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Pass the Biscuits, Pappy - Texas Governors Series LbNA #30845

Owner:Boots Tex
Plant date:May 8, 2007
Location:
City:Dallas
County:Dallas
State:Texas
Boxes:1
Found by: LadyRisa
Last found:Jul 31, 2018
Status:FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFa
Last edited:May 8, 2007
December 1, 2012. This box was found by the cemetery workers when its hiding place, a tree, was cut down. The employees contacted me and offered to rehide it, but since the logbook was full and I had already made a new stamp and box, I replaced the old one in a new hiding place. The image is the same and the logbook is new. The clues have changed, so please print new ones and throw any old ones away.

Wilbert Lee O'Daniel served as Texas governor and United States senator. Born in 1890 in Ohio, O'Daniel came to Texas at age 29 as a sales manager for Burrus Mills, a flour-milling company in Fort Worth. In 1928, W. Lee "Pappy" O'Daniel took over the company's radio advertising and started a country music program to promote the flour. O'Daniel hosted the show and organized a band called the Light Crust Doughboys. Many of the musicians who made Western Swing famous, including Bob Wills, got their start in O'Daniel's band. In 1935 he organized his own flour company to make "Hillbilly Flour" and began to call his band the Hillbilly Boys. The slogan, "Pass the biscuits, Pappy," made O'Daniel a household name throughout Texas.
Radio fans urged "Pappy" to run for governor, and in 1938 he did. He attracted huge crowds, ran on a platform of the Ten Commandments and the Golden Rule, and won the election by a landslide. Thus began a unique era in Texas politics. O'Daniel possessed almost no qualifications for success in the governorship, and accomplished little of the populist agenda he had promised the people of Texas. He ushered in an era of censorship and limits on academic freedom at the University of Texas by his appointments to the Board of Regents. But despite his obvious shortcomings as a leader, he remained very popular due to his masterful radio showmanship. In 1941, O'Daniel won election to the United States Senate in one of the most controversial elections in Texas history, edging out Congressman Lyndon Baines Johnson by only a handful of votes. O'Daniel was ineffective in the Senate and was shunned by his more serious colleagues. With his popularity finally on the wane, he did not seek reelection in 1948.
In later years, O'Daniel was active in business and made two comeback attempts at the governorship, basing his campaigns on crude appeals to anti-communist and anti-civil rights feeling. But time had passed Pappy by and he attracted few votes. He died in 1969 and is buried in Dallas at Sparkman-Hillcrest Memorial Park. His marker makes no mention of the fact that he was governor. Other notables buried here include Tom Landry, Mickey Mantle and Greer Garson.

Directions:
Heading north on U. S. Hwy. 75, exit to W. Northwest Hwy. (Loop 12, turning to the west) and look for the entrance to the cemetery on your right. Drive in and go straight ahead. You will see a sign that says "Monument Garden" on your right. Pappy lies on the north side of this section, so, keep it on your right and the mausoleum on your left and keep bearing right. You will soon see a sign on your left that identifies "Providence Garden". You'll see a cube standing on point nearby with the name "Brice". Park and walk on the street in the direction you were driving to a black marker on the right that says "Schoeneman".

To the Box:
Look past the black marker to a white "Schoeneman" marker not far away. Look above and to the left of that marker for a red marble monument with the name "O'Daniel" on it. Walk to it and stand facing it and notice the large tree behind the marker. To find the box, go around behind the tree and sit on the bench with your back to the tree. Take a bearing of 280 degrees for a large oak next to a red granite marker. The name on the other side of the marker is "Craig". On the ground, where the hedge meets the tree you'll find the letterbox. Be sure to rehide it and cover with dead leaves and such to keep it hidden. At all times, treat this beautiful place with ultimate respect, as it is Holy ground.