Doting on Our Dots
I understand that Dan Blocker was associated with O’Donnell, but he was in fact born in De Kalb and is buried there [Tiny Dots on a Big Map, January 2026].
Sid Underwood, Lamar EC | Paris
I am proud to have direct connections to three of the tiny towns. My mother attended Sul Ross State College with Dan Blocker, who she said was a funny and popular classmate. My wife and I had a vacation home on the Brazos River, with a patio made of Thurber bricks. Last but not least, I played football for Crystal City, which lost to Asherton. It truly is a small world.
Bob Kingsbery, PenTex Energy | Tioga
As a recent transplant, I am a big fan of history, but the history in your stories would not have been a Google experience. I need to add these places to my exploring of my new home. Shoutout to Elly Walton for illustrations catching a bit of each town.
Cathy Copeland, Sam Houston EC | Livingston
Three of the Deike brothers married three sisters.
At the last Deike-Hartmann wedding, the brothers’ father, Fritz Deike, told the sisters’ father, Emil Hartmann, that the remaining Hartmann daughters would need to look elsewhere for husbands because his family had run out of sons.
David Hartmann (nephew), Central Texas EC | Fredericksburg
Mark Fredrickson
Signature Moment
My dad, Earl Forsythe, was a corporate lawyer and friends with Dallas Cowboys General Manager Tex Schramm [A Dandy Debut, January 2026]. I was about 8 years old and football crazy when Don Meredith appeared in our living room
in Dallas to sign his contract.
He gladly autographed my football and couldn’t have been nicer. Wish I’d kept that football.
Andrew Forsythe, Pedernales EC | Spicewood
