by Randy Willis

Dedicated to the late Johnny Rodriguez. And Corky Parker, Donald “Don” Sweat, Bob “Bullet” Naegelin, Charles Gammill, Thomas “Twig” Phillips, and Glen Hardwick.

I’m grateful for all your advice and input on this story. I could never have recalled this many names and details without you all. Perhaps your children, grandchildren, and, dare I say, great-grandchildren will enjoy it long after we join Johnny in Heaven, as he lifts his guitar and sings Amazing Grace.

“If I had a quarter for everyone that said they were there when Johnny Rodriguez stole that goat, I could play the Garner jukebox for a half-century.” —Randy Willis

My love for state parks began at Garner State Park in Texas when I was nine. —Randy Willis

Introduction

My family began traveling to Garner State Park when I was nine. For four holidays, the park was the “place to go.” Near our camp on the Frio River at Garner in 1959, a boy drowned in a deep hole. I can still hear the screams of his mother when the boy was pronounced dead.

A child or someone who cannot swim well can unexpectedly step into a deep hole in the Frio River at Garner. They can range from 8 to 12 feet deep. And even deeper downstream. Blue Hole near Garner and the Concan Swimming Hole near Neal’s Lodge are popular deep swimming holes. There are other good ones.

Have fun, and make wonderful memories, but always be cautious in the Frio River and on the steep, rugged trails up Old Baldy.

Randy Willis and his sister Marjorie after their trip to Garner. A motel in Uvalde, Texas. 1959

Let’s Go to Garner State Park

The Garner State Park Pavilion. Fun for all ages.

On July 3, 1969, my best friend Glen Hardwick and I set out on a trip from Angleton, Texas, to Garner State Park. We were to meet John Rodriguez, Corky Parker, Bob “Bullet” Naegelin, and my cousin Don Sweat the next day, on Friday, the 4th of July, at noon at the Garner State Park Pavilion.

We would then travel to Ciudad Acuña across the border from Del Rio. It was the “thing” to do on the weekends.

Glen and I stayed the first night at his father, M. Warren Hardwick, M.D., 2,000-acre ranch, 20 miles north of Garner State Park, and 10 miles North of Leakey. The Hardwick family was from my hometown of Angleton. Angleton is 30 minutes north of Freeport, where Don Sweat and Corky Parker lived.

Glen’s mother, Mrs. Hardwick, never allowed Glen to have a key. In those days, few people had maids. But Dr. and Mrs. Hardwick did. Glen had never made a bed or washed a dish in his life.

Later, when Glen and I rented at Malibu Apartments in San Marcos during our days at Southwest Texas State University (now Texas State University), I discovered Mrs. Hardwick’s wisdom. I moved out after one semester into a travel trailer at Pecan Park.

Therefore, when we arrived at their ranch, we slept on two old army cots outside in sleeping bags. It was heaven to me under the clear, blue Texas Hill Country sky and its starry nights.

After college, I moved to the Texas Hill Country because of these experiences. I am still there. I can see 50 miles from my master bedroom’s deck. Those “starry, starry nights,” as Don McLean expressed in “Vincent,” have never ceased to amaze me.

In Brazoria County, from which we all grew up, the mosquitoes would have devoured me. None of the streams, bayous, Oyster Creek, or the Brazos River was cold and clear; they were murky and warm, not to mention the water moccasins. And the humidity could be stifling.

✯ ✯ ✯✯ ✯

The Frio River was as cold as ice, hence its name, which means “cold” in Spanish. You could have read a book at the bottom of the Frio. That’s how crystal clear the water was. It was paradise for a bunch of kids from the Texas Gulf Coast.

We also often swam in the Blue Hole on the Hardwick Ranch. During this trip, we brought a friend from Angleton when we discovered she was staying at Garner. We often brought friends from Garner to the ranch. The legal drinking age in Texas in 1969 was 21. We were all teenagers, and the ranch was a safe haven to drink an illegal beer, which was always the cheapest brand.

On Friday, July 4, we headed to Garner to meet John Rodriguez, Bob “Bullet” Naegelin, Don Sweat, and Corky Parker. Then perhaps to Old Mexico for the 4th of July weekend. The four of them made that trip often on Fridays.

Unbeknownst to us, Corky had picked up at the last minute Charles Gammill, also from Freeport, for his journey to Garner. That last-minute decision would ripple through all our lives.

✯ ✯ ✯✯ ✯

On our way to Garner, we passed an old man “hotfooting” it along the shoulder of the road toward Leakey. Glen said, “That old man looks like my grandpa.”

As we passed the old man, Glen said, “That is grandpa.” We turned the car around and gave him a ride to the ranch. It was 12 miles away. Grandpa Hardwick said he had broken down in a “new” used Border Patrol jeep a few miles back towards Garner. Dr. Hardwick had bought the jeep at auction to scare off illegal aliens from Mexico. They had broken into their modest ranch house several times, looking for food and other things.

During the 1960s, the United States Border Patrol standardized its vehicles to an iconic “Seafoam Green” color. This light green, almost mint-colored shade was recognizable from a mile away by friend and foe. Dr. Hardwick parked it next to their home on the ranch.

Today you can only see them in museums. During the 1960s, the United States Border Patrol standardized vehicles to an iconic “Seafoam Green” color. This light green, almost mint-colored shade was recognizable from a mile away by friend and foe.

Grandpa Hardwick thought nothing of hiking the 14-mile stretch through the hills to the ranch. I told Glen that we might miss Rodriguez, Sweat, Naegelin, and Parker at the Garner Pavilion because of the delay. Little did we know those plans had already been upended.

When we arrived on Friday, the 4th of July, we discovered they were all in jail in Uvalde, Texas. At least that was the rumor. The park was ablaze with the story of a goat rustling incident, but no one knew the details. Glen and I wondered how a $20 Spanish goat could get someone arrested? We didn’t realize the alleged victim was an Angora goat. Although we didn’t know the difference between an Angora goat and a Greyhound bus.

The high-quality mohair was worth hundreds of dollars. Enough to be a felony, not a mere misdemeanor. Angora goats were expensive. Their mohair was so valuable that the all-time production peak occurred three years earlier.

✯ ✯ ✯✯ ✯

John Rodriguez (later known as Johnny) from Sabinal, Corky Parker, and Donald “Don” Sweat, from Freeport, have told me this story numerous times.

I called Corky Parker and Don Sweat (April, 2026) to make sure I remembered the story accurately. I also discussed the details with Bob “Bullet” Naegelin and Thomas “Twig” Phillips.

These five spent more time at Garner in the summer of 1969 than I did, because I worked straight evenings, Monday through Friday, at Dow Chemical in Freeport. I was attempting to earn enough money to return for my sophomore year at Southwest Texas State University (now Texas State University). My pay was $3.25 an hour as an Operating Engineer. I called myself a Sanitation Engineer. In other words, I was a janitor. $3.25, union scale, was over twice what I made driving a gasoline truck in San Marcos.

Dow Chemical gave me paid vacation in 1969: Easter, Memorial Day, the 4th of July, and Labor Day. I was at Garner for all four holidays in 1969. That schedule, no doubt, saved me by one day from being part of the 4th of July cabrito barbecue supper at the Concan roadside park.

✯ ✯ ✯✯ ✯

The only living eyewitness, possibly save one, to the actual goat rustling is Charles Gammill. On April 28, 2026, I spoke with him at length by phone. He, too, as mentioned, was from Freeport. He was also a neighbor of Don Sweat. Gammill has since read this story to confirm the facts.

Later, John “Johnny” Rodriguez’s first manager, Happy Shahan, took many of these sorted details and condensed them into a press release. Once you read through the many twists and turns, you can understand why he streamlined the events. Now, grant it, no one realized that Rodriguez, especially him, would have to tell this story a thousand times for almost six decades.

Little did Shahan know that his press release would forever be considered the “Bible” for the start of Johnny’s career.

Although Johnny had fun with the story over the years, embellishing it and changing the details. Once he said he basted the goat with grape jelly, other times with various other available sauces. His jail sentence for the “crime of the century,” at least at Garner, varied even more. No one cared. It was a captivating headline.

There was no Google to fact-check. No cell phones with cameras. No social media to analyze each and every tiny detail. Readers of fan magazines wanted to read what was exciting.

A case in point: The Schwab brothers, who owned Schwab’s Pharmacy, and a gossip columnist spun the story that Lana Turner was discovered at the pharmacy. Much later, she said she was approached at Top Hat Malt Shop and asked about acting. She replied, “I’ll have to ask my mother first.” Turner’s Cinderella story became an enduring myth of Old Hollywood.

✯ ✯ ✯✯ ✯

The Eyewitness Accounts

The Facts

As the Garner dance ended on a hot summer night in July of 1969, Texas Parks and Wildlife Ranger Davenport made the rounds. He informed John Rodriguez, Charles Gammill, Corky Parker, Don Sweat, and Bob “Bullet” Naegelin that they needed to leave the park because they were unchaperoned.

Garner State Park had a daily curfew. The gates were locked during this curfew. Garner State Park Superintendent Mr. Kincaid was a “stickler” about the rules.

Ranger Davenport knew most of them, and they all knew the drill. He was always courteous, saying “I’m sorry,” then explaining he was only following the rules.

They caravaned to a roadside park eight miles south of Garner. The roadside park was at the intersection of Hwy 83 and 127 at Concan.

There were no nearby corner convenience stores in those days. Nor did anyone have much money, even if there were a store.

But what there was was a dozen or so hungry teenagers at the roadside park, one of them being a Mexican with a talent for barbecuing cabrito (a young goat). Cabrito was a highly prized cuisine throughout South Texas. The chef that day was John “Juan” Rodriguez.

Not only was there no substantial food at the roadside park, but the next day was the 4th of July, to boot. A time to celebrate. How about a turkey?

Uvalde County Rio Grande wild turkeys thrive in the brushy, hidden terrain and mesquite thickets. But not near noisy traffic, especially with cars testing tires that could wake the dead. Tire testing by General Tire on Hwy 83 during this time could scare the hell out of you if you’re sleeping at the Concan roadside park. I know, I’ve slept many times under a concrete park bench there.

✯ ✯ ✯✯ ✯

John Rodriguez from nearby Sabinal, Charles Gammill from Freeport, and another teenager who had a two-door red Pontiac GTO traveled north on Hwy 83 past the old Garner entrance, then east on FM 1050 toward Utopia, Texas. They wanted to get off the main highway to be more stealthy.

1966 Red Pontiac GTO. Not the actual car. It could go from 0 to 60 in around 6 seconds. It was a very fast car.

They failed to capture a turkey or deer on the side of the road. And they almost flipped the Pontiac GTO while chasing the deer. But then Rodriguez spotted a goat just across a fence in a creek bed.

He yelled, ” Stop!” They stopped at Cherry Creek on the Bob Davis Ranch, past the Frio River, east of where the Garner State Park entrance is today on FM 1050.

Before Charles Gammill and the driver (no one can remember his name) from Junction, Texas, could climb out of the car, Rodriguez had already bailed out, jumped the fence, and captured the unsuspecting goat. The Sabinal halfback was fast. Well, fast enough for a goat in a creek bed, but not a white-tailed deer.

✯ ✯ ✯✯ ✯

Charles Gammill told me how he became involved. “Randy, Corky pulled into my driveway in his brother’s Mustang, hopping out, saying, Let’s go to Garner. I ran into my house, grabbed some cut-offs. I stopped on my way out of the house and grabbed grape jelly, peanut butter, ketchup, mustard, and an old hickory butcher knife.”

Charles Gammill added: “As Johnny and I were driving off from the roadside park to locate wild game, a friend from Freeport named Big Shot, Joe Jackson, was hollering we could use his grape jelly, ketchup, and mustard to make Coonass BBQ.” Coonass BBQ refers to Louisiana Cajun-style cooking.

Gammill’s mother’s old hickory butcher knife was used to butcher the goat. Gammill had only been to Garner a couple of times, and now he’s involved in a possible felony, and his mother’s bloody knife is evidence of said crime. Such is why mothers get grey hair very young.

Waiting there with the BBQ pit fired up are friends Corky Parker, Don Sweat, Bob “Bullet” Naegelin, and assorted hay-hauling comrades. Thomas “Twig” Phillips said he had hitchhiked home to Northshore in Houston by then.

John Rodriguez burns the goat’s ears in the BBQ pit first, according to Corky. Angora goat brands are typically placed on the ears. With the evidence burned, let the barbecue buffet begin.

✯ ✯ ✯✯ ✯

Nick Finley’s Dad owned a ranch 20 miles south of Concan in Knippa, Texas, between Sabinal and Uvalde. Nick had a place to sleep and eat at their home. It would serve him well that night. I was asleep 30 miles to the north under the stars at the Hardwick Ranch.

That, too, would serve me well that night, for my Dad, Jake Willis, would not have bailed me out of jail. An arrest would have cost me my job at Dow, my income to return to college, and the draft board would have been sure to request my help in Vietnam.

✯ ✯ ✯✯ ✯

Nick Finley and a group of seven friends would haul hay in a horse trailer to Nick’s father’s barn. Each day, Nick’s father, who was also named Nick, would bring two sacks of groceries for them to eat. Finding your next meal was crucial. It was more important than meeting a pretty girl at Garner. That is, unless her mother would feed you.

It was also a common bond that brought everyone together as friends. Sharing food is a wonderful way to build lifelong friendships. These friendships have lasted to this day, although some are from Heaven.

John Rodriguez basted the cabrito on the grill at the Concan roadside park with grape jelly, mustard, and ketchup, according to John Rodriguez, Don Sweat, and Corky Parker.

Sometimes, ears of corn, watermelons, or assorted vegetables “borrowed” from nearby roadside farms were a side dish, but not that night. Everyone at the roadside park was welcome.

The traditional hay-hauling group included Nick Finley, John Rodriguez, Corky Parker, Donald Sweat, Thomas “Twig” Phillips, Joey Swansey (also from Freeport), and Lenny Moore from Victoria. And others from time to time.

Corky Parker told me he would go to the Kinkaid Hotel in Uvalde to receive a $20 wire transfer from his father back home as needed. If it had not arrived, the kind lady at the front desk would assure him with, “I’m sure it will arrive soon. It always does.”

Hauling hay was what many teenagers did in Texas to earn a few dollars. Billy Adams and I would haul 100 bales a day in Brazoria County after school for eight cents a bale, load the bales in his father’s barn. With my $4.00, share I could buy a new pair of Wrangler jeans from our Sears, Roebuck catalog for $3.25. And sometimes Levi’s were on sale at our local department store. But in Uvalde County, the pay was not that high. John Rodriguez and friends were paid for a day’s work, with two bags of groceries to share among eight hungry teenagers. But no one complained.

✯ ✯ ✯✯ ✯

Two Weeks Before, John Rodriguez, Charles Gammill, and the owner of the red Pontiac GTO stole that Goat

Two weeks before John Rodriguez and his friends barbecued their goat at the roadside park in Concan, another group of about 15 teenagers stole a goat and hung it from a tree at the original Garner entrance on US Highway 83, which was no longer in use.

Thus began the domino effect, which led to an unbelievable chain of events and the future stardom of one of the early goat rustlers.

The original Garner State Park entrance on US Highway 83. Today, the entrance is on FM 1050. This is the old, closed entrance where the group hung a goat in a tree. Not exactly the most secluded place to do so. The law was sure to stop and make sure the underage teenagers were not drinking alcohol, not to mention trespassing.

Why all the fuss over stealing livestock in Texas? A quote from the famed Houston criminal defense lawyer of yesteryear will explain.

“I’m often asked why there is such a great variation among sentences imposed by Texas judges. I can only quote the Texas judge who was asked why a killer sometimes doesn’t even get indicted and a cattle thief can get ten years. The judge answered: “A lot of fellows ought to be shot, but we don’t have any cows that need stealing.” —Texas defense attorney Percy Foreman

The Utopia Constable J.R. Jackson located John Rodriguez, Corky Parker, Don Sweat, and Bob “Bullet” Naegelin at the Garner State Park Pavilion at the nightly dance. He informed them, one by one, as he strolled around the dance floor, that Sheriff Kenneth Kelley wanted to talk to them the next morning, Thursday, July 3, at 8:00 am sharp, at his office in Uvalde. They were petrified, wondering why. And why all four of them?

The Garner State Park Pavilion. You could buy hot dogs, burritos, chalupas, ice cream, and popsicles for a quarter at the pavilion’s grill. If you had a quarter, you could. When burritos went to 50 cents, I was devastated. Few could afford the T-bone for $1.75.

Corky Parker informed Constable J.R. Jackson that he was headed home to Freeport the next morning and would be unable to visit with the sheriff. Perhaps some other time.

The Constable responded that a judge would issue a warrant for his arrest if he did not appear posthaste at the Uvalde County Sheriff’s office at 8:00 am the next morning. He also said, “We know you are currently living in Clute, not Freeport.” That brought the seriousness of the matter into focus.

The four of them hopped into Corky’s brother’s 1966 teal Mustang 289 early the next morning and drove to the High Sheriff Kenneth Kelley’s office.

Not the same Mustang, but you get the idea. It was a hot car.

As Corky put the Mustang’s 4-speed manual transmission into high gear, they all agreed, saying over and over as Corky drove, “Don’t admit to nothing.” They had no clue why all four of them had caught Sheriff Kelly’s attention.

There, Sheriff Kelley interviewed them one by one in his office, with John Rodriguez being the last.

When Sheriff Kelly walked out with his arm around John, he said, “You two can go home; he’s staying with us.” The Sheriff explained that Corky and Donald were not from that area; therefore, they did not realize the importance of Angora goat ranching to the local economy. Brazoria County was cow country, not goat country.

Sheriff Kelly called Corky and Donald “city boys” from Freeport. But John Rodriguez from Sabinal and Bob “Bullet” Naegelin from Hondo were “local boys” who knew better.

Before Sheriff Kelly could explain Naegelin’s fate, Rodriguez ended the discussion by taking the blame. “I did it, I admit it, I was alone, so ya’ll can all head home.”

Rodriguez was held in the Uvalde jail because he owed $250 for a prior public drinking charge. He had no money for the fine, so he was to serve several days’ time. 

Time enough to sort out the felony goat incident over the holiday weekend. On Tuesday, July 8, 1969, Rodriguez’s bond was set at $25,000. John Rodriguez remained incarcerated in the Uvalde County Jail.

The charge was Larceny. The offense description was “Theft of Goat.”

Below is the submitted records request to the Uvalde County Jail.

✯ ✯ ✯✯ ✯

Joaquin Jackson clarified in his book, One Ranger: A Memoir, that Johnny Rodriguez was in jail for an unpaid fine, not for stealing and barbecuing a goat.

The question remains: why, then, on Tuesday, July 8, 1969, was Rodriguez’s bond set at $25,000? Once again, the charge was Larceny. The offense description was “Theft of Goat.” As noted in the letter above, the original arrest report is missing. What is clear is that the larceny issue, “Theft of Goat,” soon disappeared.

I suspect no Uvalde County rancher ever intended to send a local teenager to prison. They were more likely just to want the goat rustling to stop. I later met the Bob Davis family. They were a kind and gracious Christian family. Not the type of folks that would ever seek vengeance.

The influence of legendary Texas Ranger Joaquin Jackson on the matter is a no-brainer. I knew him, too. Johnny and I once deer-hunted with Joaquin and a Mexican Texas Ranger, who told Johnny that he was telling everyone he was his brother.

As Joaquin walked through the South Texas mesquite with us, on a huge ranch near Brackettville, grinding deer antlers to mimic two bucks drawing other deer within range of his rifle, I thought this was the most imitated human I’d ever known. And that included my Dad, Jake Willis, which is saying something.

Joaquin Jackson’s sterling silver pistol grips on his Colt Commander Model 1911 carried gold images of Montezuma’s profile. When Joaquin Jackson died in 2016, it left a hole in Texas’s cowboy soul.

✯ ✯ ✯✯ ✯

Two local boys: John Rodriguez (Sabinal), Debbie (Sabinal), and Bob “Bullet” Naegelin (Hondo), 1968. The girl was from Sabinal, too.

Sheriff Kelly read a list of dates to John Rodriguez, Corky Parker, Donald Sweat, and Bob “Bullet” Naegelin, detailing when and where goats had previously been stolen. The Bob Davis Ranch was not the only victim.

He also said that the group arrested two weeks earlier by Utopia Constable J.R. Jackson had been interrogated. They were asked how they knew where to locate a goat to slaughter. They were not from that area.

We all know the drill from TV. “If you tell us the truth, you can go free.” Two weeks later, the question became who threw John Rodriguez and his cohorts under “the proverbial bus” to save their hide.

Could it have been Chucky Hall from Freeport, or Jimmy Moore from Angleton? Doubtful since the “snitch” could only recall nicknames and a Mexican kid who sang around Garner. Hall and Moore from Brazoria County were friends with the entire group under suspicion.

A couple of others, according to Sheriff Kelly, said, “A Mexican kid who sings around Garner told them. He was with guys with nicknames like Sweat, Corky, and Bullet.” It didn’t take long for the Sheriff’s Department, led by Utopia Constable J.R. Jackson, to figure out who the nicknames belonged to and “connect the dots.” And the Mexican kid that sings around Garner” was a slam dunk.

No one remembered Charles Gammill, from Freeport. Charles Gammill told me he figured it was because he did not have an easy-to-remember nickname. And he was not a Garner “regular.” Nevertheless, Constable J.R. Jackson and Sheriff Kelly never mentioned his name. Gammill had “dodged the bullet.”

Bob “Bullet” Naegelin joined the United States Marine Corps soon after the goat incident. He served in Vietnam and became a Marine Corps Master Sergeant. He retired in 1990.

✯ ✯ ✯✯ ✯

Throughout his life, John would say to me, “Colonel, it doesn’t take me long to examine a horseshoe.” He took the blame. All of it. If he hadn’t, I suspect they would have discovered Charles Gammill’s involvement, not to mention the driver of the red Pontiac GTO that legendary night.

Texas Ranger Joaquin Jackson had heard the teenager John Rodriguez sing around Garner State Park.

What if Joaquin could get him a job at Alamo Village, where John Wayne filmed The Alamo? Perhaps he could sing there in the Shoot ‘ Em Up skits as a cowboy singer. John dreamed of being a cowboy. Juaquin Jackson was friends with the owner.

Perhaps Rodriguez could even drive a stagecoach and sing in the Mexican Cantina at Alamo Village, a tourist attraction. The same one in the movie. It didn’t pay much, but it was far better than jail for goat rustling. One thing was for sure: he would need a better job than singing for free around Garner to get probation, or even better, have the charges dismissed, which later occurred.

Joaquin drove John Rodriguez to meet the owner of Alamo Village, Happy Shahan.

In my mind, the true story is better than Happy Shahan’s press release, although no one would have printed it, because it is too complicated and too long for an unknown singer.

In fairness to Happy, no one knew Johnny Rodriguez would have six number-one hits within the next four years of the goat-rustling. Imagine having to back that press release thousands of times in interviews. Surely it would fade away. It didn’t. And every time Johnny tried to amend it, people were offended, saying, “He lied.”

No Mexican in country music history had that many hits. In fact, no Mexican had a top 10 hit in country music history before then. When Johnny Rodriguez’s first 15 singles all became top ten hits, there was no going back on the “goat story.” If he had, that’s all that would have been discussed, not his music.

He would eventually say to his fans and interviewers, “I can’t remember. Ask Corky Parker, he knows.” Well, my friends, I have taken Johnny’s advice. Corky has read and edited this story. So have Bob “Bullet” Naegelin and Donald “Don” Sweat.

And so have Thomas “Twig” Phillips and Glen Harwick.

And so has Charles Gammill, the only witness to the actual goat thief, along with John Rodriguez, except for the driver of the red Pontiac GTO, who was never seen again.

I’ve wondered what the parents of the driver of the red Pontiac GTO thought if they discovered all that blood in the trunk of that car. And perhaps even read about the felony arrest in the newspaper. Like mothers, fathers get grey hair too soon. Perhaps that’s the reason he was never heard from again.

✯ ✯ ✯✯ ✯

Over the past six decades, hundreds have claimed to have been with Johnny Rodriguez during his arrest for goat rustling. If everyone who said they had been there were there, the Uvalde jail could not have held them. Perhaps not even the Garner State Park Pavilion.

There were four brought in for questioning: John Rodriguez, from Sabinal; Bob “Bullet” Naegelin from Hondo; Corky Parker; and Donald “Don” Sweat, from Freeport. That’s all, folks. As Johnny would often say, “Case settled.”

B.J. Thomas

Johnny Rodriguez was not the first to sing at Garner State Park. B.J. Thomas and Roy Head did a decade before. B.J. Thomas and the Triumphs’ Garner State Park was released in 1964. I first heard this record at Nick Finley’s father’s ranch in Knippa. No, I wasn’t hauling hay.

The lyrics begin with:

In the western part of Texas
90 miles from San Antone
There’s a place I go each summer
When I get the urge to roam

I stand out on the highway
If I couldn’t catch a ride I’d walk
To Garner State Park
Let’s go to Garner State Park
Come on along to Garner State Park

Where the prettiest girls in Texas.

B.J. Thomas told me “Billy and Sue” was written at Garner State Park. It was a hit in 1966. I later booked B.J. for numerous gigs.

Randy Willis, Kimarie, and BJ Thomas

Randy Willis, Kimarie, and BJ Thomas

Garner State Park in the Texas Hill Country, known for the crystal clear Frio River, was paradise to me. The frigid waters are overshadowed by Old Baldy, a limestone bluff over 1,800 feet tall.

Each night, we would take our lawn chairs to the dance floor at the Garner Pavilion. We watched young and old dance the “Garner Whip,” Texas two-step, waltzes, and an occasional jitterbug. Everyone danced to the jukebox’s music from huge speakers in a giant oak tree.

During the day, our group would attempt to sharpen our skills with the Garner Whip between swimming breaks in the Frio to cool off. It was a necessary requirement to romance a pretty girl that night on the dance floor. I was tall and clumsy and never mastered dancing.

Juan Raoul Davis Rodriguez did. He also had the charm of a movie star. I was a hayseed cowboy on my best day.

And occasionally, touch football games and an excursion or two to Old Mexico. Swinging off the rope swings into the Frio far below was our greatest risk. Or hiking up Old Baldy. Or an occasional sandwich from a girl’s Mama’s camp.

Little did I realize how much this park would play a role in my life. And most of all, the many friendships that have lasted to this day.

My son Aaron Willis dropped from the rope swing into the Frio River a generation later.

The Frio River is overshadowed by Old Baldy. Garner State Park.

The second of three Garner State Park entrances.

Bob “Bullet” Naegelin on the far left. Randy Willis, in the blue shirt, is leaning over, touching his shoe. John Rodriguez with the guitar.

Easter 1969. Garner State Park Pavilion. In two months, the 4th of July will be celebrated & Johnny Rodriguez will be in jail. Photo: Johnny Rodriguez, Randy Willis, Scott Cummings, Grady Dansby, Dennis Billings, and John Levee. All of us were from Brazoria County except Rodriguez.

Dancing the Garner Whip to the jukebox was the way to meet girls. I was over 6′ 5′ 1/2 and could not dance a lick. I once walked a girl to her mother’s camp after the dance ended. I decided it was now or never and leaned over in the pitch dark to kiss her goodnight. I missed her mouth and kissed her on the nose. I never walked another girl to their camp.

Don Sweat is seated to the far right.

Nick Finley. RIP, my friend.

My cousin, Don Sweat, was teaching Joe Howard the Garner Whip. He did this in a Garner screen shelter for the dance that night. Easter, 1969.

And yes, many beautiful young women were from Brazosport. Karen Murphy from Freeport is to the far right. I can’t remember the other names.

A group from Garner at Dr. M. Warren Hardwick’s Ranch. I’m in my Angleton High School #76 football jersey. I could not afford a camera, much less the cost of developing film, but Dr. Hardwick’s son, Glen, could. The downside is that he appears in only a few of these photos because he was always the one who took them. Oh well, being poor has its benefits.

Friendships that have lasted a lifetime: I took the first photo in the Frio River below the Garner State Park Pavilion. Dennis Billings (second from the left). The two girls are Janet Blalock and her sister Jackie Blalock in the curlers, no doubt for the dance that night. 4th of July, 1970. Below: Johnny and I with Janet (left) and Jackie (right) in December of 1994 at the Broken Spoke in Austin. It was my Birthday Party.

Don Sweet and I were at the Garner Pavilion. We had just finished a swim in the Frio River. The river runs just a few yards below.

Yes, Garner had its legends. Nick Finley, behind Don Sweat and me, was one of them. Sadly, Nick died in 2018. On Sunday, May 20, a memorial service was held at the Garner State Park Pavilion. The service included a church service, storytelling, and music. Nick’s Garner friends and family gathered at the Garner State Park Pavilion for a time of remembrance, a church service, and a last dance. I’ve been told more than once that he requested his ashes be spread on the Garner State Park dance floor. Texas Parks and Wildlife refused that request. I am not sure that story is true. But what I am sure of everyone loved Nick Finley.

Beverly Rieger and Kays Evans were from Freeport. Billy and I were from Angleton, 30 minutes to the north of Freeport. Cappy Muchowich and Charles Gammill, below, were also from Freeport. Corky Parker and Don Sweat (not in the photos) were also from Freeport.

John Rodriguez would often visit with our group in Freeport, Texas. Cappy Muchowich’s parents’ home in Freeport was the party’s location in the photo above. Below is another photo of John, with Cappy and Charles Gammill, who would soon join John in stealing a goat. Sadly, Cappy Muchowich died in 1975 at age 24.

✯ ✯ ✯✯ ✯

Once we began making a decent living, Mrs. Crosby’s in Acuña was Johnny’s and my favorite place to eat in Old Mexico. Mrs. Crosby was a dear friend of ours.

“Ma Crosby,” as she was known, personally greeted every patron. She was protective of us. Once, when my date took two shots of tequila in a row, Ma Crosby approached her. “Honey, you need to slow down; you have not eaten yet,” she said.

My date assured her she was fine as she passed out for a few minutes.

Ma Crosby opened the restaurant in 1915. It was super clean and had the best Mexican Food on the border. We once called her in advance to see if we could have Queliteas with stuffed quail. “No hay problema,” she said.

Many celebrities dined at the famed restaurant, which closed in 1983. The restaurant is mentioned in George Strait’s 1981 song Blame It on Mexico. George, too, swam at Garner State Park.

George Strait asked the writer of All My Ex’s Live in Texas if he could change “Brazos River” to “Frio River” in the song. George sang it as: “I remember that old Frio River, where I learned to swim.”

Sanger D. “Whitey” Shafer, the writer, was born in Whitney, Texas, near Waco. The Brazos River flows through there.

✯ ✯ ✯✯ ✯

John Rodriguez at Garner.

As mentioned above, John, now known as Johnny, and I met as teenagers at Garner State Park. I had heard he could sing, so I asked to meet him.

In his memoir, Johnny Rodriguez, Desperado, in Chapter 3, titled “Garner State Park,” our first encounter is recorded. I should add parenthetically that I have never read the book, although I’ve been mailed a dozen copies. In other words, I cannot validate the book’s accuracy, but this page is “spot on.”

✯ ✯ ✯✯ ✯

I booked B.J. Thomas the first time in high school. He played at my high school prom in Angleton. This was after hearing him several times at the Brazoria County Fairgrounds on Saturday night. That was the beginning of my interest in booking bands.

When Johnny strolled up with a guitar, I was sitting on a Garner State Park bench. He said, “I’m John Rodriguez,” and smiled.

“I hear you can sing. Do you mind singing one for me?” I said.

John lifted his guitar and sang a Marty Robbins hit, “You Gave Me a Mountain.”

“Yep, you can sing,” I said. “I met a girl whose mother will feed us. Want to join me?” None of us had much more than a few coins. Meeting a girl at Garner whose mama would feed us was a necessity for survival. If her daughter were pretty, that was the “icing on the cake.” Such was Ma Barker’s daughter.

This is a photo of a legendary mother’s camp at Garner, “Ma Barker.” Front left in orange is her beautiful daughter, Denise Barker. John and I both had a crush on her. In fact, every dude at Garner did. I’m not sure whether John and I got a sandwich that day, but I did manage to take this photo. I keep up with Denise from afar on Facebook these days. Garner was all about family, friends, and fun.

Twenty-five years later, John and I would return to the Bob Davis Ranch. Larry Holden with Country Weekly had set up the reunion. When I told Johnny about the invitation, he said, “Do you think they’re still mad?”

I smiled. “Do you know how many goats they’ve sold because of the publicity?

He always responded to me when a definitive point was made. “Case settled, Colonel.” Colonel, after Colonel Tom Parker, was the nickname he gave me after I negotiated a deal he said I would never be able to land. I called him “Boy Wonder,” after his first #1 record.

Johnny Rodriquez & Randy Willis, 25 years later at the Bob Davis Ranch

Johnny Rodriquez & Randy Willis, 25 years later, at the Bob Davis Ranch with the Davis descendants. A few weeks later, I produced the Garner State Park Homecoming Concert for Texas Parks & Wildlife. It was the first of three.

After the Garner State Park celebration for the 75th Anniversary of Texas Parks & Wildlife, I produced the event the next year. Here are a few more posters and newspaper articles from the two events.

Texas Parks & Wildlife produced this video for the above event.

Producer and Videographer Karen Loke. Texas Parks & Wildlife.

Producer and Videographer Karen Loke. Texas Parks & Wildlife.

✯ ✯ ✯✯ ✯

✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯

✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯

✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯

It was not all healthy. It was at the height of the Vietnam War. Psychedelic drugs became popular with a few of our so-called hippie friends. But not us. My friend Diane Gray did get involved. I loved Diane, although we never dated.

She was a kind and gentle soul. Note the peace sign in the photo. She was the first person I knew who did that. And yes, it symbolized opposition to the Vietnam War and later became associated with Peace and Love. It was the perfect symbol for her. It should have been for all of us.

Her father was a medical doctor and friends with Glen Hardwick’s father, Dr. Hardwick. Dr. Gray owned a home on the San Bernard River in Brazoria County.

Diane invited Glen Hardwick and me to watch the first moon landing there on July 20, 1969. Just three months later, her boyfriend, Joey Swansey, from Freeport, took this photo.

Sadly, a few years later, Diane took her own life. Joey Swansey’s brother, Jackie Swansey, died in a tragic accident in the army. Two friends gone too soon.

Diane Gray’s screened shelter at Garner State Park. None of us could afford such opulence. We were packed into her shelter to escape the rain.

That’s me on the far left and Glen Hardwick in the center with his arm around the girl. Why does that not surprise me?

Ridin’ My Thumb to Mexico by Johnny Rodriguez

We didn’t always ride our thumb to Mexico, as Johnny later wrote. Sometimes we rode in an automobile to Ciudad Acuña, located on the Rio Grande border across from Del Rio.

Headed to Ciudad Acuña in Old Mexico. Johnny Rodriguez is on the far left. Glen Hardwick, 4th from the left. Don Sweat, top right. I took the photo. I took the next photo once we arrived in Mexico.

Donald Sweat is in the sunglasses, the third from the left. We were just kids. Can you imagine how dangerous this would be today? Johnny and I were taking the photos.

Boy Wonder, we all miss you, my friend. Vaya con Dios —The Colonel

An excerpt from the working title Johnny Rodriguez: The Rest of the Story.

Publication date: Thanksgiving Day.

This photo was taken on the Garner State Park Pavilion by Earl Nottingham with Texas Parks and Wildlife. I was standing behind Earl. It was taken the same day Johnny and I returned to the Bob Davis Ranch after 25 years. Thank you, Earl!

Destiny

Three Winds Blowing

Randy Willis Books & Plays

“Master storyteller Randy Willis—books about adventure, family, and faith.”

Randy Willis draws on his family heritage of explorers, settlers, soldiers, cowboys, and pastors. He upholds the tradition of loving the outdoors. He shares this love in the adventures he creates for readers of his novels. He is the author of two biographies and his new memoir, To the Best of My Recollection.

Randy Willis has written many books, including Destiny, Three Winds Blowing, and Beckoning Candle. He also wrote Twice a Slave, Texas Wind, Louisiana Wind, and The Apostle to the Opelousas. He also wrote The Story of Joseph Willis and To the Best of My Recollection, and many articles.

Four bestselling authors’ books, including Randy Willis’s Twice a Slave, have been chosen as a Jerry B. Jenkins Select Book. Jerry Jenkins is a 21-time New York Times bestselling author. He has written more than 200 books. The Left Behind series, his best-selling work, has sold more than 70 million copies.

✯ ✯ ✯✯ ✯✯ ✯ ✯✯ ✯

According to the Bible, we all have feet of clay and fall short of God’s glory. Our righteousness is described in the Bible as filthy rags. God’s grace (his undeserved favor) is available to us all. However, we must accept His gift of forgiveness. This gift was bought and paid for with Jesus Christ’s lifeblood on the cross. You can say yes to Jesus’s free gift right now.

Our greatest need is forgiveness. Christ came to forgive us, but we must accept that free gift. Jesus said in Revelation 3:20:

Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. —Revelation 3:20

Jesus knocks, but you must open the door to your heart, to your life, to your future.

It’s not a prescribed list of words. In Luke 23:42, one of the criminals crucified with Jesus pleads, “Lord, remember me when You come into your kingdom. His heartfelt cry of faith from the cross saves him.

Jesus answers in the next verse with a promise. He says, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.” The first person to accompany Christ to Heaven was this lowly thief on the cross.

Isn’t it time to decide which “thief” on the cross you are? Are you the one who put his faith in Jesus Christ? Or are you the one who rejected our Savior who gave His lifeblood for us?

The most famous 25 words ever written.

For God so loved the world. He gave His only begotten Son. Whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. —John 3:16

✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯

If these words are how you feel in your heart, then pray:

Heavenly Father,

I pray to You, asking for the forgiveness of my sins.

I confess with my mouth. I believe with my heart that Jesus is Your Son. He died on the cross at Calvary so that I might be forgiven.

Father, I believe that Jesus rose from the dead. I ask Jesus to come into my life as my personal Lord and Savior.

I turn from my sins and will surrender to your will throughout my life.

Your word is truth. I confess with my mouth that I am born again. I am cleansed by the blood of Jesus!

In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen!

Reach out and touch Him today!

For she said to herself, “If only I may touch His garment, I shall be made well. —Matthew 9:21

“Many today have just enough religion to inoculate them from knowing Christ.” —Randy Willis

✯ Vaya con Dios ✯