Visitors from Scotland

Stefan Jones and Stephen Harris stopped by at the museum on their way back to Austin from touring the state after the South by Southwest festival. They are from Elgin, Scotland and were very pleased to hear that we pronounce the name of our town "properly."

On the subject of the Scots Elgin readers of the Dustpan might be amused to know that there is a blog out there called "Elginism." Elginism is actually a word in the dictionary (well, large ones) and refers to vandalism of works of art. Lord Elgin removed some sculptures and friezes from the Parthenon on the Greek Acropolis in the early 19th century. They can now be seen in the British Museum and the Greeks and the British have been arguing about who owns them ever since.

Stone Age Credit Card

At our meeting last night Zoe brought in this cardboard credit card of Jack's. I didn't even know they had gas credit cards that early! None of that holograph image stuff on this one. No security precautions. I could mock one of these up sitting here at the computer. Although it might be a little difficult finding a Magnolia station to use it at.

In the 1950s the Magnolia gas station in Elgin was run by W F Condron. It was located on Main Street where Hurst's garage is now, next to the driveway for City Hall. Here's a picture of it from the mid 1950s.

Bessie Davis is 102!

Bessie Davis, who was the first woman to work for the railroad in Bastrop County, has moved back to Elgin and can now be found at the Golden Years Nursing Center. She is 102 this year. She and her husband Harry were both telegraphers and worked in the Interlocker Tower at the Elgin Depot during World War II. Her granddaughter, Mary Hamway, of Paradise Valley, Arizona stopped by the depot today to say hello.

A KATY Whistleboard

Charlie Goertz, a great friend of the Elgin Depot Museum, brought us this KATY Whistleboard from his collection. The X on the sign meant that the engineer had to blow his whistle for a crossing up ahead. Texas Law required them to be placed 80 Rods in advance of the road crossing or other place where the whistle was to be sounded. Today it is referred to as 1/4 mile in advance, or around 1400 feet. This, like most KATY signs, was made of cast iron.

Moskowitz Paintings

Shirley Moskowitz Gruber, a well known artist who lives in California, is the niece of Joe Simon and the mother of Ruth Gruber who visited here recently. Moskowitz has been so kind as to donate one of her watercolors to the museum. It was painted in 1944 from a sketch which she did on a visit to Elgin in 1943. A careful look reveals that it portrays the corner of Central Avenue and Main Street. The arches are the remains of the old Elgin Bank building which burned in March 1943. It was built about 1906 and occupied by the bank until 1923.
Moskowitz also sent a photo of another watercolor which she did at that time of some houses outside of Elgin. This exuberantly colorful painting now hangs in the Houston Museum of Fine Arts. Some original sketches and some copies of Elgin sketches from her sketchbook were also included in the package. All these artworks can be seen in the museum.