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A pioneer in plant automation, Babcock was instrumental in turning Paris into the cabinetmaking center of Texas in the 1870s. Plus, he reportedly helped charter the Paris and Great Northern Railroad Company, for which he sat on the first board of directors. He was also a board member for Evergreen Cemetery, according to an employee there, where Babcock retired for good in 1881. His wife Belinda was interred next to him 28 years later. Of course, nobody’s aware of any of this because … well, it all falls by the wayside once you stick Christ in a pair of snakeskins. The truth is, no one’s sure that’s actually Jesus up there on the Babcocks’ pedestal. Some think he looks a little too feminine. Besides, closer inspection shows the individual isn’t carrying a cross, just leaning on one. |
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There are a few who think the Babcocks were atheists. Evidently, theirs is the only marker in the cemetery with a statue that isn’t facing east. Plus, being that anything upside-down is a sure sign of godlessness, the atheism theorists like to point out the inverted torches carved into the pedestal’s base. The Justin Ropers are apparently the kickers, so to speak––just a final act of blasphemy, like putting the Virgin Mary in a Stetson. Superintendent Jim has his own hypothesis. “I think the man had a sense of humor about the whole thing and that’s why he set it up that way, so it would give everybody something to work on. … Had the man died today, you would probably see the same statue up there with Nikes. He was just a pretty cool guy.” |