TEXANS INCORPORATED

THE HISTORY OF A LAMP COMPANY

Texans Incorporated Reunion 2005

The Texans Incorporated Reunion was held at the Bangs Community Center on Saturday, December 3rd 2005. The event, which doubled as a signing party for the book Pedlar of Dreams, was an attempt to reunite as many former Texans Inc. employees as possible, and dozens were on hand. The result was a marvelous four-hour gathering of employees, historians and TV lamp collectors.
The weather was unseasonably mild, alleviating the fears of snow and/or bitter cold that had nagged at me during the preceding weeks. The newly remodeled Bangs Community Center was a perfect facility for holding the event, with ample room, a great kitchen and lots of decorative touches. Martha and David Cole went beyond the call of duty, decorating the center, providing refreshments and bringing some pieces from their spectacular lamp collection for display. They also assembled several posters of vintage newspaper articles. These stories provided a wealth of insight into the early days of the lamp factory, and were displayed on easels throughout the center. Gene Deason from the Brownwood Bulletin was on hand, taking photographs and conducting interviews with the visitors.
Texans Inc. designer Richard Gunter happily reminisced and shared "war stories" with fellow workers, many of which he hadn't seen in over 20 years. I won't attempt to name everyone, but the attendees included former Texans president Lonnie Sikes, plant manager Pete Eads, secretary/book keeper Evengeline Eads, and Stephen and David Young, whose father, Tommy Young, was the company president for many years. It was a moving experience to see so many old friends reunited, and underscored the close-knit nature of Texans, as they truly were a family.
Below is a collection of photos from the event with brief descriptions. Thanks go to all those who attended and/or participated in organizing the reunion, particularly Martha and David Cole. Without their tireless work promoting the event it would not have happened. Thanks must also go to the folks at TexasBank, who sponsored the event.


Mark Stevens with Richard Gunter.


Alvin Miller.


Martha and David Cole, Charles Yates.



Collectors Mark and Paula Germany.



Designer and mold maker, Floyd Thomas.


Texans Alumni Pat Miller.


Richard greets Reverend James Ford, welder for Texans Inc.




Former Texans President Lonnie Sikes. (with walker)



Myself and plant manager Pete Eads.


My lovely wife Scherrie.



Former employee Jim Hunter Jr.


Show and tell? David Young at right.



David and Martha Cole with Veta and Steven Young. Nice shirts!






Richard Gunter, Steven and Veta Young.