# LL History question--Sunbeam??



## Kickapoo Duke (May 15, 2010)

I was having dinner at a neighbor's tonight and one guy said he heard there was a school bus in the Trinity River somewhere above the 190 bridge. Someone told him about it and said you actually have to dodge it in the river channel?
He also talked to someone (wasn't you was it Gman?) that said there was a crane in the lake and he knows exactly where it is and can catch onto the boom with a "j" shaped anchor when he's catfishing. I've heard about the logging equipment but not sure what area they are in.


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## tbone2374 (Feb 27, 2010)

Always been rumors, about the construction equipment, bulldozer and trucks, that the lake swallowed, as it was filling too quickly. Never heard about a school bus, but you never know, with our educational system, the way it's been. Reckon it was some educrats new program? If it's true, not much bigger waste of tax dollars, than now days...


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## Sunbeam (Feb 24, 2009)

So here is watch I know from being on site during those historic days.
First, y'all need to know where Hank's Marina was located in the early 70's. It was on the east site of the river about a mile north of the White Rock confluence. (That means were the river and the creek run together for you guys raised in the Big Thicket.) Some one told me it was called Outback later.
As the lake filled there were several logging contractors just starting to work on the long stretch of timber on the west side of the river. Most of this area after flooding became known as the Jungle.
In those days all of the trees were cut with big Stilt 36" bow type chain saws. Probably the most dangerous tool ever brought into the woods.
The skidders were just large farm type tractors with heavy duty bumpers, steel full length belly pans and log tong on each of the hydraulic three point arms. Maybe a 260 hp diesel. Ford and Internationals. 
Also every logging spread had a D6 size bulldozer to drag the trucks in and out through the mud. Most of the trucks were single axle gasoline fueled pulling pole trailers.
There was a contractor working straight across from Hanks when there was a great storm that crossed east Texas. If my rememberer is working right I think is was May or June of '70. It rained from 9 am until near midnight. A heavy frog strangler. 10 to 12 inches all of the way to Dallas. 
The contractor came in the next morning and pulled a loaded truck out of the woods with his dozer. It was so muddy he decided to wait until the next day to retrieve the two skidders and a International TD11 dozer that would not start.
By the time he got back to remove the equipment the lake had come up four feet. He came to Hank's to rent a boat to go look at the equipment. Jimmy Mc Castlin and I took him over to the site. 
The dozer was up flooded up over the tracks. The two skidders were even deeper. It was 1/2 mile back through the woods to the west bank by that time.
The lake rose about 8 feet on that rise. 
Later we would take clients over there bass fishing. You could drop a weight down and actually hear it banging on the hood cover on the dozer since it was only under two feet before the next big rise.
That equipment is still there but with all of the timber rotted out I doubt that I could find it now. After all it was over forty years ago.
The school bus is on the east sided of the river channel about 1/2 mile above Hank's. It was either parked or dragged in there by an old hermit type. It was there before the lake started to fill. 
He lived there with a pack of deer hounds and the other critters along the river bank. The fellow gill netted gar, ops and buffalo out of the river.
As it turned out the bus was on one of the higher spots on the river bank. As the lake filled the spring it swamped the loggers the bus eventually was surrounded by water. The owner moved his pickup to Hanks and commuted by boat to and from his island home.
One day he returned with an old ragged trailer. In about an hour he had brought some sad looking camping gear, fishing nets and personal stuff from the bus. He loaded the boat on his trailer along with his belongings. He said that the water had been about six inches deep in the bus for a week. 
That morning he heard an alarm clock go off. It turned out to be a very large eastern diamond back rattler that had crawled in bed with him. Looking for a dry spot. Time to move on out.
I believe the bus was eventually completely covered but the last time I fished up there in about '72 the top was still visible.
The only crane I know of was lost in the river while dismantling the old steel box truss bridge on US190. Not sure exactly what happened but some one removed the wrong bolt and the center span fell in the river. One of the workers told me about a year later that part of the span hit a sectional float the had a 120 ton crawler crane on it. The crane fell over in the river. But it was salvaged as was most of the steel from the span. The road bed section is still in the river. But it is so silted that I can no longer see it on my fish finder.


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## Mattsfishin (Aug 23, 2009)

That sure brings back old memories about the bus. I spent the summers up there in 72 thru 74. Spent time at Hanks Marina and remember people talkin about the old guy in the school bus. We stayed down the road from Hanks toward Galloways on the same side of the highway. Probably ran into Sunbeam and didn't know it. That part of the lake doesn't look the same, all the trees are gone.

Matt


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## Sunbeam (Feb 24, 2009)

Yes, when that flooded timber was still green in about four feet of water there was a two pound LMB next to ever tree trunk. If you could not catch a limit (15) in an hour the GW would claim you were impersonating a fisherman and tear up your license.
The white bass run that Feb. that year was unbelievable. People fished at night with minnows. There was a fish cleaning house at Hanks. The two 55 gal barrels would be full of carcasses every other day.
We dumped them up a private road just north of Hanks property line. I would take my .44 Army Colt cap and ball to the gut dump. I would shoot hogs to sell to the indigenous folks around Trinity.
Old corrupt Judge Price ran Trinity county from the court house in Groveton. He protected all of the marina owners and commercial fishermen from the game warden....for a fee.
Those were the days when you could run deer with dogs, snag and gill net fish and sell any thing you captured.
Then all of the city folks brought civilization to the Piney Wood. Never been the same.


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## markbrumbaugh (Jul 13, 2010)

Great stories SB. I do remember the days of the LMB in the jungle. I was just a college kid. Great fishing back then but in some ways better now.


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## Kickapoo Duke (May 15, 2010)

Thanks Sunbeam, that's great information to pass on to my neighbor; I'm sure he will enjoy it.


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## SetDaHook (Oct 21, 2010)

Sunbeam...you should write a book, or better yet a video documentary of all those stories. I love stuff like that. Thanks for the trip down memory lane....


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## RAYSOR (Apr 26, 2007)

All I can saySB is wow what great info, thanks!


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## Lonestar Proud (Oct 26, 2010)

I love listening to your stories Sunbeam, and that's another great one!

-LP


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## shadslinger (Aug 21, 2005)

Cool history Sunbeam, thanks for sharing!


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## live2fish247 (Jul 31, 2007)

Hey Sunbeam I'm sure thers still a few East Texaners that would argue that you can still run deer with dogs, snag and gill net fish, and sell anything they capture.lol

Sent from my SCH-I510 using Tapatalk


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## crappiecandy29 (Aug 20, 2008)

I sure was Disappointed when you stop typing Sunbeam.I sure do love the reading.Keep it coming............


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## FISHROADIE (Apr 2, 2010)

Great story SB Its good to hear a great story from the past every now and then. Those were the good old days.


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## ronniewelsh (Feb 3, 2011)

Thats was good stuff!Thanks sunbeam.


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