Burd on the Wire

Like a Burd on the Wire

This April, I intend traveling to the little town I was born in, Miles, Texas. Located on U.S. Highway 67, Farm Road 2872, and the Santa Fe Railroad, in southwestern Runnels County, the town has also been known as Miles City. It had a population of a little more than 800 in 1942, a figure which continues to hover around that same amount today. It was named for Jonathan Miles. He was well to do to the extent that he could donate $5,000 toward extending the railroad from Ballinger to San Antonio. There is currently a rejuvenation of sorts taking place there. The opera house has been restored and is now on the national registry. Other buildings are being restored also.

In the year of my birth, my parents were migrant farm workers, camping in the middle of a cotton patch. An old retired doctor was called from home to deliver me. I suspect he could neither hear nor see or hear very well. He got some items wrong on my birth certificate, including name spelling. My given first name, Charles, is legally Charley. My mother's name was transposed from Sylvia to Silvey. It's not a priority to correct it.

We soon moved on, never to return.

As I grow older, and my family history gets filled out on the MyFamily website, I grow increasingly anxious to view the land where I first took to breathing and using up the valuable resources of this great land. I am not an experienced traveler, in the modern sense. When still in my teens, through most of my twenties, I roamed extensively, but by thumb and rail almost exclusively. I am looking for tips from others on how to ensure my visit will be a great experience.