Page 12 - Senior Link Magazine Summer 2021- Online Magazine

Local
A HEADSTONE ON
THE WRONG GRAVE
SKILLET RANCH
by Sarah Casey
erry Severe is a diesel mechanic
with a truck shop sitting on
JLubbock’s hidden treasure, the
original Cotton Club. The Cotton
Club was the premier and only
nightclub during the golden era
of West Texas music, when Buddy
Holly, Bob Wills, and Waylon
Jennings dominated the airwaves
and changed music as we know it.
Seventeen years ago, Jerry Severe
purchased an old mechanic’s shop;
however, the terms of the deal
entailed him also to purchase the
surrounding 10 acres. Although not
pleased with the arrangement, he
moved forward anyway. Shortly
Lubbock Senior Link
12 Lubbock Senior Link
12
History
after closing the deal, a good Railroad Road, with no specific
friend tipped him off that he used address. Railroad Road is the old
to frequent the famous Cotton Slaton Highway, which we now call
Club and that it was located on Southeast Drive. As life goes, other
his land before it was vandalized things took priority, and Jerry’s
and burned down in the early ‘60s. research stalled. Then, one day in
Jerry was skeptical of this claim but 2016, Jerry’s sister called him with
had noticed that there were beer news that she had found an article
cans from the ‘50s and old whiskey in The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
bottles that had resurfaced from revealing the true location of the
the ground. One day, Jerry was infamous Club. Jerry was thrilled
sitting in his office when two people and tried contacting the Lubbock
with thick British accents came by Historical Society. He called
his truck shop. The Buddy Holly numerous times until they finally
aficionados had tracked down the answered, and his request was
location of Jerry’s shop with the simple, “Can we move the historical
desire to stand on the ground where marker to the actual location?”
Elvis had met Buddy Holly. This
was not the only instance; more fans The Society insisted that they had
from Nashville came. It started to aerial photographs and that it had
feel less of a far-fetched tale until, been placed in the correct location.
one day in 2008, someone came by Puzzled with this dichotomy, Jerry
his shop and told him that a historic began interviewing seniors in the
marker had been placed across the Lubbock community, asking for
street, on the north side of 50th. their participation in a petition to
move the marker to its appropriate
Although Jerry’s skillset location. The first-hand stories were
traditionally involved tools and fascinating. One of his interviewees
engines, he discovered a newfound was a former bartender at the Cotton
hobby: researching the history of Club who still had memorabilia
the Cotton Club. He went to the from the venue. At that point, it
Southwest Collection Library at became personal. To Jerry Severe,
Texas Tech University and was it felt like a headstone on the
disappointed to find only two wrong grave. Memories had been
pictures of the inside of the Club. misappropriated, and the quest was
He then went to the Courthouse to get it right. Then one day, Jerry
Archives where they had filed for had a stroke of luck. The owner of
a permit, listing the location on Senior Link magazine, Erin Agee, was