Well, more or less. Gene Autry has been dead since 1998. Nevertheless his name gets invoked in some auction materials that came in the mail (Lord knows why) announcing the Sept. 22 sale of his uncle’s place, the T.L. Autry Ranch, near Gene’s hometown of Tioga, Texas. "This historic 116.89 (+/-) acres is the ultimate hideaway, just minutes from I-35 and Lake Ray Roberts."
If you’re not in the real estate market, there’s always the Gene Autry Centennial celebration next year in Tioga (where the child Gene shined shoes in the barber shop), a town so destitute that parts of it were auctioned off in 1982. I know. I was there. Hardly anyone bought anything–not even the barber shop. But the centennial looks like fun, and if you can’t wait there’s the annual Autry festival next month in Parker, Texas. But, then, I was always a fan of "America’s favorite singing cowboy." I was, in fact, unaware if there was another one. When other kids swooned over Roy Rogers or the Lone Ranger, I would just smile and whistle "Back In The Saddle Again."
THE TEXAS SCRIBBLER 