As Thomas Jefferson’s character in “Hamilton” sang after his long absence in France, “What’d I Miss?”
Welcome back, Spur Exes—a lot has happened in the past year in your hometown.
Here’s just a few of the snapshots of what you may have missed since the last homecoming.
Galaxy Digital buys Argo Blockchain.
The week between Christmas and New Year’s, Dickens County’s first cryptocurrency miner, Argo Blockchain Plc sold its flagship Helios mining facility in Dickens County, for $65 million to Galaxy Digital. An additional $35 million collateral loan from Galaxy allowed Argo to retain ownership of its mining equipment at Helios.
No Dickens County jobs were lost with this transaction, and Galaxy Digital, which has continued to build out its plant and generate Bitcoin funds, has agreed to honor Argo’s commitment to renovate and reopen the Spur pool.
New owners of local eateries. The Turnaround Top Café, G’Ma’s Coffee Shop and Beckton’s Chop House and Tavern all opened during the first half of 2023. Additionally, White River Marina, including its café, was purchased by new owners during the same time frame.
The Turnaround Top Café, located in the same location as the longtime Turnaround Café at 202 Burlington Avenue, is continually offering updated hours and menu choices, including pizza, burgers, salads, Mexican food, chicken strips and more. Their hours are Wednesday through Saturday for lunch and dinner, and Sunday for lunch. They are also open until midnight on home football game evenings.
Across the street from the Turnaround Top, in the old Mission service station at 201 Burlington, is G-Ma’s Coffee Shop, open from 5 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday through Friday. Their offerings include homemade cinnamon rolls, breakfast burritos, burgers, Philly cheesesteak sandwiches and specialty coffee drinks.
Across the county at White River Lake Marina and in Dickens at Beckton’s Chop House you’ll find music with your meals on Saturday night with area musicians.
Located in the former Espuela Steak House location, Beckton’s has a unique offering in the county. If you’d like to have an alcoholic beverage with your meal, Beckton’s Chop House and Tavern in Dickens has a private club, and is the only venue in the county which pours mixed drinks, wine and beer.
(On the downside of the beverage situation, Tip’s Liquor Store in Dickens shut its doors in May following the death of owner Jeff Dawson. While there have been rumors of a sale in the works from time to time, nothing has yet been confirmed to The Texas Spur by widow Sue Dawson.)
Beckton’s is open for dinner every night but Sunday and specializes in steak and chops. They serve lunch on Saturdays and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. during football season. They also have a fish fry on Friday nights.
White River Lake Marina, known for their fish frys on Friday nights, has expanded their menu offerings and has a special quail lunch on Sundays.
L3 Realtors, Jeromy Rutledge. At last year’s Homecoming, visitors returning to Spur were able to preview Spur Mercantile, a gift and specialty store, opened by the Spur Syndicate, the owners of Spur Hardware. This year, the fully renovated and furnished store can also be accessed from inside the hardware store.
This year, next door to Spur Mercantile, you’ll find the L3 Real Estate office of Jeremy Rutledge, who has renovated the old Smugglers’ Cove building located next door to Spur Mercantile.
This real estate office specializes in rural properties, including farms, ranches and recreational properties.
Spur Giant Arrow site landscaped thanks to Spur ISD Casa Verde project. Spur high school students of Myles Hammack researched, raised funds, and rehabbed the Dyess Park site of the giant arrow sculpture and Quanah Parker Trail arrow last spring. Their work continues, with horticulture and business management goals going hand in hand with cultural, language, and history studies related to the ambitious project.
Lindsay Humphries photos featured in Gebo’s 2023 calendar. This one just about escaped our notice, since the year was half done when we learned about it—but the rurallifestyle work of Dickens County photographer was selected to appear in the nationwide Gebo’s wall calendar for 2023. Here’s one shot from June.
Spur Inn/Mackenzie Trail monument destroyed. The longtime landmark, most recently set alongside the parking lot of the Lawrence Brothers Grocery Store on Burlington Avenue, was shattered during a late-night vehicle collison Aug. 1; the drivers were not seriously injured. Word is, there’s a replica marker already in the works.
Spur to be featured— again— on ‘Texas Country Reporter.’ If you missed the familiar faces of TV hosts Bob and Kelli Phillips in Spur back in March, don’t worry—the segment is set to air in April 2024. TCR, which has covered Texas faces and places around the Lone Star State for more than half a century, and has featured Spur in three previous segments. The one that is slated to air April 20 will feature The Texas Spur in its historic newspaper building, and the show has given permission forThe Palace Theater to air it on the big screen. Pictured, from left: Texas Spur publishers Barbara Brannon and Kay Ellington; Kelli Phillips and Bob Phillips of TCR. | TEXAS COUNTRY REPORTER
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