What Was Lubbock Like in the 1990s? A Look Back at Lubbock’s Past

The 1990s in Lubbock, Texas- "what a time to be alive." Lubbock, like the rest of the world, has changed tremendously since, as the kids would say, "the nineteen hundreds". I do feel that change has been ever more steep for what was once such a sleepy and oh-so-isolated place.

Read More: Memorable Sounds Of 1990s Childhood In Lubbock l

Lubbock Infrastructure In the 90s

In the 90s, I-27 was brand new, and there was no Marsha Sharp and no hint of Loop 88. Getting from one place to another just felt slower, but there were significantly fewer places to get to, as 82nd Street marked the end of civilization. West Lubbock was also very underdeveloped, and North Lubbock still hadn't shaken the effects of the 1970 tornado, which leveled huge chunks of neighborhoods out there. I would frequently walk among the ruins, sitting on the remains of walls or empty windows to read comic books and listen to bird calls.

Read More: 10 Things I Will Never Miss About Lubbock From 'Back In the Day'

Lubbock had a tremendous flooding problem in the 90s. I can feel you raising your eyebrow, and yes, I still cringe when I have to take my little car out during a rainstorm. But in the 90s it was dang near biblical- with water sometimes standing for days after a big downpour. And ice would always shut the whole town down.

 No Booze, No Weirdos

Lubbock was a dry county for the entire 90s (alcohol becoming legal to purchase in town in 2008 because we were so 2000-and-late). This created a culture of drunk driving I mean, cruising, as people travelled to 98th Street and back for beer, wine, and liquor. It was probably a great time to own a bar, not only for the alcohol sales but also because many more mid-sized bands came to town to perform here, as it made logistical sense back then.

Despite the many great shows in the 90s, being a rocker or a weirdo was still a social liability. Strangers would openly call you a devil worshipper or ask what carnival you came from (source: both things happened to me as a child who wore rock shirts). Lubbock fully invested in the extreme nonsense that was the "Satanic Panic," going as far as to change school mascots- did you know Waters was once the Wizards?

Interestingly, this led to various different kinds of weirdos banding together. I still have mad love for my friends who were hippies, metal heads, punk rockers, emos, and people who liked anime. Yes, that qualified you back then. Thanks for walking around the mall 9000 times with me, flaunting our strangeness like an invasive species of brightly colored birds.

When Marilyn Manson performed here in 1997, the local news interviewed my dad, and I became the subject of weird attention at school the next day because he had stated, "Well, I'm taking my kid." He did, and I had a great and wildly strange time. Protesters paid for tickets to get into the show to hold signs decrying Manson's evil, and he could not have wished for better publicity. Someone brought a mouse and threw it at them. The mouse didn't do anything to deserve that.

Brown And Stinky

With fewer buildings, fewer trees, and less space, Lubbock was way browner and way more stinky. The flavor of feed lots invaded your olfactory senses most nights, and God help you if you had a dust allergy. Cotton fields dotted many areas in town, and I loved to walk through the rows, if only to get away from the cigarette smoke that clung to most folks' clothes.

I do miss that extreme quiet sometimes. I crave that deliciously lonely, boring feeling now that I live in an uber-connected, media-saturated world.

Perhaps I'll take some time to walk around the middle of nowhere, even if nowhere moved elsewhere, and enjoy the silence among the horned lizards (in the 90s we said horny toads, which is way funnier), the jackrabbits, the snakes, and hawks. I'll say howdy to unkempt yuccas, sprawling patches of prickly pear, and scraggly, twisted trees. Even in this future, I still long for our prairie past (minus the whiff of cow dung).