Ask Billie

WOW! It has happened, the NO VACANCY sign has been on at the Teepee Motel the past 2 weekends.

On Monday morning there were 4 RVs looking very much at home in the park area. We have waited a long time for that to happen.

News about the Teepees is great for Wharton because that is the kind of publicity dollars could not buy.

Channel 26 had another feature story this week but the Associated Press article several weeks ago traveled far and wide.

It is amazing that people in Canada and Thailand were reading about the Teepee Motel in Wharton, Texas. Someone from Indiana is going to visit to get a picture for his museum.

Folks at the Teepees have a lot of fun taking care of all the needs of their customers. It may be an anniversary where flowers need to be ordered; they take care of it. Is it a special birthday? That service can be handled. It is great to have a business that caters to the needs of the customer and it is paying off.

There was a recent call from a descendant of Quanah Parker who plans to visit the Teepee Motel. Do you remember when you were studying Texas history and learned about an Indian chief who captured a white woman, sometime in the mid 1800s?

Quanah Parker was a Comanche leader, born at Cedar Lake, Texas. He was the son of a Comanche chief and Cynthia Ann Parker.

She was a captive white woman who lived with the tribe and even though taken back by the whites in 1860, never really fit in with her own people.

Quanah Parker became a bold warrior, was made war chief and made several raids against early frontier settlements in Texas. He surrendered in 1875 and his life after that makes an amazing story.

He quickly adapted to the white culture by learning Spanish and English, learned new agriculture methods and promoted education among other Indians.

In 1886 Quanah Parker became a judge of the Court of Indian Affairs; by 1890 he was principal chief of all Comanche bands. He rode beside Geronimo in the inaugural parade of President Theodore Roosevelt in 1905.

When this descendant of Quanah Parker visits Wharton and the Teepee Motel it will give us an opportunity to feel a part of early Texas history.

I will admit that I knew absolutely nothing about the Texas Panhandle until I was introduced to the family of Wayne Jones. Going from the pine trees of East Texas to the high plains was not an easy adjustment.

Even getting directions was a foreign experience. Where I grew up you were directed to go to the tallest tree or barn and turn left or right.

On the farmlands of my new family I was directed to go to the section line and turn north or south. What in the world was a section line?

One thing I did learn was more about Texas history, Colonel Charles Goodnight, Cynthia Ann Parker, Quanah Parker and many others who were an important part of early Texas.

Today's Teepee Motel is giving us an opportunity to remember who we were and our many connections.