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Parker County
Courthouse
©2007 Bill Morgan. All
rights reserved
PARKER COUNTY - My most unforgettable courthouse
trip was a Sunday drive to Weatherford to finish a painting of the Parker
County building.
First, apologies to the solid citizens who have
inhabited this historic old county since it was voted into existence by the
Texas Legislature on December 2, 1855 and to Wesley Clarke Dodson, who designed
seven courthouses between 1885 and 1899. Six of them were voted among the top
25 in my poll of courthouse viewers.
Despite Parker's pedigree, what
really made that day special was my traveling companion.
Scotty was a
Shetland sheepdog, but not one of those precious little 16-pound balls of fur
that prance around on a leash attached to some haughty grand dame. He was a
hulking, energetic 36-pound ball of fur who specialized in stepping on my feet,
whacking my head with his snout and cringing in fear at Pomeranians. He was my
granddog and, despite the havoc he created, he was the smartest dog there ever
was.
We got to the courthouse square before noon that warm, sunny
spring day, a perfect setting if I could find some elevation, the second or
third story of a building. It was Sunday, though, and Weatherford was closed.
Great luck. I spotted a dumpster in an alley behind a one-story
building that faced the courthouse. I set my painting gear on the dumpster and
climbed up. Now the big test, scaling five feet of vertical brick to the roof.
Up went the painting supplies. After three aborted attempts and a lot of
flailing, I followed.
I settled in at the front of the building and
began working. Now the barking started on a sleepy Sabbath in Weatherford.
Scotty asked--no, demanded--to be on the roof, too. He ran in circles in the
alley, refusing to be denied. I'm not sure if he was saying, "woof, woof" or
"roof, roof"--I told you he was the smartest dog there ever was. Anyhow,
whatever he was arguing, I blinked first.
Down I went from roof to
dumpster to alley. Lifting Scotty on the dumpster was relatively easy, as it
turned out. Lifting 220-something pounds of me was some harder, but I got
there. Now the challenge was to raise 36 squirming pounds of Sheltie over my
head to the roof. After a couple of failures, Scotty was set, looking back over
the roof, barking at me to get a move on. I grabbed, pulled and kicked, lifting
my face above roof level. Scotty began licking my nose. Down, up, lick,
drop-after about six tries I finally made it, sweat and dog lick dripping off
my face.
I settled in to work. Scotty examined our surroundings, then
lay down beside me. A minute or so later I glanced down at him. He was asleep.
The smartest dog there ever was napped until it was time to go home.
Buy A Print
11x17 prints on sturdy stock
of the Parker County Courthouse are available on my ordering page. The cost is
$20 for the first print and $16 for additional prints of this, or any of the
other 11 courthouses, purchased at the same time. (Add $3 for
shipping) |
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