Towns in the Texas Panhandle: Nocona and Wichita Falls (Panhandle 2019-02)

On my ambitious road trip to Flagstaff, I drove through north Texas to avoid the Dallas/Fort Worth traffic nightmare. For my first night, I stayed in the town of Denison (see the previous post). From there, it was an easy drive west on US 82 through rolling farms and forests. Compared to driving through Dallas, it was relaxing and scenic.

Nocona is a small town Montague County, Texas. I stopped to look for a coffee shop but without luck. However, a few sights on side roads caught my eye. Woody's garage looked old-fashioned, but from Google Maps, I could see that it was only a few years old. Fooled me when I was there. The old Chevrolet needed a bit of work; the gorgeous example in the showroom in Denison was a bit (big bit) better.

6th Street view east, Wichita Falls, Texas

Continuing west, I finally reached Wichita Falls in mid-afternoon. I took the exit from US 287 down 6th Street towards the tracks. This is the "big city" of the northeast Panhandle. A friend who has been there on business described it as a quiet, old fashioned, somewhat shabby little city that seems stuck back in mid-20th century. She said generally the people were friendly and nice.

Wichita Falls is not very inspiring photographically. Because big open spaces and big skies are a defining characteristic of Texas, I took some frames near the BNSF railroad tracks. The clouds were puffy, and I used yellow or orange filters to exaggerate the skies.

7th Street view west, Wichita Falls, Texas

On the Saturday that I stopped, the downtown was pretty dead. A coffee shop was open, but the coffee was rather mediocre. I wonder if the town is more exciting on weekdays?

I stretched, bought some petrol, and headed northwest on US 287. To be continued....

These photographs are from Kodak Tri-X film exposed through a Hasselblad 501CM camera with 50mm ƒ/4  Distagon and 80mm ƒ/2.8 Planar-CB lenses. Praus Productions in Rochester developed the film in Xtol. I scanned the negatives with a Minolta Scan Multi medium format film scanner.

Small Towns in Texas: Denison

Introduction

Dear Readers, as I noted in the previous article, in August-September of 2019, I drove to Flagstaff, Arizona. I headed west across Louisiana and then northwest across east Texas. The town of Denison was a convenient overnight.

In this article, I will show a few frames from Denison. In future updates, I will continue west to Wichita Falls and then northwest on US 287 towards Amarillo. This will form a "Texas Panhandle" series. Once you reach Amarillo, you are back on the Mother Road, Route 66. I will add some more articles to my 2016 and 2017 series on Route 66. To see these older articles, type "Route 66" in the search box.

Denison

Denison is a mid-size town north of Dallas near the Arkansas border. It may be best known for its famous son, Ike Eisenhower, the army general and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. He served honorably and with utmost respect and honor by all. And he treated his party members, party opponents, European allies, and even the Soviets with respect - contemplate and contrast with the illegitimate and traitorous coward in the White House today (2017-2021).

The morning view from the Best Western was rather inauspicious. Strip America, billboards, and parking lots. Yuck.

I drove downtown to the historic neighborhood at Morton Street. This was more interesting. There were plenty of early-20th century cottages - some restored, some derelict. A square old-time commercial building contained a plumbing supply company.

A block away, at 614 W. Sears, a Victorian mansion. And it was for sale! Just what I need, another fixer-upper. The roof was modern, so I assume the structure was sound. But it still needed a lot of work (= serious $$).

Approaching storm, Main Street, Denison, Texas (Fuji Acros 100 film, Yashica Electro 35CC camera, Nikon yellow filter)

My destination that morning was CJ's Coffee Cafe on Main Street. The view out the front was classic small-town Main Street: square-front early 20th century commercial buildings and Jeeps with big tires. My ordinary sedan with its 16" wheels is so inadequate in comparison.

Eiffel Boutique, Main Street, Denison (Moto G5 digital file)

The Chevrolet that tempted me, Main Street Motors, Denison, Texas (50mm Distagon lens)

Main Street in Denison looks pretty good. It was clean, and many of the stores had tenants, although I could not tell if the upper floors were occupied. Main Street Motors offered some beautifully-restored classic cars. Maybe I should have bought this gorgeous Chevrolet for my trip west towards Route 66. The little Volkswagen cabriolet in the back was a beauty, too.

Most of the major brands had stores here at one time, such as Kress, Sears, and Woolworth's. The Kress premises now house Revolution Coffee Company.

Art Deco seating, balcony, Realto Theater, Main Street, Denison (Moto G5 digital file)

The Realto Theater was hosting a Ghost Investigation and Psychic Fair. Incense wafted through the air. People came and went in odd costumes. The Rialto was one of many cinemas and vaudeville theaters that once lined Main Street. Howard Hawk's epic drama, Red River, had its premier at the Realto.

Around the corner on Barrett, an artist was painting a mural on the side of a building. Nice work!

Denison played a small part in the twisted and arcane art world in the late-1990s. For a short while, the First National Bank stored the famous Quedlinburg Treasures in its vault. During World War II, the Lutheran Church of St. Servatius in Quedlinburg, Germany, placed manuscripts and other 800-year-old objects in a mineshaft for safekeeping. At the end of World War II, an American officer with an art background, Mr. Joe Meador, took some of the art works and mailed them to his family in Whitewright, Texas. He died in 1980, and family members tried to sell some of the items. There followed an international search, convoluted lawsuits, and the final return of most of the art to the Lutheran Church.

A documentary filmmaker from Denison, Cassie Hay, wrote and produced a documentary about the Quedlinburg Treasures, "The Liberators." I thought the film was a bit choppy and confusing, but it documents how a German art historian tracked the treasures to a small town in Texas. Two of the stolen items have never been recovered, and one family member in the movie surmised that they may have been given to the Goodwill store (wow!).

This ends our short stopover in Denison. It is a cheerful town, and I would enjoy visiting again. The square black and white photographs are from Kodak Tri-X 400 film, exposed at EI = 320 in a Hasselblad 501CM camera with 50mm and 80mm Zeiss lenses. I used yellow or green filters on some frames. Click any picture to expand if you want to see more details.

The next article will be a quick color film trip through the Texas Panhandle. Hang on for the ride.

Hasselblad Instruction Booklets - from the archives

Hasselblad 501CM with 50mm ƒ/4 Distagon CF lens and 45° viewfinder

Dear readers, I have been using this Hasselblad since 2017. It has been reliable and optically excellent. Obviously, I should have bought one decades ago (but I used Rolleiflex twin-lens reflex cameras instead). Over the years, I did collect a series of booklets prepared by the Hasselblad company that described techniques or types of photography that you could do with your Hasselblad camera. But obviously, you needed to buy the appropriate accessories or lenses! Hasselblad, like Leica, was a master of special fittings or accessories, all made with the most meticulous engineering and production quality - and serious price.

A historical note: Hasselblad cameras went to the moon. Special motorized models were equipped with big buttons that could be operated with gloves. The now-cherished color photographs of the earth rising above the moon's surface (earthrise) were on Ektachrome film.

Here are more earth-bound applications. The Eye - The Camera - The Image and Square Composition discussed the advantages of square frames (54×54mm on 120 or 220-size medium format film). As of 2020, Kodak, Ilford, Fuji, Foma, and possibly some other companies still sell 120-size film. Not bad for a 100-year-old format. So if you have a medium format camera, put it to use and go record your family and world. If it is time to graduate from digital, borrow or buy a medium format film camera.

Here are booklets on various techniques or special applications.

Here are some slightly larger-format booklets from 1986-1988.

I never saw a booklet on urban decay photography. Maybe I should offer to write one. Maybe they would send me one of their beautiful medium-format digital cameras in exchange.......

Big Industrial Remains: Sloss Furnaces, Birmingham, Alabama

If you like industrial remains, the Sloss Furnaces National Historic Landmark in Birmingham, Alabama, is about as interesting as it gets. The site is at 20 32nd Street North, right in the city and easy to reach from the interstate. According to the Sloss web page:

Sloss Furnaces was once the largest manufacturer of pig iron in the world. It stands today just as it did in the late 19th century — a monument to the Industrial Revolution. With its web of pipes and towering stoves, this unique National Historic Landmark provides visitors a glimpse into Birmingham’s rich industrial heritage. It stands with pride and is a symbol of where the “Magic” began for Birmingham.

Sloss Furnaces operated from 1882-1970 making it the longest continually running blast furnace in Birmingham’s history. 

It is a fascinating site for photography, and amateur photographers can work without paying a fee.  I spent a rewarding morning there in 2017 with my then newly-acquired Hasselblad medium-format camera and Kodak Tri-X film.

You drive in from the east (see photograph 1 above). Abandoned railroad tracks parallel the modern rail shunting yard.

Once you check in at the visitor center, you start walking through the works and can see the enormity of the complex. Thousands of employees once worked here. The noise, heat, and fumes must have been overwhelming.

These were crude, old-fashioned massive girders and castings. Some of the foundations do not look too sound to me. I expect that this site will be open for many years until the machinery corrodes or geotechnical conditions become unsafe. Then parts of the site will progressively close to the public.

Some of the darker interior areas required 1-sec exposures. These are from my 50mm f/4.0 Distagon lens, made in 1985 in West Germany. The last picture is a crop of no. 2 to show how much detail was recorded on the Tri-X film.

Some of the former office or laboratory buildings look like they have been reinforced (see the steel beam in the upper left).

Sloss Furnaces National Historic Landmark is a rare opportunity to walk in and around factory machinery. It is part of our industrial heritage. Make a point to visit. Take your camera (use film) and a tripod.