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"It's All
Trew" by Delbert Trew
Appears
in the Amarillo Globe News
Delbert retired from a lifetime of farming and ranching
along with stints as a carpenter, cow trader and 35 years as a "Saturday
night professional musician." He turned to freelance writing because
he was "literally full of it." |
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New
Lots of laughter in Old
West 5-8-08
No matter how serious the history of the Old West gets, there is
always a little humor included if you keep reading. Recently, while
reading about the Rath Trail, starting at Rath City at the Double
Mountains of Texas, meandering by Matador, Clarendon, Mobeetie and
ending in Dodge City, Kan., several enjoyable incidents were included.
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Columns
(Weekly
starting May 2007)
Origins
of land ownership 5-1-08
POW
camp stirs memories 4-24-08
No
journey too far for determined cattlemen 4-17-08
Icons
grow grayer 4-10-08
Wagons
vehicles of West 3-27-08
Voters
hold fiery rally 3-20-08
Tick
trouble takes 30 years to terminate 3-13-08
Locusts
plague settlers 3-6-08
Crude
work: Oil methods fascinating 2-28-08
Horse-to-tractor
switch laborious 2-21-08
Brush
up on the classic products 2-14-08
Dust
Bowl was deadly 2-7-08
Indian
scouts helped end the Indian wars 1-31-08
Horse
had to run its course
Region the birthplace of shopping cart, 'Old Yeller' 1-22-08
Captain
William Coe lived criminal highlife 1-16-08
Orphans
find homes in West 1-8-08
Standardized
wheel widths kept you in a rut 12-26-07
Pop.:
150, minimum 12-18-07
It's
a wonder the Panhandle was ever settled 12-11-07
Patience
a valuable lesson 12-3-07
Military
editions are book rarities 11-27-07
Train
travelers owe much to service pioneer 11-20-07
Old
West fires often impossible to tame 11-13-07
Tobacco
is as American as apple pie and baseball 11-6-07
Survival
rough as the land in Cimarron Country 10-30-07
Old-time
improvisation in branding and jailing 10-23-07
Early
ranchers formed well-organized groups 10-16-07
Bull
Durham tobacco the 'cheapest luxury' 10-10-07
New
Deal art provided hope 10-2-07
Museum
honors horse's gallantry 9-25-07
Surveying,
mother of invention 9-18-07
'Spares'
needed pairs 9-11-07
Myths
of the South Plains 9-5-07
Stables
were cultural hub 8-28-07
How
legends are made 8-21-07
Lamp
chores evolved 8-14-07
Conditioning
a saddle into tiptop quality 8-7-07
Water
supply not to be taken for granted 8-1-07
Annual
pear event preserves the past 7-10-07
Buffalo
slaughter had benefits 7-3-07
Can
you please pass the salt? 6-26-07
Home
canning was a high-pressure job 6-19-07
Country
cures tame pesky farm critters 6-12-07
Measuring
systems of the past 5-29-07
Fascinated
by food facts 5-22-07
Higgins
was stage station 5-14-07
Trail
drivers brought in income, coined phrases 5-6-07
Hungry
cowboys foil pickle plan 5-2-07
History?
It's in the mail 3-30-07
Autograph
book reveals mother's girlhood 2-1-07
My,
how record keeping has changed 1-1-07
Work
continued despite weather conditions 12-15-06
Old
gardeners avoided 'feast or famine' route 12-1-06
Wildfires
top long list of life's hazards 11-14-06
Great
Depression brought many programs 11-1-06
Rationing
reminds of sacrifices for war effort 10-16-06
Some
old-time superstitions prevail 10-3-06
Book
about old-time expressions evokes story 9-26-06
Dirt-moving
methods improve through years 9-19-06
Chance
chats solve history's mysteries 9-13-06
Texas
weather always unpredictable 9-5-06
What
a smoker smokes can reveal personality 8-29-06
Past
can continue to serve the present 8-21-06
Rollaway
bed was favorite for sleeping, hiding 8-15-06
Texas,
Oklahoma line ever-shifting until 1930 8-8-06
Water
- then and now 8-1-06
Right
lubrication greases squeakiest of wheels 7-25-06
Tagging
vehicles has colorful history 7-18-06
Mineral
Wells once a booming health spa 7-10-06
Haphazard
biscuits now memories 7-4-06
Second
income not such a new thing after all 6-27-06
Saving
energy has always been worthwhile 6-20-06
Love,
appreciation for trees go full circle 6-13-06
Deere
was a man farmers could really dig 6-7-06
'Greatest
Generation' kept America together 5-29-06
Evolving
farms grew to look like small towns 5-22-06
Water
defines local historical events 5-17-06
WPA
aided America's health 5-8-06
Being
in hot water actually a luxury 5-3-06
A
look at wash day from early to modern 4-25-06
Crocks:
The Tupperware of their day 4-17-06
A
criminal or a saint? You never know 4-11-06
Reflecting
on traditional meat processing 3-30-06
Brick
chimneys a favorite memory 3-14-06
Ghost
towns aplenty in Texas Panhandle 3-11-06
Daily
chores were priority during childhood 2-27-06
Cowboys:
Stand-up comedians for the Lord 2-21-06
Neighbors
quick to help those in need 2-14-06
Technology
opens many doors 2-7-06
Dipping
into the history of snuff, tobacco 1-31-06
Pederson
Creek offered unique privileges 1-24-06
Canning
remains popular throughout time 1-18-06
Childhood
medications were simple, gave relief 1-12-06
Trewisms:
Hard-earned observations reflect life's lessons 12-13-05
Phillips
66 Service Station 10-1-05
The First Phillips 66 Retail Outlet in Texas – 1928
Encounters
of the outhouse kind make great family reunion tales 9-17-05
Lessons
Learned Riding School Bus Last a Lifetime 8-26-05
Rural
'home office' centered on farmer's almanac 8-7-05
Wash
day on the farm always fell on Monday 7-22-05
Factory-made
horse trailer had its share of problems 7-1-05
A
penny saved is worthless if it's nowhere to be found 6-15-05
Memory
tickled by itch of childhood ailments 6-1-05
Boys
will be boys - and also troublemakers 5-14-05
Domino,
pool parlors were pre-TV entertainment 5-1-05
Point
of view depends on viewing point 4-11-05
Some
cuss words aren't really cuss words 4-5-05
Language
changes a little from generation to generation 3-28-09
Some believe a different language was spoken in the old days? Maybe
so, here are a few examples used by the Trew clan.
War
surplus was godsend to folks at home 3-14-05
"Everyone wanted a jeep. This heroic vehicle had appeared in
every war movie, newsreel and photo sent home from the war."
Quills,
nibs, ink bladders were part of daily life 3-1-05
All
types of things happened when making butter 2-1-05
Dogs
figure in life's fondest memories 1-16-05
Planning
for weather is trying proposition 1-1-05
Fuel
Fires Up Memories 12-15-04
'Waste
not, want not' was law at supper 12-1-04
Once
lowly fare, potatoes enjoy popularity 11-15-04
Home
remedies would cure or kill you 11-1-04
The
Hog, the Whole Hog, Nothin' but the Hog 10-20-04
The
Great Nail Pickup 9-1-04
First
Car Memories 8-17-04
Old
Time Objects Long Gone 8-2-04
Five
gallon buckets were versatile, useful farm equipment 7-7-04
Two addendums to vows help marriage to last 5-26-04
Coal
oil was useful all-purpose home remedy 4-1-04
Unique
Monument 3-24-04
The "TRIBUTE TO BARBED WIRE" The Only Monument in the World dedicated
to Barbed Wire
Got
sweet, skim, sour, butter or scalded milk? 3-19-04
Using
concrete involved search for sand, much hauling 3-19-04
Things
Worthy of Prayer: Baling wire, duct tape, drywall screws and caulking
3-17-04
Quilting
was hub of family, social life 3-14-04
'My
mama's cornbread' discussion gets hot 3-14-04
Biscuits,
even the 'whomp' kind, make world a better place 3-14-04
Bugs
provided hours of entertainment 3-14-04
Smoking
just seemed to go along with pioneer, cowboy life 3-10-04
Mailbox
was rural portal to outside world 3-3-04
Screen
door was faithful fixture 2-26-04
Barbed
Wire Telephones 2-20-04
Harvey
Girls and Juke Quarters
2-6-04
A fact most significant to the history of the West is that approximately
100,000 girls signed up to work for Fred Harvey from 1901 to about
1944.
Linoleum
was family's first sign of prosperity 2-6-04
Dishevelment
is lifelong trait
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Delbert
Trew
Delbert
Trew was born in Ochiltree County in the northern Panhandle of Texas
in 1933. His wife Ruth was also born in the Panhandle on a farm near
Follett, Texas. This was during the darkest days of the Great Depression
and in the heart of the Dustbowl. They are retired and live 65 miles
east of Amarillo on a ranch that's been in the family for 54 years.
Both have suffered personal tragedy. Delbert's first wife and sixteen-year-old
daughter were killed in a car wreck in 1970 and Ruth's first husband,
a Marine helicopter pilot became one of those still missing in Vietnam.
They married, combining their surviving families.
Living through hard times, good times, tragedy and three major wars
gave Delbert boxcar loads of hindsight and experience.
Delbert retired from a lifetime of farming and ranching along with
stints as a carpenter, cow trader and 35 years as a "Saturday night
professional musician." He turned to freelance writing because he
was "literally full of it."
Writing for newspapers, magazines, doing public speaking and now publishing
books, his writing hobby has turned into a full-time job. He doesn't
complain, since it's still better than digging post holes in the hard
Panhandle soil.
He states to all, "I write from a been-there, done-that and seen-it-all
philosophy. Whether I write or speak, and whether the subject is nostalgic,
historical or humorous, I guarantee 'It's All Trew' from start to
finish."
As a disclaimer he sometimes says, "I never let the truth stand in
the way of a good story" and other times he says, "If you've already
heard this story, don't stop me, 'cause I want to hear it again, myself."
Delbert is also a museum curator and supervisor at the Devil's Rope
Barbwire Museum in McLean, Texas. Those traveling old Route 66 would
be hard pressed to find a more qualified Panhandle ambassador.
His time spent as an editor/publisher, plus being "a mite windy" assures
that time spent with his writing or listening to his programs will
be both enjoyable and fun.
His column "It's All Trew" appears weekly in the Amarillo Globe
News. Mr. Trew has graciously agreed to share his column with
our readers providing them a closer look at the Texas
Panhandle - past and present.
February
5, 2004
Delbert
Trew's website : http://delberttrew.com/
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Books by
Delbert Trew
Delbert
Trew - Book Order Form
"It's
All Trew" 80 weekly news articles as published in the Amarillo Globe-News
Here
and Gone: A Gray County Centennial Edition
The
RO Brand: The Story of Alfred Rowe, founder of McLean, Texas and
the RO Ranch.
The
McLean P.O.W. Camp: A WWII installation built at McLean, Texas
Warwire:
The History of Obstacle Wire Used in Warfare
With Bill Russell:
Twice
Told Tales of the Llano Estacado (Illustrated by Al Martin Napoletano)
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