Beaumont, Texas, USA

What breed? A Dalmatian, of course: announcing the importance of Beaumont's fire fighting museum. The outsized sculpture goes back to a time when Dalmatians were all over the cinematic arts world. Was this fire hydrant donated to Beaumont by Walt Disney in 1989, 1999, or 2009? Yes, this is a test of your knowledge of movie history. [2022]

Jasper, Texas, USA

♫ Joy to the world, the Lord is come.

Let Earth receive her King.

Let every heart prepare Him room.

And Heaven and nature sing.

And Heaven and nature sing.

And Heaven, and Heaven, and nature sing. ♫

[2022]

Liberty Hill, Texas, USA

Unexpectedly Funny! President Reagan would love being honored with a street named after him. Here's what he would not love: seeing the drive-by public being told to turn Left! As for "America's Builder," don't you wonder how many immigrant laborers he used to build those homes? [2015]

Bastrop, Texas, USA

A phenomenon of the 21st century is the tiny house movement. As if tiny houses were anything new! Tiny houses have always been with us. In some parts of the world, they took the form of tiny apartments. Are you enough of a minimalist to enjoy living in a house this size? [2015]

Austin, Texas, USA

"love Yourself love the World": Make the world part and parcel of your very essence. It's your home. Just as you know every nook and cranny of the house you live in, you should know something about the nooks and crannies of the planet you live on. It may take a life time, but that's what you have: decades of learning and loving. Happy Birthday! [2009] 

Beaumont, Texas, USA

So that's why there's nobody on the streets in Beaumont! The dinosaurs have returned and are patrolling the realm. What species is this? [2022]

Beaumont, Texas, USA

The Lucas Spindletop gusher brought the U.S. into the oil age. Today, as a visual reminder of the past, it continues to gush, but with water pumped through for visitors. Before Spindletop, in the early years of the 20th century, oil was used for lighting and lubrication. After Spindletop, there was enough to power an ever expanding fleet of horseless carriages. [2022]

Orange, Texas, USA

Concrete oranges, all painted by local artists, dot the landscape of Orange, Texas. They recall the city and county of Orange and the acres of orange groves that contributed to the area's economic base before the citrus industry shifted further south. This one greets visitors to the Southern Pacific Railroad Depot, which is now a museum. [2022]

Nederland, Texas, USA

February is all about the number two, and 2/22 is a palindrome too! With a name like Nederland (first e is long), you should expect to see something Dutch. Many of the early settlers were from the Netherlands, so in 1969 the windmill was erected, but the main street in town is still named Boston Avenue. Go figure! Be sure to see yesterday's post. [2022]

Port Neches, Texas, USA

No crude oil tanker should look this good. She must have just emerged from an overhaul. No mooring station should look this good either. The Eagle Kuantan seems to be ready for a movie shoot in this ersatz park along the Neches River. Given the name Kuantan, in what country do you think this vessel is registered? Sounds Malay, doesn't it? (Answer: Singapore) [2022]

Ranger, Texas, USA

Here's an icon of the American West, a horse-riding cowboy, plus one future cowboy. That little boy is now well into his 30s, and the dad is probably into his 60s. The dates of all pictures appear in brackets at the end of each caption. So, this photo was taken in 1987 and posted today, one third of a century later! [1987]

Austin, Texas, USA

Odds and Evens, Ones and Twos, Singles and Doubles, Which one be You? Here are two women, one seller and one buyer, plus one cart that transports and displays Flowers on the Fly. The setting: under a clock that screams: "Time to Buy!" [2018]

Austin, Texas, USA

Fire stations make popular destinations for family field trips, and firefighters make popular friends for neighborhood kids. Even when you walk by a fire house, your imagination takes flight, and into an action flick you go. Think this young fireman has ever slid down a fire pole into the engine room? [2015]

Stratford, Dumas, and Abernathy, Texas, USA

Arrows like these are all over the Texas panhandle. They are part of the Quanah Parker Trail and call attention to the heritage of the Comanche, the "lords of the plains" before the Anglo ranchers arrived. The arrow maker was Charles Smith, and his sculptures are sometimes the most artistic element of a town's landscape. [2017, 2017, 2016]

Itasca, Texas, USA

The simplest of signs somehow captures the essence of small-town America: "At Mom and Dads' Be Right back." Her folks take precedence over the "Open" sign; everybody knows where everyone else lives; and no one cares if their cell phone number is out there. Polite? Yes: "Thx." Happy? Yes: 😃 But, today her smiley face would look like this: 😷 [2012]

Amarillo, Texas, USA

Much of the world celebrates the first of May as Labour Day or Workers' Day. The United States does not, preferring instead the first Monday of September. In fact, even the idea of a day to celebrate labor, and the 8-hour work day, was a hard sell in the U.S., especially during an era when wealthy industrialists held almost total power. [2017]

Muleshoe, Texas, USA

Sometimes a community's best asset is its name: Take Muleshoe, for instance. With a name like that, you just know visitors will remember being there. And, you just know who everyone will be watching play football on Friday nights: The Muleshoe Mules. [2018]

Liberty Hill, Texas, USA

The American windmill was invented in 1854 and reached its peak in 1930. Today, those that remain (some still doing their job and others functioning as visual reminders of the past) are among the most redolent place makers of the American West. Any questions? Ask a molinologist! [2015]

Manor, Texas, USA

Said Neil Armstrong as he became the first to walk on the Moon: "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." Said a certain eight-year-old as she celebrated her ninth birthday on the 50th anniversary of the moon walk: "That's eight short years behind me, and only one more til tween-hood." [2009]

Ranger, Texas, USA

Abandonment came to many Main Streets in the 1980s, and many small towns never recovered. In Ranger the old brick edifices are still crumbling, but at least the signage on vacated storefronts has changed. Thank goodness, because the condition of this establishment was not doing the social science brand much good. [1987]