Texas Standard » Stories From Texas

About six months ago, I took a look at songs about Texas towns – “Amarillo by Morning,” “Galveston,” “La Grange,” “Streets of Laredo,” “China Grove,” etc. Now I figure, why not just do Texas? Let’s talk about songs that show their love for Texas in a Texas-sized way – paying homage to the whole state […] The post Ten Songs About Lovin’ The Lone Star State appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts.

The Worst Land Survey in U.S. History By W. F. Strong You can never underestimate the value of a good friendship forged early in life. If not for such a friendship, Texas would be nearly 1,000 square miles smaller. Before I get to the friendship, come with me up to the northwest corner of the […] The post Texas Might Have Been Smaller appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts.

We have many endangered species in the world. Among the better-known at-risk animals are snow leopards, Asian elephants and orangutans. In Texas, we have the gray wolf and ocelot as endangered animals, among others. Endangered reptiles here include the Texas indigo snake and the horned lizard. But that’s not my focus today. That’s just a […] The post Endangered Words appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts.

One of the most fascinating Texas Rangers of all time was Samuel Hamilton Walker — no relation, we should say right off the bat, to Chuck Norris’ fictional character Cordell Walker. Many Ranger aficionados rate Sam Walker the second-most-important Texas Ranger of all time, behind Jack Coffee Hays, with whom Walker rangered. Now that’s a […] The post Samuel Walker: The Real Walker, Texas Ranger appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts.

When I was fifteen, weighed down by concerns about high school – algebra tests, term papers, girls – there was no better spot in the world to silence the mind than on top of a 35 foot windmill at my uncle’s farm. In the spring, it was heaven up there on that platform. To the […] The post Windmills: A Memory of Spring appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts.

As I was watching the Olympics, I began thinking about all the great athletes who have come from Texas and gone on to be the best in the world. Though not an Olympic champion, I thought of one Texan who stood unexpectedly at the pinnacle of his sport for an impressive number of years. He […] The post Jack Johnson: The Galveston Giant appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts.

At 60, I didn’t expect ever to fall in love again. I thought that sort of euphoric madness that comes with infatuation was all in the past – reserved for younger people. But I was wrong. When she came into my life, the world stopped – and changed forever. I first saw her in photographs. […] The post My Valentine appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts.

When settlers first came upon Jacob’s Well near Wimberley around 1850, they did not encounter a swimming hole. They discovered a magical fountain of beautifully clear water, 12 feet in diameter, sometimes spouting four or five feet above the surface. They named it Jacob’s Well because of its Biblical magnificence. Over the next 70 years, […] The post Plumbing The Depths of Jacob’s Well appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts.

Back when Facebook was new on the net, in order to spur participation on the platform, Facebook made a page for every state and issued a challenge: “Let’s see which state can get to a million likes first.” Texas won and won handily. It wasn’t even close. Given Texas’s galactic reputation for state pride, the […] The post A Handy Guide To The Most Texas-Loving Pages On Facebook appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts.

With 2018 upon upon us, let’s look 100 years back at 1918, and let’s make some guesses about the coming year. In 1918, there were fewer than 250,000 vehicles on the road in Texas. No driver’s license was required, by the way. Given that there were only about 5 million of us back then, we […] The post On The 20th Century, And The 22nd appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts.

By W. F. Strong As it is Christmas time I got to thinking about the great gifts, money and property,  given to the State of Texas over the years. I’m going to tell you about three such gifts that led to a priceless fourth.   In 1926, a bachelor banker died in Paris, Texas… a […] The post 4 Gifts For Texas appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts.

Texas has produced and nurtured a great number of colorful characters, but none more colorful than the prismatic Judge Roy Bean. He squeezed many showy lives into one lifetime. In fact, he didn’t become the Judge Roy Bean that Paul Newman immortalized on film until he was almost 60 years old. This proves my favorite […] The post Judge Roy Bean appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts.

The first word uttered on the moon was “Houston.” That was the first word of the longer phrase uttered by Buzz Aldrin: “Houston, Tranquility Base here, the Eagle has landed.” I know there are those who say that there were other jargon words uttered first in the process of landing such as “contact light,” but […] The post Jules Verne, Texas, and the Moon appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts.

I was looking at a list of honorary Texans recently. It is quite a long list. Only about a tenth of them would be known to most Texans. John Wayne – no surprise there. The only surprise is that it took until 2015 to make him one. Chuck Norris, born in Oklahoma, was made an […] The post Honorary Texans appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts.

What’s the best Whataburger you ever had? That’s a question a friend of mine likes to ask everybody. Seems a strange question, but in Texas it isn’t. When he first asked me I told him I could not tell him about the best Whataburger I ever had until I first told him about the time […] The post Missing Whataburger appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts.

Anytime I hear someone say something like this: “Y’all ‘bout fixin’ to head out?” I think it’s highly likely that they are from Texas. You have y’all and fixin’ to in the same sentence and a couple of contractions. We do love our contractions, which, if you don’t recall from your halcyon days of grammar […] The post Texas Contractions appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts.

Uncle Dale was the first grownup to come home in the afternoon. He wasn’t our real Uncle – we just called him that. Back then, it was considered rude for a child to call an adult only by their first name, so we had lots of aunts and uncles. Uncle Dale got up when it was […] The post Uncle Dale’s Greatest Gift appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts.

Every destructive hurricane is remembered in a unique way. Katrina is largely remembered for levees breaking and the paralyzing chaos that followed. The Galveston Hurricane of 1900, whose anniversary is in two days, is remembered for a horrific number – 6-thousand. 6-thousand people perished. It was the deadliest natural disaster in U.S. history. I believe […] The post Bass Boat Heroes appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts.

By W. F. Strong I’ve spent a good deal of time over the last couple of years contemplating all things Texas inside of Texas. So I thought I would take a look at Texas OUTSIDE of Texas. There is a lot out there. First, I suspect you’ve heard that in Norway the word “Texas” means […] The post Texas: The Name Heard ‘Round The World appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts.

The first person to waltz across Texas – okay, waltz is the wrong word (just tipping my hat to Ernest Tubb there). The first European to walk across Texas was Cabeza de Vaca. And he did it barefoot and mostly naked. Why? We shall see. His full name was Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca. Bet […] The post Cabeza de Vaca: The First Texas Tourist appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts.