Miss Emily’s JukeJoint 5/21/12: New CDs and A Benefit for Furry Friends

  Greetings all-

This coming Saturday May 26th, Dan’s Silverleaf will host a benefit entitled “The Big One-Five: A Benefit for The Denton Animal Shelter Foundation” starting at 9pm and costing $8.00. Chris Flemmons of The Baptist Generals dog Brunswick is the birthday boy. Entertainment/jamz will be provided by The Heelers, The Holler Time and Kelly Upshaw. Please see the event’s Facebook page and the poster posted right below. We will be getting Holler Time and Heelers CDs at the DPL in the very near future. I beseech thee to support this event: its what little d iz all about!

The Big One

New titles at the Emily Fower Library are as follows: 

The Muppets – A Green and Red Christmas

Bowerbirds – The Clearing

Men – Open Your Hearts

Sent By Ravens – Mean What You Say

Black Bananas – Rad Times xpress IV

Dinnerstein, Simone – Something Almost Being Said

Now Thats What I Call Music 42

Dr. John – Locked Down

Williams, John – A Tribute To

Jones, Norah – Little Broken Hearts

Underwood, Carrie – Blown Away

Cappa, Adam – The RescueThe Jakeys – No Second Spring

Jesse and Joy- A Con Quien Se Queda ElMany Hands   

 

Miss Emily’s JukeJoint 5/8/12: Pops

  As many of you have already heard, Denton’s long-time blues emissary and character, Pops Carter passed away a couple weeks back at age 93. Much has been written about him over the years and it doesn’t take long to find some of it so I won’t recount his life here. You might want to check out his Facebook page and communicate with them, perhaps. I do, however, want to tell a couple personal stories and share some of Alec Williams’ pictures from the Fry Street book he and we published last year.

One of my first live music experiences in Denton was in the Fall of 1987 when my then-roommate in Bruce Hall, John Rylander, got a gig for a night playing bass with Pop’s band at the Char Hut (later the site of Jackson’s Pizza and Texas Jive- now demolished). I went to hear them and wished I could’ve been playing with them but what I remember most is how wiped out John was when he got back to our dorm room. He wasn’t a regular gigging musician at the time and was concentrating on his music composition studies, so playing several hours was a workout. Never let anyone tell you that playing blues is “easy”.

Pops at The Depot, 1983

    Pops also sat in with my band on at least two occaisons- there may have been more but that was a while back. I bet most if not all musicians around here who had Pops sit in would to a man or woman tell you how his presence lit up the joint. And, if your gig was dying, as some of mine surely did, he made you feel good about what you played and could make the people like you for at least as long as he was onstage. Well, that was my experience, at least. Thanks, Pops.

In The Weeds 4/22/12: Postcards From The Hedge

   We have some ancient postcards here in the Special Collections Department that you might enjoy seeing. Two of the buildings depicted are gone, the others are still in existence, albeit altered physically or their names have been changed perhaps. You’ll notice that some of the postcards have names on them, but no addresses. I’ll let you figure out which one’s are gone and where and what the others are. Some are easy, a couple-not so much. Click on the picture for full view and write your guesses/answers in the “reply” box at the end of this blog post. Ready, Set….Go!

 

Author Donna Fielder at the Emily Fowler Library

Denton Record Chronicle crime reporter Donna Fielder will share insight and information from her new book Ladykiller on Saturday, April 7 at 2:00 pm at the Emily Fowler Central Library, 502 Oakland St.

 

Ladykiller is the true story of the murder of Denton resident Viki Lozano, who was killed by her husband and local police officer Bobby Lozano. This crime remained unprosecuted for six years until Ms. Fielder wrote an expose of case facts, leading to a guilty conviction for officer Lozano.

 

Attendees may bring copies of the book for the author to sign after the presentation. Books will not be available for purchase at the event but are available for order at local book retailers and online. This event is free of charge and open to the public.

 

 

For more information, contact Terri Gibbs at 940-349-8776 or at terri.gibbs@cityofdenton.com.

 

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For other news items on the City of Denton, visit our website at www.cityofdenton.com, go to Quick Information and click on Press Releases.

 

In The Weeds 2/20/12: Sam’s Own Jockey

     Welcome to “In The Weeds”, a new feature for the DPL blog where we’ll look at local history through our awesome archival assemblage here in the Special Collections Department at the Emily Fowler Library. What does “in the weeds” mean? For our purposes, my definition would be: “deeply distracted by details” or “overwhelmed with oddities”. To be in the weeds when you love History with a capitol “H” as I do, is not something to be feared. So, without further adooo…

 

 

A while back I mentioned that Denton County’s outlaw history will be mined for years to come. Well, time has come and I’m about to do some mining…   

 Last week we received an inquiry in the Special Collections Department here at the Emily Fowler Library for an image of the famous “Denton Mare”, Jenny, from a man who said his grandfather rode the horse for notorious Denton County outlaw Sam Bass. Unfortunately, no picture exists as far as we know, having consulted also with local historian Alec Williams whose family goes back to Denton’s earliest days.

 

What was the Denton Mare, you ask? Apparently, Sam Bass raced horses before he went into the outlaw business and the Mare was eventually sold. The man’s grandfather was one “John A. Hudson” and, although we could not find that picture of the Mare, we did find the following documents:

 

Death Certificate

 

 

 

Hudson Obit, 1936 DRC

You can read much more about The Denton Mare and Bass here , here and here. There is also a fictionalized account of Bass’ life entitled The Denton Mare. You will see in your research how involved he was in the lives of Sheriff Egan’s family (yes, the same at the Denton street) and other law enforcement officials in Denton and surrounding counties before he “went bad”.

 

     In my Bass research, I also discovered that he was immortalized in song:

A local performance can be seen here by a member of Denton band TrebucheT and a more traditional performance by the great Alan Lomax.

Information on Tap: Home Brewing at the Emily Fowler Library

 This coming Saturday November 19th the Emily Fowler library, 502 Oakland St, Denton, Tx will host a home brewing program featuring the Ass- Helaf Brew Club starting at 3pm. This event is free and open to the public. Our guests are award-winning recipients at the Bluebonnet Brew-Off and will discuss how to make a good brew. For more information call Chuck at 940-349-8746.

Amber Goodness

Fowler Files, 10/10/11: Sam Bass Pays His Tax

While Pilot Point is celebrating its connection to and history with Bonnie and Clyde this weekend, I thought y’all might get a kick out of seeing an entry for one Sam Bass in the Inventory Book Precinct 1 For 1874 (Tax List)  we have here in the Special Collections Department at Emily Fowler Library. Denton County’s reputation as a destination/hideout/home for outlaws is well known and that history is likely to be mined for years to come.

Click on the image to see the entire document:

Bass Tax

  Maybe paying your horse tax was a good way to keep the law off your trail for other “activities”? 

We have a photocopied version of the book on the shelf and the original in our archives. The story behind the book is interesting and sadly, all-too-typical of public records in the 19th century. That is to say, it escaped the 1875 courthouse fire by pure chance whereas its brethren were incinerated.

Miss Emily’s JukeJoint, 9.22.11: Puppets Rock & an Historic Marker for the Texas International Pop Fest

As was proven this past Sunday nite @ Dan’s Silverleaf, puppets and rock (or at least a rocking style of folk music) do mix. For those who haven’t heard about the Sunday residency of Hares on the Mountain at Dan’s (are there any of you left?), consider this your wake up call.

Ryan Becker and Friend

 

George Neal Rocks It.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Of course, Jim Henson knew about the power of puppets…

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    On Saturday October 1st, a new historic marker will be dedicated at the Hebron Station of the DCTA A Train in Lewisville commemorating the 1969 Texas International Pop Festival that featured acts such as Janis Joplin, Led Zeppelin, B.B. King and many others. Go to the link to learn more about the dedication. Led Zeppelin and Santana tribute bands will perform and the event is free.

Pop Fest Poster

   Personally, I’d love to see more historic markers that deal with cultural events such as this one does. Don’t get me wrong, I love old buildings and history in general but it seems like cultural events may get lost in shuffle. How does one commemorate something ephemeral like creativity?

Miss Emily’s JukeJoint, 7.2.11: Pleasant Surroundings

    Lets visit some late and/or lamented eateries in Denton and propose musical accompaniment for dining at each…

Back in the late ’50s-early ’60s, NTSU alum/pop star Pat Boone opened a restaurant @ 1009 Highway 24/Decatur Drive/University Drive/US 380 called “The Pat Boone Country Inn“. You can see the current location here. Below is an ad from a 1958 issue of “Denton Doings”, a short-lived magazine from that era we have here in Fowler Special Collections:

Pleasant

I love the cowhide seat covers.  May I suggest some easy listening along the lines of Harry Belafonte or old rock and roll a la The Coasters.

The Star Restaurant @  1201 W. Hickory was named for the Star of David and for its movie-themed decor. Library employee Leslie Couture: “I couldn’t wait to go there because they had a Yoda statue and light sabers. When you are a kid out to eat with your parents, you have to listen to boring parent talk but, at The Star, there was a lot of cool posters and things that you could walk around and look at.”

Star

Seems like Indian music and the Grateful Dead would be nice to have while you down a cold one at the Star.

   I still miss Steve’s BBQ at 403 E. Hickory. Let me try and describe it to you because the memories of it are still very vivid, as I used to work across the street at The Greater Denton Arts Council and would frequently get some of Steve’s rockin’ BBQ. You opened the screen door to a smoky, dank room with a couple booths and yellowing newspaper articles on the walls. I swear it seemed like there was a layer of grease over everything. Near the front door was an old jukebox with late-60s, early-70s soul 45s that I guess didn’t work because I never heard it play and it was surrounded by discarded boxes and “junk”. What a playlist, though! Al Green, ZZ Hill, Little Milton, etc. And the BBQ? I’ve never had better. Spicy, hot and righteous.

BBQ Heaven

Maybe not the best photo but it does show the old Harpool complex, long since demolished. Obviously, one wants to hear what was on the jukebox. Miss Emily’s JukeJoint takes  you  there.

Honorable mention goes to TC’s Catfish on McKinney St. You had to have tried that catfish and tartar sauce. So goooood.

posted by Chuck

Miss Emily’s JukeJoint, 6.13.11; Louise Tobin’s Blues

    One of the great things about this job is that we get to meet interesting people, learn things from them and then pass it on to you! About two months ago I received a request from a researcher in California looking for any local information about a nonagenarian female jazz singer from Aubrey, Texas. Naturally, being a jazz junkie, my ears perked up. Texas has been the home and genesis of many greats but this one had me intrigued. It didn’t take me long to find alot of information about Mary Louise Tobin and her website.

    The Newspaper Archives database available from our Special Collections/Genealogy page has the Denton Record-Chronicle from 1909-1977 searchable by keyword. You can read her biography at her homepage linked above and there are other articles here and here. But, for those who want to dig a little deeper, she shows up frequently in the DRC in the early-to-mid ’30s:

She was on the honor roll for the North Ward School in January of 1931 (DRC, 1/30/31).

Sang “Nobody Cares If I’m Blue” at a Junior High fundraiser (DRC, 4/28/31).

Recovering from an attack of diptheria (!) (DRC 2/29/32).

Elected officer of the 1934 Denton High School “Justimere” (?) Club (DRC, 1/29/34).

Performed as part of a dance program at DHS in Feb. 1934 (DRC, 2/13/34).

etc., etc….

 But, finally we see when she makes the jump from semi-pro to professional (and eventually drops “Mary” from her name)-

Mary Louise Goes To The Dallas Palace

      One of the most fascinating, perhaps even startling, things to read was that she was described as a “blues singer” when she began her professional career. Pretty cool for a 16-17 year old. In fact, when she resumed her career in the late 1950′s, noted jazz critic Whitney Balliett compared her to Billie Holliday and Ella Fitzgerald. YouTube goodness here.

Mary Louise and Benny, San Francisco 1939

     Ah, the joys of reading a small town newspaper where everyone knew everyone else’s business, and then published it!