I appreciate your videos not only because of the hard work you and your wife go through but also I get to explore many places in America from my couch thanks to you. Keep up the hard work! **Fan from Savannah, ga**
I’m sure the Eisenhowers were SO pleased the railroad came a stones throw from their front door. And that two-story house you pointed out is, indeed, a beauty.
I find Dennison intriguing and charming. A place I would never know existed if it wasn’t for your video. Thank you! You cover the most fascinating places.
4:08 Ashburn's Ice Cream. Ashburn's had ice cream in the Dallas area. I worked at his Richardson Tx store in 1967. Cowboy's Meridith etc use to come in with their family for Ashburn's fresh peach icecream! Best ever!
Very interesting video. Loved Dwight Eisenhower house!! I agree with you about the old large houses in the neighborhood- they should NOT ever be torn down. The Denison Hotel and the Rialto Theatre were once grand buildings, and hopefully, will be included in those coming plans to upgrade the city!!! At least most of the old homes around The Eisenhower house looked pretty well kept and people populated the area very well still. Though a throw back of 50 or so years, it is still very nice. Thank you for this video!!!
Nice video. Right within the first few seconds it brushes past a mural worth mentioning: It honors Sully Sullenberger, another famous son of this town.
Eisenhower's family moved to Abilene Kansas when he was around 4 or 5. And thats where he was raised.He did not live there very long. Once he left Texas...he never returned. Nice to see the house of his birthplace as a tribute.
I also love your video's and I live here cause of the small town environment, the people and the old building's and not so busy and congested like Dallas is. .This is why I live here.
It is a nice, quiet place, Mark. That said, Dallas suburbia is coming. Dallas is growing north very quickly. I live in McKinney. I can still remember when it was a small town in the country. It’s not any more.
" As are you! You might want to include this lovely phrase in all the rest of your videos. Sort of as a signature! It is so inclusive and representative of what you are doing! Thanks for all of it!
Southwest of Denison is the old closed down Perrin AFB. I was stationed there in 1961-62. Perrin was closed in 1971 and definetely hurt the economy of Denison. In December of 1962, I got orders to Naha Air Base Okinawa, and away I went.
I had the great fortune of being stationed at Altus AFB. It was the ultimate AF experience for a young military member. As others were stationed at Okinawa, shoveling snow to unchain planes became a love dear to my heart and a passion. Working in and on snowfilled overcast days where feeling your hands and feet were a luxury afforded to only those willing to brave the hostile environment of Japan.
I realy enjoy your road trips, I have lived moat of my life in Michigan but I have also lived in Texas and in, my roots go back to Tenn and Texas. I have old home movies that my Dad took ( I'm 79). I have converted those to digital.
Enjoying your vids. The Old Grand Hotels, which were often the tallest in town have always fascinated me. I have stayed in a few of them. Much of my clan was from Denison before the journey to Cal. Speaking of old Grand Hotels the one in Yuma AZ (San Carlos) is a story.
I wish homes had more spacious yard areas like they used to have. I remember my grandmother lived in a small rural Texas town. She wasn't rich but she had a huge yard area. It was so nice.
Bought my little house in Denison 5 years ago and it’s almost doubled in value. The town is slowly recovering and revitalizing. The old Kroger is now a brand new Ace Hardware. A lot of the old houses are being renovated and flipped. I love living here after living in Austin and Plano for many years.
We just drove through Denison 2 weeks ago on the interstate. I wanted to stop and explore Denison and other towns, but my husband is bent on ..... getting there.... and not the Journey. I'm flying back to Texas in July and will be staying at my daughter's 3 miles outside Henrietta, another hidden gem just 20+ miles east of Wichita Falls. Thanks for the video, it helped satisfy my curiosity.
Hey, there is a town about 2 hours north of Houston a little ways off of I-45 called Bedias. It is a tiny rural town with some interesting buildings but it is old with not a lot of people there anymore. I've watched a few of your videos about small old rural Texas towns and thought this one and a few others around it might fit the bill. If you visit ask a local where to find the best bbq ribs and brisket. If they tell you to go anywhere besides the old man in the roadside trailer then they aren't long time locals. Find someone who can send you to the bbq man. 🙂 Happy and safe travels to you.
I have family who live in denison. We travel there all the time. There house is walking distance from the beatiful downtown. My dad bought a guitar there. I like the town alot.
Lived in Lewisville tx as a teenager . Went to the high school for a little while . Miss that little town . Or at least it was little all of those years ago .
Many of those Grand Ole' Hotels have been saved being renovated into affordable senior apartments using historical state and federal tax credits, that could bring a boost to this downtown especially where it might not be no longer feasable to operate a hotel of that size.
I have a playlist called “From The Beginning”, the second playlist down. It has all my travel videos in order. In answer to your question, we are heading to north and western NY next month. 😀
If one high tech company moved in , restored the buildings to suite their needs , this would return to a vital town. It has the railroad, is one hour from the metroplex, and if it’s airport’s runways were lengthened ,it would have a new life.
It’s well on its way to becoming a vital town. Suburban Dallas is continuing it’s march northward. It’ll be up there soon. In the meantime, now’s a good time to buy some real estate there.
Texas had the conditions to become the most excellent state in America. It seems that once politicians got power and they became crazy. It applies to blue states and red states. Right now, I always look over my shoulder when I travel to Texas for business. I fear that one day a Texas ranger knocked on my door and arrested me for assisting abortion. Because once before, I had dropped off a colleague.
@@JoeandNicsRoadTrip I agree. It's already considered part of Dallas and Fort Worth's CSA(consolidated statistical area). Read an article once talking about the Sherman/Denison area having a very bright future. I have no doubt that it will.
The downside with a lot of the older victorian homes across the US is if they are kept close to their original condition on the inside, some of the rooms the doorways are so small and narrow that you can't get today's furniture or appliances in them. And being 2 or 3 stories high unless equipped with some type of stair climber or an elevator somewhat limits that home being bought by an aging person who doesn't do well with stairs. Quite a few of those old homes don't even have a 1/2 bath downstairs , so you're forced to hop up the staircase to take care of business , then you'd be spending quite a bit of $$ putting a downstairs bedroom in and at least 1 full bath down stairs. What surprised be about Denison is there's not a lot of grocery stores for a city of 22K plus the surrounding area. I don't think HEB has a foot print in that area, that'll have to change if that town is going to see a population increase..
There are some buildings worth saving, some are not. No matter how good our upkeep, things will eventually become too expensive to repair. While a lot of things were built to last in the past, we do have better building techniques and most buildings 100 years ago don't have the modern electrical/plumbing/air conditioning in them that people need today. We also know how to build better against earthquakes, flooding, tornados, and hurricanes than a hundred years ago. There's a balancing act. I don't have enough info on the buildings in this video to make a judgment call.
President Eisenhower left Denison soon after he was born there. I was born in Denison and my parents left soon also. There is a lot more history to Denison. I think there were at least two Presidents that stayed in that Grand hotel and there was a vibrant town farmers market just off Main Street. The Katy railroad is what made Denison.
Born there in 1946. Denison is not dying and is being reincarnated as a far North suburb of Dallas. If you think it’s dying, just check the present real estate prices!
Oh, no, no relaxing, lol. We are starting our next phase of exploring the USA, this time smaller, more out of the way places like Tupelo, MS, Cody WY, Pierre, SD, etc.
Evidently, the storyteller has chosen to only show the bad buildings, not the revitalization and the industries that drive the community renovations and growth in the area. Denison will not disappear anytime soon.
Why are you so bearish on Dennison - did you say it wouldn't exist in 10 years? It has actually been slowly growing; adding 3,000 people in the last 10 years. For the most part it is a fairly clean modest city.
@@charleswillams9501 LOL - Dennison is 70+ miles north of Dallas! I agree that in 10 years Dallas will be bigger than it is now - but if Dallas were to expand its borders all the way around by ~ 70 miles it would then be the largest city the world has ever seen.
"here I am now on a tree branch overlooking......Mrs WIlsons bedroom not a lot of people walking around at 10am in the morning which is good for me although I normally have a gilly suit on when Im in the tree...anyway later on I will be going to the state capital and picking up the wife stay tuned for that video"
Many, yes. But there is a steady flow of people toward the smaller towns, people who can work at home and who are fed up with big city crime, politics and expensive property.
@@redriveral2764 census figures for at least half the counties in Texas don't agree with you..the only areas that are gaining rurally are currently exurban communities that are within a commuting distance to the outer rim of the triangle.
You should have done your homework on the city. Lots going on here. Investors have put a lot of money in bringing the town back. Actually the Hotel Denison is being renovated. The overhead walkway was a catcall. This town has a long history of interesting stories you should really do a little research before saying it’s dead and will be gone in ten years.
Cars parked on every spot and you call the town dead and nothing happening? and in 10 years it will be gone? C'mon dude quit being such a Debbie Downer!
I appreciate your videos not only because of the hard work you and your wife go through but also I get to explore many places in America from my couch thanks to you. Keep up the hard work! **Fan from Savannah, ga**
Thank you for that, Dennis! 😀
@@JoeandNicsRoadTrip you're welcome
I agree! Loving the channel from Denver. Hey, any relation to Doug Stanhope?
@@drewmunny I'm not sure
@@dstanhope he's my favorite comedian. Maybe a distant cousin or something lol
I’m sure the Eisenhowers were SO pleased the railroad came a stones throw from their front door. And that two-story house you pointed out is, indeed, a beauty.
I grew up in Sherman, the town right next to Denison. Both the city of Sherman and Denison are doing major work to restore the downtown areas.
Loving all your videos in Texas. Thank you!
Thank you, Lola!
I find Dennison intriguing and charming. A place I would never know existed if it wasn’t for your video. Thank you! You cover the most fascinating places.
Thank you!! :)
Ive heard of it we used to take trips to Vernon to get full strength beer since Okie only had 3.5 aka bible belt beer.
4:08 Ashburn's Ice Cream. Ashburn's had ice cream in the Dallas area. I worked at his Richardson Tx store in 1967. Cowboy's Meridith etc use to come in with their family for Ashburn's fresh peach icecream! Best ever!
I love walking around quiet and quaint downtowns like that. Really appreciate this series.
Been enjoying about 1 episode per day.
I very much appreciate your videos buddy. Very informative and well balanced. All the best
Thank you, Mark!
Very interesting video. Loved Dwight Eisenhower house!! I agree with you about the old large houses in the neighborhood- they should NOT ever be torn down. The Denison Hotel and the Rialto Theatre were once grand buildings, and hopefully, will be included in those coming plans to upgrade the city!!! At least most of the old homes around The Eisenhower house looked pretty well kept and people populated the area very well still. Though a throw back of 50 or so years, it is still very nice. Thank you for this video!!!
Nice video. Right within the first few seconds it brushes past a mural worth mentioning: It honors Sully Sullenberger, another famous son of this town.
Beautiful old architecture! Love that retro store I bet it’s got great stuff inside.
Eisenhower's family moved to Abilene Kansas when he was around 4 or 5. And thats where he was raised.He did not live there very long. Once he left Texas...he never returned. Nice to see the house of his birthplace as a tribute.
Thanks for this! 😊 😊
I'll look forward to seeing some of your small town videos.
started watching oyur videos when I seen the Des moines IA one got hooked so watching your videos from the beginning what a awesome trip you 2 took
Thank you trickpa! Glad to have you watching. :)
I also love your video's and I live here cause of the small town environment, the people and the old building's and not so busy and congested like Dallas is. .This is why I live here.
It is a nice, quiet place, Mark. That said, Dallas suburbia is coming. Dallas is growing north very quickly. I live in McKinney. I can still remember when it was a small town in the country. It’s not any more.
" As are you! You might want to include this lovely phrase in all the rest of your videos. Sort of as a signature! It is so inclusive and representative of what you are doing! Thanks for all of it!
Southwest of Denison is the old closed down Perrin AFB. I was stationed there in 1961-62. Perrin was closed in 1971 and definetely hurt the economy of Denison. In December of 1962, I got orders to Naha Air Base Okinawa, and away I went.
Guessing Perrin was a WW2 training base originally?
I had the great fortune of being stationed at Altus AFB. It was the ultimate AF experience for a young military member. As others were stationed at Okinawa, shoveling snow to unchain planes became a love dear to my heart and a passion. Working in and on snowfilled overcast days where feeling your hands and feet were a luxury afforded to only those willing to brave the hostile environment of Japan.
Thanks. Interesting in a homely way.
I do enjoy your neighborhood drives and hate to see these once grand homes in such disrepair. Some are amazing.
I realy enjoy your road trips, I have lived moat of my life in Michigan but I have also lived in Texas and in, my roots go back to Tenn and Texas. I have old home movies that my Dad took ( I'm 79). I have converted those to digital.
Enjoying your vids. The Old Grand Hotels, which were often the tallest
in town have always fascinated me. I have stayed in a few of them.
Much of my clan was from Denison before the journey to Cal. Speaking
of old Grand Hotels the one in Yuma AZ (San Carlos) is a story.
Most Texas small towns are still struggling to stay alive. High property taxes kill any incentive to restore these old buildings.
I wish homes had more spacious yard areas like they used to have. I remember my grandmother lived in a small rural Texas town. She wasn't rich but she had a huge yard area. It was so nice.
Can have a garden and chickens and at least eat if bad times!
And oak trees. We had the best climbing oak at my grandparent's home, complete with big swing.
Yeah, absolutely hate those cookie-cutter subdivisions with tiny yards.
@@joonkwon9303yes my TX Panhandle has sprawled with those poorly built Cookie cutter mcmansions with small yards ! Yuk
@@bthomsonoh yes I remember
Bought my little house in Denison 5 years ago and it’s almost doubled in value. The town is slowly recovering and revitalizing. The old Kroger is now a brand new Ace Hardware. A lot of the old houses are being renovated and flipped. I love living here after living in Austin and Plano for many years.
We just drove through Denison 2 weeks ago on the interstate. I wanted to stop and explore Denison and other towns, but my husband is bent on ..... getting there.... and not the Journey. I'm flying back to Texas in July and will be staying at my daughter's 3 miles outside Henrietta, another hidden gem just 20+ miles east of Wichita Falls. Thanks for the video, it helped satisfy my curiosity.
Enjoy your trip! Henrietta is cool, also Meunster, Nacona, Decatur (couple of antique stores there). Lots to see.
Looks very pleasant altho’ the temp would melt me in few minutes.
Howdy anxious to see more videos ! thank you Spoda
Marwan, we will be doing several videos a week! :)
I will watch them all
Nice sleepy little town.
Most small town America downtowns are empty since the big box stores arrived it seems. Just about everywhere.
Hey, there is a town about 2 hours north of Houston a little ways off of I-45 called Bedias.
It is a tiny rural town with some interesting buildings but it is old with not a lot of people there anymore.
I've watched a few of your videos about small old rural Texas towns and thought this one and a few others around it might fit the bill.
If you visit ask a local where to find the best bbq ribs and brisket. If they tell you to go anywhere besides the old man in the roadside trailer then they aren't long time locals.
Find someone who can send you to the bbq man. 🙂
Happy and safe travels to you.
I live here in Denison, about 10 years now.
I have family who live in denison. We travel there all the time. There house is walking distance from the beatiful downtown. My dad bought a guitar there. I like the town alot.
Old Town Lewisville has a street like the opening scene abandoned 1 mile from brand new gleaming the retail hub Lewisville near the 35E and 121
Lived in Lewisville tx as a teenager . Went to the high school for a little while . Miss that little town . Or at least it was little all of those years ago .
Come to Tuscaloosa,Al during football season on a Saturday home game
Where are all the people?
Enjoyed it. 👍
Thank you, Russ. 😀
As a suggestion Lord Spoda explore my hometown of Texarkana.
Many of those Grand Ole' Hotels have been saved being renovated into affordable senior apartments using historical state and federal tax credits, that could bring a boost to this downtown especially where it might not be no longer feasable to operate a hotel of that size.
If there were any services or stores near by?
love it clean town
So have you finished your 48-state tour, and now checking out smaller towns in your own state? That's interesting too.
We'll be checking out smaller towns across the country, everywhere.
it's south of Durant OK. where I grew up
Do you have any videos of western NY? Is there a place where I could see list of all your videos...in order?
I have a playlist called “From The Beginning”, the second playlist down. It has all my travel videos in order. In answer to your question, we are heading to north and western NY next month. 😀
A very nice little town, old, just like me!
If you ever come through Sherman TX please give me a shout out. I’ll treat you to a beer/burger.
If one high tech company moved in , restored the buildings to suite their needs , this would return to a vital town. It has the railroad, is one hour from the metroplex, and if it’s airport’s runways were lengthened ,it would have a new life.
It’s well on its way to becoming a vital town. Suburban Dallas is continuing it’s march northward. It’ll be up there soon. In the meantime, now’s a good time to buy some real estate there.
Texas had the conditions to become the most excellent state in America. It seems that once politicians got power and they became crazy. It applies to blue states and red states. Right now, I always look over my shoulder when I travel to Texas for business. I fear that one day a Texas ranger knocked on my door and arrested me for assisting abortion. Because once before, I had dropped off a colleague.
@@JoeandNicsRoadTrip I agree. It's already considered part of Dallas and Fort Worth's CSA(consolidated statistical area). Read an article once talking about the Sherman/Denison area having a very bright future. I have no doubt that it will.
Check out Gainesboro Tn...my ancestors helped build...drive River Road to Dodson Branch...thanks!
We plan on it eventually!
The downside with a lot of the older victorian homes across the US is if they are kept close to their original condition on the inside, some of the rooms the doorways are so small and narrow that you can't get today's furniture or appliances in them. And being 2 or 3 stories high unless equipped with some type of stair climber or an elevator somewhat limits that home being bought by an aging person who doesn't do well with stairs. Quite a few of those old homes don't even have a 1/2 bath downstairs , so you're forced to hop up the staircase to take care of business , then you'd be spending quite a bit of $$ putting a downstairs bedroom in and at least 1 full bath down stairs. What surprised be about Denison is there's not a lot of grocery stores for a city of 22K plus the surrounding area. I don't think HEB has a foot print in that area, that'll have to change if that town is going to see a population increase..
HEB is a pharmacy?
how many miles did you put on the bronco?! im enjoying your videos very well done
Thank you for the kind words! As of right now, 39,300 miles.
There are some buildings worth saving, some are not. No matter how good our upkeep, things will eventually become too expensive to repair. While a lot of things were built to last in the past, we do have better building techniques and most buildings 100 years ago don't have the modern electrical/plumbing/air conditioning in them that people need today. We also know how to build better against earthquakes, flooding, tornados, and hurricanes than a hundred years ago.
There's a balancing act. I don't have enough info on the buildings in this video to make a judgment call.
Should be returned to nature, to earn carbon credits.
Try my grandfathers home town, Marquez, Texas. just a small town.
Come back and see what a year does and I invite to where you unknowingly were standing next to a brewery at Music Alley!
Have you been to Kermit, and or Wink Texas yet?
We've drove through them. Eyeballing them for a future video.
What were those railroad tracks. Did train service the area at one time?
I believe so.
Katy, UP, Texas Central, Texas Northeastern, Denison and Southwest and the Denison and Pacific all serviced the town at one time. Now it’s just UP.
Hotel Dennison renovations were paused March 2020 due to pandemic. They have FB for more info.
Hopefully they will get started again. That’s a great old building.
I'm pretty sure Eisenhower was only born in Denison. He grew up in Abilene KS where his presidential library is.
President Eisenhower left Denison soon after he was born there. I was born in Denison and my parents left soon also. There is a lot more history to Denison. I think there were at least two Presidents that stayed in that Grand hotel and there was a vibrant town farmers market just off Main Street. The Katy railroad is what made Denison.
Did you do a road trip to Hawaii and Alaska?
Not yet, this coming summer.
I like old buildings myself
You need to visit Marlin, TX!
Actually Eisenhower didn't grow up in Denison. His family moved north to Abilene, Kansas. He claimed Abilene as his hometown.
alildenison is where hes legit even from ever.
Born there in 1946. Denison is not dying and is being reincarnated as a far North suburb of Dallas. If you think it’s dying, just check the present real estate prices!
Crumbly (or in realtor speak, “Needs a little TLC”) house is on Redfin. $195k (Pending)
What's your plan now that you've been to 48 states? Relax before Hawaii and Alaska?
Oh, no, no relaxing, lol. We are starting our next phase of exploring the USA, this time smaller, more out of the way places like Tupelo, MS, Cody WY, Pierre, SD, etc.
@@JoeandNicsRoadTrip Nice, looking forward to it.
@@JoeandNicsRoadTrip i was wondering what the next phase was. I thought youd do a national lampoons European vacation.
Evidently, the storyteller has chosen to only show the bad buildings, not the revitalization and the industries that drive the community renovations and growth in the area.
Denison will not disappear anytime soon.
yes it gets hot in Texas.
Pretty sweet, m'Lord.
thanks I now know who was the 34 the president and the big house looks great I hope someone will fix it up
Why are you so bearish on Dennison - did you say it wouldn't exist in 10 years? It has actually been slowly growing; adding 3,000 people in the last 10 years. For the most part it is a fairly clean modest city.
He might it won't be the same in 10 years. Mainly meaning that dallas/ft. Worth will suxk it up
@@charleswillams9501 LOL - Dennison is 70+ miles north of Dallas! I agree that in 10 years Dallas will be bigger than it is now - but if Dallas were to expand its borders all the way around by ~ 70 miles it would then be the largest city the world has ever seen.
The grand old house has an asking price of 195K, sale pending.
Where are you from and born?
Tulsa.
@@JoeandNicsRoadTrip I did a stint in Altus in the late 90s any chance you'd be going through that town for no reason?
Our 34th president was born here; shows dumpster. Lol!
I believe Jeannie C Riley is from this Texas Town ?
She was born in Anson.
You know who’s land it belonged too.
There honoring the real owners🤫
The Irish?
just you wait, Dallas will eventually be coming to this small City!! buy real estate now! too close to DFW not to boom -
You’re right!
Shoot! I was waiting for you to climb onto the roof and look through those windows. Have you ever thought of becoming a Peeping Tom?
"here I am now on a tree branch overlooking......Mrs WIlsons bedroom not a lot of people walking around at 10am in the morning which is good for me although I normally have a gilly suit on when Im in the tree...anyway later on I will be going to the state capital and picking up the wife stay tuned for that video"
💕💕💕🇺🇸
👍😎🇨🇦
Guess I don't need to pay the $4 to see the D.D.E. house.
Get outside the Texas triangle - San Antonio - DFW - Houston - and most of Texas is dying small towns. A tale of two different states
Many, yes. But there is a steady flow of people toward the smaller towns, people who can work at home and who are fed up with big city crime, politics and expensive property.
Yet they still vote Republican. Go figure.
@@redriveral2764 census figures for at least half the counties in Texas don't agree with you..the only areas that are gaining rurally are currently exurban communities that are within a commuting distance to the outer rim of the triangle.
2nd 🥈
Hey there, Tasos!
@@JoeandNicsRoadTrip hey 👋😄
Pres. Eisenhower was born in a dumpster?
1st comment
You should have done your homework on the city. Lots going on here. Investors have put a lot of money in bringing the town back. Actually the Hotel Denison is being renovated. The overhead walkway was a catcall. This town has a long history of interesting stories you should really do a little research before saying it’s dead and will be gone in ten years.
better dead than red I ALWAYS SAID!
better vaxt than a heart attack.....oh wait....
no u are wrong Denison will not go away. bad vidio on your part.
Incorrect video and missing so much. Eisenhower did No grow up in Denison.
Cars parked on every spot and you call the town dead and nothing happening? and in 10 years it will be gone? C'mon dude quit being such a Debbie Downer!
bad vidio quit putting down Texas. bad video
Well if it keeps outsiders from moving here, he's done a good job!!!
bad vidio
614 house what a shame it was nice
2.74 gas here