Traces of Texas reader Sandra Tasley graciously sent in this photo of Will Risper, the tamale king of Nacogdoches, circa 1950. Sandra sent this to me and said that she remembered Mr. Risper hauling his tamale cart through the streets of Nacogdoches and that his tamales were "so good!!!!" I had never heard of Mr. Risper, so Sandra's photo sent me down a rabbit hole of discovery, as such things are prone to do. Will Risper was actually Charles William Risper, Jr. He was born in Mississippi in 1896 and died in Nacogdoches in 1978. For about 40 years, from the 1930s-1970s, he had a tamale cart that he moved around Nacogdoches. The cart was pulled by mules or by horses. The legendary Frank Tolbert wrote an article about Will, describing him as a peddler chanting out the sounds of “hot tamales, hot tamales and that ain’t all.” The article said he was a hot tamale peddler doubling as a bootlegger who sold spirits that he made in his backyard. If true, that makes the story even better, from my point of view. Will sold his tamale business a few years before he died. He is buried in the Pine Grove Cemetery in Nacogdoches. Thank you, Sandra. I loved reading about Mr. Risper, and find myself craving tamales now. 😃