Howdy from Columbus, TX!

Run Stats:
Day: 198
Miles Completed: 721.5
Miles to San Diego: 1378.5
Avg Miles/Day: 3.6
Marathons Completed: 27.5
Longest Run Streak: 8
Current Run Streak: 2
Shoes: Skora Fit/Skora Tempo
Playlist Favs: FM Static, Shuffle

Bible Verse of the Day: So He (Jesus) got up form the table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist, and poured water into a basin. Then he began to wash the disciples' feet, drying them with the towel he had around him. When Jesus came to Simon Peter, Peter said to him, "Lord, are you going to wash my feet?" Jesus replied, "You don't understand now what I am doing, but someday you will." - John 13:4-7 (NLT)

Run Reflections: This has been another good running week. I was able to run 5 out of 7 days and cover close to 30 miles. On the virtual front, I have been continuing west on I-10. Earlier this week, I passed through the town of Sealy, TX. Sealy is named after the railroad tycoon George Sealy and is the original location of the Sealy Mattress Company. It is also the hometown of Hall of Fame NFL running back Eric Dickerson. I've included a picture of the Sealy water tower because you have to love a town that includes a graphic of the high school mascot (tiger in this case) on their water tower. Great reminder that Friday (and Saturday) night lights are not that far away.

Yesterday I passed through the town of Columbus, TX, which is the feature for this week's post. Sources for this input are from wikipedia and the Roadside America website - roadsideamerica.com. If you are visiting a new part of the country and looking for something unusual or unique to visit, it is definitely worth checking out the possibilities included on this site!

According to wikipedia, the city of Columbus is located on the Colorado River, 74 miles west of Houston. The first America settlers arrived in the area that is now Columbus in 1821 and believed it was the legendary site of Montezuma's Indian village. In 1882, the Mexican government issued land grants to members of Stephen F. Austin's Old Three Hundred who included Benjamin Beason and Abram Alley. The settlers who received these grants made up the first organized, approved influx of Anglo-America immigrants into Texas and each head of the household received a minimum of 177 acres or 4,428 acres depending on whether they intended to farm or raise livestock. Both Beason and Alley chose to settle here. Beason and his family started a ferry business across the Colorado and also established a gristmill, gin, sawmill and boarding house. The area was originally known as season's Crossing until it was renamed "Columbus" in 1837. Alley's 1830's log cabin has been preserved in Columbus and is now used as a tool museum. I've included a picture thanks to a photographer named Billy Hathorn who actually took all three of the pictures that are included in this post.

The town's motto, coined by James Harbert Wooten, J., M.D., is "City of Live Oaks and Live Folks." We are good friends with a "Wooten" family here in Panama City. I'll have to ask them if they might be related to this guy.

In looking around at what might be interesting about Columbus today, both wikipedia and roadside America mentioned the Santa Claus Museum. The museum is based on the collection of the late Mary Elizabeth Hopkins and located in her former residence. I have included a picture of the house and museum sign. Per the roadside site, "Ms. Hopkins began her Santa Claus collection in 1913 and stopped when she passed away in 1990. There are more than 2000 Santa's on display and, from the museum brochure: "The merriment begins as you pull the nose of the Santa door bell and listen as the tune 'Santa Claus is coming to town,' plays. Opening the museum apparently requires a volunteer from the Columbus visitor's Info Center (across from the Confederacy Museum water tower) to come out, unlock, turn on the A/C and dust the cabinets."

Another interesting place to visit in Columbus that I found on the Roadside America site is the Industrial Country Market. According to one of the folks who visited the market and provided an input to roadside America, the market is: "An eclectic compound of stuff run completely off the grid. The general store, a menagerie of overstock merchandise, is in the main building. I bought a couple of journals made of recycled cow poop as well as some yard art, a purse and a few other funky items. In the back of the store, there are composting toilets, greenhouses, gardens an industrial art yard and an art gallery. It appears to be a work in progress and everything is run on solar power. Solar panels are everywhere. They also offer classes on how to get off the grid and go green."

Well there you have it. I'm sure there are a lot of other things that I could have researched and shared about Columbus but I hope you have enjoyed reading about these. Like the other cities I've virtually visited, each city seems to have it's own unique history and culture and I really enjoyed the diversity and "fun" aspect that I sensed about the city of Columbus through my research this week.

I also appreciated glimpsing some of the history on the settlement of Texas, particularly the issuance of grants of different sizes to folks willing to settle in the area. This reminded me of the book (and TV mini-series) Centennial by James Michener, still one of my favorite books. Specifically, the challenges faced between the farmers and the livestock folks and the infamous episode entitled (I think) "Sheep!!!" where the cattle barons and sheep herders fought it out for access and control of the land. I remember trying to watch the original airing of the TV mini-series when I was on restriction during my time at the Naval Academy but that's a story for another day.

I hope you all have a great week! I really appreciate all of the folks who have taken the time to read these posts and for all the positive feedback and encouragement!!

God Bless,

Pat