A TRIP BACK TO DENISON TEXAS
By James (Larry) Riley
Any Questions Please Contact Larry
at.. jlr51606@msn.com
After moving from near New Orleans to
Texas, about 40 miles from Denison I decided to see if I could find the Yellow
Jacket factory. Here is what I found….
On this picture I have labeled a Bldg # 1 and a Bldg. # 2. The
house in the foreground is the home of Mr. Troy McAlister, 709 Yellow Jacket
Road, Denison, Texas. He bought the property in the late 60's and opened a
cabinet shop in building #2 that is still in business (sons do the work now).
The buildings between his home and Bldg #2 were added later. This image is
"a picture of a picture" (you can see I couldn't keep all of the flash
out of it) the picture was taken in the early 70's and was framed on Mr.
McAlister's wall. If you look closely at Bldg. # 2, you can see the
"two story loading well" that is mentioned in the picture below and a
dock that extends out into a canal that ties into the Red River.
This addition to Bldg # 1 was torn down in the late 70's. Mr.
McAlister told me that when he first got the property, Bldg. # 2 it was
"full of boat parts" some of which he used in his cabinet making
business (somewhere out there is a "Yellow Jacket" china hutch or
kitchen cabinet). It seems that a Mr. Knickle married Mr. McAlister's, wife's,
sister. Mr. Knickle was "the guy McDerby brought down from Canada to mold/glue
the boats". Even though Mr. Knickle and Mr. McAlister's sister in law
eventually divorced and he moved "up North", he still shows up for
family reunions. I have asked Mr. McAlister to have Mr. Knickle call me the
next time he sees him.
Mr. McAlister does not own the property
that Bldg. # 1 is on, according to him it now belongs to the County as the last
owner wouldn't pay the taxes.