Fish Fry Friday in Terrell

One of the things I hated about school growing up was fish on Friday. Every year during Lent we had fish. The square kind, with small bones in them. No tarter sauce or mustard, ketchup, we got to eat it dry. To this day I hate the taste and smell of fish. I will not eat it, no how, no way. Below is a picture of the Knights of Columbus fish fry sign, they have it every year during Lent, to help people stay away meat. Do you have fish frys in your community?



To answer yesterdays question, its the yellow line on the outfield wall at the local ball park. I love baseball and can't wait for it to start. Our High School team has already started its season and is doing pretty well so far. Terrell High School alumni blog and Rambling Round were almost dead on with their guesses. Thanks for all of the guesses.

Any guesses?

Cotton clouds

I thought to clouds looked like cotton the other day, before the wind whipped in here and dropped us to the high 20s this morning.

Last photos from No.1 BFTS

Here are the last of the photos from the museum. If anyone is a WWII history buff, this is the place to visit. They are always looking for memorabilia, donations or volunteers.

The first photo is made up of three Rank Flags. Flags like the ones pictured were used at the school when an officer of the indicated rank was at the airfield.


The next photo is of the control tower radio. This was taken from the control tower of what was called the Kaufman County Airport, home to No.1 BFTS.



The last photo is of a 1:2000 scale model of the airfield from the early 1940s. The only structures still standing are the two large hangers on the right. Current airfield information can be found here.

More of No.1 BFTS

Here are a few more pictures from the BFTS museum.

Below is the patch worn by the instructors at the school. It is based upon the wings worn by the Royal Air Force with a star for Texas and a shield bearing the acronym BFTS.

Here is a WWII flight simulator and a close up of the controls.

I have no idea what this is. Can anyone help? I can tell I probably wouldn't be able to work it. I didn't see an on/off button switch or a reset button.

I have a few more I will post tomorrow. Mr. Madgwick let me photograph whatever I wanted. If anyone has memories, stories, pictures or anything they would like to donate to the museum drop me an email and I can get you in touch with the museum, or you can give them a call 972-524-1586.

Inside No.1 BFTS Museum

I am not sure this photo is from WWII, maybe WWI, but I love the make up of it. Join us and they wont get you.



My photos from inside the museum yesterday didn't turn out as good as I had hoped. Everything is behind plexiglass, which is understandable. I still have some that I think are interesting. When I entered the museum, I was greeted by Henry Madgwick. He is a former British cadet at the school and a former Mayor of Terrell. He has many stories to tell, and I think I could have listened to him talk all day. I found a great story online about Mr. Madgwick and the school. Here is another link for the BFTS. I am going to have to go back and get a picture of Mr. Madgwick.

The picture below is a large map of the southwestern US. If you look carefully, towards the bottom left is the western most part of Texas, where the city of El Paso is. On top of the map, the trainers drew the outline of Britain, Ireland and the northern coast of Europe, with Terrell being London. The outline is hard to see in the picture.



The next picture is the flight suit that was used by the pilots during their training.



I will have a few more tomorrow.

No. 1 British Flying Training School

The No. 1 British Flying Training School Museum celebrates cooperation between the Royal Air Force and the United States. More than 2,300 British and American pilots earned their wings at the RAF Field in Terrell between 1941 and 1945. I was able to finally able to visit the museum today. Over the next few days I will post some of the pictures I took.

If anyone has memories, stories, pictures or anything they would like to donate to the museum drop me an email and I can get you in touch with the museum, or you can give them a call 972-524-1586.

No, oz never did give nothing to the tin man....

.......so he ended up hanging in someones stables.


Isn't that how the song goes?

Misty, foggy, cold.......

Drove down to the park tonight just after dark. Looks like someone had ideas of playing baseball or softball and thought better of it. Its misty, foggy, cold, just plain nasty outside. Talk is its going to get down to the upper 30s tonight.....burrrrr.

At least its going to be 80 by Monday. :-)

A beautiful country cottage

I couldn't help but overhear a coworker saying his in-laws were coming to visit from the east coast. He said he really didn't have room for them in his house. Knowing how he feels about his wifes parents I suggested this darling country cottage. It's just north of Terrell. It has been in the same condition for at least 10 years. When I showed him the photo, he said that is a place he could see his mother-in-law in.



Where do you stick your in-laws when they come to visit? Be careful what you say guys.

Rockwall Harbor fountain

The centerpiece of Rockwall Harbor when fully developed will be the large fountain. This sites in front of the Cinemark Theater.


Today is the first day of early voting in the Texas primary.

Ice Storm damage

We visited Poplar Bluff right after an ice storm hit. Most of the ice was gone when we got there, but here is a photo of one farm with tree limbs down.

Hillbilly Heaven

Back from the short trip. Saw this sign at a store/deli. Anybody up for a BBQ bologna sandwich? Never heard of such a thing.

Rockwall Harbor waterfall

Another one of the features of Rockwall Harbor.
Imma fixin to head outta town fer a few days.
I will try to post while away.

Rockwall Harbor

Boat docks at Rockwall Harbor on Lake Ray Hubbard. Rockwall is about 15 miles north of Terrell. Over the last few years a lot of developments have gone up on the lake shore. This is one of the improvements.

McLendon Chisholm City Hall

McLendon Chisholm is a small town just north of Terrell, small as in under 1000 people. Every time we drive past I get a laugh out of their City Hall pictured below. Would your city or town be able to operate in such a nice looking building? Behind City Hall is the Vol. Fire Dept.

Terrell Memorial Stadium

Memorial Stadium is home to the Terrell Tigers football and soccer teams. I think this holds maybe 7000 people including the visitor stands. There was a bond proposal a few years ago to replace this old outdated stadium, but it failed. I must say with the cost of building supplies going up by the day, maybe a mistake was made. The stadium is clearly out of date.

Has spring sprung?

With football season over, I have nothing to do. So I worked in my front yard for a while. The temperature was in the mid 70s and clear, it was a very nice day. I cleaned out my flower bed, well not really a flower bed, more like a fern and elephant ear bed, since I kill all flowers or plant the darn bulbs upside down. Anyway, as I was cleaning up the leaves and the pecan shells I noticed I have a few daffodils sprouting up. Does that mean winter is over?
It is suppose to be in the 30s again by Friday.

Forney Fire Dept. Sta. No 1

Forney Fire Dept. Sta No 1. built in 1913. Yeah, its been replaced by a new station.

Building reflection

This is a reflection of an early 20th century building in the window of the Forney City Hall building.

Terrell looking west

This was taken looking west on Moore Ave. just as the sun went down. I have posted pictures like this before, I think I like the way the lights look.

Terrell Tiger mascot

I think I heard the Terrell Tiger mascot say to catch her new video on you tube. OK, maybe I made that up, but I did catch the tiger having fun dancing during the Terrell vs. Richardson JJ Pearce basketball game. You can see the video here.

The Tigers lost, but gave a great effort and almost pulled off the win. It would be nice to see a great crowd tomorrow night for the last home game of the year.

Terrell Municipal Airport

Yesterday It by rail, today it's by air. Terrell has its own municipal airport. Everything you would need to know about the airport is right here.

Terrell railroad

I have been playing with all of the different buttons on my camera and got this picture that I thought turned out pretty neat. Its crossing the railroad tracks looking west. The old railroad depot is on the left, the back side of downtown is on the right. No I didnt stop on the tracks to take the picture, this was as we were driving over them.

A beautiful Sunday

Yesterday was awesome in Terrell. The temperature was in the 70s the majority of the day. The park was crowded with people taking advantage of this bit of spring. Today it's also suppose to be wonderful with a high in the 80s, its was 71 at 6:30am this morning. Its not going to last though, as its suppose to be near freezing later in the week. The best part of the day was watching the Patriots lose to the Giants.

Koffee Kake Terrell

In November I posted a picture of Terrells newest coffee house. Today I finally made my way inside. The place is wonderful looking. It is an old converted house and each room is decorated just like it was someones dining room or breakfast area. They have a wide assortment of koffee beans, koffees, teas and hot kokoa. They serve sandwiches and have awesome pastries. I had a hot kokoa and an orange danish. Both were very good, I was going to take a picture of the danish but it didn't last long enough.

If you live in Terrell or have business in Terrell stop by. They are open 6am-5pm during the week and 7am-2pm on Saturday. Closed Sunday.
Koffee Kake is located at 201 N. Rockwall, Terrell, TX. 972-551-7145.

Circular Park fountain

One more picture from the grounds of the State hospital. This fountain was part of the original grounds of the hospital when it opened in 1885. I am guessing its drained for winter.

Theme day-When people think of Terrell, they think of....

I would guess Jamie Foxx is probably what most people think of when they think of Terrell. Since I don't have a personal picture of Mr. Foxx, I decided to go with something that I can photograph, the Terrell State Hospital. Brian has a long description about the hospital with other pictures on his site. Here is my contribution to the monthly theme. Enjoy.

Above is the main building, Brian posted a picture of the same building but taken from a different angle.

Below are older buildings on the campus that are no longer in use. To me when people think of the State Hospital they get images like the ones below.

Not sure how well you can see it, but there is chain link fencing on the second floor of both of the old buildings. I am sure both buildings were very nice in their day. I would love to see them renovated, but it is a State institution. I would love to spend an afternoon just taking pictures of the buildings on the campus.

Take time to visit all 136 blogs participating in this theme day:
Portland (OR), USA - Menton, France - Monte Carlo, Monaco - Memphis (Tennessee), USA - Manila, Philippines - San Diego (CA), USA - Anderson (SC), USA - New York City (NY), USA - San Diego (CA), USA - Mexico City, Mexico - San Francisco (CA), USA - Mumbai (Maharashtra), India - Mainz, Germany - Weston (FL), USA - Minneapolis (MN), USA - Turin, Italy - Las Vegas (NV), USA - Hobart (Tasmania), Australia - Bicheno, Australia - Durban, South Africa - Joplin (MO), USA - Nashville (TN), USA - Stockholm, Sweden - Kyoto, Japan - Tokyo, Japan - Brussels, Belgium - Chicago (IL), USA - Montpellier, France - Seattle (WA), USA - Mazatlan, Mexico - Saint Paul (MN), USA - Sharon (CT), USA - Sesimbra, Portugal - Toulouse, France - Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina - Susanville (CA), USA - Maple Ridge (BC), Canada - Saint Louis (MO), USA - Prague, Czech Republic - Helsinki, Finland - Pilisvörösvár, Hungary - Lisbon, Portugal - Mexico (DF), Mexico - Trujillo, Peru - Dunedin (FL), USA - Albuquerque (NM), USA - Port Angeles (WA), USA - Cottage Grove (MN), USA - Saint-Petersburg, Russian Federation - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - London, UK - Baziège, France - Jefferson City (MO), USA - Greenville (SC), USA - Selma (AL), USA - Mumbai, India - Naples (FL), USA - Norwich (Norfolk), UK - Silver Spring (MD), USA - Setúbal, Portugal - Stayton (OR), USA - Bellefonte (PA), USA - Sofia, Bulgaria - Arradon, France - Montego Bay, Jamaica - Athens, Greece - Austin (TX), USA - Singapore, Singapore - West Sacramento (CA), USA - Jackson (MS), USA - Wassenaar (ZH), Netherlands - Budapest, Hungary - Rotterdam, Netherlands - St Malo, France - Chandler (AZ), USA - Melbourne, Australia - Port Vila, Vanuatu - Cleveland (OH), USA - Nottingham, UK - Kansas City (MO), USA - The Hague, Netherlands - Crystal Lake (IL), USA - Wrocław, Poland - Chateaubriant, France - Cheltenham, UK - Moscow, Russia - Monrovia (CA), USA - Saigon, Vietnam - Toruń, Poland - Grenoble, France - Lisbon, Portugal - New Orleans (LA), USA - Sydney, Australia - Boston (MA), USA - American Fork (UT), USA - Boston (MA), USA - Montréal (QC), Canada - Wichita (KS), USA - Radonvilliers, France - Buenos Aires, Argentina - Christchurch, New Zealand - Rabaul, Papua New Guinea - Wailea (HI), USA - Aliso Viejo (CA), USA - St Francis, South Africa - Port Elizabeth, South Africa - Seattle (WA), USA - Pasadena (CA), USA - Vienna, Austria - Orlando (FL), USA - Torun, Poland - Delta (CO), USA - Santa Fe (NM), USA - Minneapolis (MN), USA - Haninge, Sweden - Paris, France - Stavanger, Norway - Niamey, Niger - Le Guilvinec, France - Bogor, Indonesia - Saarbrücken, Germany - Auckland, New Zealand - Wellington, New Zealand - Budapest, Hungary - Juneau (AK), USA - Bucaramanga (Santander), Colombia - Glasgow, Scotland - Chicago (IL), USA - Jakarta, Indonesia - Adelaide (SA), Australia - Sydney, Australia - Riga, Latvia - Subang Jaya (Selangor), Malaysia - Terrell (TX), USA - Terrell (TX), USA - Inverness (IL), USA