A Commentary By Don Newbury
It’s got to be a borderline miracle when Eastland-- a town with fewer than 5,000 people--can lay claim to not one, but TWO “facts” worthy of the Guinness Book of Records recognition.
“Facts” has quotation marks for a reason. It’s not certain that a horned toad named Ol’ Rip actually hibernated for 31 years in the Eastland County Courthouse cornerstone and found alive--sharing space with the Holy Bible and a bottle of whiskey-when the current courthouse construction began. Google for a trainload of stories, most alleging that this creature was featured in an aroundthe- world tour, and much else. They claim he had a noiseless “stare down” with then president Calvin Coolidge, whose nickname was “Silent Cal.” ***** Houston V. O’Brien, beloved editor/publisher of area newspapers for more than 60 years, is “H. V.” to many, maybe because he’s not a “Houston” kind of guy. I usually call him “High Voltage” or “High Volume.” Anyway, he was pre-school age when Ol’ Rip was first encased. Honored by the Texas Press Association and many other groups, he’s spent his life beating the drums for “America’s best hometown” and perpetuating the story of Ol’ Rip. At age 92, he’s still drum-beating in his weekly newspaper, Eastland County Today. His zeal-coupled with substantiated claims of ongoing community progress by the Eastland Chamber of Commerce--make their assertions hard to argue!... ***** Guinness editors may require more proof. The CofC claims, however, can be “nailed down” as the Gospel, even though Ol’ Rip stories and how a train car arrived in town aboard two trucks stretch credulity limits.
