Waller, Texas!

When I was a boy growing up in nearby Cypress (which is TRUELY part of Houston now and has lost all rural character), Waller was the nearest town of any size.

I used to buy parts for our John Deere MT from the Willie family, who owned an equipment dealership there. In addition, I briefly dated their daugher Mona.

There used to be a place called the Dairy Art right there on old 290, which ran right through the center of town. A sign out front boasted, "Sorriest Burgers in Texas."

Actually, of course, they were quite good and we used to go there after ball games.

Ah, memories.

German, yes. Names like Telge and Huffmeister and Weisser gave that away. When I went to Cy-Fair High, I attended school with kids who had those last names.

Speaking of Weissers, they started the airfield there in Cypress as a landing strip for their crop dusters. If you know where that airfield is, our fifty-acre place had its southern boundry right up against the airfield. I used to watch the Confedrate Air Force types practice carrier take offs while I was shredding with our old MT and the Rotocycle cutter.

And, if you really remember well, there used to be a sheetmetal building there on the corner of Telge and 290, where the bus barns are today. That was Petrzelka's Garage. Talk about guys who were good diagnosticians...