The HooDoo that You do....So Well

 A tough week here at Rancho Juvat.  Earlier in the week, we had "Snowmaggedon" Texas style.

Notice the heavy snow drift that threatened to burry my truck. 

This blizzard (shown in its full extent in the photo above), of course, sent drivers into a flurry (heh!) as there seemed to be that one car that insisted on driving at 30 (in a 70) because....Snow.  There wasn't enough on the ground to make it wet, much less icy or slippery.  But....Snow = 30MPH.  Until they got to a passing zone where, evidently, the road was much safer, as they rapidly accelerated to 75 (in a 70 zone because....safety).  

Yep, then back to 30 when the road went to 2 lanes.  ARRRGGGGHHHH.  Where's my roof-mounted Vulcan when I need it?

Then Thursday morning, early, I awaken to the sound of everything in the house shutting off.  That happens.  So I lie there for a second waiting for everything to start back up.  Nothing.  So I get up and walk to the back door to see if it's just us or everyone.  A couple of miles away is a new development, lovingly referred to by locals as "California Hill".  Because....

This House was built by a lawyer from "The City by the Bay".  All glass front, because beautiful sunsets in TCBTB.  Unfortunately, sunsets in Texas aren't cooled by off shore breezes.  Rumors say he's not happy with the ambient temperature in his $10M home.

Anyhow, I look out the back door to see absolute darkness.  Evidently, an electric line had touched something it shouldn't have out at LBJ's Ranch and shorted out the electrical grid for the whole county. I could just here the resident's on California hill..."Buffy...I thought that Texas has loads of energy....."  Not a gas powered generator up there evidently.

Somethings, like electricity, you can live with out.  Coffee, however, is not one of them.  

Power was finally restored about 8:30 AM.  Our Guests in the Guest House were not happy.

C'est La Vie

Given all that drama, .Mrs J and I felt adventurous and decided to tempt fate and depart on another "Day Trip". Target this time was the thriving metroplex of Mason, Texas (pop 2114).  We also decided we'd forego US-87 for much of the ingress, saving that for a quick egress after a successful mission in the target area.

Therefore, we ingressed via RR2093 from Morris Ranch to Harper. 

Morris Ranch Guest Hotel

Morris Ranch was a huge horse ranch in the late 1800's and early 1900's, but has been broken up and sold in parcels over time, essentially ceasing to exist as a single entity ~1950. We own a small (very small) portion of it.  It, like most ranches of the time, was almost entirely self sufficient, even sporting its own school.

Once past the Ranch, we turned left on RR2093 and headed west to the little town of Harper, Texas.

Harper ISD on the other side of US290

 Safely transited US290 at a right angle and joined RR783 North (ish).

BTW, a RR in Texas is a Ranch Road, a feeder two lane (usually...There are RR's in big cities that are multi-lane.) that connects to a larger highway.  State built, they allow access to ranches/farms and very small communities so they can transport goods and commodities to larger markets.  Sometimes they are delineated FM (Farm to Market) or RM (Ranch to Market).

Anyhow...This led us on a beautiful journey north through the town of Doss, renowned for it's annual Fish Fry which funds its Volunteer Fire Department.

Doss is on the horizon.  Small town, Neh?  Yes, that is a Cedar Fever symptom reliever in the lower left.

Shortly thereafter, we encountered the town of Hilda Texas.  Now this town makes even Doss look like NYC.  However, we decided we'd pull off the highway and investigate a bit.  

Main St. Hilda.

The church is a very well maintained Methodist Church.  The Steeple is very bright white against the sky.  Somebody obviously invests some effort in the town.

Ranch House

This is the Ranch House, and apparently the only house, in Hilda.  There was a historical marker saying that this Ranch had been owned by the same family for a hundred years.  The Marker didn't have a date on it saying when it was awarded, but even if it was just presented this year...1919 was a long time ago.  A lot of things have changed.

Others?  Not so much.

Next stop was Mason.  Now, Mason is famous for 3 things.  A Movie Theater, Fort Mason, and a War.

We intended to investigate all these things, but first, Lunch.

I'm a sucker for Chicken Fried Steak and am always trying it when I get to one of "those" places that might just do it right.  STxAR will know what I'm talking about.  It's not a chain, it's not got linen napkins or a wine list.  The waitress is named Betty Lou and is chewing gum as she takes your order.  Ice Tea is the expected beverage and you'd better say unsweetened if you don't have a shot of quick acting insulin handy.

Amirite?

In any case, We found a place, The Willow Creek Cafe & Club .  If you recall our discussion of Texas Liqour Laws,  we have some Dry counties.  Mason county is partially dry, in that you can have a "club" where you can buy beer or wine for a "membership" fee.  This was one of those establishments.  Hence, the "Club" in the name.

I elected to order Chicken Fried Steak with unsweetened tea.

Yes, I had a bite, or two, before I remembered to take the picture.  BTW, the dimensions of the roll, as measured by my smart phone?  2" thick, 3" wide, 3" tall.  

No, I didn't finish it.

Properly resuscitated, we walked around the main square and saw the Odeon Theater.

Mason is the home of Fred Gipson, the author of "Ol Yeller"   (Who cried when Ol Yeller Died?)

Walt Disney, in his honor, debuted the Movie in this theater.  So...They got that going for them.

We also saw the Seaquist house, a beautiful late 1800's cattleman's home, that is being renovated. According to the Historical Marker out front, the Third Floor is a ballroom.

Next stop was Fort Mason. As we're driving over there, Mrs J yells for me to stop.  As I asked her why, she pointed to this.

 Not many towns have cannons in their housing areas.


Fort Mason is one of several contained in the Texas Fort's Trail.  These forts started life as a string of forts running from the Red River down to the Rio Grande.  They were built about 20 miles apart (one day's horse ride) and intended to protect settlers from Comanche attacks.

While only one original building on Fort Mason's grounds remains intact, a replica of the Officer's quarters was built in the mid '70s and serves as a small museum.  

I'm not an expert on prime terrain for ground operations.  I did recognize it when I got to the top of Little Round Top at Gettysburg.  Placement of this fort was almost as good. One could "See 'em coming" for several miles.

The fort was only in operation intermittently from 1851 through 1861.  In his last position as an Officer in the United States Army, Robert E. Lee commanded the fort.

There were several other officers who served here who reached the rank of General in the War between the States.  I recognized quite a few of their names.

For a place in the middle of nowhwere 150+ years ago, the quarters seemed livable.

Bedroom with a bath.

Office with fireplace.

 Second bedroom

Dining Room

The various exhibits contained some interesting information about the inhabitents, including one about one of the commanders who convinced the local Indian tribe that he had magical powers and could even revive the dead.  When questioned about that, he brought in a "dead" dog that had been cloroformed, then took it back into his office where he worked his magic and brought it back to life.

Whatever works, I guess.  Better to hoodwink them than have to fight them.

There also was a passage from a letter General Lee wrote his son in January 1861 which I thought was interesting.  Unfortunately the picture I took didn't turn out.  However, it can be found here.

Failure to learn from history, means we have to relearn its lessons.

As we headed back down to the town, we encountered the only intact building from the original fort, the stables.

It now serves as a shed for one of the local residents.

But what's this about a "War"?  Well, after the War between the States, things weren't all "hunky dory".  There was a conflict within the Texas Hill Country called the Mason County War or the "HooDoo" War.  "Hoodoo" is an old term for "Bad Luck.

While this clip was from a very funny movie, the actions he sends them on were not, and that was essentially what was going on in Mason at the time.  He's inciting violence to improve his power and position. 

The German's who had settled the region were not generally supporters of the Southern cause.  That did not sit well with the returning veterans.  Additionally, the German settlers were primarily farmers, while the Texans were coming back and starting over.  Cattle ranching was becoming a big business in the region and ranching appealed to them..  However, the "rules" were still being worked out.

Who owned a cow was a big, yet problematic question.  Most of the land was not owned by anyone specifically, fencing was sporadic at best and branding was not scientific.  So there were lots of arguments over cattle rustling with everyone accusing everyone else of doing it.  The Germans, typically raised minimal cattle specifically for their needs, so theft of one of those had a disparate impact on them.  That, coupled with a desire for revenge, often made them targets. 

Additionally, law enforcement wasn't pure and clean either.  Pay wasn't good, so many lawmen were cattlemen also.  When cattle were rustled and tempers flared, people got killed.  When someone was arrested for that murder,  they sometimes, somehow managed to escape from jail.  When a different group of people "arrested" them again, well...sometimes they didn't make it back to jail...alive.

All that is contained in this article by the Texas State History Association, but you need a roster to keep track of who shot whom.  This is complicated by the fact that the Courthouse burned down during that time and the records were destroyed.

A longer, but better explanation can be found here and is worth reading.  It does a very good job of putting together all the causal factors but the lesson I took from reading about the HooDoo Wars reinforces passages from General Lee's letter.

"...But I can anticipate no greater calamity for the country than a dissolution of the Union. It would be an accumulation of all the evils we complain of, and I am willing to sacrifice every-thing but honor for its preservation. I hope, therefore, that all constitutional means will be exhausted before there is a resortto force. Secession is nothing but revolution.

... Still, a Union that can only be maintained by swords and bayonets, and in which strife and civil war are to take the place of brotherly love and kindness,has no charm for me. I shall mourn for my country and for the welfare and progress of mankind. If the Union is dissolved, and the Government disrupted, I shall return to my native State and share the miseries of my people, and save in defense will draw my sword on none."

 We live in scary times.

P.S.  Yes, we made it home, with windows and wallets intact.  Our successful day trip record has been reset to...one.