Stories from Texas

Stories from Texas > All Episodes

August 16, 2023

How the railroad saved Fort Worth

By: W.F. Strong

When we’re speaking of the North Texas metroplex — Dallas always gets first billing. It’s DFW… not FWD.

But Texas Standard Commentator WF Strong says, at one point, the slightly smaller large city was at risk of disappearing altogether.


Episodes

October 23, 2024

A second siege of the Alamo

Even though the words “Remember the Alamo” are available on t-shirts, bumper-stickers, and kitchen kitsch, the Alamo wasn’t always remembered with the reverence it is today. For a long time, the Alamo was used mostly as a warehouse. Even the church, which people rather universally think of as the Alamo, was used as an army […]

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October 10, 2024

My brush with fate or serendipity

Sometimes things happen in the world that just seem too coincidental to be coincidental. We have lots of words to describe these moments — luck, serendipity, maybe fate or destiny, perhaps a miracle? Texas Standard Commentator WF Strong remembers one of these moments he just can’t explain.

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August 28, 2024

Some of the best Texans have been Californians – on film

These five Californians, including John Wayne and Robert Duvall, have made great Texans in movies.

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August 14, 2024

Frito pie is a Texas original

The recipe is a mainstay under the Friday night lights and has morphed – and gotten more portable – since its debut in 1949.

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July 3, 2024

He who has the gold, makes the rules

Stories of lost gold have long dominated Texas lore. Coronado looped around what’s now the Texas Panhandle in search of it. And there’s that allegedly lost gold mine in the Guadalupe Mountains of far west Texas. Texas Standard commentator WF Strong has had his own experience with reportedly lost treasure. And he recalls another story […]

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June 19, 2024

The craziest race you’ve never heard of happened on Padre Island

Texas Standard commentator WF Strong says that, starting in the 1950s, participants in the Padre Island Walkathon covered 110 miles – all walking, no running – over three days.

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May 8, 2024

An AI Experiment

There’s been a lot of talk lately about artificial intelligence — what it can do and what its limitations are. And if you’ve been keeping tabs on it at all, there’s no doubt that it seems to be getting better — and fast. Texas Standard commentator WF Strong wanted to find out for himself just […]

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April 10, 2024

Counting Cattle With the Fathers

Longtime listeners may know — Texas Standard is fast approaching a milestone birthday. We’re turning 10 next March. With us almost from the beginning have been signature segments including the Typewriter Rodeo and Stories From Texas — these bi-weekly commentaries from WF Strong. He says he has a goal beyond entertainment.

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