Eric & I Drive North To Bridgeport, Texas

Our drive starts on

Texas State Highway 71

West.

Eric & I visited Texas

Timeless Classics during

a previous stay in the area.

We follow signs to US 77

 & head North.

New bridge construction 

Cattle graze on a gloomy day.

I drive the first leg of our

drive on Interstate 35 North.

Eric &  I stop at Buc-ee's

in  Hillsboro for

 Brisket Sandwiches.

 

Eric drives & I take pictures.

The Fort Worth Miller

Brewery sign

The Fort Worth skyline

My first sighting of a

Thanksgiving Turkey.

A giant spool of power line

 in transit

Driving on US Routes 81

& 287

Welcome to Bridgeport

Eric & I arrive at Thousand

Trails Bay Landing with the

afternoon rain.

A beautiful sunset

The morning after the

rain photo  of Site 203

Eric & I have Electric &

& Water Connections.

 

Brenham Masonic Cemetery AKA The Yellow Fever Cemetery in Brenham, Texas

This Cemetery was established

before 1847, the year it was

deeded to Graham Masonic

Lodge No. 20.

Minna Becker

Nov. 18, 1886 - April 5, 1887

Lenora Becker

Jan. 12, 1902 - Sept. 5, 1902

Mother, Anna Becker

Feb. 5. 1860 - Sept. 14, 1939

Father, Matthew W. Becker

Jan. 15, 1855 - June 8, 1937

This old Cemetery has swaths of tall grass.   Some areas have piles of tree branches.

This Memorial, with a book on top

its column is written in German:

Maria Verena Schmid

Dec. 21. 1824 - Aug. 3, 1891

I found a Headstone with the Masonic Symbol...

Nirum B. Ruff

Born in Girard, PA.

April 16, 1838

Died Oct. 6, 1867

Head Stones with photos...

Thomas Janica

Died Feb. 20, 1895, Age 87 years

Mrs. V. Janica

Died March 25, 1908, Age 68 years

This Cemetery has two unmarked Mass Graves.  In 1867, Brenhan, and other nearby communities lost many of its citizens to the Yellow Fever Epidemic.  

In memory of Lydia

wife of M. Crundwell

Stockade fencing separates homes in the adjacent housing development on three sides of Brenham Masonic Cemetery.  

Josiah Barnett

Aug. 20, 1817 - Oct. 7, 1867

Geo. W. Barnett

Mar. 27, 1845 - Oct. 14, 1867

Mrs. E.M. Barnett

 April 28, 1823 -  Jan. 9, 1892

Tamar, daughter of

A.M. & Harriet Levinson

Oct. 31, 1859 - June 1860

Eliza Williamson

Mar. 1797 - Mar. 14, 1869

John P. Key

Oct. 6, 1867, Age 56 yrs. & 27 days

Susan E. Key

Sept. 18, 1868, Age 37 yrs. & 21 days

Judith Key

Sept. 5, 1851 - Jan. 26, 1860

W. P. Russell

Oct. 30, 1857 - July 22, 1911

Emily wife of

J.K. Alderson

June 22, 1834 - Jan. 16, 1916

A Family Plot with a 

partially open gate

The sandals I'm wearing leave lots of exposed skin for prickly Burs to grab onto.  They hurt my feet and I take the last of my photos with my camera's long lens.

Patrick H. Lusk

November 30, 1851

aged 28 years, 9 mos, 9 days

A secluded section of the Cemetery...

The Obelisk: C.B. Shepard

Oct. 15, 1812 - Dec. 31, 1892

M.J. Andrews Shepard

Died May 3, 1892

Judge James E. Shepard

April 24, 1817 - July 16, 1894

I decided not to go any closer to this grouping of graves.

The specks in the middle of the photo are Ants moving back 

& forth from the underground Nest.

Thomas Deye Owings

Col. 28 Ky. Infantry

War of 1812

Mar. 7, 1776 - Oct. 6, 1853

The Eldridge Family Plot

is overgrown.  

Brenham Masonic Cemetery is an important historic site.  Families buried their parents, babies, children, wives, and husbands here.  

Hundreds lie in unmarked graves because of the swift-moving, too often fatal Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1867.  The lack of monuments and plaques to memorialize them does not make their lives less important to their families or less important to the community.

Visiting Blue Bell Creamery in Brenham, Texas

 

A little girl leads a Cow to

the Barn to be milked.

Brenham Creamery Company was founded in 1907 to make Butter from excess Milk produced by local Dairy Farms.  Four years later the Creamery started producing two gallons of Ice Cream a day.

Brenham Creamery's first 

Refrigerated Truck is

proudly displayed.

Eric & I go to the

Visitors Center.

In 1930 Blenham Creamery was renamed Blue Bell Creamery to celebrate East Texas' favorite wildflower.  

Blue Bell Creamery Advertisers' wry wit:

Grant Wood's American Gothic couple 

& Blue Bell Ice Cream.

From Blue Bell's List of Slogans:  "Blue Bell's better than a county smile." 

Blue Bell held a Beatle Sweepstakes

to provide free tickets to The 

Beatles' performance at Sam Houston

Coliseum on August 19, 1965.

"Blue Bell tastes like the good old days."

The Company expanded its

services into Houston in

the 1960s.

Blue Bell and its products have expanded across America...

2024 Blue Bell Territories

include most of the Midwest,

the East Coast, New

Mexico & Arizona.

 

"Blue Bell's the best ice cream in the country."

Me in the Blue Bell Ice Cream Barn

"Cows think Brenham's heaven."

Adding Oreos to a batch of

Cookies 'n Cream Ice Cream

in 1978.

"We're cranky about flavor."

Eric is the Official Taste Tester

For Blue Bell, a job he really

enjoys.

"We took the yuk out of yogurt."

Another Building houses the

Observation Deck, Ice Cream

Parlor, Creamery Store,

Baseball Museum & 

Restrooms.

"Have yourself a Blue Bell country day."

At the Observation Deck Eric

& I watched a batch of

Ice Cream being packaged

for distribution.

"We eat all we can and then we sell the rest."

The Ice Cream Parlor

serves sweet treats

for $1.00 a scoop.

Eric's choice - Buttered Pecan Ice Cream.  My choice - Chocolate Salted Caramel Ice Cream.

Blue Bell's Country Store has

something for everyone.

Cows waiting to spread

 Blue Bell happiness

& flavor.

"Blue Bell is the state ice cream of Texas."

Blue Bell's Little Free Library

is so popular that it needs to

be restocked with books.

Eric and I enjoyed our time at Blue Bell Creamery.  Traveling across the country allows us to visit many businesses and take Tours, including Winnebago Factory Tours, Jelly Belly Candy Company, Freightliner Custom Chassis Plant, Blue Ox Factory Tour, and Mona Loa Macadamia Nuts Factory...