Rusk Street Tour     Locate on map
Continue to Rusk Street. Before turning right, note the modern clinic 
to your left that was built in the 50’s by Dr. A.W. Brazda.  At times 
after his death, it stood vacant but not always. Dr. Luther Gohlke 
opened his office there and called it the Walnut Clinic. For a period 
only physician’s assistants and nurse practitioners saw patients and 
referred them on to out of-town specialists. Now Dr. Philip Webb, 
formerly of Kerrville, has taken over the operation of the clinic, 
and Ranger once again has a resident physician. This lot was the 
original location of Traders’ Grocery before it moved to Main Street.
A little farther north there was also a live poultry produce house 
located on that block where customers could buy super fresh chicken.


Turning right, note the west corner 
grocery that was for many years owned 
by the Mills family and afterward the 
Aishmans and then the Robinsons. Perhaps 
there were other families who operated 
this grocery. Across the street on the 
east side is the location of the Southern 
Ice Company, a business that was extremely 
important when many a home still had a 
genuine icebox rather than a refrigerator.
Glancing back over your shoulder in front 
of the ice company, you can see Burton-
Lingo Lumber Yard on the northeast corner. 
It had apartments on its second floor. 


Beyond the grocery is the Ranger Furniture
Exchange, more commonly known as Brashier’s. 
Three generations of this family have operated 
the store that includes the Terrell Building. 
Contrary to speculation, this is not where the 
Terrell family doctors operated their clinic; 
that was on Main Street. There were apartments 
on the second floor of their building, however. 
The business that abutted on the alley was a 
job printing concern operated by Mr. MacDonald.
 
Go ahead and cross Main, again passing between the Commercial State Bank 
and the Corner Drug Store. Before the alley on the left is the original 
site of Capps’ Photography Studio. Continuing across the alley is the 
location of the former Liberty Theater, which for many years was no more 
than a ruin. On the west side of the street is where Dr. A. W. Brazda 
opened his first personal clinic. There was a Bourland’s music store 
next to the alley and behind the Corner Drug. One could buy a piano there. 
Somewhere in this block was also Buddy Vinson’s TV shop. He sold the first 
TV to many Ranger families. He also had a busy TV repair business in the 
days when tubes were a primary concern. Next to him on the corner was the 
Ranger Farm Store or John Deere dealership operated by the John Tibbles 
family. Also on this block was, at one time, another florist shop other 
than those already mentioned.


Across the street on the southeast corner 
of the intersection and adjacent to the 
Liberty ruin was Bagwell-Roberson Motor 
Company, who sold Ford cars. The Dr
Pepper Bottling Company, a distinctly 
Texan product was east of Bagwell’s and 
next to the alley before the Second 
Baptist Church. The manager of this 
soft drink plant was M. L. King.

Instead of turning left toward the depot, turn right and pass the farm store. 
Behind Tibbles was an auto mechanics shop owned by Vernon Deffebach. Across 
the street is the Killingsworth Funeral Home. Next to the funeral home is the 
relatively new telephone office. Mae Carr was a long-time manager of the city 
office of Southwestern Bell.  End Tour