Where to Start?

I've titled this post "Where to Start?" because that's what pops into my head whenever I think about the time we spent in Argyle, Texas in 1971... Although we were only there for a little over 6 months it changed me in some very fundamental and profound ways - and for reasons that may surprise you :-)

I guess I'll start with a little bit of background about Argyle:
Back when we moved into the rental house on Old Justin Road the population of Argyle was around 400, so it's not surprising that everyone knew everyone... What was a bit more surprising is that a lot of the people's great-great-great-great grandparents had known each other too :-) That's not say that there weren't a significant number of "newcomers" in the area, but there was a core group of families that had been there since the 1850s.
BTW: There's a little private cemetery near Argyle called the Eakins Cemetery. It was founded in 1855 and it's still in active use, but by "invitation only". You have to be a descendant of the original settlers (or really good friend of one) to be buried there... I think that's kind of cool :-)

Argyle was the proverbial "wide spot in the road", consisting of a store, a tiny post office, a gas station (which doubled as a bait shop), a K-8 school, 2 churches (Baptist and Methodist), and an old vacant bank building. (The bank got robbed back in 1912 - it was the most notable event in Argyle history.) ... And that was about it... Given that Argyle was only a few miles south of the outskirts of Denton I guess it really didn't need much else :-)

I should also mention that Argyle used to be on the main highway between Denton and Fort Worth, but in 1959 they built Interstate 35W just a mile west. That reduced the traffic through the town to almost nothing... There was still an occasional freight train (the tracks ran alongside the old highway) but other than that it was really quiet...

As near as I could tell the entire population of Argyle was conservative - split roughly 50/50 between Baptist and Methodist (except for one Catholic family)... However - I'm not including the trailer park. Suffice it to say that not all of those residents were churchgoers :-) ... And then there was us. We were as of that point "uncategorized"...

BTW: Almost everyone in town considered our landlord to be a bit on the "loopy" side. I think it was because he was spending his spare time building a submarine that looked a sea-serpent... Seriously - it was in pieces out by the back fence. (You can't make this stuff up.) ...
He also left us a riding mower so I could mow the acre from time to time. I'd never operated any kind of mower before let alone a riding mower so it was actually kind of fun. (He showed me how to maintain it and everything.) ... I really didn't have to mow very often - the only place the grass grew very much was on top of the drain field :-)

And it didn't us take long to discover that we were living next door to the Baptist minister and his family. They greeted us almost as soon as we got out of the car... And that will be the topic of the next post :-)

Epilogue:
I've been to Argyle many times over the years and it never seemed to change - that is until my most recent visit... Ever since the 1970s the outskirts of Dallas have been creeping steadily northward - and a few years back Argyle suddenly became a "suburb of choice" for wealthy city folk. The population jumped to around 4,000 almost overnight - there are McMansions everywhere. (Argyle's average home price is now triple the county average). There's a high school, and a strip mall - new buildings everywhere - and all the community organizations (schools, churches, etc) have more money than they know what to do with...

I realize that change is inevitable... I'm just never quite sure how to feel about it :-)