Lubbock, Texas
God’s Country

What You Need to Know About the West Texas Gem of Lubbock

If you asked a hundred people what they know about Lubbock, Texas, you would probably hear a lot of the same answers from everyone: Buddy Holly, Texas Tech, and that’s about it. You would be forgiven for assuming that Lubbock was an old oil boom town, but that’s actually not the case.

Lubbock is simply a classic Texas town unto itself: it’s equal parts middle-of-nowhere and bustling city. If you went to Texas Tech, you probably consider Lubbock a little hidden oasis and a happy place in the middle of the West Texas desert.

Of course, most Texans have never even been to Lubbock if they didn’t attend Tech, but you know it must be a lifelong dream… just ask the Lubbock Chamber of Commerce. 🙂  You don’t pass it driving from Dallas to El Paso, and it’s too far a drive from the Hill Country to make a weekend destination.

The Boys in the Lotto Lab are certain their key to fame and fortune lies in a Lotto Texas Ticket from Lubbock.  Notice how it literally rolls off the tongue.  All that’s standing between them and millions is a bus ticket. 🙂

Then again… that’s why Lubbock is basically a microcosm of the Lone Star State. Natives are proud to be from there, and those that have discovered it are glad they did. It’s a town of business in the daytime and raucous honky-tonkin’at night.

Celebrities from Lubbock Besides Buddy Holly
The legend of Buddy Holly lives on, as younger musicians continue to cover his hits. You can gawk at an absolutely Texas-sized sculpture of his signature glasses at the Buddy Holly Museum the next time you’re in Lubbock.

The town has produced quite a few other celebrities, however, including countless other musicians. You have Delbert McClinton, Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks, Butch Hancock, and plenty of Red Raiders like Pat Green and Cory Morrow. The actor Chace Crawford was born in Lubbock, as was barbecue sauce legend C.B “Stubb” Stubblefield.

Lubbock, a New Alternative Energy Hub
Taking advantage of the natural geography of the plains, Lubbock has become a focal point of the wind energy industry. There’s even a museum, the American Wind Power Center, devoted to the history of windmills.

The dusty plains of Lubbock also make the area tough on water resources, but the city has started to get smart about that. Local industries have developed new irrigation techniques to consume water more efficiently, along with better methods of piping in water from nearby regions.

On a side note, Lubbock’s city buses run on hybrid diesel engines that seriously reduce fuel consumption, helping the mass transit of this small city stay ahead of the curve.

Native American History of Lubbock
The Llano Estacado, one of the largest mesas or table lands in North America commonly known as a Staked Plain, was home to Comanche and other hostile tribes.  Toward the end of the 1800s, as the city of Lubbock was established and settled, the Texans and natives started to fight.  After brutal fighting on both sides, the Texans prevailed.  It didn’t start out that way and didn’t have to end that way.  War and bloodshed were mostly avoided for the first several years of interaction, but eventually the Indians attempted to take control of the land by whatever means necessary.  The resulted in an epic fight in 1874.  The conflict fizzled on both sides as the buffalo died out and the Comanche were relocated to reservations.

Fight, Raiders, Fight!
For almost a hundred years, Texas Tech University has continuously served as the leading college in the state (and really the entire region of the country… really the entire country.. ask any Red Raider) for technological fields. Even as “technology” has meant so many different things since 1923, the college has kept true to its name.

Red Raiders athletics got the spotlight, and how, when the university hired Bobby Knight as the basketball coach in 2001. That was a rollercoaster experience indeed. Yet the football team was and still is the most prominent sport on campus. Recently they’ve been head coached by beloved former quarterback Kliff Klingsbury.  Kliff was quarterback for the Red Raiders in 1998 and 1999.  They keep adding to their bowl game appearances — currently approaching 40, making the Red Raiders one of the most successful college teams in the country.

Raider Red may just be the most recognizable part of Tech sports — that’s the name of the two-fisting pistol shooter of a cowboy mascot that riles up the crowd and wears a gigantic red mustache and white cowboy hat.  The Lady Raiders basketball team has also been nationally prominent, with a national championship coming in 1993.

On the baseball diamond, Texas Tech has produced more than a dozen major league players including Dallas Braden, known for throwing a perfect game as well as for starting a gutsy altercation with Alex Rodriguez.

More Lubbock Fun Facts

Some of our favorite Lubbock trivia includes:

• Lubbock has its own wine country! Llano Estacado and Sainte Genevieve are two beloved wineries that have risen to prominence as unique American wines.
• Lubbock was not named for former Texas governor Francis Lubbock. It was actually named for his brother, who was born in South Carolina and died fighting for the Confederates in the Civil War.
• Green spaces: you might think of red dirt when you think of Lubbock, but the town has more parks per person than any other city in Texas.
• People from Lubbock are called Lubbockites. It may not roll off the tongue, but what else are you going to call them?
• Silicon plains? Lubbock was home to Texas Instruments factories for decades. The town has also been home to high-tech companies over the years such as Cingular Wireless (acquired by AT&T) and more recently Convergys.

When you visit Texas.  Make sure you make the trek to Lubbock.  You won’t be disappointed. 

 

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