October 26, 2012 (Friday)
“Big Tex” died one week ago today at the age of 60. Diagnosis: faulty electrical wiring. He was 52 feet tall and weighed 6,000 pounds. He was actually 63 years old, having had a previous life as Santa Claus in Kerens, Texas.
Wanda and I visited Big Tex when he was born at the State Fair of Texas in 1952. We were both 21 years old, and not yet married. Wanda had completed her studies at Baylor University, earning her degree in 2 years and 9 months, without breaks, and had begun a teaching career in Public School Music in Cleburne, Texas. I was still in college, very much in love, and as often as possible driving the 65 miles to Cleburne, in an old wreck of a car, to spend time with the love of my life. Dallas was not far from Cleburne, so one evening we made the trip to the State Fair.
Big Tex was new on the scene. Like the Wizard of Oz, he spoke, but his voice was from a “man behind the curtain” using a public address system. The year, 1952, was a political campaign year, and Adlai Stevenson, running for president, was there making a speech (his opponent Dwight D. Eisenhower made a quick stop at the Waco airport). We saw and heard him as well as Big Tex. It was a nippy night, with temperatures dropping, but we were in love and immune to cold fronts.
The Texas icon will be reincarnated a second time next year, and no doubt will be bigger and better. In the meantime, I cherish my memories. My mind there was focused not on a big statue or a presidential candidate, or any of the stuff at the fair grounds, but on my sweetheart. No doubt the new Big Tex will look down on young couples who will remember their evening at the fair sixty years later.
Click for more:
1. Facts about Big Tex.
2. The fire.