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Keeping Dead Aliens Alive
| March 30, 2002 |
Aurora |
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The small town of Aurora got a visit from best-selling author and conspiracy theorist Jim Marrs Thursday. Marrs served as a guest speaker at the monthly lunch meeting of the South Wise Chamber of Commerce. He spoke about many of his favorite subjects, including the assassination of JFK and, of course, Aurora's own little UFO legend.
According to reports, a spacecraft crashed in Aurora in 1897. The alien pilot's corpse was recovered and laid to rest in the town cemetery. There was, at one time, a gravestone marking the burial site, but it has long since been stolen. For the most part, the residents of Aurora dismiss it all as a tall tale invented by a newspaper reporter.
Marrs, however, isn't convinced. He launched his own investigation in 1973 and has recounted his findings in a compilation of strange tales titled Alien Agenda: Investigating the Extraterrestrial Presence Among Us.
No word on how many of the chamber's disbelievers were swayed. |
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Move That Jesus
| March 28, 2002 |
New Waverly |
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The Texas Department of Transportation is insisting that an 82-year-old woman's statue of Jesus be moved back from the highway.
Evelyn Blazek is the owner of Sacred Gardens, a multiacre creation inspired by her religious faith. The gardens, which she constructed with the help of her late husband, consists of more than 60 Christian shrines, including a 17-foot-tall statue of Jesus Christ.
The statue stands at the intersection of Highways 150 and 75 on what Blazek believes is her property. The state disagrees and is demanding that the statue be moved back 6 feet.
David Stephens of TxDOT explains that it's a safety issue. "We have an encroachment on the right of way that needs to be moved back."
Blazek, however, refuses to budge. "I'll be out here with a shotgun." |
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The End of the Line
| March 25, 2002 |
Fort Worth |
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The RadioShack Corporation has announced plans to eliminate their Tandy Center parking lot and subway line in downtown Fort Worth.
The subway, known as the Leonards M&O Subway for the brothers who established it in 1963, is reported to be the shortest subway in the nation at a length of only 1,400 feet. It has carried passengers for nearly 40 years from the parking lot along the Trinity River to the Tandy Center, originally the Leonards Department Store.
The exceptionally curt railway could be shut down as early as September. |
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Munster, Come Home
| March 18, 2002 |
Waxahachie |
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 On Feb. 8, Texas Twisted reported on the building of a full-size replica of the house once inhabited by the 1960s sitcom family the Munsters.
The Munster House, as it has come to be known, is still under construction, but that didn't stop Charles and Sandra McKee from inviting TV's Eddie Munster to Waxahachie to have a look.
Butch Patrick flew in from Las Vegas on Sunday to see how things were shaping up. Patrick, who played the werewolf child of Herman and Lily on the series, gave the house his enthusiastic approval.
As the McKees work feverishly to finish their ghoulish mansion, Patrick is busy organizing a Halloween party to toast the house's completion. They are all hoping that Al Lewis (Grandpa) and Pat Priest (Marilyn) will be able to attend. |
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Follow the Bouncing Balls
| March 15, 2002 |
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Beginning April 13, the Southwestern Sunbathing Association will kick off their annual Nude Racing Series.
The Sahnoan Bare Buns Run 5K in McDade will be the first of seven races in the series, with five others in Texas and one in Oklahoma.
Nudity is optional, though runners normally wear no more than their shoes and socks, and for some women, sports bras. Sunscreen, however, is highly recommended.
Both men and women of all ages are encouraged to join in, but the gender mix is usually uneven. Last year's ratio was about 4 men to every 1 woman.
Big surprise. |
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Always Leave 'em Wanting Moor
| March 13, 2002 |
Arlington |
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 What was once known as the Stonehenge of North Texas may be in jeopardy of becoming the Stonehenge of Dayton, Ohio.
Caelum Moor, a popular sculpture park that once stood near The Parks at Arlington mall and which is currently in storage, is receiving offers from groups outside Texas to purchase the immense work. Fortunately, though, there are many who would prefer to see it remain in Arlington.
The work is a 22-piece, Stonehenge-like sculpture consisting of 540 tons of pink granite that were extracted from a quarry in Marble Falls. It stood along Interstate 20 amid a landscaped park, which included a winding lake and water fountain. The stacked and towering stones stood as high as 34 feet.
The installation was completed in 1986, but the business development that was to accompany the park failed and its owner went bankrupt three years later. The land and the work of art were sold to Windstar Properties of Dallas, who wasn't much interested in preserving Caelum Moor. They donated the stones to the city and all 540 tons were moved in 1997 to avoid their being broken up and buried on site. The stones have lain sadly ever since on an obscure, fenced piece of land at the Pierce Burch Water Treatment Plant in west Arlington.
Some say the stones were put away due to controversy over claims that pagan groups were using the structures to hold rituals. Police, however, say that there were never any reports of such activities. Arlington Mayor Elzie Odom says it was merely a matter of the cost involved in relocating the stones.
Odom admits to the city's having received offers from groups outside the state, but like others, he would prefer to see Caelum Moor stay in the city. Arlington's Arts Advisory Board is planning to reevaluate the situation this spring.
Texas Twisted Commentary:
I, personally, would love to see Caelum Moor restored in Arlington. I and many of my friends used to hang out at the park in high school. We had developed a special technique for climbing atop a particular three-piece structure, where we would sit two to a stone and chat late into the night. The park also made for a decent make-out spot (or so I had been told).
If you'd like to help resurrect Caelum Moor in Arlington and restore a wonderful roadside Texas attraction, contact the Arlington Arts Advisory Board and let them know how you feel! |
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You Could Play Some Serious Dodgeball in There
| March 12, 2002 |
Dallas |
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On Monday, construction workers in Dallas lifted into place the first of two 850-ton trusses that will support a new addition to the Dallas Convention Center.
The enormous white arches, the second of which will be lifted in May, will be the major supporting structures for the new convention hall. They will enable the building to stand with no internal support. At 203,000 square feet, Exhibit Hall F will be the largest pillarless room in the world.
Using a standard measure, the roughly 400-by-500 room could fit 20 Goodyear blimps. (Although they would have to be deflated slightly to clear the ceiling.)
Just try to keep me away. |
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Going, Going, Gondola
| March 10, 2002 |
Garland |
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Here's your chance to own a bit of tragic state-fair history.
Terry and Cheryl St. Clair of Johnson County are in possession of 44 gondolas that once made up the Swiss Skyride at the State Fair of Texas. And they're offering them for sale.
The Swiss Skyride, a cable-car-type amusement ride, was closed in 1979 after an accident in which two of the gondolas fell approximately 85 feet, crashing to the midway below. One person was killed and 17 others were injured.
The ride was subsequently dismantled to make room for the Texas Star Ferris wheel (currently the largest Ferris wheel in North America). The gondolas took up space in an Alvarado warehouse for several years before they were moved to a junkyard in Cleburne, where Terry St. Clair came across them.
St. Clair thought maybe he could convert a few of them into a train-like playhouse for his grandchildren. The previous owner convinced him he could get a better deal if he took the whole lot.
Terry still plans to keep a few, but at his wife's insistence, has put the majority up for auction on eBay. The first sold on Wednesday for $61. |
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Pegasi Take Flight
| March 8, 2002 |
Dallas |
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The artistically mismatched Pegasus statues on which Texas Twisted first reported last September have reached a lucrative climax.
The statues, fashioned after similar public animal-art projects, have adorned the streets and lobbies of Dallas for more than five months. Last night, 28 of those statues were put up for auction in an event designed to raise funds for art preservation and education programs.
Although 30 statues were originally scheduled for the auction block, organizers were still able to raise $67,000. The highest bid for one sculpture reached $6,900.
Oddly enough, though, the auction was held at the Wyndham Anatole Hotel rather than at the Magnolia, the building that sports the rotating, red-neon Pegasus that inspired the program.
Want to share a picture of yourself with a Pegasus? Let me know! |
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