I was back in town the other day, and noticed that it's going to be put to a vote to make Lubbock a wet county (am I correct?) That's certainly interesting. Any Lubbockites have any sort of idea how this is going to go? I would imagine it passing, but I don't know what the general feeling is.

The people from Pinkie's, Doc's, etc, can't like it though.

Not from Lubbock, but I grew up in Hale County and have seen this stuff for years.

And just for a point of reference, I don't drink, I live in a dry town/precinct and frankly, Prohibition is fine with me.

Lubbock is really schizo with their liquor laws. They used to be completely dry in the city, but in the late 60s or early 70s put in liquor-by-the-drink. At that point, you could not buy a beer, take it home, drink it, and go to bed. But you could drink all you wanted in a bar or restaurant, then try to drive home.

Brilliant, huh?

If you've never been to Lubbock, there has been a precinct to the southeast of Lubbock that voted in package sales more than 40-50 years ago. So as you leave Lubbock going south, there are a string of package stores ( "The Strip" ) on the East side of US87 going toward Tahoka, and none on the West side, in a different precinct.

These package stores are huge, numerous, and VERY profitable.

You really have a "strange bedfellows" thing going on here, with the folks most opposed to package sales in the city being the owners of the liquor stores, allied with the traditional "drys" such as churches.

In a Texas Monthly article a few years ago, an instigator of a wet/dry election claimed that a couple of HUGE thugs allied with Pinkie, of Pinkie's liquor, visited his office and "suggested" that such an election would not be a good thing for his health and well-being.

But times change. The rough and tumble original owners of "The Strip" have died or retired. Nearby towns such as Wolfforth have voted for package sales and Lubbock is losing tax money to them. United Supermarket, the biggest grocery in Lubbock and big supporters of Tech, are in favor of package sales (obviously), 18-year-olds can vote, and Tech is bigger than ever. The "dry" faction is much smaller than it used to be.

I think package sales in Lubbock will be approved very soon.

don't forget all those tceh kids that registered to vote in lubbock so they could oppose/support the "vote for change" last november.
they'll still be there come may 9th.

The "anti-" folks are really coming across looking like fools. They've pulled out easily dis-proven "facts" and doctored-up photos of "liquor" stores in Wolfforth. It's so bad that some folks are of the opinion that some of the "anti-" folks are really "pro-" folks working very hard to purposely look stupid to discredit the "anti-" side.

I think it'll pass with very little opposition in May.

it needs to pass, beer is way to expensive at the strip

If it does pass, when will they implement it?

ASAP, I think. All the places that will sell need to get permits, and the TABC is *not* adding any new staff to help.

I just hope the gas station by my apt gets one while I'm still here. Thats walking distance!

Alcohol will really improve my sleep this summer. (I do NOT have a problem!!! )

quote:

---

Aside from the small efforts of pastors like Jurkovich to rally their troops against the measure, the only thing that has a chance of stopping it is the vigorous opposition of Brant O’Hair, a 53-year-old with a head of thick white hair and the healthy glow of a man in an advertisement for heart medication. When he is not running O’Hair Shutters, a business started by his father, O’Hair acts as the spokesperson for Truth About Alcohol Sales, a political action committee that has enjoyed the strong support of the Lubbock Area Baptist Association. One morning a few weeks ago, I visited him at his office, where dark-wood custom shutters adorned every window. He told me that underage drinking was his main concern. “A combination of that and our not wanting to see our town start looking more like Amarillo.”

---

LINK - Texas Monthly

from down here on the Gulf Coast, Amarillo and Lubbock don't look to be that much different anyway ...

Just to update you.....It did pass. Lubbock is now a wet county.

WHOOP! In the span of a weekend, I graduated from law school, Lubbock became wet, AND my hometown of Cleburne became wet. Happy weekend indeed.


Any idea of when this will take effect? I know the owners of the Strip are seeking a temporary injunction to ban the sale of packaged alcohol in mass retail stores (Wal Mart) on the basis of unfair competition and zoning laws.

The zoning laws are supposedly going to be discussed and changed by the city council very soon, leaving the injunction useless. I think stores are expected to start selling in about 8 weeks at the earliest, due to the wait for TABC permits. Unfortunately, I live very close to the Market Street United at 50th and Indiana, and they may not be able to sell, due to being so close to the high school. Not sure where the closest place to buy will be for me.

If Lubbock had been "wet" and Potter County (Amarillo) "dry", TT would have been located in Amarillo - which was (and still is) the CAPITAL OF THE PANHANDLE...

Really?

As I recall my reading of history, Plainview was the leading contender for TTech, as it was a bigger town in 1923 than was Lubbock.

Really.
Amarillo was the chosen location.
There wasn't much else out here (that counted) between Fort Worth and El Paso at the time...
Potter County was given the opportunity to go "dry" but would not, so another location (have never heard Plainview?) was chosen... Lubbock, with Tech and Reece AFB - and voting Democratic when it counted passed Amarillo in 1968 when Amarillo AFB was shut down by LBJ due to being predominately Republican (as was Webb at Big Spring, Connally in Waco, etc)...
Best I can tell, the only thing holding Lubbock together is TT and cotton.
Not that Lubbock has taken its "Reece hit", Amarillo is edging back to their heritage and should once again be capital of the High Plains soon.
(**Assuming it can keep enough water around)...

AAAAAAAAAAg - Air Force Aggie Architect & Administrator from Amarillo, Altus, Austin, Arabia, Arkansas, Africa & now Seoul, Korea '65, '69, '73
Behavior is a mirror in which everyone shows his image - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

That's what I have been told for over 50 years... But that's not what wikipedia says...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_Tech_University
It says Abilene was first choice as a branch of A&M. ...and that Tech had been slated to become a branch of A&M up until 1964...
Maybe that's why there is so much animosity between the two...
And West Texas State ended up an A&M sattelite...
You have to hand it to them - they have struggled for "identity" of their own from the beginning.
I have a lot of friends there - and many who think I forsook them by bypassing Lubbock and going on to A&M.
I had scholarships to many places - including A&M, t.u., OU, Dartmouth, Eastern New Mexico, Panhandle A&M, Uof Houston, etc., but TT was not one of them or else I probably would have ended up there.


AAAAAAAAAAg - Air Force Aggie Architect & Administrator from Amarillo, Altus, Austin, Arabia, Arkansas, Africa & now Seoul, Korea '65, '69, '73
Behavior is a mirror in which everyone shows his image - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

while digging around I came up with this story...

Wow!

http://www.amarillo.com/stories/080306/new_5251738.shtml

AAAAAAAAAAg - Air Force Aggie Architect & Administrator from Amarillo, Altus, Austin, Arabia, Arkansas, Africa & now Seoul, Korea '65, '69, '73
Behavior is a mirror in which everyone shows his image - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

KKK was very active in the Panhandle and South Plains. Especially active in Slaton where they were supported by a Methodist Pastor from the pulpit and the local newspaper (Slatonite) publisher.

http://etd.lib.ttu.edu/theses/available/etd-10262008-192554/unrestricted/Smith_Mika_Thesis.pdf

[This message has been edited by aggieangst (edited 6/2/2009 1:15p).]

They were very active throughout the US in the 1920s.

Lubbock is finally growing up...uh...wait...

Aggie1, I think you are misreading what is in that article. A university was going to be created in Abilene to be under the A&M system, but it was discovered that someone falsely reported that decision of the committee. Tech was created as an entirely new system in 1923. Connally tried to move it to the A&M system in 1964, but it did not work. It did not spend 40 years being planned to move.

I have never heard anything about alcohol affecting the location.