think, through my mother for me to be the designated friend.
5127 - Again
Looking at the three windows on the upper level - the far left one was the bedroom I shared with my older brother David, the far right window was the bedroom shared by Douglas and Brian and the middle window was simply the top of the staircase.
Backyard of 5127 Horseshoe Trail
I think this is a birthday party probably mine because of the neighborhood boys there. Going around the table from the far right
moving clockwise: Bruce (me), Bill Arnquist, Douglas, David with our Dad behind him, Jimmy Swift, and Brian.
Also notice the house was originally red brick and now painted over in green. You can also see the swimming pool in the background.
A Difficult Neighbor
Their name was 'Powledge' or something like that but the Lady of the House made herself a 'Royal Pain in the *****' almost from the first moment we moved to Horseshoe Trail. The previous owner had torn out a red brick bar-b-que at the right side of the house so Mrs. Always Pleasant informed my mother that it was an eyesore to the neighborhood but I forget exactly how it all happened. In the back of my mind I seem to think that this ever so sweet neighbor had all he brick and cement removed and then presented my mother with the bill. I might be wrong about that part of the story. Justice comes in many different forms but it came in a unique way for our 'Difficult Neighbor'. This house had a swimming pool in the backyard but neither dad nor mom knew anything about the care of the pool or chemical treatment of it. Their ignorance wrought disaster when we saw lines of something crisscrossing the bottom of the pool with little black dots that turned out to be eggs. These eggs turned into tadpoles and there were 100's of them that turned into frogs of whom many migrated into Mrs. Pleasant's backyard before my parents had the pesty creatures exterminated. There is one more chapter to this saga which involves David. David built a pigeon coup in the backyard with the idea of raising homing pigeons that could be raced. I think it supposedly started out as joint effort of David and myself but it became quite clear early on that this project and the pigeons were David's. Pigeons like many animals needed to be exercised so David would let them out to fly and with their homing instinct they would return to the pigeon coup David had built. There was one glitch to this whole process of exercising because the birds would occasionally take rest on top of Mrs. Difficult's roof and relieve themselves on her roof before returning to David's pigeon coup. One day Mrs. Difficult Neighbor came out into her front yard when the pigeons were on her roof. This time it wasn't a battle of words because she had an old rifle showing every intent to use it against the pigeons. We of course told mother and I don't think I had ever seen her so angry and she tore into Mrs. Difficult for having a gun out where children were playing. Mother simply called the police who responded almost immediately. It seemed like an unsoken truce descended over the homes of the Johnson's and Mrs. Difficult Neighbor. Then in December of 1960 we moved to Fort wayne, Indiana so something had to be done with pigeons. David made friends with a fellow who also raised pigeons and lived not far from us. The pigeon coup was gone and we were gone and David's friend hadn't kept the pigeons long enough for their homing instinct to kick in properly, so the first time he let the birds out they returned to our old house. I am not sure what the new owners did but I can just imagine what Mrs. Difficult Neighbor had to say when she saw the pigeons returning.
Now, we were in search of my elementary school,
Sudie L. Williams.
Entrance to a Gaited Community
When we lived there, it was a gravel pit with a sign 'DANGEROUS, DO NOT ENTER. Do you think it kept us out.
Alley - Shortcut to Sudie Williams
It ran across the side of the gravel pit until the view into it was obstructed.
On the Way to Sudie Williams
Sudie L. Williams
Sudie L. Williams Elementary School
Sudie L. Williams: Dallas Independent School District
This last document was revealing especially when you take a look at the demographics and statistical information of the student population and look at the community surrounding the school there is something that doesn't make sense. The first conclusion, as an outsider so it might not be fair, I make is the apparent absence of community support for public education. I am sure that private education is big business in this city.
Who was Sudie L. Williams?
Sudie Lawrence Williams (November 11, 1872-July 21, 1940) was a music educator in the public schools of Dallas, Texas.
She was born in Bellville, Texas to Dr. and Mrs. Otis Laurence Williams. She began teaching in the Dallas schools in 1894, became assistant supervisor of music for the schools in 1910, acting supervisor in 1913 (the year the Dallas schools acquired their first phonograph), and supervisor in 1914.
She was awarded a Bachelor of Science degree by Chapel Hill College in 1915 and later studied at the University of Chicago, Cornell University, and the University of California.
She was a member of the board of the Dallas Symphony Society when in 1939 the board voted to dissolve the group over her protest. She organized a mass meeting and devoted herself to the cause of a new symphony. She succeeded and was known as the person who saved the Dallas Symphony.
Miss Williams, who never married, died at her home at 6831 Clayton in Dallas on July 21, 1940 and was buried in Oak Cliff Cemetery in Dallas. Her estate included a library of 525 books and pamphlets relating to music, which she gave to Southern Methodist University.
A newspaper article soon after her death explained her importance to the community: "Miss Sudie's great work was to educate the masses to enjoy music, leaving the performance of music to the few who felt the call. She realized from the outset that music appreciation is merely a matter of overcoming the economic difficulty of musical presentation. She seized upon every device that might make more and more music. First it was the phonograph and then it was the radio with the boon of the Damrosch hour over NBC."
The Dallas Independent School District opened Sudie L. Williams Elementary School in the Bluffview area of northwest Dallas in 1952.
Quoted From: Sudie L. Williams - Wikipedia
Teachers' Parking Lot or at least When I was a Kid
Community Park: Once a Part of Sudie Williams' Campus
Another House Near Sudie Williams
An Intersection of Note
Dallas Love Field
The first house we lived in when we moved to Dallas was on Shorecrest Drive just north of Love Field and across the street from Bachman Lake. Just behind our house was land owned by Love Field with 'DO NOT ENTER SIGNS' but it was full of the hulks and wreckage of World War II era aircraft. It was a fantasy playground for kids in the late 1950's. One of the most frightening experieces of my childhood in Dallas was being witness to the 1957 Dallas Tornado which had taken the roof off a Johnson and Johnson Plant near Love Field and then jumping over our house on Shorecrest Drive but with a clear view of the funnel cloud moving beyond Bachman Lake.
1957 DALLAS TORNADO - NARRATIVE
Pay Attention to Minutes 30 and 32
Love Field Museum
For the fun of it I had Bobbie put our Shorecrest Drive address into the GPS which took us to a Baggage Claims area of Love Field. My brother said that couldn't be right and he knows Dallas better than I do. Shorecrest Drive still exists or at least a good part of it does around Bachman Lake but all the housing that we knew is gone.
Bachman Lake is a small freshwater lake located in the Love Field neighborhood of northwest Dallas, Texas (USA). It covers 205 acres in northwest Dallas and lies on the northwest boundary of Dallas Love Field in the airport's landing path. It was originally constructed in 1903 by damming Bachman Branch as a water source for Dallas, but it proved to be too small for their needs and was supplanted by White Rock Lake in 1911.
Today, Bachman Lake is used as a recreational area. The lake and its surrounding park are well-kept. There have been several 10,000 to 15,000 of stylishly constructed retail centers built along the lake. At the Western end of the lake, DART Rail has begun construction on the new Orange line that will carry area residents to and from DFW airport. Bachman Station was opened as part of the Green Line's expansion in December 2010. A 3.3 miles trail surrounds Bachman Lake and the lake is available for sailing and some fishing (the lake is stocked with catfish regularly - Stocking Schedule).
Quoted From: Bachman Lake - Wikipedia
Community Trails/Bachman Lake
Bachman Lake Park Trail - Dallas Parks
Growing up a the child of clergyman (priest) was not always an ideal position to be because you felt like you were under someone's microscope and the possible object of gossip and criticism whether it was warranted or not. Our move to Dallas presented a new and unique experience as pk's - priest's kids because our father worked for the Episcopal Diocese of Dallas and we made our parish home at Saint Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church where my father was not on staff. The microscope diminished to a certain degree. This was the parish where I was confirmed and I have fond memories of those years.
I emailed the Rector of Saint Michael's before we ever left Florida explaining a little of my history with this parish and we wouldn't yet be in Dallas on Sunday but hoped we could come and wander around the church on Monday. I received a very gracious response from the Reverend Father Doctor Robert Dannals who encouraged us to come so I could reconnect with my youth. On our arrival he took better than twenty minutes to chat with Bobbie and myself in his office and then his secretary took time to give us a tour through a huge and beautiful church and school complex.
Saint Michael and All Angeles
On our arrival Bobbie immediately noticed a 'possum' just infront of where we were parking. She couldn't believe it and of course wanted a picture of it before her new 'wonder' disappeared and so she got out of the van assp. By the time she parked, Bobbie couldn't believe she had just seen a possum in this city and jumped out of the car to get a picture but it was up the tree before she could take it.
Saint Michael the Archangel
Stained Glass Window from the Original Church
The High Altar of the Original Church (I was confirmed here)
Saint Michael's is the Home of the Lower School of the Episcopal School of Dallas - We Interrupted a Class
The Old Church and the New Chapel with a New Look
Saint Michael and All Angels - Today
Reredos at Saint Michael and All Angels
Looking toward the Altar is the base relief on the marble reredos, Saint Michael and the Angels. Their worshipful attention is directed toward a gold Latin cross mounted on the marble. The scene, executed by noted artist Charles Umlauf, is from the Epistle for Saint Michael and All Angels day. "There was a war in heaven; Michael and his Angels (Raphael, Uriel and Gabriel) fought against the dragon, and the dragon fought and prevailed not, and they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony." The marble was personally selected by Mr. Umlauf and shipped from Carrara, Italy to him at the Vermont Marble Company. The scene is ten feet wide by fifteen feet high. The marble reredos is thirty-five feet in height.
Quoted From: Saint Michael and All Angels - Art and Architecture
The stained glass windows in the main church, and in the Harry Tunis Moore Memorial Chapel, were designed by the noted artist Cecil Casebier of San Antonio, Texas.
The windows of the main church building tell the story of the Old and New Testaments in the Christian faith. The East window, the large window over the entrance, is the "Creation" window. The story begins on the North side of this window with the "Creation of the Universe by the Spirit of God." Following, on the North side of the Church, and culminating with the large panel window on the North side of the Altar, the story is of the Fall of Man, the coming of the Law through Moses, the birth and life of Jesus, the climax of His Crucifixion and the shedding of His Blood. This has been purposely designed to make it possible for the panel on the North side to unite with the Sacrifice of the Body and Blood of Christ in the Holy Communion at the Altar. The birth, life and death of Jesus culminate in the Resurrection which is the new creation. This power, which flows through the individuals as they make their Holy Communion, is presented in the design of the colors on the South side of the church. Beginning with the panel immediately south of the Altar, the colors depict the now creation and result of the power of God as it flows through individuals and changes everything in life. As the windows go back toward the East, under the eve of the South side all the creations and actions of man are represented in colors: philosophy; art, literature and other intellectual creations; and the evolution of politics, economics and social action. And, finally, the perfection of the "Last Day" is optically represented in the East window again.
The large windows flanking the Altar are twenty-seven feet high by nineteen feet wide. The windows on the North and South sides (clerestory windows) are seven feet high by twenty-seven feet wide.
Quoted From: Saint Michael and All Angels - Art and Architecture
There are various items to be seen on the wall leading to the Narthex including portraits of all the previous Rectors
The one shown here is First Rector of this Parish
One of many images of Saint Michael
One of the Stations of the Cross
Festival Banners
The Narthex of Saint Michael and All Angels
At the end of World War II, the Right Reverend Harry Tunis Moore, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Dallas, pursued his war-delayed dream of establishing a new Episcopal parish for the growing area then referred to as "North Dallas". A small group of individuals were ready to form the new mission and met for their first worship service on a hot August Sunday in 1945 in a Boy Scout hut located on the grounds of the University Park YMCA. Several months later, on the Feast Day of Saint Michael and All Angels, the group, which by then had become several hundred persons, executed the charter and formed Saint Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church.
Quoted From: Saint Michael and All Angels - History
The Bishop Moore Memorial Chapel
Altar in the Chapel
Stain Glass Window in the Chapel
Parish Courtyard and Gardens
Near a Side Entrance and Clery and Staff Offices
Outside Areas around the Church
The original church building of Saint Michael and All Angels which is Gothic in style has, in a sense, been encased by the entire church and school complex of Saint Michael and All Angels. It serves the parish as a chapel today.
The Back of the Church
Beyond this wall is an Interstate Highway. When we lived in Dallas a railroad line ran along the same area as the Interstate does today.
Before I leave Saint Michael and All Angels, I want to share several vintage pictures. My older brother, David, and I were members of the Boys' Choir at SMAA during the late 1950s. Remember, we left Dallas in 1960 so these pictures are probably between 53 and 55 years old.
In the second row David is the second young man from the left.
Again David is in the second row and second from the left.
In this picture I have joined the choir. I am third from the left in the first row and David is on the far right in the back row.
Now we leave the nostagia of Bruce's early childhood and went to meet Cheryl and Clint Rondenfels for lunch. They live in Dallas and Cheryl is a 1981 graduate of Park View High School where Bobbie and I taught for so many years. The class of '81 has significance for us because they were freshmen when we started teaching in 1977 and it was the first class we saw go through their entire high school career. They are also turning 50 this year.
They took us to the 'Twisted Root Burger Co.' near the campus of SMU for lunch.
Cheryl at Twisted Root
Bobbie and Bruce at Twisted Root
Bobbie had put up with all my meandering of places from my childhood so now it was time to go some place she wanted to see.
We went to the Sixth Floor Museum and Dealey Plaza.
To Bobbie's great regret we weren't allowed to take pictures in the museum.
Cheryl, Bobbie, and Bruce in front of the Book Depository
Clint, Cheryl, and Bruce in front of the Book Depository
Formerly, The School Book Depository
The School Book Depository
The Sixth Floor
Landscaping of the Grassy Knoll
Dealey Plaza
Dealey Plaza
Dealey Plaza
Historic Street Sign
Assassination Site as the Motorcade Turned the Corner
SMU Football
SMU Football
Now, it is off to Ponca City, Oklahoma to see Doug and Sue on our way to Lees Summit, MO.
This page is the work of Senex Magister
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