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13 unusual facts about Abilene


39th Airlift Squadron

The 39th Airlift Squadron (39 AS) is a United States Air Force unit based at Dyess Air Force Base, Abilene, Texas.

819th RED HORSE squadron

Originally activated at Abilene, Texas, the unit has been active and inactive at several different bases over the last 55 years.

Abilene Network

The name Abilene was chosen because of the project's resemblance, in ambition and scope, to the railhead in Abilene, Kansas, which in the 1860s represented the frontier of the United States for the nation's railroad infrastructure.

Grady McWhiney

He founded the Grady McWhiney Research Foundation, located in Abilene, Texas.

KAFW

KAFW-LP, a low-power television station (channel 48) licensed to Abilene, Texas, United States

KSWO-TV

KSWO has broadcast the annual West Texas Rehabilitation Center telethon from Abilene each year since 1971.

Luna 2

That sphere is located at the Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum in Abilene, Kansas.

Marvin Essor

A successful NCAA college athlete, Essor was a 7-time All-American and 4-Time National Champion while attending Abilene Chrisitan University in Abilene, Texas.

Robert Dean Hunter

In 1986 Hunter became the first Republican since the Reconstruction Era to represent Abilene, Texas, in the Texas Legislature, where he served until retiring in 2006 from the Texas House of Representatives.

Sam R. Heller

Sam Raymond Heller (1892 - 1969) was born in the Pearl community southeast of Abilene, Kansas.

Sayon Cooper

He is a graduate of Abilene Christian University in Abilene, Texas where he earned the 1997 NCAA Division II championship in both the 100 m and 200 m dashes.

Sharpstown scandal

Mutscher, Shannon and Rush McGinty (one of Mutscher's aides) were indicted by the SEC in late 1971 and tried in Abilene in 1972.

United Supermarkets

There are five regions for store locations: the Lubbock region has 18 stores, the Amarillo region has 13 stores, the Wichita Falls region has eight stores, the Abilene region has five stores, and the Dallas region has six stores.


Abila

Abila Lysaniou, capital of ancient Abilene, northwest of Damascus, Syria

Abilene paradox

The term was introduced by management expert Jerry B. Harvey in his article The Abilene Paradox: The Management of Agreement.

Abilene Trail

Its exact route is disputed owing to its many offshoots, but it crossed the Red River just east of Henrietta, Texas, and continued north across the Indian Territory to Caldwell, Kansas and on past Wichita and Newton to Abilene.

In the year 1872, Wichita was in possession of the trade that Abilene had enjoyed for several years prior due to the completion of the Santa Fe railroad.

Anarene, Texas

Director Peter Bogdanovich intended the film as an homage to Howard Hawks' Red River, set in Abilene, Kansas, and chose the name Anarene to evoke a correspondence.

Developments in Abilene, Texas

Smoothie King - Also located in Shops at Abilene, in the same building as James Avery

Jane Gilmore Rushing

Her works are the subject of Jane Gilmore Rushing: A West Texas Writer and Her Work, a book by Lou Halsell Rodenberger, former professor of English at McMurry University in Abilene, Texas.

Jerry Abbott

Jerry Bob Abbott (born April 8, 1944) in Abilene, Texas, is a country music songwriter and record producer from Pantego, Texas.

John Wesley Hardin

On August 6, 1871, in Abilene, Dickinson County, Kansas, Charles Cougar was killed in the American House Hotel.

Kidz

KIDZ-LD, a low-power television station in Abilene, Texas, U.S.

Sam R. Heller

Heller was also a friend of Dwight D. Eisenhower and helped make arrangements for Eisenhower’s visits to Abilene.

Shamrock Basketball Association

Included in these locations are the following Texas cities: Dallas, Fort Worth, Forney, Richardson, Irving, Tyler, Longview, Conroe, College Station, Waco, Houston, San Antonio, Austin, Lubbock, Abilene, and Midland.

Texas Department of Criminal Justice

The TDCJ's regional prisoner transportation hubs are located in Abilene, Amarillo, Beeville, Huntsville, Palestine, and Rosharon.

Texas State Highway 1

Known as the Texarkana, Dallas, Fort Worth and El Paso Highway, it crossed from Arkansas at Texarkana and ran west through Dallas, Fort Worth, Albany, Abilene, Big Spring and Van Horn to end in El Paso.

Texas State Technical College System

TSTC also operates campuses in Harlingen (with a branch in Ingleside), Marshall (with a branch in Red Oak to open in 2014), and West Texas (with campuses in Abilene, Breckenridge, Brownwood, and Sweetwater), as well as TSTC Corporate College, which operates customized training programs for specific industries.

The Grace Museum

The collection originated with the Abilene Fine Arts Museum in 1937, and has grown since its inception to include recent acquisitions by James Surls, Andy Warhol, David Bates, Helen Altman, Russell Lee, Bob Stuth-Wade, Vernon Fisher and others.

Wylie, Taylor County, Texas

Wylie ISD has five schools - Wylie Early Childhood Center (Pre-Kindergarten), Wylie Elementary School (Grades K-2), Wylie Intermediate School (Grades 3-5), Wylie Junior High School (Grades 6-8), and Wylie High School (Grades 9-12).