Vaquero Grill Opens on South Main

The Vaquero Grill

Roscoe’s newest restaurant, the Vaquero Grill, opened for business on Saturday.  Located on 1006 S. Main Street, it is where the Roscoe Flower & Gift Shop used to be, across the street from the Stripes station and just north of Hagerman’s Napa Auto Parts. 

Owned and operated by Victoria Armenta, the Vaquero Grill is open seven days a week, 6:00am to 9:00pm Monday through Friday and 8:30am to 9:00pm on Saturday and Sunday. 

Both Mexican and American food are served, and a wide variety of dishes is available.  A glance at the breakfast menu, for example, reveals such choices as the John Wayne Plate (2 eggs, two sausages, hash browns, and toast), several kinds of pancakes, huevos rancheros, and several varieties of breakfast burritos, along with other choices.  

Dinner choices include taco, tostada, burrito, and fajita plates among others, along with burgers, chicken fried steak, catfish, and steak.  Daily lunch specials are offered, as are children’s plates.

Prices are reasonable and fairly standard for this area, and there is a 10% discount for senior citizens.  Private parties may be booked, as there is room to seat 16 guests comfortably.

For more information, phone 325-766-3460. 

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RS&P HISTORICAL MARKER APPROVED FOR MEMORIAL PARK

At its meeting on January 27 the Texas Historical Commission approved the issuing of an official historical marker commemorating the Roscoe, Snyder & Pacific Railway and the contributions it made to Roscoe.  Sponsored by Suzie Alford’s third graders, the 18” x 28” marker will be placed in the Memorial Park on Cypress and Broadway, across the street from the Roscoe Historical Museum. 

And speaking of the RS&P, the Roscoe Historical Museum has recently added an RS&P website.  It is still a work in progress, but enough has been done to officially announce its existence.  Besides some slideshows, there is also a prose history of the short-line railroad that served Roscoe from its first run to Snyder in 1908 to its last one in 1983.  Its home page is here. 

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SOME INFORMATION ON THE ST. GEORGE HOTEL

A couple of weeks back I mentioned that I’d been unable to find out anything about the St. George Hotel, which used to be in Roscoe.  But Bruce McGlothlin, owner of the Feed Store and More, told me he felt sure he’d seen something about it somewhere before, and, sure enough, he was going through a box of papers the other day and found an old article about Roscoe that J. B. Cooper, Jr., had once given him. 

Entitled “Roscoe, the Magic City of West Texas,” it was published in the July 16, 1908, issue of the Sweetwater Telegram.  A long article for a newspaper, it begins by talking about how Roscoe is booming and what a wonderful town it is.  Then it lists all the major businesses in town and writes a brief paragraph about each one—and the St. George Hotel is on the list.  

Here’s what the article says about it:

St. George Hotel – The principal commercial hostelry of Roscoe is the St. George.  This hotel is a good one, and commercial travelers know just what we mean when we say that.  Mr. I. T. George has been at the head of this house for the past two years, and by constant effort in catering to the wants of the traveling public has now a good substantial business.  The house contains 21 rooms in all, well and comfortably fitted up for the accommodation of all guests.  Rates from $1.25 to $2.00 per day.

So, there it is.  It doesn’t answer all the questions we asked about it, but it’s a lot more information than we had.  I wonder if Mr. George considered himself the St. George in the name of the hotel.  There has to be a story there.  In any case, thanks to Bruce McGlothlin for providing this information.  The article has specific information about the various businesses of the town in 1908 and provides fresh insights into what life was like in those early days.

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PLOWGIRLS BEAT MAIDENS, LADY YELLOWHAMMERS

The Plowgirls stayed in contention for the playoffs by winning two more games this past week.  On Friday night they defeated Haskell 34-29.  Faith Boren was Roscoe’s high scorer with 11 points.  Lynnsi Moses had 7, and Sara Kingston had 5.  The Plowgirls led at the half 16-15.

Then last night in Rotan they defeated the Lady Yellowhammers 42-24.

The Plowgirls are now 14-13 on the year and 4-4 in district play.  Their next game is here on Friday night against Hamlin.

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PLOWBOYS LOSE TO HASKELL AND ROTAN

The Plowboys lost two more games this past week.  On Friday night, the Haskell Indians beat them in Plowboy Gymnasium 69-31.  The halftime score was 30-15.  Jesus Leanos was the high scorer for the Plowboys with 12 points.  Luke Rovig was next with 7, while Keeston Ford had 6.

Then last night the Plowboys fell to Rotan in Rotan 50-42.  They are now 1-19 on the year and 1-6 in district.  Their next game is Friday night at home against Hamlin.

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WEATHER REPORT

Since rain was still falling as I posted last week's issue,  I was unable to post its total.  At the end of the day, Roscoe's official weatherman, Kenny Landfried, had 1.5" in his rain gauge on the east side of town, while Lyndall Underwood's on the west side of town had 1.3".  Reports I heard about other area locations seemed to fall within that range.

The rain brought January's total up to 3.25", the most Roscoe has recorded for that month since 1983, which had 3.48".   The only other year since then with as much as three inches in January was 1991 with 3.09".

It would be nice if a wet January were a harbinger for a wet year, and indeed that was the case for 1991, the wettest year on record for Roscoe with an official total of 37.05".  But the total for 1983 was 19.42", more than two inches below the average.  We'll just have to wait and see.

The rest of the week was sunny and generally very nice for January.  The last couple of days have been t-shirt weather with highs in the upper sixties and lower seventies.  Today and tomorrow should also be warm and sunny with a 50% chance of rain tomorrow night and a 40% chance on Friday.  The weekend will be sunny and cooler with highs in the fifties.

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† TIMOTHY SCOTT GRAY

Timothy Scott Gray, 39, of Champion died on Friday at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas due to complications from a chronic illness.  Funeral services were held yesterday at Trinity Baptist Church in Sweetwater and followed by interment in the Champion Cemetery.

Timothy Scott Gray was born on November 19, 1972, in St. Louis, Missouri.  He grew up in St. Louis and Victoria, Texas, and graduated from Victoria High School in 1991.  He then served for five years in the Air Force and met Kimberly Cornutt while stationed in Abilene.  They were married in 1996, had two children, and lived in Champion.  A member of the Trinity Baptist Church in Sweetwater, he worked as an electronics technician for Ludlum Electronics and served on the Highland ISD Board of Trustees.  

He is survived by his wife, Kimberly, and two children, Kylie and Dustin, of Champion; parents, Chris and Rosemary Jochen of Victoria; sisters, Rachel and Mallory Jochen of San Antonio; brothers, Derek and Matthew Gray of St. Louis; grandparents, Harold and Joyce Ulch of Cedar Hill, Mo.; father-in-law and mother-in-law, Donnie and Jarmila Cornutt of Champion; as well as aunts, uncles, in-laws, and cousins.