If you happen to visit a high-traffic area in one of the state’s larger cities, you might come across some folks wearing sandwich boards, such as one sees during tax season or mattress sales. The Texas Department of Transportation has adopted this marketing device to promote its “Be Safe. Drive Smart” pedestrian safety campaign this month.

I’m possessed by a bad case of curiosity. Sometimes it seems like many of us here in Madison County are pretty much a big Heinz 57 mixture, but then I think, “where did we start?” With that in mind, I did some searching in Volumes 1 and 2 of local history.

As we cross the halfway point of July, wildfire danger continues to increase across the state. On Friday, Texas A&M Forest Service firefighters responded to 15 new wildfires that burned 651 acres. As of Sunday, there were eight active wildfires; the largest was the Nethery Road Fire in Kimble County, involving an estimated 3,500 acres. It has been 70% contained.

I cannot take credit for this piece. I borrowed most of it from Volume 1 of local history, from an essay by the same name from Reverend Marvin E. Martin (1909-1991). According to Findagrave, during World War II he was a captain in the U.S. Army, and he was ordained as a minister in 1970. He married Ethel Agnes McMurrough Martin (1921-2005) in 1937. They are buried in Willowhole Cemetery. The couple’s son had the same name as his father but he went by Marty. In 1995, he died in Tarrant County and was brought back to Willowhole to be buried with his parents. It does not appear that any descendants live here.

Three people were arrested last week by federal authorities in connection with a human smuggling incident that left 53 migrants dead. The migrants were discovered inside a tractor-trailer on San Antonio’s Southwest Side, according to the San Antonio Express-News.

I recently found a single sheet, double-sided, from the May 25, 1961, Madisonville Meteor. The advertisements were interesting. Of the 15, one-third of them did not offer telephone numbers. The ones that did were of the “DI-8” kind. Dr. Kenneth Downard’s number was DI 8-2800. Boney-Bass Chevrolet’s was DI 8-2155. Boyd Bailey didn’t give a phone number; everyone knew him. The Madisonville Meteor offered “For Rent – Typewriters and Adding Machines, by week or month.” Charles Heath’s Small Appliance Center offered to repair small appliances, having a large stock of parts for irons, mixers toasters, percolators, electric clocks, fans, vacuum cleaners, lamps, and all small appliances. That was before it got cheaper to just purchase new ones!