A plaque remaining from the Big Apple Night Club at West 135th Street and Seventh Avenue in Harlem.

Above, a 1934 plaque from the Big Apple Night Club at West 135th Street and Seventh Avenue in Harlem. Discarded as trash in 2006. Now a Popeyes fast food restaurant on Google Maps.

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“Shoutout to ATM fees for making me buy my own money” (3/27)
“Thank you, ATM fees, for allowing me to buy my own money” (3/27)
“Anyone else boil the kettle twice? Just in case the boiling water has gone cold…” (3/27)
“Shout out to ATM fees for making me buy my own money” (3/27)
20-20-20 Rule (for eyes) (3/27)
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Entry from January 27, 2007
Town Without a Frown (Happy slogan)

Yes, there is a town called Happy, Texas. It’s slogan is “The Town Without a Frown.” Of course!
 
 
Handbook of Texas Online
HAPPY, TEXAS. Happy, on U.S. Highway 87 in northern Swisher County, derived its name from nearby Happy Draw, so named because cowboys were elated to find water there. In 1891 Hugh Currie established a homestead and post office on the trail by the draw, and a stagecoach exchange station also operated at this location. In 1906 the Santa Fe Railroad extended its line south from Canyon and bypassed Happy. Promoters laid out a town by the tracks two miles to the west, and their efforts attracted settlers from the Midwest. At the new site, Plains Lumber and Grain Company was the first business to be established, J. F. White opened the first general store, and the Happy News began publication. By 1907 the post office had been moved to the new town, and a one-room dwelling had been rented for the first school. The First State Bank of Happy was chartered in 1908. Telephone service was ushered in, originally from a switch at the Currie farm and later from a telephone exchange in town. The first brick building was Mose Wesley’s auto repair shop, erected in 1913. In August 1925 Happy was incorporated with P. J. Neff as mayor and Tom Bandy and William F. Miller as commissioners. During the 1920s new school facilities were built and a volunteer fire department was organized. By 1940 the town reported a population of 576, and two grain elevators constituted the skyline. In 1984 Happy had a population of 674 and twenty-seven businesses, most of them related to farming. The number of businesses dropped to fourteen and the residents to 588 by 1990. In 2000 the population had increased to 647, and there were forty-eight businesses in the town. Happy uses the slogan “the town without a frown.”
   
ePodunk: Happy, Texas
Happy
“The Town Without a Frown”
 
Happy is a town in Swisher County. (The community straddles Swisher and Randall counties; ePodunk links to the county with the greater share of population.)
The town was originally named “Happy Draw,” by cowboys elated to find water here
The latitude of Happy is 34.743N. The longitude is -101.854W. It is in the Central Standard time zone. Elevation is 3,615 feet.
The estimated population, in 2003, was 629. 
   
Wikipedia: Happy, Texas
Happy is a town in Swisher County, Texas, United States. The population was 647 at the 2000 census.
(...)
A 1999 movie named Happy, Texas and starring Jeremy Northam, Steve Zahn, Aly Walker, Ileana Douglas and William H. Macy was NOT shot primarily in its namesake town. However, you get a brief shot of a replica of a sign that welcomes visitors to Happy as the characters in the movie enter Happy.
A VISA Card commercial filmed in the mid 1990’s featuring United Supermarkets makes a mention that the Supermarket chain is located “Not far from ‘The Town Without a Frown.’”
 
Amazon.com
Happy: The Town Without A Frown T-shirt by SHOPZEUS
Buy new:  $17.95 - $21.95
   
Houston Chronicle
April 30, 2004, 11:21AM
Happy, Texas
By JEFF MILLAR
 
You could insert Happy, Texas into the Webster’s Millennial Dictionary as the illustration for “predictable.” But that doesn’t keep the film from being genial and sweetly goofy.
(...)
The folks think of themselves as, well, a happy lot. A sign at the edge of town says Happy’s the Town Without a Frown. They may live in a small town, a small Texas town, but by golly, they’re not provincial and they’re out to prove it. Not that many people in Happy have had that much experience with gay people, and they’re not exactly sure how to be nice to gay people, but by golly, if they make a mistake, they’re going to err on the side of nice. 
 
yellowdog granny
Monday, May 22, 2006
CATCH PHRASES AND OTHER SHIT
I found this article in my DAM NEWS yesterday and thought it was cute/funny/weird enough to pass along…
(...)
TOP TEXAS SLOGANS (SO THEY SAY)
1. WHEN YEE-HAH MEETS OLE…EAGLE PASS
2. KEEP AUSTIN WEIRD…AUSTIN
3. LOSE YOUR HEART TO THE HILLS..KERRYVILE
4. THE TOWN WITHOUT A FROWN..HAPPY
5. WHERE THE STARS COME OUT TO PLAY ....FORT DAVIS

Posted by Barry Popik
Texas (Lone Star State Dictionary) • Saturday, January 27, 2007 • Permalink


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