Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1954-04-13
FORT WORTH.
(R. B. X, Alexandria

After reading Mrs. A. D. BIS
letter about Forth Worth, /
cannot resist a postscript. I
lived there for four years as a
student, summers included,
1944-48. For two years of
that time I lived in private
homes in the TCU area, all
facing east. did not find in
door heat oppressive, at all,
and We had no air condition
ing of any kind, even window
fans. Even an outdoor tenn
perature of los degrees is less
oppressive than IS degrees in
Washington with it's humidity.
The heat is more than COM
pensated for. I feel, by having
a weeks wash dry in an hour,
and by freedom from sinuSitiS.
If you are a fellow sufferer.
From overnight visits with
families in other areas I can
agree with Mrs. A. D. B. that
in the older sections, where
the streets are narrow and
houses close together the sum-
mer heat is terrific. TCU and
other medium priced reSiden-
tial areas have wide streets,
front and back yards and
there is a much brisker breeze
than we have here.
When I first went there as
a Yankee there were several
things that amazed me. Never
be in a hurry. the bus drivers,
except downtown, used to stop
and wait if they saw you COM
ing, and that was repeated
every few stops. People in res
idential areas will greet you
on the street with "howdy,"
which often sounds more like
heidi" and you must reply.
People do not dress up much
to go to town. Nylon hose
are the most uncomfortable
things imaginable. On the
other hand. you may see a
woman dressed as for cock
tails, window shopping with a
man in Lewis, $40 shirt and a
500 Stetson. Very bright COL
ors are worn in the summer as
the blazing sun makes pastels
appear more or less grey. In
winter furs are seldom seen.
and I never saw a fur trimmed
cloth coat. Even Lewis are worn
different lengths, with cuffs
turned different ways in west
ern towns, and your Eastern
jeans will look as Yankee as
your speech will sound. Dallas,
of course. is about as Eastern
as the West can get. The trip
takes about IS minutes by bus,
but auto is better. If you're
sightseeing in Big D" search
out the Playground and locate
the place where the Metro
politan annually performs so
it won't be hard to find in the
dark.
Every one knows about
Neiman's, but for practical
purposes the stores in Fort
Worth are as good and size
is no indication. On one oc-
casion the manager Of q shoe
department in one store
brought my shoes from New
York in his luggage, I was so
nearly barefoot in those
rationed days.
You will be shocked at first
by the scarcity of trees and
dryness of the grass, but after
a while you will realize that
the sky is the thing. If you
don't talk too much about the
East you will be spared lot
of conversation about the
wonders of Texas. A most
desirable state is to become in
diStinguiShable from q Texan.
Fort Worth is not a paradise,
of course; it is a very down-to-
earth cowtown and is so called.
1t is better not to live too close
to the COWS" After you've
been there six months, should
you return here for any reason,
you will find you miss the
hordes of little flat-bottomed
clouds Of the plains and WON
der what you ever saw in all
this pushing and showing and
dampness. And you will have
become so accustomed to every
ones being natural that even
riding on a streetcar watching
the people appear not to be
looking at each other will be
pretty funny. I wish you good
luck; that you will be happy
there is almost a certainty.