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Texas | Columns | Texas History

"Letters from Central Texas"
by
Clay Coppedge

website: www.claycoppedge.com
Clay Coppedge

Bio
Clay Coppedge is a regular contributor to Texas Co-op Power magazine. His work has also appeared in Acres USA, Elysian Fields Quarterly, Field and Stream, Gulf Coast Golfer, Texas Fisherman and other magazines and newspapers. He has worked as a sports editor in Williamson County and as a reporter for the Temple Daily Telegram as well as stints as a cab driver, busboy and other jobs too odd to mention. He lives and writes near Walburg in Williamson County.
February, 2008

Columns

  • Santa Rita No. 1 and the Inevitable 1-5-24

  • Texas Ghosts of Christmas Past 12-15-23

  • Madstone Magic 11-21-23

  • Famous Texas Typists 10-11-23

  • Rise and Fall of the Farmers Alliance 9-18-23

  • Drugstore Cowboys 8-19-23

  • Forgotten Tales of Sugar Loaf 7-13-23

  • Legend of Bosque John 6-26-23

  • Texas' Tobacco Road 5-29-23

  • La Menken and the First Horse Opera 4-11-23

  • A Different Kind of Alamo Story 2-18-23

  • Elmer "Pet" Brown: The Idol of His Fans 1-12-23

  • Rattlesnakes, Bandits, and Big Bend's Hot Springs 12-7-22

  • The Forgotten Team of Texas 11-9-22

  • The Long Gone Texon Oilers 10-12-22

  • Slingin' Sammy Baugh 9-25-22

  • El Diablo gets his due 8-10-22

  • Those Desolate Icarians 7-8-22

  • Boy With X-Ray Eyes 6-8-22

  • Woody Guthrie and the End of the World 5-15-22

  • Last Town Crier 4-8-22

  • Rough Riding on the Butterfield Trail 3-6-22

  • The Snow-Capped Mountains of Lubbock 2-6-22

  • Not so great escapes 1-8-22

  • Titanic in Texas 12-5-21

  • Country Music's First Superstar 11-3-21

  • America's Broadway 10-6-21

  • Wired Up in Texas 9-8-21

  • William Lee's Buggy Ride 8-9-21

  • Double-Crossed, Double Murder 7-10-21

  • He Got Wes Hardin 6-16-21

  • Cooking the Books 5-16-21

  • It Was That Kind of Railroad 4-17-21

  • The Bettina Experiment 3-17-21

  • The Midnight Ride of Bob Slaughter 2-22-21

  • The Many Lives of Ray Bourbon 1-18-21

  • The "Peculiar Emblem" of Texas 12-28-20

  • Oilfield Voodoo 11-16-20

  • Apocalypse on the San Saba 10-16-20

  • The Real Texas Jack 9-16-20

  • Edgar Davis: Visionary Wildcatter 8-16-20

  • Casner Cold Case 7-11-20

  • The Fleeting Fame and Lasting Legacy of Bobby Morrow 6-10-20

  • The Phantom Booth 5-17-20

  • Trailing Texas Fever 4-16-20

  • Roy Bean's Bad News Bear 3-15-20

  • Karl May's Cactus Forest 2-17-20

  • Finders Weepers 1-10-20


  • The Walking Arsenal 12-13-19

  • The Invisible Track Highway 11-16-19

  • The Unflappable Flapper Bandit 10-19-19

  • Monroe Fisher's Higher Calling 9-23-19

  • Temple's International Man of Mystery 8-27-19

  • Rocket Mail 8-1-19

  • James Brock's Honesty of Purpose 7-16-19

  • William Burroughs in Texas 6-28-19

  • Daniel Edwards: Hero or Hoax 6-13-19

  • Mysterious Malakoff Men 5-28-19

  • The Seven-Up Gang 3-1-19

  • The Border Blasting Goat Gland Doctor 2-18-19

  • Peg Leg Stage Robberies 2-2-19

  • The Rubbing Doctors 1-18-19

  • Too Full of Alabama 12-30-18

  • Who Was That Masked Man? 12-15-18

  • Tasty Texas Ingenuity 12-2-18

  • An Annoyance of Grackles 11-16-18

  • The Original Texas Songster 11-2-18

  • The Little Axe That Could 10-19-18

  • The Cowboy Who Became the Father of British Aviation 10-4-18

  • Wrong Way Corrigan 9-26-18

  • The First Rodeo 9-2-18

  • Randolph Marcy Got Around 8-17-18

  • Three-Legged Willie Stood Tall 8-4-18

  • The Horse George Childress Rode In On 7-16-18

  • What we know about the state dinosaur 7-1-18

  • Philip Nolan and All the Pretty Horses 6-8-18

  • Seven Flags over Texas 5-17-18

  • Steinheimer's Treasure 5-2-18

  • Leigh Dyer and the T Anchor Ranch 4-7-18

  • A fowl insurrection, The Chicken War 3-24-18

  • Santa Anna's Adopted Texian 3-10-18

  • Pan Zareta: Queen of the Turf 2-16-18

  • Trammel's Trace 2-3-18

  • Milt Hinkle, the South America Kid and aerial bulldogger 1-13-18

  • Mackenzie Trail 1-2-18


  • Chasing Villa 12-16-17

  • Art Deco on the Plains 12-1-17

  • How to Kill a Town 11-17-17

  • Quotable Sheridan 11-3-17

  • Skyline Club 10-16-17

  • Bobby Layne's (alleged) curse 10-2-17

  • Harvey's Ancestor 9-20-17

  • Saltpeter and Bat Bombs 9-3-17

  • Dangerous Al Jennings 8-17-17

  • The Earl of Excess 8-2-17

  • Bombing of Desdemona 7-16-17

  • A Short History of Beer in Texas 7-2-17

  • The First Texas Revolution 6-16-17

  • Rube Burrow, Notorious Train Robber 6-3-17

  • Frontier Forts of Texas 5-15-17

  • The Unsung Saloonkeeper 5-1-17

  • Fine Texas Horses 4-16-17

  • Kleberg, Hirsch and Assault: Three of a Kind 4-2-17

  • Texas Dunker Joe Fortenberry 3-17-17

  • Forgotten founder of Dallas 3-4-17

  • Henry Skillman, frontier mail courier 2-4-17

  • A Bald-Headed Whiskey Town 1-3-17


  • Billy the Kid's Texas Vacation 12-3-16

  • The road that became an Interstate 11-1-16

  • Who killed J.W? 10-3-16

  • Bobby Fuller 9-2-16

  • Ragtime Texas Henry Thomas 8-5-16

  • Mystery of the Spider Rocks 7-7-16

  • W.D. Smithers and the Ways of the Border 6-4-16

  • Uncle Dick's Toll Road 5-2-16

  • Moon Mullican 3-20-16

  • Deaf Smith 2-21-16

  • Glen Springs Raid 1-4-16



  • Thomas Toby, Privateer 12-2-15

  • J. Frank Norfleet 10-2-15

  • A Couple of Alleged Incidents 9-6-15
    Two of the most famous gunfights from the fabled era of the gunfighter might or might not have taken place and involved (or didn't involve) some of the most iconic names of the Old West...

  • First (official) flight over Texas 8-1-15

  • The Big Bopper 7-4-15

  • Texas Fakes 6-6-15

  • Dallas Vice 5-1-15

  • Bulldog Turner 4-4-15

  • The Old Gringo in Texas 3-1-15
    Writer and civil war veteran Ambrose Bierce

  • Texas Hoaxes 2-1-15
    Aurora Spaceship, Big Foot, Dickie Don and Rickie Ron Yewbet

  • From Bugs Bunny to Sam Houston 1-5-15


  • The Not So Great Cowboy Strike of 1883 12-5-14
  • Thurber, Texas 11-1-14
  • Miss Bettie Brown and Haunting of Ashton Villa 10-12-14
  • Sweetwater Swatter 9-15-14
  • Tex Avery 8-14-14
  • The Saga of Texas Iron 7-8-14
  • Red River Expedition 6-6-14
  • Soapy Smith 5-10-14
  • Terraqueous Transportation 4-6-14
  • A Fiddler’s Redemption 3-1-14
  • The First State Fair of Texas 2-17-14
  • A Dalliance to Remember 1-19-14
  • The Curious Saga of R.G. Dyrenforth 1-8-14


  • Ill Fated Nolan Expedition 12-4-13
  • Ben K. Green 11-2-13
  • Juan Seguin: A foreigner in his native land 10-2-13
  • Neighbors Expedition 9-6-13
  • Clyde Barrow, motorist 8-2-13
  • Peyote Gardens 7-6-13
  • Steel Dust 6-16-13
  • The opium war, Texas style 5-11-13
  • Pat Garrett 4-9-13
  • Bullet Riddled Buddies 2-1-13
  • Frontier Journalism in Texas 1-3-13


  • The Bone Wars 11-30-12
  • Albert Pike in Comancheria 11-18-12
  • Sally Skull 11-1-12
  • The Alleged Battle of Bandera Pass 10-3-12
  • A Snakebitten Legacy 9-17-12
  • The Oilman and the Sea 9-3-12
  • Sam Bell Maxey 8-18-12
  • Wilson Pottery 8-4-12
  • The Ranger Formerly Known as Pidge 7-22-12
  • Trick ‘Em and Skin ‘Em 7-2-12
  • Kit Carson at Adobe Walls 6-16-12
  • Hello, Sucker 6-6-12
  • Tex Thornton: King of the oilfield firefighters and rainmaker 5-1-12
  • Frederick Law Olmsted 4-13-12
  • The Big Boom of 1882 3-9-12
  • Desdemona 1-27-12
  • William F. Drannan told it like it wasn’t 1-9-12


  • Creed Taylor 12-9-11
  • “The Great Western” 11-4-11
  • Bone Haulers 10-3-11
  • Comancheros 9-4-11
  • Max Hirsch, Healer and Winner 8-8-11
  • Turkeys and Tenderfeet 7-8-11
  • Ferdinand Lindheimer 4-12-11
  • Fruit Tree Ramsey 3-22-11
  • Custer in Texas 2-23-11
  • Bose Ikard 2-1-11
  • Pig War 1-1-11


  • Frontier Doctors 10-15-10
    John F. Webber and Gail Borden
  • LBJ and Sad Irons 9-10-10
  • Slats Rodgers 8-20-10
  • Ice in Summer 8-6-10
  • Blind Man’s Town 7-20-10
  • Texas Mormons 6-11-10
  • Eck Robertson 5-19-10
  • Sally Rand and Yesterday's ‘House of Tomorrow’ 5-1-10
  • Pancho Villa 4-15-10
  • Champ D’Asile 3-1-10
  • Dueling 2-24-10
  • Jean Laffite 1-1-10


  • Ned Green 12-24-09
  • George Kendall 12-1-09
  • Vin Fiz Flyer 11-19-09
  • Temple Houston 11-1-09
  • Dance Pistols 9-21-09
  • The Horse Marines 9-7-09
  • Alex Sweet and His Siftings 8-26-09
  • Roy Crane and Captain Easy 7-31-09
  • Blast From The Past: The Houston Colt 45s 6-19-09
  • The Legendary Stardust Cowboy 6-3-09
  • Bozo Texino 5-2-09
  • Marx Brothers 4-1-09
  • Texas Cherokees 3-16-09
  • Life and Times of James Coryell 2-3-09
  • Doak Good 1-15-09
  • In Praise of the Unappreciated Mule 1-2-09


  • The Reindeer of Texas 12-1-08
  • Thanksgiving as a Texas Thing 11-19-08
  • Mance Lipscomb 10-18-08
  • Granger Through The Years 10-3-08
  • How To Mangle Friends and Influence Coaches 9-11-08
  • Gideon Lincecum: King of Texas’ Wild Frontier 8-24-08
  • Little One-Hearted Stock Tank 8-12-08
  • With A Pit Bull On My Knee 7-24-08
  • The Unholy Catfish 7-10-08
  • Fly Fishing Is Not Always Pretty 6-23-08
  • Tom Slick 6-1-08
  • Bats 5-5-08
  • Old Bill and Handsome Wolf 4-7-08
  • The Plight of the Pleurocoeleus 3-17-08
    Dinosaurs in Texas
  • Goodrich Jones: The best friend Texas trees ever had 3-6-08
  • Avisadores: Messengers of Light 2-18-08
  • The Killer and Me 2-3-08


  • Sanctified Sisters 11-7-07
  • Yoko on the Llanos 10-21-07
  • The Trials and Tribulations of El Kabong 10-5-07
  • A Man Named Pink 9-18-07
  • Ode to the Oleo Strut 9-3-07
  • Loco on the Llanos 8-16-07
  • Lubbock Lights and UFOs 8-7-07
  • King of the Hill 7-15-07
  • White Lightning 6-30-07
  • South Llano River State Park 6-15-07
  • Acres and Acres of Acres 6-1-07
    The Hill Country State Natural Area
  • The Life and Times of Whitey Walker 5-1-07
  • From Patty Hearst to Salado 4-16-07
  • What Stanley Walker Saw 2-16-07
  • Texas' Most Civilized Soul 2-1-07
    Roy Bedichek
  • Historic Joe Lee 1-22-07
  • Zipperlandville, and Other Places 1-3-07


  • Mother Neff State Park: Texas' first 12-8-06
  • Colorado Bend: It Is What It Is 11-21-06
  • Lanky and the POWs 11-8-06
    Mildred "Lanky" Lancaster
  • Flowers For Sarah Herndon 10-12-06
  • Haunted Hill 10-5-06
  • A Classic Walk on The Wild Side 9-21-06
  • Sam Bass: The Not So Merry Bandit 9-13-06
  • In Praise of Texas Corn 8-22-06
  • The Texas Longhorn: Shaped By Nature 8-7-06
  • The Life and Times of Big Bill Babb 7-18-06
  • Jesse James, Supposedly 7-3-06
  • The Chisholm Trail Rides Again 6-11-06
  • Westphalia Waltz 5-30-06
  • Yalgo, the legendary horse 5-17-06
  • The Old Bartlett Western Railroad 4-27-06
  • Folk Medicine 4-11-06
  • Life, death and dog-trot houses 3-11-06
  • Kempner 2-23-06
  • Phantom Alligators 1-21-06
  • FM 2843 1-1-06


  • FM 116: In The Shadow of Fort Hood 12-9-05
  • Horny Toad Hypnosis 11-17-05
  • John Trlica 11-1-05
  • Windmills 10-16-05
  • Bird's Creek 9-28-05
  • Tonkawa Tales 8-26-05
  • Joe Tex 8-4-05
  • Salt of the South 7-15-05
  • Taking Dead Aim in Izoro 7-1-05
  • George Sessions Perry 6-15-05
  • The Eerie Demise of Johnny Horton 5-26-05
  • Killer Vultures 5-10-05
  • Groovin' at The Grove 4-1-05
  • Metheglin Creek 2-22-05
  • Name of This Town Rings A Bell
    Ding Dong, Texas 1-16-05
  • Legends of the Pancake Mine 1-1-05


  • The Most Famous Bathtub in Coryell County 12-15-04
  • Never another like Bill Pickett 12-1-04
  • Major Butt and the Titantic 11-15-04
  • Good old New Corn Hill 10-29-04
  • Ol' Paint's ride started in Bartlett 10-15-04
  • Renaissance Man of Buckholts 9-28-04
  • PRAIRIE DELL
    Tranquil setting belies past
    9-24-04
  • The Hobo of Little River-Academy


  • © Clay Coppedge

    Column began August, 2004


    Subject: Clay Coppedge
    I laughed as I learned from Mr. Clay's recent article on Pat Garrett. I'd have to describe his style as hilarious history, or maybe historical hysteria, or perhaps historical hilarity...at any rate, the man is funny. - Frances Giles

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