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LOCAL
PERSONALITIES
People with brains, panache, or character. Sometimes all three.
DAN MARTINETS - THE LONE GRANGER
"How Jane Russell nearly broke my Collarbone
on the Neiman Marcus Escalator"
By John Troesser
Vintage photos courtesy of Dan Martinets |
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When
we say Granger has Character,
90% of it is Saint Dan
Dan Martinets today
TE Photo |
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The
Martinets Family c. 1915 |
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Dan
Martinets with father c. 1923 |
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While on a trip from Taylor to Waco we passed by the town of Granger.
We had heard Granger's streets were the first to be paved in Texas
and we went to check it out. Our inquires at the city hall resulted
in a mysterious look between the two clerks. "You need to talk to
Dan Martinets" was what we were told. It turned out to be the best
advice we've been given by city employees to date.
We called
Mr. Martinets and received an invitation to visit and have all our
questions about Granger answered. We got much more. We got to meet
the man who has been known as "Saint Dan" and "The Reluctant Psychic."
Since he has become our only source for Granger stories, we asked
if we could call him the "Lone Granger." He graciously accepted
and is now included in our staff as our Granger Historian.
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How
Jane Russell nearly broke my Collarbone on the Neiman Marcus Escalator.
By Dan (The Lone Granger) Martinets as told to The Editor
Dan Martinets, had left Williamson County after guaduating from Southwestern
University in Georgetown. Having seen all of Williamson County, he
decided to take a job in Dallas at the Neiman Marcus store there.
The Elevator Grapevine
He headed a group of advertising people who were also responsible
for the printing of the famous catalogs. Since they were on the fifth
floor and were sometimes referred to as the "Fifth Floor Stepchildren,"
they depended on the kindness of visitors and elevator operators to
have some contact with the outside world. Since celebrities
often shopped at Neimans, perhaps the first people to see them would
be the elevator operators. This may be a surprise to our younger readers
(as if we had younger readers) to know that there were people who
actually made a living punching numbers for people, but such was the
case. If a movie star was let out on the 2nd floor, the elevator
operator would tell the other floors, so that they might be better
prepared for an encounter with a celebrity.
One day word came up that Jane Russell was visiting a department
several floors below. Dan had missed several previous celebrities,
so he was determined to see this one. Such was his hurry that he and
a woman collided at the escalator. As they both turned picked themselves
off the floor, and Dan started to apologize, he found himself looking
into the face he was rushing to see. This story is not nearly as good
as the time he used the urinal next to Rock Hudson, but it'll
have to do until we include that one.
September 2000
© John Troesser
See Granger, Texas
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