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Adventures in Texas Abstracting
Michael L. (Mike) Persyn
MLP Abstract
Olfactory Assault
Upon one trip to Medina County (Hondo, TX) a skunk managed to get
in the crawlspace under the courthouse and let spray. Smelling skunk-musk
is nothing new, but this was so strong I literally had to get something to
cover my mouth and nose.
Cleanliness is next to Godliness (Olfactory
Assault, II)
In the Uvalde County courthouse (Uvalde, TX), the janitorial
staff take their job seriously. Too serious, perhaps; the entire common
area (hallways) has a strong smell of those little deodorant toilet/urinal
"cakes". It’s the kind of smell that is so strong and pervasive that you
can taste it. I often leave there with a sore throat for a few minutes
until I purge my body with some fresh air. It is so strong in the second
floor men's room that it is suffocating. It knocks the air out of your
lungs, not unlike anhydrous ammonia fertilizer, if any country folks out
there had the misfortune of getting too close to that.
Roadkill, anyone?...
One Fall trip up to Real County (Leakey, TX) was just in time to
laugh at the banner stretched across US Hwy. 83 South (coming into town)
advertising the "Annual Goat Races". Upon my arrival to the courthouse, I
noticed a flock of buzzards; turkey-vultures and black-headed vultures
feasting on some unidentified remains right in the middle of the road in
the middle of town (US 83). They didn't have much interference with their
meal; not much traffic in Leakey in the early morning on that small
two-lane highway.
Who needs fences? On trips to Atascosa County (Jourdanton, TX), I've occasionally seen chickens free-roaming in the courthouse square.
Deeds and produce in one stop
Zavala County (Crystal City, TX) lies in an area of Texas known as
the "Winter Garden" area (includes Uvalde, Zavala, Dimmit, Frio, and
Atascosa) due to the climate and long growing season. One trip to Crystal
City was during the cabbage harvest, where heavily-laden farm trucks would
take the produce from the field to the shipping terminals. Cabbage heads
which have rolled off the trucks littered the side of the road, and in
fact I had to keep my distance from those trucks on the highway as
cabbages would roll off whenever there was a bump in the road.
Just as I was finishing a search in Zavala that day, the County Clerk kindly offered me a fresh head of cabbage from the bushel-bag a farmer brought to her earlier in the day. How very nice of her!
Bring a flyswatter, or a bug zapper...
Disclaimer - this happened only once
On one of my earliest trips to Frio County (Pearsall, TX), I had the misfortune of being the object of attention from some big, nasty horse-flies which had gotten into the courthouse and into the County Clerk's office, where they were hell-bent on landing on and biting my ears.
Watch your step!
If you don't walk on the sidewalks around the courthouse in Bandera
County (Bandera, TX), you might step into some raccoon, deer, or
canine (coyote?) droppings left by nocturnal visitors to the courthouse
square.
Hardhat, life insurance may be required
A wing of the courthouse in Karnes County (Karnes City, TX) is both
sinking and pulling away from the main structure. In one room of the
County Clerk's office, where the wall meets the ceiling, there is a crack
where you can literally see daylight. I could fit my flattened hand
through this, and of course rain and critters are able to enter the
building. I worry about the power outlets and the fax machine near the
crack in the event of rain coming in. Near that crack, and in the
stairwell, the plastered-over brick is exposed, revealing questionable
masonry, or at least its repair - the bricks aren't really straight, and
in some places the mortar is so loose, or non-existent, that the bricks
could literally be removed by hand without any effort. With the weight of
the building, plus the weight of all the books/records, I honestly have
fears for my safety in that building.
Title Issue: When searching for defendants of suits at the District
Clerk's, only the first defendant listed is shown on the indices,
period. When I asked what would one do if the person you are searching
happens to be the second, third (etc.) person listed as a defendant, all I
got were blank, dumbfounded stares; they had honestly never even
considered that scenario!
You know you're in a rural county when...
The courthouse parking lot is not paved. On my first trip to McMullen
County (Tilden, TX), the courthouse parking area was unpaved,
consisting of a gravel and caliche (sp?) surface.
Update/Disclaimer - the parking area has since been paved with asphalt.
That is Main Street?!
In Westoff, TX (DeWitt County), a small town on US 87 about 20
minutes from the county seat of Cuero, half of "Main St." is nothing but a
partially grassed-over dirt path.
Hope you enjoyed!
Michael L. (Mike) Persyn
MLP Abstract
P.O. Box 1556
Castroville, TX 78009
cell: 210-416-1004
fax: 830-741-7082
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On-Demand,
On-Time Mobile Abstracting and Research 
Editors note: TXDILAR member Mike Persyn,
MLP Abstract covers some
of the most and least populated counties in Texas. Here he shares some
interesting observations from the back roads.