Miss Emily’s JukeJoint, 5.13.11: Von Erich/Von Ehric

    Sometimes history and popular culture and current events all collide like a piledriver  . Last week’s Denton Record Chronicle Denton Time  section featured the Von Ehrics. Earlier in the week, I was browsing the Denton Collection of books in the Emily Fowler Public Library’s Special Collection department and found this title: The Von Erich Family Album by patriarch Fritz Von Erich. Pure coincidence. Two different spellings with a certain aesthetic in common. And, yes, the band was named after the famous/tragic wrestling family.

Famous Brothers

     When I was a teen in Dallas back in the ’80s, even though I personally didn’t follow professional wrestling, I had several friends who did and the Von Erichs were (are still?) considered folk heroes; their names ever-present in local news. I didn’t realize until today that they had lived at times in Denton County.

The book mentioned above cannot be checked out, but you *can* read it, do research, and make copies if you need. Same as the other titles in Special Collections.

And, as an example of the Von Erich’s hold, so to speak, on GenX, check out Corn Mo’s performance of his tribute “Shine On Golden Warrior” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5WerFQ-86E

Corn Mo lived in Denton for a while back in the ’90s before moving to Brooklyn, N.Y.

Shine ON!

posted by Chuck, 5.16.11

Dallas Cowboy Legend Pearson @ the North Branch

Former Dallas Cowboy and football legend Drew Pearson will be at the North Branch Library on February 25^th from 2-4 p.m. signing copies of his new book Remembering Texas Stadium. Co-author and longtime Dallas sports writer Frank Luksa will be joining him. The event is free and open to the public.

Drew was a household name for Cowboys fans in the ’70s and early ’80s, and helped his team win Super Bowl XII in 1978. He was one of the most talented wide receivers ever to play for the Cowboys, earning a reputation for his acrobatic catches in must-win situations. Drew is probably best known for his amazing catch of a pass from quarterback Roger Staubach in the final seconds of a playoff game with the Minnesota Vikings in 1975, the first ever to earn the term “Hail Mary Pass.”

Drew Pearson played in three Pro Bowls while being named All-Pro three times. He was voted to the NFL’s 1970 All-Decade Team and has been inducted into the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame and Texas Black Sports Hall of Fame. He currently resides in the Dallas area.

 The North Branch Library is located at 3020 North Locust Street in Denton, Texas.

 For more information, contact Kerol Harrod, Public Services Library Assistant, at 940.349.8758 or at kerol.harrod@cityofdenton.com.

It’s more than just a game.

promo-movie

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Recently Emily Fowler hosted former Fred Moore High School Dragon football players to talk about what it was like playing for C.H. Collins during the 50′s and 60′s.  We filmed the event, and now you can check out the DVD.

Interesting Bicycle Race

Found this in March of 1895 in the Denton County News.  I believe the old fairgrounds were located on somewhere around Welch, between Hickory and Eagle.  Maybe across from the UNT Art Building.  May be some petrified livestock patties under all that asphalt.

If you can’t tell, I’m a fan of bicycles.  It would be fun to find some old bikes and do a reenactment of this race.  But, I’m sure there’s one going on every day, with someone having their moment of glory.

-Leslie

The Great Bicycle Race of 1894

Found this in the Denton County News in 1894.  I lost the exact date, but it is was somewhere between May and July of 1894.  I wish they’d had a picture of the bikes.  And the winners.  I wonder if anyone in the area is related to one of the winners and has one of the medals?

This article came from a microfilmed copy of the Denton County News.  You can take a look at it yourself by visiting the Emily Fowler Central Library.  Just come by the Special Collections Department.

 -Leslie

Texas Stadium

On this day in 1971, the Dallas Cowboys played their first game in Texas Stadium, beating the Patriots, 44-21.  In 2009, we will have to say a sad good-bye to the old stadium, as it gets plowed over to make room for some “upscale living” sites.  From 1971-today there has some outstanding talent and outrageous personalities on the fields and the sidelines at Texas Stadium; hopefully, the new stadium in Arlington, will not betray the Cowboys’ status as a local and national institution.  

Relive the earlier days of the cowboys at the Denton Public Library:

 Dallas Cowboys Quips and Quotes

 Tales From the Dallas Cowboys by Cliff Harris and Charlie Waters

Texas Thunder: My Eleven Years With the Dallas Cowboys byHarvey Martin

Tom Landry: An Autobiography

Cowboys Have Always Been My Heroes: the Definitive Oral History of America’s Team

Turning the Thing Around by Jimmy Johnson

Jerry Jones and the “New Regime”

or, if you despise “America’s Team” you can read this gem:

I Hate the Cowboys and Who Elected Them America’s Team Anyway