Six-shooter junction to Pearland

It is 2011 and you recently purchased that dream vehicle. After signing off on the car, the dealer promised that it would provide you with an unforgettable experience. After testing it on Texas Highway 288, you get off the Pearland exit heading south and make a left onto FM 518/Broadway. As you continue to drive, however, suddenly there are no Targets or Shell stations. Moreover, as you truck along the tar macadam disappears, replaced by a coarse, dusty road and your vehicle begins to turn into a 1912 Model T-Ford. To the right you see George E. Long’s Store followed by Hollingsworth Meat Market. As you continue to proceed, the pavement turns into gravel and suddenly you’re riding a 1934 Ford pickup. To the right you see the Kliesing Motor Company and Garage, and then you stop to ask "where am I?" Standing in a state of disbelief, you have "entered the Twilight Zone."

Welcome to Pearland during the early years of Farm-to-Market Road 518.

For most of United States history, roads were operated and maintained by counties and states. However, two groups of people helped bring about the Good Roads Movement, which put roads back onto the national map. The first were bicyclists whose desire to ride on smooth paved roads culminated in the creation of the League of American Wheelman (LAW), while the other group was farmers who needed a passable road to bring their crops to the market.

Under the second administration of President Grover Cleveland, the Office of Road Inquiry (ORI) formed with a mission to create a blueprint for road design. Even so the county continued to be in charge of building and supervising road construction. Brazoria County was no exception.

In 1882, the area that became Pearland was a siding switch of the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railroad on its route from Galveston to Houston. A year later, the post office was created and “Mark Belt” was born. In 1894, Witold von Zychlinski, a Polish nobleman, purchased 2,500 acres of land from Brazoria County businessman L.W. Murdock, who purchased the track from the Brazoria Land & Cattle Company.

Zychlinski, who wanted to sell lots and colonize the surrounding land, hired J.R. Jeter to "hawk the lots" and plant fruit trees, especially pears, to liven up the landscape. Later in the year, the town changed its name to Pear-land (shortly after, Zychlinski dropped the hyphen.)

In 1893, the United States went through a terrible panic. However, thanks to the Southern Homestead Company, many suffering people from the Farm-Belt relocated to the new community in the Gulf Coast in search of a better life. Some of the relocated families who established businesses along what became 518. They included Mr. and Mrs. Dean Hollingsworth of Iowa (Hollingsworth Meat Store) and Floyd Hale Livesay of Illinois, who opened up a livery stable before turning it into a general store.

Kristen + Mike's Wedding Day, Stephen F. Austin Hotel, Austin, TX

Date:  09.12.2009 Church: Good Shepherd Episcopal Church, Austin, Texas Reception: Stephen F. Austin Hotel, Austin, Texas What do Michael Jackson, Speechmaking class, a daring flower color combo (hint hint – dark/purple flowers, supposed to be the new trend in 2010), and the University of Texas have in common? It’s Kristen and Mike’s wedding day! I met Kristen,…

What do Michael Jackson, Speechmaking class, a daring flower color combo (hint hint – dark/purple flowers, supposed to be the new trend in 2010), and the University of Texas have in common?

It’s Kristen and Mike’s wedding day!

I met Kristen, her sister Kathryn and her mom Erin a few months back after the referral of a  sister of a couple of mine from 2007, Melinda (who is a bridesmaid at Kristen’s wedding as well), so I didn’t meet Mike until the rehearsal.  One of the interesting things (and also proven by research) in life is when a couple stays together longer, they tend to look increasing similar in both how they look and how they interact.  When Hazel met them on the wedding day she told me the exact same thing as well.

Hence, U.T.    Here’s Kristen’s official story about how they have met each other:

“Kristen and Mike met when Kristen was a Freshmen and Mike was a Sophomore at the University of Texas at Austin in a class called Speechmaking and Society.

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