A Long Time Ago Fort Worth's Citizens Made The Town A Synonym For Progress

I was not long in Texas before I had my first experience with reading something in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that caused a cringe reflex in me.

That being my first experience with reading the Star-Telegram's patented "Green with Envy" verbiage.

Over the following years I experienced the same cringe numerous times. There were variants of the cringe inducing verbiage, for instance it might be that something in Fort Worth is the "envy of other cities and towns far and wide. "

Or those other cities might "salivate with envy."

Or someone moving to Fort Worth, who few have heard of, gives the town "bragging rights."

I'd not looked at my Eyes on Texas webpage devoted to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram's Green with Envy syndrome in a long time.

I'd forgotten how funny the Green with Envy verbiage is, along with being cringe inducing. Below are 3 excerpts from my Eyes on Texas Green with Envy webpage, and following that I'll get to the reason I am on this subject....

We thought the Star-Telegram had cured itself of its patented "Green With Envy" type verbiage. But we were wrong. With about a year of not using that unfortunate type verbiage, today, March 23, 2008 they did it again, in an editorial. Here's a blurb containing the offense:

"Fort Worthians love to think their community is unique among big U.S. cities. And it is. Local downtown revitalization is a case study for municipal leaders nationwide. The cooperative, progressive elected leadership found here is the envy of cities that are beset with political and racial divisiveness."

Here the Fort Worth Star-Telegram has other cities salivating with envy over Fort Worth's museums.

"Wealthy patrons and an enthusiastic city have welcomed some of the world's most celebrated architects, including Louis Kahn, Philip Johnson, and Tadao Ando, to create museums that make much larger and more cosmopolitan cities salivate with envy."

In this blurb the Star-Telegram has cultural institutions being the envy of many prideful metropolises. We have no idea what these Fort Worth envy inducing institutions might be. Or how metropolises more prideful than Fort Worth were discovered.

"Fort Worth also has cultural institutions which are the envy of many metropolises which pride themselves on their sophistication."

As far as I know March 23, 2008 was the last time the Fort Worth Star-Telegram used their cringe inducing "envy of" verbiage. What caused them to stop? An outbreak of common sense?

So, what is it that got the Star-Telegram's "Green with Envy" verbiage on my mind?

Well, a couple days ago on my favorite Fort Worth blog, that being Hometown by Handlebars, there was an amusing posting titled "Fort Worth Is It": Open Vistas..That Intoxicate the Brain" in which I saw an article gleaned from what may be a Star-Telegram precursor, or maybe an early rival, named the Fort Worth Register, in which I learned that cringe inducing verbiage has a long history in Fort Worth.

The article above, in which you see the headline "FORT WORTH NEVER FAILED" is very amusing.

From that article we learn "That Citizenship Which Has Made the Name "Fort Worth" A Synonym For Progress and Enterprise Still Directs Its Destiny."

I have no idea what that means, except for the part about Fort Worth being a synonym for progress.

The article is about Fort Worth getting a new meat packer. Getting a new meat packer brought about "One of the Greatest Mass Meetings in the History of the City."

We also learn that "Fort Worth made history for herself and for Texas last night. Fort Worth today will be on the lips of every man, woman and child who reads. Fort Worth, the packing house center of all of the South and Southwest. Fort Worth, the metropolis of Texas - the metropolis of the South and West. Fort Worth started on her road to greatness last night. At 11:35 o'clock, Monday, October 7, 1901, the die was cast, and J.W. Springer, of Denver, Colorado, standing on the rostrum of the city hall auditorium, in  front of the packing house soliciting committee, and before a vast multitude of Fort Worth citizens, ladies and gentlemen, from all the better walks of like, announced that: "FORT WORTH IS IT.""

Good grief.

In 1901, "FORT WORTH WAS IT."  And now, 111 years later, regarding Fort Worth, "YOU GET IT WHEN YOU GET HERE?"

So, way back in 1901 Fort Worth was a synonym for progress? What happened between then and now that changed Fort Worth into no longer being a synonym for progress?