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West
Texas Museums
Photo
Essay
by Byron Browne |
Any
true Texan will tell you that, time permitting, he would rather drive across the
state than fly over it. The insistence on driving is a fascination with the car
(or truck), a primal need to be involved with the land’s expanse and the constant
and continuing opportunity for discovery. Native Texans have an innate predilection
for the land itself. Few states could harbor the quantity of eclectic treasure
that Texas keeps on deposit and these are commodities
that most of us do not want to over look. It wouldn’t be polite.
Recently
my wife and I came upon several instances of just this sort of inhabitant wealth.
While on safari (we went in pursuit of wineries) through the west
Texas savannah we noticed that almost every town, backwater, or village was
proudly, and publicly displaying whatever claim to posterity or fame it had to
offer. Not only was the person, idea, geologic formation or history mentioned
by road sign or banner but, in fact, a museum had been founded to exhibit the
source of communal pride. What follows then is a collection of photographs of
several of these monuments to memory. We drove the roads between Lubbock
and Fort Stockton and while trying
to document the sites as we came upon them- several times doubling back to recollect
missed items- I am quite certain that we overlooked several. If there is an obvious
omission I’ll apologize now however, understand that there is just a heck of a
lot of stuff out there. |
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Road
sign in O’Donnell,
Texas, advertising the Dan Blocker Museum. Just south of Lubbock
this sign is difficult to miss or ignore. After driving through the mid-summer
greened, hyper-corrected kaleidoscope of cotton crop rows for close to an hour
it is impossible not to notice this television icon hanging on the side of what
seems to be an abandoned cotton gin.
Lubbock
Hotels > |
| The actual
Dan Blocker Museum in O’Donnell,
Texas. A misnomer. As the curator informed me it is not solely the Dan Blocker
museum but rather there is simply a Dan
Blocker area to the museum of artifacts which came from the “attics and backyards”
of locals dating back to the 19th century. If you wish to pay the “Gentle Giant”
respects, you’ll need to travel to Dekalb, Texas-that is where he was both born
and buried. |
The
historic portion of Fort Stockton,
Texas. Barracks, stables, officer’s quarters make up this small section
of town dating back to the nineteenth century. When coming into town this area
is fraternally located next to the not-quite-as-historic downtown area. This part
of town is located away from the interstate and was, at least by ourselves, overlooked
for some time. The shop owners in the downtown area typically appeared to be a
little forlorn. I hope I am mistaken.
Ft
Stockton Hotels > |
The
Annie Riggs Museum in Fort Stockton.
Built in 1900 as the Adobe Hotel, the museum houses not only 19th- early 20th
century Pecos county artifacts but also curates an Archaeological Room which contains
Columbian period Mammoth tusk.
Ft
Stockton Hotels > |
All
we needed from Monahans, we assumed,
was some gas, a diet coke and a not-too-old cup of coffee. However, this Coca
Cola Museum presented itself as we drove the main street. Sadly, because it
was early in the morning, the restaurant was closed and some nuance of the Coca
Cola company was denied to us.
Monahans
Hotels > |
Odessa
Meteor Crater. I know. I couldn’t believe it either. It seemed as though God
was marking the spot where he wanted Odessa
to be founded. Maybe it is the divot left from some divine tee shot. In any event,
realizing that this section of the state was touched (or punched) by some celestial
body gives a particular majesty to the area. Just a couple of miles off the interstate,
the museum is closed on Mondays.
Odessa
Hotels > |
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Still
in Odessa lies the Presidential Museum
and Leadership Library. It is a showcase for the biography and achievements
of George W. Bush. A subject so vast that the area developers decided that the
Ellen Noel Art Museum should be erected directly next door. The museums are so
close together that they share a conjoining parking lot. The presidential museum
also offers maps to the different residences of the Bush family around Odessa.
The museum’s web-site states that the Leadership Library is available to “ learn
more about President George W. Bush and his predecessors”; presumably for compare/contrast
purposes.
Odessa
Hotels > |
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A couple
of miles from interstate 20 off Loop 40, the Commemorative Air Force Museum
is remarkable. In the first place, the site is enormous-several acres and 40,000
square feet. Secondly, any male in the car will be fascinated by the salvaged,
antique airplanes and military equipment in and around the hangars that are the
museum. Follow the signs for the Midland
airport. The museum is closed Sundays and Mondays.
Just down the main street
leading to this museum is a Vietnam Memorial-also not to be missed.
Midland
Hotels > |
| The
interior of one of the CAF museum’s hangers. |
The
Permian Basin Petroleum Museum just outside Midland.
The subtitle is Library and Hall of Fame, I assumed for the particularly productive
and well-behaved oil derricks. The museum is directly off the interstate on the
westbound frontage road.
Midland
Hotels > |
| Erected
in 1926 the Dal-Paso Hotel is now a museum in Lamesa,
Texas housing local articles from the early 20th century. It was, strangely,
closed in the early afternoon when we arrived. |
All the
way back to the big city we encountered the Buddy Holly Center. Located
on 19th street and avenue G (which is now termed, dear Lord, Crickets avenue)
the Center is just another example of the renovations that Lubbock
is putting itself through. The old “Tech ghetto”, and I mean that entire section
of town, has been dispatched like a double-crossing gangster and condos and a
massive interstate have risen from the omnipresent dust. The Center is closed
on Sunday and Monday.
Lubbock
Hotels > |
I include
the museum at Texas
Tech for two reasons: First, one of my degrees I obtained from Tech and
I have a soft spot for all things Raider. Second, I have always felt that the
university receives unwarranted tertiary billing behind Austin
and College
Station. The planetarium alone is worth the trip.
Lubbock
Hotels >
Copyright
Byron Browne. September 1, 2007
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Texas | Texas Museums |
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