Cowtown Excursion
(10/18/2015 2:00 p.m.)
Lunch at Lotus Patch Farm
Best and “simple” lunch! – While we’re enjoying the lovely lunch served by the
host, Wen Sheng and the hostess, Yaung Hwa, their daughter, Alice called from
San Francisco to wish us well for Mom and Pa’s College Reunion (成大工科系畢業46年同學.) Papa Wen Sheng couldn’t be prouder than Mom could.
Look at what we had from everyone’s specialty from
Houston, DC and of course, Lotus Patch Farm. We weren’t talking about Shinyee’s
famous black sesame seeds buns and pastes tucked away for our future gathering.
1. Yaung Hwa’s rare delicacy – Soft Buns with Juicy Asian Sloppy
Joes (豬肉乾)
2. Yaung Hwa’s watermelon from the farm
3. Yaung Hwa’s famous Pecan cookies from the farm
4. Yaung Hwa’s Beef Brisket Cold Cut
5. Siu’s hot pork buns from Houston
6. Hung Hwey’s pine cone cake from Houston
7. Janice’s Maryland banana bread with Yaung Hwa’s dried jujube
(red dates) gifted from last year.
Four cars left Weatherford with bundles of Lotus
Patch Farm’s bounties (freshly picked yard-long beans, watermelon, eggplants,
asparagus, persimmons, etc.) and the full stomach.
See Wen Sheng’s schedule plans for today.
Oct.
18 (Sunday)-Visit Lotus Patch (Chan’s farm) and
Stockyard at Cow Town, Fort Worth
8:45 am-9:00 am: Gather at the Chan’s
house
9:00 am-9:15 am : Leave for the farm
10:00 am-10;30 am: Arrive at the farm.
10:30 am12:00 pm: Walk around the farm.
12:00
pm: Simple lunch will be served at the farm
1:30
pm: Leave the farm for Stockyard at Fort Worth (take around 45-50 minutes)
(see
Map3-Farm to Stockyard)
4:00pm:
Enjoy/experience the cattle drive at Stockyard
5:00pm:
Leave Stockyard for dinner at ABC Seafood Chinese Restaurant in Arlington
The restaurant is located at the far
west corner of the shopping center at the southwest corner of HWY 360 and Arkansas
Lane. (Address: 2420 E. Arkansas Lane, Suite 216, Arlington, Texas. Tel:
817-861-8818. (see Map4-Stockyard to Restaurant)
6:30
pm: Dinner with all of us. (Let me know if you are a vegetarian.)
Fort
Worth – “The Cowtown”
Our car – Joseph’s driving, arrived the center of the town
before the rest of the group. I
strolled down the main street where the tourists leisurely enjoyed the town’s
traditional western culture.
We had seen from many spaghetti western movies – the dusty road, the saloon, the
duel fight, the small town main street, long-horned cattle and cattle drive - all
came to life before my eyes!
Yaung Hwa’s car-load slowly approached the
Stockyards, where The Livestock Exchange Building was visible in the background – Hurry up! Find the
parking or you would become one of the tourist attractions on the street soon!
The Livestock Exchange Building
The Livestock Exchange Building became
known as “The Wall Street of the West”.
There were many shops, restaurants, and nightclubs in every corner
where I turned. The busy
stockyards where cattle, sheep and hogs could be bought, sold and slaughtered during
the heyday in 1860s was tucked behind the crowded main street. Today, the town still continues to host
special breed events and sales, including Longhorns auctions even though weekly
livestock auctions ceased many years ago. The livestock legacy lives on.
Music Performers
At the front step of the Livestock Exchange Building, I
happened to catch the Sunday live entertainment from Cowtown Opy Club which
was on every Sunday 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
The performers were singing “O Shenandoah” when I was there. I hummed with them and fell immediately
into a reverie about my college days.
The downbeat tune carried with a heart sickening rhythm, which was
beautiful but sad. I had a longing
to go back to the old campus in Tainan, Taiwan again.
Longhorn
Cattle
With Yaung Hwa as our tour-guide, we saw many large cattle yards
where different longhorn cattle either standing or lying down in the hot sun. The pile of manure here and there with
the hays and water put at the corner of the fence near us. I wondered if these were the
cattle that would run the cattle drive at 4:00 p.m. Yaung Hwa said sentimentally, ‘that’s a pity, all they do
are waiting to do the daily Cattle Drive Show!” Being a farmer, she probably would prefer her cattle –
Hereford Breed (used to raise) - roaming in Lotus Patch Farm instead being
fenced in here.
Cattle
Auction Days
She explained the cattle trading, auction process during the old
days. The picture showed where the
perspective buyers would stand on the wooden platform to view and buy their interested
cattle. We took these pictures
imagined ourselves going to the stockyard was like going back in time. It’s fascinating!
Railroads
The town used to be one of the important livestock centers
in the United States. The cowboys
herding the wild longhorns on the great trail drive, across the plains,
mountains and rivers to the stockyard for selling and buying during the
frontier days probably did not last long.
So railroads provided the most convenient and viable way to herd the
cattle later in 1860s. However, as
the highways developed and the livestock industry died down, so did the local
railroads. It became the vintage
ride offered as one of the tourist attractions.
Cowboys
 |
| Cowboy spirit inscribed by Theodore Roosevelt in 1885 |
I saw
the most handsome cowboy and beautiful cowgirl touting and teaching the
tourists like Ben and Joseph the fun about bull ride. Who could resist? Only you knew.
Cattle Drive 4:00 p.m.
Texas preserved the town as the Historic District. The one and only daily Cattle Dive
(11:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.) in the United States was actually here.
We sat on the curb waiting for the arrival of the live
cattle drive. The security
officers instructed us to put our feet away from the road for safety. A herd of 15 authentic Texas Longhorns
and the experienced team of drovers clad the old western clothing slowly made
the entry down Exchange Avenue.
It’s quite educational with its historic past passing before us.
Petting Zoo and the Pony Rides
This place does have something for everyone. Again, I thought about my grandson,
Forest when I saw those children on the ponies. I will take him here one day.
When we passed the crowded shops with the flashy cowboy
novelty items touting the customers on the sidewalk, I was so tempted to buy
the cute cowboy hat, marked price $30.00 for my grandson. Shinyee pulled me away and said, “grandma,
save the money!” Yaung Hwa claimed
she knew where to get the cheapest souvenirs in town. I will wait!
Cowboy Songs
As we were ready to leave this unique historical
town, Shinyee and I couldn’t help singing the nostalgic lonesome cowboy’s love song,
‘I’m going to leave Old Texas now
They’ve got no use for the Long-horn Cow
…………………………………………….
……………………………………………. “
It carried almost the same ballad and tune as “Red
River Valley.” There's a sad
and melancholy feeling for the bygone days.
Epilogue
We enjoyed the most incredible southern hospitality from
both Wen Sheng and Yaung Hwa dining at ABC Seaford Chinese Restaurant
in Arlington, Texas.
At their house, on the eve of our departure, we sat in their living room musing
on the events for the past three days of our reunion.
NCKU World Class Reunion - Pumps and circumstance: Texas
Style
Dallas Arboretum - A touch of fall glory before the harsh
winter
Morton Meyerson Symphony Center – Enlightening - building but no music
Lotus Patch Farm – THE BEST! It’s the pragmatic triumph of vision and will.
I can’t describe enough about Yaung Hwa’s humble and
courteous personality. She said,
sincerely and self-effacingly, “I am an
ordinary retired lady and have a retirement project to keep myself busy that's all,” when I asked both Wen Sheng and
Yaung’s permission to blog the story.
About Wen Sheng, I can only say, there was not a slight
touch of macho in him. It’s only a
dash of diplomacy and respect. He
claimed, “Yes, it’s all her project, I had no aspiration for being a farmer.”
‘WOW!” What a
striking statement. But, we have
seen the abundance of moral support and profound love displayed in a very
subtle and gentle way between the two.
 |
| Mr. Scholar (content) & Mrs. Farmer (feisty) |
 |
| The Whole Gang shared the story in the living Room |
We all shared the memories of our joys and frustrations in
our lives. Moreover, we’ve had our
fair share of poking fun at friends, loved ones, better halves and ourselves as
well. It’s true to this group that
we have united together from as far as Oregon, and Maryland, and as near as
Houston and McKinney neighbors for the past few days. We learned to accept that, “we are what we are from National
Cheng Kung University, and we are proud.”
Hope we will find the right time to be together again
anytime and anywhere!
Thanks to both Wen Sheng and Yaung Hwa and all of you for
giving Ben and me the best 46th year Engineering Science Department
’69 Class Reunion in Dallas, Texas.
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