SEEN AND HEARD: FEBRUARY 20TH 2015

Whether you've got a sporty family, or a nerdy, glasses-wearing crew in tow, there's something going on in Denton for ya this weekend. Below are five family-friendly events that will bore neither you nor your children. Read on for more...

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Friday, February 20th

Pre-Inventory Sale  | Recycled Books | Free | Fri-Sun, 9am-9pm
Bring the youngins and come pilfer through piles of previously loved books, records and CD’s to find hidden gems and a whopping discount. You’ll be helping the staff not have to count so many items for their inventory, and you’ll be helping yourself pay for your kids’ college (or bail money, whatever) with all the money you save. 

Made in Denton County | Courthouse Museum on the Square | Free | Fri-Sun All Day
Kids are curious about everything, especially how and where things are made. This ongoing exhibit features curiosities like semi-trucks, eco-friendly packaging, beer, and brats (both your kids and of the sausage variety). 

Saturday, February 21st

I Am Eleven | Campus Theater | Free | 10am
Ever wonder what other kids’ lives are like in other parts of the world? This family friendly film is part of the Thin Line Film Festival and is free, but first-come, first-served, so get there early.

Bikes and Beer | DCTA Station to Audacity Brew House | Free | 1pm
This 1.5 mile family bike ride is Denton’s way of welcoming the new bike and pedestrian coordinator to our community. Oh, and there’s locally brewed beer for the adults, as well.

TWU Gymnastics | Kitty Magee Arena | Children under 12 Free | 6pm
If you’ve never seen live gymnastics, you are missing out! It’s the most action-packed event of the week. This Saturday the Pioneers meet Centenary. Bonus: Free TWU Gymnastics string bag to first 200 people! That’ll come in handy for those TWU t-shirts you know you’re going to purchase.

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Anyah Martinez is the mother of three busy boys and the founder of Explorium Denton, an emerging children's museum taking shape in Denton.

DIME FEATURED MAKER: MATTHEW SALLACK

Every so often, we like to check in with the ladies over at The DIME Store and highlight one of the makers whose work they sell in-store. This month we hear from illustrator Matthew Sallack. We've been admiring Sallack's work for a while now and have purchased several of his prints, ourselves. This interview had us pretty excited. After all, when else can you discuss fair use, the Nintendo Virtual Boy, and wompas all in the same interview? Read on to find out what drew Sallack to illustration, why he thinks Predators are so good at fighting, and his advice for aspiring makers. 

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Have you ever been surprised by how well a certain piece of your art has sold? 

I have this one piece called “Teeny Turtles” which is my most popular design, by far. It’s an illustration of four box turtles and a rat, dressed like the characters from the “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” series. It has sold really well. In fact, I feel like that piece single-handedly saved me in my Master’s Thesis review in grad school. The director of the program didn’t care much for what I had brought into the room, but he just happened to jump online during the review and see that particular image on my website. He said, “Why didn’t you just make more stuff like that?!” He was very impressed with the style and composition, saying “I just love that rat.” 

And I guess what surprises me is how timeless and universal the Ninja Turtles are. They were so popular when I was a kid and are still just as, if not more, relevant. At Dallas Comic Con back in May, I was actually next to one of the artists who works on the Nickelodeon Ninja Turtles cartoon and comic book. (He was really cool, and he did this awesome Krang illustration for me.) And it’s just crazy how popular that franchise still is. And we don’t need to talk about the new movie. Let’s just not talk about it.

So what's with the "Otter" part of Otter Illustration?

When I first set up my main website about 3 years ago, I wanted to have something other than just my name as the name of my business. I wanted to have a mascot, a moniker for my body of work. And then one day I was watching a National Geographic special (I watch a lot of these) about life in the frozen tundra and there was a part about otters. They were navigating the icy mountainside with ease...basically just frolicking around. They approached the danger of the icy terrain with agile whimsy. And I just knew at that moment, that was it. That’s the spirit I wanted to portray with my work. You could say the otter is my “power animal.” Otters have intelligence, create meaningful social bonds, and exude a quirky fervor. When people ask what my style is, I reply “whimsical surrealism,” and I think that is basically what an otter is. 

The other part of this answer: I think I’ve held on to that name thus far and plan on keeping it because part of building a brand is having something recognizable, memorable, and/or relatable. I doubt many people would remember my full name walking away from my booth, but they might recall, “Oh yeah, the otter guy!” The otter is a way of establishing a connection and making the mission about something bigger than just me. 

What first drew (har har) you to illustration?

I have been drawing since I was 2. My mom would bring home stacks of paper, the old school kind with the holes on the side, so I would never run out of paper to draw on. I remember drawing Ninja Turtle comics in Kindergarten with letters in random order, because I definitely knew letters, but not so much actual words. And I took art and AP art classes in grade school. I have more or less been doing art since I was born.

What’s your favorite Pokemon?

This might surprise some, but I am not really that big of a Pokemon fan. I definitely appreciate the “fandom” of Pokemon. And I definitely played a few of the games. But I really like the design and variation of the characters. I initially set out to do illustrations of all the first generation, 151 individual characters. I called it “Monsters of the Pocket Variety.” I think I have gotten through 50 or 60 of them, but I just don’t know if I can draw them all. 

Oh, but my favorite? I don’t know. I like the weird ones. Let’s go with Duduo. 

Your work features anything from typography to movie and video game characters to dinos--- is there a method to the madness, or do you just draw whatever strikes you at the moment?

That’s a good question. There’s definitely method. But also madness, (especially when whiskey is involved.) Sometimes, I will make something special for an event, say a poster for “Denton’s Day of the Dead Festival” in which case there is a deadline. And I feel like I actually work better with strict deadlines like that. Then there are also special requests or commissions, which I will usually knock out as fast as possible.

But then there is also this long list of “elective” illustrations that I want to do, mostly pop culture stuff, but I just haven’t got to them. For instance, I want to do a few illustrations from a series of board games: Battleship, Hungry Hungry Hippos, and Connect Four. I want to do these pretty badly, and I picture what they will look like in my head all the time, but I just haven’t gotten to them yet. There is a corkboard in my room with at least 50 different illustration ideas I have yet to get to. I even will draw little thumbnail sketches and post them up there, too. It’s like the idea is waiting there for me, I just have to put pen to paper to get it out of my head. And it’s fun to get to cross things off that list. There are so many ideas: it’s just finding the time and being in the right mindset to work on them.

I think I also work better in a series. For instance, I did a whole bunch of monkey-related pieces recently, and I remember being more focused when I was working on them all as one big project rather than individual pieces. 

I get really excited about working on this stuff and I think some days I just have it going, and sometimes I don’t. And it’s good to know yourself and know when is a good time to try and bust out as much work as possible and when to lay low, recharge and binge-watch Netflix.
 

In addition to your work with Otter Illustration, you're also pretty involved with Spiderweb Salon. What kind of work do you do with Spiderweb and how does it differ from your Otter work?

Spiderweb Salon is a spoken word and art collective based in Denton. We host showcases and produce low-run publications with poetry, prose and artwork. When I first started participating with Spiderweb Salon, I was more of a participant, showing some art here and there, playing some songs. And then in October of 2012, I made a little fold-up ‘zine with dinosaurs on it. That would become the first of many, as we went on to make ‘zines a regular part of the Spiderweb Salon output, sometimes tying them into the themes of the shows. I am currently still in charge of the design and layout of the ‘zines for Spiderweb Salon as well as getting the privilege to do the cover art, which is always fun. 

Using my talents for Spiderweb Salon is special in that I am not getting paid to do this. It is a labor of love. And it is a lot of work, but I believe in the mission of community and creation behind Spiderweb Salon, which is why I have been doing it this long. What makes it different than how I normally work is that we have to have coordination with all the many arms of Spiderweb Salon: we have workshops, we have meetings, we have correspondence over email or phone, we have to make decisions by consensus. There is a lot that goes into it. This differs from the normal Otter Illustration regiment, where I am making all the decisions, executive or otherwise, by myself.  I have really cherished the opportunity to be a part of Spiderweb Salon. I admire the founders for being able to lead such a meaningful creative movement here in Denton. 

How did you get involved with DIME?

When I found out about the DIME store opening, I was really excited. I knew that it would be perfect to have a store like that in Denton. So in the beginning, I think I was just a fan of what the DIME store founders were doing. Then I think I was volunteering at SCRAP one day, when Shelly (one of the founders) came by and we started talking about the store and what I do, and she was so nice and interested to hear about what I did. From there, I think the first thing I did was I went up there with a little sample pack of my stuff for everyone that worked there as a gift and a way of introducing myself. I remember going in there the first time, looking around and thinking that I didn’t really have anything that I had created at that point that would really fit with the overall aesthetic of the store. But I was fortunate enough to get a spot at the Handmade Harvest show/market in November of 2013. After that I started making stuff with the shop in mind: I think the first thing they bought from me was Christmas Cards. Which led to Valentine’s Day Cards, Mother’s Day cards, Denton postcards, Denton magnets, Denton posters, etc. It has been a wonderful symbiotic relationship that we have developed, where I will go in and we will discuss stuff I am planning on working on, sometimes showing prototypes or just spilling out ideas, and we will refine the ideas and try to figure out what might be good for the store. My relationship with the DIME store has been really beneficial for many reasons and I am thoroughly grateful for all they have done to grow Otter Illustration. 

Aside from the DIME Store, where can we find your work? 

I’m up at the Denton Community Market pretty much every other weekend. Plus I have booths at various local shows and markets like the upcoming Handmade Harvest as well as the Day of the Dead Festival. I have also done big events in the past like Dallas Comic Con and Alternative Press Expo when I lived in San Francisco. You can also buy stuff at my online shop: www.theOtterShop.com.

You use a lot of well known characters in your art. Explain to us how the concept of fair use allows you to legally utilize those characters.

Right. I could probably go on and on about this, because I am interested in the law itself lately and especially how copyright law is interpreted. So, I’ve done a lot of research on this because I obviously don’t want to be ignorant about the matter, and I definitely don’t want to be sued. Fair use, which is covered under the First Amendment, basically lays out what is allowed in terms of using copyrighted material in your own work. It is an extremely gray legal area and much of what is and what is not copyright infringement is open for interpretation. “Fan Art” has become so popular, it really has changed what that law is all about. For me, I always try to present my work as a new interpretation of an established idea or character. If I can claim it as parody, which is usually what I am going for, then it should be protected under Fair Use. Some companies are more stingy about it, and there are other companies that embrace it, citing that it adds to the canon of the characters or work. Also they might elect not to seek legal action as it can be a PR nightmare for them: a big-time greedy company going after an individual.

You can’t make a derivative work. It has to be dramatically different than the original. If it’s clearly satire, then it’s protected under Fair Use (think MAD magazine.) A good example of people who are infringing on copyright: the people on Etsy who are making Batman logo or Mario character decals for the back of your laptop. You can’t do that without a license from the copyright holders. But even when it’s clearly copyright infringement like that, companies generally won’t go after you until you are really making a lot of noise. That’s when they might come knocking at your door with a “cease and desist” order or worse.

Your work fits into a very specific age group. Do you feel like this works to your advantage or not?

I don’t know if I agree with that statement. I do feel like there is a certain demographic that certainly “gets” my work more than others. But working my booth at the Denton Community Market, I can tell you from first-hand experience that I have people from age 6 to 60 who come up and purchase my stuff. 

For instance I have an illustration called “Toads of Battle, Frogs of War,” inspired by the old NES game, “Battletoads.” It’s an image of a frog with sunglasses, a frog with spiked bracers, and a toad with leather gauntlets. And there was a lady who really liked it and bought it. She’s like, “I love frogs!” And I said, “Yeah, that’s from a game called ‘Battletoads’.” And she had no idea what I was talking about, and she was just like, “Oh, I just really like frogs.” Even if you don’t get it necessarily, you might still appreciate it on its own. Plus, I have a lot of stuff that is just generic animal or generic Denton stuff that doesn’t have any specific pop culture reference at all that seems to sell with all sorts of people.

Are there certain areas of pop culture in your art that sell better than others? What doesn’t sell that you wish did?

Things that sell well: anything with animals. Most of the pieces that reference Nintendo games do well. The Star Wars stuff does well. I definitely have some stuff that doesn’t sell well, and I can’t necessarily predict it. But I feel like I can look at the information and derive some sort of pattern in the purchasing habits. One illustration I did that I really like but I don’t think I’ve sold even one print of is called “Virtual Insanity” which is an illustration of the Virtual Boy, with the graphics projecting out of it. It's appropriate considering that the Virtual Boy itself was a huge commercial flop. 

Pikachu vs a Wompa vs Predator who wins?

Ok, this is easy. The Pikachu and Wampa would essentially cancel each other out in all-out, ice-versus-electricity battle. And if either one of them was left standing, Predator would be waiting, cloaked in the corner. And then it would be up to him whether he wanted to finish things off with a ranged attack from the shoulder cannon, smart disc, or javelin. But a Predator versus a Snorlax? Now that would be an interesting match-up.

3 S- NO WAIT... 4 SONGS

We're hosting a show at Rubber Gloves as part of their always-awesome Free Week series next Monday (yup, Labor Day). We did our best to highlight some of our favorite bands from Denton's house show circuit. Dome Dwellers, Bad Beats, Mink Coats, The Days, and The Hymens will all take the stage next Monday to kick off the week of free shows. We love all of 'em and think you will, too. We've expanded our monthly 3 Songs column to include all of the bands playing our show so you can get a little preview of sorts. Check all of the songs out below and we'll see y'all on Monday at Rubber Gloves!

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Dome Dwellers - "My Halo"

Dome Dwellers will be headlining the show. Here's what we said about their song, "My Halo" a year ago. We still dig this song, and they've even gone on to release a full length that you can buy here.

We just  happened to sort of stumble across "My Halo" from Dome Dwellers. As soon as that happened, everything was immediately right with the world. Seriously, this is great stuff and hopefully a precursor of more that we’ll be seeing from this trio of dudes who have a full length coming in late October. "My Halo," itself, reminds us a bit of the Canadian band, Women, before they imploded a few years back - mathy and disjointed in the best of ways. The guitars are full of 90’s-era chimey-ness and tremolo and the math rock aspect of this tune acts as more of a hook than it does a headache - let’s just say that it’s more Algebra 1 than it is Pre-calculus. Whether they’re aware or not, this slightly epic track harkens back to the days of Denton space rock and we couldn’t be happier to be reminded of that era. Do yourself a favor and give this a listen. Heck, you can even download their entire EP for free from their bandcamp.

The Days - "Roll Tide"

(Editor’s Note: We Denton Do It shares a few members/contributors with The Days, but none of them are writing this, none of them asked for this, and we're diggin' it quite a bit. Conflict of interest be damned. While we’re at it, you wanna buy a couch from us on Craigslist?) If you’ve yet to catch The Days live or hear them in any capacity before, you’ve been missing out. These dudes sound as if The Band was fronted by a younger, less smokey Mark Lanegan. "Roll Tide" is a romp of sorts through 70's -era rock songs that'll have you stomping your feet and imagining the band pointing fingers/drumsticks at each other while they're playing. The song just sounds like sweaty chest hair. Why didn't they just name it "Sweaty Chest Hair?" Check out more material on their bandcamp.

Bad Beats - "Fight"

Possibly learning a lesson from the Beastie Boys who fought and possibly died for your right to party, Bad Beats just want you to fight what you think is right. This track is an infectious minute and fifteen seconds of blasé punk anthem. This is a catchy track thrown at you with a "take it or leave it" punk for non punks attitude that, leaves you wanting more because like we said, it's only 75 seconds long, and we love that slight house show party feel it has. Fun stuff here. 

Mink Coats - "Sun Daze"

Some of the best psychedelic surf-pop in Denton - if you've seen Ft. Worth's Space Beach, this is on the same field of existence. We're pretty happy there's a local psychedelic surf rock scene going on. "Sun Daze" is dripping in syrupy summer sludge and this tune will make you wipe the mushrooms from your eyes and dream of panda bears on tropical islands if you aren't careful. That's right, suck it up kids, this is the best pack of already-been-chewed bubbalicious around. Shoving every piece in your mouth and half drooling half chewing the explosion of flavor until it's a wet gray mass of spent underwear balled-up inside of your mouth. It's kind of an awful feeling, but there's no doubt you love it and aren't gonna stop chewing anytime soon.

BACK IN THE DAY: REQUIEM FOR ‘JUDAS’ JIM MURPHY

Jim Murphy to left of Sam Bass, center, and Sebe Barnes “Sam’s Right Bower (sea anchor)” looming tall at right.

Last Saturday’s Denton County Heritage Festival was a wonderful event on the lovely Denton Square, commemorating our town’s 1861-1877 post-Civil War years with period reenactments, historical sketches, and stories by costumed forefathers (and foremothers). The “Texas Troubles” leading to our role the Civil War and its aftermath were indeed a “pivotal era” for Denton township, only 3 years old when war broke out in 1860. Our prior articles on the “1860 Prairie Match Mystery” and “Texas Outlaw Sam Bass in Denton” sets the stage for this modest defense of the betrayer of Sam Bass, Denton’s native son, ‘Judas’ Jim Murphy.

Murphy was the second of nine children born to Henderson and Ruth Murphy, who moved to Denton County in 1851 to establish a General Store in 1852 then the Murphy Hotel in 1855, the first in the county, a split-rail two-story cabin near the log courthouse of the prior county seat of New Alton. In what would become quite a spectacle of the day, The Murphys used a team of mules to move their two-story B&B on rolling logs to its new location, over six miles away along rugged dirt paths, while a very pregnant Mrs. Murphy knitted in her rocking chair on the jostling porch. A few days later, their son John was the first Anglo child born in Denton, and the Murphy Transcontinental Hotel was soon a thriving pioneer community center that offered magnificent meals, tidy accommodations, and rye whiskey for neighbors and travelers alike. The wealthy businessman Henderson served three terms as County Treasurer and at least one term as City Alderman as he also acquired vast ranch land and numerous properties around the Denton Square, interests that sons Bob and Jim helped tend.

Denton’s second Courthouse, rebuilt after 1875 fire attributed to Sam Bass associate Henry Underwood. (Photo courtesy of the Denton County Historical Museum)

The effects of the Civil War were devastating, Denton County lost many men. Weary veterans returned in 1865 to desolate fields and untended farms amidst impoverishing economic depression and drought. Indian raiders of livestock, horse rustlers, and stagecoach bushwackers were persistent threats as Denton County slowly recovered under Union Reconstruction occupation. When the 19-year-old Indiana orphan Sam Bass arrived in Denton

in 1870, working as a hand at the Lacy House Hotel and as freighter for Sherriff ‘Dad’ Egan, the affable lad quickly became friends with the Murphy boys and Henry Underwood and Frank Jackson, locals who were close in age. The Texas Cattle Boom would help make the Murphy family one of the richest in Denton County and, as sons Bob and Jim oversaw large open-range ranches while starting families, the charismatic Sam Bass turned to horseracing and gambling with his legendary “Denton Mare,” then eventually into banditry infamy by 1877 with a $60,000 UP Train heist. Trouble is, once Pinkerton Detectives and Texas Rangers pursued Sam into Denton offering a $1,000 dead-or-alive bounty, the Murphys were soon swept up into the “Bass War” scandal as sleepy Denton became a “terrorized armed camp” of bounty hunters and spies.

While many chroniclers of Sam Bass unfairly characterize Jim as an active member of the rotating Sam Bass Gang, there’s little doubt that he often gave the group of childhood friends safe harbor, supplies, and lookout warnings that helped the outlaws evade their murderous pursuers in the Cross Timbers thickets. By then, however, Jim Murphy was happily married to Mary ‘Molly’ Paine with two twin daughters and a promising future soon in jeopardy. Besides Sam, cowpoke Frank Jackson, horse rustler Henry Underwood (accused of burning down the first Denton courthouse in 1857), and tinsmith thug Sebe Barns were close if rough-n-tumble acquaintances who some locals saw as ‘Robinhood’ Rebels giving heck to the Reconstruction Union League and their cozy Railroad Tycoon profiteers. Though a hero to dirt-poor common folk, the moneyed elite were anxious to make an example of such lawlessness. Embarrassed Rangers and government officials ruthlessly retaliated by arresting several sympathetic Denton locals, including Jim and his innocent father Henderson in May 1878, in a unscrupulous dragnet intended to legally intimidate unwilling local cooperation. Dragged in chains and shame to await trial in Tyler for aiding wanted outlaws, even as on-the-run Sam’s shootouts desperately escalated, Jim famously cut a Devil’s bargain with Capt. June Peak and Ranger Major Jones to deliver Sam to capture in exchange for the legal exonerations of himself and his father. Despite assurances Sam would be taken alive if possible and his family freed, Jim had little idea that fate had other plans for both of them.

“...some whispered it was murder and still others thought suicide, even after Jim was secretly buried in a still-unknown grave.”

What finally transpired is the well-known subject of disgraceful infamy for ‘Judas’ Jim Murphy in “The Cowboy Ballad of Sam Bass” and Judge Hogg’s book. Jim joined Sam’s gang under considerable suspicion from Sebe Barnes, set on killing the suspected informer had not Jim’s bud Frank Jackson bravely faced him down at gunpoint. Deciding to head into Mexico with money from banks robbed along the way, the remaining Sam, Sebe, Frank, and Jim ambled into Round Rock TX to case the bank. Jim’s hasty wire had assembled Texas Rangers to apprehend the robbers but Deputy Alijah Grimes inadvertently sparked a premature gunfight trying to confiscate their sixguns as they were casing town. When the gunfire settled, Sebe was dead and Frank fled with a mortally-injured Sam as Jim looked on. Sam died a few days later on his 27th birthday without giving up any secrets on his pals, and Jim returned to his family in Denton. Jim managed Denton’s Parlour Saloon and attempted to rejoin polite society, but he was now an outcast. The elite rejected him as a Bass cohort, while the admirers of Sam resented his betrayal and would-be gunslingers targeted him as a means to infamy. After spending many a night in the jailhouse for his own protection for almost a year, Jim Murphy gruesomely died of belladonna poisoning in early June 1879 while receiving treatment from Doc McMath for an eye ailment. Family believed it an accident, but some whispered it was murder and still others thought suicide, even after Jim was secretly buried in a still-unknown grave. Regardless, the tragic end to a sordid saga led the Murphys to retire northward of the town they’d done so much to establish.

We met Murphy’s descendents at Saturday’s Heritage Festival. They were generously kind but also quite understandably protective of how their kin were caricatured in worshipful Sam Bass mythmaking. We’ve long thought that the stories of these two childhood pals were a fascinating snapshot for coming-of-age in those anarchic Post-War times that made, broke, and changed the fortunes of so many Dentonites. We think that sympathy and pity for ‘Judas’ Jim Murphy should should be thrown his way. Considering that both he and Sam seem less like figures of a simplistic melodrama than epic characters within a sweeping Greek Tragedy. In this tragic tale of two very different Texans from back in the day, their youthful choices in chaotic times made it nigh impossible to change or escape their capriciously intermingled fates.

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Back in The Day is an ongoing WDDI contribution from Shaun Treat, an assistant professor in Communication Studies at the University of North Texas and founder of the Denton Haunts historical ghost tour. Doc Treat has written about numerous local places and personalities at his Denton Haunts blog, and is forever indebted to the great work of the fine folks with the Denton County Historical Commission and local keepers of history like Mike Cochran and Laura Douglas at the Emily Fowler Library for their tireless work in helping preserve Denton’s intriguing past.

DIME FEATURED MAKER: MADELINE WOOD

Every so often, we like to check in with the ladies over at The DIME Store and highlight one of the makers whose work they sell in-store. This month we hear from Rachel Nichelson from the handmade clothing outfit, Madeline Wood. Nichelson has been making handmade clothing for both adults and children for years now and has her work sold all over the place. We think she's pretty cool and that her clothes are, too. Read on to find out what drew her to fashion, how she manages to appeal to all age groups and find out about her brand new collection!

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DIME: So first of all, what's the skinny behind the name "Madeline Wood"? Because the word on the street is that your name isn't Madeline. ;-)

Rachel Nichelson: Yes, I know it might be a little confusing and I have occasionally been called Madeline at shows. But Madeline Wood is actually just a simple recognition to my grandmother.  And now it is also my daughter’s name. You might say Madeline Wood embraces the past and present.

What first drew you to fashion?

I can always remember loving fashion and creating with my hands, even as a little girl.  But in my early teen years I got the opportunity to work in a small womens boutique. I loved unpacking the inventory and seeing all the new styles. Dressing up the mannequins and setting up the window displays was amazing.  I fell in love with fashion.

We love that your dresses and accessories for little girls are just as tasteful and timeless as your line for adults. What do you love most about designing for youngsters and adults alike?  

I have always loved how little girl clothes embraces more of a whimsical feeling. A few years ago I had a strong desire to start adapting my women’s designs for little girls. But recently some of my little girls designs I have been adapting for my women’s collection. Its so fun how they can be interchangeable.  But what brings me the most joy is when my daughter asks for one of my dresses in her size!

At the DIME Store, we see everyone age 20 to 80 drawn to your adorable shirts and blouses. What do you think makes your work so appealing to basically everyone?   

I hope its because they are drawn to my colorful fabric and simple vintage inspired silhouettes. I love color and patterns both in modern and vintage fabrics. I am also fascinated with vintage fashion and use it for inspiration when designing. Blending these all  together you get colorful timeless fashion, and I think that is what draws women and girls of all ages into Madeline Wood.

We love your material choices! How do you go about finding your eclectic fabrics? 

I have been collecting fabric for years, you might say I am bit of a fabric hoarder. I buy surplus fabric, which is designer and manufacture leftovers and misprints. And I will scour the internet and estate sales for vintage fabric.  I also have found some great pieces at Scrap here in Denton.

“My dream is for Madeline Wood to be in boutiques across the country and world wide.”

— Rachel Nichelson

What are you most excited about with your new collection?  

I am so excited about the fabric I found last spring and the new styles I have added to my own wardrobe.  Although every piece is my favorite, I was ecstatic about the hound hunting fabric I found and for the last year would daydream about it as a mini skirt! I am delighted to finally introduce the Marie skirt to my Etsy shop.

Where are you hoping to see Madeline Wood go in the future?

My dream is for Madeline Wood to be in boutiques across the country and world wide. I would love to see the wholesale side of Madeline Wood grow.  But for now I am focusing on my Etsy shop and I hope to see it flourish.

How did you get involved with the DIME Store?

Well I met Rachel and Shelly when I participated in one of the Etsy Denton Handmade shows a couple years ago. I was invited to bring in my garments when DIME opened a year ago, but it wasn’t until February this year that I finally brought Madeline Wood to the DIME Store.

Aside from the DIME Store, where can we shop your work?

You can find Madeline Wood on Etsy or in my studio by appointment.

Any advice for aspiring makers?

Do what you love, work hard at it and develop your skills. Don’t compare yourself to others or worry about mistakes, just learn from them. Trust your instincts and love what you make!

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Madeline Wood on Etsy | Facebook | Website

BACK IN THE DAY: SAM BASS, DENTON'S ROBINHOOD

By Shaun Treat

From left: ‘Judas’ Jim Murphy, Sam Bass, and Seaborn Barnes.

One of our favorite local legends of Denton County doesn't get nearly enough play in the history handbooks, though that may be because he is a Texas bandit who made a damn big impression in a fairly short amount of time. Although many long-in-the-tooth Dentonites may be familiar with the reputation of Sam Bass, few may linger long enough to really chew on why this infamous outlaw became immortalized as a hero of the common folk. Well, pull up a chair and grab a cold beverage, as we take a gander back at the short life and tall tales of the legendary Texas Robin Hood on a Fast Horse who should be more famous than Jesse James, the smiling Texas brigand Sam Bass.

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Sam came to Denton in 1870 from his birthplace in Indiana, where the orphaned runaway had dreamed of Texas adventure gleaned from Wild West novellas. Barely 19, he got a job working the stables at the Lacy House Hotel on the Denton Square, a popular spot for cowboys to rest their herd while enjoying liquor and ladies before droving stock up the Chisholm Trail. Texas was still in the turmoil of Civil War Reconstruction under Federal Marshal Law and had just been readmitted to the Union, but these days of economic hardship and rampant lawlessness from destitute Rebs or Native American raiders plagued frontier outposts like Denton. Sam also took on work freighting supplies for Denton County Sheriff ‘Dad’ Egan, which gave him a knowledge of the county roadways and offpath trails that would come in handy later. By most accounts, Sam was a thrifty and affable lad with an easy smile who, like most teenagers, loved the fast horses that often raced on the dirt outskirts of town. Saving money from menial jobs to buy his own pony, Sam began winning races and gambling bets with a jenny that came to be famously known as The Denton Mare, a hard-charger notorious all across North Texas horse country for beating all challengers. Sheriff Egan became concerned and issued Sam an ultimatum, fearful that the fast life would corrupt honest work, but the young man’s group and his unbeatably fleet filly convinced Sam to go pro with horse racing and gambling. By 1874, the jovial Sam travelled across Texas and Oklahoma with his Denton Mare racing (and winning), but his gambling fortunes soon changed as did the company he was keeping.

Falling in with Joel Collins shady crew on a fast-money cattle drive north to the Black Hills, where the earnings were quickly squandered, the desperate ne’r-do-wells turned to robbing stagecoaches with modest returns. Things quickly became hot for the Collins Gang when a beloved stagecoach driver was accidently shotgunned by an itchy trigger-finger during a hold-up, which spurred the bold decision to attempt robbery of a fast-moving train. In 1877, with an unbelievable stroke of beginners luck, the bandits intercepted a Union Pacific train in Big Springs, Nebraska loaded with $20 double-eagle gold pieces fresh from the mint. The robbery haul was estimated at $60,000 in gold coins and another $1,300 in booty, a fortune in those days even divvyed up amongst the gang. To this day, it is still the single largest train robbery in Union Pacific history, a heist which attracted no small amount of attention from the railroad and the frontier press. In fact, Joel Collins and his gang were quickly hunted down and killed for the sizeable railroad reward, but Sam Bass barely escaped with a confederate back to Texas by cleverly posing as their own bounty hunters.

Sam Bass' tombstone in Round Rock, TX. 

Back in Denton by fall under a story that he had struck rich mining silver, Sam fell back in with his old pals Henry Underwood, Sebe Barnes, and Jim Murphy as he freely spent his ill-gotten gains carousing. Sam shared his easy money freely, “I’ve got the world by th’ tail, money’s only good ‘til yer dust!” Yet speculation on the fate of Sam’s impressive cut of the heist has fueled treasure-hunter legends about hidden gold in “Sam Bass’ Cave” for generations, since by 1878 the Sam Bass Gang quickly began a crime wave of robbing stagecoaches and trains within twenty-five miles of Dallas while hiding out in the thickets of the rural Denton County area. By now with a $1,000 reward on his head as one of the most wanted outlaws in Texas, Sam was being hunted by the UP Railroad’s Pinkerton Men, the Texas Rangers, and a covey of bounty hunters. Stories abound of Sam being aided by rural Denton locals with little love for the banks and the railroad tycoons during these hard Reconstruction days, and many tell of smiling Sam’s rascal charm when it came to parsing out money to help neighbors or stymie pursuers. One account has the bandits’ horses confiscated to Denton after Sheriff Egan spooked their camp, only to be reclaimed at sunrise by a mounted Sam awakening Egan by playfully exclaiming to his former employer: “Wake up, Bill! I hear there’s thieving scallywags roaming these parts!” To Egan’s eight year old son, Sam cheerily tipped his hat as he rode away, “Hello ag’in there, lil’ pard!” Another story tells of a Confederate widow whose home was saved from bank foreclosure by Sam gifting money to pay off her note, then robbing the banker on the trail back to Denton. Now targeted by the Texas legislature as much for his growing notoriety than his bold robberies, the Sam Bass Gang led the Texas Rangers and railway-hired Pinkerton Men on a spirited chase across the trails of North Texas in the months known as “The Bass War.” 

Sam met his legendary end in Round Rock, Texas on his twenty-seventh birthday July 21, 1878, betrayed by his childhood friend “Judas Jim” Murphy who had cut a Devil’s bargain to free his Denton family from arrest for aiding the outlaw. Mortally wounded in a shootout with Texas Rangers, Sam confessed he had never killed a man prior to that final gunfight but stubbornly refused to give details of his associates. The Texas Robin Hood was buried in Round Rock, where his mourning sister erected a tombstone inscribed: “A brave man reposes in death here. Why was he not true?” In death, Sam’s legend only grew. A cowboy ballad long immortalized his life and death, frontier dime novels stoked tall tales, and stories spun out in radio dramas and several movies (like the 1949 western Calamity Jane and Sam Bass). There are plenty of stories about Sam Bass to share later, but we might wonder how it was that an outlaw bandit came to be a beloved Texas folk hero? I think knowing a bit of history sure helps to understand the difficult days of Texas Reconstruction and the Gilded Age of the Railroad Robber-Barons who killed desperate towns as they built their own empires. But ole Sam himself was a charming Denton rebel with an entrepreneurial spirit that you may begrudge, but you surely can’t deny.

Below is a moody rendition of “The Cowboy Ballad of Sam Bass” by Denton’s own Justin Hawkins, member of TrebucheT.

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Back in The Day is an ongoing WDDI contribution from Shaun Treat, an assistant professor in Communication Studies at the University of North Texas and founder of the Denton Haunts historical ghost tour. Doc Treat has written about numerous local places and personalities at his Denton Haunts blog, and is forever indebted to the great work of the fine folks with the Denton County Historical Commission and local keepers of history like Mike Cochran and Laura Douglas at the Emily Fowler Library for their tireless work in helping preserve Denton’s intriguing past.