The Bright Lights of Muleshoe

Thirty-eight years in Muleshoe, Texas, has gifted me with a wealth of stories about the people, places, and history of our little town in the Blackwater Valley. But as time goes by, these priceless stories and town history are often lost forever as the people who know the details die and take their history to the grave with them. The Bright Lights of Muleshoe is a repository of West Texas lore set in a place with a name as unique as its people-Muleshoe. From a great newspaper sting to the travels of a fiberglass mule, this book tells the rich history of small-town life. But you don't have to be from Muleshoe to enjoy these stories because the common denominator in each and every one is the human experience.

"Stories of intrigue and history define so many small towns in our Texas, and Muleshoe has a unique version of its own. From the life-size statue of "Ol' Pete," the memorial to a mule, to the many individuals who have claimed this town on the Llano Estacado their home, The Bright Lights of Muleshoe gives insight into this island upon an ocean of land." -WYMAN MEINZER, award-winning photographer

"As its tongue-in-cheek title suggests, The Bright Lights of Muleshoe offers a refreshing take on small-town life in remote West Texas. The collection of entertaining, well-researched stories ranges from the origin of one of the state's oldest Mexican restaurants to the shock-and-awe experience of latter-day dust storms. Profiles of local personalities reveal an area where residents value hard work, honesty, and humor. An accomplished photographer, the author illustrates this delightful compilation with numerous color photographs." -NOLA MCKEY, former senior editor of Texas Highways and author of From Tea Cakes to Tamales: Third-Generation Texas Recipes

"Meet the people and places of Muleshoe, Texas, through the eyes of Alice Liles. If you have never heard of Muleshoe you will want to visit the place with a most unusual name and see the National Mule Memorial, the Muleshoe Heritage Foundation, the Muleshoe Area Public Library, and the Muleshoe National Wildlife Refuge, the first established in the state of Texas. If you are from Muleshoe, you'll love the stories about your hometown. The people of Muleshoe make a difference!" -MAGANN RENNELS, Owner of Gil Lamb Advertising/Channel 6, www.muleshoetv.com

"Bravo to Alice Liles for capturing the broader texture of small-town America through the stories from her adopted home on the Texas High Plains. One has to chuckle at the thought of how poetic the name of the town would have been had the founders named it "Jennyslipper" instead of "Muleshoe." -GERALD E. MCLEOD, Author of Day Trips for the Austin Chronicle