Waylon Jennings's Radio Days RoadyGoat

Before he was a music icon, Waylon Jennings was on the air right here in Littlefield. He had his own program on the hometown station by his early teens, and by 1956 he was pulling a DJ shift that ran from four in the afternoon until ten at night. Imagine tuning in and hearing this kid with a deep voice spinning records by Little Richard and Elvis Presley. He was playing rock and roll when most stations wouldn't touch it. Over in Lubbock he fell in with Buddy Holly, another West Texas boy, hanging around the country station KDAV where Holly played. That friendship led to Waylon playing bass for Holly on the 1959 Winter Dance Party tour. He was supposed to be on the plane that crashed and killed Holly, but he famously gave up his seat to the ailing Big Bopper. It all started here, on small-town airwaves, where a local boy first shared his love of music with the world.

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The Cattle Baron's Gamble RoadyGoat

In the story of the American West, the cattle barons usually fought the farmers, seeing them as a threat to the open range. George W. Littlefield did the opposite. He invited them in. By the early 1900s, Littlefield, owner of the massive Yellow House Ranch, saw the writing on the wall. The era of free grass and massive cattle drives was ending. So, he made a pragmatic pivot. He sectioned off 79,000 acres of his own ranch, hired a manager, and began aggressively marketing it as a farming community. He even established an experimental farm to prove crops could grow here. The town of Littlefield is the result of that gamble. It's a monument to a cattle king who was smart enough to realize that the future of the Texas plains was not just in cattle, but in cotton.

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The Green Circles of the High Plains RoadyGoat

As you drive across the plains around Littlefield, look for giant green circles in the fields. These aren't natural formations; they are monuments to an engineering revolution that transformed this region. For decades, farming here was a gamble against drought. But after World War II, technology unlocked the Ogallala Aquifer below. The key invention was the center-pivot irrigation system, developed in the 1940s. A long pipe studded with sprinklers is mounted on wheeled towers, all anchored to a central pivot point. An electric or diesel motor drives the wheels in a slow circle, watering the crops evenly. This technology allowed a single farmer to irrigate 130 acres or more with the flip of a switch. It turned the dry, dusty plains into one of the most productive cotton-growing regions in the world and is the single biggest reason for Littlefield's post-war prosperity.

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Jennings, Waylon

1958

Country music icon Waylon Jennings was born near Littlefield, Texas, on June 15, 1937, the son of William Albert and Lorene Bea (Shipley) Jennings. Waylon was born on the J. W. Bittner farm, where his father was working as a tenant farmer. The family later moved to Littlefield, where the elder Jennings ran a produce store. Waylon learned to play the guitar before the age of ten and became a disc jockey on a local radio station by age twelve. He dropped out of high school and moved to Lubbock in 1954. There he met Buddy Holly on the KDAV radio program Sunday Party in 1955. Holly became a mentor to Jennings, coaching him in music and, in 1958, producing Jennings's first single, "Jole Blon." In 1959 Jennings joined Holly's band, the Crickets , just in time for the group's final tour. Two weeks later Holly died in the plane crash that also killed Ritchie Valens and J. P. (the Big Bopper) Richardson , to whom Jennings had given up his seat. He spent two years mourning the loss of his friend and then moved to Phoenix, where he resumed his musical career. After forming a band called the Waylors and playing with great regional success, he moved to Nashville in 1965 and, partly as a result of his success with the Waylors, was soon signed to RCA by Chet Atkins. Jennings's first Top 10 hit came the following year. His success was due to his baritone voice, his ability to perform in a way that convinced the listener of his sincerity, and his rebellious, even menacing, attitude; Jennings often dressed like a biker and, in fact, used members of the Hell's Angels as bodyguards. His music was different from that of the mainstream Nashville production studios, however. When they wanted to add studio musicians, string sections, and smooth background vocals to his recordings, he argued for the use of his touring band and a stripped-down sound. Jennings used his popularity as leverage against his recording label and was able to renegotiate his contract to allow him control over the production of his music. Thereafter Jennings started to receive critical praise from outside the world of country music, and his influence and fame grew substantially. He turned his rebellious streak into performance by teaming up with Willie Nelson in the 1970s and forming the Outlaw movement of country music, a sub-genre that opposed what it saw as Nashville's mechanistic approach to making country music. Jennings's and Nelson's first Outlaw album, Wanted: The Outlaws (1976) , was the first platinum album ever recorded in Nashville. It received the Country Music Association's awards for best album, best single, and best vocal duo of the year, though Jennings may not have been there to receive the awards; he often refused to attend music-award shows since he thought that artists should not compete with each other. The Outlaw movement influenced a new generation of country music performers, encouraging the direction of New Traditionalists like Dwight Yoakam in the 1980s and subsequently the alternative-country movement of the 1990s. Jennings also continued to record solo albums during this time. His 1977 album Ol' Waylon was the first country album by a solo artist to go platinum. His 1979 Greatest Hits went quadruple platinum, which was an unprecedented mark of success in the country music industry of that time. Jennings also gained notice through occasional film and television appearances. His only lead role in a movie was that of Arlin Grove in Nashville Rebel (1966), a largely autobiographical tale. He later appeared in the films Travelin' Light (1971), Moon Runner (1974), Follow That Bird (1985), and Maverick (1994), in addition to several made-for-TV movies. His most memorable work in television was his narration and singing the theme song for the hit show The Dukes of Hazzard . Jennings forged yet another new direction in country music in the 1980s by forming the superstar performing group the Highwaymen with Nelson, Johnny Cash, and Kris Kristofferson. Beginnin

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In Memory of George W. Littlefield

1842

In Memory of George W. Littlefield, a pioneer plainsman, solider and state benefactor. Founder and developer of Yellow House Ranch and the city of Littlefield. Born June 20, 1842. Died November 10, 1920.

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Littlefield, George Washington

1861

George Washington Littlefield, cattleman, banker, and member of the Board of Regents of the University of Texas, son of Fleming and Mildred Terrell (Satterwhite) White Littlefield, was born in Panola County, Mississippi, on June 21, 1842. The family moved to Texas in 1850 after a confrontation between Fleming Littlefield and his wife's family. In marrying Fleming, her overseer, after the death of her first husband, Mildred in her family's eyes had married beneath her station, an action to which her family objected. George grew to young manhood on the family plantation near Belmont, Gonzales County, helping his mother to manage the place after Fleming's death in 1853. George received a basic education in Gonzales College and Baylor University, 1853–55 and 1857. With the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861 George enlisted in Company I, Eighth Texas Cavalry (Terry's Texas Rangers), which fought in the Army of Tennessee. Before his military career was ended at Mossy Creek, Tennessee, on December 26, 1863, by an exploding cannon shell, George rose to the rank of company commander, the youngest in his regiment, and fought at Shiloh, Perryville, and Chickamauga. At Mossy Creek he was promoted to major, a title by which he was addressed after the mid 1880s. Back in Texas after being discharged in 1864, he took control of a plantation belonging to himself and his brother, and "went to work to make the best, as he thought, of a miserable life, having to carry his crutches everywhere." During the war, on January 14, 1863, George married Alice Payne Tillar, with whom he had two children, both of whom died in infancy. In his business ventures thereafter, George Littlefield, who had a highly developed sense of family, utilized nephews and the husbands of nieces as managers. George's first years farming after the war ended in disaster caused by three years of worm infestation and flood. Even the road-side store he opened, which prospered because George accepted barter, in particular cattle, could not make up for the losses. In 1871 he gathered a herd of cattle, half of which were his and the rest belonging to his brother, bought more, and drove the herd to Abilene, Kansas, where he sold the animals for enough to discharge all of his debts and leave him with $3,600 "to begin business." Over the next several years entrepreneur Littlefield opened a dry goods store in partnership with J. C. Dilworth in Gonzales, bought and trailed cattle, bought ranches in Caldwell and Hays counties, and developed his plantations. In the trailing business, Littlefield commonly bought his cattle, rather than, as most trailing contractors did, trailing them for a fee. He took the greater risk, but reaped the greater reward in their sale. In 1877 Littlefield bought water rights along the Canadian River near Tascosa and established the LIT Ranch , which he sold in 1881 for $248,000. Littlefield rejoiced that he had obtained "far more money than he had ever expected to have" and thought of retiring at thirty-nine years of age. But he did not retire, as "he learned. . .that the more money a man makes, the more he has to make, that a man's world opens up a little bit wider with each deal, and demands become heavier." In 1882 Littlefield followed the advice of his principal ranch manager, half-nephew J. Phelps White, and purchased water interests sufficient to control some four million acres of land in New Mexico east of the Pecos River between Fort Sumner and Roswell, on which he established the Bosque Grande Ranch. In 1883 he bought the site of the first windmill on the New Mexico plains at the Four Lakes north of Tatum and developed the Four Lakes Ranch with windmills and barbed wire to control access to water and permit upgrading of stock. His cattle after 1882 carried his LFD brand on their right side. In 1887 Littlefield began acquiring land in Mason County, that soon spread over some 120,000 acres in adjacent Kimble and Menard counties, a ranch he put under managem

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Replica of XIT's Giant Windmill

1887

Yellowhouse Division of 3,050,000-acre XIT Ranch built (1887) a 132-foot windmill southwest of here. Set in a canyon, it had to be tall to catch breezes and pump water. It was known as the world's tallest windmill until it was toppled by winds in 1926. This replica was erected May 27, 1969. (1970)

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Franklin A. Loyd

1935

Born in Montague County. Taking office as sheriff in 1935, he served with honor until mortally wounded in line of duty. His widow, Mrs. Grace Owen Loyd, served remainder of term. He was father of 8 children. Recorded, 1968

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Canadian River Municipal Water Authority

1950

The Canadian River project received federal authorization in December 1950, and in November 1953 the legislature authorized the authority to organize as a legal entity and independent political subdivision of Texas. Eleven cities formed the authority: Amarillo, Borger, Pampa, Plainview, Lubbock, Slaton, Brownfield, Levelland, Lamesa, Tahoka, and O'Donnell. The city of Littlefield was originally included on the list but failed to confirm the creation of the authority and was therefore not made a member. Under a tri-state compact (Texas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico), Texas was entitled to store up to 500,000 acre-feet of water in conservation storage in the state. The authority received a permit from the Texas Board of Water Engineers to divert up to 100,000 acre-feet of water a year for use by the member cities and 51,000 acre-feet for use by industries. In 1960 a repayment contract between the United States government and the Canadian River Municipal Water Authority was executed for construction of the project. The repayment schedule for the authority provided for the repayment, with interest, over a fifty-year period. Each city negotiated a contract with the Canadian River Municipal Water Authority for that city's estimate of water needs and the city's assumption of a percentage of the construction debt. Sale of water to cities outside of the authority is possible only by a city's willingness to release a portion of its water. The dam, crossing the Canadian River nine miles west of Borger, is 226 feet high and 6,380 feet long. The aqueduct system, with 322 miles of pipeline, ten pumping plants, and three regulating reservoirs, furnishes municipal and industrial water to the cities of the authority. The authority furnished water to the eleven cities from Lake Meredith from 1968, when construction of the system was completed, to 2010, when water levels in the lake fell too low to allow continued diversions. Beginning in 2001 the authority provided an alternative and supplemental source of water from groundwater resources in Roberts County, located about thirty miles east of Lake Meredith. Originally, twenty-seven wells were provided and an additional aqueduct thirty-five miles long brought the groundwater to a point on the original aqueduct where the groundwater could be mixed with the surface water from the lake. After the surface water source became unavailable, additional wells were installed, bringing the total to forty-five wells and enabling the authority to supply up to 65,000 acre-feet of groundwater to the member cities. Purchases of water rights in the vicinity brought the authority’s holdings to more than 440,000 acres, making it the largest holder of underground water rights in the state. As of 2013, planning was underway to install an additional aqueduct and wells to increase supplies to as much as 130,000 acre-feet of water annually.

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Littlefield, Texas

Music in Littlefield

Songs About Littlefield

Artists From Littlefield

History of Littlefield

Waylon Jennings's Radio Days RoadyGoat

The Cattle Baron's Gamble RoadyGoat

The Green Circles of the High Plains RoadyGoat

Jennings, Waylon

In Memory of George W. Littlefield

Littlefield, George Washington

Replica of XIT's Giant Windmill

Franklin A. Loyd

Canadian River Municipal Water Authority

Everything Near Littlefield