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(gentle music) - Today we're gettin' Fandangled in a small town that's big on Texas tradition.

We'll sip suds in a vintage soda shop and eat steak in the historic Icehouse.

From artsy old jails to historic forts and thundering herds, it all culminates in Texas's oldest outdoor musical right here in Albany!

Home of the Herefords.

Which is exactly what we're here fer.

No, didn't work?

- No.

- I tried.

All right, back in the truck!

Hey, watch the traffic.

(exciting banjo music) (rock music) Albany sits two hours west of Fort Worth, and half an hour from Abilene.

This is Texas's big country.

So if you Google Albany, this is not the first town that pops up, but that's probably a good thing because it's allowed this Albany to stay one of Texas's best hidden gems.

And now of the whopping three towns that are here in Shackleford County, Albany is the biggest, which I understand isn't saying a whole lot, but you're gonna be surprised.

Guys, there's still plenty here to have yourself a good old fashioned fandangle.

Woo hoo!

That'll make sense in a little while.

Yee haw!

Anybody wanna guess how many Albany towns there are in America?

- Two.

- Two!

New York and Texas?

- Yep.

- There's one in Georgia.

- Nine.

- 20?

- 28!

- Oh, wow.

- And we're gonna day trip to all of 'em.

The Albany Tripper.

And should we acknowledge, we have another guy in the back that viewers have never seen.

- Hey, I'm Britt, and I got picked up here in Albany.

- We picked him up in one of those don't-pick-up-hitchhiker zones.

- But his shirt said, "Will shoot for pics."

Anyway, it's all workin' out.

- I mean, I haven't reviewed all the footage yet, so we'll let you know how it works.

(laughing) - One crew versus Texas.

Now, Albany's history is the story of the frontier.

In the late 1800s, the economy was so dependent on ranching, Albany became known as the home of the Hereford, a sturdy breed that thrives on the Texas plains.

But unlike cows, we can't stand around and chew our cuds all day.

So let's stroll down Main Street and back in time to Vintage Vanilla, and the days when every prescription came with a side of old-fashioned Coke.

- A distinctive taste, right?

You will always remember it.

- Mm hm.

- Absolutely.

- Oh, that's fantastic.

- Welcome to Albany.

- Mmm.

This is owner Betsy Parsons who's been an Albany staple since the day she was born, and loves preserving her town's history.

An old place like this, it would've obviously been a place to fill prescriptions.

You would've have the pharmacist.

- We still do.

- Oh, you still have?

- Oh, of course.

It was actually the first car hop place.

You could honk and they'd bring you a Coke and your medicine.

- That's good service.

- Yeah.

- Well, this'll cure a lot of ailments too, right here.

- Yeah, absolutely.

- This drugstore was built in 1929 by Mr.

Sanders.

The mahogany and everything that you see here, those were original.

Those are originals.

Over here there's a bench, and if you look, there are spur marks.

Many a oil deal, cattle deal was made on that bench.

- Right here in this, oh, now that's cool.

- When Mr.

Standers first opened, one of his first pharmacists was my father.

- Oh, that's cool.

- Yes, and where you see this opening right here, there was a dress shop and my mom worked at the dress shop.

So this is where they met.

- I'm sure they're not the only couple that's fallen in love over a chocolate malt at these tables.

It has been open for near 100 years.

- So many places are fading.

We want kids to be able to relate, you know?

Your past generation, your grandparents, what was this like?

We have a motto in Albany that was given to us by Robert Nail, the creator of the ""Fandangle."

And he always said, "You can never be "who you're supposed to be until you know who you've been."

- Oh.

- So it's very important for us to know who we've been.

So "Fandangle" is the nucleus of our community, and once you drink the punch, you're indoctrinated.

- Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

It might be time to explain the "Fandangle".

Everyone's talking about it, And there's even "Fandangle" flags on every corner.

But it's a community play that's been happening every summer in Albany for over 80 years.

And I understand you might have directed the "Fandangle"- - For 23 years.

- Did you?

That's amazing.

- Yes, yeah, I worked for 'em for 50 and directed for 23.

- Betsy is "Fandangle" royalty.

Now obviously the ice cream is a big draw here, but their lunch specialty is chicken salad, which I gotta try with room for dessert, of course.

So what I have is the Southwest Chicken Salad, which is pecans, cheese, onions, pickles, fajita chicken.

So well that's delicious, but the pickle's kind of taking it into a burger realm.

And then over here it's the Elegant Chicken Salad.

- Oh, you're treating it like tartare.

- (chuckles) Well, of course.

Walnuts, pineapples, grapes.

Man, that's delicious.

I can wear that.

So you know, I'm just sittin' around sippin' my soup.

I always love stumbling into an old pharmacy that is still keeping the legacy of the old soda fountain alive.

There's very few of 'em left in Texas and man, they just like draw me in like a tractor beam.

Ice cream is always handy in the Texas heat.

Albany's spirit far exceeds its population, and oddly, so does Albany's collection of priceless artwork.

To learn more, let's head to the old jail that's now an unexpected art gallery.

Welcome to the Old Jail Art Center.

I don't know a lot about art, but I know some of these names.

Boom, here's a Renoir.

- What?

- I know.

What all is hidden on these walls?

And then over on this wall, Pablo Picasso.

Come here.

- Wait, did you say Picasso?

- I did, Daniel.

So these are some sketches he did back in the 1920s and '30s.

You stumble into a art museum in a small town, there's no way you're thinking, "Oh, they probably have some Pablo Picasso sketches."

Look, see, these guys are all just watching this guy dance around in a weird costume.

That's basically what I do for a living.

Inside these impenetrable walls, a place once meant to confine now honors the infinite freedom of expression.

Here's executive director Patrick Kelly.

What a drastically different life this is leading now than the old days when this was full of criminals, and gamblers, and all that.

- Exactly.

It was repurposed in 1982.

Cousins Bill Bomar and Reilly Nail wanted to show their collection and their mother's collections of art, and then from then it just blossomed.

- Wow!

The full collection is 2,400 pieces that rotate through the galleries with the oldest being these ancient Chinese tomb figures.

So these came out of tombs?

- Chinese tombs, yes.

- Whoa.

- Yeah.

- Kinda creepy, Patrick.

- Well- - Do you come around them at night?

- Oh no, it doesn't bother me at all.

- (laughing) Okay, okay.

This man does work in an old jail, after all.

Within these walls, there's something you gotta like.

Not everything's for everybody, but we have quite a bit to choose from.

- That's what I love about art.

We're all drawn to different pieces, and it's okay to say, "I don't get it."

For instance, this painting is so famous it often travels to the world's foremost art museums on loan.

- The title is called "Path in the Blue" by Paul Clay, a Swiss artist.

It's a pivotal work in his career.

- A ball and a Z.

- Yeah.

- No doubt inspired Dragon Ball Z. That's where the idea came from, obviously.

How am I supposed to feel looking at it?

Gimme some context.

- Well, I can't tell you how you're gonna feel.

That's up to you.

But art is a slow burn, as one of my friends used to say.

- That's a good way to say it.

- You may not like it today, or you may be indifferent to it when you leave, you're thinking about that Paul Clay, and maybe that will incite you to come back and think deeper about the work.

- Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

I need to stare at it a little longer.

- Yeah.

- There truly is something here for everyone, including backroads travelers like me.

Now Patrick, this one speaks to me because I've stood on top of those mountains.

- This work is by Dennis Black, who's a Fort Worth artist.

It's a beautiful landscape, obviously of Big Bend area.

- You get closer and closer and closer until you realize the detail that's coming through in all the bushes.

You know the mesquites.

Every wall has something to ponder.

There's even a heritage room with art about, you guessed it, the "Fandangle".

You might've also guessed that some of my favorite art is the weirdest.

This is where they allow visiting artists to install pieces in what they call the Cell Series.

Feel like it wants to tickle me.

I wanna just touch it.

So crazy.

All these pieces were custom made for this space.

I'm sorry, Daniel.

- Wait.

- Tickets, tickets please.

Tickets.

- Hey, actually I'm okay being on this side.

It's you that's on the bad side.

- Oh no!

(laughing) One final thing that I almost missed, this entire jail was art long before it was an art gallery.

- When this building was constructed, Scottish masons built it.

The county didn't have enough funds at the time to pay them.

So they carved their initials in each stone that they laid so they'd be compensated after the fact.

It was at one point it was known as the alphabet jail.

- I mean, little did they know their art would be incorporated into a gallery.

- Exactly.

- The stones are speaking to us even today saying art is everywhere.

You just have to learn how to see it.

(gritty rock music) Now I know art galleries aren't for everyone, and some of y'all prefer your art on four wheels.

So let's head to a different gallery, of sorts, and buckle up with the boys of the Flying A Car Club.

Oh wow, look at this place.

Howdy sir.

I'm here to talk to someone about all these cars.

The cars.

Can you, can you even hear me?

Is there's someone here with a little more personality, though, to talk to?

He's the quiet cowboy type.

So let's chat with the club's founding members, Ronnie and Donnie Anderson.

Wait, Ronnie and Donnie?

- Ronnie and Donnie.

- Y'all aren't related, are you?

- No, no, no.

- Okay, well nevermind then.

- 25 minutes apart.

- Oh, okay.

(laughing) - Yeah, just 25.

- Who's the older brother then?

- I am.

- The local members of this club own between 80 and 90 classic cars, depending on the day, most of which rotate through the walls of this building.

You just needed a place to put your junk- - Yeah, we needed a storage building.

Our shops are full.

- Oh, no doubt, no doubt.

So is this more of a museum, or just an excuse to get together with your buddies and drink coffee somewhere and talk about cars?

- It's probably more of a museum.

We hope that it helps local merchants bring people coming into town.

- Any gearhead, grease monkey, or motormouth will be happy they walked in here.

And all of these cars are stunners, but of course Ronnie and Donnie have favorites.

- Chet, let me show you this '71 model Blazer here.

- Ronnie, if I ever win the lottery, this is the car I've said I'm gonna buy, and I'm not even lying.

I'm tempted to make you an offer that you'll absolutely refuse (laughing) because it won't be high enough.

- I'll probably refuse it.

- Yeah, I know you would.

- Well, lemme tell you something, let's go look at something old and vintage.

- Oh, a real classic, huh?

- Real classic.

- Oh yeah, sure.

- Sorry, Ronnie.

Sorry, man.

Sibling rivalry much?

Ooh, this is a pretty car.

So what is this?

It's a '57 2-door post.

- How much do you feel you gotta leave them totally vintage, or how much do you say, like, "Nah, let's update stuff?"

- It's only original once.

- Got it, got it.

- So once it's past that point, you can change it and not hurt the value.

- It'd be a good thing to, you know, cruise down Route 66 or the Bankhead Highway on.

- Yeah, that's on the bucket list.

- Okay.

- He thinks that's cool?

Follow me; I'll show you something cool.

- Okay.

- You man the store.

- Speaking of updates and upgrades, Ronnie's is over the top.

This is a '57 El Camino, all custom built.

They didn't make El Caminos in '57, '59 was the first year for El Caminos.

- So someone chopped the back off of this and put a truck bed.

- They did.

- Oh, wow.

- It's loaded.

What a lot of people like to do is make 'em modern.

(engine revving) so you can- - Whoa!

- Hey, come on up here, I'll give you a ride.

- Sorry, what can I say?

I gotta go!

Whoo!

(rockabilly music) Now this is a ride, Donnie.

- It's a '69 Chevrolet Chevelle convertible.

Basically, daily driver car.

- Yeah, automatic.

- Automatic.

- I could get used to this right here.

- (Donnie laughing) Yeah.

- I could get used to this.

So Donnie, what's the best part of owning classic cars?

You know, my kids and my grandkids love these old cars.

My goal is to leave all this to them whenever I'm gone.

- It's funny that a piece of metal with an engine in it can have so much emotion wrapped up into it.

- Yeah.

- But it does.

- It's just a cool hobby that we enjoy and love doing.

- That was awesome.

- Great.

- Don't tell your brother this; I think you win.

(Donnie laughing) All right, I'm just sayin'.

- I won't tell him.

- He won't tell, okay.

- He'll find out.

- Keep that between us.

Y'all sure y'all need the truck with all the gear and everything?

I mean we can just take this.

Maybe I can take this.

- So I can have the truck?

I assume I can have the truck.

- I didn't say that quite, you know.

Clearly it's about more than cars here at Flying A. It's friendships, memories, and the freedom that only the open road can bring.

- My dream car is a 1972 Chevelle SS with a 454.

Red with white stripes.

- What color?

Four, that's a big engine.

- Woo.

- Mid-'50s classic.

Very classic.

- Very classic.

- Okay mine: Chevrolet hovercraft.

- Wait, what?

- Land or sea, go anywhere.

Yeah.

- I mean I wasn't thinking about amphibious vehicles when this question came.

- I know, if you knew that was an option.

- I want just a Geo Metro in like a Baja Blast color that I can just (imitates tires squealing).

(Daniel and Chet laughing) - Hey, we'll hook yours up to the hovercraft.

We'll turn it into like kind of a jet ski/Metro thing.

- I'm gonna take my Chevelle and be happy.

Y'all go to your dream world.

- I'll be right there with ya.

I've got a very attainable dream car.

(Daniel and Chet laughing) - Before all the cars, real and imaginary, and even before the "Fandangle", this area was the frontier.

A land of pioneers, ranchers, and outlaws, that all revolved around one place: Fort Griffin.

Fort Griffin was established right after the Civil War.

It's mostly ruins now, but with a few faithful recreations.

And this is site director Eric Abercrombie.

- Once the fort was abandoned in 1881, essentially this sat vacant for about 50 years before the state got ahold of it.

- There would've been a lot more buildings that have just been reclaimed by the prairie.

The soldiers here at the fort, many of them freed slaves, were the peacekeepers of the west, grappling with Comanche raids and rowdy cowboys.

It was a thankless job in horrible conditions.

Even bad by frontier standards.

- All right, well this is the enlisted men's barracks.

You can see all the light coming in through the walls.

Let all sorts of air through.

- Big rain gaps and breezy.

- Yeah, so the inspector came here in 1873 and declared it unfit for human habitation.

- So this was not a top choice for soldiers to come if they got a choice at all.

- Desertion was fairly common, I think, because of it.

- It's better than a tent, though, I would say.

- Yeah, now some guys were having to live in tents.

- Oh gosh.

The fort was a hard place to live.

Actual battles were few and far between, so most of the soldiers' time was spent on daily chores and duties, and if you couldn't stand the heat, well then you better hope to not be assigned kitchen duty.

- You know I mentioned earlier that desertion was fairly common back then.

- Yeah, right.

- Well typically, if a person deserted, they'd send two or three guys to go find him.

Well, one day the chief baker of Fort Griffin deserted.

- Oh no.

- And the commanders shut the whole fort down and sent every available man to go find the baker.

(Chet laughing) So his job was pretty important.

- Yeah, that must have been a very good baker.

Look at this paddle.

- You wanna try it out?

- Yeah, yeah, yeah, let's make some bread back here.

- Let's see if you can make.

(paddle smacking) - All right, I'm not very good already.

Watch out, watch out over there.

Gosh, these are so deep.

- So that was one loaf, now you got- - Yeah, no, like 800 more.

Yeah, I would've deserted too if I had to make that much bread.

- This was one of the last stops along the Western cattle trail.

So then people were stopping here along the way up to Dodge City in Kansas where the railheads were.

And then this was also one of the main centers for all the buffalo hide trades.

- Wow.

- I affectionately called this place the Walmart of the 1870s.

Problem with that is all the cans were lead-lined.

So if you want a little dose of lead in your diet- - Lead poisoning is probably near the bottom of the list of risks out here.

- Yeah, it caught up to 'em later in life, not so much here on the frontier.

- Right, right, right, exactly.

But living near an army fort was the safest option on the frontier.

And that safety allowed the town of Fort Griffin to pop up in the fort's shadow.

Like the fort, most of the town has gone too.

Hey, look, they got Picassos in here.

- Wait, what?

- Is that a Banksy?

- Come on.

- It's what I expect in every old jailhouse now.

This is a recreation of the old Shaughnessy Saloon, where, believe it or not, Wyatt Earp and Doc Holiday met for the very first time.

This is long before Tombstone, and it happened right here in Fort Griffin.

Fort Griffin is much quieter these days, but there are still a few residents out here.

Most notably the official State of Texas Longhorn herd.

And this is caretaker Frank Sharp.

You gotta keep your head on a swivel, right, with these guys?

- Well, they're not gonna try to, you know, to viciously hurt you.

- I see.

Woohoo.

- Okay.

- I mean, you could say that Frank- - Duck and dodge.

- Me actually believing that's a different thing.

- Well, not many people know that these guys in the state herd are what we would all consider the old original genetics of the Longhorn.

They're on the critically endangered list.

- Is that right?

- That is right.

So- - He likes you.

He likes you.

The Longhorn descended from the bulls the Spanish brought to the New World, and was the primary animal of cattle drives.

Today the state herd has about 250 members with its home right here in Fort Griffin.

It's amazing to see something that's living and breathing, yet it's part of our history.

- Yeah, and you'll hear stories about how mean they are, but yet when you get around them, you realize how intelligent and docile they really are.

- These big old puppies?

- Yeah, that's about right.

- With two giant stabby things comin' off their head.

That right there is one of the most majestic animals in all of Texas.

We'll see them later at, you guessed it, the "Fandangle."

But before that, it's time for dinner at a place that's been keeping Albany cool for generations: The Icehouse.

And what used to be the town's actual icehouse is now the place where locals gather for ice cold drinks, comfort food and steaks, and a musical cage match.

This is owner Melissa Williams.

- This is our Icehouse ponchos.

It's like nachos, but with a Icehouse flair.

- And fried jalapenos.

- Fried jalapenos.

- That's gonna light me up, though, in a little while if I'm not careful.

- Well, maybe.

- That's what the margarita's for.

- Wash it down.

- Mmm.

So this would've been basically the one place in town where you had the mechanics to get cold enough to freeze water.

- So they used salt and ammonia to make the ice with, and the big machinery was in this room.

- Gosh, we have life so easy now.

- I know.

(laughing) - It just comes out of a fountain at the thing, you know.

- They didn't have this nice little nugget ice.

- Yeah, no.

- Chipping.

- No, they didn't.

No, they didn't.

Our great grandparents would have their minds blown.

How did it become this?

- That was my mother.

She was telling me all about it.

Had the skylight, and when I first came in it was full of dirt.

And I said, "Where's the skylight," you know?

(Chet laughing) All I could see was all the mess.

She had a vision, and she put it together, and here we are.

- Well, how cool that your mom started it, now you run it.

Your daughter's back here working.

- Most of the time.

- And you still like each other?

- Oh, for the most part.

(Chet laughing) - Sure.

If you see me crying, it's 'cause that jalapeno I ate just... - Oh.

- Y'all left a couple of the seeds in that one.

- Did we?

- Woo!

- Is that one a little warm?

- A little bit.

- Okay, we're going back to this.

- Yeah.

- Everything in here feels a hundred years old.

The country music in the cage is giving roadhouse vibes, and the smells from the kitchen are given hunger pains.

They still use Melissa's mom's original recipes, but it's the smell of mesquite fire that's really getting my juices flowing.

Woo-woo woo!

- Look at that.

- I almost burned these precious hands of mine.

- Good job, Chet.

- I have to keep 'em good to eat on camera.

- Absolutely.

- All right, what's the secret to cooking a good steak, Jana?

- It's a secret.

(all laughing) - All right, well we're done back here.

Let's go back.

I wouldn't give it away, either.

Let's eat.

Time for a little Albany-style surf and turf.

And I can almost taste it through my nostrils, the smell coming off of this thing.

Perfect cook.

Not over-seasoned, cooked over fire.

That right there is one of the most tender, juicy steaks I've ever had.

This building is a one of a kind.

I mean there's an ambiance in here you can never recreate if you were to build new construction.

And after I polish off a little steak and shrimp, it's time for the locally-famous, never duplicated, Icehouse bread pudding.

It tastes like a cinnamon roll had a baby with a wedding cake, and then it got covered in melted butter and vanilla caramel bourbon sauce.

Heaven.

Well y'all, the sun is setting, and it's time for the moment you've all been waiting for: the legendary Fort Griffin "Fandangle".

This spectacular outdoor musical happens two weekends a year at the end of June.

It's a 300-person production commemorating the history of Fort Griffin and Albany.

It attracts thousands, and this is tonight's show director Lorna Ayers.

The "Fandangle" is a big deal.

- You are absolutely right.

You know, it is the state play of Texas.

- Is that right?

- That's right.

And the cool thing about this is that we, we love this show.

There are generations that invest in this show.

So our costumes, the music, the rolling stock that you're gonna see, all of the sets, everything that you see here is homegrown.

- This is something that I've waited a long time to see.

- Good.

- And so I'm gonna buckle up.

- Yeah.

- All right, well break a leg.

- Thank you, thank you.

Plan on it.

- Let's get our "Fandangle" on.

All right, I gotta go get a seat.

- Let's go Fandangling.

- Lights, camera, "Fandangle".

(epic music) The original script was written in the '30s by Albany's English teacher, Robert Nail.

The youngest cast members are four and five, with the oldest being in their '90s.

This is a multi-generation tradition, especially for Lorna's family.

- My husband was first in the show when he was four years old, but he was the first little "Fandangle" flag.

My grandson is now the little "Fandangle" flag.

- No kidding?

Oh my goodness.

- So if you marry into our family, you're in the show; you don't have a choice.

(Chet laughing) Yeah.

- Lorna's family is committed, but not unique.

That's just Albany.

Point at anyone in town, chances are they're in the show.

But this is much more than community theater.

It's the way Albany has captured their history and passed it down through generations, and helped instill that intense pride you see and feel all over town.

Oh, and it's pretty funny too.

(gun booming) (onlookers screaming) (gentle music) As Robert Nail said all those years ago, you can never know who you're supposed to be until you know who you've been.

And, well, today we've been cruising through history, admired its beautiful art, pondered life before our day, and had a fandangling good time doing it.

That was a tale as biggest as Texas, y'all.

So I'll see all y'all out on the road and vaya con dios, amigos.

"Fandangle"; let's go!

Howdy, y'all.

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