Good Reads: Flames After Midnight, by Monte Akers

I was born in Freestone County, which is about 90 miles south/southeast of Dallas. I spent most of my early years in that county, primarily in Fairfield, though we did move around a bit while Dad worked his way up the job ladder. But Fairfield is home. Dad was born near the west county line (near Limestone County) and graduated from Teague High School in the 1940s, and Mom grew up in Kirvin (spelled Kirven in the old days). I have many, many family members resting in the rural cemeteries that dot the county. So Freestone County is really home to me.

So it was with a bit of trepidation that I finally got around to reading Flames After Midnight, by Monte Akers. I was sort of afraid of what I might learn. The book explores the grisly murder of a 17-year old girl near Kirven in May 1922 and the events resulting from that horrible crime. In the aftermath, 3 Negroes were burned alive in Kirven by a lawless mob, and in the days and weeks afterward, other killings occurred.

At the time of the events in the book, thankfully my family did not live in Kirven. They did not arrive in the area until the end of that decade. My mother was not alive at the time, nor was my father. But in reading the book, I recognized lots of familiar names.

Growing up, the events of that terrible May were kept quiet. It was not until I was older -- in high school, I think -- that I ever even heard of the incident. And then I only heard whispers.

I like to think we've come a long way since those days. I began my school career in segregated schools. It was not until my sophomore year that we fully desegregated in Fairfield. Dad was the superintendent during those turbulent times, and I know this was probably his greatest professional challenge. We got lots of threatening phone calls in our home then, usually late at night, and they didn't care which of us picked up the phone. I learned lots of new and colorful words from those callers.

The value of history is that we learn from it, and we refrain from repeating the same mistakes again and again. I'm glad I read this book now. Yes, there are lots of holes in the events from that time, and we will never know the truth. Forensics weren't what they are today, and due process really never had a chance in this situation. But I know more now than I did.

If nothing else, I have even more respect for my father and how he guided our schools and community through the turbulent period of desegregation.

If you do happen to read this book and have an interest in in, you might also be interested in reading Kirvin and Streetman: A New History of the Northwest Section of Freestone County, 1900-1950, which is a thesis written by Fairfield native in pursuit of her MA from Baylor University. This thesis focuses on how the event influenced the decline of Kirven. In the days prior to the incident, Kirven was on its way to becoming a boom town. Following the incident, the town gradually died. Today, little remains except for a small convenience store, a couple of churches, and some houses. It once was quite a lively place, rivaling or even surpassing the other major towns of the county.

A Wild Road

On our last 2 trips east -- to Conroe in May and more recently to Shreveport a week or more ago -- we have started our journey by taking a "road less traveled".

FM 765 heads due east from San Angelo and continues in more or less a straight line until it ends at Ranch Road 45 about halfway between Richland Springs and Brownwood.  A short jaunt north at this time takes you over the Colorado River before turning east again on FM 574 for the final 25 miles or so to Goldthwaite. Total distance for this route is 122 miles. Along the way, there is not a single town over 200 souls. In fact, the only towns are Eola and Millersview.

For the first few miles, this is a good road. The road is straight, the surface is good and the shoulders are generous. After passing through farmland of the area known as Lipan Flats, which includes northern portions of the Wall community, the quality of the road begins to deteriorate. The shoulders give way, the road begins to curve and dip a bit, and the clean farmland is replaced by trees, grass, and other vegetation that creeps up to the edge of the road.

On our trip in May, we saw countless deer and turkey along the roadway, and birds were everywhere, even causing us to slow down a number of times as they swooped in front feeding on insects after the recent rains. On the latest trip, we didn't see as much wildlife, but we saw enough.

I've never hit a deer in all my years of driving, and I've spent lots of hours on back country roads. I'm usually pretty good about spotting deer far enough away and then slowing down. On this trip, though, the grass was very tall next to the road. A doe was feeding near a small bridge as we approached. When I saw her, I immediately slowed, but it was too late, I suppose. She spotted me, froze for a moment, then made a mad dash across the road in front of me. Because of the small bridge, I was unable to veer off the road. I braked as quickly as possible and eased as far as I could to my right, but she continued on her suicide run.

I didn't actually hit the deer. She ended up right in front of me, on the front right of our truck. By that time, I had slowed enough that I actually more or less pushed her for several feet, then she somehow freed herself and got away. I was unable to see where she went, though she was not in the roadway. We pulled over as soon as we safely could and inspected the truck. We found no damage whatsoever.

That was enough for me. I'll not drive this road again, at least, not early in the morning. But if you want to see lots of wildlife, lots of uninhabited country, and little traffic, it's a good east/west road.

Good Eats: Athena Greek and Lebanese Grill, Shreveport, LA

Whenever we are in the Shreveport/ Bossier City area, we like to eat at Athena Greek and Lebanese Grill. We developed a taste for both of these cuisines when we lived in the Middle East in the 1980s, and anytime we have a chance to eat Greek or Lebanese food, we take advantage of it.

When eating out, we normally try to eat around noon. Many places have a lunch menu with cheaper prices, including Athena (Go to http://www.athenasgrill.com/upload/92889-Athena_DinnerMenu%20new.pdf for their lunch menu). Our favorite dish is the Gyros Plate, which consists of spiced lamb and beef, hummus, rice, salad, and pita bread. We really like gyro meat, but then we enjoy lamb. Many Americans, especially in the South, do not care much for lamb. We've not had the schwarma at Athena's yet, but as a big fan of schwarmas, I do want to try it.

The restaurant usually has Greek or Arabic music playing in the background, which adds greatly to the experience. I really enjoy ethnic music. During my days in the Middle East, I spent a great deal of time on public transportation, and Arabic music was played quite a bit on the buses. I learned to appreciate it, and I enjoy listening to it while I eat food from that part of the world.

There is also a small grocery in the back of the restaurant where we've picked up tahini, grape leaves, and other food items.

And if you are really adventurous, you might want to try a hookah later in the day.

Good Eats: Bodacious BBQ, Kilgore, Texas

On our way to Shreveport on our recent trip, we stopped for lunch at the Bodacious BBQ restaurant on I-20 just north of Kilgore on Highway 42. When we lived in Kilgore, we ate at this restaurant from time to time over the years, so we felt comfortable stopping here.

Bodacious is a BBQ chain that began about 1965 in Longview. Most franchises are located in East Texas, though we do have a Bodacious -- which we've yet to try -- in San Angelo. Now, if you're a long-time reader of this blog, you know I love BBQ, and my favorite BBQ is in the meat markets scattered about the small towns of Central Texas in places like Lockhart and Luling. But I can't go to Lockhart every time I want BBQ, so sometimes I end up visiting other BBQ joins around the state. Sometimes I'm disappointed and sometimes I'm delighted. Seldom have I found anything as good as the meat markets of Central Texas.

Over the years, I've found Bodacious to be pretty consistent. Although I don't consider it the best BBQ I've ever had, I'm usually satisfied with what I get.

On this trip, we decided to eat as we do at the Central Texas markets; that is, skip any side dishes and just order meat. We ordered half a pound of brisket, half a pound of sausage, and half a pound of pork ribs. I usually don't eat ribs much, but that was the best part of our lunch this time. They had a slightly sweet taste, and the meat pulled cleanly from the bones. The brisket was a bit dry, though it had a good flavor. The sausage was your standard store bought sausage, so nothing unusual there.

All in all it was a good meal, and just about the right amount of food for 2 hungry travelers.

Short Trip to Shreveport

Donna and I just returned from spending 3 nights at the Eldorado Resort Casino in Shreveport, LA. With our daughter expected to deliver our brand new grandson in the next few weeks, we wanted to get one last casino trip in. After the baby comes, we'll be pretty busy.

The Eldorado has been our main casino in the Shreveport/Bossier City (S/BC) area for the last 5 years or so. We like its layout, its location in proximity to downtown Shreveport, and the comps they provide for our level of play. I must admit, though, that I'm growing tired of the casinos in S/BC. I'd much rather visit casinos in Nevada where the video poker games have better pay tables, comps are more easily earned, and service is generally better, among other things. On our trip to the Eldorado this time, I was really disappointed with the quality of service in all areas (cafes, drink service, hotel, etc.). And I noticed a large number of slot machines that were out of service. At the bank of 5 video poker machines where we usually spend most of our time, for example, one machine was completely shut down, and another had several buttons that did not operate properly so that you were not able to adjust the speed of the game and do other things.

We crossed the river to check out the new Margaritaville Resort Casino, but were disappointed with the games there. I had hoped that this new casino would bring some competition to the area, but I saw no 99% plus pay tables on the video poker machines that I checked. Now, I did not check every VP machine in the place, but I did check at least a dozen, and at various denominations. I saw nothing worth playing. As a result, we did not play; we did not even bother to join their player's club. It looks like a nice casino, though, and unlike the neighboring 5 casinos, it is land-based with all casino action on a single floor. The other 5 casinos are riverboats, each with 3 floors.

While we were on the Bossier City side of the river, we played a few hours at the Horseshoe. There are a few competitive VP machines there if you arrive early enough to claim them. After a short session there, we went next door to the Louisiana Boardwalk. The Boardwalk is a nice place, complete with a hotel, numerous eating places, movie theater, and various outlet style shops.  We noticed quite a few empty stores as we strolled about. Donna picked up some perfume at Parfumania, and we looked at camping and hiking gear in Bass Pro Shop. Wow, prices at that place have really gone up! That seems to be happening everywhere, though.

We spent most of our time at the Eldorado, though we did venture next door to Sam's Town for a few hours of play. Our rooms at Eldorado were comped, as well as the meals we enjoyed there. And that is what keeps us going back to Eldorado . . . at least, for now. Usually our only expenditures on these trips is gasoline and what we lose in the casino.

Rain Data

In the last post, I mentioned the rain we've been receiving. Now for some facts.

Our local paper, the San Angelo Standard Times, posts weather data in its paper copy. This data is always located on the last page of Section A. Included in this data is information on area lake levels. I want to share some of that now.

First, here are the totals listed before runoff water from our most recent rains were included.

Lake	Capacity	Acre-Feet
Nasworthy	80%	8,192
OC Fisher	1%	958
Twin Buttes	4%	7,668
Spence	5%	26,418
Ivie	18%	102,090
Amistad	25%	803,065

Now here is data on the same lakes 3 or 4 days later after rains dropped more than 2 inches on the Concho and Colorado River watersheds to the north of San Angelo; in Angelo, we received much less rain. As you can see, the rains had very little impact on lake levels; in fact, most of the lakes continued in their downward spiral. San Angelo relies on water from O. H. Ivie. Lake Amistad, though an area lake, is formed by waters from the Pecos and Rio Grande watersheds, so it did not benefit from recent rains.

Lake	Capacity	Acre-Feet
Nasworthy	80%	8,180
OC Fisher	1%	847
Twin Buttes	4%	7,463
Spence	6%	31,275
Ivie	18%	102,038
Amistad	25%	824,342

For area lakes to recover, substantial rains over several days are needed. As much as I hate to say it, perhaps the only hope is for a hurricane to come inland and stall over the Concho Valley for several days. Of course, those beneficial rains for us could mean damaging winds and flooding to coastal areas and communities.

So for now we continue with water restrictions in place, with talk that they will become only more strict, especially with increased population coming in to the area and increased use as a result of oil drilling.

Digging Up Bones

When my brother came to visit almost 2 weeks ago, he brought along 2 boxes of pictures, military records, tax documents, and other items related to our families. Probably the real treasures in the group were 2 video interviews that my brother conducted with my grandmother and father. In July 1998, he spent nearly 2 hours interviewing my then 87 year old maternal grandmother. Her memory was quite good, and I was especially impressed by the accuracy of the dates she gave. In July 2003, he then interviewed my father for about an hour. At that time, Dad was 77, but his memory was already beginning to fail him, especially as regards specifics. But watching Dad move around and speak made it seem that he was still alive. Dad and I were quite close, so it was a great pleasure to watch that interview.

Larry questioned Dad and my grandmother on family history. As the videos ran, I took notes and have used that information for a new wave of family research. I've spent much time since 1997 digging up my Cameron family bones, and have received a great deal of information from a distant cousin, Judy, whom I've never met in person. Judy has been a wealth of not only dates and places, but she has been able to furnish some great photos of my great grandfather and his siblings and others.

I get in my moods where I spend long hours searching genealogy sources for information on my families. When new information refuses to surface, I tend to go dormant for a while until something new pops up. With the interviews I've just seen, I've had a new burst of energy and am now working on my mother's side of my family tree. This includes several families, but mainly Robinsons and Milligans.

I thought I'd share some of the online sources I use in my research. Some of you may be interested in getting started researching your own families.

My favorite source of all the is FamilySearch, a nonprofit family history organization dedicated to connecting families across generations. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the primary benefactor for FamilySearch services. If you use this tool, be sure to create a free account so that you can have access to the records that are available. It's really exciting when you look at an actual document signed by a distant relative. With FamilySearch, you can find all sorts of records, such as census records, death certificates, marriage certificates, birth certificates, draft registrations, and many others.

I also use Find A Grave a great deal. This site relies extensively on volunteers to gather and contribute information from cemeteries. Quite often, pictures of tombstones or even people are provided. I've even found the contents of a death certificate included with an entry.

Many counties participate in the US Gen Web project. Begin by going to the national USGenWeb Archives. From there you can select your state. At the state level, you can then look for the appropriate county. Some counties are really active in this project while others have very limited information.

These are just 3 sources that barely scratch the surface. Records of all types exist out there, from ship logs to military records. Be creative in your search and use all the information you have. Personally, I enjoy playing detective. I find that it keeps my mind active, and this is a good thing as I age. I enjoy the mental challenge of trying to solve a riddle, and family history is certainly that.

When I first created my web page (Living the Good Life), I included a section on genealogy. Unfortunately, I've not done much on it since. But on a sub page, you can view some early pictures of my Cameron family. I hope to get back to work on that portion of my web page in the near future. But right now, I'm just too busy digging up bones.