Legendary race card driver and Texan A.J. Foyt driving a dirt midget car, in 1961. Look at that dirt flying!
Photo by Peter Hamer.
Photo by Peter Hamer.
03:27 PM - Jan 20, 2024
Oilfield worker in Kilgore, 1939. Pretty freakin' awesome, in my opinion.
Taken by Russell Lee.
Taken by Russell Lee.
02:02 PM - Jan 13, 2024
The rain comes down on Preston Avenue in Houston, 1957. A classic array of signs, an awesome car ... too great!
Taken by the renowned Henri Cartier-Bresson for Life Magazine.
Taken by the renowned Henri Cartier-Bresson for Life Magazine.
02:36 PM - Jan 12, 2024
A farmer and his son in Stanton, Texas back in January, 1937. They told photographer Dorothea Lange that they hadn't made a crop of cotton since 1932 --- four years of no crops due, I guess, to drought and the Dust Bowl. A sensational photo in every way. The farmer's face, expression, clothing. Wow.
07:47 PM - Jan 11, 2024
The Texas Quote of the Day:
"I know that in Ames, Iowa, they fancy themselves being experts on the wind, but in Lubbock, Texas, we'll put our wind up against your wind in Iowa."
----- Mike Leach, former head coach of the Texas Tech Red Raider football team
"I know that in Ames, Iowa, they fancy themselves being experts on the wind, but in Lubbock, Texas, we'll put our wind up against your wind in Iowa."
----- Mike Leach, former head coach of the Texas Tech Red Raider football team
01:34 PM - Jan 07, 2024
Ed Powell makes a final statement before being hanged on Sept 29, 1891 in Gatesville, Texas. Seated next to him is Jim Leeper, who is also about to be hange. They had been convicted of murdering a cotton farmer. This is the only legal hanging to ever take place in Coryell County.
04:33 PM - Jan 06, 2024
The Alamo in 1906. Look closely. There's a banner on the left with advertising for "The Lion and the Mouse." A reference to the Aesop's Fable? The name of a saloon? Hmmmm ... It's still worth visiting, even with the hype and the trinkets. Staying at the Menger and taking night photos is the best!
02:29 PM - Jan 06, 2024
The U.S.S. Constitution aka "Old Ironsides" in Port Arthur, 1932. Super photo of a historic moment!
04:58 PM - Jan 05, 2024
Scene in Palestine, undated. If you go to Palestine, don't make the mistake I made the first time I visited and pronounce "Palestine" with a long "I" as in "brine." Nope. There's a long "e" sound in the name of that town, as in the word "seen." It only took being corrected 14 times for it to "take."
01:44 PM - Jan 05, 2024
Verna's Cafe in Port Arthur, 1970s. Note the target signifying crawdad races at the bottom right of the mural. I've seen a few of those in the past. Beer is always involved. Verna's was located at 1221 Procter Street, the site of a vacant lot now.
01:34 PM - Jan 04, 2024
The printing on the photo tells you what this is. It is Bob Rosborough's personal photo of the car that Bonnie and Clyde stole from him in Marshall Texas.
Pretty dang awesome!
Pretty dang awesome!
04:31 PM - Jan 03, 2024
Ranchers in San Angelo, Texas, 1940. Such utterly classic West Texan faces and attire. I wonder what they were talking about. When it would next rain, perhaps, or maybe the finer points of Aristotle's Nichomachean Ethics. Who can say?
Photo by Russell Lee.
Photo by Russell Lee.
11:01 AM - Jan 03, 2024
A house in Crystal City, 1939. Simple, spare, rudimentary, makeshift ... all apply. Life in such a structure would necessarily be tough and elemental. Hot in summer, cold in winter. Such a life would probably provide an incentive for residents to try to get out and move up in the world.
09:50 PM - Jan 02, 2024
Scene in Galveston circa 1967. The faces may change and buildings come and go but the vibe remains the same.
08:09 PM - Jan 02, 2024
This 1964 photo of the Starship Enterprise studio model used in filming Star Trek was taken outside the production model shop in Burbank, California. It was commissioned by Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, a Texan who was born in El Paso in 1921.
06:27 PM - Jan 02, 2024
Arcane Texas Fact of the Day:
The great Roger Miller was born 88 years ago today, on January 2, 1936. Many folks think he's from Oklahoma but Roger was born in Fort Worth. If you hear "King of the Road" at any point during the day, the chorus will echo around in your head until you go to sleep 😀
The great Roger Miller was born 88 years ago today, on January 2, 1936. Many folks think he's from Oklahoma but Roger was born in Fort Worth. If you hear "King of the Road" at any point during the day, the chorus will echo around in your head until you go to sleep 😀
03:34 PM - Jan 02, 2024
This aerial photo of Fair Park Stadium in Dallas was taken as the University of Texas played Vanderbilt in 1923. The wooden stadium remained in use until 1929 when it was torn down and the Cotton Bowl built in its place. Texas won this game 16-0, and outscored their first 6 opponents 202-0 in 1923.
08:15 PM - Dec 30, 2023
Downtown Houston scene, 1940s or early 1950s.
07:43 PM - Dec 29, 2023
"No state commands such fierce pride and loyalty. Lesser mortals are pitied for their misfortune in not being born Texas."
----- Queen Elizabeth II on her visit to Texas in May, 1991 and shown here with Prince Phillip upon arrival in Houston
----- Queen Elizabeth II on her visit to Texas in May, 1991 and shown here with Prince Phillip upon arrival in Houston
07:11 PM - Dec 28, 2023
In 1952, when George W. Church Sr. opened the first Church's Chicken in San Antonio, two pieces of chicken & a roll cost 49 cents. Church's added fries & jalapeños in 1955. Here's a photo of that first location, which was at 111 South Alamo Street. Today there are more than 1500 Church's worldwide.
11:50 AM - Dec 28, 2023
A woman winds a clock at her home in Crystal City, 1939. Fascinating in every way. Her daughter looks happy and healthy and like she might be a handful.
Another staggering photo from Russell Lee.
Another staggering photo from Russell Lee.
09:29 PM - Dec 27, 2023
The corner of Congress Avenue and 7th Street in Austin, 1877. I can't get over the stunning clarity of this 146-year-old photo. 40 years earlier, in 1837, Republic of Texas Vice President Mirabeau B. Lamar shot a huge bull buffalo at this very spot.
Courtesy the Austin History Center.
Courtesy the Austin History Center.
12:16 PM - Dec 27, 2023
(Edited)
The Doors in the Sam Houston Coliseum lobby in Houston on July 10, 1968. Lead singer Jim Morrison is in the background wearing what appears to be his trademark leather pants. 55 years ago. Hard to believe.
Photograph by Jim Cox.
Photograph by Jim Cox.
07:35 PM - Dec 24, 2023
Actor Steve McQueen horsing around in Bay City, 1963. He was there to film a movie called "Baby The Rain Must Fall". His co-star was Lee Remick. Screenplay by Texan Horton Foote. Glen Campbell's film debut, too. It's an entertaining movie.
07:01 PM - Dec 23, 2023
Traces of Texas reader Max Grossman was so generous as to share this great photo of Mrs. Barner's Candy Shop in El Paso's lower valley. It was taken in 1931. Don't you know the divinity was good?
Thank you, Max! Fantastic image!
Thank you, Max! Fantastic image!
09:50 PM - Dec 22, 2023
Traces reader Jed Moorhouse was so thoughtful as to send in this nifty snapshot of what remained of the set of "Giant" out near Marfa in 1966. I think it is a true snapshot, taken by a Kodak Instamatic. Jed found it among his grandmother's things. It collapsed shortly afterward.
06:40 PM - Dec 21, 2023
Three young ladies, probably of Czech ancestry, in Granger, Texas circa 1900. OUTSTANDING!
02:41 PM - Dec 21, 2023
Three young ladies, probably of Czech ancestry, in Granger, Texas circa 1900. OUTSTANDING!
01:41 PM - Dec 21, 2023
The Arcane Texas Fact of the Day:
The great John Denver's last concert was in Corpus Christi, Texas on Oct. 5, 1997, at the Selena Auditorium. He would die just a week later in a plane crash. Here's the setlist from Denver's last show.
The great John Denver's last concert was in Corpus Christi, Texas on Oct. 5, 1997, at the Selena Auditorium. He would die just a week later in a plane crash. Here's the setlist from Denver's last show.
12:14 PM - Dec 21, 2023
