WICHITA FALLS MAN
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CB Radio, Morse code, and Folgers Black Silk coffee. What else could a man need in beautiful Wichita Falls, Texas? Maybe a "Red Draw" at the BAR-L Drive In? As the late Oscar Gamble said, "They don't think it be like it is, but it do!" When you see news reports of "A Wichita Falls man..." that's usually not me.
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02-08-2026 - 5:30 AM - Good Morning! It's Super Bowl Sunday, and that means different things to different people. I'll probably watch the game, but I never watch football pre-game shows since they contain zero information of interest to me. There is one soccer game (flopping contest) on Telemundo at 7:30 this morning. I might watch that even though I don't speak Spanish. The high temperature today is forecast at 79 degrees. Wow! I have Morse code running in the background on the old Yaesu 857D, and my Folgers Black Silk coffee is ready.
--- 5:45 AM - NWS Forecast - Today: Partly sunny, with a high near 79. Southwest wind around 6 mph becoming light and variable in the afternoon. Tonight: Partly cloudy, with a low around 46. Light north northeast wind.
--- 6:00 AM - According to Water Data for Texas, Wichita Falls reservoirs are as follows: Arrowhead: 82.4% Kemp: 97.4 Kickapoo: 84.6%. The City of Wichita Falls uses combined levels of Arrowhead and Kickapoo (83.5%) to determine drought stage.
--- 6:20 AM - Yesterday, I received a 1963 tour poster (reproduction) announcing Willie Nelson’s July 24th appearance at the Guys and Dolls Club. Willie, sitting on a stool with his guitar, appeared to be wearing a suit and was sporting short hair.
--- 6:45 AM - If you're an old-timer, you'll remember when the Texas Department of Public Safety was located on the southeast corner of Kemp and Avenue K. If you're a real old-timer, you'll remember when it was located in that strip shopping center at 10th and Beverly. Back in those days, if you lost your Driver License (that's right, Driver, not Drivers or Driver’s), you had to send a telegram to the DPS in Austin requesting proof of your license by return telegram. You took this confirmation to the local office. The Western Union Telegraph Company was located at 715 Lamar.
--- 10:30 AM - Flood Street wasn't always dead. Here's the listing from 1962: Arturo Grocery & Market 107, O-Shoe Shop 323, Kirby's Service Station 234, Louis's Shamrock Service Station 300, Frank's Grocery Store 304, Daddy-O-Shoe Shop 323, Valadez Drive In Grocery 406, LaPaloma Bar 407, Edwards Variety Store 408, Little Doll House Restaurant 409, Drive In Cut Rate Package Store 411, White's Barber Shop 413, The Glass Bar 415, Satellite Club 415, Lena's Barber Shop 419, Lil's Snack Shack Restaurant ???, Serena's Fine Food Restaurant 4191/2, Cooper's Cafe 420, Chatterbox Beer 421, Porters Club, Inc. (private) 421, Thurman's Plaza Hotel 423, Chester's Plaza Coffee Shop 423, Carver Theater 423, Chester's Cut Rate Liquor 427, Flood Street Grocery & Market 501, Durkee Drug 501, Douglass Lefall DDS 503 1/2, Colonel B. Fuller MD 504 1/2, Long Garlin Cosden Service Station 510, Slender Form Figure Salon 513, Universal Life Insurance Company 515, Royal Beauty Shop 515A, Flood Street Barber Shop 601, Charmette Beauty Salon 601 1/2, Flood Street Coin Operated Laundry 603, Flood Street Seventh Day Adventist Church 908, Saint John Baptist Church 1009.
--- 10:45 AM - In the News - Late-night crash in Clay County kills truck driver, Wichita Falls motel fire causes $2,000 in damage, Funeral services set for Billy and Bertha Redmon.
--- 11:30 AM - I see people talking about the government shutting down the Internet and cell phones, making CB Radio popular again. We don't need another CB Radio craze. We'll never undo the damage from the first one. Of course, opinions on this will vary.
--- 12:05 PM - Not long ago, I saw a small Cessna airplane over the I-44 Walmart making turns so steep that I grabbed my phone to record the stall-spin accident for the NTSB. Luckily, no stall* occurred. *An aircraft stall occurs when a wing exceeds its critical angle of attack
--- 12:30 PM - In the 1962 Polk’s Wichita Falls City Directory, August’s Pie Shop is listed at 500 N. Broadway. It is still there in the 1977 issue. I don’t remember when it closed. I do remember being able to buy them at United Supermarket, even though they were being made in Abilene or Lubbock. In my opinion, they didn’t travel well or sell well, because the ones I bought were dried out and not very tasty. They were fantastic back in the day.
--- 12:45 PM - In the 1962 Polk’s Wichita Falls City Directory, the page for the Wichita Falls Chamber of Commerce shows the tagline or motto “Vision to see - Faith to Believe - Courage to Do.” Now, we have “Blue Skies. Golden Opportunities.” What city doesn’t have blue skies? What city of a similar size won’t say it has “golden opportunities”? Pardon me if I say the newer tagline (2010?) is not an improvement.
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02-07-2026 - 5:30 AM - Good Morning! It's Saturday, and I will make my way to the 8th & Ohio edition of the Wichita Falls Farmers Market in search of a certain vendor's salsa. It's also Storm Spotter training day at 9:00 AM at the Ray Clymer Exhibit Hall, 1000 5th Street. I attended one of these sessions at MSU back in 1983. I went out once as an observer during a thunderstorm. I had been chased by the 1979 Wichita Falls tornado, one I could see. Let's just say that looking for one in the middle of the night was not for me. That was my first and last action as a storm spotter. Keep 146.940 MHz (Wichita Falls) and 146.800 MHz (Clay County) in your scanner radio to catch Amateur (ham) Radio storm spotters this storm season. My Folgers Black Silk coffee is ready.
5:45 AM - NWS Forecast - Today: Sunny, with a high near 73. East northeast wind 5 to 9 mph becoming south in the afternoon. Tonight: Increasing clouds, with a low around 52. South southeast wind 7 to 9 mph.
--- 6:00 AM - According to Water Data for Texas, Wichita Falls reservoirs are as follows: Arrowhead: 82.4% Kemp: 97.4 Kickapoo: 84.4%. The City of Wichita Falls uses combined levels of Arrowhead and Kickapoo (83.4%) to determine drought stage.
--- 6:15 AM - In an episode of Better Call Saul (I don't think it was Breaking Bad), Mike Ehrmantraut uses a Galaxy CB Radio to call the local police to run a vehicle registration check. Two problems: It was a CB Radio, and police departments don't conduct business on the CB Radio band. Also, Mike had no antenna or coaxial cable connected to the CB Radio. Sadly, the movie people don't get technical advisors for situations like this, or they are so "in the dark" that they don't realize they need one.
--- 7:00 AM - Local radio traffic on the license-free, 5 channel Multi-Use Radio Service continues this morning. I can't tell if it's a work crew or hunters getting ready for action, but I'm glad to see the use of MURS increasing.
--- 3:00 PM - As planned, I picked up some salsa at the Farmers Market this morning. Yesterday, I got some chicken fried rice from Tommy’s on Old Iowa Park Road. I’m saving that for the Super Bowl. I’m also been binge-watching season four of The Lincoln Lawyer. I think I’m on episode seven. So far, so good.
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02-06-2026 - 5:30 AM - Good Morning. It's Friday, whatever that means to you. Some people are off on the weekends, some are not. That's life in Wichita Falls and around the world. I'll probably run my new Champion generator for another hour, giving it 5 hours of break-in time, and then change the oil. My Folgers Black Silk coffee is ready.
--- 5:45 AM - NWS Forecast - Today: Sunny, with a high near 79. West wind 6 to 8 mph becoming north northeast in the afternoon. Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 40. East northeast wind around 7 mph.
--- 6:00 AM - According to Water Data for Texas, Wichita Falls reservoirs are as follows: Arrowhead: 82.5% Kemp: 97.4 Kickapoo: 84.4%. The City of Wichita Falls uses combined levels of Arrowhead and Kickapoo (83.45%) to determine drought stage.
---- 6:15 AM - At the Iron Horse Pub - The Noise Complaints - Friday February 6 - Doors 8:30 PM, Start 9:30 PM - 615 8th Street.
--- 7:00 AM - Several frequencies in the license-free Multi-Use Radio Service are in use this morning. This service seems to be slowly growing in popularity in Wichita Falls. These are not the "bubble pack" radios found at Walmart, but you can find them on Amazon. Tune in with your scanner radio.
--- 4:00 PM - In the mail today was the 1962 Polk's Wichita Falls City Directory I ordered on eBay. It arrived in excellent condition. Now, I'll be commenting on random old businesses around town. I also completed the 5-hour break-in on my new Champion generator. I am now ready for commercial power interruptions!