picture of Alpine Texas'Theophilus' Shopper's Guide Press 1940s & '50s    picture of Alpine Texas'Theophilus' Shopper's Guide Press 1940s & '50s     picture of Alpine Texas'Theophilus' Shopper's Guide Press 1940s & '50s  

Some of my Dad's original type (right)

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  Alpine, Texas 1940's  

picture of Theophilus' Office building - Shoppers Guide Press  picture of Theophilus' Office building - Shoppers Guide Press  picture of Theophilus' Office building - Shoppers Guide Press

In 1943 Peg & Oliver Theophilus moved to Alpine with Peggy Anne, as Ollie was serving in the Army Air Corp at the Marfa Army Air Base. 

View Martin Mom's letter about first day in Alpine (moving from Ohio) February 15, 1943Page 1  Page 2  

When the war ended, they went back to Ohio.  After a short time they decided that they missed the Alpine area and folks they'd come to know (Ohio winters helped the decision as well). When Ollie returned to Alpine a huge snow storm had come through and the train station had burned down.  They moved anyway. Mr. & Mrs Crerar (Peg's parents) said they would move from Cleveland, Ohio as well IF Peg & Ollie had a red haired boy.  On April 8, 1946 Buddy (Martin) was born and shortly thereafter the Crerars did move to Alpine.  

Ollie first worked as a book keeper for LaBeff Motors.  He also soon became a printer and he & Peg (with the help of all the family members) began turning out the Shoppers Guide Press ad publication (see below).  Ollie later added the San Angelo, El Paso and Odessa newspaper delivery service.  This included picking up the Odessa papers in Monahans during the week and delivering them to Imperial, Grandfalls, Balmorphea, Ft. Davis, Marfa, Alpine and Marathon.  On Saturday night, the Sunday Odessa paper was picked up at the Odessa press office and again distributed around West Texas.  Peggy and Buddy both drove the routes around the area and were accompanied by numerous friends (John King, Tom Karvonen, Kathy Karvonen, Sue Bradford, Carol Avant, George Cooley, Robert Graham and others).

Peg earned a couple of masters degrees at Sul Ross and taught school in Marathon, as well as art, wood working, pottery, jewelry, painting and leather work classes in Alpine.   The family added magazine and book distribution services and eventually opened the office as a book and Hallmark card shop.


Previously I'd included one issue of my parents' Shopper's Guide. While going through boxes of old family documents, I found many of the early issues. So I've digitized them. They provide an interesting perspective of the businesses in Alpine from the late 1940's to the early '50's. My Mom created the artwork and you'll notice "art by Peg Theophilus" on some of the issues. I don't know all the details, however it seems they joined the Alpine Chamber of Commerce and the business ads were to promote Alpine businesses. These "Guides" were mailed out to some 1,500 folks at some point. When I was 3 in 1949, Dr. Lockhart sent me to El Paso for an exam of a large mass in the abdomen. It turned out to be a Welms tumor. It and my left kidney were removed November 5, 1949. Thus the gap in the Shopper's Guide issues for November, December 1949 and January 1950. I remember everyone including my grandparents, the Crerars, gathering around tables in our living room putting the issues together.

This group of issues (and I'll add more if I find them) begins with their initial mockup. Everything including the lettering was hand drawn with some typed date and issue numbers, then content later.

Their initial issues included many of Alpine long time businesses including: Adams' "M" System; Alpine Appliance; Alpine Butane; Alpine Cash Grocery; Alpine Drug Store; Alp Inn; Alpine Iron Works; Alpine Lumber Company; Alpine Package Store; Alpine Super Market; Big Bend Drug; Big Bend Feed; Big Bend Motors; Big Bend Nursery; Big Bend Photo and Curio Shop; Big Bend Plumbing; Brewster County Motors; C.G. Morrison; Chambers Appliance; City Drug; Coats Optometry; Conner's Laundry; Cross & Cross; Delux Cleaners; Elite Beauty Shop; Gard's Concrete; Granada Theater; Green Cafe; Henderson; Henry Bailey Motor Company; Hord Motors; J.C. Penney; Kandy Kitchen; King Beauty Shop; King Butane; LaBeff-Ritter Motors; Linn's; Mac's Drive-in; Model Cleaners; Nelon's Locker Plant; Norilla's Gift Shop; Oasis Flowers; Pop's Place; Shepperd Jewelers; Smith Furniture; Stambaugh Auto; Storey-Whiteside Lumber; Stucke's Mobilgas; Texas Cafe; The Fabric Shop; The Holland Hotel; The Model Shop; Newsom Electric; Texas Mattress; Toltec Cafe; Treadwell Lumber; Valerie; Western Auto;Williams and Vogt Grocery; White's Highland Village; Winter Cleaners; Wright's Hospital; and many more.

Some interesting items include:

Movies at the Granada (beginning January 16, 1947);

KVLF radio programming (beginning January 16, 1947);

Air conditioning at the Texas Cafe (April 23, 1947);

Alpine Cowboy baseball games (May 20, 1948)

J.C. Penney Co. held a grand opening on April 9, 1948. Remember the pulley delivery system from the front to upstairs?

Antelope Lodge opens  (August 5, 1948)

Shoppers Guide now Alpine and Marfa (December 2, 1948)

Dairy Queen (April 7, 1949)

Drive In Theater - Marfa Highway west of second underpass (June 30, 1949)

New modernized City Drug Grand Opening (July 28, 1949)

Alpine Lumber Company celebrates newly remodeled home - since 1906 (May 31, 1950)

White's Highland Village (October 1, 1950)

Some interesting events:

Alpine Air Mail service to begin February 21, 1948;

Meeting to create tri-county Public Health Unit March 8 '48;

May 20, '48 T. J. Tidwell Carnival;

Second Annual Alpine Rodeo May 14, 15 and 16,1948;

Eventually they began picking up ads from Marfa, then Fort Davis. By April 8, 1948 circulation coverage included: Alpine, Fort Davis, Marathon, Marfa, Presidio, Sanderson, the Big Bend Park and area ranches. The art and layouts improved over time.

Click on the Shopper's Guide cover, or the link below to view the full issue.

1946 original mockup

November, 1946

December 4, 1946

December 11, 1946

December 18, 1946

January 16, 1947

January 30, 1947

February 13, 1947

February 27, 1947

April 10, 1947

April 23, 1947

May 6, 1947

May 22, 1947

June 5, 1947

June 19, 1947

July 2, 1947

July 17, 1947

August 6, 1947

August 21, 1947

September 4, 1947

September 18, 1947

October 2, 1947

October 16, 1947

November 4, 1947

November 20, 1947

December 4, 1947

December 18, 1947

January 8, 1948

January 22, 1948

February 5, 1948

February 19, 1948

March 4, 1948

March 18, 1948

April 8, 1948

April 22, 1948

May 6, 1948

 

May 20, 1948

 

June 5, 1948

June 17, 1948

 

July 1, 1948

July 15, 1948

August 5, 1948

September 15, 1948

October 7, 1948

November 11, 1948

November 22, 1948

December 2, 1948

December 18, 1948

January 27, 1949

February 10, 1949

February 24, 1949

March 10, 1949

March 24, 1949

April 7, 1949

April 28, 1949

May 12, 1949

May 26, 1949

June 30, 1949

July 28, 1949

August 29, 1949

September 15, 1949

October 5, 1949

October 20, 1949

November, December 1949

and January 1950

Not published

February 28, 1950

March 30, 1950

May 1, 1950

May 31, 1950

July 1, 1950

August 1, 1950

September 1, 1950

October 1, 1950

November 1, 1950

December 1, 1950

December 15, 1950

 

March 1951

April 1951

May 1951

June 1951

August 1, 1951

September 1951

 

December 1, 1951

 

December 1951

February 12, 1952

     

picture of Alpine Texas'Theophilus' Shopper's Guide Press 1940s & '50s   

Complimentary theater pass from Granada Theater's Fred Jack for ads in Shopper's Guide Press

picture of Peg & Oliver Theophilus on Texas coast

Also see Marfa, Texas page

 

picture of Alpine Texas'Theophilus' Shopper's Guide Press 1940s & '50s    picture of Alpine Texas'Theophilus' Shopper's Guide Press 1940s & '50s  picture of Alpine Texas'Theophilus' Shopper's Guide Press 1940s & '50s

 

  Alpine •  Marfa, Texas