Big Country

In January 1966, the Abilene (TX) Reporter-News held a contest to name its special area of Texas. The winning name (selected by several people) was “Big Country.” The Big Country had been the name of a 1958 movie directed by William Wyler and starring Gergory Peck. The Reporter-News has used the name “Big Country” often, and several businesses and events use the ‘Big Country” name.
 
Another name for the “Big Country” is the “Texas Midwest.”
   
   
Wikipedia: Abilene, Texas
Abilene (pronounced /ˈæbəliːn/ “ABBA-leen”) is a city in Jones and Taylor Counties in the central part of the U.S. state of Texas. The population was 115,930 at the 2000 census. It is the principal city of the Abilene Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had a 2006 estimated population of 158,063. It is the county seat of Taylor County. Dyess Air Force Base is located to the west of the city.
 
Abilene is located off Interstate 20, between exits 279 on its western edge and 292 on the east. Abilene is 150 miles (240 km) west of Fort Worth, Texas The city is looped by I-20 to the north, US 83/84 on the west, and Loop 322 to the east. A railroad divides the city down the center into north and south. The historic downtown area is on the north side of the railroad.
 
The fastest-growing sections of the city are growing to the southwest, along Southwest Drive, the Winters Freeway, and the Buffalo Gap Road corridor; the southeast, along Loop 322, Oldham Lane, Industrial Drive, and Maple Street; and in the northeast near the intersection of SH 351 and I-20. Many developments have begun in these three areas within the last few years. There are three lakes in the city, Lytle Lake on the western edge of Abilene Regional Airport, Kirby Lake on the southeast corner of the US 83/84 & Loop 322 interchange, and Lake Fort Phantom in Jones County north of the city.
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Abilene has become the commercial, retail, medical, and transportation hub of a 19-county area more commonly known as “The Big Country,” but also known as the “Texas Midwest”. By the end of 2005, commercial and residential development had reached record levels in and around the city.
     
City of Abilene, Texas
About Abilene
Welcome! No matter where you’re coming from, you’ll find a little bit of everything in Abilene, and much of it with a special West Texas twist.
 
The City of Abilene, Texas, is located approximately 180 miles due west of the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. We’re situated in west central Texas near the geographic center of the state, Situated adjacent to Interstate 20, Abilene is the center of a 22-county area commonly referred to as the Texas Midwest or the Big Country. Abilene serves as the county seat for Taylor County, one of 254 counties in Texas. Taylor County has a current population of about 120,000, 115,930 of which live within the Abilene city limits. 
 
Big Country Homepage.com
     
23 January 1966, Abilene (TX) Reporter-News, “Big Country! That’s Our Land, and That’s Our Name” (editorial), pg. 8B, cols. 1-2:
It’s “Big Country”—and there are none who would deny it.
 
And that’s the name selected by the judges in the Name-the-Area Contest conducted in The Reporter-News the first two months of January (sic—“first two weeks”?).
 
J. B. Brooke of Abilene, an employe of the Texas Railroad Commission, wins the contest and the $100 given by the newspaper. He was not the only one to submit the name, but he was the first.
 
The Reporter-News feels that it is a good name, one that is descriptive without being boastful. In two words, Big Country speaks volumes about this vast section of a vast state.
 
It is Big, certainly, in distances, distances that are spanned by superb highways that speed heavy traffic, tourism and commerce into and across the area.
 
It is Big in resources and diversity of economy, throbbing as it does with oil and gas, agriculture and ranching, gypsum, cement, clay and aggregate that support numerous industries manufacturing building supplies; colleges which have provided educational opportunities even from the frontier days, retailing, wholesaling, military.
 
It is Big in achievements of the past, as well as opportunities that beckon in a bright future.
 
It is Big in its open skies, its sunshine, its moderate weather that favors outdoor activity in all but a few days of the year.
 
It is Big, commensurate with its weather, in its appetite for recreation, as well as its opportunities for gratifying it. The country abounds in lakes for fishing, swimming and boating; wide expanses for hunting, and sweeping greenswards for golf, even in the smallest communities.
 
And finally, if not first, It is Big in people, in the quality of their lives; their aspirations for themselves, their families and their communities; in their patriotism and devotion to country, in their friendliness and openheartedness; in their abilities as demonstrated by the progress of their cities and region.
 
And where is the Big Country? It is that expansive land, not defined in too restrictive terms, which shares many interest in common in politics, culture, economics and philosophy of life. It stretches from the peanut land and Cross Timbers on the east to the Permian Basin on the west; from the ranching country on the south to the wheat country on the north. Most of it is embraced in the 17th Congressional District. Much, but not all, of it also lies within the 24th State Senatorial District.
 
It is Big Country, and our salute to Mr. Brooke for appropriately naming it, to the thousands of others who joined the contest, and to the judges who decided it.
   
2 October 1969, Dallas (TX) Morning News, section A, pg. 23:
James P. Chapel, M.D., of Abilene, also writes that the ‘Big Country” champion chili cook, Dr. Ralph Donnell of Abilene, should be permitted to joust with Wick before Fowler clears for the big cookoff at Terlingua.
 
20 August 1970, Dallas (TX) Morning News, section A, pg. 7 ad:
College age youth, as a lot of others, make their minds up at the last minute. Hardin-Simmons University, located in the heart of the “Big Country” in Abilene, has space available in modern resident halls for both men and women.
 
11 October 1970, Dallas (TX) Morning News, section A, pg. 28:
THE MYSTERY man was a familiar sight in Anson and throughout the Big Country, as the Abilene area is called.
 
26 March 1971, New York (NY) Times, pg. 18:
In the mid-fifties, a typical oil pump in this part of west-central Texas—“the big country”—cost about $3,000 and the oil it brought up sold for about 7 cents a gallon.
(The story is datelined from Abilene - -ed.)
   
3 October 1971, Dallas (TX) Morning News, section A, pg. 11:
The Reporter-News, a member of the Harte-Hanks newspaper group, serves a large segment of West Texas which it has labelled “The Big Country.”
   
Fly Away Cafe
Matchbook Monday: Pick Abilene
by Mary Jo Manzanares on June 16th, 2008
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Abilene calls itself the “Friendly Frontier”, positioning itself as a balance of traditional Old West heritage and contemporary city.  It is in the central part of Texas, about 150 miles west of Fort Worth, and strikes me as a big small town.  Big in the sense that the population is over 100,000, but small in the sense that it is still very much of a community, rather than an impersonal city.  It looks like there’s lot to do in Abilene from visiting animals, enjoying arts and theater, viewing some historical sites, and shopping.
 
In fact, Abilene has evolved to become the commercial, retail, medical and transportation hub of a goodly sized piece of Texas real estate commonly called “The Big Country” or “The Texas Midwest.”  Housing and services are still considered in the affordable range!  Detailed information about doing business in the city can be obtained from the Abilene Chamber of Commerce.
 
(Trademark)
Word Mark BIG COUNTRY
Goods and Services (CANCELLED) IC 031. US 046. G & S: Fresh Fruits and Vegetables. FIRST USE: 19750700. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 19750700
Mark Drawing Code (3) DESIGN PLUS WORDS, LETTERS, AND/OR NUMBERS
Design Search Code 02.01.02 - Men depicted as shadows or silhouettes of men; Silhouettes of men
02.01.07 - Cowboys; Men, cowboys, and westerners; Westerners
02.01.24 - Band uniforms (men wearing); Cavalrymen; Men, soldiers, cavalrymen, men in military uniform, including men dressed in band uniforms with a military appearance; Military men; Soldiers
02.09.17 - Humans, including men, women and children, depicted riding horses and other animals; Riding animals, humans
06.01.04 - Mountains (landscapes); Scenery with mountains
Serial Number 73231789
Filing Date September 18, 1979
Current Filing Basis 1A
Original Filing Basis 1A
Published for Opposition April 28, 1981
Registration Number 1162123
Registration Date July 21, 1981
Owner (REGISTRANT) Floydada Pepper & Vegetable Co., Inc. CORPORATION TEXAS P.O. Box 447 900 N. 2nd St. Floydada TEXAS 79235
Type of Mark TRADEMARK
Register PRINCIPAL
Live/Dead Indicator DEAD
Cancellation Date February 3, 1988
 
(Trademark)
Word Mark BIG COUNTRY
Goods and Services (CANCELLED) IC 031. US 001. G & S: Agricultural Seeds. FIRST USE: 19760901. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 19760901
Mark Drawing Code (3) DESIGN PLUS WORDS, LETTERS, AND/OR NUMBERS
Design Search Code 01.01.03 - Star - a single star with five points
01.17.11 - Maps of states of the United States, excluding Texas
26.13.28 - Miscellaneous designs with overall quadrilateral shape; Quadrilateral shapes (miscellaneous overall shape)
Serial Number 73300071
Filing Date March 6, 1981
Current Filing Basis 1A
Original Filing Basis 1A
Published for Opposition February 16, 1982
Registration Number 1195324
Registration Date May 11, 1982
Owner (REGISTRANT) Highland Seed Co., Inc. CORPORATION TEXAS P.O. Box 16854 Lubbock TEXAS 79490
Attorney of Record Harvey B. Jacobson
Disclaimer The outline map of the state of Texas is disclaimed apart from the mark as shown.
Type of Mark TRADEMARK
Register PRINCIPAL
Live/Dead Indicator DEAD
Cancellation Date December 23, 1988
 
(Trademark)
Word Mark BIG COUNTRY
Goods and Services (CANCELLED) IC 006. US 002 025. G & S: Metal Tool Boxes and Metal Locks for Windows, Tires and Gas Tanks. FIRST USE: 19760000. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 19760000
(CANCELLED) IC 011. US 021. G & S: Electric License Plate Lights. FIRST USE: 19751000. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 19751000
(CANCELLED) IC 012. US 019. G & S: Automobile Parts-Namely, Truck Bed Rails, Grill Guards, Mud Flaps, Spare Tire Carriers, Side Mirrors, Auxiliary Gas Tanks, Hitch Balls, Tailgate Guards, Inbed Mats, Cab Windows, Running Boards, Full Bed Liners, and Sunshade Headache Racks. FIRST USE: 19751000. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 19751000
Mark Drawing Code (1) TYPED DRAWING
Serial Number 73426067
Filing Date May 16, 1983
Current Filing Basis 1A
Original Filing Basis 1A
Published for Opposition November 27, 1984
Registration Number 1317594
Registration Date February 5, 1985
Owner (REGISTRANT) Texas Products Manufacturing, Inc. CORPORATION TEXAS P.O. Box 20659 403 S. W.W. White Rd. San Antonio TEXAS 78220
Attorney of Record Donald R. Comuzzi
Prior Registrations 1059863
Type of Mark TRADEMARK
Register PRINCIPAL
Live/Dead Indicator DEAD
Cancellation Date June 4, 1991
 
(Trademark)
Word Mark BIG COUNTRY FEDERAL CREDIT UNION
Goods and Services (ABANDONED) IC 036. US 100 101 102. G & S: Credit unions
Standard Characters Claimed
Mark Drawing Code (4) STANDARD CHARACTER MARK
Serial Number 77060996
Filing Date December 11, 2006
Current Filing Basis 1B
Original Filing Basis 1B
Owner (APPLICANT) Communities of Abilene Federal Credit Union FEDERALLY CHARTERED CREDIT UNION TEXAS 3661 N. 6th Street Abilene TEXAS 79603
Attorney of Record Stewart L. Gitler
Disclaimer NO CLAIM IS MADE TO THE EXCLUSIVE RIGHT TO USE “FEDERAL CREDIT UNION” APART FROM THE MARK AS SHOWN
Type of Mark SERVICE MARK
Register PRINCIPAL
Live/Dead Indicator DEAD
Abandonment Date October 12, 2007
 
(Trademark)
Word Mark BIG COUNTRY CHECKING
Goods and Services IC 036. US 100 101 102. G & S: Checking account services. FIRST USE: 20070401. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 20070401
Standard Characters Claimed
Mark Drawing Code (4) STANDARD CHARACTER MARK
Serial Number 77340771
Filing Date November 30, 2007
Current Filing Basis 1A
Original Filing Basis 1A
Published for Opposition May 6, 2008
Owner (APPLICANT) Communities of Abilene Federal Credit Union FEDERALLY CHARTERED CREDIT UNION UNITED STATES 3661 N. 6th Street Abilene TEXAS 79603
Attorney of Record Stewart L. Gitler
Disclaimer NO CLAIM IS MADE TO THE EXCLUSIVE RIGHT TO USE “CHECKING” APART FROM THE MARK AS SHOWN
Type of Mark SERVICE MARK
Register PRINCIPAL
Live/Dead Indicator LIVE