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Saturday
March 20, 2010 Since 1922 |
Ever been to Buster Crossing?
By Wanda Orton
Contributor Published September 30, 2009 For Gene Harrison, the recent column about railroads revved up memories of Highlands in general and Buster Crossing in particular.
“After we moved from Baytown to Highlands in 1947, we lived very near the railroad,” Gene said. “I remember the old steam locomotives and the electric interurbans. I loved to wake up in the middle of the night by the sound of trains passing by. I would lay there in my bed and count the rail cars going by. One time I counted over 100 cars.”
Gene said his family’s rent house was less than 100 yards from the railroad tracks at Buster Crossing. “How it got that name I have never known and probably never will. We boarded the interurban at Buster Crossing. If you were coming from Baytown, you told the conductor that you wanted off at Buster Crossing. When I would get off the interurban, I was home.
“Thompson Road was almost an extension of old Market Street. As you would drive north on Thompson, the first road you would cross was Jones Road. The next was Battlebell. After making a left turn onto Battlebell, the first right turn would be Buster Crossing. That section of Battlebell ran parallel to the railroad tracks.
“Our house was on the north side of the tracks. Only a few of the railroad crossings had names. On the north side at that time were only two houses -- ours and the Millers, not recognizable as such today.”
The Harrisons lived a mile from downtown Highlands.
“The old Highlands railroad station was on Main Street between San Jacinto and Cherry streets. It faced Cherry Street. The open area around the railroad station was the scene of many after school fights. Some were better than what we used to see on TV. All clean fights. No kicking, biting, et cetera. No one wanted to be known as a dirty fighter.”
Gene said he will never forget the beautiful old Iron Horse steam locomotives. “When the diesel engines replaced them I was heartbroken. Same thing when the electric interurbans were replaced with ugly modern replacements.”
When his family first moved to Highlands, it was a different world. Gene recalled it was “a serious rice farming community. Two paved roads. No stop signs. No traffic lights. Every family had gardens, raised their cattle and milked their cows, raised chickens and had pigs and hogs. This was a sustainable life way out on Battlebell Road.
“The railroad gave us many hours of entertainment. During good weather, we would walk home from school on the railroad tracks. We became expert at walking on a rail without falling off. We picked dewberries along the sides of the tracks every spring. We caught fish in the ditches on the sides of the tracks. The fish came from rice field farms water overflow that came from the Highlands Reservoir. Wild animals, birds, and snakes were a part of our every day lives.
“A few times during the summer, I would manage to get a dime or quarter from my parents to ride the interurban to Baytown to visit some of my school friends. I would go in the morning and come back in the afternoon.
“Safety in those days was never a problem. Can you imagine a kid doing that today?”
Wanda Orton is a retired managing editor for The Baytown Sun.
Contributor Published September 30, 2009 For Gene Harrison, the recent column about railroads revved up memories of Highlands in general and Buster Crossing in particular.
“After we moved from Baytown to Highlands in 1947, we lived very near the railroad,” Gene said. “I remember the old steam locomotives and the electric interurbans. I loved to wake up in the middle of the night by the sound of trains passing by. I would lay there in my bed and count the rail cars going by. One time I counted over 100 cars.”
Gene said his family’s rent house was less than 100 yards from the railroad tracks at Buster Crossing. “How it got that name I have never known and probably never will. We boarded the interurban at Buster Crossing. If you were coming from Baytown, you told the conductor that you wanted off at Buster Crossing. When I would get off the interurban, I was home.
“Thompson Road was almost an extension of old Market Street. As you would drive north on Thompson, the first road you would cross was Jones Road. The next was Battlebell. After making a left turn onto Battlebell, the first right turn would be Buster Crossing. That section of Battlebell ran parallel to the railroad tracks.
“Our house was on the north side of the tracks. Only a few of the railroad crossings had names. On the north side at that time were only two houses -- ours and the Millers, not recognizable as such today.”
The Harrisons lived a mile from downtown Highlands.
“The old Highlands railroad station was on Main Street between San Jacinto and Cherry streets. It faced Cherry Street. The open area around the railroad station was the scene of many after school fights. Some were better than what we used to see on TV. All clean fights. No kicking, biting, et cetera. No one wanted to be known as a dirty fighter.”
Gene said he will never forget the beautiful old Iron Horse steam locomotives. “When the diesel engines replaced them I was heartbroken. Same thing when the electric interurbans were replaced with ugly modern replacements.”
When his family first moved to Highlands, it was a different world. Gene recalled it was “a serious rice farming community. Two paved roads. No stop signs. No traffic lights. Every family had gardens, raised their cattle and milked their cows, raised chickens and had pigs and hogs. This was a sustainable life way out on Battlebell Road.
“The railroad gave us many hours of entertainment. During good weather, we would walk home from school on the railroad tracks. We became expert at walking on a rail without falling off. We picked dewberries along the sides of the tracks every spring. We caught fish in the ditches on the sides of the tracks. The fish came from rice field farms water overflow that came from the Highlands Reservoir. Wild animals, birds, and snakes were a part of our every day lives.
“A few times during the summer, I would manage to get a dime or quarter from my parents to ride the interurban to Baytown to visit some of my school friends. I would go in the morning and come back in the afternoon.
“Safety in those days was never a problem. Can you imagine a kid doing that today?”
Wanda Orton is a retired managing editor for The Baytown Sun.