I received a class date starting after the first of the year, and when Christmas break came, we headed west to get an apartment rented. The first half, contact portion, of flight school was in Mineral Wells, Texas. The trip was an experience as they were just beginning to build the interstate highway system. As we traveled through Mississippi and Louisiana, the roads were just two lanes (one each way) with steep banks and a swamp on each side of the road. There were numerous insignificant towns and unique scenery, but as we passed through Fort Worth, the trees ended, making us sad that we would be spending the next several months in a barren environment.
We pulled into Mineral Wells, and the first landmark was the Baker Hotel. It dwarfed everything around it for miles. We learned that in 1922 citizens of Mineral Wells raised $150,000 to build a large hotel facility, …show more content…
They sought the services of prominent Texas hotel magnate Theodore Brasher Baker and then it was history. The hotel prospered and lingered over the years, closing in 1963. It reopened in 1965 when a group of local investors leased the building from the Baker family. The revival was brief and marred by the death of Earl Baker of a heart attack in 1967. In 1972, the Baker closed its doors for the last time.
We searched for housing and found few that were not trailers. Several flight school candidates lived in mobile homes, and we were determined not to. We found an apartment in a vintage home with outside access at a reasonable price and took it. Then we headed west to Tucson for Christmas. The questionable West Texas weather couldn’t be impassible in the South, could it? We would probably just experience a few flurries. It sticking snow drew
We pulled into Mineral Wells, and the first landmark was the Baker Hotel. It dwarfed everything around it for miles. We learned that in 1922 citizens of Mineral Wells raised $150,000 to build a large hotel facility, …show more content…
They sought the services of prominent Texas hotel magnate Theodore Brasher Baker and then it was history. The hotel prospered and lingered over the years, closing in 1963. It reopened in 1965 when a group of local investors leased the building from the Baker family. The revival was brief and marred by the death of Earl Baker of a heart attack in 1967. In 1972, the Baker closed its doors for the last time.
We searched for housing and found few that were not trailers. Several flight school candidates lived in mobile homes, and we were determined not to. We found an apartment in a vintage home with outside access at a reasonable price and took it. Then we headed west to Tucson for Christmas. The questionable West Texas weather couldn’t be impassible in the South, could it? We would probably just experience a few flurries. It sticking snow drew