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Serial #0033
From
the Ruins Wall Cabinet
In the grass country of the eastern Texas
Panhandle, prairie fires are feared as much as tornadoes. Old abandoned
homesteads that survived the Dust Bowl and the ravages of yearly storms can be
reduced to piles of scorched tin and baling wire by a wind-driven wildfire.
Corral boards, their ends charred, are the lone leftovers of a galloping fire in Lipscomb County. Re-sawn to reduce weight, the boards are matched up with some of the last scraps of turquoise trim out of the old Hostutler house to form the case and door for the From the Ruins Wall Cabinet. A rusted-out 30-gallon oil drum yielded just enough purple painted tin for the door panels. The door pull is a lightning rod cable bracket. Come to think of it, lightning was probably the cause of the fire that burned the corral.