I live in Cut and Shoot, Texas, which you all know from my profile. Cut-N-Shoot is not an ordinary name for a town. Just down the road a couple of mile is Security. I wonder if way back then, when the cutting and shooting got too bad, everyone headed for Security? Just a wondering out loud.
There are a whole lot of stories about how it got its name, but I may tell you more about that in another blog. I will tell you that Cut & Shoot originally was a lumber town, created from the forest resources that surrounded the area.
Now that I have given you some background information, let me go on with my blog about western cowboy movies. I loved those movies ever since I was old enough to watch them. When my Mother wanted to go shopping, she and I would catch the bus and take it the 8 or 9 miles into town. She would let me go to the movie theater (it only cost a quarter to get in) and I would spend the time watching cowboy movies. You might remember Roy Rodgers and Dale Evans, Gene Autry, and many more. And on TV there were so many, like Sky King, the Cisco Kid, Marshal Dillon (that was before Gun Smoke), and many, many more. Now on the Western Channel they have a lot of the old TV shows and a lot of western movies.
Now, let me make the point that bothers me. Some of these westerns are so wrong on the scenery and area where the action is supposed to have taken place. One very good example are the stories that were suppose to be taking place in East Texas. I have seen some that had Houston, Galveston, Cut and Shoot, Beaumont, and more as the location of the action. Not just the very old shows, but there was one with Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin that was suppose to be near Galveston. They all showed dry desert with large mountain ranges in the background.
When I was working in Michigan, I got a good job offer near Houston. I had been from Maine to Florida, and from Pennsylvania to Colorado and up through Montana and into British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario but had never been to the South West. Even though I was then in my mid 30’s, I was still a cowboy fan and was so excited to see Texas. I couldn’t wait to get on that plane.
Well, as we were coming in for a landing, I looked out the window and all I could see were trees, trees, trees, and a lake here and there. What?!?!? Could this be Texas? And flat, too. What a disappointment. Yep, all those cowboy shows I had been watching were all wrong.
OK, I admit, I still watch them on TV
Is this how the town got it's name?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.texasescapes.com/AllThingsHistorical/Cut-and-Shoot-Texas-AM305.htm
I remember it being mentioned in Michner's book Texas..
And I had driven through it a long time ago when it was just beer joints and a gas station or two.
There are a lot of stories around and I have heard all that are in your link. Most people believe it is "I'm going to cut through the woods and shoot over to Grandma's house".
ReplyDeleteBut there were many churches and bars here. We have lost a couple of bars and gained a couple of churches, so you see who wins in the long haul.
Willie Nelson got his start here when Butler owned the Long Horn bar here. Nelson also owned a home here at one time and would play at the Long Horn when in town. The Long Horn burnt down a few years ago.
I can remember when I was young and asked my Dad where the name came from. He said " if you want to see where the town got it's name, come through on a Saturday night!".
ReplyDeleteLots of history in your neck of the woods!
I remember in the 60's my Dad getting a ticket in Cut-n-Shoot. We were scared to death and afraid they were going to take him to jail. It was a notorious speed trap for people coming back from the lakes to Houston. We rode our motorcycles thru there last year and it wasn't as scary as I remembered as a child! LOL
ReplyDeleteHermit, Yes there is a lot of history almost everywhere. The town of Willis, just north of Conroe had a cigar factory at one time which helped get it going. Some of the big towns way back when are the little ones now and visa vesa.
ReplyDeletemisdeb, yep, it has mellowed out even in the time I have lived here. And for me, a lot of the scarry things I remember as a kid ain't as scarry any more.
I got a bunch of old westerns: the SARTANA movies , pancho and the cisco kid, the real old duke movies ect.... I love em! I can watch em over and over again. If I ever get TV again I will have to get the All western channel and RFDTV. Not everything is bad on TV... thanks for bringing this topic up.
ReplyDeleteHowdy I, thanks for stopping by. Yes, the Western channel and RFDTV are also my favorites. I especially like the bluegrass, clasic country, and gospel music. On Saturday night I start watching at 5:00 pm central time and don't stop until 9:00.
ReplyDelete