Where's Little Joe...

[SHANEA]

http://www.mywesttexas.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=17601971&BRD=2288&PAG=461&dept_id=475626&rfi=6

O'DONNELL -- Dan Blocker was the largest baby born in the history of DeKalb County in East Texas. By the time he and his family moved to O'Donnell, when he was 6, he was really big. Town legend has it Blocker made his acting debut when he played the giant in a first-grade production of Jack and the Beanstalk. And once, when his family ordered him a pair of Boy Scout pants, by the time they arrived in the mail he was already too big for them.

But Dan Blocker was not a big name because he was so large. He was big because of the kind-hearted cowboy he played on television's classic Western drama, "Bonanza." As Hoss Cartwright, Blocker was a giant of a man because of his gentle nature.

Blocker's memory is perpetuated not just in reruns of "Bonanza," but also at the Dan Blocker Memorial and O'Donnell Museum in downtown O'Donnell.

The O'Donnell Museum houses hundreds, maybe thousands, of old artifacts relevant to the history of the small Lynn County town. Within the museum is the Blocker Museum, a tiny, by comparison, area that pays tribute to Blocker and the TV great he created.

The Blocker Museum is adorned with a number of studio slicks from his Bonanza Days. It's interesting to note there is only one surviving cast member. Lorne Greene, Michael Landon and Blocker are all deceased. Pernell Roberts and a secondary cast member, David Canary, are the only main ensemble members surviving.

The museum features at least two items that show just how large he was, including a mannequin dressed in his clothes that shows he was the size of someone at least 5 feet 8 inches tall -- when he was 11.

A photograph of Blocker in scouts shows he was as tall as his troop leader.

Memorabilia items recall that Blocker attended both Hardin Simmons and later Sul Ross, in Alpine. He moved with his family to O'Donnell when the Blockers opened a general store downtown. The family moved from O'Donnell in 1960.

"He was a good guy, he had a natural acting ability," said Elaine Pearson, who offers guided tours of not only the museum downtown, but the park across the street that features a bust of Blocker in a 10-gallon Hoss Cartwright hat and his famous vest.

Harold Hohn, another resident, remembered how nice the Blocker family was and joked that both Blocker and Landon were known to be cut ups on the Bonanza set.

Pearson recalled one story that indicated his being a cut up may have extended beyond the TV set.

"A man named John Poindexter bought a corn popper from Dan in 1937," Pearson said. "Dan asked the man if he wanted to buy it and charged him 15 cents. Mr. Poindexter went inside the store and told Mr. Blocker about the transaction and Mr. Blocker told the man to keep the popper. That was quite a deal for a corn popper in those days. We always wondered what Dan got after his daddy found out."

Blocker died at age 43, the victim of a blood clot in his lung following surgery.

DIRECTIONS: The Dan Blocker Memorial and the O'Donnell Museum are both in downtown O'Donnell. From Midland, exit Texas Highway 87, approximately 20 miles north of Lamesa, onto 9th street (or Hwy. 76). At the dead end, turn left onto Doak Street. The museum is on Eighth and Doak.