Hey this is Clint. Thanks for your interest in me.  

I was born in 1951 in El Paso Texas. That year The Korean War was still raging on, John Wayne dominated the movies and Hank Williams and Lefty Frizzell could be heard all across the nation on XELO in Clint Texas. That’s C-L-I-N-T Clint, Texas.

(XELO was a radio station that was part of a group of radio stations known as border blasters. They were located all along the U.S. Mexico border, on the Mexican side. There were approximately 10 border blasters from Tijuana to Tampico. Since they were out of the reach of the FCC, they could broadcast a more powerful signal than U.S. stations. Most of them broadcast at 250,000 watts, five times higher than their U.S. counter parts. Due to the strong signal, they could be heard in most parts of the U.S.

Most border blasters broadcast in English and featured all types of programming from preachers to country music, blues music, cures for what ails you, and everything in between. In present day, they broadcast predominantly in Spanish. One of the most well-known border blasters was XERF, in Ciudad Acuna, across the border from Del Rio, Texas. The great Wolfman Jack became famous broadcasting from this station.

These stations normally had an aggressive mail order business going to supplement income. XELO, located in Juarez, Mexico, across from Clint,Texas, played predominantly country music. Two famous harmonica players, Wayne Raney and Lonnie Glosson, sold harmonicas on XELO. The buyer would be continuously instructed to send their money to P.O. box so and so, In Clint, Texas, that’s C-L-I-N-T Clint, Texas. My parents had this station on in our home when I was a child. I would hear the ads and got to thinking my name was Clint, Texas. Johnny Cash has a humorous song about this called “Please Don’t Play Red River Valley”. You can find a link to it on YouTube at the bottom of the page. )

Now on that day in June I was lucky. I hit the jackpot by winning the best Mother and Father that any child could ever hope for. I watched my parents sacrifice for our family. In addition to being my biggest supporters they taught me to work hard, to be honest and to keep your word.

In 30 wonderful years in the bar business, I have tried to live up to those values. I started out at the bottom working as a waiter way back in 1972 at the tender age of 21. In that very moment, I fell in love with the business. The action and the energy attracted me, and even at my age, I knew this business was where I belonged. 

After becoming a manager, I soon became restless to open my own business, because like many managers, I thought I knew much more than I really did. With the help of a financial backer (an education in itself by the way) I opened my first establishment in 1976 at the ripe old age of 25.

There were so many new responsibilities that suddenly fell to me that I had never encountered as an employee. I had never been responsible for things like rent, payroll, utilities, or taxes. There were so many difficult lessons to learn, especially for someone as young and inexperienced as I really was. I eventually did learn but it wasn’t as easy as I had imagined.

Over the next 25 years, I, along with various partners and family members, went on to own and operate several different bars and restaurants. During that period I experienced both success and failure and looking back I can honestly tell you that failure, although harsh, is a much better teacher than success. But all things being equal, I wouldn’t change a thing. Because without time spent actually in the arena, I wouldn’t feel qualified to help you with your bar.

So thanks for listening. I hope this helps you to know me, if only a little.

I wish you the best of luck and when you do open your own bar, if you have half the fun I’ve had, you’ll be very lucky indeed.

“Please Don’t Play Red River Valley” click here to connect.

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