Rambling Boy

Pompeo Coppini was unlucky even when he was lucky, and on this edition of The Rambling Boy, Lonn explains why.

Not too long ago (last week to be exact), Lonn talked about a group of roughnecks that lent a helping hand to the Allied war effort of WWII by drastically pumping up Britain's oil numbers.

On this edition of the Rambling Boy, Lonn tells the story of how a lifelong Texan ended up bringing a healthy dose of the Lone Star State to England, not too far away from Sherwood Forest, where those roughnecks were stationed.

J. Frank Dobie is probably best known for books depicting the richness and traditions of life in rural Texas during the days of the open range.

However it was during the early years of WWII, when Dobie spent a year teaching a course on American history at Emmanuel College i...

Oil, especially during war time is a crucial ingredient for success - From lighting towns, houses, and business to running factories, getting troops to the front line, and planes in the air.

The British were using so much oil during WWII, they had to bring in expert roughnecks from Texas and Oklahoma to amplify the amount of crude they could pull out of the ground.

On this edition of the Rambling Boy, Lonn takes a look at these U.S. roughnecks and examines the impact they made for the Allied war effort.

Everyone knows about Stetson hats, but a lot of people, including Lonn, didn't know that the famous hat company made something besides, well Stetsons.

On this edition of the Rambling Boy, Lonn explores the John B. Stetson Hat Company, and a few more of their less common styles.

The word liar has always been inflammatory in Texas. Travelers to Texas in the 19th century were warned with the saying, "Call a man a liar in Vermont and he'll say, "You're another." Call a man a liar in Texas and he's likely to kill you."

According to Lonn, there's  a difference between lies and damn lies - and as it stands now, there are a lot of damn lies floating around, including from our elected state and federal officials.

On this edition of the Rambling Boy, Lonn explains how he thinks there's a connection between all these damn lies and the rise of public relations firms in U.S. fabric.

This year is the 50th anniversary of Hemisfair, the world's fair that lit up downtown San Antonio from April 6 through October 6, 1998.

On this edition of The Rambling Boy, Lonn talks about his experience setting up and working for the Hemisfair.

Someone in Fort Davis is dropping coins around town, and we're not talking pennies and nickels - More like Irish pounds, Philippine five-peso pieces, and French twenty-five centimes.

On this edition of the The Rambling Boy, Lonn looks into this mysterious figure and draws a parallels between dropping coins and the true generosity of people.

For the past couple of years there have been news stories about  mysterious tunnels radiating from the basement in El Paso's Sunset Height's neighborhood.

On this edition of the Rambling Boy, Lonn explores the history behind the Turtle House, tunnels, and Chinese immigrants in El Paso.

On this edition of the Rambling Boy, Lonn looks back on the life of Perry Cozzen, who passed away in his sleep in the early morning hours of June 28, at his home in Fort Davis.

Lonn describes his friend as kind, caring, thoughtful, generous, as well as slightly old fashioned; attributes that made Cozzen a friend of many in the Big Bend.

Bobbie Louise Hawkins was a Texas writer that no one thought of as a Texas writer.

On this edition of the Rambling Boy, Lonn explores the life and work of the writer, and looks at how the events of Hawkins' childhood inspired her work, Back To Texas.