Comments on: THE LAST WORDS OF BIG TEX…

By: meminc

meminc — Fri, 11 Jun 2021 00:40:55 +0000

In reply to Andrew S Hatton. thanks Andrew. I interviewed him 4 times before Kim called me and told me that he passed away the night before. So I ended up interviewing her for a couple of hours to wrap it up.

By: Andrew S Hatton

Andrew S Hatton — Thu, 10 Jun 2021 20:00:05 +0000

Thank you – a great write up that has allowed me to learn something of Bill and Kim Bragg’s story and that of Yesterday USA radio, which I first listened to many years ago when I began exploring Internet Radio stations from here in Essex, UK.

I had a time away from YUSA & when I came back could not work out what had happened – it seems as if the various websites have not made things clear but apparently Bill and Kim cleared the way for the broadcasts to continue mostly from California.

Searchin on Twitter I found a very recent post from Mike Wolfe and others of the American Pickers program which we get here in the UK usually showing many years later. It seems there has been a fairly recent broadcast of a program where Bill and Kim’s home in Richardson was “picked” by them.

It is sad for Kim – I do hope she is able to achieve a settled situation now she is needing to adjust to life without Bill – he must be a very big miss.

By: pheckmann

pheckmann — Sun, 30 Aug 2020 20:02:02 +0000

In reply to Scott Dorn. thanks, definitely an intriguing fella

By: Scott Dorn

Scott Dorn — Sun, 30 Aug 2020 02:43:40 +0000

Paul, this was a great interview. Well done. Sorry I couldn’t have met the man. Sounded like a great guy.

Scott

By: pheckmann

pheckmann — Sun, 01 Mar 2020 13:36:48 +0000

In reply to Lucille Cumming. Thank you so much Lucille. An interview is seldom interesting without an interesting subject and I didnt have to try hard working with Bill

By: Lucille Cumming

Lucille Cumming — Tue, 25 Feb 2020 16:15:27 +0000

I sort of met Bill the same way Kim did, but not quite. I am a fan of old time radio shows and found his station online. I began listening for as much time as I could. Then I began calling in. Then donating money to help keep the show going. Then donating items for people to bid on when he held his auctions. We became friends. One year my husband and I drove to Richardson, Texas to finally visit Bill and Kim in person. Well, let me tell you, you couldn’t have asked for a set of better friends than Bill and Kim. They gave us a tour of the house and the items he collected was phenomenal.
Then, we got into Bills car with Kim and Bill took off. Now, my husband and I always wanted to visit where President Kennedy was shot and Bill was very willing and able to take us there. My husband got into the front seat and Kim and I sat in the back. You couldn’t have asked for a better guide than Bill. As we were approaching the area, Bill began his guide tour announcing. “Okay, we are approaching the depository. You can see up there where Oswald was hiding out. Now we are approaching the spot when the shots rang out…..BOOM! So now I will take you on the exact route they took the president.” Before we knew it, we were at the emergency entrance for the hospital that I don’t think they ever changed the sign for..
Bill proceeds to say, ” Now I am going to take you to Rubys bar, and the police entrance where Oswald was murdered. There is the hotel that President Kennedy stayed the final night of his life.” Next Bill whipped around town and before you knew it, we were at the spot where Oswald lived, but was torn down due to all the tourists appearing. Afterwards, we were in town at the theater where Oswald was captured. Now mind you, in between all of this, Bill pulls over to the side and begins to do his show right from the front seat of his car. Well, my husband, Rich, and I were totally blown away with it all. He even announced that we were in the car and that my husband and I were with him visiting from New York.
I, to this day, tell everyone about that wonderful man and his wife. I will never ever forget this great giant of a man. I miss him and we were so devastated by his passing. I do miss his voice on the radio. It is not the same. No one can hold a candle to him. Your article, or short novel, is grand. You covered so much of this mans life. His knowledge and love for country, radio shows and such are something to hold on to. You captured Bill as he truly was. Thank you for this article. I think we all needed it, not only for knowledge of Bill, but also for some closure for Bill. He is and was one of a kind.

By: pheckmann

pheckmann — Wed, 27 Nov 2019 22:36:34 +0000

In reply to Robert Chambers. thanks, I was not expecting this to happen to Bill at all when the first interviews started nearly a year ago. But I think it underscores why we do what we do at Memories of Dallas. Documenting our history piece by piece, through thier own words. A snapshot that would have been lost forever. God bless ya!

By: Robert Chambers

Robert Chambers — Wed, 27 Nov 2019 17:04:40 +0000

Fascinating story, I knew a bit about Bill from the Big Tex thing at the fair and also you’d hear him on the radio once in a while but you’ve rounded out a very cursory knowledge to really let us know what he was like as a man. I never saw him in person but he seemed like a giant among men literally and personality wise.

Thanks for taking the time to get some of this history down and I hope Kim does well with whatever she decides to do in the future.

By: pheckmann

pheckmann — Fri, 04 Oct 2019 21:17:05 +0000

In reply to Raymond McCallum. thank you brother. And once I get caught up with all the stories I am working on, I fully intend to do the History of Martial Arts in Greater Dallas. I cant wait to sit down with folks like you, Troy and Allen Steen, boxers like James Helwig, BJJ like Carlos Machado and so many others.

By: Raymond McCallum

Raymond McCallum — Fri, 04 Oct 2019 20:30:38 +0000

Paul Heckmann, That was one heck of a story about one heck of a guy, Big Bill Bragg, the Big Tex we all grew up with & still Love!! Thanks great story Paul.