Who Needs Seeds? LbNA #44891
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Add Location| Owner: | Lone Star Quilter  |
|---|---|
| Plant date: | Dec 6, 2008 |
| Location: | |
| City: | Knox City |
| County: | Knox |
| State: | Texas |
| Boxes: | 1 |
| Found by: | Silver Eagle |
|---|---|
| Last found: | Sep 7, 2018 |
| Status: | FFF |
| Last edited: | Dec 6, 2008 |
Alongside Texas 222, between Knox City and Munday, the wind-whipped West Texas plains are interrupted by a tall sign bearing a vivid stylized watermelon crescent. The watermelon slice on the sign that announces the headquarters of the Johnson Melon Corp. has a single bite taken out of it, but there are no black seeds punctuating the melon's brilliant red. It wasn't an oversight by the sign maker. This stretch of arid land north of Abilene is the cradle of the seedless watermelon, and Knox City has the late Donald Johnson to thank for its title (officially proclaimed by the Texas Legislature ) as the Seedless Watermelon Capital of Texas. The story has the resonance of a fable: Donald Johnson and his wife, Kay, like their families before them, started out growing cotton and wheat, which are still the main crops in this arid West Texas ranching country. In the late `70s, Donald decided to put in a couple of acres of watermelons. At first he sold them out of his garage, but he began to expand his watermelon acreage in the early `80s. Then, one day, "a little man drove up in a van," says Donald's 42-year-old son Dwayne. "He got out and had a bag of seed. It was the man that invented the seedless watermelon, Dr. (O.J.) Eigsti, from Goshen, Ind. He said, `This is seedless-watermelon seed; would you be interested in trying it?' The rest is history. While you’re in Knox City, look for the old painted tractors decorating the roadsides and the beautiful murals painted on the sides of buildings in the downtown area.
Directions:
This box is located in Knox County, at a roadside park picnic area on Highway 6 five miles north of Knox City. Pull in and park.
To the box:
At the back of the park, old mower blades are being used to make a fence of sorts, or at least a boundary for the park. From the first blade closest to the highway at the south end of the park, count 29 blades. The box is at the base of a mesquite, hidden by limbs and grass. This is obviously a public area, but so remote that chances are you’ll be alone here. If not, please use stealth so that the box remains safe.
Directions:
This box is located in Knox County, at a roadside park picnic area on Highway 6 five miles north of Knox City. Pull in and park.
To the box:
At the back of the park, old mower blades are being used to make a fence of sorts, or at least a boundary for the park. From the first blade closest to the highway at the south end of the park, count 29 blades. The box is at the base of a mesquite, hidden by limbs and grass. This is obviously a public area, but so remote that chances are you’ll be alone here. If not, please use stealth so that the box remains safe.