About that Chicken Ranch thing...

It's no secret that I haven't contributed a whole heck of a lot to No Fear of the Future lately. The reason, some of you may or may not know, is that I've been completely consumed by a non-fiction book on the infamous La Grange Chicken Ranch I've been writing. That's a one-time brothel in Texas that inspired the Tony Award winning Broadway musical, "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas," (which is very good) and subsequent Burt Reynolds/Dolly Parton movie (which isn't very good).

Some months back, I was contacted by Bob Mauldin of Expedition Texas about participating in a segment on the Chicken Ranch for that television show. How could I refuse? I met up with Mauldin and the current owner of the Chicken Ranch property to take a tour of the infamous brothel's ruins back in February, and the episode aired this past weekend. Not many people realize it yet, but 2013 marks the 40th anniversary of the Chicken Ranch's closure by Houston television personality Marvin Zindler. Miss Edna Milton departed La Grange not long after, and the intervening years were not kind to the old farmhouse. A series of subsequent owners worried more about profiting from the property's notoriety than historical preservation, and the result is... well, you can see in the videos below.

Concerning the Chicken Ranch

Friends and neighbors, I have a project, and said project demands that I ask of you this simple question: "Do you remember the Chicken Ranch?" And by that, I don't mean "Do you vaguely recall it existed at one point?" or "Have you seen the Burt Reynolds/Dolly Parton movie, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas or the Larry L. King play it was based on."

I am looking for, searching for, seeking out persons with actual, genuine first-hand knowledge of and experience with the famed brothel in La Grange, Texas. This would include former employees (yes, former employees. I know they're out there), former clients, failed Dallas-area restauranteurs, townsfolk, neighbors, law enforcement, relatives... anybody with a story, memory or recollection to tell regarding the history of what is, quite possibly, the world's most famous bordello. I would prefer being able to use sources full names, but given the particular nature of this unique subject matter, suitable arrangements can be made to ensure anonymity if required.

Lest you folks think I'm going about this the lazy way, posting this invite online and waiting for sources to come to me, I'd like to point out that I did go to ground zero for this, as it were. But sadly, nobody was around to answer any of my questions.



Feel free to spread the word.