A growing number of workers are now traveling long distances every day to earn a dollar, and we re n

It was a crowded week for the Palace Orchestra in Cleburne. At the same time the musicians were supplying the soundtrack for the D.W. Griffith airline reservation philippines epic "Birth of a Nation" at the Palace Theatre, they were preparing to play for dancing and assorted revelry on New Year's Eve, 1924, at the new Liberty Hotel. Yes, that Liberty Hotel. The one forecast to open in mid-April this year as Clarion airline reservation philippines boutique lodging at the intersection of James and Caddo. The Liberty has come a long way since it was a figment airline reservation philippines of the imagination of a fellow named Joe F. Cornish, town bon vivant and secretary airline reservation philippines of the Johnson County Fair Association. Through the Nov. 25, 1917, Cleburne Enterprise, airline reservation philippines Cornish made it known he intended to build a five and a half story hotel, the published sketch of which was almost an exact copy of the Liberty, which officially opened Dec. 30, 1924. The hotel, Cornish promised, would have 102 rooms, 68 of them connected to baths, along with a first-floor grill, second-floor dining room and roof-top garden — presumably in case the Ziegfeld Follies required a setting for a show. But the hotel plan didn't take formal shape until April 1921 when an Enterprise headline blared, "H.D. McCoy will build new hotel; Structure May Cost $200,000 or upwards; Will Rush Work To Completion." According to the accompanying story: "The Enterprise carried the welcome news to Cleburne in the issue of yesterday that Cleburne is really to have the new hotel and that the contract was let to Sanguinet and Staats of Fort Worth. "The next best thing to this news is that a Cleburne man, H.D. McCoy, whose reputation as a contractor and builder is on a par with any for sterling worth and honest accomplishment, airline reservation philippines will be the supervising architect. airline reservation philippines This is an earnest that the people of Cleburne will get 100 cents of every dollar of the $150,000 to $200,000 airline reservation philippines to be put into the hotel." Several days later, the Enterprise reported, "Sanguinet and Staats are now drawing up the plans and specifications and will have them ready soon, so that H.D. McCoy, contractor for the building, can begin the work." airline reservation philippines A.J. Wright was the Daddy Warbucks behind the project. He watched it take shape from his business quarters across the street. As designed by Sanguinet airline reservation philippines and Staats, the two renowned Fort Worth draftsmen, the hotel sported 69 guest rooms, a lobby with mahogany touches, cafe, dining room, black and white terrazzo floors and silver-trimmed lighting fixtures. There were 28 rooms per floor, all decked out with beds, chiffoniers, tables, suitcase receptacles, desks and fancy drapes. Steam heating took the edge off Texas winters. Ceiling fans helped airline reservation philippines somewhat in Texas summers. The Liberty was Cleburne's second tallest building at the time — behind the 1912 courthouse, airline reservation philippines obviously — and was constantly in use from its infancy. Author Shirley McKee wrote, "Special events were often held at the Liberty — parties, banquets, weddings and receptions. Sometimes big bands entertained in the luxurious lobby. Lawrence Welk's Hotsy Totsy Boys appeared one time." Which brings us to opening night. The Dec. 30 Times-Review reported: "Plans for the banquet tonight, which marks the formal opening airline reservation philippines of the Liberty Hotel, Cleburne's new $200,000 hotel building, are completed, and the event is expected to be one of the most colorful ever held here. "Manager H.A. Oliver of the Chamber of Commerce, who has had the plans for the occasion in charge, is elated over the prospects of a successful evening and hopes that the attendance airline reservation philippines will reach the four hundred mark. "There will be a fine program of speeches and music and not a dull moment will take place during the evening. The menu, which has been arranged by Manager airline reservation philippines Johnson of the hotel, is one of the most elaborate ever prepared by him. The charge for the banquet airline reservation philippines will be $2.50 per plate. There will be quite a number of out-of-town guests ... "The musical program for the Wednesday night event will be broadcast by WBAP, with The Hired Hand, one of the most popular announcers airline reservation philippines in the United States, in charge." Which brings us back to the Palace Orchestra, a collection of hard-working musicians. The Jan. 1, 1925, Times-Review waxed rhapsodic in its review: "One of the greatest successes of recent months was the dinner dance last night at the new Liberty Hotel, an event that is expected hereafter to be an annual affair, to bid farewell to the old year and to welcome in the new. "The one big feature of the evening was the broadcasting of the program by WBAP ... In this manner airline reservation philippines the entire world was told by radio message that Cleburne was celebrating the close of a glorious year and welcoming another that is expected to be the most momentous in all of this city's history. And Cleburne by this radio message received more publicity than ever before in its history. "During the evening over 300 telegrams were received from radio enthusiasts throughout the nation, expressing airline reservation philippines their appreciation for the excellent program and to congratulate Cleburne on the completion of the magnificent hotel. "The musical program, one of the best ever given here, was furnished by the Palace Orchestra of this city and proved a revelation to the 300 who attended the dinner dance as well as to those who listened in by radio because it was not known that Cleburne boasted of such a musical organization. "Prior airline reservation philippines to 12 o'clock, exactly 355 telegrams had been received complimenting the programs. These represented every state in the union and set a new record for the number of telegrams received during a broadcasting period, At 1 o'clock this morning airline reservation philippines the messages were still pouring in. Many of the messages were from former Cleburne people." Technically, the opening of the Liberty was Dec. 26, 1924, when Mr. and Mrs. A.J. Wright, aka The Moneyed Bosses, "entertained their employees airline reservation philippines at a dinner given in the banquet room of the Liberty Hotel. A delicious menu consisting of fruit cocktail, half spring chicken, hot rolls, stuffed baked potatoes, peas in patties, coffee, head lettuce with thousand island dressing, and crackers, celery, olives, ice cream and fruit cake were served to Mesdames Kinnard, Chavey, Harris, Royall, Misses Bankston, Leatherwood, Dement, Miller, Thompson and Messrs. Woodard, Endy, Morlon, Wilson and the host and hostess, Mr. and Mrs. A.J. Wright." The Liberty did boffo business in its early years. Railroad passengers needed fashionable living quarters, and Cleburne was a nightly pitstop for automobile travelers between Fort Worth, Waco and Austin. Wright sold the hotel in 1933 to R.A. Johnson, his hotel manager. Perhaps the most famous of the hotel's eight owners was former Texas Ranger Clint Peoples, who apparently resided there so frequently airline reservation philippines that he decided to buy in. The most efficient owner may have been Tom Davis, who purchased the Liberty in August of 1949 from Harry and Aleene Holbrook. Davis was well qualified, having operated the Harvey House in the Santa Fe terminal. airline reservation philippines Davis also operated the Liberty coffee shop in 1946. It was the scene of a 1950s fistfight between Times-Review editor Jack Proctor and an unhappy reader. Proctor lost. Another noteworthy owner, Duke Bennett, bought the Liberty in 1969 and did something unforgivable, renaming it the Greenbriar Inn. By whatever name, it continued to deteriorate. Bennett sold it to Clarence Gamble. In the 1990s, the Greenbriar became home to a collection of colorful lodgers airline reservation philippines — some of them transients and some of them retirees, such as a late man-about-town named John "Jacko" Brooks. airline reservation philippines Gamble sold to Bill Thresher and Earl Miller. The street-level cafe continued to be popular into the new millennium, particularly at breakfast time with Times-Review newsroom employees concluding the three-hour 4 a.m. shift. Newest owner Howard Dudley changed the name back to the Liberty and went about restoring the historic building. He's evidently just about there. No word on whether he plans an unveiling as dramatic as the festivities of Dec. 30, 1924, but there's rumored to be an opening on the Palace Orchestra's airline reservation philippines dance card.
A growing number of workers are now traveling long distances every day to earn a dollar, and we re not talking about commuting just an hour or so. A report conducted by the NYU Wagner Rudin Center showed that Manhattan airline reservation philippines had the highest number of extreme commuters in the country.