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Randy Bigham

Memories of Ennis - Ennis born Bob Banner

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Ennis-born Bob Banner (left) with Dinah Shore and George Montgomery at the 1956 Emmy Awards.

Memories of Ennis - Strange Bedfellows

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Two Houston-based railroad-employed brothers who shared a room in Ennis on stopovers actually went two years without even seeing each other, or so a 1939 syndicated column claimed. The brothers’ shifts never overlapped so, although they shared the same bed in the boarding house, they were never there at the same time. The men, J. E. O’Leary and Conductor D. L. O’Leary, maintained separate residences in Houston and in different parts of town

Memories of Ennis - A Fish Tale

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Fish tale - UP International supplied the following brief to newspapers in 1937 about an event that took place at the old Ennis Country Club: “Ennis, Tex., April 21. Helpful hint to fishermen: Take up golf. Owen Satterfield of Ennis drove his ball from a tee at the Lakeside Country Club today. The ball fell in the lake and killed a fish.”

Memories of Ennis - Can You Hear Me Now?

Can you hear me now?

C.W. Duke of Ennis would have answered “yes” in 1930 when a plane ride reportedly restored his hearing. According to an AP release, Duke allowed a stunt pilot to go into a nose dive during a flight recommended to benefit – if not cure – the deafness in his left ear from which he had suffered for eight years. Duke told reporters on landing that his hearing had completely returned.

Memories of Ennis - Live Well and Long

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Ennis people and events have often made regional, even national, news. And on occasion, a note of levity marked the various stories of local interest that appeared in daily and weekly newspapers across the country. A couple of years ago I first shared some of these funny bits from the past and I was asked recently to collect a few more. I was happy to oblige and in fact very much enjoyed turning up some of these new additions.

Memories of Ennis - The Bluebonnet Train

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This photo of the “Corsicana Bluebonnet” line of interurban trains is from Texas Electric Album by Rod Varney. The picture was taken April 10, 1940 by Charles Savage. A copy of the book was provided by Larry Cook. Courtesy Photo

Memories of Ennis - The legend of Sugar Ridge

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Ennis in its formative years wasn’t exactly squeaky clean but it managed to seem sweet. Along with saloons and “gambling dens,” there was rumored to be a string of houses of ill repute near the city on a rural road in the Bristol area known as Sugar Ridge. This area is wellknown to wildflower lovers during bluebonnet season.

Memories of Ennis - Sparkman Smokehouse

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The 1925 smokehouse on the Sparkman Farm at Bristol has been painted many times during Bluebonnet Trails, capturing the romance of the locale and its flowers. Courtesy of Trinity Arts Photo Club

Memories of Ennis - Bring Your Own Bed

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An elderly Ennis resident, R. L. Sparkman, was interviewed in 1955 about the changing times, and among the things he recalled was that “when he went away to college, students had to bring along their own featherbeds.”

Memories of Ennis - Lake or no Lake

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A new lake was proposed by Ennis Mayor J. P. Clark and City Commissioners J. N. Goodwin and Howard Thomas in 1938 and a citizens meeting was called at City Hall. The lake was to be located south of the current lake and would add 134 additional acres to the property.  It was estimated the project would cost $105,000, two-thirds of which would be paid for by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and the balance by the City of Ennis. It’s unclear whether this project was ever realized.