Talkin Texan Camp Town Ladies camptown ladies

Talkin' Texan - Camp Town Ladies aka Camptown Ladies

Order the Book Direct Book Locker (Same Day Shipping)

Talkin’ Texan

Yep, "All beautiful women are Texan." No matter where they are from originally.

Texas Camp Town Ladies

In these modern times many of us will promise our wives or sweethearts the moon and the stars, the sun and the rain, eternal bliss, moonlit walks and at times we may even be wealthy enough to even name a boat or something or the other after them. Many of our male ancestors were a bit more romantic than many of us would suppose. These men should be highly respected for their foresight in letting the names of their wives or sweethearts remain for all time.

Many of our male ancestors were very appreciative of what their wives and sweethearts endured in the early west. I suppose that after bringing them from across oceans, thru Indian attacks, bumpy roads, lumpy covered wagons, while all the while the kids were asking: "Are we there yet?", the very least he could do was name a town after her. Some men did so and some men didn’t. The following towns were named by some of the men who did. Although I’m sure that some of the kids asked:" Hey Dad, how come you named it Christine, instead of Mom."

There are many famous camp town ladies throughout the state of Texas and there are the very well known towns of Alice, Carrolton, Edna, Odessa and Victoria. In this section of the book I’m just gonna tell you about a few of the lesser-known camp town ladies.

Big Sandy: She stood a very statuesque 6’6"; weighed about 225; with long golden hair that looked like new mown hay, kissed by the morning sun. They called her Big Sandy, and named the town and a nearby river after her. When Big Sandy was in her teens she figured that chickens, ducks, geese, and peacocks outnumbered dogs and cats about a thousand to one and so she opened up a Poultry Dressing operation in town. It seems that the local folks didn’t take too well to dressing their fowl up in all sorts of fancy duds and Big Sandy soon had to close her clothes operation. The local folks adored her wit and determination and later changed the town name from Fowl City to Big Sandy. There is a big bronze statue dedicated to her in the town square complete with some of her most popular poultry outfits. It’s a very popular site for having your picture taken.

Christine: Less than a two days ride by horse going south from San Antonio and much faster by car or truck. Named after one of the prettiest girls in Texas, Christine had long blonde hair, sky-blue eyes and a smile that could melt the polar ice caps. Some of y'all may think that the "greenhouse" effect is causing this, but Frank swears that his wife Christine has such a dazzling smile that is why these ice caps are rapidly melting. I tend to agree with Frank. I’m just glad that Christine doesn’t have a sister or we’d all be swimming in this part of the state.

Clairmont: Located just a bit south of Lubbock, Texas. Well, this fellow that named this town after his wife Clair was really smart because Mont also means mountain. Mont is also an abbreviation for his home state of Montana. So I suppose that you could say that he killed three birds with one stone.

Devine: Just a few miles southeast of Hondo, you’ll find this sleepy little town named after Dee Vine. Her husband Beau felt that he was married to one of the most brilliant ladies in all of Texas. Dee was the one to suggest one of the first Horse Washes in the state to be built in town. The Horse Washes were very successful and many of the local teenagers were able to earn some extra money working here after school. Folks were mighty impressed when someone rode up to Church on Sunday morning on a freshly washed and shampooed horse. Dee would even clean and wash the bridles and saddles if her customers requested her to do so. She’d always attach a little packet of potpourri to the horses bridle to keep that fresh horse scent. Unfortunately, there is no Devine Car Wash in Devine, because Dee’s descendants thought that the horseless carriage was just a passing fad and invested the family fortune into designer horseshoes. There are of course quite a few Beau Vines remaining in the area.

Elsa: Northwest of Brownsville, Texas. Elsa was very concerned that many of the local dogs and cats would get pretty dog gone cold in the winter season. She was a whiz on her ol' Singer sewing machine and started making all sorts of coats for the neighborhood cats and dogs. Later the town folk asked that Elsa make coats for their pets. Which she did. Millard Coats asked that the town be named after his wife Elsa. Elsa later went off on a bit of a tangent when she started making coats for the local cattle. Although the local dairy cows looked quite fashionable in their udder garments.

Honeybunch: located among the rolling oak-tree-covered hills in south central Texas is Honeybunch. The town is named after my sweetheart of a bride and is my most favorite place in Texas. I suppose that all married couples have some sort of signs or signals that they will relay to each other when they want to get the others attention. My bride’s signal to me is to kick me in the shins whenever I say anything that she doesn’t completely agree with. Normally I’m pretty safe if I’m sitting in a chair or on a couch. However if I’m sitting at a table I’ll really have to be careful about whatever I say.

If we are having dinner at home or if we’ve been invited over for dinner at a friends house, I’ll usually say little or nothing at the table, because I just know that she’ll haul off and kick me under the table. During the first few years of our marriage, I’d just keep talking and she’d keep kicking me harder and harder in my shins each time.

My shins are always battered and bruised and I am unable to wear shorts around the house or during those hot Texas summers. I’m probably one of the few guys wearing long pants out on Padre Island. Sometimes my kids will ask: "Hey, Pop, how come you never wear shorts or go swimming with us?" I normally tell them that my legs are so beautiful that it will drive the other women wild and I don’t want to upset their Mom.

Several years ago while my bride and I were attending Sunday school the entire class sat at tables as the preacher instructed us from behind a covered desk. I really do love to discuss the Bible with others and my sweetheart was continually kicking me, as we would discuss certain passages in the Bible. I was always badly bruised after class and at times would have great difficulty even being able to walk out of the room after the lesson. It always seemed that my wife’s lesson and the preacher’s were totally different.

One Sunday after church, the preacher asked me if I’d like to teach his Sunday school class the following Sunday. I tried to leap for joy, but because I could barely walk, I just told him that I would be happy to fill in for him the next Sunday. It was a real treat for me to teach the preachers class that next Sunday because I was well out of range from my bride and protected by the preacher’s desk.

After class I was really surprised to see the Preacher behind the podium during church services. I had assumed that he just wanted me to fill in for him while he was on vacation or something. After church I asked him about the Sunday School class and he informed me that he wanted me to take over his class permanently. I was flabbergasted that he wanted me to take over "HIS" class, but I told him that I would do my best.

They say that there are no longer any "healings" in church. I can readily attest to the fact that in less than a year my shins were completely healed. I was well protected from my honeybunch by the preacher’s desk and I would also beg out of any dinner invitation that was not a lap dinner. Anytime that I am forced into accepting any sort of a sit-down dinner invitation, I always wear some loose fitting pants and some shin guards underneath.

I’m probably the most perfectly faultless husband in the country and I suppose that every married man has a wife with just one or two teeny faults that can be overlooked. My bride is worth more than her weight in diamonds, although I’d rather bring her a big bouquet of flowers rather than a box of chocolates.

Verdina: Back in 1903 my great grandfather and one of my great uncles donated some of their property to provide a location for a new schoolhouse. They also wrote to several locations throughout the state in search of a schoolteacher for this little one room schoolhouse. The schoolhouse was nearly complete when they received a reply from a Miss Verdina Marm in response to their inquiry.

Verdina was very well educated, charming, friendly, witty, a great cook, quite a looker, and the school kids loved her dearly. She taught grades 1 thru 12 in this school house and many of her students went on to receive college degrees because of her superior teaching talents. Young and old alike affectionately called her the "School Marm".

My great uncle built her a small house adjacent to his house and Verdina would leave each and every morning, via horse and buggy, to teach the kids at the new schoolhouse. The school children would arrive for classes each morning from up to six miles away. Some families would have only one child attending class and their dad would have to accompany them by horse to and from school. After the child reached the age of 7 or 8 years old they could ride to and from school by themselves. Families that had several children attending school were fortunate enough to let the older child accompany their younger siblings to and from school. Therefore, there was no need to form "Horse Pools" the way we are required to form the many "Car Pools" in use today.

One of my great uncles explained how he would have to ride his horse over to Verdina’s house when he was courting her. Sometimes they would go on picnics by horse and buckboard down by Verde Creek. He said that the creek got its name from all the wild green chili peppers growing alongside the banks of the river. He said that one day they had to postpone their picnic when they arrived at the creek because a bear was trying to get some honey from a beehive inside a large tree. He said that he especially enjoyed the times that they would be out riding at night, because the sky would be covered with stars and they could see thousands of fireflies. The only sounds in the night were the chirping of the crickets and an occasional howling wolf.

The town of Verdina is located about 14 miles northeast of Hondo and about a mile east of the old Bandera highway. The old schoolhouse is no longer there, but you can still visit the old town hall and see some of the old photos and things. The Hondo Museum has a nice little section of their museum devoted to several historic objects and photos of Verdina. It’s too bad that they don’t have a copy of her recipe for German Chocolate cake, because it was one of the best.

Support your Local Book Store - Simply ask them to order your copy of Talkin' Texan Local Bookstore

by asking for the book by name and ISBN # 1-59113-593-1

Order Direct Book Locker (Same Day Shipping)

You may also order books direct from the author on this Web Site or.......................Book Sense.com

Prairie Hill Books