Corsicana Texas, World Famous Bakery, One Legged Daredevil and a Reel Cop

TRANSCRIPT

Welcome to The Traveling Fool podcast, the show where we talk about destinations, the history and culture around those destinations as well as travel tip and news. I am your host, Bob Bales and today we are going to a small town in North Texas that over the years has been the site of a world famous bakery, a one legged daredevil and cop who is also an actor. So, stay tuned and we will be right back.

Okay, now before we get started, please hit that like or subscribe button and send a link to this podcast to others that you think might find this interesting. You can also go to the website, thetravellingfool.com and sign up for the monthly newsletter. I send out the latest travel news as well as contests where you might win a trip somewhere.

Now let’s get started. In 1896, Augustus “Gus” Weidmann made his way from Wiesbaden, Germany, to Corsicana, Texas, with the dream of opening a bakery. Shortly after settling in town, he purchased a storefront on Collin Street, and Collin Street Bakery was born. Along with breads and cakes Gus also made fruitcakes, similar to the German Stollen cakes from Germany. The fruitcakes did not require any refrigeration and could be bought and taken by travelers passing through town. The fruitcakes were a hit and word of mouth spread. Soon the bakery received letters asking for fruitcakes to be sent to them and Collin Street Bakery had one of the first mail order businesses. Today the company ships fruitcakes to all 50 states and over 190 countries. That’s not bad for a bakery that its start baking bread and cakes in small Texas town.

In 1884, a one-legged tightrope walker, with a wooden pegleg, came to town to perform his amazing feat. He never gave his name and to this day it really isn’t known who he was. Years later people researching his past have discovered a one legged tight rope walker named Daniel De Houne who went by the name Professor Moses Berg was the man. I mean how many one-legged tight rope walkers were there. De Houne, or Berg, was a circus performer in Europe before immigrating to Texas and later served in the civil war, losing a leg. After the war he went back to performing circus acts and stunts to support his family. Now when he showed up in Corsicana, he not only walked the high wire that had been strung over Main Street. He also strapped a pot-bellied stove on his back and said he would carry it across the tight rope. Well, you can guess what happened. He fell and the stove landed on top of him critically injuring him. He lasted a couple of days before succumbing. Now, here it gets mysterious. He never told anyone his name but he did reveal he was Jewish and after he died was buried in the Hebrew section of the cemetery with the marker simply reading “Rope Walker” 1884. No family has ever claimed his remains, but I would be willing to bet that he was Daniel De Houne.

Now, how would you feel if the Police Chief in your town was also an actor, writer and producer. Well, in Corsicana that’s exactly what they have.

With over 30 years in law enforcement, Robert Johnson began his career in law enforcement in College Station Texas before becoming an undercover officer in Corsicana two years later and then getting the position of police chief. In 2010, Johnson gave in to a friend’s suggestion and sent a selfie to a casting director for a TV show which resulted in an audition. A few weeks later, the casting director called and asked him to be an extra in the TV show Lone Star. And the rest, as they say, is history. Since then, the chief has 42 acting credits along with 15 as producer, 4 as a writer and 2 as a director. He was instrumental in bringing 2 movies to Corsicana, Warning Shot with David Spade and FAZ, a zombie comedy. Johnson takes his role as Police Chief seriously and he’s good at but he also likes to release his creative and fun side through his acting. He once said in an interview. “We have people in town that won’t talk to the Police Chief but will run across the street to talk to the actor. It helps bridge the gap and makes my job easier.”

Here is another fun fact about Corsicana. I bet at one time or another you reached into the pantry for a can of chili to heat up or to make chili dogs or if in Texas Frito pie. Well, in 1895 a young boy named Lyman Davis developed a chili recipe and began selling it for 5 cents a bowl from the back of a wagon on the streets of Corsicana. He later opened a meat market and sold the chili in brick form using the brand name “Lyman’s Famous Homemade Chili”. In 1921 he purchased some basic machinery and began canning the chili marketing it in the local area. He changed the name to Wolf Brand Chili in honor of his pet wolf Kaiser Bill. Soon he produced 2,000 cans of chili a day but this being the time of booming oil discoveries, oil was discovered on Lyman’s farm and he didn’t have the time or interest in continuing his chili business. In 1924 he sold his business and the new owners expanded it and introduced new marketing techniques which over the years resulted in what is today one of the most recognizable and loved canned chili brands in the US. So next time you reach for a can of Wolf Brand Chili, thanks Lyman Davis of Corsicana Texas for his homemade recipe.

Corsicana Texas sits about 53 miles South of Dallas on Interstate 45 and is a pretty cool place to spend a day or two.

Collin Street Bakery

If you visit Corsicana, you will, of course, have to visit the Colling Street Bakery, home of the World Famous Fruitcake. But they also have a lot more than that. If you visit, they not only have fruitcakes but cookies, pies, bread, cupcakes and so much more. You can also have lunch. They serve salads, sandwiches, soup and more. Of course, make sure you have enough room in your car to bring back a bunch of their baked goodies. Just so you know, you can only get their goods through mail order or directly at their stores.  They have two stores in Corsicana, one downtown on 7^th Ave and one on I-45, which makes it easy for you to take a quick exit and hop back on the highway. They also have a store in Waco and one in Lindale close to Tyler. I’ll take a cake or pie or whatever you want to send me, I’m not picky.

Pearce Museum

In 1991 Charles Pearce bought his wife Peg a present, a handwritten letter from the Antietam battlefield written by Col Joshua Chamberlain to his wife. Peg was always interested in history and had a special interest in the Civil War. Charles and Peg had always been avid art collectors but with this present a whole new passion started. That was to collect and preserve artifacts from the civil war. By 1996 the collection had grown and the Pearce’s decided it needed a home where others could enjoy it, so they placed it in the care of Navarro College and the museum was born. Today the museum houses over 15,000 documents including numerous letters written by soldiers on the front lines of both armies along with other artifacts. The adjacent gallery showcases the American Western art collection with over 250 paintings, sculptures and other works depicting life on the American Plains and there is a section dedicated to prehistoric artifacts of the Blackland Prairie that has over 44,000 artifacts. The museum is located on the campus of Navarro College.

Cook Center Planetarium

The Cook Center Planetarium is also located on the campus of Navarro College and is one of the largest planetariums in Texas with a 60 ft dome and seating for 200. The Planetarium also doubles as a classroom for the college but is open in the afternoons to the public. They put on shows and the admission is $3 per person. They are open Tuesday thru Saturday and located adjacent to the Pearce Museum on the Navarro College campus, also there is no charge to park. So, you could visit the Pearce Museum in the morning and catch an afternoon show at the planetarium.  

Pioneer Village

Located near downtown the Pioneer Village is a history museum showing life in early Texas. Pioneer Village has several log houses and buildings with some being over 140 years old. Each contains artifacts and antiques dating to the period. There is also a building that houses the Lefty Frizzell Museum. Born William Orville Frizell in Corsicana in 1928, he picked up the nickname “Lefty” sometime later and would become a powerhouse in Country Music. After he died of a stroke at the age 47 he was later inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. There are also wagons, lots of old artifacts and signs and a 1924 Wolf Brand Chili Truck where the cab of the truck is shaped like a can of Wolf brand chili. Pioneer Village also hosts a variety of special events throughout the year. Check it out, I think you will enjoy it.

Petroleum Park

The first major Oil discovery in the state was made in Corsicana. Now growing up in Texas I have always heard about the massive discovery of oil at Spindletop near Beaumont, ushering in the era of Texas being a major oil producer. However the first oil discovery in Texas leading to commercial oil production was made in 1894 while drilling for water, and by 1900, the Corsicana town oilfield was yielding 800,000 barrels of oil annually with over 600 operating wells completed within the city. Spindletop near Beaumont was discovered in 1901, seven years after the Corsicana discovery. Petroleum Park marks the location where the discovery occurred and in addition to a historic oil derrick on site, there is also a1923 Wooden Jail house, a historic blacksmith site and a historic war cannon on site. While you are in town you should swing by and see where the start of the Texas oil boom started.

Historic Cemeteries

I enjoy visiting cemeteries when I travel. There is a lot of history revealed at old cemeteries, from the graves of pioneers, soldiers, famous people and so on. Plus, a lot of old cemeteries are architecturally beautiful. Ornately carved mausoleums and tombstones, I just really find them interesting. Corsicana has a few cemeteries but there are two you might consider visiting. The first is Oakwood Cemetery, one of the oldest cemeteries in Navarro County with the first burial dates in 1851prior to the civil war. There are over 500 Confederate Army veterans buried there as well as every other war with the exception of the Revolutionary war. The cemetery is located on 15^th street in Corsicana.

The other cemetery worth visiting is the Hebrew Cemetery. The first Jewish residents arrived in Corsicana in 1871. Today there are more than 400 graves including the famed one legged daredevil. A simple marker, reading “Rope Walker”, marks the spot he was laid to rest after falling from the high wire with that pot bellied stove strapped to his back. Since he said he was Jewish but never told anyone his name, that’s how he was buried. The Hebrew cemetery is located on West 2^nd Avenue in Corsicana.

CAF Coyote Squadron

The Coyote Squadron of Corsicana is a unit of the Commemorative Air Force, and operates out of the N.H. “Tucker” Hardgrave Memorial Hangar at the C. David Campbell Field, which is the Corsicana, Texas, municipal airport. Man, that is a mouthful. If you want to visit just go to the municipal airport and ask where the hanger is. The Commemorative Air Force or CAF, began in 1957 in the Texas Rio Grande Valley when a small group of ex military pilots pooled their money and bought a P-51 Mustang. A short while later they bought a couple of other old military aircraft from WW2 and the hobby turned into a passion, to collect and preserve every aircraft from WW2 that they could.

Today there are 81 units or Squadrons located throughout the United States and they maintain and fly over 180 historic aircraft. The Coyote Squadron in Corsicana has a Fairchild PT-19 named “The Pride of Corsicana”. The Fairchild was built in 1942 and used as a trainer for pilots learning to fly. There is also a Beechcraft T-34B. This plane went into the Navy inventory in 1956 as a trainer in Pensacola Florida, later being used by the Dominican Republic Air Force before being damaged. It was later repaired and donated to the CAF in 2018.

Every year the Coyote Squadron puts on an airshow, hosting planes owned by private pilots and other warbirds from other CAF Squadrons around the country and parachute jumps. During a 2 day event you can even book a ride in a few of the old aircraft.

Cadet Memorial

Also, at the airport you can stop by and check out the Cadet Memorial. This was the location of the Corsicana Army Airfield. From March 1941 to October 1944 nearly 8,000 cadets filed through here being trained as pilots for WW2. The Cadet Memorial consists of 5 acres and has a central walkway with a life sized bronze statue of an aviation cadet. There are also plaques commemorating the Army Air Force casualties in WW2 as well as the cadets who perished during training.

Angelita Vineyard and Winery

Angelita Vineyard and Winery is a small boutique winery located in Angus just south of Corsicana, TX. They offer wine tastings where you can get a wine flight  of their popular wines, appetizers including a variety of unique cheeses as well as live music events, harvest parties and holiday specials. They also have a wine shop where you can pick up a couple of bottles as well as merchandise and gift baskets.

Bronze Tour

Take the bronze tour through downtown Corsicana and surrounding area where you can check out large bronze statues commemorating notable citizens including Lefty Frizell, a 13-foot-tall image of an American Indian on horseback, Candelario Garcia a Vietnam Veteran who was awarded the Medal of Honor and others. A total of eighteen in all.

Corsicana is one of those quiet Texas towns that offers a lot. Shopping, history, outdoor activities such as lakes and parks and is one of those places a lot of people overlook as they pass through Interstate 45 heading to Dallas.

So next time you are in Dallas or driving from Dallas to Houston or just making it a weekend destination, I would highly recommend stopping by and enjoying the town. Grab a fruitcake, check out the museums and the historic aircraft at the airfield and don’t forget to pay your respects to the one-legged daredevil.

Well, that’s it for this week. I appreciate you listening. Don’t forget to hit that like or subscribe button and until next time. Safe travels.

Please subscribe and leave a review on I-Tunes. 

You can sign up for my email list

Podcast Link

Follow me on social media

FaceBook

Twitter now X

LinkedIn