Addison Wadley (pictured) and his family were among the first to come to Midland. Addison's family, led by his father, settled here in 1883-84. The Wadleys would have a lumberyard named after them and eventually a major street -- and, some would say, even a river.

In the mid 20th century, Mr. Wadley gave a number of public presentations on early Midland at civic organizations, churches and other venues. Excerpts from those presentations painted a picture of what Midland was like in the early going:

"It was the good old days in Midland when a quarter's worth of steak would feed a family of eight. Haircuts were 35 cents and shaves 15 cents. And the butcher would give you all the liver you wanted.

"My father came to Midland in the latter part of 1883 and established the first lumber yard. The family came in 1884. I was four at the time. Originally, the town was called Midway, it being just halfway between Fort Worth and El Paso.

"At the time we came here, there were probably only 40 to 50 people here.

"Midland has always been a good town. Not a great many know that Midland once boasted a college. It was The Midland College. Parts of its main building can be seen on W. College St.

"The first church in Midland was baptist, located on N. Marienfeld street, where Service Drug stands now. It was soon followed by the establishment of Methodist, Catholic, Christian and Presbyterian. Other denominations came later.

"Midland has always been a good town but for its splendid progress and growth since the advent of oil, I give special credit to three men: T.S. Hogan, who built the Petroleum Building; Dr. John B Thomas, who built the Thomas Building (now the Leggett Building), and Clarence Scharbauer, who built the Scharbauer Hotel. But for the foresight and vision  of these three in particular, I believe Midland would only be a town of 6,000 and just a suburb of Odessa."

Wadley's comments were excerpted from the Midland newspaper in the 1940s. Two of the three buildings he mentioned -- the Leggett Building (on Loraine across from the Hilton) and the Petroleum Building -- still stand some 70-80 years after they were constructed.
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Clinton Young, a Texas death row inmate found guilty in a double murder of two East Texas men in Midland County in 2001, returned to the Tall City today, July 21, 2010, for an appellate hearing. Strange though it seems, Young is a small piece of the history of Midland.

The first man sentenced to die in Midland County was Lorenzo Porez, a convicted horse thief who, upon being convicted, fled with his band of bad guys. On their trail was a group of cowboys in pursuit of Porez. Porez turned and fired on the approaching posse, killing one of his pursuers. As a result, he was hanged on the courthouse lawn in November of 1891 after Texas Governor Jim Hogg ultimately refused a stay of execution.

So what's the connection between Porez and Young, other than the obvious? And why does a man convicted of a double murder nine years ago figure into our city's history? It's certainly not because of the murders or the notoriety that came with them, but instead because of the leniency of Midland juries throughout time.

When convicted, Young became only the fifth person sentenced to die by Midland juries. That's one death sentence handed down by Midland juries every 25 years. In comparison, Abilene has put almost 30 people to death in roughly the same time span since its incorporation.

Judge John Hyde, a Midland historian and district court judge, frequently talks about the character of the people in Midland, in fact he was instrumental in providing the inspiration for the title "A History of Character: The Story of Midland, Texas." That high character has been witnessed repeatedly in the sentences handed down by Midland juries.
 
Pictured: A copy of the executive order refusing the stay of execution of Lorenzo Porez in 1891 by Texas Governor Jim Hogg.

Every town's got 'em: Those places or 'things' unique to that place. We have our share in Midland, too. As we put together 'A History of Character: The Story of Midland, Texas,' you can help by sharing what you think deserves to be on any list of Midland's institutions. To get started, my list would start with the Yucca, Murrays and yes, even Rosa's ... your turn. And thanks in advance for your help.

Why Rosa's? Think about it: It's one of the most common meeting places in the city. Instead of asking where are we going to eat, many families and friends just say, 'Which Rosa's are we going to tonight?"

Currently, our Midland Institutions list shapes up as such:
-- Murray's
-- The Yucca Theater
-- Risa's.

But we've got more.

It's still early, this process of researching and collecting information for "A History of Character." But without question, to this point, one quote I have read that resonates more than anything else is this from Susie Graves Nobles, the first elected female county clerk in Midland, in 1930:

“There’s no such thing as a Republican in Midland.”

Obviously, a few things have changed around here.

(Source: Midland Reporter-Telegram files).
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Jimmy Patterson's book, "A History of Character: The Story of Midland, Texas" is currently in the research phase. It will be published in the Winter of 2011-2012.

It's a little grainy, but this is downtown Midland from the 1950s, courtesy of the Midland County Historical Museum. No doubt a lot of you can recognize a lot of the structures. I've got the Wilco Bldg. identified. Anybody else?

One of Elmer Kelton's most famous novels was "The Time It Never Rained," a fictionalization of the drought of the early 1950s. Midland has had her share of droughts in her first 125 years. There have been at least four of note. The year 2010 is not one of those drought years. From our deluge in May to the recent week's plentiful rainfall, we have more than doubled what we normally receive in the first six months of the year.

If you talk to any longtime MIdlander about May 's rainfall, don't make the mistake of saying, 'Boy, that's as hard as I ever remember it raining." Like I made the mistake of saying. Because if you say that to someone who's been here for over 40 years, you'll get an even bigger memory: The Flood of 1968.

According to the Midland Reporter-Telegram's Centennial edition, this was the way it was on May 9, 1968:

"Five inches were recorded in a two-hour period on the morning of May 9, 1968. Accompanied by damaging hail and high winds, an estimated 10-12 total inches submerged the virtually paralyzed city. A man's life was lost and the city sustained millions of dollars worth of property loss and damage.

"A salesman from Lubbock was killed when a torrent of water swept his car off U.S. Highway 80, slamming it into a railroad trestle with the man trapped inside.

"An estimated 500 homes in the fashionable northwest section of town were flooded. Boats were used to rescue stranded persons while fire trucks stalled in the rivers of water known as city streets.

"While the Texas Highway Patrol closed access to Highway 80 and Interstate 20 to keep traffic out of Midland, the Texas State Guard and Odessa emergency units assisted in rescues and provided aid.

"Across town at Parkview Hospital an expectant mother was experiencing labor pains in the lobby while attendants tried to find a way to get her to Midland Memorial Hospital, where there was an obstetrics unit.

"The basement of the post office on Wall Avenue was flooded and 10,000 pounds of rubber bands floated down the streets of downtown Midland.

"Two Junior League members were stranded in the Next-to-New Shop on E. Illinois Ave., with a couple of other people seeking refuge. The group made a 'HELP' sign out of newspapers which they posted in the window and then waited on counter tops for help to arrive. A human chain was formed to pull them to safety."

Rain is in the forecast for Midland through this Saturday. It's not the historic kind. But it's enough to get you wet.

Source: Midland Reporter-Telegram Centennial Edition, c. 1985.

Photo: Ida Jo Moore Park on 'A' St., already closed because of renovations, would have also likely had to close because of the flooding rains from May 2010.
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   Jimmy Patterson's book, "A History of Character: The Story of Midland, Texas" is currently in the research phase. It will be published in the Winter of 2011-2012.

As I started lining up folks to interview for the research portion of "A History of Character: The Story of Midland, Texas" I was told repeatedly, "You better talk to this person before it's too late" or "You might want to call her while she's still here."

Although he was 81, Bill Kleine (pictured) wasn't on that hurry-up list. Bill was always full of life, right up til the end when a blood clot after knee surgery took his life. He died June 25, 2010. If it's possible that an 81-year-old was taken too soon, it certainly applies to Bill.

At his funeral at St. Ann's last week, his daughters tearfully described their daddy as their hero. The pictures that were painted of Bill in his memorial Mass made him an even larger figure. He didn't attend Notre Dame University, but he got up every year at the St. Ann's Mardi Gras and sang the school's fight song with gusto with his close friend Joe O'Neill, and it always made for one of the high points of the annual fundraiser for the Catholic school, and a tradition that may not be repeated in his absence.

Bill Kleine was deeply ingrained in both his community and his church, so much so that I was able to visit with him on May 19, about both the history of Midland, and for a book I am working on about the history of the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Angelo. He was sought out as a community leader because of his generosity, his gentle nature, his heart and his undying spirit. He was a wonderful man. He simply made the room a better place to be whenever he walked in.

Before he passed, we talked at length about MIdland. Here are a couple of this thoughts.

"When I moved to Midland (in the 1950s) it was a young person's town. And it was a wonderful place to be. The optimism was everywhere; there were so many things happening, a lot of parties. ... "I wouldn't trade my life in Midland in the oil business for anything."

Bill Kleine made Midland a richer, better place to live for 60 years. This town already misses him dearly.
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   Jimmy Patterson's book, "A History of Character: The Story of Midland, Texas" is currently in the research phase. It will be published in the Winter of 2011-2012.