BACK IN THE DAY: THE 1969 DENTON COUNTY WOODSTOCK

We’ve all heard stories of the legendary 1969 “Summer of Love” and swarms of groovy hippies who descended upon the Woodstock Music & Art Fair in rural New York, defining images for how recent generations remember the flower-powered 1960s. But today’s young’uns may not know that during the 1969 Labor Day weekend, just two weeks after Woodstock became legend, Denton County played reluctant host to its own Texas International Pop Festival just down the road. According to those who attended (from what they can recall), it was really truly far out, man.

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Lewisville in 1969 was still a small farming community of about 9,000 when the Dallas International Motor Speedway opened in July. With the help of Six Flags amusement park heir Angus Wynne III, partners in the Dallas-based concert promotion company Showco approached Atlanta Pop Festival organizers about co-sponsoring a three-day outdoor music festival to make use of this new venue, which attracted a stunning 150,000 peacenik hippies, bikers, and music-lovers from all over the US. The Texas International Pop Festival showcased 25 musical acts on its main stage, and there was also a free public stage built five miles north at the Lewisville Lake public campground, where most concert-goers and many musicians stayed. The first event ever recognized with a state historical marker in Denton County, the mind-blowing musical line-up is recapped in the submitted historical narrative by sponsor Richard Hayner: 

"The festival opened with an unknown band named Grand Funk Railroad. The line-up included rock and roll and rhythm and blues. B.B. King played all three days. Other blues acts were present such as Johnny Winter, The James Cotton Blues Band, Canned Heat, Delaney & Bonnie & Friends, and Freddie King. Rhythm and blues was represented by Sam & Dave and Sly & The Family Stone. Rock and blues crossover acts Rotary Connection, Ten Years After and Janis Joplin tied the genre together. Jazz was represented by flutist Herbie Mann, and even a bit of Cajun sound was made by Tony Joe White. Mainstream rock music was represented by Chicago Transit Authority, Spirit, Santana, Nazz, Sweetwater and an up-and-coming blockbuster band from England named Led Zeppelin."

These kids were digging your favorite music before hipsters were cool, man.

More flower-power to ya, “Nightingale”

While scantily-clad audiophiles swooned before the ascending Rock Gods in the August heat, and 60s icon Wavy Gravy would acquire his monicker on the campground’s free stage, other concerned locals squawked about this apocalyptic plague of moral deviants. A Dallas Morning News editorial huffily denounced how “the lewd and
 loose in Lewisville will swing and sway… assembling in unspeakable costumes, half-naked, barefooted, defying propriety and scorning morality.” Radio DJs were defiant of such pearl-clutching; "Neither rain nor hail nor public opinion deters the savage attack on ear drums, public morals, private morality or just plain decency." Both predictions never really came to pass, since the event even by accounts of its vocal critics had been a serene assembly for peace, love, and groovy tunes. In a savvy countermeasure, however, the concert promoters had paid outgoing Police Chief Ralph Adams to head security, which became quite the post-concert scandal in Lewisville. Still, unlike the overcrowding difficulties and drug-fueled lapses in public hygene at Woodstock, the TxIPF had no violence and only a dozen or two arrests of kids trying to sneak in. On-site EMT sent just a handful of non-lethal drug overdoses to the hospital and another 40 for heat exhaustion, but mostly treated cuts to relentlessly dancing bare feet. Exactly one person died of heatstroke and, in a bit of karmic irony, one baby was delivered at the Speedway that weekend. Despite blue-haired squares’ fear of riots, the only real confrontations were between skinny-dipping Flower Children chastising the swarms of bawdy rubberneckers gawking from boats on the lake.

Historic Marker by the A Train Station  

photo by LeAnne Taylor

Aside from the epic music, participants also shared numerous heartwarming stories. One barefooted kid lacking the $7 he needed to buy even a one-day ticket appeared at the festival gate to turn in a wallet he'd found, containing $80 and tickets to the event. Impressed by the young man's honesty, the promoters rewarded him with a a free day pass. Other youth, grouping themselves into "families" at the campgrounds, shared with each other whatever they had that someone else needed. The generous sharing of Texas barbeque by the local “Hog Farm” commune contributed to the festival's generally groovy vibes to outsiders. Regardless, the next day’s headline on the front page of The Lewisville Leader declared: "A Nightmare: 'Pot' Festival Ends, Citizens Sigh In Relief." The Dallas papers were no less critical, despite the Lewisville Mayor’s reluctant admission that the 3-day event had been largely free of incidents. Only weeks after the original was held, the Lewisville city council passed an ordinance forbidding any future outdoor music festivals. Such disdain was answered with Flower Power and some Free Love. In a letter to the Lewisville paper to “Chief Adams and the people of Lewisville” on behalf of his “family” collective, a fella named Donald Stokes expressed genuine gratitude: “We came here, not knowing how we would be received” but “were welcomed and made to feel at home… We're saddened that certain factions find it necessary to find fault with the way things were handled. For our part...we feel that...Chief Adams...did a marvelous job of protecting not only the people of your city, but all of us workers, participants, etc. of the festival. Thank you!" The letter was signed, "Peace and Love, The People of the Pop Festival."

The Texas historical marker memorializing the Texas International Pop Festival was placed at the Hebron Station stop on the A-train in 2011, near the very spot where the event blew Denton County’s collective mind nearly 45 years ago. There are some videos and a few books about the event at Denton’s Emily Fowler Library, but the best stories are told by the locals who braved the heat to hear songs of legend. 

Back In The Day is an ongoing contribution from Shaun Treat. Treat is an assistant professor in Communication Studies at the University of North Texas and founder of the Denton Haunts  historical ghost tour. He has written about numerous local places of note and various large personalities on the Denton Haunts blog. In addition, Treat says he is forever indebted to the work of the fine folks of the Denton County Historical Commission and local keepers of history such as Mike Cochran and Laura Douglas at the Emily Fowler Library for their tireless work in helping preserve Denton’s intriguing past.

MONTH IN REVIEW: AUGUST

Our favorite little house on the square, all empty and ready for a new business. 

I’m not sure how you guys accomplished anything in August. It was just too hot. We tried to go outside the other day, but just couldn’t handle it. When does fall start in Denton? January? Somehow, though, a lot of stuff got done in the month of August.

First and foremost, August saw the launch of a project we had been working on for a while. Mentor Denton, an educational partnership with lots of various organizations in Denton, was started with the lofty goal of getting 10,000 mentors in Denton ISD for the 2015 - 2016 school year. In the meantime, they want a paltry 1,000 mentors for this current school year. They aren’t there yet, but hope to be soon. Have you signed up yet? We did - heck, we even went to training. It was awesome.

Aside from new beginnings, August also saw Denton saying goodbye to a couple of things. Boyd Girls, the late, great vintage clothing and furniture store on Oak St. closed it’s doors a few weeks ago. Sadly, it housed one of our favorite vintage sellers in town, Vintedge, as well. Thankfully, they’re still operating through their Etsy store and we hear that a new location may be found soon - so all is not quite lost. It’s sad they couldn’t hold on just a month or two more until East Side Social Club opened it’s doors next door. We’re hopeful that we’ll see much more foot traffic down that portion of Oak in the very near future. So let’s not let that big beautiful house stay empty for very long, Denton! Something cool better open up in there and fast. Our vote is for a pie shop.  

While we’re on the subject of Oak St. More Fun Comics and Games has recently opened an extension of their comic book store down by Oak St. Drafthouse. The imaginatively titled, “More Fun Game Center” should be open now for you to stop by and pick out one of the many excellent card or board game selections to play at the bar of your choice. We grabbed a set of Fluxx cards and have been enjoying them ever since. If you’re lucky, they sometimes have Cards Against Humanity in stock.

On the restaurant side, August saw the opening of both Last Drop Tavern and Irish Boozer. Both reside in the newly renovated shopping center anchored by Cafe Galaviz. We’ve checked out both places and we’re fairly pleased. Much to our surprise, we found out that the Irish Boozer is owned by the same person who owns Delaney's Irish Pub in McKinney. He saw lots of potential in opening a Denton space and went ahead and did it. While the name had us very worried about what we’d find inside, the drinks were plentiful and the food was as greasy as it was tasty. We’re excited to check out their brunch menu soon. Last Drop Tavern didn’t disappoint, either. Their brick oven lives up to our expectations. Feel free to get your pizza extra crispy. We can’t wait until the weather drops ten degrees and we can enjoy some carbs and dairy out on their patio.

August also saw us welcoming new faces to town. We tried to help them out by discussing our thoughts on pizza in Denton, sharing a few secrets with ‘em and even giving them a little history lesson on education in Denton. Aside from school-related stuff, we also listened to a few new(ish) Denton songs that had been gaining some national buzz lately, checked out the photography of Thorpe Griner, got super excited that From Tha Heart BBQ is back, busted into secret pools, learned about several crowdfunding projects (including a super cool one about getting a splash pad in Denton), actually found a local comedian funny and checked out what was hot at the DIME store. Oh, and there was that little incident with all the guns, too, that we’d really rather just forget about, if it’s all the same to y’all.

As you can imagine, it’s been a busy month for us. September doesn’t look much better. First on our minds is the upcoming 1st anniversary of The Day We Forgot to Open the Time Capsule. We hope that you’ll meet us on September 12th to celebrate our newest Denton holiday in perfect Denton fashion at midnight outside the Wells Fargo building. More info here.

JIVE FIVE: PIZZA IN DENTON

As part of our "Back to School Week," we thought it pertinent to take some time and talk about the fuel of many college students: the circle-shaped combination of delicious dough, mozzarella cheese and tomato sauce otherwise known as "the pizza." In traditional Jive Five form, we've weeded through what the pizza scene in Denton has to offer and come up with five "do's" and five "do not's" that ought to help out Dentonites hungry for some high-caloric intake. Read through to find out the best and worst of pizza that Denton has to offer. 

The classic cheese pizza at Last Drop Tavern. 

Pepperoyay:

• When you order a “slice” of pizza at J&J’s, you actually get two! Also, there's a fun basement there that often has free shows and the roof hasn't caved in yet even though it's squeaky. 
   
• The new Pie Five at Hickory and Fry is basically the Quizno's of pizza. You get to determine your toppings and watch your little pie roll through a hot oven very quickly. A measley $6.00 will net you a good sized pie (about 4 slices). For the vegetarians, The Mediterranean is delicious. 
   
• Mellow Mushroom will deliver pizza to you at the Oak St. Drafthouse. 
   
• Roman’s Pizza is tucked away on Windsor in North Denton by North Lakes park. While they’re actually the “oldest independent” pizza option in town, they don’t get much attention. That said, they’ve been serving up delicious, cheap pizza for the entire time they’ve been open. For the price, it’s hard to find better pizza in that neck of the woods. We’re partial to the canadian bacon and pineapple there.
   
• UPDATE: Si'z has since closed down since last year when we originally wrote this piece. So, instead we'll change this fifth rec to be "go to Luigi's." The “Red Dwarf” pizza at Si’z on Teasley in S. Denton is arguably better than the TV show from which it gains its namesake (and the skutter inside of us loves that show). While we love the pizza at Mellow Mushroom, this might be the single best “alternative toppings” pizza in you can get in town. It’s definitely worth a stop when you’re on your way back from a walk at Eureka Park.

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Pepperonay

• If you're a wimp, then sometimes two slices of J&J’s pizza can just be a little too much cheese for one stomach to handle.
   
• Crooked Crust has some really delicious options. We happen to be obsessed with their Mean Green, which consists of chicken, artichokes, pesto and mozzarella! It's light on the wallet, too, with $6 getting you two slices and a beverage. However, if you order your pizza at the wrong time of the day, you may find yourself with a pretty stale slice of crunch bread and cheese. If you're the type who gets hungry for pizza at three in the afternoon, you're going to suffer this fate. However, if you're out late at night on Fry and get hungry for a slice, you're more than likely to get a fresh piece of one of the best pizzas in town.  

The white pizza at Luigi's. 

• As a general rule, don’t order pizza from anywhere on University Dr. Yes, you can very easily order a vegan, no-cheese pizza online from Pizza Hut and Papa John's and Luigi's next to Albertson's has a surprisingly delicious white pizza, but there are just so many better options in town all worth exploring. 

• Getting a “take and bake” pizza from Papa Murphy’s  on University and rearranging the pepperoni to spell out curse words or crude drawings may sound like a good idea when you're stuck at the light, but the pizza, itself, isn’t good enough to warrant the misadventures. If you're hungry and craving Italian flavors at that stoplight, just eat at Bagheri's. 

• If you are going to Mellow Mushroom, bring a big wallet and have plenty of time. There's wonderful pie to be had, but it is neither cheap, nor fast. Call ahead and maybe get it to go

Bonus IMAVOLCANO pizza-related video from Fishboy. 

INTERVIEW: EAST SIDE SOCIAL CLUB

John Williams is the main man behind our favorite place to grab a craft beer and talk hops, Oak Street Draft House and Cocktail Parlour. He also used to manage Lou's, so he's been around. Now, Williams is opening his second bar. East Side Social Club is opening right down the street from Williams' first bar, nestled cozy right next to the Opera House. After taking a look at the incredible beers that will be available and the diverse whiskey and bourbon selection, you can officially color us excited.

East Side Social Club opens up this Thursday, August 29th over at 117 E. Oak Street. Expect to see us lined up and waiting for a double bourbon on the rocks.  We'll probably be buying Williams a shot, as well - as a thanks for providing us with one more place we can happily imbibe on the weekends and maybe even munch on a banh mi from The Pickled Carrot. We hear they go great with beer cocktails. 

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What compelled you to open East Side Social Club?

Honestly, I just kept driving by it day after day and saw the "for lease" sign on the building. Another craft beer place from out of town had been looking at the building, so I decided I would rather compete against myself than against someone else. I could also picture the patio on the back side of the building and see the potential of it being a corner building that close to the square. 

What have you learned after being open at OSDH for over a year now?

The greatness of the people in the city of Denton. The people in this town is what makes Denton so awesome. Also, I've really learned how giving back to, and being a part of the community makes Denton a better place to live.

With the opening of East Side Social Club, you’ll be taking over a large part of Oak St. What keeps bringing you back to that part of town? 

The rich history of the area because that is where the City of Denton grew from its beginning in 1866. Plus, I like being close to downtown, and I wanted a large patio for people to sit outside and enjoy the open air. Close proximity to the A-Train station was something else I foresee as being beneficial. 

If you ever had plans for opening up another bar in town, where would it be and why?

It would be in the downtown area for sure, and more than likely on East Oak St.  I’ve got a few ideas in mind. Stay tuned…

What can we expect to be different from OSDH?

Other than the obvious fact of East Side not being in an old house,  East Side Social Club will be very unique - but still have a similar vibe to OSDH&CP. It will have a laid back atmosphere. Of course we'll keep in the tradition of having a friendly and knowledgable staff serving up craft beer and whiskey at a great price. 

We will have a few TV’s inside and out so that the sports lovers can catch the game, but it will feel nothing like a sports bar.  

As for beer; we are still concentrating on craft beer, but we have 89 taps instead of 72. We'll also be focusing on having more regional and Texas Craft beer on tap. Craft beer will still be our passion but we'll be experimenting with beer cocktails as well. Mixing craft beers with liquor and mixers makes a mighty tasty beer-tail. 

Bourbon and whiskey will be a big player in East Side as well.  We plan on carrying over 60 different bourbons, scotches and whiskeys. We'll also have a cocktail menu of highlighting whiskey and bourbon based cocktails from the prohibition area. 

Lets talk details about this whiskey selection - how many and what kind of whiskey and bourbon are we talking about?  And what's your favorite?

35 bourbons, 10 whiskeys, 7 Irish whiskeys, 7 Canadian whiskeys and 8 scotches will line our top shelf. We will be carrying a lot of the local Texas whiskey and bourbon.

Jim Beam will be in our well and we have Knob Creek Single Barrel bourbon as our signature bourbon since we hand picked and bought an entire barrel from them.  That was definitely a highlight in this process. We actually flew up to Louisville and toured the Jim Beam distillery, and tasted 3 different barrels of Knob Creek.  We picked our favorite and now we have 150 bottles of it being shipped to us.

My personal favorite would be Garrison Brothers from Texas or Blanton's Small Batch Bourbon.

You’re adding on pretty large patios to ESSC also. What have been the challenges and benefits with using such large outdoor spaces? 

Trying to keep it warm in the winter and cool in the summer have been the biggest challenges - but even in the cold and the heat people still like to sit outside. Once the sun goes down in the summer its not too bad outside.  

The greatest benefit of the patio is that Texas weather is perfect for patios about 8 months of the year.  It also allows us to keep the inside non-smoking for people that don’t want to smell or breathe in second hand smoke.  With a large open air patio you can get away from the smoke if you don’t like it.

You’ve said before that food trucks will play a big part at ESSC. How will that pan out? Where will they set up? Are you allowing outside food in the bar? Will it be Denton-only food trucks, or are you hoping to get some from outside the city?

Once more food trucks open up in Denton we will hopefully have one there from open to close.  We have spoken with 4 or 5 trucks who will be alternating between day and night. We would like for them to set up on the side or front of the building and serve to the patio. I would like it to be Denton-only food trucks - but for now there aren’t enough to meet the demand. Hopefully there will be soon. 

Aside from that, we'll allow people to bring in or order food from other establishments just like we allow at OSDH&CP.  

What’s your personal favorite bar?

In Denton I would have to say Oak St. Drafthouse - because I put a lot of time and hard work into opening it.  The people that I’ve met there over the past year and a half make it very special to me. Other than that, it would have to be the Lustre Pearl in Austin.  It gave me the idea to open the Oak St. Draft House.

Oak Street Draft House offers a great atmosphere for drinkers and non-drinkers (or designated drivers) alike.  Do you plan on having a similar vibe at ESSC?

Absolutely. Anyone can enjoy a night out here by socializing with friends in the beer garden and enjoy a root beer on tap. We'll be offering 1 or 2 root beers on tap along with a few other non alcoholic cocktails and non alcoholic beers.

East Side Social Club opens this Thursday. Come join us for a drink and some good times in what we hope will become another great new bar in Denton.  

SECRETS OF DENTON 3: RETURN OF THE SECRETS

It’s that time of year again, y’all. The school doors are fresh with WD-40 and the cars are accidentally turning north onto Elm St. again. School is back in session and with it, a new crop of Dentonites have flooded our city limits. Will these fresh, young faces become lifelong Dentonites or only commute here, never even taking a step onto our town square? Only time will tell, but we’ve decided to do our part to get them to become a part of the former group, by providing them with some insider knowledge on some cool stuff Denton has to offer that would normally take awhile to figure out. Yes, that’s right. It’s time for Secrets of Denton County 3: Return of the Secrets.

We bring our own bottle to Bagheri's to go alongside our lobster ravioli and our jokes from Sid. Speaking of Sid - don't worry about calling one of the brothers the wrong name, they're both named Sid. 

First, let’s start with our lists from previous years. The vast majority of the tips found within these links are still good even to this day.

First, there was Secrets of Denton County. 

Then, the following year came Even More Secrets of Denton County. 

Now, let's get on to a fresh new batch of secrets. Afterall, that's what you're here for, right? If we neglect to highlight a secret you feel is worth sharing, please feel free to let us know in the comments! 

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1. While the Golden Triangle Mall is an area we mostly try to avoid, the Silver Cinema Theatre is good for a couple things. For one, if you need to see a movie, but only have a two bucks, this is the place to go. Better than that, though, are the movie descriptions written by the employees of the theatre. They’re worth an entire trip to the mall, construction withstanding.
   
   
2. Weinberger’s sells meats and cheeses by the pound, y’all. For some reason, this blew our minds when we found out. Go get some for yourself if you haven't already.
   
   
3. While Denton is full of artists, musicians and tons of other creative folk, sadly, we don’t have too many high paying jobs that can support these people at a livable wage. This forces many of said creatives to work low-paying day jobs to try and make ends meet. Many of them are still without health care and when bad things happen to them, their lack of insurance often exacerbates the problem. The Denton Community Health Clinic offers services that may help quite a few of them. Payment is decided by a sliding scale based on income level. In addition, they also offer discounts on products such as blood tests and x-rays.
   
   
4. If you’re driving something environmentally cautious, there are a couple areas in Denton that can help you out. Car charging stations for electronic vehicles are located at the North Branch Library and fourteen more are scheduled to be rolled out throughout other parts of Denton. In addition, we’ve heard that Mr. Chopsticks will help you out with grease for your biodiesel fuel.
   
   
5. There’s a secret to getting local printers, Pan Ector, to return your calls in a timely manner. Just call twice and immediately hang up both times, call again and let it ring for seven times and then call one more time and press *77, and one of ‘em should call you back within a week.
   
   
6. Love eating local produce? Buy yours right at the source through Cardo’s Farm Project’s Farm Share program. Every week contributors are guaranteed at least $20 worth of fresh, organic produce from Denton’s own fields. Middle-man, shmiddle-man! Watch our ages-old interview with Cardo’s if you want a first-hand view of what life on the farm used to be like.
   
   
7. Go to house shows. Also, if you decide to host your own house show, talk to your neighbors beforehand and make sure to find the best spot, soundwise, in your humble abode. While we’re on the subject, please try not to make people older than 22 feel “old” at your house show. We’re tired of that.
   
   
8. Natural Grocers is nice for normal, organic grocery shopping and has wonderful customer service. However, there’s still reason to trek back to The Cupboard for their quaint, vegan-friendly cafe and prepared foods section.
   
   
9. There are plenty of great trails in and around Denton for you to hike with your Merrell’s, if you’re into that.
   
   
10. We’ve mourned the loss of the late, great baked potato delivery service, Wyld Taters, for what seems like years now. In the meantime, we’ve come to find that our primary source of getting non-pizza items delivered in town has become entreesdenton.com. They deliver the likes of Andaman Thai, RG’s Burgers, and even Mazatlan straight to your door. Of course, The Bowllery and Cowboy Chicken deliver, as well, if you’re hungry and that's what you're looking for.
    
    
11. You can drink on the courthouse lawn so long as what you’re drinking from is not made of glass. Just don't over indulge and get yourself a PI!
    
    
12. Speaking of drinking, some of our favorite places in town are BYOB. Pick up a bottle from Wine Squared (they have a discount for bottles you take with you) and take it to Bagheri’s or Siam House for a wonderful evening of cheap hooch.
    
    
13. If you’re into cheap, weird stuff that may or may not be stolen, there’s a great flea market on 380 right past 288 that’s open every weekend. Our fave breakfast taco dealers, La Estrella, have their truck out there pretty often, too.
    
    
14. r/Denton
    
    
15. There’s always a free Saturday morning bluegrass/folk jam session on the Courthouse Square lawn. It makes for some awesome “morning after” fare. Pick up some croissants from Ravelin beforehand for a makeshift brunch.
    
    
16. That elotes cart on the EMTC is actually open sometimes, but a watched pot never boils, so walk up to it blindfolded and be prepared for an awesome corn dish. In addition, the "secret" is already out on this one, but for some of the best legit Mexican food in town, get your grub on at the EMTC. 
    
    
17. Eagle Drive QT, Discount Tire and Denton Tire all offer free air for a low tire. Also, you can nab  free “Check Engine Light” service at the Pep Boys near the Golden Triangle Mall.
    
    
18. Querencia Community Bike Shop, off of the Square on Cedar St. (look for their new mural) offers cheap fixes, repair seminars, and tons of friendly help for your fixie.
    
    
19. With some savvy Google-mapping, we’ve found that taking 1830 Country Club Rd. south from Ft. Worth Dr. down through Flower Mound in order to get to DFW airport is only an extra eight minutes. Not only that, but it also provides a far more relaxing, pristine drive than the I-35 cemented insanity we’re all used to. Also, the A-train/DART stops at Love Field (student discount FTW).
    
    
20. In our many year’s of living here, we still haven’t been able to raise the ghost at Goatman’s Bridge.
    
    
21. If you haven’t camped or enjoyed some of the cheap outdoor programs at Ray Roberts Park, you’re doing weekends wrong. There is even a small lake front beach that you can lounge, read, grill and play volleyball on. 
    
    
22. There's an actual museum in the courthouse. Yes, the Courthouse Square Museum is awesome for free wandering-about fun. They have rotating exhibits, too, so if you haven’t been in a while, it’s time to check it out again. Also, check out the free Bayless-Selby House Museum or Firefighters Museum on Hickory/Bell during Saturday Community Market shopping.
    
    
23. Speaking of the Bayless-Selby House Museum, those other houses next to it that are “in progress,” are actually an artistic statement by the city on the length of time a community will put up with an old house on ugly, rusted piece of iron next to a community market without complaining about it.
    
    
24. The Little Chapel in the Woods is a beautiful, architectural achievement dedicated by Eleanor Roosevelt and it lives right, smack-dab in the middle of the TWU campus. You can get married there or even hold your band practice inside the building in order to get them sweet, sweet stained glass acoustics, if you time it right.
    
    
25. Tuesday nights at Sweetwater, you can grab the best meatloaf in town, hands down. In fact, it’s possibly the best meal you’ll have that entire month.
    
    
26. Denton is great for frolfers. North Lakes Park has a wonderful frisbee golf course and UNT has a disc golf field, too. Oh, and UNT has batting cages.
    
    
27. Got a shattered smartphone screen? The bookstore by UNT at the corner of Eagle and Ave C can fix it for $70. Also, Naranja Cafe, the boba tea shop on Ave. C, doubles as a fixer of plenty of phone problems.
    
    
28. If you’re looking for a quick way to bolster your record collection, Mad World Records has a great 99￠section full of stuff that they don’t have the good sense to sell for more money. Aside from that, we’d argue that Books and More on University may have the best record selection in town despite it’s less than ideal exteriors.
    
    
29. Buy a good lock if you can’t take your bike inside with you. Denton often has a problem with bike theft. If it’s already too late for you and your two-wheeler, make sure and check Craigslist before resorting to purchasing a new bike.
    
    
30. DFW is known for its GREAT artists, many of which graduate from Denton’s universities before making it big as professionals in the Metroplex. UNT and TWU galleries, both of which are scattered across their respective campuses, host year-round professional and student exhibitions which showcase some of the best local and national contemporary art. Lots of students who display their work are also looking to sell, and at great prices. All the better to beautify your digs with!

BACK IN THE DAY: SCHOOL SPIRIT

by Shaun Treat

Early turn-of-the-century graduates of Denton College, who had to walk for miles uphill both ways in the sweltering Texas sun.

As students yet again return to UNT and TWU for the golden beginnings of another academic year, we Dentonians often roll our eyes at the throngs of fresh faces wandering the Square crosswalks with noses glued to their smartphones and the inevitable wrong-way cars drifting cluelessly down traffic-packed one-way streets. Its a familiar fall ritual here, since Denton has long been a university town – nay, a proud two-college town – that locals cherish for the thriving arts and music scene which accompany the noise and bustle of rowdy students. Denton’s 1959 Centennial Committee report proudly observed that “the citizens of Denton have always been ‘Schoolminded’,” so we figured we’d take a brief look back at why this has indeed been the case since way back in the day.

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Soon after the town lots were sold in January of 1857, Denton sought to make good on an 1836 provision in the Constitution of the Republic of Texas to dutifully “provide by law a general system of education.” Easier resolved than done, since the upheaval of the Civil War and its aftermath insured that the Texas legislature would be about as helpful in supporting a quality public education system back then as it’s bumbling Austin antics are today. Regardless, populated by plucky immigrants who knew the importance of education, Denton’s citizens had established numerous privately-funded schools with at least 47 teachers who variously “taught a Literary school in Denton” between 1858 and 1884, when the first public school opened.

The first schools in 1858 were taught by James B. Ford in Denton’s courthouse, and James W. Bryson taught another on South Elm Street. These subscription school “cessions” were usually short and covered the most basic fundamentals of reading, writing, and arithmetic during the summer months between harvest seasons for families who could pay tuition. After the 1860s Civil War, with little help from the carpetbag government, two fraternal orders dedicated to educating virtuous democratic citizens would step in to provide building space and needed funds for school teachers. The Stanfield Lodge No.217 and the IOOF Lodge No.82 provided their facilities to rotating Sabbath services of various denominations and “free public school purposes” under their own board of trustees or education superintendents.

Sponsoring war orphans and poor Masonic kin, these charitable groups provided an invaluable contribution to the future of Denton during economic hardship. Denton finally received funding and taxes for a free public school in 1884 when the Odd Fellows’ schoolhouse on South Locust was sold to the city for $300, after more than a few years of haggling, and it then became the Denton City School before it was the Robert E. Lee public school of Denton. Take THAT, Yankees!

The first building at Texas Normal College, 1891.

Yet Denton wasn’t content with these little schoolhouses on the prairie, especially when there is money to be made from taxpayer dollars. Seeking innovative ideas to stimulate our economy in the 1890s depression, the City of Denton contracted with Professor Joshua C. Chilton to establish a private college with aspirations to become a state university. The deal had been prodded by an influential group of ten men belonging to the Denton Board of Trade and fraternal orders, collectively known as “The Syndicate,” the backroom wheeling-and-dealing soon yielding more than a little insider trading on real estate ventures and construction contracts for Masonic bretheren. An enrollment of 70 students attended their first classes in 1890 on the upper floor of a hardware store on the northwest Denton Square (now Ethan Allen’s Furniture), but the next year moved into a newly constructed building on The Syndicate’s 240 acres of land that would become profitably annexed by the city to eventually grow into today’s University of North Texas campus.

Lower-than-expected enrollments and financial problems were compounded by Mr. Chilton’s resignation due to health problems (he died within a year) but, after several unsuccessful attempts, the private college finally became a state school in 1899 called the North Texas Normal College & Teacher Training Insitute. As a condition of such lucrative accreditation, the City of Denton agreed to donate all the Normal School property to the State of Texas, including all land, buildings, and “an abundant supply of artesian water.” I’m betting “The Syndicate” was smiling through their cigars and bags of cash, laughing all the way to the bank. When it opened for registration as North Texas Normal College in September of 1901, the university had 14 faculty and about 200 students and thus a college town was born. By 1917, the NTNC Yucca yearbook dubbed themselves “The Athens of North Texas” (though not one of UNT’s official six name changes over the years).

We don’t know for sure if these 10 men are “The Syndicate,” but we also don’t know they ain’t.

Denton City School, est. 1884

If you think the history of Texas Womans University is any less saturated with behind-the-scenes political intrigue, think again. It was established by Gov. Joseph Sayers signing into law a 1901 bill creating the “Texas Industrial Institute and College for the Education of the White Girls of the State of Texas in Arts and Sciences.” A past column has already explained the sketchy circumstances of how Denton’s African-American township-within-a-town neighborhood of Quakertown was forcibly evicted in 1921, after a slow-burning showdown when the “Girls Industrial College of Texas” was established as a state university in 1903. But there are indeed many proud moments in Denton’s history of racial integration, especially with North Texas State University’s 1950s athletic program.

Few may realize that these teaching colleges began above the Denton Square in 1901, like a few subscription schools in Denton during the late 1800s, they quite progressively taught women as well as the children of freed slaves and some indigenous natives. The first “free colored school” was established in Denton’s Quakertown as The Fred Douglas School in 1878, one of the few opportunities for the education of freed slaves in North Texas. From its beginnings, Denton has always valued education and this commitment seems written into our community DNA.

Old Main Building of TWU, est. 1903

Denton actually had a third college at one time, but it didn’t take. The private John B. Denton College was also established here in 1901 but soon became “Southwestern Christian College” when the Church of Christ assumed its administration in 1904, moving it to Cleburne in 1909 before finally settling as the Abilene Christian College. That site on Congress Street is where Calhoun Middle School was until 1957. The private Selwyn School of Denton was also established in ‘57, one of many that would replace other schools now long since gone. As you can see, compared to other frontier towns and Texas outposts, Denton has pretty much been an educational hub since the get-go, a proud tradition of neighbors-helping-neighbors that continues in our community today!

Recently, the local United Way, Denton ISD groups and our civic leaders have teamed up for a program called MENTOR DENTON, a grassroots project for volunteers to donate one hour a week for one year helping an at-risk student in our public schools. One more way we can continue the tradition of community involvement helping to aide eduction for all in Denton.

1913 Educational rally on the Denton Square, ‘cuz we love a parade.

1888 officers of Denton’s Stanfield Lodge, early education boosters.

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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.

WHAT WE DID: AUGUST 26th

We spent our weekend cramming in as much fun as possible and avoiding 288 as we got ready for the burgeoning new school year. New students made their way into town and we saw plenty of them biking/walking around exploring Denton (read: there was a line at the grocery store again). We did more than just eat tasty treats, though. We caught a few shows, took a ride down to the 'burbs on the A-Train and enjoyed the last few hours of summer freedom. 

Share your weekend pics with us by tagging them with #WDDI on your tweets and 'grams and you may see a few of your photos posted here next week. 

We hopped on the A Train this weekend to meet friends down in Carrollton - we loved the stress free ride as we skipped out on the traffic. When was the last time you took the A Train? 

The house show scene in Denton is still going strong as was evident by the three day long Blotto Fest this past weekend. Here's a shot of Brooks Willhoite from Mountain of Smoke playing the small room from this past Saturday.  

We attended the Better Block: Denton meeting and were proponents of using this nice, little stretch of McKinney across the street from the post office as the area to improve. We think it has potential. What do you think? 

Apparently, we eat a lot for you guys. Maybe it's because we love food. Maybe because we think you should know where the good food is. Either way, we tried out Bagheri's for the first time in a long time - and we weren't disappointed one bit. We recommend the lobster ravioli. Really, trust us. 

As part of an upcoming feature on restaurants right outside of the Denton city limits, we ate at Mom's on Main in Aubrey, TX and were pretty full after a couple of gut bombs like what you see in the picture above.  

For an entirely different upcoming feature, we purchased a few bags of beans from Seven Mile and their new coffee roaster and had ourselves a couple of tastings. Oh, the things we do for you people.  

Fishboy at J&J's with Human Behavior, Joey Kendall and Timothy Jarrod Smith

photo by Dave Koen  

Falafel, dolmas, hummus and tabouli graced our table at the Green Zatar as we managed to make our way down Sunset for a bite to eat after the Better Block meeting to discuss neighborhoods with potential. 

Breakfast of champions - Joey's cinnamon rolls at Royal's Bagels. Perfect for kicking off a Saturday morning. 

We admired the new signage at East Side Social Club. We're ready to try out the whiskey selection when they open next month. 

Denton native, Mike Wiebe of the Riverboat Gamblers standing in the middle of the crowd at Rubber Gloves. 

photo by Dave Koen

Irish Boozer (on S. Elm next to Last Drop Tavern) is open, y'all. We went over to see what they've got on tap and were pretty happy with what we found. 

Don't worry guys. We went ahead and tried out Irish Boozer's signature dish - a pair of their Rusty Nuts. They didn't disappoint, either. We highly recommend that you head over and check 'em out. 

DENTON CROWDFUNDING: AUGUST

It's been a while, but the crowdfunding scene in Denton is at a boil currently, so we figured it was as good a time as any to search through Kickstarter, IndieGoGo and a few others to bring to you the best of crowdfunding that Denton has to offer. Go ahead and read through the following campaigns. If something strikes your fancy, please donate and feel good about yourself for the rest of the day.  

Denton Community Splash Park

With tomorrow’s Better Block’s meeting, the idea of making change happen is hot on the mind of Dentonites. This campaign, initiated by local mover and shaker, Amber Briggle, evokes that mindset in spades. If the concept of a “splash pad” doesn’t evoke anything in your mind, imagine the summers your spent in your front yard, running through the water spray from the nearby oscillating sprinkler. Well, a “splash pad” is kind of like that. It’s an area with multiple streams of water in various arrangements, with multiple drains preventing said water from pooling. It’s fun and kids love ‘em. Maybe you’ve seen a small one behind the Barnes and Noble in Highland Village.

Briggle has spoken with the powers-that-be at the city level and been promised that if she raises the funds, the park would be built. If not this year, then in the next year. Briggle went on to say, “The goal… is to bring this money to City Council, show them how serious we are about this, and hope that they can meet us the rest of the way so we can get this built in the next year!

Many Denton artists and businesses have donated their time and products as incentives to donators. $500 will net you your own Paul Slavens concert, $150 will get you an engraved brick on the site and a donation of $250 will allow you and seven of your friends to yell at Kevin Roden about politics of your choice at your very own Drink and Think.

Donate here. 

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Denton Holiday Lighting Festival Song Compilation

The event commonly known as “The Tree Lighting,” “wassail fest,” or “Kettle Korn Time,” is actually the “The Denton Holiday Lighting Festival.” It’s a free event in December every year that you probably already go to (we just learned that every year a commemorative Denton Christmas ornament is produced - how do we not already have all of them?).

This year, they’re producing a compilation CD in celebration of their 25th anniversary. The compilation will be full of of their favorite holiday performances from Denton bands. You can look forward to hearing Sarah Jaffe, Boxcar Bandits, the Denton Community Band and many others on this multi-decade spanning compilation. Our friend Nick is the only person we know who still buys CDs. Thankfully, the crew behind the The Denton Holiday Lighting Fesitval also plans on making the album available to purchase online, as well.

Donations to the cause can get you cool swag like T-shirts and framed photos.

Donate here. 

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Two Hearts, 6,100 Miles Apart

Well, this is a tough one. Local artist, Michael Todd, is looking to fund a trip to Paris to meet his longtime Russian internet girlfriend, Anastasia. He's looking for $25,000 in order to travel the 6,100 miles distance, document said experience through professional means and to then get their story out to the masses in the form of a documentary and follow-up book. While we were left wanting to call Max and Nev of Catfish after reading Todd's novel of a explanation (which we highly encourage you to read, yourself) on his IndieGoGo campaign, something kept us from finding their contact info on MTV.com. We want to read this book. We would pay $12/ticket to get the chance to see this documentary. While our pessimism forces us to doubt the legitimacy of Todd's girlfriends' story, either way, it would be wonderful to watch. Donations will get you the normal digital download or sponsorship credit, but we also found it interesting that they're offering the ability to go to the screening of your choice, naming SXSW, NYFILM and Sundance as future screenings. "Dream big and love conquers all," right? 

Donate here. 

WHAT WE DID: AUGUST 19TH

The calendar is getting mighty frightening as we start edging our way back to the beginning of the school year. This weekend we made sure to take full advantage of the town before the universities bring in an extra 40,000 people. We hit up the parade on the square, a nearby coffee shop, made a trip out to the lake, and celebrated the great return of one of our favorite BBQ joints. What did you do this weekend? Let us know in the comments and make sure to tag your photos every weekend with #WDDI to be included in What We Did every Monday. 

Our friends at From Tha Heart BBQ had their food truck out again this weekend. We grabbed some food from them and chatted a bit on Friday. They'll be in front of Lone Star Carwash on Dallas Dr. every Friday and Saturday for lunch and dinner starting at 11am. 

The amount of new coffee shops opening in Denton County every year is crazy. We ventured over to Highland Village for the Hot Air Balloon Festival this weekend and stumbled across Roots on 407. Great atmosphere and lots of great coffee options. 

From Tha Heart's truck might not look a little nondescript, but the BBQ isn't. 

Mini horses and donkeys started walking in circles on accident during the fair parade on the square Saturday morning. 

We spent Friday night trying out the white pizza at Luigi's. We may have spent some extra time at the gym the next morning, but it was totally worth it. 

Denton loves it's parades - and we don't mind 'em either. Watching a bunch of kids catch candy and horses stride through the square can be a great way to spend some time on Saturday morning. 

This little house is empty... We got a little nosy and peeked through the windows of one of our favorite little houses after the Boyd Girls closed shop. We're left wondering what will go in next....  

We savored one of the remaining summer weekends by spending time at the lake - and we had to make a short stop at 'The Dam Store' for our favorite treat. 

We can't get back into town without stopping for a 'Bebo burger'.