OLD TIMER IN HIGH COTTON!
By Norris Chambers
I
guess I have been fortunate to have known several men who made their marks in
various fields and are remembered for it. The closest little town to our
country home was called Cross Cut. That is where
Clifton
and I graduated from the
Cross
Cut
High School
in 1935. For those who would like to know more about this colorful little town
that blossomed and had its day in the sun and eventually became a virtual
ghost town, this website will get you started. www.norrisc.com/crosscut.
Clifton
’s mother was a first cousin of Glenn Strange. The Strange family was among
the early pioneers who settled in the community. The McPeters family was also
one of the early families to settle down around Cross Cut. Curtis McPeters was
also a cousin of
Clifton
’s. Glenn and Curtis were much older than
Clifton
and me. In the late 1920’s they decided to go west and seek their fortunes.
Glenn and Curtis were good musicians and were available to play for the
area dances and community programs. As I recall, they were both good singers.
Glenn usually played the fiddle and Curtis the guitar. Many hated to see them
leave because they would miss the music. Every community needs good musicians.
Others would miss them as ball players and just plain good friends.
We heard from them a few times from the kin who received letters. It
seems they got as far west a
New Mexico
where they played in a band. The band traveled on west to
Hollywood
where its music was used in western movies for dances, celebrations and other
festive occasions. Both Glenn and Curtis began appearing in movies and we saw
many of them in the area theaters. Glenn is probably best known for his many
years as Sam, the bartender, on Gunsmoke. Curtis was listed under various
names. Probably “Cactus Mack” was best known. There are hundreds of blogs
and sites on the Internet detailing the movies they were in.
I remember when Glenn and Curtis returned to Cross Cut and presented a
free performance at the high school. I heard the song “When the Bloom is on
the Sage” for the first time that night.
Clifton
and I visited Glenn in
Los Angeles
when were stationed on
Catalina Island
. After I was sent to
New York
Clifton
visited him two more times.
Cross Cut also produced Robert E. Howard, a fantasy writer of the late
20s and early 30s. Robert is remembered for the creation of Conan and his
western and fight stories. The Howards were good friends of our family and we
saw them often. In another tale I told how I typed stories for Robert and
other writers when I was in high school. Robert E. Howard is also well
represented on the Internet.
After graduating from high school and a trade school in
Fort Worth
I was fortunate enough to work for W. Lee O’Daniel who gained fame by
organizing the Lightcrust Doughboys and writing several very popular songs
during the thirties. These included Beautiful
Texas
, Million Dollar Smile, Put Me in You Pocket as well as several well
known theme songs. While working for O’Daniel I was associated with several
musicians who are still well known today.
W. Lee O’Daniel was performing 8 programs a day on this station along
with recorded programs on stations in
Texas
and
Oklahoma
. He was later elected Governor of Texas for two terms and was a Senator from
Texas
for several years.
While working in
Mexico
I became acquainted with Lonnie Glosson, a nationally famous harmonica player
(also well defined on the Internet) who sold harmonicas and lessons over the
powerful radio station in Piedras Negras, across the river from
Eagle
Pass.
I had the pleasure of introducing Lonnie Glosson on stage at a bluegrass
festival in
Perrin
,
Texas
in the 1980s. W. Lee O’Daniel was performing 8 programs a day on this
station along with recorded programs on stations in
Texas
and
Oklahoma
. He was later elected Governor of Texas for two terms and was a Senator from
Texas
for several years.
After I retired in 1974 I became acquainted with one of the top showmen
of the century – Bill Camfield, known to many as Icky Twerp. Some of you
youngsters will probably remember his kid show on Channel 11, Slam Bang
Theater. Bill was a friend of our
family and visited us on many occasions. He was an early columnist for
Startext, a computer bulletin board introduced by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram
and a forerunner of the Internet. He
inspired me to begin my series on “Making Money at Home for Fun” on
Startext.
Ella
and I were invited to a wake for his cat. It was an unusual and interesting
party with several well known TV entertainers in attendance. The poor cat was
properly directed to “Cat Heaven”. Bill
left
Fort Worth
and appeared in several movies but returned and worked for a TV network until
his death. Bill Camfield is well documented by Google! You can see many movie
clips of Icky Twerp on www.youtube.com.
In
conclusion, the Old Timer has this advice for you kids – Stay young, have
fun and keep plugging!”