DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Now, you might drive past this place and think — nice house, neat yard, nothing too fancy. And you'd be right.
That's kind of the whole point. Architect William Flick designed it, and it went up between 1921 and 1923 for a man named Arnold Adolph Spacek and his wife Mary Julia, born a Cervenka. They called him A.
A. Spacek, and around Granger, that name meant something. Grocer.
Banker. Merchant. Postmaster.
Mayor. The man wore a lot of hats, and from the look of this bungalow, he didn't feel the need to brag about any of them in brick and mortar. Now here's where the story gets interesting — A.
A. Spacek was closely associated with Governor Dan Moody, which tells you he was running in some serious circles. But then there's this other friend of his.
A future president of the United States, Lyndon B. Johnson, knew this Granger grocer personally. And Johnson — who had a gift for sizing people up and pinning a name on 'em — looked at Arnold Adolph Spacek, two big A's right there in the man's name, and said: we're calling you Double A.
Just like that. The nickname stuck. Now the house itself — Flick gave it the craftsman and prairie school treatment.
Low pitched gable roof, eaves that hang out wide like they're offering shade to anyone who passes by. Modest is the word the record uses. But modest doesn't mean small in spirit.
A. A. Spacek was born in 1896 and died in 1952, and somewhere in between, a future president decided this man was worth knowin' by name.
In a town like Granger, Texas, in a house that doesn't shout — that's about as Texan a story as they come.
What the marker says
Designed by architect William Flick, this house was built between 1921 and 1923 for Arnold Adolph (A. A.) Spacek and his wife Mary Julia (Cervenka). A. A. Spacek (1896-1952) was a locally prominent grocer, banker and merchant who also served as postmaster and mayor of Granger. He was closely associated with Governor Dan Moody and a friend of future President Lyndon B. Johnson, who gave him the nickname "Double A." The house is a modest bungalow with typical craftsman and prairie school characteristics, such as the low pitched gable roof and widely overhanging eaves. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1999