Pat Kirkwood. Gambler. Stock car racer. Businessman. Beatnik Beelzebub. The great and powerful Ozymandian charlatan of chivalry and charm. Lord of the underworld weirdos from hipsters to gangsters with connections to anyone from Gene Autry to Amon G. Carter, George Carlin to Jack Ruby. A man of controversy and public service, admired and reviled by… Read more »
Helena once thrived. Tucked away east of the San Antonio River, the unassuming Karnes County town founded in 1852 quickly developed into a crucial South Texas commercial center between San Antonio and Goliad. The former Mexican trading post soon became a highly populated area, gaining a post office, headed by town founder Thomas Ruckman as… Read more »
Deeply engrained in both rock ‘n’ roll lore and Texas culture is a wiry, bespectacled good ol’ boy from Lubbock that would inspire Bob Dylan, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Elton John, Eric Clapton among many other ‘rock god’ contenders, and remain an iconic staple in American popular culture. Despite his tragically brief life, Charles Hardin… Read more »
After the blood-soaked horrors of World War I, men, to say the least, were not alright on a spiritual or existential level. This could explain why a bunch of Dallas men got tired of swapping traumatic war stories and decided they needed to inject a little frivolity into their male-bonding. With fabulous hats. Thus, April… Read more »
They say everything is bigger in Texas. This includes the big foot of a tall tale. Many cultures have their own regional folktales about elusive cryptids rarely seen by civilized society. The Yeti of the Himalayas, the Loch Ness Monster of Scotland, chupacabras, Mothman, the Jersey Devil, the Fouke Monster, and of course, Sasquatch of… Read more »
In 1930 Paul and Thomas Braniff founded Braniff Airways, Inc. The two petitioned the US Postal Service for a Chicago-Dallas airmail route in 1935, making Braniff Airways the first company to hold that route, and allowing them to eventually grow into a major airline company. Braniff assisted in World War II, grew their passenger business,… Read more »
NBC 5 / KXAS has done many stories on North Texas artists throughout the years, showing their craft and skills. We have brought together some of this footage of artists at work from the 1960s and 1970s, to share some of the wonderful footage and their stories. In the following footage, a metalsmith, known only… Read more »
NorthPark Center, a Dallas hallmark situated near the intersection of Loop 12 and US 75, has been a staple for perusing the latest fashion trends and modern art since its opening in 1965. The original L-shaped structure took four years to build, and was the largest indoor shopping mall at the time. Developer Raymond Nasher,… Read more »
The Dallas Opera has been a major part of Dallas’ climate of culture and sophistication since it’s opening performance in 1957. The early reputation of the Dallas Opera was surely boosted by the presence of world-renowned opera singer Maria Callas, in that first performance. Maria Callas is still considered one of the greatest sopranos of… Read more »
Charley Pride, the famed country singer, died this past weekend, December 12, 2020, just after receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Country Music Association. This KXAS story from 1982 shares an overview of Pride’s beginnings in country music, the fame he achieved, and his thoughts on being a Black country musician. Before his career… Read more »
