Sanderson: A Visit To The Cactus Capital Of Texas Known As The Town Too Mean For Bean

A couple weeks ago S.G. Wolfe, from Sanderson, Texas, invited me to visit that particular town in the Big Bend Region of West Texas.

I got around to making a visit to Sanderson yesterday.

Sanderson is an historically interesting town known as the Cactus Capital of Texas.

Also known as the Town Too Mean For Bean due to a Sanderson saloon owner not taking too kindly to Judge Roy Bean opening a Jersey Lily Saloon franchise in Sanderson in 1883.

That particular Sanderson saloon owner, Charlie Wilson, arranged to have Judge Roy Bean's whiskey spiked with kerosene, which did not go over well with Bean's customers, which soon had Judge Roy Bean making haste to make his way back to Langtry and forever left Sanderson to be known as the Town Too Mean For Bean.

Sanderson has had other calamities hit town other than Judge Roy Bean.

On June 11, 1965 a massive flash flood roared down Sanderson Canyon hitting Sanderson with a wall of water which destroyed multiple homes and businesses.

And killed 24 people.

After the disaster 11 flood control dams were built to prevent a re-occurrence of the 1965 disaster.

I do not know if this Sanderson flood control project was known as the Sanderson River Vision.

I do know that, unlike Fort Worth, in the last half century Sanderson has actually had a killer flood that warranted a public works project to protect the safety of the public.

And I suspect Sanderson's actually needed flood control project did not cost anywhere near a billion dollars....

Juicy Blink West Texas Milk Murder

Some names in this sad story have been changed.

A few days ago I learned of a brutal murder way out in West Texas in the town of Blink.

On New Year's Day, 2010, longtime Blink resident, Granny, was given a pair of baby cats, also known as kittens. One of the kittens was white, the other amber-colored.

So, Granny named the kittens Milk & Honey.

Milk looked to some like a little Polar Bear. During his short time in Blink, Milk became quite well known, with Blinkers dropping by just to get a look at the little white Polar Bear Cat.

Also in Granny's menagerie is a Pit Bull named Juicy. Juicy is a girl Pit Bull. Milk often played with Juicy in Granny's backyard. Sometimes Honey would join in. But Honey was shy compared to Milk.

On Monday of this week, Milk was in the backyard playing with Juicy, when Juicy brutally attacked the Polar Bear Kitty. Killing him.

Honey went into shock.

Granny's keeper, Foely, covered up the murder, telling Granny that Milk had run away to join the circus.

There was some talk of bringing Juicy to justice for the murder of Milk, but, ever since Judge Roy Bean died, there has been no law West of the Pecos, so I don't know if justice will be done in this case.

It is very perplexing.

Rest in Peace, Milk.