Today was a blast from the past

Today was all about the past, Abilene’s past and America’s past.

Entrance to Buffalo Gap Village

Getting the best value out of our $15 Abilene ‘passports’ we visited two more local attractions today and took full advantage of not just the bargain tickets, but of the gorgeous weather. Today’s high was 75 and we have not seen one cloud in the sky. With what is happening back home, I’ll not mention the weather again in this post.

As usual I was up bright and early (6:30 a.m.) and got cleaned up and then patiently waited for Joan to arise. Joan loves to hug her pillow as long as she can and whenever I can I try not to schedule things too early.

But we were on the road by 10 a.m. with our first stop at Buffalo Gap Historic Village. Buffalo Gap, Texas got its name from a cut in the mountains through which buffalo hunters, both Native American and cowboys used to hunt the gigantic herds here in the 1800s.

When we were doing research on Abilene we found the Buffalo Gap Historic Village and it looked like something we would be interested in. So grabbing our picnic lunch we headed to the village. When we arrived there I realized that I left my camera at home. So all the photos you see on this post were borrowed from the Internet. The lady at the reception desk told me to use them, so I did get permission.

The old Texaco station at Buffalo Gap

The Historic Village is similar to Crossroads Village back in Flint, but with a decidedly Texas flavor. But all the buildings from the Sheriff Tom Hill’s turn-of-the-century single family home, to the courthouse and two-room schoolhouse (they always do things one better in Texas) were wonderfully furnished and appointed with appropriate period furniture and knick knacks.

Using the self-guided radios we spent more than three hours touring the 18 buildings on the site. I especially enjoyed the old fashioned Texaco gas station and the print/newspaper office.  The only other visitors to the village were a couple outdoor cats who annoyed us endlessly when we tried to eat our small lunch.

And for all the Joan bonnet fans, she found yet another Amish bonnet, this one made in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, that she had to have. So look for the new bonnet in coming photos.

After exhausting all the village had to offer we headed back to Abilene to visit the U.S. Army’s 12^th Armored Division Museum in downtown Abilene.

Courthouse at Buffalo Gap

Expecting to spend an hour or so we were enthralled with all the exhibits, photos and displays at this very good World War II museum. We stayed so long that I ran downstairs to make sure I hadn’t gotten a ticket at the two-hour parking spot that I left the car in. The nice young woman at the reception desk said she would keep an eye out of the meter man and make sure I didn’t get a ticket.

I got to play with a World War II M-1 rifle and just as I do every month at the National Cemetery had nothing but trouble closing the slide without busting my knuckles. Actually I couldn’t get this one to close and I told the young woman to tell some old soldier to fix it and blame it on a Navy man who didn’t know what he was doing.

We learned that the 12^th Armored Division was one of the many Army groups that liberated German concentration camps and the display section of the museum for that history was profoundly disturbing.

In addition to the U.S. exhibits, the museum includes a very extensive section of German army memorabilia. A volunteer at the museum told us that none of the items were purchased, but that all the German souvenirs were confiscated from dead or captured German soldiers as the 12^th Armored Division pursued the German Army across Germany.

Some of the German officer uniforms and hats looked in incredibly good condition and we were told that movie makers had visited the museum to study their collection in order to replicate German uniforms for films.

They had the uniform of a German colonel who had served as a concentration camp commander and who tried to disguise himself as a civilian when the American troops arrived. Camp prisoners pointed him out as the former camp commander and when he denied that he was the leader the soldiers decided to take it a step further. The soldiers of the 12^th forced the man to try on a uniform they found in the commandant’s office and when it fit perfectly they arrested him.

12th Armored Division Museum

Later the man was hanged for war crimes related to his operation of the concentration camp.

At one point, we learned, the 12^th Armored Division was ‘borrowed’ by General George Patton and actually supported the Third Army which meant that for a time they were part of the same assault force that Joan’s father, who was in the 75^th Division, was involved in.

The 12^th Armored Division received the nickname “The Mystery Division” as they were ordered to remove any patches that identified them with their former division so the Germans wouldn’t realize that they had left their former position and joined Patton’s soldiers.

One of the many 12th Armored displays

Outside the museum is a small, but growing exhibit, of World War II era vehicles, including a tank and a well restored Jeep.

We highly recommend this museum to folks with any interest in World War II if you are in the Abilene area.

On the way back to the trailer we topped off the gas tank and while Joan prepared dinner I got the truck and trailer ready to hook up first thing in the morning for our trip to San Antonio.

Favorite line of the day: "Come back and enjoy the best barbeque you'll ever dip a lip in."

Again the photos with this post are not my own.