The late, great Mance Lipscomb, left, and the equally great Lightnin' Hopkins as seen in the 1968 documentary "The Blues According to Lightnin' Hopkins," directed by Les Blank. It's a short (33 minutes) documentary but it really takes you in Lightnin's world 57 years ago. Highly recommended.

Traces of Texas reader Leigh Hajovsky kindly shared this nice photo of her grandmother, Kay Klauber, and it comes with a great story. This was taken in the late 1940s, when Kay was modeling. Today, Kay is 94 years old and still the owner and operator of Kay Klauber Candies in Columbus, Texas.

James Dean take a peak behind the camera while on the set of "Giant" in Marfa, Texas, 1955. Pretty dang cool! Taken for LIFE magazine.

Ironic: Noah Smithwick was run out of Texas in 1830 for being a "bad citizen." He ended up returning five years later, fought in the Texas revolution, and later wrote "The Evolution of a State, or Recollections of Old Texas Days," perhaps the primary eyewitness account of early Texas history.

The Texas Quote of the Day: "Smite the rock with the rod of knowledge and fountains of unstinted wealth will gush forth!" ---- words said by Ashbel Smith, president of the University of Texas Board of Regents, at the laying of the cornerstone of the Main Building at UT-Austin 143 years ago today.

An elderly woman in Denison circa 1890. I wonder what her story was. She was probably born in about 1820 so she would have been an adult during the Civil War. Of course, she could very well have immigrated to the U.S. later. In any case, she's got quite a striking face, don't y'all think?

Townes

The Arcane Texas Fact of the Day: During Lampasas's late-19th-century boom as a health resort, a two-mile mule-pulled trolley ferried visitors from the train depot to the opulent Park Hotel, which boasted 200 electrically lit rooms and mineral baths. It burned down in 1895.

I have had a great time going through the John Rogers archive at The Portal to Texas History. Here's one for you car buffs: a parking lot in Dallas in the late 1950s. That white Thunderbird under the light in the background is my favorite. I've always loved those early T-birds.

An oil derrick builder eats a sandwich at lunchtime in Borger, 1942. Simply OUTSTANDING! Taken by John Vachon.

Three young ladies from a 1950s advertisement for "Padre Beach. They are, from left, Judy Russey, Floy Dell Hassell, and Jane Ann Ervin." That reminds me ... I need to get to the ocean!

This is Sam Houston's house aka his "executive mansion" when he was the President of the Republic of Texas in 1837. This was taken sometime after that, but this is the house. It was at what's now 405 Main in Houston --- where there's a Subway sandwich shop. Wonder what Sam would say about that?

Ed Wright's homemade travel trailer in Harlingen, 1939. Ed was from Terrell but that didn't keep him from going out and seeing the sites, as the printed words and license plates attest. Ed went to Lubbock, Pharr, Sugar Land and even far-flung, exotic places like Miami and Uniontown. Ed got around!

Apparently 99% of Texans --- including Daniel Boone, who took this photo outside Richland Springs and sent it to me ---- saw the northern lights last night and I didn't. I'm told that there might be a very good chance to see them again tonight.

My favorite photo of a veteran is this one of my dad in Vietnam right before he got his Captain's bars. Taken in 1966.

Earl Ray Davis in France, 1918. Earl Ray was born in Waco in 1894 and died there in 1972 at the age of 78. Courtesy The Portal to Texas History.

Two photos taken in November, 1944 and showing the solemn moments when the body of Lt. Herbert J. Weeren, Jr. was returned home to Cleveland, Texas for burial. Lt. Weeren was KIA on Nov. 9, 1944. Noted Cleveland photographer Moon Young was on hand to capture the scene. RIP Lt. Herbert J. Weeren!

Joe Luis Ortiz kindly shared this nice photo of Mexican American WWII veterans who hailed from Crystal City Texas. This was taken at a special mass at the Crystal City Catholic Church. Joe's uncle, Joe Cumpian, served in the European theater and is on the far left with his wife, Angie, at his side.

Future Dallas Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach in uniform in Vietnam, 1967.

It is Veteran's Day, a day near and dear to my heart. Here's one of my favorite photos of veterans: W.P. Zuber (left) Alphonse Steel (right) were the last two survivors of the Battle of San Jacinto. This photo was taken in 1907, some 71 years after the battle. Mad respect!

Sundown in one of the oldest towns in Texas, San Ygnacio. One of my own photos, taken in 2023.

Reader Paul Robinson sent in this photo and said "that's Willie Nelson on the left." I thought that it DOES look like Willie as a young man but I didn't post it because I wasn't sure and Paul had no more information. It IS Willie, taken in 1959 when Willie was a DJ at KVAN in Vancouver, Washington.

races of Texas reader Barbara Wilder graciously shared this photo of her great grandfather, Fredrick "Fritz" Hartmann, behind the bar of the Uptown Saloon in Fredericksburg, Texas, back in 1914. Fritz owned the Upstown saloon and, with wife Christina Blum Hartmann, a mercantile store next door.

A child in San Antonio circa 1910. I love the hat. And those eyes!

Before there was Willie, before there was Merle, before there was Johnny ... there was Lefty. Lefty wrote this song from jail as a love letter to his wife. Originally released in 1950, this is a later 1959 version recorded by Lefty. youtu.be/MqBsWiYDTvM?...

Three farmers in Lometa circa 1910. All I know is that the one on the right is named Bob Anderson and that they are wearing some great hats. Courtesy the John Miller Morris archive at SMU's Degolyer Library.

My friend Tony Drewry just led a canoe trip down the Rio Grande for several days and kindly sent in this gorgeous shot. Looks like heaven! Doesn't it make you want to be out there right now?

Supposed to get cold tonight. I'm ready.

A man smoking a cigarette and holding his lunch box holds open a door for a woman in a Houston parking lot, 1942. I love the array of people in this shot. My favorite is the man holding the door. He's clearly a working class man, either ending his work day or starting. Maybe he's a night watchman.

Leo Beltran's Coca Cola delivery truck in San Antonio circa 1935. Glad the bottles were sterilized. Awesome! P.S. This is NOT AI.

A tenant farmer takes a break on a farm near Marshall, 1939. An exquisite portrait, don't y'all think? Per Russell Lee, who took the photo, the farmer was working on "thirds and fourths, referring to the tenant farmer’s share of the crop under a sharecropping or tenancy agreement. Stunning shot.

A couple dancing at the USO in Dallas, 1942. Photograph by LIFE magazine photographer John Florea.

A man at home with his children in San Antonio, 1939. Another fabulous photo from Russell Lee.

The great Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown looking stylish in a turtleneck sweater and sporting a cigarette, 1960. As I've mentioned numerous times, he was one of the most talented musicians in Texas, a virtuoso multi-instrumentalist. Watch some of his videos and see for yourself.

Forest Whitaker and Robin Williams in "Good Morning , Vietnam," one of my favorite movies. Forest is a Texan, having been born in Longview in 1961. He's had some phenomenal roles over the years. He was fantastic as saxophonist Charlie Parker in "Bird," The King of Scotland (Idi Amin), Fast Times ..

Enchanted Rock at sundown in July, 2010. One of my own photos. Because it was so hot I was pretty much the only one stupid enough to be out there. I could feel the heat radiating off the rock even after dark. It's such a fantastic place. It's believed to be 1.1 BILLION years old. Good night, Texas!

The Texas Quote of the Day: "After 60, it's just patch, patch, patch." ---- actress Mary Martin bemoans the impact of aging. Mary is from Weatherford, Texas and is most famous as the star of Peter Pan. She won four Tonys, an Emmy and was the mother of actor Larry Hagman. Shown: Mary Martin, 1939

Leonard Nimoy in Mr. Spock ears and Gene Roddenberry, the creator of Star Trek, in a circa 1965 photo. Roddenberry was a Texan, having been born in El Paso in 1921.

The Hotel Cortez in Weslaco circa 1940 along with a recent view of this grand place. The hotel is nearly 100 years old: it had its grand opening on New Year's Eve in 1928. It is in a Spanish Colonial Revival style with rosy beige stucco, flat roof with trimmed red tiles and fitted with French doors.

The Joy ox cart --- speed limit two miles per hour --- in Brownsville, circa 1908. They are gathering wood for cooking --- almost certainly mesquite, Texas Ebony, Huisache --- trees like that. Another fine photo from the John Miller Morris archive at SMU's Degolyer library. What a gorgeous shot!

The original version of "Midnight Train to Georgia" was this song, "Midnight Plane to Houston." Farrah Fawcett told songwriter Jim Weatherly that she was flying "on that midnight plane to Houston." He wrote this song, which got turned into "Midnight Train to Georgia." youtu.be/2Z05VOfkqw4?...

This 1964 photo of the Starship Enterprise studio model used in filming Star Trek was taken outside the production model shop in Burbank, California. It was commissioned by Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, a Texan who was born in El Paso in 1921.

Benito "Bennie" Juarez from Carrizo Springs, Texas, early 1940s. Bennie joined the Army in 1940 and by 1945 he was a platoon Sergeant fighting in Okinawa, where he was wounded on the last day of that battle. He recovered and led a full life in Carrizo Springs and died in 2011. From Joe Luis Ortiz.

The intense face of a carbon black worker at the carbon plant in Sunray, Texas, 1942. He looks to be a serious man. Taken by John Vachon.

Three Texans and one Texan-adjacent. youtu.be/7GH3xIjfGGE?...

Johanna Bram and Maren Gann dressed up as dominoes for Halloween in Danevang, Texas back in 1928. Almost 100 years ago. They look like they're having fun.

Did you ever look at a photo and see a kid and think "Man, that kid really, really, REALLY does not want to be there."? Check out Miss Borger in this parade in Borger, Texas, circa 1940. She doesn't look happy. Otherwise, this would be a Norman Rockwell painting in black and white. Outstanding!

The Texas Quote of the Day is the great Bum Phillips' response when a reporter asked him what he'd be doing in retirement: "Nothing. And I won't start 'til noon."

Good night, Texas, wherever you are.