Calvert, Texasphotos
I've got some trivia questions for you today. Mysteries that need to be solved by someone alive today who can remember.
1. The picture at the top shows Hazel's Dress and Flower Shop with an empty building on the corner on Main Street. The question is:
What was in this building originally and what was there before it became Hazel's? What was in the building on the corner?
2.The second picture is also on Main Street, across from the old bank/Dr. Cain's dentist office, and the old Post Office. The question is:
What was in this building on the corner, next door to Brannon's Shoe Shop?
3. Some of the stores gave out tokens. The question is:
What would a token that has the letters CGV on it mean?
Please note that I do not have the answers! I hoped that, maybe someone who reads this blog, can tell me. Despite what some people believe, I don't know or remember everything. Far from it. But, maybe if we all pool what we know, we can come up with some of these things that have become mysteries over the years.
People ask me things, and I just don't know a lot of these things. I never believed that I paid attention very well, and things just went in one ear and out the other. I guess a little hung between my ears somewhere, and that is why I am able to draw about some of my memories.
History was not my forte, with all the unfamiliar names and dates. Pictures and stories were more interesting, to me.
Barbara and I were in Calvert, sketching, on Saturday. We sat beside what was once Mr. Brannon's shoe shop. I remember going into Brannon's to have shoes repaired. But what was next door? I cannot remember! And that concerns me that I can't remember something that I walked by for years! After all, it was across the street from the drugstore, so we couldn't help but see it through the window as we sipped a Coke or ate ice cream. And, it was on the way home as we crossed the street at the stop light. I feel sure that they didn't sell anything that I was interested in like comic books or movie magazines, dresses or hats, jewelry, or french fries and open faced sandwiches. It wasn't a place for kids to hang out. But what was there?
People have been asking me about buildings and what were the purposes of some features. For example, they have been doing a bit of an archaelogical dig under the floor of what was Hazel's in preparation for putting in a new floor, etc. They found old coins, leather, a brass wedding ring, earring, and tokens, among other things. There was even an old newspaper plate with an article and a photo on it. So who was this man whose last name was Calvin? And what did the article say? And was there a newspaper there at one time? Was this where Charlie Shelander and son had a bakery? Was it a grocery store?
We figured that the leather must have been from the cobbler shop that Emil Conitz Sr. opened about 1867, next door. Later, he had a grocery store. But what was next door to him? I have a photo of the outside, and some indoor shots of his store when it was a grocery store. But I can't tell what was next door to Conitz Grocery.
The big question, though, is:
What was the brick, oval shaped wall that was under the floor boards of Hazel's? A place to hide liquor during prohibition? The base of an oven? A cistern? A storm cellar? A cooler of some sort?
The token that had the letters CGV on it was also found in this area. One person suggested it might be from Drury Grocery, but those are the wrong letters.
Now, here are some bonus questions. Just some of the things that have me stumped!
4. Bonus Question 1:
What is the significance of the wooden clocks on the four corners, just under the roofline, of the old Sid Pierce home?
5. Bonus Question 2:
What was the name of the old movie theatre next door to the old bank/Dr. Cain's office on Main Street? This was the building that had the box office and gingerbread work on it, but is now gone. I've heard that it was an opera house, but the old maps show it as a movie theatre. I'm not talking about the Eloia, but one that was close to the stop light.
These are "Things that can keep you awake nights!"
There are no prizes for the correct answers, but, at least we will be able to pass those things down, hopefully, correctly. When some future generation wonders, or those who are curious, now, there will be answers, I hope!
Here are some links that show some of the dig in Calvert.
Please let me know if you have answers to any of the questions above, or if you have other interesting information that you would like to share about Calvert.
Incidentally, I really like the way that the photo came out of the bank/dentist office and Post Office, showing through the corner glass of the building across the street.
