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Vol 8, No 7

January 7, 1940

Sunday Evening

The Melody Ranch goes on the Air

Obituaries
Texas Ranger and Story Teller Bigfoot Wallace dies
SAN ANTONIO    (1899)     On this date in 1899, "Bigfoot" Wallace died. Bigfoot Wallace was a Texas Ranger, fought in Mexican American War, and several Indian battles. Wallace loved to tell about the free life of early Texas, frequently embellishing the old stories. He became a folk-hero with his stories, and set a standard for tall-tellers to come. The town of Bigfoot was named for him.

Gene Autry radio show
NEW YORK CITY (1940)  On this date in 1940, the Country Yodeler from Texas, Gene Autry launched the longest running radio series in radio history. Sunday evening on CBS radio would find a nation of saddle pals, glued to their radio listening to "Gene Autry's Melody Ranch". The show ran almost continuously until 1956, and combined music, comedy, and a short weekly serial with Gene Autry as the hero. Autry, who was born in Tioga, Texas in 1909, had already made over three dozen Westerns for Republic Pictures, and recorded several country hits, including "Back in the Saddle Again" and "Tumbling Tumbleweed", and Christmas standards including "Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer" and "Frosty the Snowman".

Capitol Desk
Suspension Bridge opens in Waco
WACO   (1870)    One of the longest suspension bridges in the United States opened on this date in 1870 in Waco. The Waco Suspension Bridge carried cattle and wagon traffic as a toll bridge for two decades when it was eventually sold to the City of Waco. It was closed to vehicle traffic in 1971, and today is on the National Register of Historic Places.   

Education Desk
7th Day Adventist School Open in Keene
CLEBURNE   (1894)    On this date in 1894, a group Seventh Day Adventists who had settled in Keene, opened the Keene Industrial Academy. With an initial enrollment of 67, the school and Keene soon became nationally known as the "Stickhorse Capitol of the World" for all the hand made brooms make at the Academy. Because of the strong Adventist roots, the Post Office is closed on Saturday, preferring to be opened on Sunday, and crime in the town is virtually unknown.