Introduction

Downtown Wichita Falls, Texas, in the mid 1940’s was a bustling metropolis for a boy of 7 just away from the farm and ranch community where he was born. My father, a cook and cowboy by trade, had just started as one of the first cooks for the Casa Manana restaurant in 1947. He moved us to an apartment on Ohio Street, right across from the Gem Theater, between 7th and 8th Streets. It’s here that we would stay for the next three years. The Gem Theater became a magic palace for a young mind. But it had to share that distinction with the rest of the magic that was Wichita Falls. I attended San Jacinto and Carrigan elementary schools, as well as Reagan Junior High, and belonged to the Boys Club on 6th Street. Please join, and share your stories and pictures through a Guest Blog, of early Wichita Falls - or your home town. Contact me at fadingshadows40@gmail.com or leave a comment. We could use old pictures of movie houses, drive-in theaters, and other nostalgic pictures related to our youths.

Monday, September 29, 2014

Auralee Wallace Talks About Pangaea: Eden's Planet

Auralee Wallace recently read my novel, "Pangaea: Eden's Planet", and talks about it here http://auraleewallace.com/2014/09/29/pangaea-edens-planet/  Please drop by her Blog and comment. It would mean a lot to her, and me. Auralee is just starting her own writing career, and she's making a splash in our community. You will love her books.
Tom

Sunday, September 14, 2014

Doc Savage Digest

Doc Savage: “The Sasquatch Terror” by Tom Johnson. In August, 1944, a young Canadian woman comes to New York to enlist the help of Doc and his crew in finding her missing father. It seems a legendary Sasquatch is terrorizing the Canadian woods, and it was seen in the area where her father mysteriously disappeared. Doc, Monk and Ham fly into Canada to discover a mystery plot, and high adventure.


This was originally written when rumors circulated that Moonstone might be publishing an anthology of Doc Savage short stories. But that was only a rumor, and it never came about. With no chance of the story ever being published, it remained strictly fan fiction. The late David Burton and I talked about the story, and what fun it would be to have a new magazine in the pulp tradition featuring Doc Savage. Our Fading Shadows magazines were publishing new pulp stories since 1995, and there are numerous Doc pastiches around – even a few fan fiction novels featuring the Bronze Man. David worked up a mock cover for a fictitious new magazine, which would feature Doc Savage in new short stories. It was a lot of fun, but had no real possibilities of ever being a reality. I thought it would be nice to at least share David’s proposed cover for the fans.

Saturday, September 6, 2014

The Lovelace Bookstore

The Lovelace Bookstore

While attending Reagan Junior High in the 1954 – ’56 time frame, my dream was to become an entomologist. I loved biology, especially zoology, and in particular entomology – the study of insects. It was at this time I placed my first purchase on layaway; a three-book set titled THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. Big, thick, brown covers, within which was information I desperately wanted to read. However, it took me several weeks to saved my lunch money and pay them off a little at a time. The store was The Lovelace Bookstore in downtown Wichita Falls. Sixty years later those three books still hold a special place on my bookshelf, even though the information is now available for free online.


Oddly, I had a teacher at Reagan named Mr. Lovelace, and often wondered if he was related to the gentleman I bought the books from, but I never asked. John William Lovelace passed away in Wichita Falls this week. He was the son of Bryan Wood and Zora Willis Lovelace, the owners of The Lovelace Bookstore, and I’m sure I bought the books from John’s father, Bryan. Yes, John Lovelace did teach at Reagan, so maybe he was my teacher. I didn’t become an entomologist, but I never lost my interest in the subject, and to this day I’m fascinated with insects and paleo-biology.