I have visited twice , I do pray for this city , so much potential, the kindness of folks here well remembered hope to return , God bless Witchita Falls !
my dad was a German pilot instructor for the T38 at the Sheppard Air Force Base end of the 70s. We lived in the Fountain Park Area in 2826 Barrywood Lane. And bevor going back to Germany in 81, I spend one year at the Notre Dame Elementary School. My teacher was Sister Agnes. The Principal was Sister Mary Ellen. 10th of April 1979 I experienced the massive tornado, coming from or to Lawton. I do not know anymore. The next day we drove through a devastaded city. I still have the special tornado issue of a local news paper somewhere. And God, just thinking about it and a whole other things while writing down these words brings tears to my eyes. The older I get, the more I miss the USA. I know, it is not the country I lived in today. And much is just past time imagination. But still, compared to the cramped Germany, the US ist wide and vast. And although I am German I consider myself half American. And one day...
Fascinating history!! Thank you for sharing! Unfortunately Notre Dame HS has now been demolished(there is a bit of a shady tale with that one) however the elementary school is still there. I did make a video about the HS but I'm waiting on one final shot before finishing the video. stay tuned!
I was here in 2003 and 2006 while going through technical training at Sheppard AFB. Not my favorite place, but I can appreciate the pride that the people who are from here have in their town.
Wow, glad I found this video. I moved from WF in 1991 to North Carolina. It was great to see some of the sights there again. Too bad about so many things closing. I remember when the Sheridan hotel across from the new falls flooded. Thanks for the memories. I remember the Pioneer restaurants too. worked at several of them. Loved the chicken fried steaks.
It's a great town!! It is sad that so many places have closed but the good news is that the population is on an increase and the city is working hard to improve the downtown and surrounding areas. The locals are really fighting to keep the older establishments so they get refurbished and re-purposed to maintain their original charm.
I'm proud to say that's my hometown. Back in 2008 my parents moved us down to a suburb of Houston. The area I live is really nice, but there's something Wichititty City has that League City can never obtain. Although there's a few things about Wichita I would never miss, the "city" and people are great. The vast majority of people in their 20's will regard Wichita as a plague they can't escape, but you won't find the same kind of people in or around the city, and you DEFINITELY won't find the same cost of living. I can't wait to needlessly speed down Wichita's oversized highways next time I drive up there. 😂 Y'all drive safe and have some respect for truckers even if you're speeding by.
Thanks! Yeah it's not a bad little town. It's definitely growing and has it's own very interesting history. I'll be making an updated version of this video in the future to show all the changes.
Wow! I can't remember, if we visited all places around Wichita Falls. We left this city '81, a long time ago and I was young and I have no remembrance.
Amazed how professionally shot this was done along with music selected. I’m a lifelong resident, as were both my parents. More things to like about this town than not. Roads are easily traveled year round, rare that the weather has us snowed in. Get to any part of the city from one end to the other in about 15 minutes, no traffic jams. Roughly 100,000 population is ideal for my tastes. Houses are more affordable here, but property taxes are brutal like in most parts of TX. Our constitution made a state income tax illegal, so they get us here. I think when our founding fathers named this state Texas, they got the vowels misplaced, think they meant Taxes. :-) Not a state many can afford to retire in on a fixed income and have a really nice home too, which is why quite a few retire elsewhere where the property tax doesn’t keep you in the poor house.
i have been living here all my 58 years of life.......im not going anywhere i will die here........always thought of my hometown as the smallest biggest country town.......
Pat & Lyle have made Wichita a part of music history. I was expecting a huge falls like Victoria or Niagara Falls :) . Nonetheless, beautiful music was made from the roots of this town. R.I.P Lyle Mays.
The "Hotel at Wichita Falls" was the building's last iteration. It has been many things (a Radisson, a Holiday Inn), but it was originally built as a Sheraton Four Points hotel in, I believe, 1984. It predates the construction of the Falls and the dedication of the Falls in 1987. I was a Night Auditor at the Sheraton in 1992. It was a really beautiful hotel back then.
@Jason Collins I'd love to see someone just take that building and revitalize it. I mean, major highway, river view, you can't go wrong with that. This city needs new business so that buildings like that one won't go to ruin.
Ive lived here my whole life, born 2003 As of late, Lake wichita is drying up as the main road into the lake has been severely damaged almost impossible to get into Also they forgot the Wichita falls High school wich is the longest lasting high school, lasting currently four generations Sadly this last 2 years of the schools life before that school mixes with the rival school Rider at a new building location Also the mall area (unseen in video) has been surving since the day of terrible Tuesday and is the most often going through store abandonment and routs have tons of tourests attractions Wichita falls is also home to being having the second most amount of Braums location in texas We also have a famous bridge with indian burial grounds (closed off from public since i was born so idk for how long) nicknamed Goat Mans Bridge often a place where people come looking for "ghost" we dont recommend it tho Please, if possible, do another video over this place as there is so much cultural and story throughout the town, we have so much from all the disasters that have happened in this area
And now they have two new buildings to consolidate those smaller schools. I think WHS is going to be a Jr. High or something like that. It will be included in the new video
I am from wf that poor town has been trying to "revamp" as long as I can remember, right now during this pandemic is the only time i wish I still lived there yall may escape it. Good video
I laugh when people visit a city and say that there is not much to do. I come from living in a town of 800 people and moved to a town of 10000. You want to know about not much to do try to live in one of those towns and see how bored you get. Especially up north people are not real friendly up here so be prepared to spend a lot of alone time.
Pure hellhole of a town, sadly. My hometown, lived there for practically all my life. There’s nothing interesting, nothing fun, and there’s nothing to really entertain people. Maybe a concert at a bar one night, IF YOUR LUCKY. The young people are into drugs, crime, etc. and the school system is absolutely terrible. they were right, you’ll never escape the place if you don’t take the chance to.
additionally, the base is dying out, and it was one of the main driving forces of this town. Talks about destroying/de-activating it is in the works, and if that happens, over time, Wichita will become smaller
I'm really bummed about that too. I really hope the Museum of North TX History(the current owners to my understanding) will do the right thing and re-open it while recruiting more volunteers to help restore it. I would hate to see all that memorabilia and rolling stock go away and get scrapped.
It’s a good town to live in if you have kids. It needs a ton of improvements on the housing side. A lot of homes are in need of repair. We need a bunch of fixer uppers kind of people to move here. We need teachers to teach others how to improve their homes. WF is no different than where u are currently living. Crime, drugs, low pay are big issues here as well.
RSP, what is the cost of living in Wichita Falls presently? We live north of Denton, but I am ready for trees and good dirt and snow. BUT don't want to leave Texas.
It's definitely lower than the DFW area however property taxes are outrageous. But over all, most things are a bit cheaper in general. Now if we could just get rid of this heat! LOL
Yeah, in a way I guess it was a "Factory" at one point in history. It does have a sorta creepy feel to it. I wish I could go in the old office building.
Wichita Falls deserves better than to just stagnate. Their population has not had any significant gains in the past ten years while Fort Worth, Lubbock, Amarillo, and Abilene have seen some of the greatest growth in their cities' histories during that same time. WF needs vision to make things happen. It's got too good of potential not to have new growth.
I appreciate your statement and it is accurate. Wichita Falls fell behind cities of similar size. I'm not sure this video, showing derelict buildings, cemeteries, a near vacant newspaper, scam skyscraper and a occluded lake which is in large measure a sewage detention pond paints a positive image of the city. It is a good place and it can be so much better but people are married to mediocrity.
That's good!! Though I've heard rumors that they might tear it down soon. I hope not though. It has become such an iconic sight when you come into town!
I was in the USAF and went to Sheppard AFB for 4 months in 05, its a training base. The co try and surrounding towns sucked. I baught a truck and drove all over. Absoluley nothing going on. The base has more to do than the whole city. Notice no traffic anywhere. Not until Friday and Saturday night when the taxi and bus services are packed with drunk Airmen going to and from the mall, Stagecaoch Bar, buffalo wild wings and the tattoo shops near base.
I'm sorry you had a bad experience! The downtown areas to the south have improved greatly and are now increasing in population, events, and great things to see and do!
Believe me, David Cotton, that there was nothing to do on and off the base. It was in March to May 1977 when we lived there. Those 3 months in Texas still haunt me. I absolutely hated it!!
Idk what this guy is on about, but sadly, the base got worse. In the talks of shutting it down due to it not bringing in enough. They removed all the medical, NATO training, and other things. Right now, it’s acting as a collage for military.
@@karenburkhaulter3155 I've done the Spillway there but I haven't had a chance to do the entire lake yet. The times I've been down there, it was way to windy but I'll keep trying!
There's actually quite a bit to do here, if you know where to look. But I understand the sentiment. It's definitely not nearly as exciting as a larger city for sure.
Ive lived here 50 yrs. It has been a boring city. Not much to do beyond theaters and walk an obsolete and ugly Sikes Center Mall. (Orange is the new yuck!) Former look ( and colors ) were much prettier. Miss the beautiful fountain and Merry-go-round, ( many customers loved ). Shamful the owners took those tourist attractions out. Now its just plain boring and offers nothing but small shops! An eatery court, but no "real" restaurant. The mall needs to be torn down and a high rise mall built. Sikes was built in mid 1970's. Its too old and worn looking. Sad. The waterfall has dirty brown water spewing down! Aweful. Many industries have left 40-50 yrs ago. Some new small ones have came in. Wages are always kept drove down. Big money cannot be made in Wichita Falls. ( Ive known this for 50 yrs ). Its always said: you make enough to exist, not even enough to leave. Lol. You have to "save up" for that. Lol
I'm from Baltimore but I remember when Sikes Center was brand new in the 70's. It was the first place that I had been to that had a multi screen movie theater. I haven't been to Wichita Falls in about 20 years now.
I was adopted from Wichita Falls in 1997 and ive never seen it before so thank you for showing me my home town !!!
You're welcome! Glad you liked it!!
I have visited twice , I do pray for this city , so much potential, the kindness of folks here well remembered hope to return , God bless Witchita Falls !
Nah we aint kind 😂😂😂
The city is fortunately thriving in some ways and struggling in others but we're muddling through and hopefully the trend will continue upward :-)
@@Camtugamesnot as bad as chicago 😭
Thank you for the video and the mini history lesson! :)
my dad was a German pilot instructor for the T38 at the Sheppard Air Force Base end of the 70s. We lived in the Fountain Park Area in 2826 Barrywood Lane. And bevor going back to Germany in 81, I spend one year at the Notre Dame Elementary School. My teacher was Sister Agnes. The Principal was Sister Mary Ellen.
10th of April 1979 I experienced the massive tornado, coming from or to Lawton. I do not know anymore. The next day we drove through a devastaded city. I still have the special tornado issue of a local news paper somewhere.
And God, just thinking about it and a whole other things while writing down these words brings tears to my eyes.
The older I get, the more I miss the USA. I know, it is not the country I lived in today. And much is just past time imagination. But still, compared to the cramped Germany, the US ist wide and vast. And although I am German I consider myself half American.
And one day...
Fascinating history!! Thank you for sharing! Unfortunately Notre Dame HS has now been demolished(there is a bit of a shady tale with that one) however the elementary school is still there. I did make a video about the HS but I'm waiting on one final shot before finishing the video. stay tuned!
I was here in 2003 and 2006 while going through technical training at Sheppard AFB. Not my favorite place, but I can appreciate the pride that the people who are from here have in their town.
Wow, glad I found this video. I moved from WF in 1991 to North Carolina. It was great to see some of the sights there again. Too bad about so many things closing. I remember when the Sheridan hotel across from the new falls flooded. Thanks for the memories. I remember the Pioneer restaurants too. worked at several of them. Loved the chicken fried steaks.
It's a great town!! It is sad that so many places have closed but the good news is that the population is on an increase and the city is working hard to improve the downtown and surrounding areas. The locals are really fighting to keep the older establishments so they get refurbished and re-purposed to maintain their original charm.
I used to live there. I'm planning on going back.
I'm proud to say that's my hometown. Back in 2008 my parents moved us down to a suburb of Houston. The area I live is really nice, but there's something Wichititty City has that League City can never obtain. Although there's a few things about Wichita I would never miss, the "city" and people are great. The vast majority of people in their 20's will regard Wichita as a plague they can't escape, but you won't find the same kind of people in or around the city, and you DEFINITELY won't find the same cost of living. I can't wait to needlessly speed down Wichita's oversized highways next time I drive up there. 😂 Y'all drive safe and have some respect for truckers even if you're speeding by.
Thanks! Yeah it's not a bad little town. It's definitely growing and has it's own very interesting history. I'll be making an updated version of this video in the future to show all the changes.
I love this place, I was born and raised here. I am proud to say that I am a Wichitan my roots rum deep here.
Went there for training. Not much to do but it is a beautiful town. Going back to visit someday.
I cant wait to get out of California..
Ive got my eye set on this place here.
Nice quiet living ..
Open spaces..
Fresh air.
You would love it here in Texas, quiet, sweet, and small!
Fuk no Wichita is the worst place to come to trust me 😬😅👎🏽
If you are from California you’ll love it
Enjoyed this. Interesting.
I loved this place and they all loved me!!
Nice capture! Keep up the good work my friend! 👍👍
Thank you!!!!!
Beautiful music…
I miss this place! I’m homesick
Come back and visit!!! It has changed a lot for the better!
Yes it has changed lived here all my life
Omg same
It might be a lil crappy now but I miss it
Youre beautiful...you should move back cos i plan on moving there soon.
Beautiful views and experiences of my city.
Thank you!
Wow! I can't remember, if we visited all places around Wichita Falls. We left this city '81, a long time ago and I was young and I have no remembrance.
This place keeps getting better and I've found so many great little hidden spots too! It's fun to be a "Tourist in your own town!"
really enjoyed your vid, beautiful footage, you have a good eye. Moving there next month (Lord willing)!
Thanks!!!! Hope the move went well!
your shot at 4:00-4:11 is amazing! great video. Thanks for the views as well as the facts!
Thanks so much!!! Glad you liked it!!
Amazed how professionally shot this was done along with music selected. I’m a lifelong resident, as were both my parents. More things to like about this town than not. Roads are easily traveled year round, rare that the weather has us snowed in. Get to any part of the city from one end to the other in about 15 minutes, no traffic jams. Roughly 100,000 population is ideal for my tastes. Houses are more affordable here, but property taxes are brutal like in most parts of TX. Our constitution made a state income tax illegal, so they get us here. I think when our founding fathers named this state Texas, they got the vowels misplaced, think they meant Taxes. :-) Not a state many can afford to retire in on a fixed income and have a really nice home too, which is why quite a few retire elsewhere where the property tax doesn’t keep you in the poor house.
Thank you!!! I plan on making an updated video in the near future to show all the changes.
i have been living here all my 58 years of life.......im not going anywhere i will die here........always thought of my hometown as the smallest biggest country town.......
Yup I live here all I have to say is watch were you live
That was great Mike, love the stories through out the video.
Thank you!!!! Glad you liked!
Beautiful lush town.
my husband and i are thinking about moving here!!
Things have changed over the year’s
Pat & Lyle have made Wichita a part of music history.
I was expecting a huge falls like Victoria or Niagara Falls :) . Nonetheless, beautiful music was made from the roots of this town.
R.I.P Lyle Mays.
Thanks!!! yeah it's a man-made falls. Kinda ironic after the original REAL falls flooded and was naturally destroyed.
I lived there in the early 90’s
The "Hotel at Wichita Falls" was the building's last iteration. It has been many things (a Radisson, a Holiday Inn), but it was originally built as a Sheraton Four Points hotel in, I believe, 1984. It predates the construction of the Falls and the dedication of the Falls in 1987. I was a Night Auditor at the Sheraton in 1992. It was a really beautiful hotel back then.
I've heard about that! I hope they refurbish it back into a nice hotel one day!
@Jason Collins I'd love to see someone just take that building and revitalize it. I mean, major highway, river view, you can't go wrong with that. This city needs new business so that buildings like that one won't go to ruin.
Ive lived here my whole life, born 2003
As of late, Lake wichita is drying up as the main road into the lake has been severely damaged almost impossible to get into
Also they forgot the Wichita falls High school wich is the longest lasting high school, lasting currently four generations
Sadly this last 2 years of the schools life before that school mixes with the rival school Rider at a new building location
Also the mall area (unseen in video) has been surving since the day of terrible Tuesday and is the most often going through store abandonment and routs have tons of tourests attractions
Wichita falls is also home to being having the second most amount of Braums location in texas
We also have a famous bridge with indian burial grounds (closed off from public since i was born so idk for how long) nicknamed Goat Mans Bridge often a place where people come looking for "ghost" we dont recommend it tho
Please, if possible, do another video over this place as there is so much cultural and story throughout the town, we have so much from all the disasters that have happened in this area
And now they have two new buildings to consolidate those smaller schools. I think WHS is going to be a Jr. High or something like that. It will be included in the new video
Planning someday I will buy another at this place
You should! This town seems to be on an upward trend! Getting better and better all the time!
Awsome views proud to say this is my city😎😮😃😆
Fellow Texan :D
It sucks.
Me too
Awesome!!! Thank you!!
Really?
God Bless anyone who lives there still. 😩😳
Right im so glad I moved lmao
@@KAMAKURAKAMAKURAYASSSQUEEN lol I left in 94
@@KAMAKURAKAMAKURAYASSSQUEEN why
I am from wf that poor town has been trying to "revamp" as long as I can remember, right now during this pandemic is the only time i wish I still lived there yall may escape it. Good video
Why do you wish you still lived there now?
I love 💕 it
Well done .. “ home “
Thank you!!!
There's a shitton of modified trucks whenever i go to visit family here.
I'm going to MSU soon so I'd thought I'd do some research about Wichita Falls. Is it actually that good?
Kinda looks like Derry Maine from it.
I laugh when people visit a city and say that there is not much to do. I come from living in a town of 800 people and moved to a town of 10000. You want to know about not much to do try to live in one of those towns and see how bored you get. Especially up north people are not real friendly up here so be prepared to spend a lot of alone time.
I would like to live there .
It's a good easy-going town. It has just about everything you could need(more or less). For me, it's not too small and not too big.
Ok I found my sleep video
Pure hellhole of a town, sadly. My hometown, lived there for practically all my life. There’s nothing interesting, nothing fun, and there’s nothing to really entertain people. Maybe a concert at a bar one night, IF YOUR LUCKY. The young people are into drugs, crime, etc. and the school system is absolutely terrible. they were right, you’ll never escape the place if you don’t take the chance to.
additionally, the base is dying out, and it was one of the main driving forces of this town. Talks about destroying/de-activating it is in the works, and if that happens, over time, Wichita will become smaller
Sadly the RR Museum is being closed :/
I'm really bummed about that too. I really hope the Museum of North TX History(the current owners to my understanding) will do the right thing and re-open it while recruiting more volunteers to help restore it. I would hate to see all that memorabilia and rolling stock go away and get scrapped.
It’s a good town to live in if you have kids. It needs a ton of improvements on the housing side. A lot of homes are in need of repair. We need a bunch of fixer uppers kind of people to move here. We need teachers to teach others how to improve their homes. WF is no different than where u are currently living. Crime, drugs, low pay are big issues here as well.
RSP, what is the cost of living in Wichita Falls presently? We live north of Denton, but I am ready for trees and good dirt and snow. BUT don't want to leave Texas.
When we were at Shepard AFB, all there was was dirt flying around. Maybe somebody improved it??
@@nancydemoss8421 LOL
It's definitely lower than the DFW area however property taxes are outrageous. But over all, most things are a bit cheaper in general. Now if we could just get rid of this heat! LOL
I always thought the Attebury “factory” (I thought it was a factory) was creepy...
Yeah, in a way I guess it was a "Factory" at one point in history. It does have a sorta creepy feel to it. I wish I could go in the old office building.
They had that awful
Tornado 🥲but it looks like a nice town
Wichita Falls deserves better than to just stagnate. Their population has not had any significant gains in the past ten years while Fort Worth, Lubbock, Amarillo, and Abilene have seen some of the greatest growth in their cities' histories during that same time. WF needs vision to make things happen. It's got too good of potential not to have new growth.
I appreciate your statement and it is accurate. Wichita Falls fell behind cities of similar size. I'm not sure this video, showing derelict buildings, cemeteries, a near vacant newspaper, scam skyscraper and a occluded lake which is in large measure a sewage detention pond paints a positive image of the city. It is a good place and it can be so much better but people are married to mediocrity.
born here and wanna die here.. if any one wants to move into wichita falls you can contact www.moversfolder.com/movers/texas/wichita-falls
Ok so I go eat in downtown Wichita Falls every week and most of the time I see semi-trucks unloading something at the atteburry
That's good!! Though I've heard rumors that they might tear it down soon. I hope not though. It has become such an iconic sight when you come into town!
Only muddy looking after heavy rains, otherwise the vast majority of the time the falls look really nice.
Now the water fall is dirty and brown
Yeah, I've noticed that happens from time to time. I'm just glad we have it!!
Im moving here!
How do you like it so far?
So many things burned down what a shame
So sad the wild cats had to go my dad got free tickets from my grandpa and we went a lot so sad
Why hello
I was in the USAF and went to Sheppard AFB for 4 months in 05, its a training base. The co try and surrounding towns sucked. I baught a truck and drove all over. Absoluley nothing going on. The base has more to do than the whole city. Notice no traffic anywhere. Not until Friday and Saturday night when the taxi and bus services are packed with drunk Airmen going to and from the mall, Stagecaoch Bar, buffalo wild wings and the tattoo shops near base.
I'm sorry you had a bad experience! The downtown areas to the south have improved greatly and are now increasing in population, events, and great things to see and do!
Believe me, David Cotton, that there was nothing to do on and off the base. It was in March to May 1977 when we lived there. Those 3 months in Texas still haunt me. I absolutely hated it!!
Idk what this guy is on about, but sadly, the base got worse. In the talks of shutting it down due to it not bringing in enough. They removed all the medical, NATO training, and other things. Right now, it’s acting as a collage for military.
I live there
Nice! Thanks!
I know exactly where all that is
Awesome!
I'm not far from the lake have you done lake arrowhead
@@karenburkhaulter3155 I've done the Spillway there but I haven't had a chance to do the entire lake yet. The times I've been down there, it was way to windy but I'll keep trying!
Tell me about it you have to catch it when its not so windy
Its gorgeous though have you been to possum kingdom lake that's another gorgeous area to do
I live here
Awesome!
you still there?
Its a fact I live here
N SaneCrashFan yeah me too
Me so sorry
I live here in the big Town of Wichita Falls Texas
Excellent!
@@rspdronephotography you are speaking to my old channel great
Absolutely nothing to do here ABSOLUTELY NOTHING😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 save us from boredom PLEASE
Do volunteer work
Talk to people and enjoy their company, most people are friendly…drive west 30-40 minutes and you’ll see some of the most beautiful land around
There's actually quite a bit to do here, if you know where to look. But I understand the sentiment. It's definitely not nearly as exciting as a larger city for sure.
Ive lived here 50 yrs. It has been a boring city. Not much to do beyond theaters and walk an obsolete and ugly Sikes Center Mall. (Orange is the new yuck!)
Former look ( and colors ) were much prettier. Miss the beautiful fountain and Merry-go-round, ( many customers loved ). Shamful the owners took those tourist attractions out. Now its just plain boring and offers nothing but small shops! An eatery court, but no "real" restaurant. The mall needs to be torn down and a high rise mall built. Sikes was built in mid 1970's. Its too old and worn looking. Sad. The waterfall has dirty brown water spewing down! Aweful. Many industries have left 40-50 yrs ago. Some new small ones have came in. Wages are always kept drove down. Big money cannot be made in Wichita Falls. ( Ive known this for 50 yrs ). Its always said: you make enough to exist, not even enough to leave. Lol. You have to "save up" for that. Lol
I'm from Baltimore but I remember when Sikes Center was brand new in the 70's. It was the first place that I had been to that had a multi screen movie theater. I haven't been to Wichita Falls in about 20 years now.