c

INTRODUCTION

thrre rm thr nnotrc ol [y frChcr, F. l,lyron Brrsr Sr. Thry rrrr vrtttm aC Ehc nqucrt of hts grandson, Douglar !f. Brrlr buE r.hElvts rnd rrny ol hls frlcnds hr,vr rcqurstrd coplcr. Oth.att rapoctelly thocc lnG.r.rt.d tn cortetn tecrEr of Lllo tn s@ll Eornt tn Toxer durlng tho Br.nCtrth ccnCtryr nry tlnd Ehcc lnErrrattng rcedlng.

My lrthor rr! e lnall-torm nm. llo dlsllkrd ctttcr end tcndtd Eo br co[dhrC rurplclour of proglc sho ltvod ln Ehrl. lh rer lntti.lG.d ln proploe end hr rrnCrd Eo hrorr hle nolghbors. lle hrd neny frtrndrt end hr h.d Gho r.rp.ct of rwryon. who kn.s hl8. Itc dlcd on Jun.21 1986t end eE hls funeral Ehc sxrctu.ay of tho Flrst Unl.Ecd M.thodtrt Church ln Curro, lcxae, rrlr tlllcd to eap.clty.

My frGh.? rrs born on Juno 29, 19011 ln Alverado, Ttxer, buC ry grendprrontc Ev.d Eo Ath.nr, trxll , rhrn hr rer e yrrr old. Much of hts youch rrr sp.ng ln Jofttrgon, tcrec, buE hr atso llvrd brlrfly ln Yortul rnd Kcnody. lh grrduetrd tron hlgh school ln Jrtf.fson tn 19t7 T .nd .nE.rrd SouClposCrn Unlrcratty ln GcorgoEorne In 1919 h. lnt.rrupEld htr rCudlu rC SouClrret.En Eo rork ln e brnk ln lflchlte Falls drrrlng thr BtskhcnrCt ol1 boon, arvlng hlr onry so Eh.C hc could cosplcto hlr collegr rtudlrrr llc rrEurrrcd Eo SouC[rr.lCrrrr ln tho lell of 1920, rnd ln Eh! spalng Eaa! of 1921 hr rC !y DChea Eh.rc. thcy rarc both ln Ehr srntor clrre oC L922.

My lsch.8 thrtd ln Cuoro, tcxecr tor slxty-fqr 3lalf,lo Hc res a Chrtccl.n g.nGlcran.

Frrnk l,l. Besrl Jr.

F<-e. o I RE,TE}T8ER

Yol I r.Dlb.r. But nh.aG does rnry rtrlly bogln? Unltt I rer mertng ry t..ns I thoughC I rorrbrrcd thtngr Eh.C h.pFnrd ln Ehe Sprnlrh- Anrlcen !frr. thrc trrpprnrd betore f nra born. Pcrhepr proph r.a. stlll E.lllng ebonc Ehr rtnltng of thc B.ttlolhtp Mclno, trddy Roocrvrlctc Rough Rldrrt, otGe r rhon r rrr rorl,l lrd Ehrc nrdr r thtnk r r.rlb.rrd th.!. I do r.Iab.r rorlng errql rltlo lron th.G rra botng rold by Eh. scorc rhcrc ry frttrt rorbd. I ruppoor Eh.G r.s rround 1905 to 1908. It rrs thl Prrhlnr Erotherf SEor. ln AGh.ar, tcxllo lhc grraa nrc ln r buhtt or gtdtrt conCttnor on th. rldcrrll ln tronG of Eh. rtolco Thoy strrd v.ay loag to Dr od !h.y hd shrrp-polnG.d d.tachebh b.yon3cr th.G fttErd on Bhr tront of Eht brrrrl. l{y rrcoll.ctlon tr th.t th.y !.rG rold lor Jurt Elrrre or four dollrrt.

Por lrny y..rt I Ehought I rrnrbcrrd brlng lrlE ln a church rE ntghG rttr .vrr:ion. clr hrd gono hon and brlng rrry frtghtened. But ly Dth.a told r brtorr' chr dhd EhrE tE n u!? heppnned. I rupporo lE rrr e brd drril thrC r..fd ro rrtl EhrG tE ateyod.rlEh nr

lhe llrut hour Eh.C I drllntCrly ncell ltvtni ln src r rrrll houlc, ths.. or fonr roolr, r Ehlak, on Ehr couGh rldr of AGh.nr, rbout four or fltlr blockt trol Ehr, 3!6j1, rh.rl ly fethor rorhlrl. gttrlrrn thrG houre, rnd donnCorn r.t . hourl rh.8r r lotly n.Dd Murph ttvrd. Ollvle rta born ln Ehrc hour. rh.a I nrl f,our yrrrt oldl but ly nDry of th.G occerlon lg erty v.gu.'. In lrtrr y..rl I ru told ch. tlrrG rrrhnd brforr tt* doctor gog Eh.r. to dellrrr hrr. I hrvr r dlr recolhctton o! rorthlng exctEtng hrppralngr but r. plccure of Tenntc ltrc dashlng ln lc ur.only on- by elad hrl rccelnrdo Thry llvrd north of Ehr s3slpropo||lbly E3n blockr frot rhrrr rr tl'nd. llc hrd no trhphonrl lnd I hevr no ldcr hor rhr hurd o! Eha .Dtgancy. Shr rra rbouE ohvrn .E th.,Elr. pry thero ll r v.grr plcnrrc of I houer rr llvrd ln prlor to Eh.t on . It lrac hrw brra ..!t o! Ehrt onr e lrr blocka, but ln Ehc rer vlclaltyr A rchoolhouslr rn lcr plenEl end e lrntly nrrd ttobhy rr3 rrrocl.t.d elth lhrc dlr mDty3 I hrrn lo plcEurr of hor lE lookrd tn ry nlnd. lfe rcvrd Eo Athaaa fror,Alver.do, rhrrc r rec born, rhrn r rer r yeer oldr I hevr b..n Eold. And I rrr Bold rr tlvrd ln grwn hource ln thr ravrrn yrrar lh.t r. llwd tn Athrnr. thls \ngu. rroollcctlon nrrt bo of Eh. fourth houlr n llvrd tn tlra. bocruro I doflnltrly rcrtb.r Etrrer oGh.rl--tho one sh.rr Ollvlr rrr born rnd trro oGharto

shortly rttrr ollvle rrr borrr tr Dv.d lnco e hourr Jurt north o! rhrrc tlr, Murph lerlly llvrd. fhcrr e.ro ttrr.o boye ln Ehr Murph ferlly. yr3 9tr! ncd Mlk r otr. rrr.r celhd tDr end th. thltd onr I donf t rocell. l{tkr rr|'about !f r8.r nmrly !lvr, rt EhrE Ett. lfe boGh vorr drlms rlGh lrcy collca ead hrd loog blond curlr. I curG nrlbrr rr!.aclng tt t6g lEchr ro I cuppolr rll boyr of th.G rgr rnrr drrreed llhr Ehet rG th.t, tlr. l"rtG on, Mrne hed e lergo lrerd plcturr of r ln Eht dreg trd cgrtrr rnd Llon dr$r.d vrry uurtrhtyr hrnjtng [n our gnrlor. I rould g.E erry .ng"y uhen peoplc rould con tn rnd rck sho Eh.E ltEtlo. glrl vrc nlth lnon. 2

thc houcr north ol Ehr Murphrr rrr blggrr thrn th. one rherr Ollvlr ral botn. I r.ISor EhrC rE on. Etr I|! .vln rcnCrd out I roor Co r lrdy. Thr rntry r.r tnto e hrllrry. rhe root Eh.G chr ledy a.nt.d e.r on Eh3 l.tt of thr h.ll. lfr nrct hrvr hed .t l.r.C tlu.. roor on Eh. rtghB og th. hrll. One nlghC re rrrrr strrcled by ccrern coclng lrol Ehr lrdy.r fool. I hevr e vtvtd plctun ol Pepr tn hlr tong rhttr nlghCrhlrt nnntng out ln Eh. hrll holdlttg rn oll lelp rbovr hta hrrd. tht hour hid no tcr..na on Eho rlndorr. Soronr hrd rorchrd chrough Ehc oprn rtndor, grrbbrd tln rcrmf r rrir, lad nOrly lrtghCmrd hrr Eo derGhr lhrn ls rnothrr therp plctur. of rn cwnc chrc hrppened ln thr hell ol thrt hou!1. IE tr of rn otl lup cuddrnly flctng up rlth ftuc rbow thr chlnerr rrrd of Prgr sn.tchlng lE up md hurllng lE ouE Eh. dooro IE probrbly rould hrvr cxplodrd end brrrn d Eh. houto ll h. hrd not rcE.d qulclly. lfr hed r gerdrn rt th.t plect Goor It sa.rd to covra r wholc btocl co r bocrun Lcon ottrn hlechtd D Eo I g$drn plw rhon rl w.r. a$lgncd Eo Etll 18. lrttr rhcn I vtgtErd Athrns I grr lC rrs about 30 by 50 fect.

It rra vhl 1r r. f,ir. llvlng ln Ehls houle thrB l.tanl took L.qr; D1 rnd ErbyrttC.t Ollvlr Eo vl3lE hrr percnGs ln Oklahore. They ltvrd on a tear n..r llobrrto lhr f.rn e.! on tsnd EhrE Eh. gov.rnffirG opmtd up for sttllrrnt .aound tho tr8tr of tha canhtry, GrendtrChcr. ! n.na rer Thotrs A. Cott.r. GrrndrcChrt trr Frmcrr DllzrbrEh (Prln) CoGt.r. Thoy hed llwd ln or nrer Alvrredo rhcn HrDr md Pepr nraftcd. I rrcrll Eh.la srytng Mrlr rll rGtrndlng tttdtothlrn Collrgr, ntrr Alvrredo, rhrn th.y rl1t rury Eo glB lrall.dl mc th.C Mm, Eold Eh.r lrGrr rhe hrd gonr llchtng end crught t B.!.o Prpr hrd llvrd rtth htr baoth.r, Jolur, rhrn lp flrat c.r co Alvrndor .8d Eh.tr ar.'nny Erl.r oC Ehr F.cEtcrl Jokm Uncb John prllcd on hlr. Omr or boEht of Eh.! rrr rrployrd by r l{lrtrot dry goodr rtor. rnd |.aoclrEld vtth Joo grd Srr Prrktne rho hEer o]rn d a chrln of stona. Pepr hrd cor Eo Athrns'Eo vork for chr Prrklnr scorl, rhlch Uncle John urrgrd, yhan I rrr around r ymr old.

The rcnrlng rrr r.rt suppor.d co EaL tho Earln lroo Atlrnr to'Hobaft, Che clm cloct f,etlcd ro go off. FortunrErly ebout 3O llnutcr brforc Erela EtD I rolhd out of bed and htE Eh. floor rtth r loud hup. I dtetlnctly roctll th. hr!t. end txctEuat o! grttlng Eo Eh. drpoE on thr.

llhrn re goc to Hobert lE rra nlghE. Grrndpr, Coctrr !.8 u, rt Eh. tcrclon rtch . ergon pullcd by r tren of horg.r. tho fen anrt hern bcen ervrtrl rllcr fror Eornr. Thr cotmery r.g c3 flrt rt a dlnlng Geblc. rt rlr brlghC monllghc and ch.r! nrrr nlllfons of llghtntng Uugt ra f,ar ec. Ehr cyc. could re ln evrry dtnctlon.

hro or tlrm rccoll.cCtonr ebout Ehc fet-n. One lc of e llttb red srgon thaE Grudpa gerr Icon rnd D to pley rtth. lf. prthd lt ouG to Eho fl.ld qrc ntnlng rrhrro Ehcy rrrrr cuttlng tllrlfr end lordlng tt on a r.gon rtth htgh rldoboerdt., Meutrs iDung.sc baoth.r, r E.lrugf,r rg the. !l-r !t.pp.d up on thr ltctlc rrd ergon to g.t ln Ehe blg regon. thc llEtle ono collaprcd. Grrndpe.s Eeopor flared. He ptckrd up Ehe strtpplng Etan.g.rr Ehrer hln acrorr Ehc ergon; and spenked.thc scrt of, hlg prnts very brlckly. Anoctpr plcturr ln oy nlnd ls of th. ftrst Earctor I cvrr 3 srr. It rrr I staa&drtrnn rttrlr rnd alrcrE ea blg ra I locoroctva. lfhrn I llrrc srr tt th.y flrrr uslng lE Eo drlrn a crchlnc ch.t w8s Ehr.lhlng rh..t. Thr grrln rrrs collng ouE a chuEa end golng lnEo a Elgooo the straw ras golng onto a huge ptle. On Eop of thet ptle of strre wta Ehe Etll€.t [rn I hanr .rfiar s€.n. I EhoughE ha t'|8 | glanE. thay lotd D It rer Unclo Berton Groaclocc, who had nerrled l.lemets slst.r Myrtlc. I brltevr Ehcy setd hc wee Just scrr.n feeE Eall, but I remnber he had to ttoop Eo g.E through Drt doors. A very trtghtenlng experlencc happencd ohc dey rh.n v.'nnt lnEo llobert. A btg Indlan nen dresacd tn e blanket rea prrhlng e brby buggy dorn Ehe sldrrrlk. tlhcn ho puerd uc he ruchcd dornr plck d il op, and srt n ln th. buggy, lfhln hr dtd, hr celd ln a 'Glvo ktnd of grnrnEr brby rtdrr !Ilv! blby.rldr.' lh ooant no hrrn, but r donft hros of uy Etr tn ly llfr Ehet I yu !or. trrrllled. tlr hed hrerd so !.cry Erl.r ebout Indiens ktdnrpptng rnd scalplng pnoph. I had nav.r r.an an Indtan brf,oror so lE grrn D e rcel scero.

So urny Ehtngs brgtn Eo crond lnto ny Dery nofl thrt I cen s.e th.t lf r rrlEc Ehcn ell dosn Ehl'tlforld could noc conGsln Eh.[." LeE I[ nntlon Jurc onr @re EhlE heppcncd brfom rc mwd tnEo Eho nrxt housr ln Ath.nro I had b..n Eo tho gtoro rhrrc paga rorked end rar ralklng hor. sonorc hrd gtwn D 8 p.rury .nd I wes elrt.d. lfhen I trlGd Eo sprnd ltr I nrn la on Ecota Eold r nry grutfly chrt r p3nny uouldnrt hry enythlng. I nnE out Eho dooe and ddn eh3 rtr..t robblng end rlEh taart tctnulng dorn Ly f,rcl" Anochar nrn, rho crltcd n .Skmtlrr" ectrrd nhrc nrt th3 !.tcrr .nd rooch.d ry lceltng! by srtllng r r rGlcr o! clrrlng gur. Hl rrc ry lrhnd tor ltfe rnd r.ltorcd ly Erurt ln huuntty. I rugpore ho crlhd n.rskrrtrt'r brceure I res vrry rlrll for ry rg3o

the nrxCr and Ehr lerC, housc rc llrnd tn tn AEhcns rea ln whrG f eup- pot. r.! r llttlc urc rtflu.nE r.cclon. IE rer up on e rllghE htll tn shrc I Ehlnk rec Ehr,north.r8t r.ctton of Eorn. Nonc of Eh. hour.r yO llr'tld ln hrd nnrnlng wlCcr or brEhtoolr [n Ehc hourc. lfetrr cer froa a nl1 ta Eh. yrrd. All hd oucdoor Eothtsr Nonc hed el.ctrlclty or phonrro thlt l|!C houcr rr8 .crorr fror a prlvetr gchool, or klndragrrt.n, rhrn f urnG Eo school ny llrsE yrcerr

AEhenar I r|lrDr r.! l gonn of rbouc 21000. IE rrs EhG county s.rg of llendrtton Coun3y. thr buctn.3s r.ccton r.r bullE etormd e rquep rlth Ehr cotnty courthoutr lt Eho c.nt.a. Tlrrro rtr no pr\rlrnE end no cr83r SEa..tt rrt. derp gtndo I cen sttll l..l Ehr! bu.rnlng r:l f,ert as I raced .crott' Ehc[ ln ry blra tmEr Thon e.J a rallroed--porslbly tlro. Ono rrr thl CoCEonBclE. A ner MothodtsE church bulldlng ver bullE nhllc r,a ltnd Eh.r.. IE var l \r.ry ornrt€ brtck bulldtng rlth rulttplc gablct. thc Sundry school roo!r'r.a'r s.p.rrt.d !ro! the rancEuery by a hugr (lt t.cu' go n) cgrtetn vhlch rolhd ug, aorEhlng on th. ord.r of Ehr top of r rollEog drlk. I crn rrcall Eh.c lE ladr qulEr I nollc rhrn lt rrr rollcd uPr tho pteture of Eho church ro .Et.nd.d bcforo EheE ons wrr hrllt tr qulCr Yt8|re ln ry slnd. IC s.ar Eo hrvr bon r oncotoo! rhlta raathat- borrd 3trucEure vtth r sc..pl. o! ron klnd locetcd soryhore [..r Eh. tt.t"a Erro hotrscr I hrrn docrlbrd. 4

Thc gndy coll around Ath.nr rrr gr..E rrtmlon tnd prech countryr also bhck-.y.d !a.r. Packtng shodc bought pcachca fron tho farrr.g and shlppcd ch.r out ln rellrord c.r3. I Ehtnk I rcnrnbcr sorons saytng thet 40 cer- lorde . d.y flGr. toctlnr shlppcd. Unclc John lfind on a sCr..t lcadtng Co thn prcktng hourc; md I cen rornbcr scol-ng long ltnes of horsc-drann ergon! fl.tElng Eh.lf gurrr Bo unlord. BcauCtful .lbertr peechcs Ehst rsre JulE rlght for local ua. wrre culled ouE becaus. Ehcy rould not k €p unttl Ehcy rrtchcd nerketr Mrqry brlngc Eo ntnd Ehc flgure of 259 e bushll EhaE Papr celd he peld for thr nany bushels hr broughc hom for cannlngr Pre3.r!v- lng, plckllng and Jelly-nakktt. the pcclln8s $.r1. us.d to uekc Jelly' I also rccetl Ehac Papa once bought a barrcl of shclled pcas froo e farcr shrn tho oark:C becam gluEtedr It sceog to il that wt had bleck-3y€d pcas for brrekfeet, dlnnorl and supper lor yeers. I was dellghted rhcn wcevlls ftnelly ard. theo lnedtbLer and I havr nover Ealen nrch dellght ln black- eyed pca: gtncc.

Mlss lda Dcll,ls ls the nar that cocg to ntnd as Ehc ceecher of the flrsc school I attended" It wra noc strlctty a ktndcrgertenr I can recall blggcr chlldren, perhapa up Eo slxth-grede ag€s. I rust havc hrd Eh. cqulvelone of r 613s6-grade currlculuo bcceuse I went on to Ehc stcond gredr ln publlc school Ehc ne:rt |€afo frro or threc lncldenEs fron thls flrgt ycar of school coD to nlnd. Onc nes when I w.t ry psnts on€ dry beceuee I rer too clnld to ratgc ny hand and ask to be €rcogGdr AnoEh€r rat cauted by uy playtng rlth son kttchcn utch.s whlch I hed hlddcn ln ry pockrt. Rubbing Eh.r Eog.Eh* ceuaed th€o Eo llght. A IoC ol erctEcnenE cntutd. AnoCh.r hrpprnrd rhcn an oldcr bpy fell ouG of e Ere. onto a plcbE fsncc. Onc of Ehr plckrcs trp.lcd hls E.sClcl.s.. f can stlll hera hls eca.rn! rlngtng tn n57ear. thet te thr only rccollectlon I hw. of the svant ro I suppor€ th.re t'rE no traglc outcoD.

IE res tn ghls hrE hous. Ehrt I refcrred to thrc anoBhcr slster nas born. Sho ras nard Urttt. Pearl. Mattte tor ltrme and Peart for Uncle Johnts rlfr.

Sonrhcre along Che llne ne had acqulred Dolly, e prctty llttle Jcrsry ntlLcw. I thlnk lE ner bctorr llq rcrnd lnto thts laeE house ln AEh.nsr brceugl of an lncldcnt th.E occurred trhen Leon trted Eo nllk hcf. Memr wrs thc only onr tn thc faotly thaE courd nllk. onc colde sloppy rrlnCor day ltama wac slck rlth a fevrr and Papa told L.on, before hc rushed otf Eo rorkl EhrE he nould hern Eo Ery Eo ol 1k Eh€ corr. Slnce lE was cold Mamr Eold hla to trke soD rerE water to vash eh3 tercs bofore he nl 1ked. H€ took bolllng hot t'tcer frou the tee ketEle. uhen he splashed LE on Dollyt s bsg she obJectcd vlolently, klckcd hls orrer ln EtE mrd and nanure of th. cqr loE end procarded to tre[p on hln a few Elms. I don.E thlnk hc orrdr atry ftrrth.r etforts to nltk her, and dontt reoenb€r who dld. Doll:l res stlll rlth ue when cr mtrd to Jefferson. I can recall hrlptng Eo load hcr ln tho boxcar wlEh thc regt of our household goods for Ehe talp.

Before Ehrt EovG, honevcr, I had one lbre school year ln Athens. My Eeachcr theE year r|s a Mlss Parker. Unfortunacely f,or ne she livEd rlght next to the prtvete school acrosa Ehe sEre€t fron ue. I say 5 unfortun.to becsusc shc caught r dlsobeylng Merua orr brtght sprtng nornlng. Boys rore knlckcrbockers end black cotton sEocktngs thrt cam eborae the knecr, and cumbcrson lcaEher shoeg. Scverat boys had qutt reerlng tholr shocs and stocktngs when Ehe rneEher goe eerE, but Mrme tnclstcd th.t I sEltl rear mlnc. On thc wey Eo school I took Ehoil off, htd Ehc[ under a culrrertr ertd procecded Eo school b.rafooted. The DDnC I st pp€d ln tho door Mtsc Perker dcnended Eo knor whore n5f shoat ttritor Sho had s.Gn D leevr honr nlth Ehcrn on rnd I rns dcnled lhc dcltghG of rrtggllng Ey Eo.s tn berefoot frecdon. BuE Mlss Perku rrrr vfry thoughEful to r. I nes so snall chrt ry feec uould noE reech tho floor trou thc rtcond-{Irade dcck8. She broughE a box for nc Eo Put 4t fceE on so thry sould not dangle ln Ehs atr all day. Buc hrr klndners brought on a loE of grtef for r. ouE of jealousy, oth€r boyg rould hldc lt. Meybr lt ras Just to terse D. rlhetelrar the reaaon, ln splte of ry lllltputlan stzcr I would tly lnto a g.rgrntuan rage, and nany tlghtc relulted. 6

JETFERSONI

lfe rcrnd Eo JeffGson ln Ehc su@r ol 1909. Papr l'as Eo !n nrg6 e Pcrktnr BroGh.t! dr*y gooda rEoro slntlar Eo tho onc hc hed rorkrd ln as a clerk ln AEhenco Thr store vas on e sldc atr.et, but b.tfl..n EhG neln burtnerr rEr.3t and Ehc poct offlce. Thcrc was no urtt dellncay 30 gh. enlryon rlsnt to porc offlce alooeE cvrry dey. My flrst Job for pry Ya3 rC Ehts ltore. I dcllrnred peckrgcc, rarhcd wlndoys, and hrlprd $raap Eho rEor. rnd stdenrlkr }ly legs n ro Eoo rhort Eo re.ch Ehc p.d.ls of Eh. btcych thet r uged for dcllwrles so I rode on on slde rtth one hg stuck bccrrccn thr bers Eo rcech th. oehsr podrl. Packrgct rcrc Eled to Eh. t..c rnd hrndlobrrs. I rec patd $1.25 prr rcrk durlng Eh€ ru@r nonth3 end felE vory rrll ott.

Jcffcrson ls rn old hlstorlcel torrn rrhlch res onc of Eh. hro blggect clttes tn texaa ln pre-rellroad dry8. Galvrc.cton, whlch ls a gull portr vled rrlEh Jetf€rson for Eop plece tn populetlono Jefferson etr d rlrnr port rnd ru Ehe ferth.ct lnlend thrt rl\,3r boats could travrl tron Ehc Gulf of Mcxtco. they travrled up Ehe Red Rlvrr fron the Mlcglsatppl Eo caddo Leke and up Btg cypress Bayou Eo Jeff,erson. Frllght r|r8 Fanaport.d to and fron the port and l,nland plecec by rrrgoa. r rrc told Ehrt Grmdgr cottcr often brought hls produce lron a f,erm neer eh.r. Fort tforth lr nor slEu.t.d Eo J€f!.rsonr.sold thc producc, bought htr auppllce ln Jotlorcon, drd carrlcd Eh.a brck hom tn Eh. elgon. thrrr nrc long llncc o! regone rrlttng co geG lnto Jefferson, errd tE ottrn took Eltr.o dryr lor your Euan co com Eo crocr Ehc brtdgr rftrr, g.eclng ln elght of Eorn. r dont E rennbor Grandpa coGterf s e\r:r E.lllng n'chrt hlnarlf, buG tt ls prrt of Ey recotlectton no ErGter hd tE got eh.8a.

tfh.n rallrords sctat d Eo €nter ?cxec lror rhc northearE, Jef,ferson auchortEtos entrgonlzrd ehcn. ttrey hed steenboaGsr l{ho needcd rallrords? A famuc rellroed tycoon rtrote on Ehe reglsEer rG Eh. old Excclstor Hot.l Eh.r.r "the end of Jcfferson, Texls. Irll ser grus grcrlng ln your sttQ.clrro IE tlrctc hepprnrd Gooe Thc rallroad clrclrd Eh. oucsklrts of Jrfferlonr 3.nt on Eo Harshall, butlE a rorradhoucc rnd shopt Eh€a'r. thtr crort.d qutte c btE of gaorch for Mtshello very soon rftor Ehrt, th. tycoon u!.d polltlcrl lnflucncs Eo geE e logJao reoovld fron Ehe rl\trrr clelnlng t E res ceurlng th. ftoodtng o! velurble faruland. thc rercvel ntd. Ch.'ttttoa Eoo ghellor for the sGarnbortt, rnd Joffersonts bubblc of ltportrncr bursCr

rn 1909 Jeffercon had a populecton, I would ertl!.te, of 11500, but thor3 $.rE rary stgnr of tts forur grandeur. Brtck ralls of nrny bulldlngs ggeE.d by flre stlll stoodr Meny of Eholr hrd taees o! con- sldrrtble slzr groring rtGhtn Ehrn. QulEe a fen abendoncd brtck butldtngs 3clll etood along the rlvtr ftont. lfe nrrc cold thrt Erny orn.rs hed set flrg to thelr orn bulldlngs to collect ln*rance wtren ttrey raallied Ehat burlnosr Protp.cta for Jcfferson had dled. IE ras srld thrc ftre lnsuranca. 7

w.r sttll hard to g.cr .ttd cxponrtrn, forty y.rrr eftrr Ehc lt||rtcr struclt. BuG thtrr t.rc D]ry lnEtr.ctlng old hons--soD bullE by slern labort -end en oucst.ndlng okl courthouse gttll stood nrerly a nllc troa tln c.nt.8 of Eh. bullnccs dlrtrlct.

Thr propl. e.rs cxcrerly lrtcndly end horpltrblc. I rrcnbc M.@r seylng Ehet rc lcrrt e trundrcd of Eh.E crn Eo cell on hrr ln th. lllrt reck or trn dryr trl n r. Eh.r.. Thc publtc cchool rrl lcrs Ehllr r btock fron rhcrc nr llvrd end Eh. M.Ghodtst Church about tro blockrr the scrcaGr $aan lErtly f.d cl.y rnd srnd. Thc houcc ra rrnt.d rrl 0a e hlllrtde stEh Ehr tcrcct .xcw.tcd srrnrel fe.t b.ld Eh. cldorelk lunl.

Tln houro ln Jolfcnon err renced lroc a Mr. Spclltngsr sho ltrnd yra ncxt door. Hc rn otflccr ln thr Rogrrs Neetonrl Benk. Hlc rtfe r|. r Rogrrr, end thry had a deughtor ebouG thc rgr of Lron. llrr nen rrr cerrlc lleybcrry. lfc conctd.red th.a rlch. Tho houcr sr llwd tn uer pcobrbly hrtlt tn thr ntnrt..nEh c.nHry buG sr! ln rrrry good repalr. IE r|a m L-lh.p.d hourc rlth one roon on Bhe stdc toyrrd torn end four ln e ror on the oEh.r rldr. Tlrrrc r.. r sr.ll fronc porch ornrtooktng th. rtr..c .nd e long brck porch rll elong thc lnrldr of chr L ln Eh. bcl. IE hd no nnurlng rec.r or lndoor pftrlrUfng snd no .loccrlclty, buc lt hrd r rntl on Ehe b.ck porch rtghc n rG E; Ehc kttchrn door. thlc rrr qulcr, r lurury es lE lrna cerrytng rrt.r fron r $e ll ln Eh. yrd. lfr conld drrr e Eub of clcer, cold reGrr out o! Eh. rrll on srcurdey umlngr, let tE clE ln th. lrm rll dey, |trd drtg lR lnEo Eh. ktEchan tor a nlco rrru brch EhrE ntght.

Thlr houro hrd e brek y.rd EhrG rrr blg enough for r gerdcn and a loc tor oolly. Thcy puc ln scrrr llnu rhllc ul rilr3 tn Jefftrron, but rc h.d no lndoor.plunbtng end ctlll uccd en ouGdoor tollcEr tf. dld g.c .l.ccatc ttghcr rhlle rlt ttrnd Eh.ree I romobcr crerllng around ln tln atttc rtth a anrr neDd Jtn sulllvln ar hc ctrung Ehc bleek vlres on porcrleln poltsr bored a hole ln Ehe otddle of, th. cotllng of eech roon' Jrd rctrchrd a drop ttghE ln each roo[o thc cord of Ehts llght rta t'to rlrer wlEh gr!.n lnculatlon, braldcd EotaGher. Thcrc e!! | b8r.r rockrc on tho end rlEh e black seltch thet Eurn d th. rlght oft and on. Thcrr fi.as no ouclacr ochcr Ehan Ghrsc ln Ehc ntddle of eectr roolr but thry $aac nlrurloul to ul. of coursc, tr Etlll hed Eo kecp otl lelpe .round tor carylc. rr.t noG too d.pendrblc. Brerkdorars occurrod frrqrrncly. Tlrc flrrg appllence r rennbcr yr! .n elecGalc lron, but I bellcvr rrea lE at th.3GoEer fitrnnrts lronr $are hartrd on Ehs gtovrt ind .ltsnlrt.d rr Eh.y coolcd oflr thc score h.d ltghcs (bofore Eh.y goc clectrlctty) ttret rnrr sloll.r co colenn lrnccrnc to hrr'. eodry, but op.rrC.d of,f a crnerel ryrt.no IE corulsGed o! . Grnf Eh.t h.l,d guoltnr rnd e hrnd puop co provlde elr pnlatrre. ptpea rbout Ehc slze of nrcuur-cteencr rendr certcd Eh. gr! ttrrougtrouG Eho stor.. Thcy hed Eo br llghted lndtvlttuelly and nrrc qultc e blt of Eroublcs but thry Erd. a brlghE llghc thrt re! nrch b€ttcr,.Ehen the electrrc ttghts of thrC days 8

lfhcn cchool sttat.d Ehrt fall, I rer tn tho Ehtrd gredco All grador Dt ln oac bulldtng. IE nra callcd Eh. n ah.t phcr end I suppor. Eh.E rer shrt lt wrr ln Jelfrrsonrc glory dayr. fhrrr rr.r .n audltorttr on thr llrat tloorr but ncerly all Ehc clasltooor e.r. on Eh. sacond floor.' l{y tcechrr, Mtce clnnlc p!c!ton, Erught Eh. second end Ehlrd gredcs tn thc srn roo[. I rcnrcber hrr ar r Elny llttle wootn wtro nouio lunp ug urd doun rnd clep her hendg Eog.Eh.r rhcn rhc got ex.sp.rrg.d etgh Ehr chlldrrn. Ono clccg r.. suppored Eo rttdy rtrtlc Eln othcr on rrr! rrclttng. lhc one brtng lnaGructed uould slt on long brnctrg ln Eh. lront of Eh. rooa and r3trrn to doublc decks rt| n Eh. hlcon ra8 ovtr Eo ltudy for thc mrt clar.. r ras stttl eo Elny r could g.e by l'tth our lesson, the boy n aE Eo D pstlon. tfhlle ho rer ct.ndtng I th. plece trherc he hed bcen slEttng. rd dorn hard on Ehe polnE of thr rhe alr screantng. The terchar asked hla Yh.t ln tho world.hc rer yelllng about, and hs seld, '.Myron sEuck hls pcncll up n.n she scoldrd hln ttYou and Eold hb to stt do$n .rri u" qut.E, knog hc dtdntE Drn Eor.t

IE nes durtng Ehls 37earEhaE I dectded Ehat I wanted to Ehe church. Joln If. hed been golng Eo sunday school regularly. I doniE rerDnber Eho Eeechcr but Ehe superlntend€nE t'as a Mr. Davc SnlEh rlEh snow rhlte helr. guo thcrc l,eri doors end tno atsleg tn th€ old Jefferson church (vhtch by Eh. ray ls stttl ln use). the Ehlng f rsrnbor Ls hts nerchtng ur ln onc door, dorn onc atsle, and up the other as l||E carrled ChrlsEten Analcan tlegs stngrng "'rd "ornrard chrtsEran Soldrers.- In ehr sgrrng of r9r.o rhrle I raa sErrr ln Ehc Ehrrd gradc an evengrltsttc Eean crnr Eo Eom foa a unlon revlvel meelng. It wac hold ln lhe second floor above a cotEon narehousco-t foon Ehre rra mrch blggcr than |ny ch,rrch audltorlun ln torn. In fact tt was laEer rsilodsled md neg servlng as a f,alrly large hotel. the evengeltst ras Lock€tt Adair, a vrry lerge nen rho nrrat htve relghed aE leaet 250 poundsi and thcre wes a profesalonel song leader. The servlce3 rrere well atEended and were vcry e&Clonal wlth ttle old-gt6 ftery hcll and brlmgtonc type of preechlng. ona nlghE rhcn he called for Ehose trho yrnt€d Eo b€ savcd to cor uo the alEarr rrcnt. r They took tly nae and sald Ehcy vould gtve lE to Ey pastor, rlro would sarangc for m Eo Jorn Ehg church. on the sunday efter chc r cvtvel Eho t'lethodtst Mtntster called out Ehe nars of Mcthodlsts trho had glrren Ehelr nloerr for ncnbcrshlp and gr\re Ehem Ehe votf! of the church. My nar wr! not calledo I nas Juat elght y€eas 01d and so snell I suppoce they rhought r ras Eoo ltttle Eo knor whet I wae dolng. gut, shy ac r rasl I rent up co Ehe preachcr after church and told htn I wrE supposed Eo Eooo Hc looked Joln e ltttl. s'rprrsed but satd Eh€y uourd sure Eake '" rn Ehc n'xt Sunday. tlrcre u.re no conflrnetton classes or trralnlng thet I ewr heerd of Ehen; but the next sunday he calred c fonrara anJ gave the vma. G

the ncxt fall I rac ln e roon trhere ehe teecher taught the fourth and ftfth grades. Mlss Lena Mosely wag the Eeecher. The death of, a boy who 9

rts 8Jr deslorta thet ycrr stendg oue mre Ehrn anythlng else froo Ehat clagcroou. llts plrenEr rcre Chrtstlan SclenttgEs. lfhen hc devalopcd pneurcnte Ehsy refus.d Eo harn a doctor untll he ras Eoo far gon. to do eny good. lhat rras th. f,lrst Elm derth had sEruck thet close Eo ct tnd I ressntcd hls parenEs refusal to harn edlcal ettencton for htn.

But durtng Ehtt tttncsr deeth sEruck e,van clogcr. MaGttc prarl, rho rto Ehr baby and Ehc darllng of Ehc fanlly, dernloped e bed casc of ctoupr Orr fanl ly doctor celled lt Drbranous croup rnd Er€ated hcthe brst hr coutd. But she conGlnued Eo vorsen and res barcly able to breathac lhrn hc dcclded lt ntght be dtphEhcrla and gane her a shoE of antlEoxln. In rptte of lt ell, she dted quletly about hro hours 1aEcr. f renember raclng hom fron school whrn they sant rord EhaE she was so bad. The shocx end dlsney wr: alost beyond belref. our fanlly had n ver exp€rr- enced a loss llke Ehet bofore.

IE ls lnterectlng to look back and se€ Ehe reactton. l{e hrd always aEtendod chrrrch and Sunday School. Erren after I Jolned the church I soDetln's res.nted hevlng Eo slE Ehrough the long church scrrrlccrl BSpGo ctally whcn lt weg hot and I ras so uncontorEablc atl droescd up, and wlth shoes and sEocklngs on. I Eold Man'na once theE r dtdnrE thtnk God soutd cera [f r canr to church barefooeed, but she sald shc rrould car€, and r conEtnucd Eo suffer. r{e ser€ sur€ thet MaEtle pearl had gone to harwn end ne ranted Eo ba uhere she ragrion Ehe Elne cene, so rellgion P.!".-'nore lnportanc tn our lrves. The fanrry routd gacher before bcdtlr clnry nlght. Mansn rould lead us tn singlng a feu hymrs, and then rerd e scrtpcurc. pape would preyr and we were each glrrrn ,r, opportunlty Eo paay? thle wes r \nfy canlngful experlence, and lE conttnusd as long ar thc fsnl ly rac Eog€th€a. r{e ali. took a nor6 acttrae part ln the chureh after EheE, and tE was seldon we nlssed a servlce. papa bccare nery actlve on the offlclal board. ManrnaEeughg a clags, and lre chlldren thre€ took peft tn atl the young people.s ictlvtttes. Along abouE thls Elnre Ehe Perklns store noned lnto a ner and nlc€r butldlng wlth large dlsplay lrtndows, closer Eo Ehe naln buslness dlstrlct. rt sas before rrc-had erectrtc tlghts puE tn at hore. Thts butldrng was rlred for eleccrrctEy and had a nunber of brass sockets hangrng by Ehe gr6€n cords fron Ehe cerrrng. They had the black keyrtke snitches on Ehe slder when Ehey flnrshed wrrlng then Ehere ,,ere no grobes rn the sockets' and we couldntt 8611 shether the srlcches were on or off. r can rsa'!b'r EheE re worrled e llttle abouE whether Eh€ elecErtctty rrould leak out I f lhcy nrere left on.

My sccond btg buctncsa usnture took ptace ln front of thls store. Each Seturday nornlng durlng the sulnEr, I would Eake one of l.lamars wssh- tubs Eo Ehe store, brr, nreniy pounds of rce for a dlm and a caae of nrxed soda water for 50q. There ncre 24 bottles ln a case. If I sold Ehen 811 I nade 6Oc. If any were left I drank Ehen. Usually I made 4Og or 5Oe felt Llke a plutocrac. anO 10

Thcre wa8 a confectlonery ln a drugrtore rtght across Eh€ sEreet. I was startled onc nornlng to loot up and s.e I atn carry .nothar nen ouE of le rnd Clrror hto lnEo Eh. sErset. lilhen I scr Eh.E Eh. E|tr dolng th. Ehrwlng wer the gehool prlnclprl and Ehc one bAtng Ehrmn ttrt Eh. drlwr of th. horrc-drernr nrgon Ehat dellrcred lce in torn, I got paetty exclted. the school prtnclpal sss e relatlrrcly suall nm, and tltc lcc-ntgon [rn rae qulEr a blt huskler. lhe prtnclpel's nrr res Bobo, and the drtwr ofton EaunEed htn rhen he drovr by the school by yelllngr rBobo ts e greaE blg hobor0 llhst proccdcd the actlon ln Ehe dgugstor. I newr learnedr but Ehc ev.nt rr8 Eha Ealk of the Eonn tor scwrel dayt.

Anothcr buslncss v€nture ln shlch Leon and I rlere pertners about Ehls EID ra! e frulE, candy, and flreworks sEend. Thls rrac also on Ehe sldcralk ln fronE of thc Perktns store. IE rras the source of, our ChrlsEnas funds for serrcral years, We sold apples, oranges, other frulEs, cheap candy, and flreworks for a week or ten days precedlng Chrtstmes. Pape rould buy tha nerchandlse eE lrholesale for us, and we usualty nanaged to sell enough of tE Eo raake a [lEEle proflt. A frtnge beneflt tras Ehc frulB and flreworks lefE ovlEro usually we had sone fnrlt and candy, flrecrackersr Ronan candles, sparklers, and even Eor hoE-alr balloons. These were Brd. ouE of pap€r, and soe trere as m.rch ae slx feot Eall. By llghtlng Ehe excelslor held by wlres ln the bottoD of Ehe balloonr hou alr weg gen€raEed to f111 Ehe balloon and enable tt co fly off ov€r th. rooftopa. Thls trac a spectacular slght eE nlght that g.\r. us qulEe a Ehrtll. I dontt recall any of EheE Lgver causlng a flre, but nor I rrronder why.

Sorone has satd EhaC lt ts not an accldent EhaC ltEtle boys geE hurt occeslonelly; tEts an accldent ono etrer llrns to gror upo As I look beck I can see rhy chec scacocnE s€€ns to nreke s€fls€r One acctdent I had happcncd ln the house rhere ollvla wrs born tn AEhens. rtm not sur€ thtt I renmbcr ttr buE I heard 1l Ealked about enough Eo knon Ehc deEallEr I m,rst heve bcen around Ehree years old. It rras trry job Eo keep the kltchen wood box fllled wtEh klndllng for che rrood-burnlng cook sto.t€. l{hen I scarted Eo perform Ehat chore one day, I f,ound Ehe box occupied by a blg ycllov cat. I plcked Eh€ cat up, wenE out on Ehe beck porch and procecded to Ehrot' hln ouc ln the yard, l{hen I thren hln, he hung hts clars tn ny clothos and pulled nr off rlth hln. I landed head ftrsc on Eht'corncr of a brlck Ehat torucd Ehc bordrr of tho rralk. IE cut a btg gash ln the nlddle of n]r forehead and I rrls often told thee I nas uncon- scloua long enough to scere everyone prettlr badly. For years there t'.a I scar fron thac lncldenE on ogr forehaad. It ls no longer vtslble, but an trrcgulartty ln Ehc bon can stlll be felt where Ehe scar weg.

Anothrr escapede also brought a head lnJury. Leon and the old.r t'lurph boy hrd bullE a rough fort out of boerds Eo nlge sar on n and Mlkc Murphs sho hed e stnllar fort. lfe would thror rocks, plecea of lron, or rhet.vtr rtg avellablc eE Ehe other fort. the accldonc happened rhen I ralsed up f,rou brhtnd rlur fort Eo Ehrow et thelrs Just ln Elno to catch a plece of Jaggert nctel plpe rtghr ln Eh€ nlddlc of Eh€ top of ny head. IE knocked nc'dorrno The blood began Eo spurt. I felE of tE, thought nv hcad was spltE open and I rrae sure Eo dle. gut I resnft about to dle 11

ttlthout geEttng €v€no After grabbtng up . handful of rocka r scrrted after thea trlth on€ hand holdtng qr hGad togectrer ( I Ehought). t{hcn Ehey 3er r conlng wtEh che blood spurtlng, thoy t'are about as scrrtd ae I res rnd rtrrted runnlng errsy from r. Thc chasc a€nt for several blocks unttl Ehcy f,lntlly clreled around end goE ln Ehe house where re llved; wtth D ln hoE pursulE. Poor Mamt--rrhco shc sar E sh€ mrst hrrt Ehoughc I nes about klllcd Eoo. My clothes eere blood-soel€d. I donrt recell golng Eo r doctorr so I dontt supporc lt ras at scrlouc as I thought. Mame probebly dressed lE ntth her honr rcrdlcr. Buc th.re ls stlll a donE or dcprcrclon ln thc top o! ry skull. I don'E knov lf lE ls natuaal or e rcsulE of Ehat crtsy hrppcnlng. thrse happcned bcfore I started co school. Ifll probebly rournbc btgger and bctiir ones b.forc I flntsh.

l{hllcgernelrltvlng ln thr Spclltngs houcc ln Jefferson, Grandpa and Grandae Bass ce& Eo llvc rlth uc for a fer rcnchs. Grandpe nrs part etghty and Grandna a few y€ers younger. He had whlEe halr and a iong snos phlEe bcerd' Thetr honr had bcen ln cerrolEon, Georgla, but Ehe Ehree song ln Tlxasl Jrn, John, and paur, hrd persueded th€E to grv! uP thela hon rnd llnc elEernately wlth Ehc fautltes of Eho.Ehree sor'o Thcre 8rc n|ny mrcrles EhtE revolve around thcn and about exparlencas th.y hrd ln Gcorgla durlng Ehe clvll yerr Thetr gcnEle 'rle rnd genulnc effectton lnprecccd rr. Grandnr rourd gaE lfter Grendge about seytng Unh huh end Uh huh. Shc sould elreyr siyr'.Thet mena y€r, d..a, and no' dc*." He vould rak h* [Ltn for.e Duthful of coffee. Shq rould say, sorry, Eha cup nronrt hol

By thle Elo. I kncw son thlng about hlstory and had hrerd some of, Eh€ oldf pcoptc ln Jefferson tell abouc Ehetr so I rres negur.lly ,.ry lnterasted "xp"rt.nces, tn heerrng Grandpa rnd Grand'' Eark about rE. tfhen shcrnan nerchcd through Georgle; burnrng and prllaglng alnogt ev.rythlng tn hls path, Grandp. treo stor€s ln Athenl , RoD, and Carrolton. Thcy nrcc havr bcen generrl nrchandtsc atoaes beceuse hc seld Ehe only Ehtng hc'hed left rhcnshrr"' got Ehrough rrrs a barrcr of sarE tn each store. lfc epperrntly hrd be€n a, cotEon brokcr coo. I rcrnbcr hts Ealklng about a shlploed of cotton he hrd shtppcd out of Sevannah before wer broke out theE was conflccaced upon lcg eritver rn Ner york. An aEtorney tn Georgra ras stlll tryrng eo gec the ur s. gonernmnE to pay for rt when Grandpe dtcd- Thc flgure of g3oor0oo cocs to nlnd es the value th€y plecad on Eho cargo. I dontt krior rhcGher lt ell bcl0nged Eo Grandpe or noe, but asaucd lt dld. r L2

Th.y told anoEh.r story .bouE ctvlltanr ln thc pach of shcroen's lttrch burylng thelr sllwr and Jerrelry and htdtng ouE ln Ehr woodg whllc thc aruy puaed. Ewry houge ln Eonn s.3 strtppcd bere of ernrythlng Portlbl. and ueny of Ehcn burnod, but ny grrndpetanEgr hom rrc hft unBouch.d. lheC puzzlcd th.E for e shlle unEll they nottccd he had left htr Mesonlc apron lytng on thr bcd ln ptaln vler. Thls lndlcated he weg e nnbcr of thr Maronlc Lodge. He sald nhen the northern offtccr ran the epron he told hlc mn not to Eouch enythtng ln Ehat house. IE was n.v.r cher Eo D hos ho letrned thaE, buC I heard hl.n tell Eh€ sEor.y nany Eln!.

Apparently EhnYr llk och.r lrouth€rn fanllles, wcre left very poor and hrd a hard Eln uktng a fresh strrt after the wrr. Papa was not born untll Ecn yeers after Ehc wer but I recall hls saytng EhaE f,or a Eto. h. had only ons germnt. That res a long ntghEgonn klnd of affalr thrt nes nrde out of e flour sack. Grandoe eald she had Enrnks f,ull of Confederece Eoney tthcn Ehc lrar rras ov€r, but tt rat trorthless. Th€ last shc rrs abl€ Eo spend nas for ftve yards of callco for a dress. Its Prewar prtce had bccn 59 c yard, She sel,d she patd 9lr500 for the ftt. yards and rcl gled Eo get lt.

Grandpe had a bad heert whcn he cam. Eo stay vlEh us and had to be very carcful. lle chorcd Eobecco, but rrhsncvcr he took a cher tt almst lnvarlebly treughE on a spcll wlth hls heartr so tr3 Erl€d Eo k€ep lt fron hla. Hc was ln hls etghtles Ehcn and would often sey, r.they EoId Dc shcn I rreg elrrrcn y.erlr old chcslng Eobacco would ktll ne, I guess lE trlll sordeyo'r H€ sp.nt e loc of Etnr slttlng on eh. fronE porch and occealonally would glrre a Nrgro boy paeslng ln Ehe screeE e qu.rtsr Eo geE hlo a ches. Alnort lnverlably tt would resulE ln troubte. The only ttrll I sv€r sttt any alcohollc drlnk ln my parentslhomc was whlle he was thefe. Our doctor Eold Papa tt would help to glne hln a hot Eoddy et b.dtln. I suppoce lE rrae boocleg corn whlskey, often called whlte Llghtnlng, Ehat Papa got.' IE was tn a gallon glass jug and wrs as clear a3 pure spring weEer. Grandmarrould Fut abouE a thlable full of, tt ln a snall glass of hot rrater and gtne tt Eo htn whcn hs was ready to go Eo bed.

Soc of the pronlnenE buslness end professlonal mn ln Jeff,erson could t.lI sou. alnost unbeltevable thtngs about Ehe clvll wae ag lE aff,ected Eh€a and ar lE affected Jefferson. Of course neny of Eha[ hrd becn ln actlon, buE Eh€ Ehtng r recall nost vlvtdly ls thelr storlec of belng lnprlsoned ln a stockade durtng Ehe Eln carpcCbeggers ware runnlng the local gover:tnenE. Freod black slawg, accordlng Eo Ehelr rccountr, wcre puE ln all stac€r county, and clEy offtces evEn though nost were conpletoly lllltcraue. Men of any prontnence who had supported Ehe Con- f,ederacy rrre kept tn an opcn stockade Ehrough gt o trlncers. ghec t'e boyg called the blg dltch rar polnted out as Ehe slte of Eh€ stockede. IE had cray walls that tr€re around flfteen feet hlgh and al.nost rr€rtlcal. Fences across Eh€ ends coopleced the enclosur€r It was qulte hunlliattng Eo thG torn dlgnltartes to be forced to ltve ln such prtntEl\re and very uncoofortable condl Elons.

l{hen the carpetbegger rule lrea o\rer, the law requlred EheE Ehe Negroes be allowed co votej and th€re w€re ncrre N€groes Ehan rhlEes ln 13

Ehe county stnce slarras had ptovtded nost of the labor ln che tonn and ln the counElo f wag told that blacks rere told offlctally thrt Eh.y had Ehe sane rlght to vot€ for offlcers ea whlEes, buE not-neny og EhoE chose to vote on electlon dey. It seeos the! outslde errcry pol,llng ptace whlte nen anncd rlth shotguns ralked up and dolrn consplcuouslyl and the Negro€s dtd noE fcrl lE would bc advlsable for Eh.n Eo enEer th. polls. LaEer th. devlce of holdlng a nhlEe ctElzcnts prlnrry res dcveloped. The shtEeg forncd a pot lEtcal club whlch adnltted only rhttes to Drbcrshtp. they would hold e ceucus or electlon and declde rrhaE n.Dr rould go on Ehe bellot of Eh6 Dcrccratlc prfunery. Nobody would adnlt GO bclng a Republtcen. the Negroec could Eh.n vote for the pre- selected nhlEe candtdetes. ThaE systea rrer used up to about Ehe Elme of tforld lhr I. Maybe taCer.

In slaracry Elms housohold slaves had ltved ln houses faclng alleys behlnd hons of whlEe naEters. Many Negroec stl 11 ltrred ln Ehose houses shcn rre l'anE Eo Jef,tersonr and soue sElll do. As a ra3ult, boEh rac€s llved all over Eorrno There w€re separate schoots ind'chlldren would pass .ech oEh€r ln golng to end fron school. Thls sontln s brought on lncldenEs. I'11 try eo descrlbi one laEea Ehrc happ€ned ln 8y htgh school days. But all Negroec undcrsEood Ehat they were supposed to step off, Ehe sldewalk and Elp thetr hats when pacslng a nhlEe person, partlc- ularly an adult, and ferr falled Eo observe Ehe cuatom. No Negro EhoughE of knocklng on Ehe f,aont door of a shlEe hone. they went to Ehe back. No rhtEe P.rson ever offered Eo shake handa wl,Eh e black person. Hoeev€r I rcnenber an old genEl€trrn that was a I,.l.S. senator saylng, r'frm just es pollte er any Negrol lf a Negro Elps hls haE Eo ne I'n gotng to clp Er/ heE Eo hln.r.

And Ehere wac genutne conccrn and affectlon bctneen lndtvlduals. Sone serrrants became alnost nenbers of Ehe famllles Ehey ser.ned for years. One fanlly 1lved ln a house tn Ehe alley behlnd Ehe Spelltngs housc in : Jefterson and had no well. the chtldren would brlng conEalners, drar lraEer ouE of Ehe well on our porctg and carr3l tt hone. l{e dld not have servants excePt e ltonan to do Ehe washlng. BuE ne goE ecqualnted nlth the chtldren of thls fanlly and dld what we could to help Ehem. I can renember It1rya slttlng up Eost of Ehe ntght wtEh one of Ehemsho was serlously stck. And I can recall neny favors that sone of Ehen would do for us.

Ihe grandparents sEa]red wlEh us several nonEhs and then noved on Eo AEhens Eo stay wlEh uncle John, Ar.urt pearl, and rennle Maeo Laon and I would go to Athens aLnogt every su@r Eo vlslE tooo I recal.l being Eheae at Eh€ rallroad statlon when Grandpa net hts broEher John from Tennessee. BoEh hsd snow whlte helr. and beards, and Eh€y had noc soGn one enogher ln forty y€ars. IE wae rrery Eouchlng to see Eeers rolllng dot.n the cheeks of both es Eh.y enbraced Ehere on th€ rallroad plaEforn.

AunE Pearl was I tr€ry notherly p€rson and was lrke a second mother to u8. she had no boys--Just Ehe one daughter, Tennle Mae--end I Ehlnk she was Ehe one who lnslsted that we spend our vacaElon rtth them. one sumer a cousln, Florrye Hanrellr was scaylng rrtth then. She and Tennle Mae were tn chelr Eeens- one of thea wourd rook aE the oth€r when we w€re eetrng l4 a E al end stfft glggltng. That rould stert the oEher glggllng nhcn I couldntt s.e enythlng Eo gtggle abouEo My thoughtr ac EhrE tlE erere that glrls ousE bo thc sllltest thlng theE God ever nede. In fact I found lE very embarrasslng to harre Ollvta vant co follqr ne around shen f res playtng wtEh oEher boys. IE was not uncomon f,or tornadoes or hall storns Eo prss through that peft of Texase and Uncle John had tnsEalled a gtoru cellar. IE nas underground and t efy Eysterloua and lnEiaesElng Eo E. I also recall betng let donn on a rop€ to cleen Eudr eEc., out of, Ehe well Ehat furnlshed Ehelr traEer. I f,elt rrery brarn and lnportent wh.n asked Eo do a Job llke Ehat. I would ftll a bucket wlth slln and nrd. They would pull lt Eo Ehe top, enpty lE, and leE lE dorrn for ne Eo reflll. fhe well seemed very deep and dark when I wag alone'on the bottoa but could noC have been over trenty feet deep.

One su@r rhen we l'Gre ready Eo go hone on the Eraln $€ wsnt by Ehe store where Uncle John was the nanager before golng Eo the staElon. A farmcr was ln the store who had brought a load of traternelons to town Eo sell. l{hen he f,ound out lre were Paul Bassr boys, he sald he wanted Eo send hln a good Hend€raon counEy nelon. l{e lrere dellghted et th€ tlne buc found lt Eo be a precty croublesome burden before we got hoflE. lfe had to caary lE on the Eraln at AEhens, off Ehe traln at Blg Sandy whcrc we changed Eralns, back on agaln when Ehe Ereln for Jefferson catrrer and off agaln at Jcff,€rson. lJhen tfe got of,f aE Jefferson Ehe sGatton res sttll abouE e mlle fron rhere re Llved. The offended rail- roed Eycoon of earller deys had nade tt as lnconrrcnlent es Eh€ lar alloncd for Jcfferson. BuE rc ftnally goE tE ell Ehe rey hone, ralked around Eo Ehc beck porch, and JusE as leon rent Eo put lt dorn, lt sltpped fron hlg sroaEy handc and broke all Eo ;rleces. ue

Keeptng thlnga cool renlnds ne of Ehe eooler we used to keep old Dollyts ullk fron rspolltng too qulckly. Thls was a honenede trough about elghte€n tnches wlde and probably about etght feee long. rhere nrs a frare arormd tt whlch \ras e fooe or Erro ln helght. cheesecloEh or old f,lour sacks were draped around the fram l.tth Ehe bottom of Ehe drapes lmerscd ln Ehc tteter ln the trough. Osaosls would drar the water all the t'ay Eo Eh€ toP og Ehs drapos. The rlnd blorlng agalnsE lE nould causc evaporatlonr whlch produced coollng nuch the saEo lray EhrE Ehe €vaporar tt've coolers do today. [t was not loo retlable. Huntdlty and the anount of, breeze aflected lt, buG tt prolonged Eh€ freshness of, Ehe mtlk to a ccrteln ext€nE.

A3, I rrrote abouc Grandpa Bass. expcrlences ln the clvtl t{ar, I rras reotndcd of som lhlngs I heard about Grandpa coeterrs parttclp.Elon, Apperently hc was ln the Confederate ery and had a brother nho llrcd ln Ehs North who nag ln Eh€ Unlon arny. As I recall lc, hls brother wes so lncenscd when he heerd Grandpa was ftghtlng for the Confedcracy Ehsc he I'If wrote a letter saylngp I etrsr met you face to face I'I1 Eake detlberace aln.' My associeElon wlth Mame's parenEs ras ltnlted, but I knon I heard sonc of Ehe! telI theE tale on t[|my occasions. I donrt knor tf Ehc brother survlrrcd end Ehsy rnade up or enything except tt.-"tory ebout ch€ l€tter. t5

Anothea story EhcE cam to nlnd ln nrltlng .bout Unclc Johnts sEoro ccller ln Athenc, l|rc a hepprnlng th.E th.y Eerrcd Grandna CoEter about long after lt htpp.ncd. lhelr faru ln Oklehone vls rcally ln 'Tornado Alley." AbouC ona crop ouE of Chres rrr d.scroycd by rtt|.l or hrll. Uncle Johnts crller naa a fancy prrfabrlcac.d corntg.Eed Datal atlalr thet rres puE ln an orc8vetlon and Eh.n covraod stEh dlrt. Ihe one ln Oklehonr ras functtonrl but noE f,ancy. A holc tn thr ground src roofed orrrr rtth Chb.r, and dtrt covored thc ttnbcr. A hornrde roodcn door clorcd levrl rtEh th. gtround atter all rere tnstdr. gh.E th€y Erued Gr[rdD. gbouC rra her refusel Eo Joln Ehc othcrc .nd go to th. ttorn coller onr dry rh.n th3y sar stor[ cloudr epp'rorchlng. IE ccens ghe was nlxlng dough tor brklng brled end sald 3hc relnrt golng co l.tve untll she had It ttnlch.d. Before she got tt flntshod hatl got ro bad EhaE lE raa conlng Ehrough Eh. roof. Then she took Eh€ soodcn nlxlng borlr dough and allt puE lt orllr hcr heed for protccElon, and 3cooted for the cellar. It uusE harrc been qulte a spactacle when she ca$e nrnnlng fron the houee rlEh Ehe dough streenlng dorn all oner hcr.

Anothar lncldent Lhrt ls based ln EheE storl cellar lnvolves ny bclng a bad llptl€ boy. Potatoec rrere stored Eh€re becausc Ehey k€pE beiter tn thc cooler underground Eeq.rature. I res darn Ehere traCchtng Unclc Robere cull ouG Ehc b.d oncg and Ehros thea ouE Ehe door. I donrE renenber rhtt I dldr but lE ret bad enough f,or hln Co pick nr up and-gpahk,naao I had nevcr sccn htm before Ehe vlslE up there and dldnrE knos rhet buslness hc had sprnktng ne. IE nade n anl5ry, so I ren outslde and sttrted chunk- lng th. rotten poeaEo.s beck aE hlm. .{bout Ehat Elno l.tama c8m ouEr and I rcel,ly goG e spenktng.

As I ralto ebout Grandpe CoEter thlngs con co alnd Ehet happcncd ln Alveredo--Ehlngs thaC hepp.ncd bctorE I sas borrri buc I renenbcr Pepa and tlamr talklng rbout thon. I hane spokcn ebout Papars worklng for the Mlstrott and Perklns but he also norkad ln a grocary store that belonged Eo Me@t's uncle. There war ona sEory about Papa havlng an tEfack of sonc klnd rhcre hc would suddentry fall to Ehe floor. In this sEory thoy alrays stld Ehet the uncl6 dldntE beltern ln havlng doctorsr BUE Ehe flrst EIE h. sau Pape fall out hc bcgan "hollerlng!' Iouder Ehan anybody Eo gee a doctor.. I can rcmnbar ehaE Pape sald hc res EaktnS S20 a nonEh when he goE nerrted and thrE th€y bought and pald for thclr furnlture ouE oC EhaC s.hryo I also recall hls saytng thaC he could rencnb€r selllng ctlgsr slx dozen for 259. And Eh.re rrae Ehe story about hts drivlng a del,l'trary treton for the storeo The horse ran arryo One of Pape's legs was broken ln Eno or three places. t{hen Ehe doctor cene to set lE Ehe only anaesEh.ttc they had was rhlslclD and Papa refused Eo take lE. t{e rould nevlr Eouch whlskey or allor LE tn the house. He sald later Ehat Ehc'leg ttes so nengred he wac afrald Eh€y willld arputate lE. After tE hceled he had e sllSht llrry EhrE wea not notlcecble unlesg you kncrr about lt.

Sone of th€ ftrrntEure'they bought ln Alvarado wrs stlll ln the hore efter Ehey boEh dled. I can recall one htgh-back rood rocklng chalr that Ehey ahreys referred Eo as the one Mr. Sao Perklns gave Ehen for a weddtng present. And the bed they slept ln, nlth a headboard about sln. feeE tall, tfas one Ehey bought EhGn. l{e klds deltghted tn cllnbtng on Eop of the heed- boardr vhl,ch wea et least four feet above the nactress, and dlvtng onto the bed. Mama rtas a taery patlent p€rson, but tle dldnrt do thaE when Papa was around. 16

In chc [email protected] of 1912 Grardpa Bass dlcd rhlle staylng nlEh uncle John ln AthenEr I renenbcr lE very dtstlnctly because lE brought about Ey flrst auEouoblle rlde. Thcre n re a few auEorcbiles ln Eorn but so rsre thrt when one was passlng the schoolhouee lt was useless for the t€.chcrs to try to kcep thc puplls In Ehetr seats. Everyone alrays sEeap.d.d Eo thc rlndors Eo see Ehen go by, and ne boys could tell wtrose car lt nag and rhaE nrke lE was as far ag re could heer lE. 'Jhen the call cau ebout Gaandparg deaEh ne klds were ln Sunday School. I dontt knos hon hc arranged It, buc ln Ehe mlddle of th€ sasslon this btg rcd sEudebrkar cam chugglng up. papa cam Eo the door and carred. l{e ran out tnd cltnbcd aboerd thc rrchlclirwhlch had red leaEher seatso rhe back sesE roa. up very hlgh tn the alr, and there ,,€re no doors. I can rencobor trytng to dlg ru57flngers ln the leather Eo hold on as we lt€nt bunplng oner Eh€ ruEted streeEs Eo th€ depot. I suppose papa had pecked soue cloEhes tn a b.g, but I don't renenber about ihac. in" Ehtng: that sElcks out ln uy nlnd ts EhaE exclElng and sonenhaE frlghten- lng rlde to the depot. l{hen we got to AEhens Ehey rere relElng f,or a couslnr Roy Bassr Eo get Ehere fron l'{exla tn hls car, but tre got stuck ln the sand and Ehc c8r n€ver nade lE. I donrt recall how he flnally 8ot there but belleve he was at Ehe funeral. Grandpa was burted tn the ce&Eery at AEhens. After Ehe fantry noved Eo yoahm, hls body was norrcd there. Grandna wag burled Ehere when she dled in 1916, Uncle Jln, Aunt Leel uncle Johnr and Aunc pearl are burled Ehere Eoo. But I.m g€ttlng ahcad of a]r etortr

In tho sprlng of l9l2 I flnlshcd up the ftftlr grade. 'Itlosclg4'had"becn Mlss Lena Ey Eercher ageln Ehrc year. lJhen f sEarted the stxth gradc thet tall a l'lrs. Batnes, who wrr e wldor, was nv Eeach€r. I was sEtll very soell for ay age and could not reach very htgh on Ehe black- board ln thrt roo'. I wourd puE on. foot on Ehe baseboard and one hend on Ehc doorknob Eo reach e llttle hlgh€r. Mrs. Barnes rres nery tclnd buE would lnfurlata Ee by sayrng, "ch, you poor ltttle thtngf' when she "notlced hor hard r was trytng Eo gsc the btackboard work done. But I nanaged Eo nakc b€cter Ehan average grades and Eo behave well enough Eo keep from getElng punlshed. papa had always told us tf ne goE a rhlpplng aE school wetd get another one when we got hone. I knew he neent rt because Leon had bcen whlpp€d a fen tlnes by hts etghth grade teacher, and Papa alvayc whtpped hln agaln as soon as he heard about tE. There !'ere h.o excttlng flres ln Eorrn whlte ne lrere l.lvlng ln the Spelllngs house--one a btg store flre In Ehe naln buslness dlstrlct and one ln a house just across the streec f,ron where we llved. wtren the store burrred I remenber soneonesafTlt nade such a: brlght ltghE you could read a paper on our front porch. I can recall shlvertng and shaklng ln mytnlghcgorn as lte natched tll.l the ftre burned ltself out. r don,c knon wh€ther lt was fron exclEenenE or cold.

when Ehe house acfoss the stre€t burned lt was daytlne. Manna had lre kltchenl and w€ lr€re putltng tt on our closesf frlends, was lrlEh us and red to step backnards of,f the end of Ehe end of Ehe housep and sar f,lre l narrotr street. I am noE sure lf L7 snyon€ was llvlng ln Eh€ house but belleve lE was occupled. By Eh€ tlne the flre deParttrEnE got there lt was Eoo frr gon€ to save. Jef,ferson had an all-voluntcer flre departnent at th.t Eine and 'rery l.lttle ln Ehe way of, equtpnnto I bcllene Ehey hed a horse-drann hoge cert at EheE tln buE no PuaP.r. SorEtlnca naEer pressure t'as so tor lt *ould Just trtcklg out Ehe end of the hose. Bucket brlgades drawlng waEer fron nearby wells could do llEtle onse a butldlng wae really in flaraes.

One ochcr buslness trenture I undertook aE that Elne was a Job operatlng Ehe player plano at the plcture shos. lly allowance dtdn'c allow many trlps to ev€n the lOq shows, so I thought Ehls would be a ftne way Eo s3€ all the shows free. But I lested just one ntght on Ehat Job. The plano op€rated by foot-pedaL porer and I could Just barely reach Ehe p€dals. IE saE rlghc under lhe screen Fhere your vlew of, Ehe plcture lrra very dlstorted. If you dldnrt play loud enough or fast enough to sult Ehe other klds they Ehrew thlngs et you, so after trytng lE one nlght I never raent back.

Mama Eaught ne a lesson, about Ehat ttmen concernlng Ehe use of other people's money. she senE me Eo Eo$n eo gec son€thtng for her, and I had sone of her change left over after rnaktn! the purchaser As I walkr:d down the str€eE I smelled some of the nosc delictous-snelllng hamburgers cooklng that I hev€ errer smelled. The thought carne to ne EhaE iiasma had borrowed a dlne out of ny ptggy bank a few days before, and I Eold myself she souldnrt nlnd lf I spent a nlckle of her noney f,or a hanburger. I canr sEtll renembcr hor good thaE nlckle hamburger tast€d. But rhen I goc hon Mame' ranted Eo knotr why the change wes a nlckle short, l{hcn I told hcr r had used Ehe ntckle Ehsc shs oned re, she renlnded E Ehec she had already repald ne and thaE I had spenE lt for sorethlng else. she garn Be Eh€ only whlpplng I ev€r got fron her Ehst really hurt saylng she lt{rnted Eo be sure I remenbered noE to use noney lhst dtd noE belong Eo trr€.

I:don't recell whaE I waa sent Eo buy that Elme, buc I knon she often senE me to Eha narket to get l5g rorth of round steak for a fanlly of flve. when she sent tre Eo buy lard, she always cautloned ne Eo be sure lE was pure hog lard and noE sone of chos€ lnlEaElon vegetable olls.

A fanlly naned Ktstenrnacher had a very rnterestrng ord-trne gFocery sEore and bakery Just a block fron where we llwd. cooktes, candy, ptckles, potetocsl sugerr and almsE everythtng th6y carrled was dlsplayed ln open barrels ar:,ound Ehe store. when the wlnd was rlght uhe nouth-sacerlng snell of, bread baktng lres wafted rtghE lnto our house. lJe seldon goE any bakery bread because Papa lnslsted on hot homenadeblscutts for breakf,aat, dlnnerr and suPP€r. He satd llght bread nade good gun waddlng rrhen nuzzle- Ioedtng guns were ln use, buE now wasnrE good ior anythrng.

Orie day I got a gllnpse of Mr. KlsEennacher and the boys nixlng dough [n the bakery, whlch was ln the back roon of the sEore. rt rag tn a huge wooden bowl, end they wefe nlxlng lE wtth thEtr feet. I wae shocked Eo se€ then puEtlng chetr feet ln food people were golng Eo eac. I was fasctnated enough go !o back the next day e llttle earlier io tf I really saw what I Ehought I had s€€rlr ""e Thts tine I saw then as Ehey poured Ehe dough lnto 18 the blg nlxlng bowt. Thcn chey both took olf th€lr shoes, rolled up Ehrlr pants, and stepped lnto a Eub of hot soepsuds. After scrubblng thoroughlyl Ehcy stepp€d lnto anoEh€r tub to rlnga off the socpy wecer, stepp€d carefully on clean tonels unttl they goc ln the bosl wlEh Ehe dough, and then proceeded Eo lrork lE wtth th€tr feet as Eh€y n.lked around ln lE. I neracr hed eny quelnr about Klstennacher bread afEer I cew hor eerefully thsy nrshcd. Thelr regular-slzcd loef sold for a nlckle and a huge one for a dlne.

On one of ch. Eraln rldes from AEhens back Eo Jeff€rson I had a nlckle and a dotlar btl1 left out of non€y Papa had glven us nhen we lef,t. The Eraln butcher canc through Ehe cars selltng soda pop. I had n3'ver hoard of soda pop salllng for enythlng but 5C a boEtle, so I told hln I rould take a red soda. He popped the cap and gane lt to nc. l{hen I gave hln uy nlckle he satd lt was a dlm. So I told hln Eo put the cap back onr I dldn't wanE lto He gave ne a dlrty look and Leon asked E why I dldnrt pay f,or tE out of ny dollar, buE I Eold htn I wes not about to break ny blll.

RecenE nesspeper accounEs of proposed efforts Eo ralse the wreckage oC Ehe luxury ocsan llner Tltanlc hane rerlnded me of trro nemable e\aBnts Ehat happened whlle ne lrere sclll llvtng ln Jefferson. One sas the slnklng of Ehe TlEanlc, a suppoaedly unsinkable oceen llner, on lEs nelden voyegc fron England Eo Anerlca wlth a greet nuab€r of the rlch etrd the farcue on board. the wlralese had been lnrrcnced and operators tr.re on duEy aaound Eh€ clock. Sone regnrts of, Ehe stghElng of lcebergs had bcen recelrrcd. BUE Ehe Tltanlc was rrnstnkable--supposedly--g5s greatest talu8ph of shlp bulldlng tn history" So no orders were glven Eo slow dornr or devlace froo the proJectad rouEeo Suddenly, ln the nldst of danclng, reveling, and bands playtng caoo e Eremendouscragh. the worldts greaEesE shtp had crashed lnEo a trenendous trountain of, lce far out ln the Atlantlc Ocean. Confldent EhaE the TlEanlc was unsinkable, no dlsEress slgnal ttas sent aE flrst. BuE lt soon becare evldent EhaC Ehe danage was greater Ehen even Ehe flEantc could survirre and the dtE, dlt, doE of dlstress slgnals crackled out. Thls was Ehe flrst word the world got of the lnpondlng Eragedy.

There were no prlvaEe radlos or televlslons at Ehat ttDe, but Ehe nornlng papers carrted banner headltnes. Vlvtd plcEures renain ln my nlnd of Ehe sc€ne on board the slnklng nonster. t{hether they were lrord plctures of actual photographs of.drawlngs I donrE know. But I sElll can see Ehe plchrres of sErong men glvlng up Ehelr ltfe jackets and thelr places ln llfeboacs to ttomen and chlldren, of, four clergynen of dlfferent falths standtng on Eh€ slanttng deck, thelr arns enEulned, llfEtng Eh€ir faces Eosard God ln prayerr And Ehe story of Ehe shtprs band assenbled on deck playtng'rNearer My God to rhee" as the great shtp sllppcd beneath the icy waEersr Sur:rrtrrors brought nany Eales of heroisn on che part of Ehose nho volunEarl ly stayed wlEh the shlp tn orderto give others a chance Eo llne. Televlglon and radlo mtght nake a npre vlvtd lnpacc today, but wrlters of EhaE day had the sklll to lspart word plctures and to capEure Ehe enotions of the event thaE ls rarely equaled today. .19

Halleyrs CoreE was another event EhaE caused a loE of exctEenent and created a lot of superstttlous fears also whtle re were llvlng ln Jeffer- sono I dontE hane any record of thc daEe, but I knos lE happened before ve left Jefferson ln 1913. For monthsr meybe years, ln advance, astrono- ners wsrle telllng us Ehat on a certaln date thls huge cort would cone very closc to Eh€ earth' It would be vlslbte for Ehe flrst Elne ln neny decadcgr and soue sald there srs a posstbtltty EhaE tc nlght colllde l'leh Eh. oartho ?hts rrould resulu tn great destructlon and posslbly neny dcaEhsr there sere Ehe supcrsElttous alrd the cults lrho began to predlct EhlE thls would bc the culnlnetlon of the Btbtlcat prophecy that Ehe e.rth would bc destroyed by flre. So lE rras rlth shlvers of exclte- aent and som fear EhaE e ltEtle boy trrtchsd Ehe enornous trell of flghc at nlght as tt streaked across thc sky, It thrllled ne to traEqh tE, buE Eh€re nes a slgh of red,lef when we rrere assured, Ehat tt had paased out of earth's atrnosphere and would noE be seen agaln for uany Dre dccades. 20

YOAKUM

uhlle r res cttll ln the slxth grade, soneEt'neearly ln 1913, we moved Eo Yoakun. Uncle John, Uncle Jlm, and papa hed all declded to qult Ehelr Jobs wlth perklns and go ln buslness for Ehenselves. papa had rcry llttl€ savcd up Eo lnnesE ln Ehe trEnEur€, buE Ehey all declded to go lE Eogether.

Our household goods t ere agaln shtppcd by boxcar, but Ehts ttsre old Dolly dtd not g€E to go. r donfE recell whaE becae of her, but she was sold I suPPoae. I know re dld not h.ve her ln Yoa[

our furnlture had arrlved ahead of us and was set up ln a large house chaE b€longed Eo a tllss Loulse Rottensteln. She had reserved t:lro rooms for herself, and I thtnk we had ac leasE ftrre good-stzed rooms. IE was Ehe nlcest house we had.llned ln up to EheE ttme and !'as close Eo dot'nEot'n Yoakum, the l,r€thodlst churchl and not far frorn the school. IE had runnlng water wlth a bullE-tn bathEub and lavaEory, and a slnk ln Ehe kltchen, but we sElll had an outdoor tollet. yoakun was lnstalling s€wage llnes, but they were not yet connected. We also had an oll cook stolrc. Blscults all tasted llke kerosene the ftrst ferr Elues }lannreused lE' but. she soon lear:red to preheat the oven nell before puttlng the blsculEs tn, and everythlng worked flne.

The flrsc ntght tr€ lr€re Ehere we goc to bed very rete. rie had not been asleep verylong rhen the loudest slren I errer heerd renE off. Ir stertled ne so Ehac I was already sEandlng ln the otddle of Eh€ f100r when I woke up. l{e learned next dey thst Ehe flre alarrn lras stealr oP€ratod by the elcctrlc pos€r plant whtch was Just a few rurnirea varos fron our back doorr AfEer thac ne rr€re not qulte so startled when lE wenE off.

i{lthtn a fes days we Ehree were all entered ln schoor--a r€w prace, a new tcach€r, and new classmaceso IE was a llttle frlghtenlng. All 0f us ''ent to the same bulldtng. ollvta says she got 10st on Ehe way hone Ehe flrst day and wound up ln the Negro sectlon of Eown. I don't ren€mber that, but she does. 2't

A fer deyc ago (Aprtl 15, 1980) I sar ln Ehs p.p.r chet Herb.rt lfede, who ees etghty-6nc y€ars otd, had dled. TheE rcnlnded ns of an evenE lhet hrppcncd th.t sprlng ln Yoaknm. l{€ boys r.re playlng a ga& wh€re we ltned up wlth our caps on the ground behlnd us. The one rrho nas'ltf had a E.nnls ball whtch hc would drop as surrepttttously ae posslble ln onr of th. caps. Il dropped ln yoursr you w€re supposed to plck up the bell end htt the one rrho drogped lE rrtEh Ehe brll before he could get ouE of range. If you falled, you had Eo run cha gaunElet--thet lsr geE dorrr oq hendr and kneoe and crerrl beErnen Ehe legs of all Ehe oth€rs rrho varc llned up end ready to smrck you on th. seec as you s€nt Ehrough. thrn I had Eo run Ehe gaunelet, Ehls Herbert lfade locked hls knees around ny body and contlnued Eo rhack ae wrtll I got mgryr threv hln off, and bcgan chastng hrn wtth rocks all ornr the school ground. He was older Ehtn I and a lot larger but ny rock thronlng goE hln on Ehe run. As usualr rhen I got nadr I sCarted crylng. tJhen Ehe bell rang Ehe prlnctpal wanted Eo know why. Som of, the boys explalned what had happenedr and r vas Eold Ehe wade boy was rhlpped by the prlnclpal. I was never rr€ry popular wlEh hla after EhaE.

Another Ehlng Ollvla rencnbers about Yoakuo ls breaklng her arf,. She wts around son€n years ord and lorrcd co play tn Ehe wlng on the front porch. one day she fell out. The fall couldn'E have been more then trro teaE but she nanaged Eo hlt tn such a wey aa to break 8D atBr I renenbcr thrt bu! not as vlvldly ae she do€s.

I hed n.v!r sGen a Cathollc prtesc or nun dressed tn chetr Eradltlonal garb and was fasclnrcsd by the ones I sarr ln yoakun. there lirac e large Cathollc congregeEton and parochlal school there taught by nuns. There rrrre also opcn saloons ln Yoakun, and when I sarr seneral nrrns sEop ln fronE of one ln a surrcy I res shockedr I nae even nore shocked lrhen a bucltct of beer was brought out end Ehey proceeded to drlnk lt. I had no ldea EhrE ehurch peopte noutd drlnk lntoxlcanEs unEll that tln€.

Many of thc cathotlcs were Bohenlan, pollsh, Geroan, and l,lexlcan. I had n€v1er hcard any language spokcn but Engllsh untll ne noved Ehere. Many of, Ehe clerks ln Ehe store spoke Gcrnan and/or Bohemtan, and sooe Spantsh. One ruan wae flucnt ln serrcn languages. I nould slc around and ltsten E6 htn wtEh anazenenE. The ornrer of the store Ehet pape and hls brochers bought was e cathollc. lhe nanager he enployed had jolned Ehe cathollc church but had noE b€€n ralsed a cachollc. A vlslttng prlesc ,ats trac holdlng rhac Ehey call a "nlsslonr' the church and told eh€n he would preaeh a speclal serncrn for protestants lf Ehey would lnvlte Eh3lr procescant frlends. t{e went (a1,1 of Ehe Bass clan) ntth Ehls netr rho wlg Ehe store Etneger. The prlest Eook up the whole ElrE explalnlng to us p,rotescants Just why we nere all golng Eo hell. rhe nenager raa so enbarrassed thaE he qulE Ehe cathollc church. He tater Sorn-a. Ehe Methodlst churchr WhaEenerchurch hls boss belonged co seercd to sulE hln flne.

Hls fonmer boss had been qurEe wearEhy and had grnen nost of Ehe noney to flnance the flne brlck church bulldtng for Ehe CaEhol.lc chureh. He had also puE ln a lot of expenslne gadgec" tt crt" store. yoakum had a ctty llght plant, and Ehe store nas connccted to lhe ctty systemi buE he 2t had also tnstalled hls orm generaElng system whlch could be slarted up tf clty llghts falled. lle also had one of those gas systenrs llke I spoke of ln'the J€fferson storeo there was a regular telephone sysEemt but he elso had an lntornal systen lrlEh outlets all over the store where one departDent could call anoEher. It was noE connected to Ehe ouuslde Phone sysE€mr There wae also a very expenslve mulElgraph and addresso- graph systeo thatl as far as I knos, was never used after the Baes fanlly took orler.

One day ln school durlng a spelllng test f was rrery enbarraesed when Ehc teach.r rebuked oe for looktng ln Ehe book. I Eold her I ttas just looklng to see rhlch of tno words EhaE sounded Ehe sen€ but t'ere spclled dl,ff,erently (ltke pear and palr) was ln Ehe lesson. I don't thtnk I qul,te convlnced her, but I goc by llghtly. The flrst tlm€ I ever asked a glrl f,or a daEe ttas ln EhaE clasaroon; tooo The Sunday School teacher ras glving us a plcnlc and told each of us Eo tnvtEe a glrl. In splte of ily shyness I flnally got up n€rve Eo ask e \rery pretty llttte blond-headed glrl. She sald shetd have to ask Mamn. llama sald no. I thtnk the oGher boys had the saoe luck for I don'E recall any glrls at thet ptcnlc. 23

KENEDY

Durlng that sumer Eh. Bacs brobhers declded to opcn anoqher store ln Kenody rtEh Papa es nanager. lle Eoved Ehere ln tlc to scart school ln thc f411. I was ln Ehc aorr€nEhgrade and bogtrurlng to grorr a lttEle, but stlll snell for uy age. papa had rented a falrly nlce Elrn-room traoo houge Ehet had nrnnlng wat.r and electrtclty, but I bellcrac ve sElll had an outdoof prlvr,f. It res nlce Eo hrne elecErtc llghGs rhcn chcy wcfe rorklng but ofton Eh.y dtd noc, end soneclnes they y€rs so dtn th.t lt raa srld you had co ltght a nsEch Eo se€ tf Ehey t ere burntng. But Pepl boughc a beauElful coleoen Eeble l.Dp that 96\r. brtghCr cleer ltght for ur Eo study by.

the MeEhodlst church was on th€ next corner rrlEh only one house b.hr.en ua and thc church. The house belonged to a Dr. Hubberd, qho Itvcd ln ths sane block buE faced enoEher sEr€ct. The Baln boys, who bccam oy bcat frlendst llved a block and a holf tn the other dlrectlon. Evanc, who was o:tdcr than I, wrs ln nry grade. Elbert, a yeer youngsr, ras [n th. gred€ belor. Thetr father orned a farn and ranch land and a cotton gln e fcn nllcc froa totn and a Jackson auEonoblle. Soon I was golng Eo th. ranch elEh Ehio and occaglonally staylng oncrnlght. The horscs and cons and tha s€na€ of, actually staytng on a ranch sas exclt- lng enough, but u57ftrst erperlence of listenlng Eo recorded rmrslc on an Edlson PhonogFaPh added rcre lugEer. IE nas hand-cranked of course ( Eo wlnd Eln sprtng thaE rert Ehe Eurrreable). IEs records were cyllndrlcal, ebouE Ehr slze of. a 303 cen of beans, Eoday wl,Eh both ends cut out. rJe sp.nE neny hours ac ntght tlstenlng Eo Ehe snn€ r€cords over and oner, on onc occaalon shen a broken sprlng dlsebled Ehe phonograph, w€ e.$en rtggcd up a belE around Ehe hub or i utcycle to thc pulley of Ehe Eurn, Eable to Brke tt Eurn. o! course lE was very dlfflcult to keep the pedals of Ehe blcycle gotng at rmlforu speed and Ehe resulElng sounds wcre rethcr neltd.

The aucoroblle ttself rras qulEe a Ehrlll for ne. r hane sald rt was e Jackson- there rras also an Apperson Jack Rabbtt neker and I rnay be conf,used, but r bclleve [E nras a Jackson' For lEs day ti one of thc bcat end seldon gavs any Erouble. the steerlng wheel rr".s s on th€ rlgh! slde. Thc shtft lener and hand brake yere on Ehe rlghE runnlng tloard. IE hed Eo be cranked by hand buE occastonally wouti ioo corpresslonlr' 88 Ehey called tt, tf the plstons were ln Just"titi ure rrght poslelon and gas Ehe nlxture ln Ehe cyllnders res lusc rtlnt when you turned on th€ key whtch sent Ehe spark tnto the El,xture. rhls dtd not happcn often and wag an err€nt to bc telkcd abouE for days when lE dld happcn. Moct cars of thaE day had carblde headllghts, but Irn not sure lf thcs. rnro carbldc or elecgrlc. At any raEe they wer€ v€ry brlghE on a eountry road at nlght. Jack rabblts would be atcracEed by the llghE, geE out ln the roed tn tholr glare, noE be able Eo see outslde ln tlp derkness' end soneElnes n,rr for nlles rtght dorn Ehe road ahead of th6 car. At Elnes lt seemed llke Ehere were dozens of then ln Ehe road aE Ehe sam trne. The roads were sandy tn dry weather and very tnrddy Yhen t'et. tfe boys would sonetlnes rlde our blcycles Eo the ranch 24

tthen I'1r. Batn ras not ready Eo go. One day rc dectdrd lc sould sane a lot of hard pcdallng lf we could Eow ouf blkes behlnd the car back to Eornr BUE ch€ f,lrsC rut w€ hlE senE our bikes one way and us another. 'Fortunately !1r, BaIn was drlvlng slorly and nobody ras hurt.

Anothcr autonoblle I got acqualnted nlth aE Kenedy was a Gllde. It ras Ehe only one I evcr sar of thet makes but lE was a handsooa car wlEh long sleek ltnes and doors for all four seats. Thc Jackson dld not harre fronE doors ae I recall. The Gllde nust harr. becn a sera3n-prssenger car wtth Junp seeEs stnce lE rrae a \rcry long car. the nen nho orned lE stored tt ln our bam. IE sould stay Ehere f,or nonEhs whlle he tlnkered wlEh lt to get lt ln runnlng order. Then, usually on a Sunday afternoon, hc would Eake lt out for a spln, I do noE renenber lls ever conlng back on lEs orrn poeer. IE was elther toned by horses or another c8fo

Kenedy was another rallroad Junctton torrn trh€re Ehe SAP Eratns fron San AnEonlo nade connectlons wlth the ones nrnntng f,rom Houston Eo Corpus Chrtstl. Many passengers changed f,rom one Eraln to another there, and Ehere was e large cafe ln Ehe staElon. I recall th€y_ had one menu for traln pasaeng€rs wlth prlces hlgher than the nenu for local resldenEs, llany craln cretrs ltved tn Kenedy Eoo, but not as neny as ln yoalsm; and there ltes a snall shop and roundhouse Ehere. A roundhouge lras a place etth e scctlon of Erack long enough to hold a steer locomttvr. The Erack ltrs on rotlers and could b€ rotac€d co Eurn the englne around and out ln Ehe opposlEe dlrecElon.

the Bage store was tn a bulldlng rlEh a Brenty-g1ys fooc front thsE faced Eh€ strs€t EhaE t enE to Ehe depoE. IE was about halfiray up the block f,ron Eh€ depoE- lhls wae a 'rcry good locaElon slnce a favorlte pas- Elne for lots of peopre wae Eo go Eo Ehe depot and neeE Ehe pess€nger Eralns as Ehey cane ln. the depot cafe was also Ehe best lh Eown and aEtracted loEs of, foot tref,tlc pastr Ehe store. AlnosE half of, the people ln Kenedy were Mexlcan' and most of Ehen spoke very lltEle Engllsh. I was just tnelve years old, but I sEayed around Ehe sEore qulEe a blE and Eoon plcked up Ehe spanlsh names for ltens tn a dry goods store and enough abouE numbcrs to tell then the prlces. Leon also plcked up these parts of, Ehe language qulckly, and lt was very helpful slnca papa had more dtfft- culty wlth lt.

But before I g€e Eoo far aray from auEonroblles Ehat I nenEloned a few paragraphs back, leE Ee n€ntlon a few nore that I remenber but had no l@€dlate contacc wlth. Trro names I recall are Brush and EMF. I Ehlnk EltF sas the predecessor of th€ Stud€baker buc an not jure of EhaE. There were other nakes but I .rD noc sure of any na$es. There was a horseless carrlage on the streets of Yoakun whtle lre were there. llrls tras ectually made ltke thc horsc-drarn buggles thet't'ere comon at EheE ttne--hlgh sheels wlEh roodcn spokes and hard nrbber or nptal rlms. A notor--gasoline or electrlc-- under Eh€ seaE propetled Ehe back wheels. fhe front rheels were steered wlEh a stlck or Elller. The Bnrsh car that I renember ln Kenedy, I belleve, ttas one EhaE was cranked fron the stde of the car. A11 others !.ere sEarted by a crank ln f,ront of the car. All were op€n cars--not sedans or coupes llke rre have nou. Sone had foldtng tops slnllar to the ones Ehac were on buggles. some had slde curtalns that rr€re a,ltached by snaps Eo the cops 25

when they were ralsed and gave sone protectlon from raln or cold lrlnds. But sone dld not even have wlndshlelds, and I Ehtnk those thaE dld were consldered optlonal equlpnent and cost extra. Roads were very dusty when dry and very sloppy when wet. you nay have seen plctures of early day Itlotorlsts wearlng goggles and long llghtrretght coats that reached the ankles. These rtere necessary to keep dust out of the drlverrs eyes and off hts clothes. A drlve of only a ferr nlles would often leave clothlng conpletely correred wtth dust. That ls why the coats were called frdustersr! they could be renoved at the end of a Journey and leave the sutts or dresses ln falrly presenEable condlElon. one car that I recall dtstlnctly waa a longr low, powerful-l.ooklng roadster (a car wlEh only one seat for trto Passengers) that we called I f8c€rr f donrt knor wheb nake lE ras. IE was drlven by a yount nan from one of the wealthy ranch fanlllesr often at very hlgh speeds for the Elme. !,1yrecollectlon ls that he was kllled one ntght when'be wreckod tt and part of the large wooden steerlng nheel Plerced hls body. Henry Fordts Model T was lnEroduced durlng the tlre rre llved tn Kenedy, but I do not remember seelng one of then thJre. Kenedy r'Slx-shooter was known at that tlne as Junctlon" because so nany nen wore plsEols as regularly as Ehey wore pants. There were reports of, a feud beEween a Butler fantly and anoEher fanlly whose nane f do not recall, but I do not remember any kllllngs whlle we were chere. I do have a vague recollecEton, real or lnaglnary, of a shootlng ln Ehe donntorm area whlle we were there. My nentel plcture ls of one men clrcllng around the roof of a trro-story bulldlng, shootlng at and betng shot at by anan on the ground. r do remember thet the stghc of a nan lrlEh a revolver ln a holster on hls hlp was so cormon that we thought noEhlng abouE lt.

My recollectlon of the flrst day of school there lncludes an encounter wlEh a nember of one of Ehe feudlng fanllles. They were ileared by many, buE I goE lnvolved nore or less lnnocently. Tte school there ltas a three-sEory brlck bulldlng EhaE stood on a hlll on the north slde of Eotmo The playgrounds sloped dorn back of the school Eo a creek whlch ran lhrough Ehe valley. IE was the cusEom to tnltlate every ne!, uy ioy Ehrowlng hln rn Ehat creek durtng the frrst recess perrod. I had heard of the custoa and dld not exactly favor tt. l{hen a iro,rp of boys started stalklng ne I ran as far and as fast as I could. l{hen I was alnost exheusted there was only a nuch larger slxteen year old boy stlll followlng ne. lJhen he approached ne I ptcieo up a fallen mesquite llnb and cracked hln acrosa Ehe forearm as hard as I coutd. He cursed and sald"rYou broke my armr you llttle so and so; Irll get you for 1t.,, About that Elure the bell rang and we raced back to forn up the line to march ln. of course tears were rolllng dolrn my cheeks from anger and fear, and he was gresplng hts lnJured arm. He was called lnto the super_ lntendentts office, but nothlng was sald Eo @. For several days he carrled the arm ln a sllng, buE I donrE thtnk lt was broken. oEher klds k€pt telllng ne he nas a nember of one of the feudlng fanllles and they would probably klrr ne. But I never heard anythrng more about it, and nobody trled to put ne in the creek after that. I seemed to hane gatned a llttle respectr 26

School sork ln the seventh grede nas falrly routlne Ehat yeer ln Kenedy. I donrt recall havlng any speclal dtfflculty after th€ flrst day's eplsode wlth the tesqulte ltnb and had no trouble naklng acceptable grades. I do remenber an experlence nlth the gasollne englne that punped drlnklng ltater from a shallor rrell for the school. e wtndsrlll punped the water when there was a wlnd. When lt lras caln ne boys were told to dlsconnect the mtll and attach the gas engrne Eo the punp Jack. It nas a one-crllnder affalr and usualry started fatrly easlly. BuE one day, af,Eer repeaEed efforts to crank iE, one of the boys declded to re&ve the spark plug and pour raw gasollne dlrectly lnto the motor. tfhen the plug was replaced and the crank turned the whole thlng blew sky htgh. the plston cane out the top end flew as hlgh as Ehe wlndntll toner. Fortunately lt went beEween our heads and no one was hurti but the school was wlthout drlnklng water for several days unttl a nen ntgtor was bought and lnstalled.

good A nany days I spenE ny after-school hours huntlng rabbits in a heavtly wooded Pasture a few blocks fron our house. Uncle John had glven Leon and me a cheap 22 single shot rtfle wlEh a barrel BhaEwas sltghtly bent. Thts was the flrst gun outslde of BB guns Itd ever had and took a loE prtde of tn belng able Eo hlE a cargec with lt. The benE barrel nade It necessary Eo aln about two lnches Eo the left of anyEhtng you wanted to hlt. On nany occaslons I was able to brlng home a cottonEail rabbtt, whlch Mamra would fry for supper. l{e enJoyed lE jusE as m.rch as frled chlcken, and I enJoyed lt errcn nore because tt was ny sklll as a mGreaE Huntet'f Ehat had provtded. I can renember one occaslon when seneral of us boys were huntlng tn the pasture wlthouE success unctl we spoEted a chlcken that nust hane belonged to a farner ln Ehe nelghborhood. It was Saturday, and we had planned to have dlnner ln the lroodsi so the chtcken was qulckly shot, roasted brlefly over a f,lre, and eaten half raw. Trap- plng snall anlnals and selllng thelr hides was Ehe "lnf. thlng too. I Erled It but got dlslllusloned after I found a mother possum ln one of my traps Ittth young ln her poueh. she was dead, but the young ones were sttll allve. Of course they d1d not llve long.

on another occaslon, the Baln boys and I Erled to skln a skunk which we caughE on a trlp to the ranch. Unfortunately we cut the lrrong place. As a resutt we all snelled so bad nobody wanted Eo be around ,.r" ior days. You jusE couldnft wash that sne1l away. On r.g1sgher occaslon, Mr. Baln had told us to plow up a snall plot of ground a few hundred yaros fronr the house. Evans and r httched an old snrle to a walklng plorr and dld the besE we Job could in breaklng up th€ soll. The worst nlstake we nade vas in attenPElng to rlde the old mrle back to the barn. tttEh Ehe harness still on the mule, the traces EIed up so they wouldnrt drag, I got astrrde wlth Evans behlnd me. He had the relns. l{hen the old ntrle became sklttish and trled to pltch, he Jerked up on the relns. The mulers head came back wlth a jerk as mlne Just went fonrard. The resulttng colllsion I can assure you rtas noE pleasant. I had the sorest facer the blackesE, bluesE and purplesE eye you ever saw and a front Eooth cracked off at the root Ehet l'as very palnful for a long Elrre.

IE was playlng - ln whaE we called football durlng learned recess at school thaE I I could hold ny own wlth boys blgger Ehan f was. The game we played 27 had practtcally no rules buE was more llke Rugby than anyching I can compare lt to. After chooslng up sldes the ldee was to advance the ball across the other's goal by kicktng ltr throwing, runnlng wlth ltt or anynay goeslble. I{hen one was tackled rrlth the ball ln hls possesslon It was permlssible to wrestle the ball away from hlm. I soon learned I couldn'E klck or throw Ehe ball too well, but when I caught lt I could run fast, enough to outdlstance msE of Ehe others. And ln vrestling for the ball in the plleups I could often wriggle around enough to get away wlth lt. I was beglnning to get a ltttle closer to normal, slze for a trrelve year old but stlll snaller than most. In fact all of the growlng I did r you night say, nes between trrelve and fourteen. Au fourteen I rtas as Eall as f an now but weighed only nlnety pounds.

llhen school was out ln the sprlng of 1914r Mr. Baln offered to glve us boys a fleld of cotton lf, we would clean lt out. The weaEher had been very wet and choppers had not been able to control Ehe weeds ln lt. There were large thlstles and Jlmsonweeds--some hlgher than my head--but we Eackled the job wlth grubblng hoes, €;Kes, and shatever lt took Co get them out. lJe put ln nany hours of Ehe hardest klnd of labor in that fteld but gathered four bales EhaE fall--one for each boy. Unfortunately war ln Europe had cut off exporEs, and prlces had dropped to near zero. Four cents a pound was all re could get for the coEton (around $20) but Ehet lras a lot of noney to Ee.

It was on June 3 of thaE sutruer Ehac Jltrtrny (Jarres Thomas) was born. He was apparently sErong ahd healthy, but when he was Just a few weeks old he caused qulEe a blt of excltement and gave us a real scare by nearly choktng to death. I renember belng up to!fir ln the vtcinlEy of the Bass Brothersr store when I saw Papa run out of the store and up Eo our docEorr s offlce (Dr. Hubbard). Then they jumped in hts buggy and sped away wlth the doctor vhlpplng the horse. Knowlng sonethlng was wrong I : raced after Ehem as fasE as ny feet would go and got there almosE sirnrl- taneously. Jlnny had started Eo choke and turn blue. I dontt know how I'iasma conEacled Papa. The doctor found Jtmny's Ehroat was choked with phlegm that he was unable Eo expel. After removlng lt, he 0K'd the sug- gestlon of a nelghbor womanto let hlrn suck on fat bacon rind to keep phlegm f,rom accumulatlng. Jlrmry never had any Erouble after Ehat.

Ihat fall I was ln the flrst year of hlgh school (the elghth grade then) and made falrly good grades in everythlng except algebra. I couldnft see much sense ln X plus Y equals Z, eEc, ln splte of the fact that arlthgEtlc had always been ury best subJect. I Ehlnk the maln reason nas thaE the class was held ln a physlcs laboraEory, and because I was nore lnterested ln Ehe equlpnent than what the teacher was saylng I gor losB the flrst fer days and never really caught up. I Ehlnk the only reason I was glven a passing grade was thaE I was an A-student ln most other subJects.

The store was not dolng especlally well, and Papa dld noE llke the low moral standards of the Eown. Hls old Job as manager of the Perktns store at Jefferson rlas open, so he declded lE would be best for us Eo move back there after school closed ln the sprtng of 1915. 28

Part of lhe tlne Ehat we were ln Kenedyr Papats brother Waltert hls wlfe Florrye, and son CarlEon llved wlth us, and Uncle Walter worked ln the storeo They had been llvlng ln AtlanCa, Georgla, buE Uncle WalEer had such a severe hearlng loss lt had become hard for hlm to hold a job. In She Kenedy store he stayed tn the offtce most of the tlne, wrapped packagesr made change, eEc. Aunc Florrye had sore talent ln palnttng but llttle luck ln selltng Ehem. I can rercmber Papa puttlng one of her palnt- lngs ln the store wlndow and selllng chances on lt to help then ralse a Uttle noney. Carlton, lE seens to me, rras about Een or tuelve years old, was an only chlld, and seeted overly panpered to us other klds, Thby had already becotre dlssatisfled ln Kenedy and moved back to Atlanta before we lefE Kenedy.

o

o 29

JEFFERSONII

tlhen ne got back to Jefferson we found that the store was located ln a nerr Elto-story brtck bulldtng on Ehe corner of the Ewo maln buslness streets and was larger and more aEtracElve than the bulldlng It was ln when we left. l{e rented a house on the east slde of town about t\ro blocks from whaE was then the Katy rallroad Eracks. The Stngletons, the Sherlff Terry fantlyr Ehe Sulltvansrand l'lrs. Leaf were sone of the nelgh- bors. It was a very nlce house. The orrnergl oF a prevlous occupant, had lef,t a very large, very heavy grand plano ln the ltvtng room (parlor); buE lt ras completely ouE of tune and qulte a nulsance because of the room lt Eook up.

To ne the nost lmportant neoory of thaE house ls Ehe butldlng of a rowboac ln the back yard, papa bought sone I x 12 boards, slxteen feet long for the sldes and bottom, and some 2 x 12 boards for the front and back ends. f could descrlbe ln minute deEall how an old Negro rho was a "jack legf' carpenter and I bullt EhaE'rwonderfuf' boaE. In realtty lt was qulte a crude affalr slxteen feet long, about a foot nlde et the front, El'o feet at the back, and Ehree or four feet ln the nlddle. i{e trled to seal the cracks b€Bteen Ehe bottom boards rlth tar, but lt leaked faeEer Ehan we could ball tt out wh€n we flrst put tt ln the water. Howeverr after the boards rrere thoroughly soaked they swelled enough to help seal the leaks, and we could ventur€ out ln it as long as we kept a bucket or Ewo handy for balltng. the paddles rrere cut out of the 1 x 12 boards and whlttled wlth a pocket knlfe lnEo a rrery rough and very heavy means of propulslonr t{haE welght llftlng does to devel0p the youth of Eodayr paddllng that healry boat dtd for Leon, me, and our frlends. ue used Eo set trotllnes ln the rlver and pulled qulte a fen catflsh fron the naters of, Blg cypress lnto lt. But JusE paddltng lt around, belng able Eo be afloatr was usually fun enough. l{e had spent, and dld spend, nany Sunday Afternoons slttlng at the boat landtng, iroplng soreone would offer us a brlef rlde ln a rnoEorboat, but Ehls dldnrE happen nery often. Nor rre had our own boat even lf we had to propel lt ourselves.

IE was about thls ttne thaE I sarr a snall houseboat on the rlner wlth paddle a wheel ln Ehe back EhaE was propelled by a long chain attached to the sprocket rrheel of a blcycle. the old nan that owned lt would stt on the blcycle seatr Eurn Ehe pedals rrlth hls feetl and steer wlrh ropes thaE ran fron the handlebars Eo Ehe rudder behlnd the paddle wheel. f donrt suPPos€ tE could move even one nlle an hour, but the old nan had traveled many of the rlvers and lnland waterflays of that part of the country. I thought lE was the most marvelous thtng Itd ever seen and spent many hours trytng to dupllcaEe a slntlar devlce for Ehe baEeau. Wlthout adequeEe tools, naterlalsl and know-how r had no success and flnally gave up.

JusE before ne moved back Eo Jefferson from Kenedy, the old narket place school butldlng that had all classes of the eleven-grade school had burned Eo the ground. I{hen school sterted in the fall of 1915, classes w€re scattered ln several church bultdtngs and the second floor of the 30

Carnegie Llbrary whlch was knocn as the Opera House. lhe htgh school classes npt ln Ehe Opera House. When I went Eo enroll ln Ehe nlnth gradet Ehey found that I had earned credlts ln Kenedy that nere equal Eo ones Ehey were offering ln Ehe nlnth grade there, except for second-year algebra. So I was puE ln Ehe tenth gEade with the agreenent that I sould take and pass second-year algebra under a private Eutorr Mlss Lena Moseleyr who had taught me ln lhe fourth grade, rras now Mrs. Lena RoundEree and Eeachlng hlgh school maEh. She agreed to teach me, and she dtd her best. But wlthout any real understandlng of baslc flrst-year math, second-year algebra nade enen less sense Eo trEr She flnally gave me a passlng grade and credlt for Ehe course, but I stlll didn't knotr anythlng abouE lt--and sEtll donrt. Horrever ln tenEh grade mathl which was plane geonelry, I dtd flne and made good grades. Trlgonometry the next year rJas as easy as ple for ne. The teacher sald I had done so well I would not be requlred Eo take the flnal e*ami but the superlntendent satd Ehat I would, and proceeded Eo glve rne an exam hlnself. l{hen I made a grade of 100 on hls exem f heard no nore about lt. Nor dld the math subJects I took ln college--solld geon- eEry and college algebra-llve ne any trouble. llhy I had trouble wlth high school algebra ls sElll a nrysEery, unless I can blane lt on the dlstracElon of Ehe laboratory equlpmenE nentloned above.

Jefferson Hlgh School had a brand-new graduate of Baylor for lEs prlnclpal thls year. The subject I rescnber hls Eeachlng was English. The Eext he used was Twelve Centurles of E@. i'le had Eo wrlte book reports or thernes alnost every day, and he was the most crlttcal, satlrlcal Eeacher I ever encountered. He would selecE a paper one of us had ltrlctenr read lt before the class, and nake all klnds of fun of lt. I was stl11 shy and sensltlve, also hlgh-tenpered. I can remembergrabblng a chalr and golng after hlm one day when he nrade fun of one of mlne. Sonrebody stopPed me before any damagerras done. Hls narnewas W. T. Tardy, the son of a Baptlst nlnister who was head of Marshall Juntor College, but one of Ehe nost sadlstlc persons frve ever known,

Howeverr he started one Ehing I liked very much--a football tean. Jefferson had never had any ktnd of organtzed hlgh school aEhletlcs up Eo Ehat Elne, and none of us had ever seen a football game. Besldes that, there rtere scarcely enough boys ln htgh school Eo nake up a Eeam. Nevertheless, he wenE around town and got the nerchants to glne enough noney Eo buy a dozen palr of fooEball penus and a dozen helnets. Helnets were made out of soft leather at that tlne wlEh a btt of felt paddlng; and pracElce started.

When I ltent ouE and sald I wanEed to play, he laughed at me and said I was too llttle and would get kllled. when I tnslsEed, he said, "oK, Ifll run down the fleld wlth the ballr-and you see lf you can Eackle me.r' By Ehat tlne I nas so mad I would have tackled a locomotlve. As he ran I Ehrew nyself at hls ankles ltke a bullet shot out of a gun, and he went tumbllng. "I guess your11 dor, he sald. l{e all rrore our Jerseys of whatever color we had, had no shoulder pads or other pads of any klnd except the paddtng ln the football pants, and wore work shoes wlth rough cleats nalled on them by the local shoe repair man. They were so heavy and clunsy Ehat I would always lrear my Eennis shoes until he caught me and made nre change. We did a loE of practlclng plays and goE ln flne shape but played only one garne that year. Marshall beaE us 44 to 0. I suppose ttrey had Ehe only other team ln Ehose parts. 3l

f dontE remenber hos long we llved in Ehe house near the Katy Eracksr and I donrt remember lf it had well or plped-in waEer, but lt dld have electrlc ltghEs. Before many months we moved lnEo another house we called the Grlmes house, whtch ls rlght across the street from the i"iethodlst fellowshlp hall now.

Three things that happened whlle we llved in Ehe Grirnes house stand ouE ln ny netnory. One was gettlng scared out of my wlts by a well-mean- lng nelghbor, one rras a house flre, and one was Ehe bul.Iding of a Eugboat to haul barges on Blg cypress. Anychlng Ehat sEartles me has always upset me greatly. one very dark ntght while we llved in Ehis house I answered a knock at Ehe door. Evidently Papa vas not there but i'lanma was and I suppose ollvla nas as rrell as Jtrrry, who was sttll a baby. The nlnute I opened the front door a very brlght flashlight was shone ln nry eyes that blinded me conpletely. I slarnsred the door and began screaming for I'larnmato brlng the gun. r knew we had no gun buE hoped Eo scare the lntruder away. tlhen l,ianma cane Eo the front room she calmly opened the fronE door and found.a very deaf nelghbor there. He apologized for starEllng ne and sald he was looking for some of hls chickens wh'at falled to come home Eo roosE. Belng startled still upseEs mer and I'm careful to keep doors locked so not even my friends can walk in on ne unexpectedly.

The flre was ln a house that faced Ehe loE where the schoolhouse had sEood, on Ehe same street that the old Presbyterlan church sas onr The back end of lt was only ftfty feeE or so from our house. As was usual in those days, Ehe Jefferson flre departrrent rras unable to do more than pouf a ltttle water on lt. Sparks fron Ehe flre iere landlng on Ehe roof of our house which had wooden shlngles. I spent severar hours of a falrly cold ntght on our roof ftghtlng off sparks and small flres that started with wet blankets and burlap sacks; and occasionally Ehe flrenen would squlrt a tiEtle waEer on the roof and on ne. The house suffered no signlflcant damage. Horrever when I hopped out of bed the next mornlng I felt llke my right blg Eoe would ureat< oif. By the ttme I had eaEen breakfast the toothache-like paln had spread to ny rtghE knee, and it was imposslble for me Eo go Eo school. the patn contlnued to progress through the jolnEs on my right side and then down my left side unEll lE reached nf' lefE blg toe and dlsappeared. Thls took several days, Both shoulders were affected at the sann tine, and for at least one day I was unable Eo feed myself. The doctor called 1t lnflarnaEory rheumatism. Whether the exposure fron flghtlng off the flre caused lt or not, nobody seemed to knov.

The buildlng of Ehe Eugboat and barges was the blggesE evenE, in my oplnion, at that tlme. congressman Morris sheppard had wangled an approprlation Eo bulld a dam across Ehe lower end of caddo Lake near )loorlngsporte It was Just high enough Eo ralse Ehe level of waEer ln Big Cypress and Caddo a foot or two, but it was thought that would create enough draft for barges to navigate and sttll noE cause excessive floodlng of lowlands. A Jefferson navlgation dlstrict was formed. I suppose bonds were issued. At any rate a concract was let with an old riverboat captain 32

Eo build a sultable boat to tow the barges, and another contracE leE to butld a warehouse JusE below the old clty punp statlon Eo handle hoped-for cargo. The nan who bullt the boat rooned rlght across the street ffom Ehe Grlmes house, and there nere not nany days Ehat I ltas not rlghE on hls heels when he set ouE for Ehe Hasty boat landlng where he was bulldlng the boat. Every natl and every board thet ltenE tnto the boat were personal acqualntances of nlne. The buildtng Eook several months, buE I was s8111 on hand when lE ftnally sIld down nakeshift rails lnto the murky water. I belleve I was on board when the btg motor was Persuaded to start and traveled a mlle or tlro down rlver before turnlng back. Soon Ehe barges nere compleEed, and lE was sald one barge would haul as unrch freight as forty boxcars, lf my nemory ls not playtng me false. The tug was chrls- Eenedthereg!.@!lnhonorofthecongressnanwhohadmadelt posslble, and a celebratlon was held to inauguraEe a nerr era of rlverboat prosperlty for Jefferson.

But sad Eo say, Ehere was no cargo thaE needed haultng fron Jefferson to Moorlngsport or vlce v€fs8o There llere no locks ln Ehe dam that would hane enabled shlpnents to go on to the Red Rtver and thence to the I'llsslsslppt. As far as I knorr there rJas never a pound of payload cargo handled by Ehe navl- gatlon dlstrict, nor was there ever a carton of frelght ln the nlce brlck warehouse. However, Jefferson dld benefit by getting frelght raEes fron the rallroads cornparable to water rates for several years. Sone blg shlppers to and fron Ehe easE coast and other dlstanc polnEs benefltted by routlng shlpnents to Jefferson and Ehen transferrlng them Eo regular frelght Eo thelr destlnaElonso Sore dellghtful moonllght crulses on barges pushed by Ehe tug dorn the rlver and back rrlth ltanp t{alkerrs strlng band provldlng dance ntrslc were enjoyed. Eventualty, I thlnk Clark and Boyce Lumber Company Eook over the Eug and moved logs up and dorm the rlser slEh ltr The ware- house nea us€d1 at leaeE on€ sumnr as I recatl lE, for a gSrnnaslun and wrestllng erena. A professlonal lrresEler who llved Ehere fltted lt out lttth exerclse equlprent, taught some of us boys Ehe flne art of Olymptc-style wrestltng--r€al wresEllng--noE the phony stuff lfe see on TV.

Durlng ny Junlor year ln high school there were only two seniors. If there e€re rnore Ehey dropped out before graduatlon. I dlstlnctly renember Ehat tr.o boye were on Ehe stage ln the old Opera House on graduatlon nlghtr One was Dane Rowell, and I thlnk Ehe other was Elmer Jonesr The prominenE local lawyer who gave the graduatlon address had taken a ferr Eoo many drinks before arrlvlng and was hardly able to stand up, mtrch less nake a eoherent speech. Everyone was horrlfled, but not muchwas said about tt publicly because he was a pronlnent and well-to-do ctEizen,

IE was durlng the surmer of 1916, lf nenory serves nn rightr thaE Papa bought the house on the corner of Frlou and Walker streets thet ltes Eo be the family home untll Mama dted. tle bought it by glvlng a serles of $20 noEes beartng 8% lnterest from date untll pald. I.ly recollectlon is that there were nlnety of them maklng a Eotal of 911800, but I don't guarantee that flgure. At flrst the lnterest dld noE anounE to nuchr and Ehe total paynenE was llttle more Ehan se had been psylng out for rent. But each nonEh the lnterest goE blgger, and was a slzeable amount for Ehose tlmes when Ehe last ones were pald off. 33

The house had been bullt by a well-to-do sarmlll op€raEor and wes ntrch larger than any rre had llved ln before. There were flve large rooms dorm one slde, and a snaller room, or pantry, at the back of then. There ltas e very large ltvlng room between these rooms and Ewo other large rooms on the other slde. There was not a closet in Ehe house. Clothlng was kepE ln wardrobes and dressers. Celltngs were Ewelve feet fron Ehe floor. A porch conpletely enclrcled the house on all but one slde. IE had electrlc llghtsl runnlng water I'lth a slnk ln the kltchen and a bethtub and lavatory ln a room parttttoned off from the livlng room. Evldently lE had been added after the house sas bullt. There was no sewer connectlonr and for at leasE thtrty years the famlly used an outdoor to1let. Every tredroon--especlally guest fooms--had a wash stand trlth a bowl and pltcher on top and cabineE below Ehat held a slop Jar for use durtng Ehe nlght. The enclre porch nust have been a hundred feet long. I can renrember roller skating on lt for hours at a tl$e. There ltere no concreEe sldewalks. fn laEer years I have wondered how I'lama stood the noise of a half dozen klds skatlng across Ehe planks of Ehe floor. But I suppose that as long as she could hear us she felt sure we were not lnto mlschlef.

That house had a telephone, too. l.JhenwrlElng about the Spelling house where we tived ln 1909 I thought I could recall a phone there, but Ehe only deflnlte plcEure I can ftnd of a phone on the vlewlng screen of my menory ls the one ln Ehls house. I can see it dlsttnctly on the wall betrreen the door Ehat went from the llvtng room to the back porch and the door that rrent lnto l'lamrars and papars bedroom. That was the mlddle roon of Ehe flve llned up on that slde

t'ly flrsE recollectlon of tt ls of gettlng a call from somebodyhavlng a party durlng the surnmerof 1916 just before my senlor year ln hlgh school. They lnvlted ne to the party and sald I was supposed to brlng a certaln glrl. I was too shy Eo say no, but I had nev€r called a glrl and asked her for a date. I{e had gone to nlxed partles but only ln groups. The more I thoughE about calltng Ehe gtrl and asklng her to go wlth ner the sicker I got. And I flnally persuaded Manna to call the one gtvlng the party and tell her I was slck and couldnrt attend. And that was no lle. I was physlcally ill from Ehe sheer Ehought of calllng a gtrl on the telephone. I was to hear nore about that durlng my senlor year, and later frost Ehe gtrl I \ras supposed Eo take end others who knew abouE lt.

By the tlne school opened ln SepEembera spanklng new three-story brlck schoolhouse was ready for use. It had classrooms on Ehe flrst trro floors and a few classroonsr, as r recall, on the thtrd; but nost of the third floor nes a large audltorlum, whlch was blg enough to hold Ehe entlre studenE body and norer That was where f was Eo recelve my dlplona the next sprlng"

But many thlngs happened ln the rneantlme. Thls year Ehere vere two boys and slx glrls ln the graduatlng class. !{e had a new superintendent naned Day but the sane prrnclpar and football coachl r,l. T. Tardy, was back. l{e started off fooEball pracElce with vlm. I,larshall was still our only prospecElve opposiEion, and we realized we could barery get eleven 34 boys together to make up a squad. Several older players fron Ehe town baseball team, and aE least Ello who had played college fooEball, trere lnvlted to enroll and to practlce wlth us klds on Ehe football team. They would cone by the school and be narked present on the ro11 of the spelllng class, go on about their jobsl and get off ln tl$e Eo practlce fooEball. There were at least four of then. I was naned quarterback thaE yearr and one of Ehese Fung rnenwho had played college ball would, on occasionss grab the neck of my Jersey and the seat of my panEs and then throw ne bodlly across Ehe llne. Marshall beat us agaln, but thls tlme just 7 to 2.

In looktng back over the account of the Elme we llved ln the house Papa bought in Jefferson I donrE flnd any rentlon of one very traumatlc experlence that certatnly deserves a place in any account of Ehlngs I renember. IE concerns a very serlous accident that happened to Leon durlng the wlnter of my senlor year ln htgh school.

It came very near costlng hirn hls llfe and caused a crippllng lnjury to hls rlght hand that handlcapped hln for Ehe rest of hls llfe. lle and another boy were duckhunttng ln very cold wec lreather on Carter Like, whlch [s an arn of Caddo Lake. They had been on a snall island ln Ehe nlddle of Ehe lake but declded Eo try thelr luck elsewhere. They had traveled to the lsland ln a snall rowboat. Leon had an old-fashloned double barrel lz-gauge shotgun loaded and ready to shoot. When he started Eo get ln the boat he sltpped. The gun slipped from hls grasp, and as he grabbed for tt hls hand was dlrectly over the buslness end of Ehe barrels. One of the hansrers of the gun hlt Ehe slde of the boat and caused lt to flre Just as hls hand grabbed tt. The entlre l2-gauge loadt shot' waddlng' and allr Eore through Ehe mlddle of hls rtght hand which was llterally torn to blts. Blood started pouring from iE, and Ehey \tere at leasE an hour from hunan habltatlon at the rate the boaE could be paddled. Hls companlon dtd all he could to stop the bleeding and started rowlng furlously for the nearest home.

l.lhen they goE there, Ehere rfas a phone, and they puE in an energency call for our family doctor. It had been rainlng f,or days, and the red clay hllls were so sllck that he was afrald to start out ln hls l-lodel T Ford. After conslderable delay a young nan offered to undertake to take hln Eo the lake. By Uhat ttne several hours had elapsed, but Ehey nade lt safely. Nearly eighE hours after we heard of the accldent, the docEor nade lt Eo our house wlEh Leon, who lras so weak fron loss of blood that it was doubtful lf he would llve through the nlght. l{e had no means or facilltles for gtvlng Eransfusions theno But he was able to stop the bleeding, and Leon was sttll altve Ehe next morning. The second day he seened a-l llttle strongerr and Dr. I-ioseley sent for a surgeon fron l"larshall to help hln try Eo reconstruct sonethlng useful out of lrhat lras left of the hand. 'vJhen Ehe surgeon arrived, they put Leon on the dlnlng table and used lE as an operatlng table. I was just ftfteen but Ehey drafted ne to acE as anaesthesiologlst while the Erro doctors worked on whaE vas left of Ehe hand. The thunb and forefinger was about all Ehere was. The nrlddle part of Ehe hand and most of the other Ehree flngers lrere gone enttrely. l.lhen they took Ehe bandage off lt looked llke a piece of raw meat from Ehe butcher shop. 35

lJith ne drlpplng ether drop by drop on the cone over Leonts noser as they tnstrucEed, they worked orrer four hours, tying off blood vesselsr attemPE' lng Eo locate and reaEtach nerves, and make someEhlng with a senblance of a hand.

As they worked llanma would try to come lnto the room occaslonallyr buE the smell of ether sould make her vonlt and she would have Eo back out. The ether funes dldntE seem to boEher ne, and I was able to stay on Ehe job untll the docEors flnlshed and bandaged the hand. I{e dldnrt see whaE lt looked ltke for several days. Whenwe dld get eo see lE Et€re ltas more resemblance to a buzzatd claw than a hand. BuE he dld have some motlon ln thumb and forefinger that he learned to use to good advanEage after long practlce. However he had to tearn Eo wrtte and do most other Ehlngs wlth hls left hand. Several other surgeons worked on the hand at dlfferent ttsres later, but they were never able to tnprove much on what the liarshall surgeon, Dr. Moseley, and Ehelr "famous anaestheslologlst'r had done.

Weakness from loss of blood kept Leon ln bed for several days. He kept wanting Eo see hts gl.r1 frlend who taughE school ln the cormunity near where he had been shoE. One Sunday Papa rented a horse and buggy and sent me Eo geE her. It was flfteen mlles or so and was a bltEer cold day. I got her Eo Ehe house and got her back home. On the way back to town temperatures dropped and snow started falllng. I don't remember ever belng as cold as I was on the rlde honre ln Ehat open buggy. When I junped out of the buggy trry feet l'ere so nearly frozen thaE I EhoughE they would llEerally shatter.

Leon learned to wrlte wlth hls left hand, make show cards, and do nany thlngs rrlth hls left hand. lle could hold thlngs wlth the thumb and fore- flnger on the rlght hand. llts recovery after such a narrolr escape ltes almost a mlracle. lle deserved a lot of credlt for learnlng Eo do many thlngs well afterwards.

l'lany other lhlngs come to mlnd about ny sentor year ln high school. One involved Ehe man who had started the fooEbell Eeamand was also Ehe hlgh school prlnctpal. To say the least, he was not Ehe nost llkeable persono The cltmax of hls sEay at Jefferson care when he trrlsted a boyr s arn behlnd hls back so badly thaE we thought he had broken it. It happened to be Halloveen. Ihat nlght a group of boys stood around outslde hls board- lnghouse talklng about what we were golng to do to get even wiEh hlm. I'Ie. probably would have done nothlng, buE he never came home that nlght and never came back to school. It was ChrlsCmastltrE before we got a nelr Engllsh Eeacher, and we never got a teacher for physlcs, whlch he had also taught.

Hlgh-school physlcs at that tlme was a laboraEory course about the elenencary prlnclples of physlcs--gravtty, refractlon, reflectlon, colors, fal1lng bodlesr electrlclty, etc.--wlth some very interestlng equlpnent to denonsErate then. The superlnEendent deslgnated rne to take over the work and carry out Ehe experlnrents as lald out ln the workbooks. l'le flnlshed out Ehe year and got credlt for the course, 36

It was thaE year Ehat I learned abouE girls, or gtrls learned about Ilr!. A sophomoreglrl who llved Just a half block from us started asklng tlE Eo carry her books. Then one day she held my hand. Soon we ltere golng to shons together on Frlday nlghts. One nlght she klssed ne lightly as I was saylng goodnlght. My feet never Eouched the ground all Che way home. I floated on a cloud. thts girl was about my sane age, but secreEly a senlor girl three years older was the glrl of my dreams. After a spaE slth the flrst gtrl I flnally got the nerve to ask thls drearn glrl for a date. l{e went together unttl I left Jefferson for college that fall.

In the neantlme all the senlor actlvlEles were golng on. lflth just slx glrls and trro boys ln the class rre were very close. The senlor class play was a hlghllghE. l{lth only Eno boys ln the class tt was noE too mrch of an honor to be chosen for Ehe "leadlng man" tn The Sweet Gtrl GraduaEe. Some favorlElsn seened apparenE when the other boy was chosen as valedlctorlan and I as salutatortan. One of the gtrls had a..slightly hlgher grade average than I, but the superlntendenE sald he was glvlng lE to ne because I had taken part in so nany school actlvltles. l'Ihen Ehe left town he put me ln charge of sporEs for boys and girls' l{e"o"s6-prlnclpal had basketball for boEh groupss and I recall Eaking Ehen on Erro out-of- toltn trtps. Of course each ktd had Eo pay hls own fare and buy hls own meals. I{e also partlcipated ln counEy and district track and fleld meeEs, and had a boysr baseball team of sorts.

The date of ny hlgh school graduation sas May 1811917. I stlll have a beautlful l7-Jewel gold watch wlth a case thaE opens and closes whlch Uncle John gave me. Uncle Jlm gave ne an orrrate gold chaln Eo go with lt. l'lhen Leon qult school ln the seventh grade, gucle John told ne tf I would stlck to iE and graduate, he would glve me a gold watch. I dldnrt hesttate to renlnd hln of lt, and he made good hls promlse. I hope Douglas will treasure lt as a memento when Irn gone. 37

SOUTHWESTERN

In the sumrer of 1.917I worked as cashler ln the perklns store, where Papa was manager' golng to work aE 7 A!1 and geEtlng off at 6 Plt, except on Saturdays when we stayed open as logg as customers were comlng--sometlmes l0 or 1l P!{. My pay was a dollar a day. Aftenrorklng nearly four nonths I had saved alnost $100r nhlch rras all Ehe cash I had when I left Jefferson to attend Southwestern UnlverslEy at GeorgeEorn that fall. I had been awarded a scholarshtp coverlng EulElon and fees by the Methodlst churches of that dlsErlct buE had to pay 920 a month for room and board in the dormttoryr and all other expenses.

Tennie Mae had graduated from SouthwesEern that same sprlng and had lnvtted rle to vlsit the campus. The college gave me free roon and board durlng Ehe vlslt. f had Ehe scholarshlp and made up ny mtnd I would use;tE lf at all posslble. The football coach at SoutlvesEern promlsed room and board lf I could make the team buE I wetghed 120 pounds. Sone tentatlve job prospecEs were explored, but nothtng deflntte developed.

lrhen Septenber rolled around I took che traln for the 400-mtle trlp and a long stay away from hone for the ftrst tlme. I had passed my slx- teenth blrthday on June 29 and got my flrst tong panEs sult when I graduated. Untll that tlre I had worn knlckerbockers and long black stocklngs. The most promlslng Job prospect dld not pan out, so I took a job waltlng tables and washlng dls,tiee' ln a prlvate boardinglpuae to earn ny neals and a place ln a servants-quarter house ln the yard. The football coach satd I did not quallfy for a scholarshlp but gave ne a unlforme and f worked out daily wlth the team.

A rude shock awalEed me aE the Adnlsslons Offtce when f gave them a transcrl.pt of ny hlgh-school credlts. They had no record that Jefferson Hlgh School had quallfled for afflltatlon and told ne that I would have to Eake entrance exams coverlng all high school work. About the flrst one they hlt me wlth was algebra, and there wasn't a qu€etlon on the Eest thaE I'beansl I knev aboute I trled to tell them thaE Jefferson had qualifted for afflllatlon Ehe year that I graduated and one of my classnates had been admltted Eo Ehe Unlrr€rslty of Texas wlthout questlon. !{e had even earned afflllatton ln the physlcs class thst I had wound up teachlng after the coach left town so unexpectedly.

After struggllng wtth the algebra test ln a roon next to the reglstrarts offlce I saw I dldnrt have a chance. Instead of Eaklng tt back to the offlcer I was so embarrassed I left lE on the tabte, cllnbed out a wlndow and sent to Eo$n wlth Ehe ldea of cashing a check to buy a ticket home. The job prospect I had counted on but fatled to develop was wlth a drug store, and I went there to cash the check. The orrner called Ehe unlverslty to see lf somethlng could be worked out. They tol.d hlm to have ne cone on back and they would arrange for nry admlsslon somelray. I was glven a felr EesEs that any second grader could handle artd told I had quallfled to enter. 38

My job aE the boardinghouse dldnrt last very long. After worklng out wlth the football team a few weeksr I came up wlth a rib tnjury Ehat made It inposslble to llft ny rlght arm above my walsEllne. I managed Eo walt on the tables that nlght but was afratd I would drop dlshes and break Ehem tf I trled to wash then. So I gave the Negro cook 759 Eo do my part. l.lhen the old lady came ln the kltchen and saw the cook doing my job she barled me out. I got mad and told her she could have her old Job and do what she pleased wlth lt,

After that I moved lnto Mood Hall, Ehe boys' donnltory, applled for part-tlne work there and at the glrlsf dormlEory, but dldntt get enough to cover Ehe $20 monthly board and roon charge. Papa was sendlng rne $20 each month, but there were books to buy and other expenses. In looking around I found a Swedish lady that dld beautlful laundry work who wanted an agent ln t'lood Hall. She gave ne twenty per cent of what I collected. I nade quite a slght, I suppose, going down Ehe street to her house wtth bags of laundry draped all over me, but that dldnft bother mel and the students at SouthwesEem dldnrt thlnk any less of Ehose working for expenses than they dtd of the affluent. Of course the fraternlcles dldn't seek us out for menbershlp; they knew we couldnrE afford lt anpray. But nany of my frlends rtere fraternlty membersz and I was lnvlted to spend a lot of tlme vlsltlng and llsEenlng Eo Ehelr Victrolas. That was about Ehe only Ehlng they had thaE Ehe dornttory dldnrt ha're, and we all enjoyed llsten- tng to records. That was before radlos rrere ln use. I{lre1ess Eelegraphy was in use but no volce transmtsslon. One of the phystcs professors had bullE a wlreless and sent messages from Ehe campus to the courthouse donn- tg$n. That goE hlm qulte a blt of publlclty.

l"ly flrst roomete at Mood Hall turned out to be my future brother-in- law, Joe Lee Thomson. He was a brllllant student and had a good Job as a typlst ln Ehe reglstrarts offlce that covered hls cost of board and room. Brtlllant as he rras he couldntt keep fron bragglng and sometltes popplng off to upperclassll€Rr The college newspaper sald ln one arEtcle that accordlng Eo Joe Lee Thomson his hore Eown, Uvalde, had everyEhlng but a seaPorE. BuE lf Joe Lee could suck as hard as he could blow he could soon lsuck enough lrater up there to remedy that situaElon.

one drawback Eo thaE sltuatlon was that !E attracted Eoo much atten- tlon. Hazlng of freshsen by upperclassnen was stlll tn vogue, and almost every nlghE a bunch of them would show up at our room for the purpose of Eeachlng that smart freshnan hls proper place. Of course, when they cane afEer hln Ehey would take me too. I can renember thelr getting us ouE of bed one nlghtr barefoot and in our long whlte nlghtgorms and marchlng us, along wlth a dozen or trro oEher freshmen Ehrough the downtown area. All the whlle they were maklng us slng "lletll hang Howard payne on the Sour Apple Tree." I didnrt have Ehe sllghtest idea lfho Howard Payne was and thoughE he mlght posslbly be Ehe sherlff. I found out later thaE :loward Payne was to be our opponent ln football that week end. They lefE us standlng on the rallroad track adJolning Ehe campus and told us to stand Ehereruntll they Eold us to get offr We could see the headltght flashlng of an approachlng traln, and lE dldnrt take us long Eo hop off on the slde opposite the tormentors. It was a long frel.ght traln and Ehey were nowhere 39

in sight after lt passed so we lrenE peacefully back to bed. OEher nights Ehere were kangaroo courts after ltghts wen! out aE ten orclock. One boy was always appolnted "statue of Llbertyr' and had Eo hold an oil lanp hlgh over hls head durlng the proceedlngs. Dtrty socks rrere used Eo wlpe sniles off our faces, etc. After about Ego weeks of thaE I flgured out Joe Lee's mouth was causing EhemEo vlslt us so often. I got a room across the hall and lras never both€red afEer that. IE was fun for us too but dldnrt teave much tlne for studying. Three years later I met Joe Lee's slster, lrho becane ny wlfe.

Ru1es thaE seem very odd non were in effect, parEtcularly in regard Eo Ehe glrls. They could have one daEe a week in the parlors of the dorrnl- tory, but promptly at 10 ?lr the Dean of lfomen would come Ehrough saylng, "Good nlght, boysr" and that neant for Ehe boys Eo get up and scat. A fresh- man girl could go Eo Ehe picture show wlth a boy one night a rnonth lf accompanled by a chaperone. That neant, of course, that Ehe boy had to buy ElckeEs for both Ehe chaperone and the glrl. l.Ie walked from the campus to Ehe shov in downtown Georgetosn. When we got back to the girls dormltory Ehere ,'Good was always someone at the steps saying, night, boys." Each time glrl a left Ehe dor:nltory she had Eo slgn out and state where she was going, l'Ihen she retunled she had Eo sign in. one Ehtng th.at nas absoluEely tiboo was girl for a Eo get ln a car wlth a boy. ThaE vas a sure way to get senE home lnrnedlately. Girls could go Eo church on Sunday nlghts with boys and wark home wtth Ehern to hear the usual "Good night, boys,' as they approached Ehe dornitory. It was just four blocks from the campus Eo the church, but lt ls amazlng how long lE sometlsres took to shuffle those four blocks on the reEurn trlp.

The only - phones rrere ln the lobby of the dorrnltorles. To call a girl for a datet a boy had to crank Ehe phone in l.rood Hal.l, gtve Ehe operator the nunber of the glrls dorrnltory (we called lE the annex), tell whoever answered what glrl tte wanEed, watt untll she was sunmoned fron her roon and Ehen ask lf she would walk to church wlEh us or go Eo a show. All the whlle every boy ln the lobby had hls ears cocked llsEenlng to every word we said; and I suPpose the same Ehing was golng on tn the glrls dorrnitorlo It was very embarrassing lf you got turned down. I was sttll sorrenhat intlnl- dated phones by anJnray, and lt Eook a lot of courage to even call a glrl. ' But there was a grrl there from tongvrew who had a scholarshrp from Ehe Longvles dlstrlct llke I had frosr our dlstrlct. That gave us someEhlng ln cornnon, and I asked her a few Elsps to go out wlth me, Usually lt was to church or Eo a date ln Ehe parlors. I didnrt often have noney enough to buy three plcture show clckets aE 25g each. Helen Hltchcock from caldwell and Bob Love fron Chrlesman, but a graduate of Caldwell Htgh School, were frlends that were often wlth us on these wlld adventures. Bob and I later becane close friends and were assoclaEed ln many events. More about that later.

At that tlne South'ltesterrr had the only truly effective student self- govelrlment system I have ever seen. Representatlves frorn the student body as whole a ltere elected by the studenEs Eo the Unlverslty Honor Council. They had jurlsdlctton over what went on ln Ehe classroom and Ehe campus as 40

a lthole. Each dornltory had separate Honor Counclls made up of repre- sentaElves elected by resldents of that dormltory. Every student pledged to obey the rules and to report any lnfractlon of the rules he nlght see. Fallure to report lnfractlons would be consldered the sarneas conmlttlng the tnfractton.

A teacher of freshslan English dtd a thorough Job of lndoctrinaElng every freshrnan, and all freshnen were requlred to take freshnan Engllsh the flrst tern he rlas enrolled. She was so slncerely convlnced of the rtghEeousness of Ehe systen thaE she dtd a thorough Job of selling Ehe students on the ldea. I never satr or heard of buC one ceae of cheatlng durlng ny flrst year at Southwestern, and he left town before nlght. The Unlverslty Honor Counctl heard Ehe evldence ln Ehe case, recornmendedto Ehe faculty that he be expelled, the faculty coneurred, and the student left. Durlng ny senlor year ( L92L-22, as a nenber of the Mood Hall llonor Councll I had Ehe unpleaeant task of sttElng tn Judgcnt on a student who brought bootleg corn whlskey lnto Ehe dormltory, got drunkr offered lE to seneral freshmen who also got drunk. The counctl was hearlng the complalnE when the gynnaslun caught flre and burrred Eo the ground. But we consldered our asslgnrent so lmportant we contlnued in sesslon end eventually recorrended expulston. The culprlt explalned he had been worklng elghE years for hls degree (flunktng out several tlnres). AfEer eurning ln hls last exan paper that would make htm eltgtbLe for his degree, he ielt a celebratlon was due. He dld not get hls degree rrlEh the class, but I understand lE was awarded hlm several years later. He always sald he rtas prepartng f,or the nlnlstry, butr'so far as I larow, never entered Ehat professlon.

l.{y flrst year at Sout}mesterrr started ln Septenber 1917 after the unlted states entered world l{ar I ln Aprtl., Many of Ehe 1917 graduaEes went lnto Ehe armed forcesl arrd many who would have been upperclassmen chose to enlist rather Ehan to return. The student body voEed to put Ehe ncn€ythat an annual would cost lnto donatlons co lrer reltef agencles lnstead of an annual, so there ls no 1918 souwester ln the archlves. .

Toward the end of the sprlng sen€sEer tn l91g I began Eo feel very sErongly that I should be tn the arned servtces along wlth many of my frlends and classmates. Most of them were a yeer or Eno older than I, but an able-bodled young nan who was not helping defend hls country agalnst Ehe Kalserrs Eerrlble atrocltles was made to feel very nuch a slacker. Navy recrulters cane to the campus offering students who enllsted for dfficerrs Eralnlng an opportuntty Eo spend Ehe sunrner ln baslc tralnlng at a naval base, and to return to classes tn the fall to study Eechnlcal courses prescribed by uhe Navy. Our board, Eultlon, and oEher expenses would be pald. In add- Ition Eo thaE we would be pald the salary of an enllsted nan. Ihat was srnall buE sounded llke a forEme Eo ne slnce all other expenses would be Eaken care of by Ehe governrnent. f passed Ehe physlcal vlEhouE trouble, but when they saw ny blrth date they sald they could not accept my enllsEment wlEhout wrltten pernlsslon from my parents. My se\renEeenth blrthday was coming up ln June. Ilhen I wrote home Papa sald lE sounded great but they would prefer that I come honre before signlng up. By the tlre I got home lt was Eoo late to be accepted. That was the end of my mllltary career. 4L

SANKING AI,iD 1JAR

After I got honre I dedlded Ehat I rrould not return Eo SouthwesEern EhaE fall slnce I probably would be tn some branch of the armed forces before the end of the next school yearr and I could see thaE Ehe twenty dollars per monEh Papa vas sendlng me ltas puttlng a straln on hln.. So job hunElng was ln order. The Katy rallroad had an openlng for a nlght clerk (10PNI untll 7 Al,t) that pald stxty dollars a monEh. That would have ellninated partlclpatlon ln partles and soclal llfe. So when Ehe Jeffer- son Guaranty StaEe Bank made an offer of flfty dollars wlth hours from 8 AI"1to 4 PM I junped aE the chance. and went to work for then the laEter part of June.

Ihere were three banks ln Jefferson at thaE tlne and Ehe Guaranty SEate was the youngest and smallest. The i.iussey and Whelan Company con- trolled nosE of Ehe stock. !ir. L. G. Braden nas president but usually spenE only four or flve hours a day at Ehe bank. Horace lleisenhelmer ltas cashler, served as Eeller, and dld nost of Ehe bookkeeplng. It was my job to asslst hln and to learn a1l phases of the bank operatlon. two weeks after I starEed on the job l{orace marrled and lrent on a honeymoon for Ewo weeks. I'ir. Braden stayed at the bank a llttle nore while he rlas gone, but lE meanE that nany tttnes I was alone and ln charge of Ehe bank--a seventeen year old boy wlEh Elto weeks experlence trylng Eo run a bank alone. I had learned how to.keep Ehe books wlEhouE any trouble, but [t seems rldtculous now for thaE nuch responslblllty Eo be put on such a youngster.

A11 the books were kept ln pen and lnk, and the law requlred Ehat Ehe general ledger be kept ln a bound book--a very large book llsEing assets on one page and llabtllttes on Che oppostte pege. The only machlnes ln the bank were Ewo EypesrlEers and one old, EalI, hand-cranked Burroughs addtng machtne. One alarmlng experlence happened on a Saturday when I was alone ln Ehe bank. l1r. Whelan, one of Ehe rnaln stockholders, rras a cotton buyer ln addltlon to hls tlnber and cross Eie buslness. He was on the streets buylng cotton, glvlng Ehe farmer a sllp showlng welght of the bale and prlce he had offered. I hed to figure hon rmrch money to pay out accordlng to welght and prlce. Late ln Ehe day I reallzed money was going out faster Ehan it was conlng ln, and I had to open Ehe last $500 batch of currency tn the vaulE. I was frantlcally maklng phone calls and asklng everone I knew to flnd Mr. l{helan before I ran out of money. The word flnally got to him that lle rlas wanted aE the bank. That stopped the lssu- ing of anymore cotton sllps, and he nade a fast trtp Eo }Iarshall Eo replenlsh our cash.

Jlmmy rras abouE four years old at thaE tlme and ll,ked to come Eo Ehe bank and waiE for ne Eo geE off. Marnmawould cautlon hlm to be quiet and not dlsturb my work. He would usually siE ln one of the blg chalrs ln the dlrectorst room. t'lany tlnres when I was ready Eo go he would be fast asleep. And qulte often when I awakened hlm Ehe flrst Ehing he would say rrasp "How abouE us gettlng some oranges, apples, and bananas?" Usually we got Ehem. t+2

The armlsElce was signed rn the farl of that yearl and my hopes of gettlng ln the Army or Navy were over. By che next sprlng rnany of the men who had been tn Ehe servlce began returnlng home. I'losE of Ehem had pretty slzeable checks (for that day) to cash. one blg brack rnan who had been in France and grown accustomed to being Ereated dliferenEly from the lray they were treated tn the South at that tlme baused a near tragedy. I had cashed his dlscharge check thaE mornlng. l{htle I was aE lunch 1"1r. Braden was walEing on the wlndow. The big Negro man who had spent several hours in the Negro pool harl srnce cashrng hrs check came up to the wrndow and declared belligerently that we had short-changed hlm. Mr. Braden told hlm we could noE tell lf a nlstake had been made untll the cash was balanced aE the close of buslness. The Negro man got very abusrve and sard sonebody had cheated hin and that there had better be somethtng dorng, I*ir. Braden ltas a flne nan buE v€ry hlgh-tenpered, and whlEe peopre were not accustosed Eo belng talked to-llke that by blacks. Hls tenper flared, and he reached an automatlc Ehat was Plslol kepE on a shelf belorr the tellerrs rlndorr and alned lt at the Negro. At thaE monent I came ln Ehe front door, rtght behtnd the Negro and ln the llne of flre. He said "ff you say anybody here cheated you' there wlll be somethlng doing." The Negro dropped to his knees and began pleadlng for hlm not to shoot. I belleve if I had noE showed up when I dtd there would have been bloodshed. The cash checked out perfectly thaE nlghE, and we saw no more of that black man.

As I glance over the last two or three pages of thts ranbllng narrative I see Ehat I have touched only tncrdenEatry on the one thrng that rearly domlnated Eh{s perlod. ThaE rras world lJar I. It was mentloned as a factor ln the prlce of the only bale of cotton I ever sold. That was tn 1914, after the war started over an lnslgnlflcanE event ln Europe, but before Amerlca had jotned the Allies ln an effoit Eo defeat the Ger:nan Kalser and hls forees, which we consldered evll. several other tlrnes lE has been mentlonedrbut nowhere have r told of Ehe hlgh -coun.ryo emotlons and rage EhaE gradually s\repE over the Nor do r know Ehat r an capable of conveying them.

As the troops of Kaiser lfllhelm swepE over nelghborlng countrles follow- lng Ehe kllltng of an Archduke ln Austrla or Hungary or someplace EhaE we knew ild interest and concerrr. Hhen the ps Ehat rrere carrying supplies from 'dhen more notlce. they cut off access rop forclng the prtce to near zero, lre As lre read propaganda storles_rva.ee ofva theL swepr rhroush rhe roprrs ;;;;::;^::,""'^::T:" :::"p: ""-rl:y and vtllagesr r to6,s:' oftJ.t and disgu"r';";;;-li"g,o,. whenAmerrcan shrps [::.::.;":-:.Fl:T:-1"::_"-1.rrnertcan- ltves tosE anger wlth:::: :lin ffo srewr The slnktng of Ehe Lustranta the accompanylngross of hundreosoi lrves and the Amerlcan people began to cry for actlon. ";.;;;-;;'oI'.i.=r;]i']i;jf,,

Woodrow l{t lson, a scho Iarly Chrlstian gentleman, was presldenE. He deEested the thoughE of war and dld everythtng humanly posslble to avold our entry ln the confllct. Flnally in Aprll 1917 he felE compelled, in order to protect our countryts honor, go to to Congress and ask for a declaratlon of war agalnst Germany and her allles.

We dld noE have televlsrion and volce graphy radlo. Marconlrs wlreless Eele- was ln wldespread use. But newspapers puE out extras. Every wor* the Presldent sald was prlnted. l{llson was highly educated, very artlculate, wlth t+3

great abiltty Eo speak to the hearts of American people, and we hung onto every word thaE Ehe papers prinEed, feellng hls slncerity and caEching his sense of urgency to make the world safe for democracy.

On the day that lfar was declared young men began to clamor for enltst- ment in the armed forces. I remenber ln partlcular one Jefferson boy who was ln a grade below me but a year or tlro older and much larger who wenE to I'iarshallr applled for enllstment, was accepEed, and sent to Eraining canp just in a few days. This boy, Edwin Proctor I belleve was his nane, $ras kllled ln acElonp and the Jefferson American Legion Post ls named for him. I do not recall knowing a stngle boy or young man who was not eager Eo get inEo the fight.

Home guard unlts were organlzed with rettred milltary men tralnlng hlgh school boys and older men ln close-order drill and Ehe manual of arms. Of course our arms were broonsEl'cks or hoe handles, but particlpation rnade qte us feel were dolng somethlng for the counEry. rcomen began knttllng socks and other garments to proEect Ehe soldlers agalnst the cold and damp of the trenches in winter. Groups were organized to roll bandages under Red Cross sponsorshlp. Bond drlves were organized to raise ro1"y for the governnent to flnance the war effort.

There was a great outpourlng of corurunlEy splrlt in these drlves to se11 LlberEy Bonds. GreaE crowds gaEhered outdoors ln Ehe downEown area of Jefferson Eo llsEen to patrlotlc oratory. Alnost everyone responded by pledglng o to buy as many bonds as they could. Those who dld not have enough were cash encouraged to pay whaE they could as dorrn-palnnent and then pay oug the rest ln lnscallnents Eo one of the local banks. The banks then boughE the bonds and held then untll Ehe total amounE was pald. Quite a fefl of these ltere never pald ouE ln full, and they became the property of the bank thaE held them after the close of the war. I can rernember thaE llorace i.ieisen- hetmer and planned I to pay off the balances and make the proflt. ForEunagely we had sense enough to ask the bank board of dlrectors for authority to do Ehls. NaEurally Ehey decided Ehat the bank should make che profiE. An lnteresElng recollection of Ehese bond ral1les concerns Jlmmy, who was abouE four years old. After attendlng one of them he sould come home all fired up, sEatlon hlmself behlnd the ptano stool as a podlum and begin Eo wave hls arms, pound Ehe stool, and give a pretty good lmlEaEion of Ehe paEriotic oracory he had just heard.

In NoVernber 1918 lt began to be evldenE thaE the Germans were beaEen, and several false rufiors canc ln Ehat an armisElce had been slgned. ihen on November 11 peace t'as offlcially announced. I have never seen such an ouL- pourlng joy of and ecstasy as strept Ehe country that day and continued way lnto Ehe nlghE.

rhere nas some ratloning of shorE supplles durlng Ehe war. I do not remember lf ratlon couPons were issued as ln World l{ar II, but I do remember meaEless days and sweetless days. It was during that tlme that I learned to drlnk lced Eea without sugar and found it tasteJ better that way than with sugar' Today if I get holo of Eea that has been sweeiened I am nauseated by It. 44

A great many marchlng songs and songs expresslng the fervor of Ehe people and Ehe troops strepE the country even wlEhout the use of radlo to spread Ehen. Phonographs--Vlctrolas, as they were callsd-- rr€re tn wlde- spread user and the songs were played alnost constantly: over There, Ilg Yaqks Aqe Conlngr Tlpperary, A Long, Long Trall A-tlindlngr E:s!sg!!g were a fes of the popular oneso These words from tnotner are typtcaf of tne feellngs of the timer "Goodby, Maw, Goodby, paw, Goodby srnrtewlth the old hee hen. Idontt know what thts rrarts about, but I bet by gosh Ir11 soon ftnd ouE. Itll brlng ]-hu a Turk and a Kalser, too, and thatts about all onefe1lercando..'Mtl1Earymarches11keSousa's@ Forener were heard constantly. Young m€n went off wffie Ehat the cause was jusE and thaE thelr sacrlflce was worthwhlle. Everyone had conplete conftdence ln Prestdent lJllson, and he had the abtltty to express the ldeals thaE Amerlca stood for. Maybe I was at an lnpresslonable age, but I donrE thlnk I have ever seen the country so completely unlted before or slnce.

Everythlng Germanbecame synbollc of the desplcable squere-headed Hun and was desplsed. There rrere no German-speaking people around Jefferson, but Ehere were famtlles of Ger:nan descent wlth German nan€s. It seened to ne that Ehey ltent out of the way Eo demonstrate thelr American loyalEy. In SouEh lexas there were nany cosmunltles wlth Gernan-speaklng people, and alnost very sEore had at least one clerk that could speak Gerflan. I learned after rnovlng Eo Cuero that they were forbldden uo speak anythlng but English even lf the cusEoner understood no Engllsh.

Sadly an organlzatlon of so-called superpatrlots arose, or rras revived, called the Ku Klux Klan. Orlglnally they were prlmarily anEi-senitlc and anEl-Negrq buc durlng thts perlod they propogated a program of hate agalnst others that they dld not consider full-blooded Amerlcsns--6S if chere were any such thing. Thelr prlnctpal Earget becane Ehe German-speaklng people. FortunaEely Ehls reached lts peak shortly after the war, and mosEof Ehe people nere able to cooperate durlng Ehe maln war effort.

I believe lt ras durtng mldltlnter and early sprlng of 1918 Ehat an epldemic of lnfluenze ssept the country and ktlted many membersof the mlllEary and civlltan populatlon as well. Perhaps more deaths were caused by thts dlsease than by nilltary actlon. In the sprlng of lglg it swept Ehrough the boysr dormlEory aE Southwestern. Before lt was over I Ehlnk every occupanE hadr at least, a mtld bout wtth lt1 and sone lrere very serlous. Howeverr we had no deaths. The Unlverslty doctor gave each of us a bottle of Pl'uEowater, a Dobell spray of nose drops, and a box of asptrin. lJe took care of each oEher as ne were not all down at one Elr€. The btggest and husklest fcotball player ln the dorn was che last Eo go down, and he eame closest to dylng.

After Ehe armlstlce was slgned ln November, President Wllson began a just campalgn for a and lastlng peace. Hls plan lncluded a League of Natlons promote Eo and enforce peece throughout the world. The Allles lnsisted on a vengeful Ereaty Ehat could only breed more hatred and future war. They did accept his plan for a League of Natlons and lt uas established, but he could not sell lhe plan to hls beloved Arnerlca. H€ spent the last ounce of hts sErengEh Eraveling over the natlon pleading for its acceptance Eo no avall. 43 l{ls health flnally broke compleEelyr and he dled a broken-hearted but vallant nan. Perhaps World llar II and other ware could have been averEed lf Amerlca had shown enough'foreslght Eo adopt the plans of this great man, sho |s st1111 tn my mlnd, the greatest President Amerlca has hadt at leasE in tshe twentleth centuryr t+6

WICHITA FALLS

Shortly after Ehe end of hostlllties men began reEurning home. Early In 1919 the rnan whoqt I had replaced at Ehe bank carne back. I realtzed thaE it was rlght for hln to expect hls job back and began looking around for another bank job. l"iy pay had been raised Eo slxty dollars per nonth, so f jumped at an offer of a hundred dollars from the Clty Natlonal Bank in I'llchtta Falls. Another factor was Ehe older girl I had been snitEen wlth ln my senlor year of hlgh school. I had corresponded wtgh her while I was in Georgeto$nr and she and her faml ly had sroved to'vllchlta Falls. On a vislE back to Jefferson I had becone engaged Eo her and glven her a dlamond engagen€nt ring. The rlng vas one puE up as securlty on a loan at Ehe bank and not redeemed. I pald off Ehe seventy-flve dollar note on Ehe rlng, whlch probably cost 9150. She had Eaken a job Eeaching a rural school in Ehe o11 fleld near Burkburnett, buE her fanlly llved in Hichita Fatls.

It was afEer buslness hours when I arrived by Erain in'vllchlta Falls. I lugged my bags about a block Eo the flrsr hoEel I saw and was told Ehey had a vacancy for the nlghE' the roorn I was taken to had several beds in It, but I EhoughE nothlng about. Ehat. When I came back from the bank Ehe next nightr Ehere were Ehree or four men occupylng Ehe oEher beds. I didnrt lmow how scarce and how expensive sleeplng qu"rt"rs were there and resenEed Ehe lmposltion of others ln what I EhoughE nas my room. In fact I packed my bags and walked out of the hotel wlthout paying a dlure for Ehe room. r never dld pay for lt or hear anyEhing fron them. HhJn I sald sonethlng about lt at the bank the nexE mornlng I found that lE rras cusEomary there to put as nany PeoPle as they could ln a room, and Ehat barbers were even rentlng thelr chairs for flve dollars a night for people Eo sleep ln. I dtd find anoEher room ln a walk-up roomlng house above a reEall store for the second nlght. It cosu ne flve dollars, and I had no one else in the room with me. After Ehat got I a room ln a prlvate resldence abouE a mile frorn Ehe bank wtEh three other people. we slept ln t"lro double bedsr buE thaE cost us five dollars per nlght--Sl5O per monEh.

IE was about Ehe tenEh of the month--April or l,iay I thlnk--when r got there. Durtng the tlnre I had worked aE the bank ln Jefferson I had Eaken the house payments as ny responslblllty--trrenty dollars a month wlEh lnterest fron daEe. ThaE had Eaken more than half of my salary. I had bought some clothes and had pald the seventy-five dollars ior the rlng and spent some trloney on dates and other thlngs. BuE I thought the hundred dollars I had saved up would carry me untll my ftrst pay day. However I had never dreamed that it would cost flve dollars a day just for a room. In Jefferson one could room and board for Errenty dollars a nonth. I began Eo get behind on room paymentsr but Ehe landlady sald lt would be all rlght to wait ungil pay day. Before pay day I began to get short on eatlng noney and was down Eo buying a Hershey bar for lunch and sklpplng breakfast many tlnes. About Ehe lasE week of my ftrst month one of the asslstant cashiers asked rne if there was anythlng wrong. I told hlm no and that r was dolng flne. Then he asked me how about-money and lf I was runnlng short. rhen I adrnltted Ehat I was getting a llttle pinched ln the pocketboJk, and he Eold me to just wrlte a check for whatever r needed to Elde me over untll pay day and he wourd oK lt. That took a 10ad off my nrnd and puE a ltEtle nore in my sEomach. t+7

Shortly after I got to trlichlta Falls }lr. Joe Perklns, who was a bro- ther of the man Papa worked for, called me and asked ne to come to hls' offlce. I knew thaE he and Papa had worked Eogether for llistrots ln Alvarado when Papa flrst come to Texas and assuned Papa had wrltten hlm I was there. I later learned that he was a dlrector of the bank I was worklng for. He wanted to know lf there was any way he could help me. I told him no, I was doing ftne. Then he wanted to know lf I had found a room, and I told hlm I had. l{hen I assured hl.n llwas dolng all rtght he Eold me fhac lf I ever needed any clothes to Eell the clerk to charge ne Ehe same as they charged -one hiut--whlch was exactly cost. the Perktns-Tlmberlake store was of Ehe flnest ln l{lchlta Falls, and I dtd avall myself laEer of buylng a few thlngs aE cost. I was already beglnnlng Eo reallze my hundred dollars was noE golng to last untll Ehe flrst of the month, but I wasntt about to admlE I needed helpr and I ltasnrt about to ask Papa Eo send ne money elther. BuE ,everything worked out all rlght. I postponed a fes rreals but dldnrt really mlss any. Thls I"1r. Perklns ls the same man who gave the money Eo sEart Perkins School of Theology at SI'IUand was very generous in many philanEhroplc undertaklngs--Ehe I'ieEhodisE Home for Chlldren at l{aco, Southwestern UniversiEy aE GeorgetoHnr and others. It was my pleasure Eo be in on Ehe beginning of these bl.g donatlons and to see how a certaln }lethodist preacher influenced Ehelr starE. Ir11 try Eo Eell about Ehat 1aEer.

l'lhen I reported for work at Ehe bank Ehe flrsE mornlng after arriving ln Wtchtta Falls, I sas told that Ehey vere glad to see me becaus€ they lrere short of help ln Ehe indlvldual ledger depertnent. They needed someone who was experienced ln EhaE klnd of work. Then I was taken to the departmenE and told I would PosE a cerEaln ledger on a certaln postlng nachlne. The ledger was Ehere, the machine was there, and there were checks and deposiE sllps walElng Eo be posted. The only Erouble was that Ird never seen a postlng machlne. The only rnachlne we had ln Jefferson was Ehat old hlgh-boy hand-cranked addlng machine. BuE I dldnrt let Ehat stop me. I plcked up the flrst check and found Ehe ledger sheet lt was to be posted on but had trouble getttng the ledger sheet inserted ln the machlne. A boy on Ehe slachlne rtght behlnd mlne saw rny dlfftculty and helped me get started. In someltay I got Ehe ledger twenEy cents out of balance that day, and we never did flnd lt; but in slx nonths I was ln charge of Ehe bookkeeping departnenE. Not that I was so snart, but that the turrrover ln help rJas so fast ln that Eopsy-ggsvy boon !own.

The bank was ln Ehe sane bulldlng lt had been ln before Ehe oil boon started, but had gfeatly ouEgrown the space available. Llnes formed at Ehe few Eellers statlons available as soon as Ehe doors opened, soneEines stretch- lng ouE onto the stdewalk and usually did not let up untll afEer Ehe doors were closed. The number of postlng rnachlnes and operators had been doubled. To make room for Ehem another floor had been bullt just above Ehe heads of the operators on the naln floor, and the notse was unlmaginable. The Burroughs machlnes ln use then dld not have automattc carrtege returns. They dld have electrlc motors but when the carriage was slarnsred back by hand by operators that were belng pushed for tlnre, and when there riras another set of machlnes Just above your head and being slasuned back , it sounded nore ltke a boller vorks than a bank. After I was made head bookkeeper lt t'as ny responslbtllty to ansser phone calls when merchanEs called in to 48

verlfy checks. The nolse made lt almosE lnposstble Eo understand names over the phoner buE ny ears flnally adapted to lt where I could usually tell what account Ehey were asklng abouto There nere many other problems connected rJlth the overcrosdlng, but Ehey were overcone when rre mo{ed lnto a nert bulldlng and nerged wtth anoEher bank around the flrst of 1920.

The second nonth I was there I got a snall ralse and found a room that ttas a lltt1e cheaperr but I stlll had to counE my pennles. That made lE a llttle hard on a youngster who wanEed to take hts ftancee out as often as posslble. She llved wtth her parenEs tn l{lchtta Falls durlng the summer nonths, and qulte often I was lnvtted Eo Sunday dlnner. That was a treat. About once a week we managed to see a plcture show. They were noE as expenslve Ehen as they are now (1992). OEher evenlngs we spent on the front porch ln Ehe swlng of her home.

IJhen school sEarted she moved lnto a house provlded by the school dlstrlct where she taught, along wtth several other teachers. I'ly recollec- tlon ls that tt was about four or flve mlles down a nnrddy road from Burk- burneEt. The only way I had to get there was Eo rralk. On most week ends I would caEch a traln fron l{lchlEa Falls to Burkburrrett on Saturday evenlngsp get to Burkburnett about dark, walk donn the nuddy road (seems llke lt was always muddy), leave Ehere abouE ten otclock, walk back to toerrr, and try to fflnd a place Eo sleep. Usually the only place avallable nas a cog in a large leaky Eent that musE hane had at least a hundred cots. Flve dollars a nignt was the prlce. l{hen lt leaked on your cot Ehe red patctwork quitt that was the only beddtng usually faded,, and you found your underwear lras a brtght plnk color the next mornlngo

Burkburnett was sonethlng ltself. People who never saw lt flnd it hard Eo bellene the condlttons that exlsted, BurkburneEt No. I dlscovery well had blown ln about the tlne armed forces were belng denobtllzed afEer the war, It wae sald tt produced lorooo barrels of orl a day on open frow. No punps Irere necessaryr IE pald every lnvesEor who put a dolrar ln tt $11500 and made sone lnsrant mlllionaires. Of course lt did noE take long for the news to spread all over the country, and newly dlscharged veterans, and ordinary drlfters, tregan to pour ln. There lrere no spaclng regulatlons and no produc- tlon llnltaElons then. 1{e11s lrere put down anynhere Ehere liras room for a rlg! In some cases you could Junp from one derrlck floor to another. ?hey were on every town lot, ln clty streets, rallroad rights of way, school and church- yards In such a hodge-podge that iE ts a wonder the whole place dldntt blow. Nacural gas eras a nulsance. It had no market value. Every produclng well had a flare Ehat burned the gas as lE was allowed to escape. AE ntghE Ehese flares rnade tE look llke the world rras on flre.

Burkbur:rett hed been a sleepy vlllage, and there lras no way accoumoda- Eions could be made for decenE livlng. There nas no pavlng ln the tovn or ln the county. Three or four mlles of slngle-lane concrete had been lald outslde Ehe Wlchlta Falls clty llrntts, but lf you net a vehicle one had to get off ln the syss-paesent rmrd. It was Ehere that I flrst heard about a nan plcklng up a straw hat thet he thought was floaEing on the slime. A man sEuck hls head up out of the muck and cursed hin for steallng hls hat. when told that the one who picked rt up Ehought rE was froatrng, he rearly got 49

lncensed. He satd not only was [t on top of his head but that he was rldlng on Eop of a load of hay. Apochryphal, I suppose but lE sounded reasonable to anyone who ever trled to cross those uruddy streets. one man put down sorE I x 12 boards across llain Street and charged gTenEy-five cents to cross on thern. Drlnklng ltaternas so scarce that you pald a dime extra lf you wanted it slth a meal. Robberles, murders, and other crimes ltere so comnon Ehat they drew llttle notlce. One nan rras shoE wiEh a baby ln his arms Just a block behlnd me as I walked Eo the tent hoEel, Ganbltng, pros- tttutlon, and drunkeness lrere ever present.

Cne nlght I was offered a rlde by the drlver of a large van whlch had an open back. From lrhaE was golng on ln Ehe van tE must have been occupled by refugees from a brothel. I got off as soon as I felt lt was safe to do SOo

AnoEher nlght as I was walklng back Eo town a man tn a llodel-T Ford roadster stopped and offered a rlde. As we approached town he asked where I planned to stay. When I mentioned Ehe tent hotel he said he had a spare bunk I was welcome Eo use lf I llked. I dldn't know him from the man in Ehe moon and dldnrt know if I would wake up with my Ehroat cuE, but I flgured lE wes no blgger risk than sleeplng among the hundred or so burns in the EenE hotel, so I accepted hls lnvltatlono The bunkhouse he took me to lras about 10 x 14 feet with one door and one nlndov. The bunks nere wooden shelves nalled to each wall Hlth folded qullts for nattresses. But I slepE soundly and woke up in tlme to walk back to the country school next mornlng.

By late fall 1919 my flnanclal condltlon began Eo improve. I was glven a raise every rK)nth--sometlmes just flve or ten dollars but a ralse, and lE was abouE Ehat Elme the bank made fte head of Ehe individual ledger deparErrent. In EhaE job I had Eo see that every ledger was ln bal.ance, and that Ehe Eotal of those balances agreed wlth the amount of deposits shown on Ehe general ledger. Usually Ehat was no problem, but four girls we hlred Ehrough a bustness college ln Dallas caused me to burn conslderable mldnighE oi1. They were very proflcienE and rapld ln operattng Ehe posting machlnes but were absoluEely helpless when Ehey got their books out of balance. Some of the boys sald lt was just Ehetr nay of getting to spend an evening with me, buE I donfE Ehlnk so.

Flndlng a less expenslve room was also a blg help. Three of us found a big alry upstalrs room ln the blue-collar sectlon of town near the flour mlll that we could rent for $150. That made just ftfty dollars each of us had Eo pay. And ln the same block we found a boardinghouse thar served fanlly style neals for a dollar. The table seated tswenty but ofEen 200 showed up to eat. He would be glven numbers as we came ln and waited our turn Eo eat. An enormous varlety was served and we could eat all we wanted. Some nlghts we would all wake up wlth diarrhea and keep the trall hot to Ehe bathroomr but as a rule the food was better Ehan ln mosE restauranEs. I usually ate the evenlng meal there. At lunch I usually went to a place that was sort of a stock exchange where stocks of wlldcat oll cornpanles were traded. There $tas a lunch counEer where a bowl of ehtli and a glass of mllk cosE abouE a dollar, and it was exclEtng Eo watch Ehe wlldly fluctuatlng blds on Ehe wlldcat stocks. I never bought any buE enjoyed the antics of Ehe traders. There rs no recolrectlon rn my menory box of where r ate breakfast, but I do renember munching a Hersney bar sorne mornrngs when I was late and had to rush. 50

During the closlng monEhs of 1919 lre rrere anxlously watchlng the com- pletlon of the new bank butldtng and countlng the days untll we could move ln. It was about three blocks up Ehe street from Ehe old bank and was the EallesE and most modern butldtng ln town--about Een stories, I thlnk. The bank was to occupy the ground floor and rent out offlce space ln the others. There rras also a full basement under the main floor wlth safe deposlt vaults, flre proof storage space, and cafeterla where we would be served a noon meal free. There ltas a roof garden on top whlch housed a petroleum club or sorne such club for the ntlllonalre noguls of the clty. There nas an express elevator to lE that made no stops ln between. f was never tn lt afEer lt was completed but toured the plush surroundlngs whlle the buildlng was under constructlon.

About tso seeks before the offlctal openlng rmother boy and I nere asslgned the task of movlng old flles and records lnto Ehe appropriate places ln Ehe netr building and maklng oEher preparations for the move. I'lhen lE came time to nove ne learned that we were to nerge wiEh another bank and open as one 'Je bank in the new butldlng. wenE to work as usual SaEurday mornlngr closed our books as soon as possible after closing, and ran trlal balances on everyEhing, began noving ledgers, records, currency, and some of Ehe bookkeeping and Eyplng machines about dark, In Ehe individual book- keeplng departmenE we found we had new desks wlth posting nachines bullt ln lthere we could slt down and post rather Ehan stand up as we had with the old rnachlnes. And the nev machlnes had autorraElc return carrlages lnstead of Ehe manual returns we had slarnned around on Ehe old ones. There were about slxteen Eeller cages, each wlth tndlvldual locksp lnsEead of Ehe slx ln the old bank. There rvas also a pneumattc tube systen where we could send messages, or whatener, to a centrar statron run by the telephone swltchboard oPerator, and she would route Ehen to the proper destlnatlon.

But the movlng ln, rnergrng Ehe t.'ro record systems and gettlng Ehe whole thlng to balance tn tlme Eo open Nionday proved quiEe a job. rile worked all Saturday nlght and Sundayr were allowed a few hours to sgretch out on desk Eops Sunday nlght, and opened on Einre as one bank 1ionday mornlng. AfEer buslness hours Monday an open house was scheduled. After over stxty contin- uous hours on the job my bed never looked better.

I found I had a new job nannlng a special telters' cage. It was called a speclal ladlest cage, so ladles would 'rdlrty not have to sEand in line wlth old men." AcEually it was never used much in EhaE way. The blggest responslbtllty I had was ln handllng inconing and outgolng currency ship- ments' sonetlmes belng responslble for." to,r"h as three rnllllon ln cash. Other tellers would draw thelr cash through thls cage. I would recelve and check currency received from Dallas and Fort worth banks and woulcl ship currency requesEed by 'nllchlta smaller correspondent banks near Falls.

one rather unusual job was preparlng shipnents of mutilaEed and soiled currency for return to a branch of the tieasury Departnent tn St. Louis. It is arnazlng how rnrch of Lt was accumulated. Crazy new oll mtlllonalres llked Eo show thelr lnportance by ltghttng clgars with ten or tlrenEy dotrar bllls. As 10ng as over fifty per cenE of the bill was left we could send lt in for replacemenE' There was also a lot of oll-soaked, greasy money Eoo that was no longer ftt for circulaEion. soure of lE was laundered and returned by the 51

subtreasury. The rest was desEroyed and replaced wiEh crlspr nelt currency. There was other crlsp, new rnoney Eo handle as well. Iiattonal banks could lssue bank noEes Ehat were backed by governmenE bonds. I don't know whaE the advantage was to the bank in dolng EhaE, but I knov Ehey came to me ln sheets of four b111s. I had to stanp the slgnaEure of Ehe proper bank offlcer on therfl and cut them lnto tndlvldual bllls. One-dollar bllls and Elto-dollar bl1ls came on Ehe same sheet--on€ two-dollar bl1I and three one- dollar bl11s. I donrt recall how the blgger denornlnatlons came.

Another responslbtlity I had was to pick up money shlpments at the exPress offlce and to take our ouEgolng shipnrenEs Ehere. If the shlpnenE was blg I would ask Ewo or more boys Eo help me. They would carry Ehe bags, and I would walk along behlnd Ehem with a 4s-automaEic pistol ln ny coat pocket. If any Erouble had developed I don't know what I would have done. I couldnfE hlt the slde of a brlck wall wtEh Ehe thlng. Each Eeller had an automatlc and a burglar alarm button tn hls cage, and there was a roon set aslde ln Ehe basenenE for targeE practlce. BuC I was lucky lf I hiE the wall I was aimlng aE--much less the Earget.

There was one ttme after lre moved into the new butlding Ehat I was really scared. Bank offlcers had learned over the neek end Ehat another bank in town would not open for buslness on that Monday. Fearlng that night sEart a run on us Ehey asked Fort Worth and Dallas banks Eo ship us large quanEltles of cash. There was no FDIC then. If you could not supply a cusEomerrs denand for cash he had on deposit, you trere declared bankrupt. I dontt recall how they got the noney, but when I unlocked my cage there were sacks of currency stacked as htgh as my head on three sides of ne. IE was ny job Eo check each bundl.e tn each sack and puE lt in the currency vault. AbouE ten orclock EhaE trorning, before I had made much of a denE ln the plle, a Shrlners band followed by a huge crowd janrned Ehe lobby and marched ln wlth horns blarlng. JusE as they all crowded ln, every light tn the place went out. l'ly flrsr thought was that sor€one had turned the ltghts ouE ln order Eo stage a robbery. There were fer wlndoss in the bank and none on my slde of the bulldlng. I sat there wlth my hand on Ehe ptstol and my foot on Ehe burglar alarrn untll the ltghts came back on. It was a routtne poser outage, but I was plenty scared. A nlneteen year old boy wtEh thaE nuch responstblllty seems rldlculous non.

Another job handled by thls cage concerned overdraft checks. If a custoner wrote a check for more noney than he had ln hls account a teller or bookkeeper would consulE an offlcer as to shether he should accepE lt or Eurn [t donn. If the offlcer O.K.td iE, lt was sent to ny cage and carrted as a cash lEem. Elther I or one of the asslstant cashlers would take thts stack of cutbacks, as we called them, and see tf Ehey were good each morning. Those that were good went through regular channets, and I was credlted wtth them. .{n addtngrnachlne llst was made of them when they went out and when Ehey came back Eo the cage. Flore wlll be sald abouE thls later tn descrlbing an experience thaE cured me of any yen for the banklng business.

Further flnancial relief cane about thls same time. The bank rented (or bought) a blg two.story house and charged each of us Ehtrty dollars a nonEh to llve in lt. My recollectlon ts that Ehirteen of us llved there unEll I left t{tchtta Falls. l{lth the free noon meal and the thirty dorrar 52

rent my paycheck began to amount to somethlng, and I began to accumulage savlngs. I contlnued to get ralses almost every month--nineteen ln the twenty nonths I was there ls the way I recall lt. Two-hundred and ftfty dollars was my top salary, but for Ehat day and tlne Ehat was real noney-- far more than Papa had ever made. Another small source of lncorne sas from maklng loans to the bank employees. Maklng up the nonthly pay envelopes was another job my cage handled, paynent was made ln cash. Often a neek before Pay day someonewould offer Eo pay ne Een dollars lf I loaned hlm elghE dollars. usury--you beE--but I never thought of lt thet way. I was helplng a guy out,

SoneElme durlng 1920 I had accumtrlated a Ehousand dollars or so in cash and llberty bonds and wanted to lnvesE lt where lE would make more. Perktns Brothers stock had made good money durlng the war, so I asked papa tf he could lnvest lt for ne. He was glad Eo do so, and I senE hln what surplus I had--the execE amount or the Elne I dontt recall. I later began to dran on that when I wenE back uo southvesterr. Before I was Ehrough I probably had drawn at least Erro dollars for every one I had sent hln, and the Perklns sEock was on the way down. I donrt really knov if he ever lnvested ic ln thaE stock or used lE to pay off come of hls tndebtednessr i{e never sald and never complalned shen I drew on hlm.

Just as f was rldtng Ehe cresE of Ehe nave one of the sorsE traunaEic experlences I had ever experlenced unEll Ehat tlne htt me, IIy glrl frlend, Alller who was sEt1l teaching near Burkburnett and I were stlll spendlng alnost every week end togecher. As I look back I see that I had her on a pedestal and constdered her so speclal Ehat I would have been appalled at the ldea rnaklng of passlonaEe love Eo her. She was three years older than I' and I had been flattered and puffed up to thtnk an older glrl of her charm and beauty would accePc my attentlons. I,Ie had not dlscussed a narriage date because f was stlll not making the klnd of money to provlde che kind of llfe I thoughE she deserved. To make a long sEory short, one week end Eoward tlme for me to leave, she turned to ne and saldl,'you know l.ve always Eold you that when I got narried lt would be on the sprrr of the morlent.r. I agreed EhaE bhe had but Ehought she was suggestlng Ehat we get marrled rlght ;1w8y,r Insteadl she pulled offthe rlng I'a ltven trer ana sald, r'Hell I did it yester- day.'' And she had. She had narrled a man who worked ln the ol1 fleld near lthe school. Yet she had spent Ehe prevlous evenlng with me and nearry all thaE day. Talk abouE shosk. That really knocked the props out from under me and the wlnd out of ny sal 1s. l,le were standlng near a well on the school- grounds when she handed me the ring. I was so mad I trted Eo Ehrow tE lnto the !te11, but srlssed I there too. Her brother brought iE Eo me the next day. IE seemedllke the end of Ehe world, but I can see now ny llfe has been much rlcher and fuller Ehe way it rurned out Ehan rt would have with her. God, fate, destlny, or what have you, does gurde us by openrng certaln doors and closlng certain oEhers. I{hat would my Iife have been wlthout Elnora, wtth* out Frankr wiEhouE Annle Laurle, vlthout Douglas? ,,praise God from whom all blessings flowot'

BuE 1920 was noE through wlth r€. Somenore dlsturbing experiences were ahead, but sone very good and happy tlmes too. I had been able Eo aEtend church speradlcally. On occaslonal weekends Allie would come home, and on 53 others sonethlng would prevent my golng Eo Burkburnett. But after Ehe break- up I was able to take a more acElve part. He had a change of pasEors ln November. The one who was there when I ftrst went was very scholarlyr very formail; and a very cold atnosphere prevalled. The new pastor was one of Ehe famous (or lnfasrous) Knlckerbocker brothers. He was the fiery evangelistic type and began inmedlaEely Eo change the atnosphere. Lean and bony wlEh a wlsp of halr stlcklng out each slde of hls head thaE looked like hornsr he sometlmes lookeijllke the devll hlnself when he got to raving and ranEtng; but he really brought that congregaElon to life. Many of the members were slngle young people llke me, asray from home and needtng to feel accepted and needed. So$etlmes when we were reclting the Apostles' Creedr at the polnt where lt speaks of bellevlng ln the conrmunion of the salntsr he vould Itrout out, "ff you belleve Ehat turn around and lntroduce yourself to at least ten people near you." In Ehat lray \re soon got to know each other. It was ln the days before alr condlEloning, and lt was Eoo hot, really, for men to sear coats on surnaer Sundays. On such days he would often say before taklng the offerlng that every man who rtas too dtgnlfled Eo take off hls coat ought to be dlgnifled enough to put a five dollar blll ln the plaEe. That got rnosE of the coaEs off. I saw hlrn get lir. Joe Perklns starEed on his greaE philanthroplc cceer by the use of a blt of Judlcious hurnor.

Klddtngly one Sunday Rev. Knlckerbocker said from the pulpit that he had to leave for rr*ewYork Ehe next morning and EhaE he needed a fur overcoat. He added that if !1r. Perklns or }lr. I'icCrorey, another dry goods nerchantt werentE at Ehe depot wtth a fur coat for hlm the next mornlng Ehatte would tell rrhat he knew about then the flrst Sunday after he got back. Cn the flrst Sunday after he got back he announced Ehat }ir. Perklns had dellvered Ehe coat Eo htn before he left. By such gentle klddlng and proddtng he got I.r. Perkins started on hls gifts Ehat had amounted to mllllons before his deaEh.

IE was Rev. Knlckerbockerfs daughter who Eook the lead in forming a Sunday school class for young slngle people. It was made up nostly of young people away from home for the flrsE Elme who had cone Eo lJlchlta Falls Eo work llke I had. Thts girl looked very much llke her father, and when I first saw her I thought she was one of the homellest fenales I had ever seen. After gettlng Eo know her and worklng wlEh her, mlraculously, she becarne beauElful.' The flrst Sunday Ehe c,tass met Alzada (Ibelleve this was her name) 1 Ehe assisEant pastor, and I were the only ones there. In three months there rtere over three hundred membersr dnd there was no classroom ln the church blg enough to hold us. Ihe Masonic Tenple was right across Ehe street from Ehe church, and we were allowed to meet ln it. The class assumed Ehe name of Escalator (Ever Upward) and accomplished sone wonderful thlngs lncluding Ehe full supporE of a mlssionary to Afrlca; but its blggest achlevement was Eo brlng ChrlsElan young people togeEher for fellowship and worshlp.

SomeEine during the late sumner in 1920 I vas given Ewo weeks vacatlon wlth pay and went home to Jefferson. l1r. Frank's old i'lodel-T Ford was still ln hls garage, and as usual he gave me free use of tt lf I could get it starEed. Durlng Ehe vacation I had a few dates with the girl who had been a sophonore durlng my senior year and whom I had deserted for Ehe senior girl who had given me the boot ln Burkburnett. There were also a few nlghts carrping and flshing vith two boys on Carter Lake. 54

I thlnk lt was on Ehe way back to Wtchtta Falls thaE I stopped off ln Fort Worth and wenE out to T"{C to see i.ir. Frankis daughEer. She was a cousin of the girl ln Burkburnett, and gave every indicatlon thag she did not conslder ne shoddy nrerchandlse. THC was strlctly a glrls school and operated under rules as strlcE or stricter than the ones at Southwesterno when I was allowed lnto the parlor I could see glrls peeking at me from every cofn€ro I knew I would not be alloved Eo Eake the Frank girl out buE could vislt her ln the parlor. Before she could arrlve, after belng lold I was there, a lady who had been ny history teacher durlng my fresh- man year at SouEhtesterrr came ln, recognlzed me, and invlted me Eo stay for dlnner. I dlscovered she was the Dean of Homen at Tl{C. When dlnner was served I was Ehe only nale ln the room end che center of all €1l€so Afger grace saylng she tntroduced rne as "One of Ehe most brtlllant young men she had ever known.r' The girl I was vislElng and I rrere seated next to her at the head table. Alnost lnuredlately after that glowlng sEatemenu, son€- body passed me the gravy boat. It was a gso-piece deal, and I let the part ttlth the gravy sllde off on the table and spatEer all of us who were near. I really felE brtlllanE then. I wonfE take tlme to explaln why she called me ,'snotr-jobr. brilltantr but lE had to do wlth a Ehat Bob Love and I pulled on her nearly, every day in the history class. The class was on Ehe causes Ehat led up to Wortd War I, wlth no textbooks but based on research of dragazlne artlcles prlnted before and durlng the flrst few monEhs of Ehe tr€lFo ilhen Bob and I were noE prepared on the toplc asstgned for the day, we sould dlvert aEtentlon Eo whaE was golng on ln Europe accord!,ng Eo newspapers that day, drawlng lnaglnary ltnes of baEtle and friendly and enemy posltlons. l{e got by wlEh EhaE many tlrnes. I survived che gravy ntshap and goE away at an early hour. I donrt recalr how I got to and from Ehe tt{C canpus--naYbe by streetcar or naybe on foot. Some detalls remaln clear and sosl€ are blanked out completely.

The events of the flrst day back on the Job in l.ltchlta Falls wtll renaln vlvld as long as I llve. My traln got Ehere ln mldnornlng, and I checked ln Eo work a shorE tlne before noon. A substltute teller had run my cage whlle I was awalr He and Ehe cashler of the bank, and posstbly one other person, were ln Ehe cage when I got back. We checked the cash and cash ltems to see that everythtng was ln balance, but dld it rather perfuncEortly never dreamlng Ehat there could be anythlng wrong. After the others left ne ln full charge I began to prepare a shtpnent of currency requested by a bank ln Iowa Park. I had counted out the correct number of bundles of flves end Eens and checked to see lf each bundle contalned the correst number of brrrs. I then prepared the heavy brown paper rn whlch was golng I to wrap Ehern and puE the m,oney on top of Ehe paper but dld not tle up the package and sear rt before rE was trme for me to go downstalrs to eat lunch at the bank cafeteria. That Eook about flfteen mlnutes. when I got back and unlocked the cage I sEarted to wrap the shlpment but declded to check the bundles once morer Thls cine I found that I had one less package of ten dorrar br1ls ($500) rhan I Ehought I had. I assuned I had mede a mrstaker got enother bundre out of my safe, and senE the package on rts way. That ntght I n,as exactly g500 short. After checklng and rechecktng every lten that passed through the cage Ehat day was I stlll $500 short. The benk cashier, o. A. Jones, a prince of a 55

man sorked wlth ne for days and sone nlghts trylng to flnd tt buE had no luck. Flnally he satd slnce he was tn the cage when r cane back that he would pay half of tt lf I wanted Eo pay the other half. I told hln thaE I felt llke thaE would be adurlttlng that I Eook the noney, and I certalnly hadntt taken e p€nnlr He sald wetll Just have Eo poet the shortage then. Hhd I been a biE older and wlser tt ls llkely Ehat I would have felt responslbte and gone along wlEh paytng Ehe shortage back. l'laybe I was too hot headed, but r sure dldntt rrent to adnlE dolng somthlng I had not doneo

Everythlng seened to run snoothly for the next few nronths wlth no recrlnlnatlons nor rebuke. I contlnued Eo geE ralses. But Ehe ldea of the shortage contlnued to gnaw at my lnnards. I knew the next pronotton, lf I got one, would be to a loan and dlscount desk rhere I would have to say yes or no to loan appllcatlons, and I knes I dldntt rrant that responsl- blllty. I had contlnued Eo send sotrE tDcrneyEo Papa to lnvest, and I began to wonder lf tt would nots be wlse for ne to go back to SouEtnrestern. Deep ln ny nlnd ras a vague ldea that neybe I should study for the mlnlstry.

One happy surprlse cane durlng thet tlme. A wlre cane fron Jefferson on Novemberr20 saylng that I had a new baby slster, Maude Estelle. Er/en though I had been hone that sunner, I had no ldea that such an occurrence ras lmlnent. Papa and Manna never Eelked about Ehlngs like theE or any- thlng concernlng s€x. IE naa Just platn taboor If Leon or ollvla knelr about lE they never nentloned lE elther. So lt really dld cone aa a surprl6e.

IE rras that fall EhaE th€ boonr began Eo go out of Ehe oll boon, and the grosth rapld of the bank slackened. They brought ln a so-called efft- clency exp€rt to tell then nhere they could cut expens€s. He advlsed Ehat sone enployees could be ellntnated. There were sev€ral, but the Ehree I remember l'ere Ehe savlngs teller, the sllver shlpnent teller and ne. Atl three of us had corne up wlth slzeable cash shortages durlng Ehe year. They told ne early ln Decenber thet ny ser:rrlcea would no longer be requlred. They would pay ne through Ehe end of the year, and I would gec an extra monchts Pey as a bonus--Rot a bad deal--thtrteen nonths pay for eleven months sorki buE I was shocked. Never had I recelved .r,ytirfng but prals€ and pronotlonsl and th€ ness was llke a slap ln the face. I knen lt was because of the shortage, but lhe reason glven l'aa that they were reduclng payroll. the I nas stunned and ashared--dldnfE knoy what to do. I had also Eaken anoEher Jefferson boy baek wlth ne, and they had glven hlnr a Job ln lndlvldual ledgers. They let hln go too. I suppose the fact that I had saned sone rfloney and sent qulte a blt Eo papa Eo lnvest may heve nede lt look llke I had baen dlpplng ln the t111. Mr. perklns lras sgtll iadlrector and one of Ehetr blggest deposltors. rE ls posslble that he would have helped me lf I had told hln the clrcunstanc€s, but I wag so crushed thet I dtdnrt want to tell anybody.

l"lr. Kemp, Ehs chatrman of the board and the preeldent of the bank as well prlnclpal as a stockholder, had hts prlvate offlce dlrectly ln front of the wlndow to my cage--Just about Een feet arrayrln fact. Hls secretarles would often brlng me his personal deposlts and nlthdrawal requests, and I knew hln well. He owned the wlchtta Truck conpany and many oEher buslnesses, bu. the Eruck company had a branch rn Tanprco. The Jefferson boy and I 56

declded we nould Eell our fantlles rle were golng to Mexlco to work, and Mr. Kenp gave ne a letter of reference to the Mexican planE tnaneger. After going to Jefferson and spendlng ChrlstnaE, Henry and I rrenc to Houston wlEh the ldea of worklng our ltay to llexlco on a shlp. f suppose there must have been a hldden fear that I nlght be arrested for Ehe shortage Ehat nade me constder gotng to Mextco, trut lE was never suggested ln any way. After a seek ln a renEed etttc room ln Houston, we found ouE we dldnrt knon the flrst thlng about passports or gettlng a job on shlps, and I declded to gp back and enter the wlnEer tern at Souttnrestern on January 1, 1921. That left Henry wlth no plans and no neens of support.

We nade Ehe rounds of several banks in llouston trylng Eo get hlrn a wlEhout Job luck' One of thern offered ne a Job but sald they dldn'E need postlng'nachlne oPerators. He wound up jolnlng Ehe Arny, and I went back to Georgetownr

It was soneElne Ehat sprlng thaE a frlend of nlne wroEe n€ that they had found out that one of Ehe asslscanE cashlers, who had a key to all (r cages olantE know that before), had gone lnto Ehe cages and herped hlnself when we went Eo lunch. Looklng back r recarl that the rascal plcked me up ln a new Bulck roadscer the morrrlng after uy shortage oceurred. I guess " he used lt for Ehe down paysent. He was datlng the daughter of the chtef oPeraEtng offlcer of the bank and was flylng Eoo hlgh for his lncone I suppose. He had been eaught shen he substltuted a phony check drasn on a bank ln Malne for one of, the cuE-backs fron ny cage whlch had becone good when the custoner nade a deposlt. The Malne bank Eurned the phony do$n, but sroEe Ehe l{tchlEa Falls bank next day that they had recelned a deposlt Eo cov€r lt fron l{lchtEa Fells. That let the caE ouE of the bag, and he told about Ehe other chefts when confronEed wlEh Ehen. tfhat a reltef thaE was to net but whaE a change lE nade ln ny llfe. .57

SOUTHWESTERNII

My second stay at Southtestern proved nost lnterestlng and rewardlng. I'ly age was nolr more ln ltne wlth my classmetes, and I was nore assured and self-confldenE. I had saved some noney during my last few months ln tltchlta Fallsl and the Posslbllity of drawlng on the anount I had senE Pepa to tnvest made me rrcre conftdenE flnancially. Eventually I began to draw on thaE, and Itm sure I rormd up drawlng out far nore Ehan I had glven hlm, but he never mentloned it or conrpialned. In the back of ny head was sonn ldea of enterlng the mlnlsEryr and Southwesterrr was sE.lll furnishlng nost of the preachers f,or Methodtst churehes tn Texas. sliu had been started but had not yet galned wldespread acceptance. Hoct of my frlends at Southwestenr were to becone preachers later, and for nlany year6 I enJoyed m€etlng then at Annual conference and other reetlngs. onry a few of then are left non as I wriEe Ehls tn 19g3. There was qulte a large group of ue then in school who had b€en out for two or more yeers durlng ihe rar, elther ln the arned forces or mark- tng tlnre ln the buslness world, as I had. Our experlence in the real world ltas respected by the students rlght out of htgh school. soon n'e were Eaklng over many of Ehe leadershlp poeltlons--tn. y},tcA, the sEudenEcouncil, Honor Councll, eEc. LlEerary socletles--really debattng socleElea--wet€ popular exEra-currlcular actlvlties. Ney l{ade and I were chosen by the Alano to conP€Ee agalnst the san Jaclnto ln Ehe Brooks prlze Debete Ehat lPllttg. college debattng ltes very fornal then. Arl contestants wore full-dress eulEs, white tles and talls. That was Ehe ftrst and only tlme ln ny llfe thaE I ever donned a full-dress sult, and I mtrst confess that I felt very lmportantr even though we lost Ehe declslon by a 2 to I vote of the Judges.

The requlred sophomoreEngllsh course t'as consldered the most dtfft- cult Eo pass of all requlred cours€a at Southwestem ac thet Elne. Indeed, tt dld have the hrghest rate of farlures, and some had to Eake rE over El'o or three tlmes before passlng. Slnce tE was requlred for graduatlon I stgned up for tt tn Ehe tflnter term of 1921, but wlEh some fear ano crepi- datlon, slnce ny-htgh-school Engllsh Eeacher had given me such a hard tlne. Much to ny surprlse f found that Ehe textbook for the course nas exactly the same Ehat we had ln the htgh-school .f course at Jefferson--Twelve Centurtes ,et$lt"! P.ft"" . . ih. profeesorr"" i ;";-;;i; .ffi manr Dr. claude Honard, a Har:rrard graduate, wlth nore Ehan a blE of the Harvard accent. wtth htsl as teacher the course lras a breeze, and I sailed Ehrough with flying colors. Perhaps because I was already fasrlllar wlth the ibext'I was able Eo her.p a frlend, who was takrng rt for hrs thlro trme, squeak Ehrough rrlth passlng a grade. He 'ras stuoytng for the mlntstry and ltent on Eo serve tnany yeefs ln Methodlst pastoretes, but that course in Poetry and prose really hed hlm buffaloed. IOVhelp canre ln the form of edlE- lng hls Ehemesand polntlng ouE errors and posslble improvements before they lt€re Eurned ln. I wound - uP cektng many nore courses under Dr. Howard and naJorlng ln Engltsh for ny degree.

The nost important event ln Ehe sprlng Eerm of 1921, and perhaps in nry llfe, was ny ftrst stght of, the glrl who was to be my wlfe. She had noc 58

been ln Southtt€stern durlng Ehe wlnter tenn lrhen I returrred because she had been needed Eo take care of her fltothef durlng a severe lllness. She had conpleted her freehnen work durlng the tlne I was 6nalo She was the slster of Ehe boy who had been my flrst roonnate at SouEhwestern, Joe Lee Thornson, It ls probable that I had seen her before, but ny flrst recollectlon of seelng her was when she was ln Japanese costune Eaklng part ln Southrrestenl's blg sprlngttne festlval--the May FeEe. Each year lt was the btggest extrava- genza on the cafipua-odltslcr cosEum€s, Maypole dances--that bullE up to an enotlonal cllnax wlth lots of pageantry. The flnale carp wlEh the prlncesses, duchesses, etc., along rrlth glrls ln nany natlonal costunes narchlng wiEh rlbbons around and around Che Maypole as Ehe college band played Ehe unfor- Setable Stars and Strlpes Fore,ver. The outer perineter of the clrcle wae nade up of Mayfest marshells--boys wtro fett honored to be selected--each one dressed ln blue Jacketsr whlte flarurel Erousers, and whtEe buck shoes. When I flrst saw Elnore I thoughE she really was Japanese. I rlas surprised Eo learn she was Joe Leers slster. After that there waa no oEher girl for rne and no other boy for her.

A nemorable enent of the 1921 sprtng term ras the election of off,lcers for Ehe following y€ar. Thls tncluded all StudenE Councll, Honor Council, class offlcers, and edltors and buslness managers of the sEudent nesspaper, Ih? Yeg?phonql and the yearbook, 3!gj!ggg. Fraterntcles and sororirles had donlnaEed these electlons for;ears wtth 3ust an occasional lndependent (Barb) allowed to sllp ln. Joe Lee Thomson, a Barb, ts Ehe only exceptlon I recall. He had been elected buslness naneger of The Souwester for 1921. TheGreeksa1rayspreparedforEhee1ectlonsuycau@ETanceand decldlng on a cendldate for each offtce, whlle Ehe lndep€ndents were unorganlaed and scaEtered thelr votes among ntarr]r

The electlon of 1921 was a dlfferenE story. The older group of stud€nts sho had dropped out a few yeats durlng the war alerted Ehe younger studengs to Ehe sltuatlon. The lndependents caucused, settled on a candldate for each offlce, and sw€Pt every offlce on the ballot on elecElon day. A r,scandel sh€etr" as many called lt, entltled the Barhrtre was credlt€d by nany wlth greetlnf1uence1nthec1ean3I'eePbm6;ItIlstednanyunfalr practlces (real or, lnaglned) by the Greeks ln Ehe past and made sone pretty vlctous ehargesr A taEtered ortglnal of thls sheet ts ln the nemory book left by Elnora ThornsonBas8. IE seens falrly lnnocuoue now, but lt sElrred up qulEe a lot of resenEnent at Ehe tlne.

The followlng ls a copy (rnlstakes and all) of The Barbnlre, whtch vas clrculatedonthee.veofEheelecElon.IEwaswtaeI@EneEJoeLee Thomsonwrote and dlstrlbuted lt. Hls wldow, Panehlta, says he wrot€ lt (January 1983). lle was a brtlllant student and nade fes nlstakes, The errors ln lt make ne doubt thaE he rrote lE. lle never acknowledged to ne Ehat he was the auEhor,

THE BARBWIRE

There cones a tlne rrhen men trusc sEend up for Ehelr rlghts, That ttne has arrlved when the Barbs of southwesterrr unlverJtty mrst stand fast for the prtnctpals of equallEy. For the past several years the boys of the f,raternltles end the gorls of the sororlEles have used thelr organlzatlons Eo dlscredlt or overstradow the srerlEs 59

of the Barbs. AgalnsE such Ehlngs there ls a rtght to conplaln, and let tt be understood that conplalnE ls made. (t{hy should we keep sueh thtngs as thls undercover any longer and speak of then ln whlspers? lle refuse to do eo.)

There ls no quesEion,ln our mlnds but EhaE the purpose of the FraEemlty r{as to upllft, but lE has nlssed the nark. Anythtng whlch trles to Justtfy lEs exlstence nerely by speaklng of what It hes done ln Ehe past deserves Eo dle. There ls nothlng to tre sald about lrhaE they dld unpteen yeers ago, but se are able to say sonethlngs of rtrat they do ln our dayso lfe ralse our volces agalnsE rrhat they are, noc l'hat Ehey hane been.

I{ho stll dtspute the fact that lE has been almosE lnposslble for a Barb to nake first place ln an atrhletlc team? It has not been because of thelr unfltness elEher. Examlne your mlnds about lrhat hepp€ned last football season. Dld not one of the Barbs nerlt a place, but because he was a Barb, was cheaEed out of Ehe place? l'Iho ts there among us so sEupld who would not be able to tell that? Llt lE be known thaE conplalnE ls rnade agalnst such treatment.

If we are abre to understand the orlgtnal purpose of the organl- zeElonr they were co promoEe good conduct. They are mlsslng the mark not' - shootlng wlld. Ihey stand together, bul for the wrong pufposer t{hen one of thelr nunber errs, do not th€ rest of Ehem uphold such a one? Have not Ehey stood together ln the Honor Council and before the faculty swearlng lles for each oEher? liho ls there who can dlepuEe such Ehtngs?

sgyeral years ago a Flsh spoke of one of the Frats as doing some thlevlng. An upper class man heard the renark and reproved Ehe Flsh severely, saylng that Ehoee boys belong Eo such and such fraternlty, and spoke as though they were beyond censor of any klnd. But let lE be knosn that we do noE place any man beyond censor regardless of blrth, Fraternlty, occupatlon, or whaE hls father dld before hlm. l{e are to be dealE l'lth accordlng to erhat we are, and so would deal with others.

Those of, you who clatn that nane ls allr go to the offtce (lf your menory Is so bad as to fatl you at thls polnt) and ask a list of Ehose who have fllnked ouE thls year and Ehose who hane been expellede and see to Just what extent the FraEs are blaneless. You wlll flnd Ehet the Barbs have a beEter record. Nog rrhere ls your boast that you encourage better gradee and a hlgh standard of character?

Ile are supposed to have a correge paper - The Megaphone. There rs a sllght dtfference ln whaE lt ts supposed to be and what lE ls. InsEead of belng a college paper it ls a Frat paper. We mean by thatr that lE ls alnost lrnposslble for a Barb Eo-make any klnd of lnpresston on lt. We Demand Chat this be changed. 60

Both the mnbers of the Frats and the Sororltles have succeeded ln perneatlng Ehe nlnds of the students ln generalr to the effect that the Barbs constlEute a lower order of soctety. Such an ldea makes us lndlgnant and we protest agalnst such a thlng. Not only do se protest agad,nst lt, but ve have Eakened iE lnto our hands to see that thle shall cone to an end. Our clvtl governnenE ls demcraEtc and re denand nothlng less in our school llfe. The Barbs are as good as Ehe Frats and, ln cooe cases, show a better splrlf. The most of us were looklng upon, and counted ourselves as belng as good as anyone before we calIp to schooll and now rte wtll noE stand for anythlng else. We are golng to see Ehet we are looked upon as m€n asbng tmn, regardless of nanel complexlonr or occupa- Elono

Durlng the presenE school year, Barbs have been placed in several lnportant class posltlons, and the Frets are beglnnlng to recognlze that they are looslng potrer. Thls week rle are golng to have some tnprtant elecElons. Barbs, stand to, and leE us see what rte can dor Sone of the FraEs ar9 golng around saying thaE they thlnk we should noE vote a stralght Elcket. We should sholr uEEer conEenpt for such a plea as that - seeing Ehat they deslre Eo sof,t soap us. Let us not fall for such a thlng as that. Let us stlck together. We are unorganized, contendlng wlth urany organlzatlons. LeE every- one stand fast that we may assert our rlghts.

In almoeE every lnstance the rrtnners of the electton chose a fraternlty or sororlEy menb€r as asslstanE. Thts dld not slt very well wlth Ehen because Ehey had been accustoned to flrst place. l{owener, I recall no lnstance when they refused to asslst, and all worked together harmonlously.

The new regine attempted to make some reforms Ehat Ehey felt were long Pest due. They felt thae freshnen were ofEen ssept up by fraterrritles before they reallzed how undemocratlc they were, and we had just fought a war to "neke Ehe world safe for democracy." The Board of lrustees was per- suaded Eo pass a rule that required a studenE to be in resldence a full year before he could pledge or Joln a fraternlty. l{e felE that would glve them a b€Eter chance of knowlng whaE they were Jolnlng before they jolned, thls casF near puttlng an end to fraternlttes on the Southwesterrr carnpus, and Ehe frats were able to get lt rescinded a year or trro laEer after the "renegadeso had graduat€d.

Anocher reforsr lnstttuted by the offlcers elected tn 1921 was the "Blanket Tax." IE has proved useful and ls norna:l procedure up tlll Ehls tlne. The consEltutlon and by-Iaws of the Student AssoclaEton provlded Ehat Ehe students should be bllled for the actual cost of produclng The Megaphone and lhe Sounester, and that the edltors and buslness nanegers oi elctr puUtl- catlon would be relnbursed for tlnre spent on publlshing the perlodicals by retalnlng !ilhatever fees they could cotlecE from adnertlsers. Thls entailed collectlon from each tndlvldual sEudent. Edttors of fhe Souwester the prevlous year had wound up wlth $11500 ln unpatd bllls because the annuals dtd noE arrive unEll most students had gone home for the sunner and had not pald for 5l thelr coples before leaving. They had produced a splendid annual but had been left ln a very embarrassing positlon when they dld noE and could not collecE from the students.

The editor-elecE for 1922 and I knew that we did noE have $11500 to lose and would probably have to pay phoEographers, engravers, and prlnters in advance since the previous yearrs bllls had noE been paid. Cur solutlon was Eo go before the Board of Trustees and ask permlssion for the Registrar Eo collect one-thlrd of the cost of the publicaElons from each student each tertn wiren they reglstered. '"Ie also suggested EhaE cost of Eickets Eo athletlc events and culEural evenEs on Ehe school calendar for the jrear be handled in Ehe same way. By taklng out just a thlrd of the cost at each trimester regis- traEion, we argued, lt would be less burdensome Ehan dtgging up Ehe whole sum aE one tlme. l{e also stressed that tE would elirninate Ehe sEigma of unpaid bI1ls frorr organlzaEions Ehat Trere sponsored by the universlty. They bought our ldea, and it went into effect when students reglstered in Ehe fall of 192I. IE came to be known as Ehe I'Blanket Tax" since lt covered all extra-currlcular actlvltles. To the best of ny knowledge 1t met no opposi- tlon from studenEs, and we were able to sEart work wiEh cash in the bank. Cash collected from registrants was turned over to us as soon as registra- Elon rlas cornpleted. f was told when I vlsited Ehe campus a few years ago thaE the system was sEill tn force but was norr called simply "Sgudent Fees."

Southtestern had Ewo surnnef-term sessions of stx weeks each at that ttme. To make up for tlrne lost whl le I was worklng tn Jefferson and l.ltchita Falls, I declded to go stralght Ehrough and get es nany credits as posslble, The sarne courses Ehat took trrelve weeks durlng a regular term rrere compressed lnto slx durlng the sumer' Duratlon-of-class tlmes, or lectures, lrere doubted and asslgnments longer; so lE \ras posstble to Eake only tnlo courses in any slx-weeks period. By aEtending boEh sumner Eerms it was possible to earn four credlEs. IE made a preBty heavy load, buE Elnora was there Eoo, and ve managed Eo put ln qulte a bit of Elne studylng together. Rules agalnsE daElng were somewhaErelaxed too, so we usually spent rnost after- noons sEudying ln the library or unused classrooms in the adrninistraEion bullding. Glrls were allowed to go swinnlng in Ehe San Gabriel R.iver if properly chaperoned and rnodestly dressed. I felE honored when the Dean of l'lomen, il iss Laura Kuykendahl, asked me Eo accompany Ehe girls as lifeguard on several occasions.

After Ehe second six weeks of summer school I spenE a few days off wiEh the famlly at Jefferson before reEurning to GeorgeEown eo work out agaln wlEh the football squad. I sEill welghed just 120 pounds but wanEed to Ery my luck agaln aE making the Eeam. But my chances were worse than in 1917. war The was cverr arrd more and better aEhletes were in school, and I had inissed Ehree seasons of Eralnlng. The workouEs were more dlfficult for ne and noE as much fun. The influenza spell that I had in Ehe spring of l9l8 Eook someEhlng out of ne that I never regalned entlrely. During high school and flrst football season at Southwester:n I enjoyed the running and the rough contacE. After showerlng there $ras a sense of exhiliratlon. But now lt was less fun, and I wound up nearly every workout exhausted and wlth a headache.

3ut I did make the B squad. For some reason it was always called Ehe "Hard Nine" at su. IE ls probable thaE the idea of havlng a B squad had 62

starEed wlth the baseball teamo Southwestern always fielded powerhouse baseball teams up to that tlne. l{e scheduled f,ootbatl garEs wlth Anerlcan Leglon teansr hl$ schools, and a Junlor college. Kllleen, BurneE, Bertfam, Llanor and Cherokee Junlor College are some of Eh€ pleces I recall gotng. I donrE recall wheEher rre were glven any noney for Eravel expenses or noE, buE r do recall that we pald for whatever we had to eaE, and on lhe one occaslon we stayed o'vernlght, we pald for the foom--and I do tean roon. l{e all sEayed ln one room of a very low-class hotel in Llano one nlght.

On thaE occaslon we played Llano Hlgh School Frlday afternoon ancl were scheduled Eo play Cherokee Junlor College, near Llano, the nexE afternoon. Llano had a very attracttve four or five-story tourlst hotel wlth tennls courts, poolroonsl and flne facllltles. l{e spent qulEe a blE of tltn€ enjoy- lng thelr factlltles but dldntt have enough money to renE thetr rooms. I wae Just trrenty yeers old, but the Dean of }len had made me the faculty repf€senta- tlve and made ne responslble for Ehe conduct and safe return of Ehe boys. l{tren we found we could not afford the rooms at Ehe fancy Don Carlos Hotel, I hed to flnd sone place for the fifteen of us Eo spend Ehe nlght Frlday ntghE and flnally f,ound a run-down old roornlnghouse nhere'lre were allowed Eo plle tn the one roorn ne could affordo Needless Eo say Ehere was not a whole lot of sleeplng done under Ehe clrcunstancesl but at least. tre lrere off the sEreets.

My recollectlon is Ehet ne t{on the gane at Llano Frlday 14 Eo O but losE SaEurday to Cherokee Junlor college 14 to 13. rE rrae ln Ehe saEurday game that I got ry only dlsabltng tnJury fron football, a knee tnjury that had ne on crutches f,or a few days after we got hone. But I was able to stay ln the gamer Only after the excltenenE tras over and ny knee began Eo stlffen up dtd I realize I had been hurt. It was customary Ehen for players Eo work both ways'-offense and defenee. Hlth our small group re-haa no alterna- tlve.

Fron the very beglnnlng of the f,all term Bob Love, as edltor, and I, as buslness nrnagerr began work on The Souwester. I'11 not try to cover the detat1softheundertaking1u.'ci@?afu11.tlmeJoband1eft1ittle ttne for studies. I w111 say thac Bob Love proved a better salesman than I and eold noEt of the adverElsing. Conversely, I vas able to take over sone of the jobs an edltor would do, and lt became more of a tean Job.

l{e were able Eo conplete Ehe l'ork and had Ehe annuals ln the hends of each student before graduatlon. Better stltl, we had pald all of our btlls and showed a book proflt of g1r5OO. Sone of that we dld not collect, and soEe !t€ took ln trade, but we each wound up wlth a ferr hundred dollars ln cash. I used nost of nlne to repay Papa some of the money I had drawn from hln orrer and above whaE I had comlng, but frm sure lE was not enough to cover all hehad let m draw. I dldnrts keep accounc, and lf he dtd he ne\zer Eord ile.,

Elnora and f went through all the graduation exercises wlEh the Class ot' L922, but we both lacked some credlEs and had to stay through sutrmer school agaln to ftntsh then upo Her mother came up from Uvalde and rented an apartnent 'rle ln G€orgetofln. spenE Ehat suuner ln the apartment and had our meals there. 63

Whlle we were atEendtng a parcy tn one of the rooms at Mood Hall about the middle of June, a telegram tras dellvered Eo ne fron Papa. When I opened 18, lt read, "Borrr to Mr. and Mrs. Leon Bass Ertplets two boys and one glrl l-loEherand bables doing well faEher wlll probably llve over lt.rl The llttle glrl dled ln a few hours buE the b{lns, Paul and Mllton, grelr Eo very robust nanhood. The death of paul ln l{orld llar II was one of Ehe fanilyrs greatest tragedles. lfhen the klds at the psrty heard about the trtplets they gave Elnora a bad Elme. "Are you sure you want to marry a guy that has trlplets ln hls fanlly?rf they kldded.

The second tern of summer school'wes over during Ehe laEter part of August. By thaE ElDe I had compleEed all the courses required for my degree. Elnora was stlll lacklng a few, but she declded to nake them up ln some future sumrer school. lJe had been explortng the Job narkeE, and she declded to take a Job teachlng Spanlsh ln Dlboll. BoEh of us had conpleted requlre- nents for a'rpermanent'r teachlng certlflcate whlch Texas law requlred at that tlne. I was offered the Job of teachlng the seventh grade at Jefferson. But I knew that all of those klds stlll called rne by my ftrst name and were very fanlllar rcith me, whlch would probabty cause dlsctpllne problems wlth a grouP ofl klds that age. My experlence at tllchtEa Falls had soured re on banklng; so I dld not ask to be relngEated there. Ftnally I accepted a job wlth Uncle John Bass ln Cuero, I had been naklng 9250 a nonEh rrhen I left l{lchlEa Falls, and thts Job offered only g17.50 per week, buE tt gave ne a chance to do advertlslng work. I Ehought I would llke prepartng datly ads for the local Pap€r. The sEore had. a concract for a half-page ad every day and occeslonelly ran double-prge spreads. I knes nothlng about advertlslngr btrt slnce I had naJored tn Engllsh I had co& to thtnk htghly of oy ablllty to rrlte. And slnce I had teen glnen nlneteen ralses ln Eu€nty oonths ln lflchlta Falls I thought I would probably do Ehe sane worklng for ny uncle. He had arways been good to ne, and I thought lt would be pleasant worklng for hln.

I{hen I went Eo Jefferson for a short break before reportlng f,or work .However, at Cuero, I could tell llaunradld not thtnk htghly of ny declslon. she never sald so dlrecEly. 64

CUERO

Elnora and her mother had moved to Dlboll' and she was already on the job Ehere tn nrld-september nhen I starEed to Cuero from Jeff€ESorlo In order to geE Eo s€e her on Ehe way, I borrosed a Model-T Ford thaE Papa had bought for Leon and drove lE to Diboll where I could catch a Eraln for HousEon Ehat connected wtth Ehe SA&APRal lroad for Cuero. Leon carne donn the followlng Sunday to geE the Ford. After spendlng the nighE ln a roonlng- house tn Dlboll and as nuch tlne as posslble wlEh Elnorar I came on to Cuero next day.

Uncle John and Tennle I'tae net ne at the Eraln and lnslsted that I stay rrtth Ehernuntll I got my feeE on the ground. Hls flrst wlfe, Aunt Pearl' had dled that sprlng, and Tennle l'lae had reslgned her Eeachlng job to sCay at home and keep house for hlm. IE dtd not Eake long to flnd EhaE my job included more than sttgtng at a desk and preparlng advertislng coPJ|r although It dld lnclude thaE. I renember my first half-page coPy rlas an ad for new fall dresses whlch had Just arrlved from New York. IE was headllned "FRESH from Eastern markeEs" wlth FRESHln very large letters. Tennle Niae sald she dld not llke Ehe word "fresN' ln connectlon wlth dresses. She thought lt suggested vegetables and not hlgh fashlon, but I was very proud of lt. I dld not know anything about dtfferent type faces or slzesr but prepared a dummyof the way I wanEed the ad to lookr. and Ehe pap€r copled [t as near as possI bIe.

A short whtle before I carne Eo Cuero, the head clothlng salesman aE the store had been dlscharged afEer he was caught steallng. ThaEr I found outt Itas to be ny matn responslbtltty--gs sell as many ments sults as posslble. To leB a prospecEi\re sulE buyer geE ouE wlEhout buylng was a cardlnal sln in Uncle Johnts book. If you couldntE sell hln you lrere supposed Eo turn hlm over to another salesman before you let hirn get aealr lhaE dld noE Jlbe with my sales phllosophy, but I trled to follow lt and got bawled out if I dldnrt. Of course I was also supposed to sell whaEever a custoner called for ln ments wear and shoes, also rugs, llnoleums, wlndow shades, etc, And before long I found I was ln charge of buylng those lEenrs frorn the traveling salesmen sho called. Uncle John worked vlth me at first buE gradually turned more and more of lt over to rE. llhen a shlpment cane ln wlEh en lnvolce hlgher than he Ehought lE should be, he would start yelllng for me' Sonetlres I was able to point out Ehat he had handled thaE parttcular orderr Then he would say, ttl{e all make mlstakes.rt

AnoEher job I lnherlEed was checklng Ehe cashlers each day Eo see lf cash recelved balanced wlEh sales sllps. There nas a cenEral offlce up near the celllng ln Ehe mlddle of Ehe store. Purchasesl sales sllpsr and cash ltere senE up there ln baskets rldlng on nlres, checked by Ehs cashler, wrappedr 6$d reEurrred ln the baskeE Eo Ehe sEartlng polnt and turned over to the customer wlth whatever change was comlng. The cashlerrs job got pretty hectlc durlng rush hours. Some could not handle the pressure and made lots of mlstakes, but we were fortunate ln geEting one who was really fast and very eccurate a few months after I got Eo Cuero. ThaE nade my audltlng job nhch easler. 65

l{hen I was staylng wlth Uncle John and Tennle Mae I would walk to thelr house and back for h.rnch. On the way I would pass a cafe. Durtng the noon hour there \ras always a stgn on the front door EhaE sald, r'ouT FORLUNCH.' IE struck ne as very odd Ehat a cafe would close durlng the noon hour. l{hen I asked one of the natlve CueiolEes who worked at the sEore about ltr h€ told ure lt was really a bootleg joint just 'rcafer and used Ehe nane as a dodge. prohtblEton was ln force aC Ehat tine buE not enforced nuch ln Cuero.

Have I sPoFl about the nagniflceng salary I wes pald for my responsl- ble posltlon? Belleve lE or not, lE was g17.S-Oper reek. I had gone Eo I{lchlEa Falls for $100 a rnonth and had a hard tlme survlvtng Etre flrst few months. BuE I was neklng g25o a nonEh when I lefE. I was ilso glven an extra nonthfs severance pay. I knew the $17.50 a week wes a bare subslst_ ence salary but hoped I would be ralsed often ltke I was ln l{lchlEa Falls. Thts dld pan not out that way at all. But I dld rnanageto exlst. A few weeks after I got to Cuero I noved to a boardlnghouse where board and room cost tntenEy dol'lars a month. The room eras ln a Ewo-sEory house on the northeest corner of Court House and }tcleod streets, where rhe presbyterlan Personage now stands' It was the home of l"llss Lula and Mlss I'iasrle Sunners. I had a large alry upsEalrs room, whlch I shared wtth phll Tannls who worked aE the Southern Paclftc frelght depot. Mrs. Mary Calhoun served Ehe meals across the street ln another large t''o-sEory house on the grounds now occupted by the presbyterlan Church.

Durlng Ehe flrsE few nronEhsa very deslrable homesite on the corner r for sale. I donrE recall how I but Itm sure lE was at Ehe rate of a ; and loan associaElon had been sEarted dollars per nonth Eo purchase stock. ;h money, iE loaned one of Ehe stock- .low employee aE the Bass sEore had I would be one of the flrst Eo qualify rE to keep up the payments and offered to sell me his equrEy and hts prace ln lrne foi a loan.- it you wanted to borrow for $31000 a home, you irao to have S3'OO0 ln stock. Sorrehos I menaged to take on that obllgatlon too. Slnce I was pranntng Eo be married ln the sprlng of 1923 the nesttng lnsElnct was runnlng pretty strong. Those paynents were bound to be nery snalr, too, or there ts no rr.y r could have met them' As tt turned ouE r was able to get Ehe second or thlrd loan Ehey nader Actually r recall only one thaE was made before my nane cene up ln L926, buE thatfs another sloryo

In addltton to makrng Ehese paynents I nanaged to make the trarn Errp Eo Houston every mnth or slx weeks to spend Sunday wlth Elnora. she would come from Dtboll and get there about the Elne I goE ln from cuero. After e the tratn baek Eo our separate homes raln lE lras pretty hard to feel very E to Cuero about 4:30 A.!1. The sEore than get ln bed before lE was tlme to

The flrst Sunday I wae ln Cuero I transferred I'lethodtsE Church. my nenbershlp to Ehe Cuero About ehe third or fourth Sunday I was asked to take on 66

the job of teachlng a class of hlgh-school boys--Just four or flve boys as I recall. The goung peoplets organlzatlon ln the church at Ehat Elrne was known as Ehe Eprorth League, whlch had Juntor and senlor dlvlslons-- the senlor dlvlslon was for young people fron slxteen to EhlrEy years old. Some of the young ladies were reluctant Eo adrnlt they were pasE thtrty tf they were still slngle' so a few were over thlrty. Very few boys belonged, and I stood out llke a sore thumb, but I enjoyed lt and found the neetlngs lnteresElng. Early tn 1923 I was elecEed presldenE and soon afEer that the dlsErtct supertnEendenEasked tm to take on the dutles of dlstrlcE secretary. lhe dutles of Ehat Job included collectlng reporEs frorn local secreEarles and promtlng or attenpcing to forn Epworth Leagues [n churches where none '1tas actlve. GetEing reports rras a hard Job, and gettlng around to promote new leagues was even harder. Travel had Eo be by traln, and ny job restrlcted that Eo Sundays. I recall golng to t{alletsvllle one Saturday ntghtr sp€nd- lng the ntght ln the parsonage, speaklng to Ehe youth Ehac nornlngs and gotng to a nearby nrral coumunily called Mossy Grove that efter1oolr To my surprlse I found a large group of young people assembled and anxlous to forn an Epworth League. I gave then as much lnstructton as I could abouE the fornatlon and functlon of the group, and they proceeded to organlze and elect offlcers on the spot. I kepc ln touch by mal1l and they dld good work for several years. The only other contacts wlth leagues over Ehe dlstrtcE that I recall rere by nall. l{hen I goE th€lr reports my Job was to conbine then ln a dlstrlct report to th€ annual conference.

An lnEerestlnt buE sonenhat dlsEurblng experlence I confronted soon after conlng to Cuero was e confronEaElon nlth Ehe presldenE of the RoEary Clubr who was also rnayor and presidenE of Ehe bank rrlth whlch the store dtd buslnesg.

. In late October or early November Uncle John and Uncle Jtrn left by traln on their semtannual marketlng trtp to New york, whtch lras the prtnctpal narkeE for hlgh style ready-gs-esar for ladies. Durlng the noon hour of the day they left I was called to the phone. I had been lef,t ln charge end had the keys Eo oPen and close the store each day. The caller told sre that he was at the RoEary Club meetlng and thaE Ehey had dectded lE would be nelgh- borly to ask all Cuero stores to close at 2 P.!1. Ehat day [n order that Ehelr enployees I'The could aEEend Llttle t{orldrs Falt'. ln yorkEown. My flrsE reactlon l,as to ask myself whaE reactlon Uncle John would have to ny closlng the sEore on the very flrst day he had left sre in charge. Another questlon thaE came to ay mlnd was whac rural custoners sould thlnk tf Ehey found Ehe store closed afEer nraktng a drtve of several hours ln horse-drann vehlcles whlch nost of them stlll used. So I told Mr. Reiffert, the caller, that ny uncle had lefts m ln charge to keep the store open and I dldnfE thlnk I had Ehe authorlty to close the store on such short notlce, but lf they could conEact hln aE some statlon where the Eraln stopped and geE permlsslon to close from hln thaE I would gladly comply. oEhenrlse I felg obllgated to stay oPen. It would have been very dlfficult to reach hlur on the traln, so they droPped Ehe natter. Slnce I sould not close, conpeElEors would not close. was I not the most popular young man ln town for a few days. I sttll do noE feel tt would have been falr to close wlthout advance notlce. uncle John dld not exDress apProval or disapproval on hts a llEEle drsEurLed return. I thlnk he was auoui tne-reactton'ie no,rtJ--g.r when he had to ask the 67 bank for a loan. f oia not reallze that the rnan I had talked Eo nas the most lnfluentlal man ln Cuero aE thaE ttme, but I dontt Ehink lt would have made any dlfference lf, I had. I was as stubborrr then as f am now.

It wae a surprlse to me to flnd theE the l4eEhodist Church ln Cuero had one of Ehe snallest menbershlps of any of the churches. In all other to$ns I had llved Methodlsts had been among the largest congregaElons. At Ehe 1922 Annual Conference,319 renbers lrere reported. In 1923 thls rras donn Eo 252. Church records show that elghty names rrere removed from the church ro11 ln that 5l€efo I flnd no such report ln church records, buE I was told that nany of these had Eransferred Eo the Presbytertan Church because they had been offended by renarks rnade by an outslde evangeltst durlng the pastorate of M. H. Keen. He was the pastor when I Jolned but was replaced ln October by t. N. Barton. Thls evangellst had referred to lromen who played cards as rr6aid-glaylng old sowsrl accordlng to what I was Eold. l'1any[leEhodlst preachers and sone raembersdurlng the early 1900s had considered any klnd of card playlng as a "cardlnal sin." I"ly o$n father would not permtE cards ln the house. I recall hts throrrlng a deck Leon broughE hone lnto the wood heater Eo burrr up. But brtdge clubs and other card garnesnefe popular and generally accepted ln Cuero. Naturally the wonen who played cards were lnsultedr so they, along wlEh thelr fanl lles, wlthdrew frosr Ehe I'lethodisE Church. l4any of them transferred to the PresbyEerlan Church, lncluding the Sunday School superinEendent and hls fantly, Thls rras a severe blow whlch Ehe church had a hard tlme overcomlng. l{lth the. change in pastors, tempers cooledr arrd the church began Eo rebulld. However, ny recollectlon ls that average attendance at chhrch servlc€s lras only thlrty to forty people.

The church bulldlng, whlch had been bullt ln 1886, had been a beautlful fiulldlng Annual conference had met ln tt lnrnedlately after lts conpletlon, and the Conference Jourrral refers to the'rbeautlful new audtence chasrbers of the Cuero Church.r' It was a white frane butldlng built in the shape of a cross and had a beautlful ta11 sEeeple on the northlrest corner over the entrance. In facE lt ls the same sEructure that makesup Ehe second-floor sanctuery of the church today, buc lE has been remodeled and redecorated several Elmes since. In Ehe fall of L922, lt was badly ln need of repalr. The t811 splre was leanlng toward the maln body of the bulldlngr'and the dark green wallpaper on lntertor walls was loose and saggtng ln places. There were no seParate Sunday School rooms except a room parElEloned off frosr the maln sanctuary by foldlng doors across the back wlEh a snall ell off Eo Ehe easE. l'lost classes met ln Ehe sanctuery separated by only a perr or Ewo betileen each Class.

The maln reeson MethodlsE and other evangelleal churches in Cuero were weak nas thaE the torrn population was made up largely of people of German or oEher European descenE. More than half of the people ln town were elther Catholtc or Lutheran. Betr.reenL826, when the flrst Anglo settlers arrlned, and 1870r most settlers had come from Ehe older Southern sEates. They were prlmarlly Methodlst, BapElst, Presbyterlan or,,CampbeIllte." 68

EL},IORA

Slowly but surely the days passedl and flnally the close of Ehe school year at Dtboll approached. Elnora and I had set the day after lEs closlng for our weddlng date. Durlng the last yeer at Southsestern we had spent every hour posslble Eogethero In splEe of the few week end trlps and almost dally lettersr I mlssed her companlonshlp and awalted the day wlth nnrch eagerness. As the day approached I arranged for a few days off from work and told Ehe clerks in the store Ehat I was going to be narrled. l"lost of then thought I was joklng even after I showed thesr a copy of the weddlng announcements we had made up tn advance. Due to a last mlnute change ln school closlng plans aE Dlboll the daEe prlnted on the announcements had Eo be changed from l'lay 21 to l"lay 22. BuE flnally the day came.

NelEher of us had any money to speak of. She had been using nost of her salary to pay off money she had borrowed to pay for her expenses aE Southwestern, and I had used nearly every cent I had above board and room exPense to pay on the lot and the buildlng and loan stock. We planned to meet in Houston for Ehe weddlng wlth no fantly rnenbersor frlends present. Dr. C. M. Blshop, who had been presldent of SouEhvestern while we rrere Ehere, was Ehen pastor of SE. Paul l"lethodlst Church on South l"laln SEreet near the Rlce Instltute camPusr i{e called hln after we got Eo Houston and asked hln tf he sould perform Ehe ceremony if lre catIe Eo the parsonage. He sald, rrYou klds are noE runnlng altay are you?" llhen we assured hlm we were not, he agreed gladly. After gettlng the llcense ac the Harrls County Courthouse in Houston, lte arrenged for a room at a snall hoEel near the Southern Paciftc depot. I donrt renember the name of the hotel. It tfas comparaElvely snall but rras run by John Seecamp, who was also connected lrtEh the Cuero Mutl i{otel, and was a neatp D€lr bullding aE that tlme. My recollecElon ls that Dr. Blshop llved ln Ehe Montrose Additlon, but my recollectlon could be faulty. IE was Just about dark when we goE a cab Eo take us to hls address. tJe left the weddlng llcense rrlth Dr. Blshop, and he promtsed Eo have tc ftled and sent Eo us. I donrt recall seelng tt after EhaEand dontt find a copy of tE tn my papers, so maybe I couldntt prove thaE we were legttlnately narrled. But lrm sure lE ls recorded on the Harrls County records. If not, God knows everythlng was ln order, and EhaE ls what counts.

since noney was so short we had planned Eo spend Ehe night at the hotel ln Houston and cone back Eo Cuero the next day. When I wroEe papa Ehat we would not be abte Eo come Eo Jefferson for Ehernto meet Ehe brlde, he senE money to pay Ehe train fare. The next mornlng when we lrenE Eo Ehe depot I asked the agent how nuch a tlcket Eo Jefferson cosE. Elnora mrst have thought I was going to leave her behlnd for she sald, "Get trro, ge! Elro.rl Of course thaE was whaE I had lntended all along, but was so consclous of the ttght money sltuatton Ehat I always asked Ehe price ln order Eo avold any embarrass- ment.

It was late ln the afternoon trhen Ehe Eraln arrlved at Jef ferson. ',{hen the traln stopped aE llarshall, which ls about sixteen miles from Jefferson, I saw a Jefferson boy get on. He recognlzed ne, came and spoke, and, of 69

cours€, I lntroduced htm toElnora. It was not unusual for people frorn Jefferson to travel Eo and from Marshall on the Eraln, so I had no ldea that hls belng there was a part of a plot that Leon had cooked up wlth some of our frlends. The plan was for hln to spoE n€ on the traln, Eo get off wlth mel and for Ehe resE of the bunch to grab ne and lock ne up ln Ehe Jatl for the nlght. They had even made arrangenents wtth the sheriff to allow lE. I knew nothlng about Ehe plan and donfE thtnk llarura dtd because she was rlghu aE Ehe sEeps when I stepped off the Eraln and put her arms around ne before anyone else got to ne. llone of m] so-called frlends had the nerve to shove her away and grab me, and she never turned loose of me untlt we were ln Ehe car. Slnce there were so many of Ehe boys there to meet me she nay have had a premonlEton that they were cooklng up some devtlment. Ihey ntght have had a Eussle on their hands lf any of Ehen had grabbed ne. It was all supposed Eo be ln fun, but I dontt thtnk I would have appreclated the ldea of belng separaEed from Elnora the ftrst nlghE we rere ln Jefferson.

We stayed a few days before Eaklng the traln back to Cuero. Qulte a buneh fron the store and from the church met us nhen we goE off at the old SAP depot on l{est Broadray, and we found a wonderful ouEpourlng of glfts aE the llttle aParftent I had fented--cut glass, crysEalp sllvemare, 1lnens, etc. Most of the glassware ls sttll ln the chlna cablnet ln the dlntng room here aE 905 East Morgan Avenue ln Cuero. One of Ehe beautlful cut glass pleces l|as broken a felr nonEhe ago, the chlna ware ls practlcally all gone, and Annle Laurle and Frank have Ehe stlver.

fhe apartnent I had rented was trro rooms ln the san€ tflo-story resl- dence of Mlss Marnle and I'llss LuIa Surrers, where I had roorned before marry- lng. One roon ttas our bedroom and stttlng roon. The other served as kltchen and dlnlng room. The bachroom nas next to the bedroon buc we had to go out on Ehe porch to geE Eo lt. There was no nrnnlng waEer or slnk ln Ehe apart- nenE. l{e went to the baEhroom to get weter and washed dlshes ln a dlshpan. A Ehree-burner kerosene cook stove took care of our cooklng needs. the oven rtas a Portsble one thaE was put over the burners when baklng was Eo be done, The apartnctnE and furnlture were plaln but neat, about what we had been used Eo ln our prevlous homes, and lre were content.

Few houses had runnlng hoE waEer ln Ehose days, and Ehts one dld not. l{e heaEed waEer on the cook stove and poured tt ln Ehe baChtub ln cold weather. lfe heated the roons wlth a wood heater ln wtntertlme. I donrt recalI whlch room lt was ln, but I do renember havlng to carry the wood up the statrs. I believe there was a round porEable kerosene heaEer ln the baEhroom.

Elnora wanted Eo feach and began calllng on the School Board trustees soon after she got to Cuero. They found a place for her tn the elerrenEary school wlth a salary of $75 for nlne months. That was a btg boost to our budgetl and we began to thtnk about renElng a house. But we had no furnl- ture and very llttle cash saved to buy any. l{e dream,ed abouE tt anyrray. We had no car, buE not too many people dtd then. l{e were Just a few blocks fron downtom, JusE one block fron Ehe church, and just four or flve blocks from Ehe school. As a rule, grocerles rrere ordered over the telephone and deliv- ered by the stores. On the flrst of each monEh they would come around to 70

collecE. l{e had no phone of our own but were free to use the Sumrersr when lE was not ln use by oEherso On the flrst of each rcnth the streets were swarnlng vtth bt11 collectors. Grocery storesr dry goods sEoresr drug- storesr even confectlonertes, all ran charge accounts and sent out collec- tors on the ftrst. Sone of the grocery stores even senE out clerks Eo sollctt orders. For people Ehat had no Eelephone, thls w8a a real con- venlencer afld you could depend on most of the clerks to select the best available for you. l|hen you went ln the stores Eo shop you l'ere ret by a clerk who offered to help you. you told hln or her whaE you wanted, and he fllled your order. In grocery stores r don't recall anythlng but nale clerks. It was the sane way ln other stores--salespeople greeEed you the minute you stepp€d ln the door and helped you f,tnd rrhat you wanted, and, ln sone casesr Erled to hlgh pressure you tnto btrylng sonethlng you dldnrt especlally need or want.

I chink, tE was Ehe summet of 1924 that we began Ehinking serlously of buying furnlEure and rentlng a house. We had saved a llttle money Lut not enough to furnish a house, I was sEtll paylng on the bulldtng and loan stock and on Ehe lot r had bough!. He found a flve-room house on Ehe corner of Esplanade and Clayton Street that had a beth ouE on the end of the back porch llke che one in the apartment. When Ehese houses were bullt, there had been no clty water systems and no runnlng lrater avallable. Baths sere usually teken on SaEurday nlghts ln washtubs ln the kttchen, so no bathrooms had been butlt. When they were added, the mosE convenlent and least expenslve wey I'as to enclose a portlon of the porch. Thls house was bullt wlth walls of a slngle thtckness nade of uprtgtrt I by 12 boards. The cracks betrreen Ehe boards were covered wlEh 1 by- 4 boards of the sane helght. uarplng sometlnes opened cracks thaE you could see dayllght Ehrough. Thls one on clayton sEreet let ln plenty of alr too. r have actually seen r'lpples on the water ln the tub when the wlnd blew.

BuE letts get back to the furnltupe. The Bass Brothers store carried rugsr wlndow shades and a few furnlEure ltens, so several furnlture whole- salers sent us caEalogs. Prlces quoEed were a whole lot cheaper than the prlces ne sarr tn stores' Uncle John agreed Eo let us order what we had to haver charge lt to the sEorel and pay lE off a llEEle each week. He could be Ehe neenest so-and-so ln the world when he was mad but could be, and was, extrenely generous wlth me. l{e ordered a livlng-room set, a bedroom set, and the dlnlng-room seE vhlch I'm stlll uslng. I belleve we got an oil cook stove and a rood heattng sEove locally. The whole Ehtng cost around g500, and we had only a llttle over gloO Eo pay down. Uncle John agreed bo carry the balance. So we sent ln Ehe order and rented the house for Esenty dollars a month. It took m€rnyrmany weeks Eo pay off the balance we owed the store, and we were always buylng clothing and addlng Eo the account, buE we got lE pald off eventually. I donrt recall ever gettlng entlrely out of debt to the store from then until the Cuero store closed. That house was on the same corner where Doctor Davls and Doctor lligh non have thetr clinlc.

Trro or Ehree events stand out ln rEmory durlng the tlne we llved ln Ehe rented house. It was ln 1924 that the pasEor, T. N. Barton, asked ne to be Sunday School superlntendenE. My nane lras presented to Ehe church qua.rterly conference, and I was elected. I succeeded !'1r. O, T. McAlister, who had been superlntendent for several years and was dolng a good job. I suppose he was 7t

ln his late fortles or early flfEiesr and I consldered thet an old age thenr He had very llttle fornarl educatlon buE was well-read and better lnforned than I was ln nany flelds. He was a Blble student. second lo none and a sErlct fundamentallst. However, he concurred ln the pastor's recomnndatlon and asked ne to accept. I felE htghly honored and Eook over vith Ehe confl- dence of youth. I{lth a capable corps of teachers, ne nanaged Eo hold thlngs Eogether, and the Sunday School dld not show any 111 effects. This was before Ehe bulldlng rras remodeled, and sost classes stllI met in Ehe sanc- tuary wlth just a pew or tno ln behreen. Foldlng doors shut off the back EwenEy feet or so from the sarictuary, and the nursery and prlnary classes met there. !lr. l"icAllster continued to teach the adult class, and I sEtll taughE Ehe snall class of hlgh-school boys. At the same tlne Elnora and I served as adult counselors for the Epworth League.

It sas during thls tlne that Panalee came to visiE on the traln alone from HousEon, where Joe and Panchlta were llvlng. She must not have been over grto years old for she was just beginnlng to talk. I remember EhaE she was confused about clocks and llghts. She would look aE a llght and sayt "Tlck tock." But she said oEher thtngs clearly. Playlng peek-arboo rtas a favorlte gamevlth her. She would get behlnd a door and say, 'rHherers Panalee?r'and lnmediately blurt ouEl "Hereshe lslrr as she sEuck her head out fron behlnd the door.

Angther event EhaE caused me nruch embarrassment, and about which I am still kldded occaslonally, occurred ln that house. Uncle John and Uncle Jtn alnost always would vlslt each other on Sunday afEernoons and hol.ldays-- one week in Cuero and Ehe next ln yoakum. Uncle John would alrrost lnvarlably . i:nslst EhaE Elnora and I go along to vlslE Uncle Jlm. Slnce we had no car tt gave us a chance to go for a rtdel and se dld noE objecE too much even though tt dld get borlng aE Elmes. I belleve it was on Chrlstmas Day in 1925 that we had spenE the day ln Yoakum. i{hen we goc home lt was dark. Elnora went ln the front door and I went around to the back to get wood f,or a flre. Carrylng an armful of wood, I went ln through Ehe back door. As I passed through the kltchen I caught a gllmpse of a movemenEon Ehe rlght slde of the room. thinklng lt was an lntruder I asked what he wanted. There was no ansver so I reached down for a stick of wood to defend ny self. At the sarne tlne I could detecE the shadowy ftgure reachlng for sonething too, so I htE at the shadow wiEh the stlck of wood wlCh all rny mighE and let out a screan at the sane ttne. There lras the lrmedlate sound of shaEterlng glass and the flgure dlsappeared, Of course, the scream and the sound of shatter- lng glass nearly scared Elnora out of her wits. She cam runnlng. When we turned on Ehe klEchen llght, ne saw Ehat I had smashed a full-length mlrror that belonged to the store lnto blts, It was usually kept ln Ehe breezy. bathroomr but lt had been cold that mornlng lrlth Ehe wlnd rippltng the water on Ehe bathtub so f took lE lnto the kltchen to shave. It was slttlng on Ehe kltchen table leantng agalnsb the wall. tfhen I walked beEweenlt and the windon Ehere was Just enough llght to nake a very dlm reflectlon. It dld not occur to ne that I had put the mirror there EhaE mornlngo l{hen Itn startled (thaEts a pollEe word for scared) I react. That tlme I smasheda falrly expenslve mlrror. l{hen I confessed to Uncle John that I had smashed a mlrror thaE belonged to the sEore, he thouCht it was hllarious, and he Eold it all 72

over Eown, There are sElll people that regrenber lt, and lrn stlll kidded about 1E occasionally, But now I don't mlnd Eelllng It on myself. It didn'E seem very funny Ehen to ne.

t must have been the sumnet of L925 that ve bought our flrst car--a second-hand Dodge tourlng car Ehat had belonged Eo Ehe man who had been the bookkeeper in Ehe Yoakumstore. He had qulE, was novlng to Callfornla, and wanted Eo sell lt rather than drtve it out Ehere. Itsas just a year or Ewo old and and was ln excellenE condltlon--an open touring car wlth four doors and a canvas top Ehat could be folded down. For ralny weather there were slde curtalns EhaE could be snapped on. It also had trwo spare ttres Ehat flt lnto fender wells on each fronE fender. Elnora was Eeachlng, and we sere dolng falrly well buE planned Eo use Ehe car for a vacatlon trtp to vtslt her aunt in Oklahoma and Ehen sell it. l{e had more nerve than sense because we borrowed the mone!--jEther, gave the onner a note--and planned to sell lE before the note came due.

As soon as school was ouE, we Eook off for the vlslt to her AunE Frances ln Ardrbre, Oklahona. We spent Ehe flrst ntghE on the road camped out ln a park provlded by the ClEy of Lockhart for the use of tourlsts. There were no motels yet as far as I remernber. l,Ie made lt lnto Ardnore the second day and returned Eo Cuero by way of Jefferson. Conrlng back fron Jefferson Eo Cuerol Elnora wanEedto stop brtefly tn Diboll Eo vlslE lrlth acqualnEances. We left Jefferson atrout 4:00 A.l'l.r got Eo Dtboll around noon, vlsiged abouE an hourr and started out for houte vla Houston. East Texas roads lrere mostly red clay and deep sand--no paverent. In sorne stretches of sand we could average only flve mlles per hour, so tt was gettlng dark lrhen ue goE to llouston. rt ts my recollectlon that Elnora, her mother, my mother, and Inlaude Estelle were wlth me. They wanted to stop and spend the nlghE ln Houston. Slnce [t was only 150 mlles fron Houston Eo Cuero I lnsisted on pushlng on. I wasn't about Eo puE out money for hotel bllls and meals for Ehat bunch. In fact, I doubE lf I had enough cash Eo pay for accomrodaticns.

The trlp home proved longer and harder Ehan I antlcipated. Roads were unpaved and unmarked. Whenwe got lnEo a togrn rre dldntt know how Eo get out. l'lhen we approached the rlver beEweenRibhnond and r'Brldge Rosenberg there lras a sign saylng, Out--Go back 5 mtles Eo ferry.'r lfhen we found the ferry we found l! was a barge just blg enough to hold hro cars and was pulled back and forth wtth ropes. There ltas one car already loadedl and I drove on behind. When ue got to the opposite bank we found a very steep ramp cut out of the red clay bank as the only exlt. The car ln front of me started up, got half- lray uP before Ehe rnotor stalledr and started rolllng back toward Ehe barge. I knew lt would lmock us off the back tf lt kepE comlng, but tlro men on the barge managed Eo hord rt. on the second try, ri made ii up safely, and our old Dodge had no Erouble naklng the cllmb.

I'Ie contlnued havlng Erouble flnding our way through Ehe varlous Eowns, and lt ltas 5:00 A.ll. the next mornlng when we flnally fulled into cuero. Twenty-flve hours behtnd Ehe wheel was pretty Etrtng for even a tTenty-f6ur. year ord youngsterr 6rrd I fett llke r rras bounclng along ln a car for several days. llowever, I made lt to Ehe sEore ln trme to open up aE 7:00 A.li. whether or not I was worth anythrng on the Job ts a drfferent matter. 73

After we 8ot hone from Ardnorer Elnora enrolled ln susmer school at SouEhwestern Eo earn the credlt or tno she lacked to quallfy for her degree. I{hlle she was there I would Eake off almost every Saturday ntghE after the store closed ar 9100 P.M. and drlve to Georgetown. It was usually afEer mldnlght when I got there. r would take off late sunday Eo get back home tn tlne Lo go to work Monday nornlng. I dontt recall whaE I dld about ny ehurch dutlesr but golng to see her seemednore rmportant at that trme. On one - trlp which was evldently a hollday week end, Ewo nen who worked [n Ehe store but had fanilles ln Gonzales sEarted ouE wlth me tn the daytlne. l{e had the Elto sPare tires but had tro flaEs before we got out of the clEy llstlts and had used both spares. Before we goE Eo Gonzales lre had seven Inore puncrures from nalls. Roads were not paved but had gravel or llmestone T Ford roadsters that had been con- ittng a wooden box on the back. Evi- out, and we were plcktng Ehemup. they were a big lmprovement over the tly on Ehe wheel. BuE after we used up Ehe tro spares we had to Eake the tlre off the rlm, flnd the nalr, remo\re Itr patch the lnnertube, remount Ehe tlre on Ehe rlm, pulrp tt up wlth a hand and Ehen put PumPr the rtm b6ck on the wheel. Iry two passengers got Gonzales, off tn and I proceded on m3lway wtthout another flat. on one of the ntghE Erlps to Georgetown I dld have an accldent beEween Lullng and Lockhart. Evlaentty I dozed off. The road surface Ehen was crushed llmestone. rn many lnstances tums were nlnety degreeso Guaidralls hlte boards supported by cedar postsr one of those whlte guardrails was a the car, but the wheels sllpped in rlght front fender enough to nade lt bnrnper damage. I managed to pry the wenc m€rrllyr but shamefacedlyp my way. on

te car I found lt was not as slmple as lks wlthout success, Leon,Hrote ne Ehat r lf I sould bring lE up Ehere. So I rggy. The last ttme I sar lt Ehe olrner I front seaC and was uslng Ehe chassls I the woods near Jefferson. Another lten I wanted Eo mentlon ls the route ne traveled to san Antonlo and Austln ln those days. there was a road Ehrough l{esthoff and sniley to san Antonlo, but of Parts lt were ofter, Irp""siute. so we usually neng through cheapstde to Gonzales and from Gonzales Eo seguln. From Seguln we wenE through clbolo and scherts, forded clbolo creek Jusr Sefore geEtlng to san Antonlo, then cut through a corrrer of Fort san Houston to get to downtown san Antonlo. To get to Austln ne started ouE the same way but went through Lultng and Lock- hart from Gonzales as rf,e perhaps do loday. Ehe nast lnterestlng part of the road was behreen cuero and 'vle cheapslde. went out Ehe dam road, through lover.rs lane, across hellrs gate brldge lnto Lordts pasture. The.'dam road, was Ehe 74

route to the hydroelectrlc dan on the Guadalupe Rlver. "Loverrs lan€tr vas a thlckly wooded sectlon of the road through the rlver botton where lovers were scld to park aE nlghE. "Hell's gaEe" rJas a deep narron gorge wtere the Itacer rushed through wlth conslderable force. That provlded power to run the turblnes at the dan. The'Lordrs pasturd'was land that belonged to the Lord farnl ly.

AnoEher thlng I renenber that happpned whlle we were llvtng ln the rented house ras Tennle Maets weddlng Eo W. Scott Roblnson. I was asked to be an usher slnce I was her cousln and aEtended the rehearsal dlnner and other acElvltles connected wlth Ehe veddlng. Uncle John had remarrled shortly before to a l'lrs. Essle Crozler. She had worked at the Bass sEore ln Yoakunr, transferred to Cuero, and married Uncle John abouE slx nonths after she and her beauElful teen-age daughEer, Avlsrchrxl to Cuero. I"ilss Essler as we called her, was an attractive rnlddle-aged lady. She and Uncle John seemed Eo geE along welll and Tennle l,lae felg free Eo marry slnce she was no longer needed Eo keep house for her father. H. scotl was' an englneer with the l-lccorrnick lndusEries--very capable.and very lnte111gent. He and rennle i'tae spent nost of thelr marrled ll.fe tn chicago.

One happenlng whtch cones to mlnd ln connectlon wlEh Tennle liaers weddtng concerned Uncle Johnts car whtch the brtde and groom used in the weddtng. IE was a tflllys Knlght c.rr--a closed four-door sedan and very expensive for that tlme, John Bernlng, a frlend of Tennle }laersrnlxed some chalk tn water and painted Ehe wordsr'JUST I"IARRIED,'.ln several places on the car. He dtd tt ln good-naEured fun and Ehoughc lt would wash off easlly. In splte of the hlgh prtce, the palnt had crazed on the car, and the chalk soaked ln. Repeated washings dimned lE but never dld remove lt entlrely. Flnalty Uncle John had lt repainted.

Two najor evenrs Eook ptace in 1926. The flrst one qras a most pleasant surprlse. Doctor J. C. Dobbs told Elnora she was pregnant jusE a few weeks after iennle Maers weddlng. tle had not expected lt. He had examlned her Eo locate the cause for irregularlty of her nenstrual phase and the extrerre pain that sonetlnes caused her to nearly black ouE. He sald her uterus, or womb, or solne female organ was Ewlsted and was ahnost upslde down. He had sald that would mske lE elnosE lnposslble for her to becomepregnant. vfe werentE exactly ready to start a farnlly at Ehat tlme, but lre trere overJoyed when we learned that she lras lndeed golng Eo have a boby ln sptte of whaE the doctor had sald. She was teachtng Spanish ln htgh school by then and flnlshed out the year. school Slnce the baby was due ln Decenber, she asked for a leave of absence for Ehe next school |€aro The prospect of a baby in the farrlly lnflaned our deslre for a home of our own ln whlch to welcome hlm. By thls llne we had the lot paid for and got word that we were next ln ltne for a loan. He sElll dld not have enough money for a down payment but began looking at plans. Hollandrs Magazlne always carrled a plcture of a horne wrth froor pt"n i" ;iAE: , and we satr one that we both thought beautlful. The floor plan dld not sult us exactly, so I began drawlng eketches of Ehe lnterior layouE. My drawtng ls very cruder but I could Eake a ruler and draw stralghE llnes to scale. Flnally we got one we both agreed on, and I proceeded to draw in Ehe details-- where every door and wlndow would go, every electric outlet, al1 plumbing, 75

cablnets, etc. Whenwe had lt conplete, lncludlng a carport on the north side openlng dlrecEly lnEo Ehe dlnlng room, we asked a conEractor Eo glve us an estlmate of what It would cost.

The earport, or attached gatage, was unheard of at thaE Elme ln Cuero. Stables on the back of the lot, where horses and buggles were kept, were converted to garages wtth Ehe advent of Ehe auEomoblle. Some people thoughE lt was dangerous to have a gasollne tank next Eo the house. Thls gets ahead of the story, but I Eook a lot of klddlng abouE Ehe aEtached carport. People wanted to knon lf I was golng Eo sleep in Ehe garage, and if I was golng to keep the car ln the bedroon. Actually, when we goE a car later we had Ehe carport enclosed with doors you could drlve through ln front and back.

The bulldlng conEractor Eook ny crude drawlng and made a blueprint. Together we dren up speclflcatlons. Both lumber yards ln town and several bulldtng contractors accepted the blueprints and speclflcatlons but the ortglnal conEractor lras the only one.Ehat ever turned ln a bld. He bid $31000 f,or a turn key Job specifying completton by Decenber I , 1926. Later when I asked one of Ehe oEher conEractors vhy he dldn.E btd, he sald he knew I would glve lE to Mr. Buchhorn anlnray. I told hlm I dldntg know how he knew thatr because I sure dldntL knon who I would glve 1t to. One palnt contractor came Eo me after lt was under consEruction and sald, "I donrt know vhat you are paylng Ehe patnt contractor, but Itll take ti tor half of EhaE." the palnE was lncluded tn Ehe general contract, but I thought that was a very strange statement Eo make. Itm afrald rre would have wound 'up wlEh \rcry poor paint work under such a deal.

Again Irn getElng ahead of the sEorlo The maln problem was how Eo flnance the house. I belleve the bulldtng and loan requlred a thlrd down, and we had only three or four htndred in cash, Elnorais mother was llving ln her hone ln Uvalde buE agreed to advance $700 toward Ehe down paynent provided she could make her hone wlth us from Ehen on. Slnce Elnora planned to resume teachlng as soon as posslble, that suiEed us flne. so we were able Eo close the deal ln laEe surumer, and the contractor goE to work. 'l{e The sork wenE rapldly at flrst. ltved Just Ewo blocks aeay and were able Eo watch almosE every board and nail Ehat went lnto Ehe house. l{htle lt was under constructlon Elnora declded Ehat the closeE ln.the master bedroomwas Eoo snall. To enlarge lE studdlng Ehat forned one partlElon for the mlddle bedroom had to be Eocn out and reseE. That took a few days exEra, As Decestber approached, lt seened Eo nove slower and slower. The baby was due ln December, and lre were getElng anllous. One of Ehe nen dolng palnE- tng and paper-hanglng cane tn Ehe store and asked ne why I had stopped comlng around to tratch them. I told hln thats every Elme I came he stopped working to talk to ne and I lras anglous for hln to go full speed ahead.

Flnally, wlth a few ntnor exceptlons, everythlng was finlshed enough for us to move ln on December 15, L926. Thts ls one of che evenEs of major lnportance ln 1926 Ehat I spoke of--rnovlng lnto a beautlful brand new home of our own. A word of warnlng "a11 ye who pass thls walf'--psysr move ln a butldlng untll tt is complete to the last detall. It was at least slx more months before the last thtng called for ln the contrect nas done. 76

Then cane the event of really rnaJor importancen twelve days after we noved lnr and I'ere gettlng reasonably well setEled ln, Ehe big l*r"rtof our lives took prace. rn nld-afternoon on December 27, Einora uelan feellng labor palns. Dr' Dobbs, who had been Eaking care of her, andlilss l,ilnnle Ferguson, a registered nurse who was a frlend and fellow I'ieEhodlsE, nere notlfted' They came about dark to the best of my recotlecEion. Elnora was put to bed ln the little mlddle bedroom of the new home ln the bed that had been her rnotberls and that I now sleep ln. As palns lncreased Dr. Dobbs some klnd Put of cone over Elnorats nose and handed me a bottle of ethern At hls lnstructlon I would let a drop drtp on the cone to ease her palnp but not make her unconsclous. It vas about ll:0o p.!1. when the baby ris heels, gave him'a snack on the nanated fron the new arrlval, l.llss lresenEed htm Eo hls mother. Dr. r he whacked hln. He was a very long rlack hair. I,rhenElnora flrst sa-ghlm t?" I've kldded Frank about that. IE eras very soon apparent thet he was the most beautlful and nost lnporgant thing ln her ltfe. l{e had agreed that if we had a boy he would be naned after se. So lt was that Frank I'lyron Bass, Jr., came lnto our world--Ehe nost lmportant evenE ln elther of our lives" 'vlhen Papa heard Frank had been born aE 11:00 p.!r. on Ehe 278h, he asked why we dld noE watE another hour so he could be born on hls birthday whlch was the 28th. oddly enough, when he applied for a blrth certlficate it showed he was born on the 27th. llanunasald he had'always told her he was born on Ehe 28th but records showed the 27Eh. AfEer that he and Frank always celebrated Ehe same blrthday. 77

CLINTOIi STREEf,

Under the watchful eye of Grandnother Thomson and Elnora, young Frank got off to a good start. He soon losE thaE black strlngy helr, It was replaced nlth a ltght-coloted fuzzl and he soon becane the hand- somest boy ln town--at leasE we thoughE sor The only lllnesses I recall vere occaslonal bouts nlEh strep throat. Hls CenperaEure would shooE sky hlgh durlng Ehe nlghE. Dr. Dobbs sould cone by to see hln next mornlng, and usually the Eenperature dlsappeared as qulckly as lE carE.

By thts ttne I was naktng a ltttle nbre noney--posstbfy 925 a seek-- and Elnorats salary es a htgh-school teacher had been $100 a month for nlne months, as I recall. t{e mlssed that lncone during the year she dld not teach, but lre managed to get by.

Natural gas dtd not becomeavallable in Cuero unEll late 1927 or early 1928. l.le heated with a blg wood stove tn the back bedroom, which ve also used as our sittlng room, and we had a real nlce flreplace ln the llvlng rooE. In the'bathroom frm sure lre had a porEable kerosene heaEer, but I dontt really recall. lle cooked on a four-burner kerosene cookstove. Ue knes gas etas comlng and had pipes for a hot-water heater bullt tn; but we had no hot-water heater untll gas was lnstalled. It was sEtll standard procedure to heat ltater ln Ehe klEchen and pour lt ln the balhtub to bethe durlng cold weaEher. lJe also butlt a closet ln the bathroorn for a hot- water tank. Ilhen gas became avallable Ehe plunber who installed the heater sald lt was not safe to close lt up ln the closet and refused to lnstalltt.tunless we Eook the door off Ehe closeE. After he lef,E we had some 6lots put ln the door and rehung it.

The llvlng roonr flreplace was real nice, and the brichrork lncluding It had been qulEe expenslne. IE had e grate ln the botton whlch dunped the ashes tnto a pan that could be removed through an openlng ln the floor of Ehe front porch. Elnora wes a metlculous housekeeper and she found thac carrylng wood through the llvlng room son€ttnes caused a mess, so she boughE a gas heater slth a statnless sEeel panel theE closed Ehe flreplace openlng. For Ehose days lt ras pretty expenslve but proved a good buy. It ls sElll ln use ln the house here at 905 East Morgan Avenue tn the llvlng roorn ftre- place, and lt looks as good as the day tt was bought. t{e used lt as our maln source of heaE tn thls house untll about 1960.

Elnora returned Eo teachlng ln Ehe fal L of Lg27. l{e hlred a Negro Itoman Eo do mosE of the cooklng and house cleanlng. You could hlre thern for a very few dollars per lteek then. She would get Ehere ln the mornlng to flx breakfast, often before I woke up, and proved to be a very good alarm clock. Her husband had a l"Iodel-l Ford roadster nlth an lnprovised Eruck bed on the back. tle had a barrel on the back in which he would collect slop for plgs he ralsed, and he was glad to pick up our garbage wlthout charge: When Frank !f,as a llttle older he adarlred htn very m:ch, especlally hts mustache. r suppose lras he about two years old when he sAldr,,l{hen I grow up want be a garbage I to man and have halr on my 11p." sad to say thaE ambltlon.. he never qulte achieved 78 o belleve I lt was ln the fall of 1929 that I had a long bouE rvlth flu-llke symptons and hlgh fever Ehat flnally resulted ln a slx-weeks stay in the hosptEal soon after ChrlsEnas. It started a week or iwo before Thanksgivlng wlth the usual flu s3rnptorns. I took the doctorrs mediclne and stayed ln bed a few days. Reallzlng that lC was tlne tb put ln ChrlsEuras dlsplays ln Ehe show wlndows f got up and went to rrork. lhat ves pretty strenuous rrork slnce lE lnvolved cllnblng sEalrs Eo the second floor for flxtures many Elres. In Just a few days I began runnlng a hlgh fever agaln, Of, course Ehe doctor put ne back ln bed for seneral weeks. Reallzlng that ChrlsEnas Eve was by far Ehe bustest day ln the year, I went back Eo work and put in a full day Ehat day. By the day after Chrlstmas I had fever agaln and was back ln bed. When the fever p€rslstedr Ehe docEor put me in the Burns Hospital wlth lnstructlons that I nas not Eo get up for any purpose, ev€n to go Eo the bathroom.

Dr. Dobbs Eook X rays and sputun tesEs and sald I had IB. Bed resE was the only treatnent for thaE allment et Ehat tlme. Dr. Arthur Burns would argue ltlth h1m and say herd eat all Ehe TB I had for breakfasE. Dr. Dobbs lnslsted Ehat I stay ln bed, and I ftnally got so weak I couldntE do anythlng else. One nlght I declded f would go to Ehe bathroon wlthout calllng the nurse. I nade lt Ehere and back to the bedstde but found I was unable to get in Ehe high hospital bed Ehat was ln use then. After Ehree attenPts I finally rang the bell. The nurse carneand llfted ne back lnEo bed llke a baby.

Leon was livlng ln Gonzales aE that time. l{hen they cane to vlslt one Sunday afternoonr one of Ehe student nurses told htm thet I would never g€t out of Ehe hospttal altve. I never dtd feel serlously sick, and ny fever'!tas never high. Flnally X rays were sent Eo Ehe TB hospltal tn Kerrviller and they reported no slgn of TB. Soon afEer that the fever brokg and I was alloved to go home--very weak but very glad to be home. Dr. Dobbs told me abouc slx monEhs later thaE he had declded I had undulant fever. I told hln that was very nice but a ltttle late. There lrere no antlblotlcs ln use then, and he sald Ehat bed rest unEll Ehe fever broke $ras the onry Ereatnent for Ehat Eoo, and ny hospttal stay was not wasEed. In Ehe days of no health lnsurance it was a very expenslve experlence.

It was elther the summerbefore ny hosplral stay or i!-e sunmer after thaE Elnora decided to have her tonslls rernoved hoplng lt would end the repeated spells of EonslllEts EhaE she had suffered for a long tlme. Irm not sure about Ehe date, but Ir11 nerrer forget watching Ehe op€ratlon. We had Evo local nose and throat specialists aE Ehat timer and they performed Ehe surgery ln the old Reuss Hospital here. It was the bloodlestl nastlest Ehlng,lrys ever watched. After puttlng her to sleep lrtEh ether Ehey began dtgging in her throat whlle sallva and blood seemedEo pour from her mouth. It made re declde Itd keep my Eonslls no natter how bad they got. The smell of ether and slght of blood runnlng out of the edge of her rnouth nas very Eraumatlc. I never wanted to watch an operaclon after Ehat. She was up and about ln a few days buE never seemed to have Ehe sarne pep and energy agaln. 79

It was about Ehls ttne that we declded rre could not do wlEhout a car any longer and felt llke se could flnance e nert one lf we cuE corners as close as posslble on other expenses. After shopplng the varlous deelers, we declded on a 1930 Model-A Ford fiEroo1-colored four-door Sedan. were very proud of lt, and lt nas a real beauty, upholsEered tn plush naroon",le upholsEery wtEh the spare Elre on the fender well, a trunk on a speclal rack on the back, and flower vases on Ehe posts beEween the fronE and back doors. It dtd put a straln on our budget Eo meeE paymenEs to the Ford flnance compenyr but we managed to make payments by the tenEh of each nohEho

By Ehls tlne the greaE depresslon lras under way. Flnance companies were havlng a hard tire collecttng on debts. To expedite collecElons they began sendlng telegrams to debtors on the second or third of each month telltng then they were past due on payrnents. After being ernbarrassed by gettlng Eheir Eelegrams a few tlmes, I wlred Ehemcollect Eelllng then Ehat I had nade every paynent by the tenth of each month and promlsing to wlre then collect every Elr€ I got a dunning telegram fron them. The Eelegrams qulE comlng and evenEually we flnished the payments. As. I look back I wonder how we had the n€rve to obllgate ourselves so heavily with our small lncome.

Things went along norrnally unEll Ehe sumner of 1931. The naElonal depresslon started in 1929 buE dtd not affect us Eoo much as we rrere always on a ttghE budget. l{e went through the bank holiday declared by Roosevel.E. No siEhdrawals could be made or checks honored shlle the banks were closed. It was hard Eo meeE the payroll at the store, but ne manEgedsomehow. The Presldent nade hls farnous speech saylng Ehe only Ehtng we had to fear was fear lEself; and afEer setttng up an emergency program Eo lnsure bank accounts by the governmenE, banks were allowed to reop€n. There were no tnore runs on the banks and very ferr tf any closlngs after that.

lo counteract the practlce of businesses Eo cut rrages, Ehe liRA was set uP Eo Protect workers. Tlne and a half. had to be patd lf workers lrere on Ehe job over forty hours ln a week. Iianagers or other executives could work unllnlted hours. To qualify as an execuElve, one had to be pald aE least $35 a seek. I was worklng about seventy hours a week, so that brought ne a sllght ralse after I had a row wtth Uncle John.

Thls happened afEer I objected to the abuslve language he used Eo one of Ehe older l'on€n employees. f told hin he oughE to renember he was Ealk- ing Eo a human belng--n6t a dog. That really made hls tenper boil, and he told ne I was flred. I told hln that was OK wlth ne but I was taklng the payroll book wlEh rrE. IE showed I was belng pald only $30 a we€k. I wenE over to the safe and Eook the book ouE. When I started to leave he grabbed it away from me. A few hours after I went home, he cane to the house asking ne to come back and assured me I would get 935 a week from then on. tyle really had fun when both of us got mad aE the same Elneo

Elnorats healEh ltas never good after she had the tonsillectooy. She was constantly tlred and llstless but conElnued to drlve herself to the llmlE. After gettlng hole from school and dolng what she thought had to be done ln the house, she would geE out ln the yarJ ana work untll 9 or l0 p.M. lots of daysr 'rould She be really exhausted when she flnally came ln the 80

house. Dr. Dobbs ltas treatlng her for what he called colon Erouble, buE apparently he mlssed her real trouble courpletely.

One day at noon ln Julyr 1931, she Eook nc back to the store ln our caro Just as I got out of Ehe car she coughed and a handful of bloody phlegn came out of her mouth. Of course thts frtghtened us. I.Ie took hef Eo Dr. Dobbs as qulckly as posstble. He sald ttuedlately lt rras TB, He put her Eo bed and prescrlbed sedatlves Eo keep her qulet,

It ls July 1984 (flfty-chree years later) as I wrlEe thts. Recalling those trylng days is stlll traumatlc, but Irll do my besE. Elnora was glven morphlne as I recall the flrst day or Erro to keep her qulet and in bed. Her mother and Frank were out of Eown on a vlslE to her slster, Iirs. Stronan, tn Ardrnore, Oklahoma. I,le had Ehe Negro rnaid conlng ln every morning and part of Ehe afternoon. R,elaElves or frlends sat wlEh Elnora Ehe first day or Ewo while I was at work. Josle Ullson, the matdl sEayed most of Ehe afternoon too ouE of loyalEy and dld not ask for extra pay. I remember one afternoon what Uncle Johnts second wlfe, lllss Essie, sat \riEh her. Josle was stlll there when I got hore. She called rne ln the kttchen and told rne 'dhen I'd better not leE Miss Essle slE wlEh Fliss Elnora anlrmore. I asked her whyr she said that she had Ealked all afternoon Eo Elnora abouE people who had dled fronr TBr and she knew tt frtghtened her.

Dr. Dobbs changed medtcatlon that ntght [n order to.qulet her down. ]ty recollecElon ls that he changed her to sodlum pentothal. I was told later thaE [truth lt lras someEtrnes called serum.rr Itrs effecE on her was Eo make her talk endlessly, almost llke a drunk person. IE dtd noc qulet her at all, and I was not able to leave her bedslde all nlght. Next day Dr. Dobbs said I would have Eo gec a tralned nurse Eo stay lrlEh her. I was fortunaEe Eo flnd I'llss Katle Dreyerr an RN of the old school, to Eake on Ewenty-four-hour duEy.

l.Ihen the drugs dld not qulet her, Ehe doctor sald he sould advlse Eaklng her to a nerve spectalrsE ln san Antonlor I agreed and he made reservattons ar the old M&s Hospltal (now the Bapttst) and arranged for Dr. Dorbant to see her.

Thts put a flnanclal burden on me Ehat I could not come anpvhere near handllng on ny oq?n. one day's cost for hospltal and nurses was nore Ehan I nade ln a week. l{lth our budget stretched Eo Ehe ltrntt wlth house and car paynents' we had llttle or no savlngs. And rre had never heard of hospiEal and nedlcal insurance. To make matters worse, Uncle John and Uncle Jln had left for the fall narket season ln New York the ftrst day or Ewo Elnora !r6s tn bed. But I guess iE nust be true Ehat the good Lord takes care of fools and (I chlldren. was no chlld.) offers of heip came from unexpected places. The Base brothers had bought out Mr. John Graves, store and renEed the bulld- lng from him. He had the reputaElon of belng ttght-flsted and unscrupulous. lJhen he heard Ehat I had to take Elnora Eo Sin entonlo, he Eold ne Ehat he knew my uncles were out of town, but he would help rne meet expenses untll they returned. of course I was graEeful and Eold hlm so. Honever Ehe H. Runge Bank, where I had a cneittng accounE buslness, and where Ehe store dro had told sre to wrrEe ciecrs for whatever expenses I had, and they 81

would take care of then. I doubE lf they knew a 935 per rreek clerk would aoon orre ther over $3'OOO, but they honored every check rlEhout complalnt.

The nurse, Mlss Katle Dreyer, rrenE wlEh m when I Eook Elnora to Ehe San AnEonlo hosplEal, end lt seeDs Eo ne thaE Dr. Dobbs t'enE toor ln hls car. After tre yere setEled ln Ehe hospltal and the speclallst examlned hert he contlnued efforts to quleE her, but wlth llttle more success than Dr. Dobbs had had. I found a roomlng house nearby and prepared Eo sEay as nuch as posslble. At the saue Elre I was supposed to be ln charge of Ehe Cuero sEore shtle Uncle John was attay. I dtd drtve dorm for an hour or two every trro or Ehree days but spent mosE of Ehe Etne at the hosplEalr l{hat- ever trouble Elnora had soon spread all over her body. She lost control of all body functtons and her abdoren became very bloated. I saw the doctor every day but goE very llEtle lnformaElon ouE of hlm. AfEer about ten days or so he had her put ln the basenenE ln a large room (possibly a classroom or audlEorlum). .He sald hospltal authorlEles sere complainlng that she upseE other pactents wlth her consEant Ealklng. I had speclal duty nurses wlth her around the clock, so lt really did noE make too nnrchdlfference. BUE trhen I went in afEer supper one evenlng and found Ehe nurse sleeping ln a rocker and Elnora Eled slth hose Eo Ehe bedposts lt really went through ne. Each foot and each hand was tled Eo a bedpost. I Eold Ehe nurse on duty thaE lf she could noE sEay awake and watch her that she could leave and I would spend the nlghE but Chat I dld noE want to ever find her tted up agaln. She was very apologetlc and pronlsed to stay awake. o In Ehe meanElne, Mrs. Thomson and Frank had come to San AnEonio when they reallzed the serlousness of Ehe case. I dontt remember tlho kepE r-rank, but Mrs. Thomson got a roon ln enother boardlnghouse and stayed untll the end. l{hen I reEurned fron one of ny occaslonal Erlps to Cuero the San Antonlo doctor old ne there was nothlng he could do. He suggested I have her moved to the SEate nental hospltal or brlng her back home. I Eold hirn I wanted Eo confer wlEh Dr. Dobbs before decldlng and started hone.

Elnora r|es ratlonal aE Elmes durlng her lllness but did not seen able to control the constant Ealklng. My faEher came to see us one day 'lia thei,- San Antonlo hosplEal. l{hen he cane in the room she recognlzed hlm innedtaEely and exclaimedr "P€pa Basst" She seened very pleased Eo see hin and Eo appreclate hls comlng. I'lhen her noEher brought Frank ln to see her after Ehey cane Eo San Antonlo, her face beaned wtth pleasure and she ilEook on" over Frank. You could tel1 he was the most lnportant thtng ln her life. ItlosE of Ehe Eine she knes her nother and me but she seemed very dlsEant and, aE llnesr hostlle Eowardus.

0n ny vay hone to Cuero Eo talk to Dr. Dobbs about steps to take for her future care I was naturally preoccupled. Thls preoccupatlon cane near Eo costing me ny llfe tn a car wreck. JusE as I approached Smlley on the narrow Elto-lane road to Cuero a cocton Erusk sputEered and came Eo a stop Just a few feet ahead of me. I was too close to stop, and a car rras comlng Eoward me ln the other lane. The road was elevated along the sectlon we nere Ereveling wlth dltches several feet deep on each slde. At the last mlnuter after seelng I would not be able to stop tn tlme, I declded to rlsk Ehe dilch. I had waiEed a second or tvo Eoo long. As I trled to pass to 82

Ehe rlghtr Ehe tail end of the hlgh truck caught the wlndshield ln the upper left hand corner. Some danage was done to Ehe left headllghE and fenderl but I cleared enough to keep fron chopplng off my head. The car rolled alnost over to the rlghE as I hlt Ehe dltchl and almost over to the left before comlng to rest rlghE slde up on four wheels. The truck drlver apologlzed by saylng thaE the truck dled unexpectedly before he could get off the road, Some women who had been drlvlng Ehe Bulck approachlng me saw how near the car cane to rolllng over. They satd I must be a good drlver to avold Eurnlng over, but I told Ehen I was just lucky and had no tlne to thlnk before actlng. The car was sEil1 drtvable, and I drove on to Cuero.

I{hen I Ea1ked to Dr. Dobbs he dld noE express a preference but seemed Eo think the sEate hospltal ln San AnEonlo would do a good job. Because of the stlgna Ehat lte attach to those places I was hesltant Eo Eake her Ehere. Our Methodlst pastor had b€,en keeping ln close Eouch wlEh me and cane to Ehe hospital ln San Antonlo the next mornlng. He was Wood PaErlck. Shortly before he came to Cuero, he had lost his wlfe ln San AnEonlo. He satd that chlropractors had helped hls wife get conErol of bowels and bladder functlons and asked lf I would llke to consult sone of Ehem. Slnce Eedlcal docEors said there was nothlng they could do, I saw no harm ln grasplng at any sEraw. l{e Ealked to ttfo or three chlropractors who uere wllling Eo try' but they said the hospiEal dld not allow them to practlce on their prenlses. I talked Eo a hosplEal admlnlstrator, and he said Ehere was no way he could let them cone ln.

The next step rras Eo call ln lhe chtef of Ehe nedical staff from Ehe state hospital. I llked hlm very nuch and san at once Ehat he really knew what he was dolng. Stlll hesttant Eo nake Ehe nove I waited unEll Elnora's brotherr Joe Lee, and her Uncle Elmer from Uvalde got there. They came at once when r told them doctors had given up on Elnora. lle wenE to bed before making a final declsion, and provldence seEtled the matter during Ehe nlght. I got a call Just before dayllght nexE nornlng at the boarding- house saylng Elnora was slnking fast, and probably would not lasE out Ehe nlght. I dressed as qulckly as posslble and hurried to Ehe hospiEal to flnd Ehat she had breathed her last shortly before I arrlved. She had noE regalned consClousness--just stopped breathlng. I regretted not belng with her at the last' but was thankful I had been spared Ehe heart-wrenchlng experlence of seelng her breathe Ehe lasE.

l"lany members of the Bass faml ly and of l"trs. Thomsonts fanl ly were at Ehe hospttal wlthtn a few hours. Elnorats Uncle Elmer offered flnanclal help. I knew the depresslon had hirn strapped and told hirn it was my obllga- tlon and I would manege sonehow to take care of ny o!rn. I'1y Aunt l-tauders husband, N. B. lJalkerr ttas tn Ehe undertaklng buslness ln Beevl11e. He offered to 8eE a casket aE wholesal.e and arrange Eo have the body shtpped to Cuero. I accepted his offer wlth Ehe understandlng that I would pay hirn as soon as possible.

Seven mlles of Ehe road beEween WesEhoff and Sniley were stlll unpaved and tnpassable in_weE weatherr so w€ arranged for the body Eo be shippeO to Cuero by train. Toward nlghtfall as I drove tnto the garage of our lovely 83

honer I found that every rnenber of the Bass BroEhers Store crerr was gathered ln Ehe llvlng roon walEtng Eo extend Ehelr synpathy. Hhen I saw them and Ehey began to put Ehelr arms around me I shed rny first tears. I suppose I had been too stunned Eo cry before.

Before I left San Antonlo I slgned papers authorlzing them to do an autoPsy. Thls requesE conflrmed my susplclon thaE Ehe doctors dld not know what Elnorars trouble was. I told them lt could not hurt her any more, and tf lt would help somebody ln the future I was happy Eo have the autopsy. Hhen I goE no answer aftenrard Eo ny tnqutry about her troubre, and Dr, Dobbs sald he never got a reporE on flndingsr I was puzzled and angered. Fron what I know about her condltlon and what I know now abouE lung cancer, I am convlnced ln ny own nlnd that was what she had.

AnoEher recollectlon of ny stay ln San Antonlo perhaps deserves mentlon. I woke up one nighE and fett ny bed shaklng. IE felt llke a dog mtghE be under my bed and was scraEchlng hlmself--just a genEle movement. When I found noEhlng I vent back Eo bed and slept unttl mornlng. AE break- fast Ehe next mornlng I saw San AnEonlo Express headllnes saylng a nild earEhquake had been felt [n San AnEonlo. The landlady said a fev plates had been shaken from the buffet and broken. Thatts the only darnage I heard of. And Ehatlras my ftrst and only experlence wtth an earthquake.

Elnorats body was brought Eo the hone on CllnEon StreeE and placed ln the llvlng room when lt arrtved on the passenger Eraln from San Antonlo. Thatfs where Ehe funeral was held on the followlng day. The undertakers ln tovn dld not have audtEorluns for funerals at that Elme. Frlends would slt up wlth the corpses aE nlght.

There ltas some dlscusslon about whether Frank should atEend Ehe funeral stnce he wae so young. I said tt was hls moEher and if he wanted to go he certalnly was golng. He dld not completely understand buE sald he wanEed to aEtend Ehe funeral. He sat on my lap tn the llvlng room whlle Ehe servlce was belng conducEed.' Frlends and relaElves were sEacked ln every corner of the house. Those thaE could noE get ln stood on the porch and ln lhe yard. lJood PaErlck conducted the service and was mosE helpful and understandlng slnce he had gone Ehrough Ehe satne experlence eerller. After Ehe service tn the hornethe body was Eaken Eo Htllslde Cerretery here ln Cuero for burlal. I'Ie had not foreseen Ehe need for a cenetery loE, so that was one more Ehlng I had Eo arrange for before the funeral. Elnora and her mother are now burled slde by slde there. Each grave ls now marked by a snall granite marker. There ls cement curblng around Ehe loE whtch has room for eight graves lf needed. Ernbeddedln the concrete entrJmay ls a small granite slab wlth lhe name Bass.

Llfe had to go on. So many thlngs would be dlfferent now, but we did our best to get back to nornal llvlng as soon as posslble, Debts rrere to be conslderedr and I slgned a note at the Runge Bank for the amount of rny overdraft. House payrnents had to be met each monEh. Now there was only one pay 'ullth check. the depresston there was llEtle hope of ny lncome lncreasing. My reeollecElon ls that Ehe house payments were foriy some odd dollars a 84

monthr and I iave }irs. Thomson flve dollars a week to buy grocerles. l{e qult buylng grocertes on credlt and paylng the blll on the flrst. Under Ehe clrcumstances lt was best Eo buy only what we had the cash to pay for. The cosE of the cemeEery lot and the undertakert s charges here ln Cuero had to be paid. There was precious llttle left, tf anythtngr to pay on debEs. Frank and I ltere very fortunate that hts grandrnother consented to stay on wlEh usr There harre been few people who could sEreEch a dollar as far as she could. I{e dld noE lack necessltles buE had Eo be careful.

One of my duEles as Sunday School Superintendent was Eo lead the devotlonal servlce ln Ehe sanctuary before classes. f went to Sunday School and Eook Frank the Sunday after the funeral but found I could not face the sympatheElc congregation so soon. AE my request l{ood Patrlck Eook over Ehat sundayr but I forced myself to geE back ln the harness afEer that. Keeplng busy and feellng needed, I found, vere the besE nedlcine.

About Ehree months after the funeral we ran inEo another trylng ordeal. Frank developed a hlgh fever, and lt continued lnto Ehe nexE day. I donrt recall the reason, but I called Dr. Arthur Burns to treat hin. There ls no recollectlon of hard feelings or distrusE of Dr. Dobbs, but I know Dr. Burns treated hlur. After a few vlsits, he said Frank had scarleE fever. That was frlghtenlngr buE he seemed to respond well to treattent, and Ehe fever left hin ln a few days. l{e drove to Uvalde sometime ln there. I thlnk lt was on Armlstlce Day. He got sick and very llstless whlle there. Back hone the next dayr I called Arthur Burns and found he was out of Eown. llts father, Dr. John Burnsr said he would go by and see hlm. He came abouE 2:00 after I had gone back Eo Ehe sEore. tle calted me at the store and sald (so help me) "Itve got to Eake thls boy Eo Ehe store and see lf I can save hin." What a blow--I really felt ltke the world was cavlng in.

Ihe docEorrs words were really llke a slap in the face wlth a cold, wet Eowel to one who was as emottonally dralned and financially sErapped as I vas. I told Dr. Burns that he knew I dldntE have a dime in Ehe world Eo call my onn, 8o to do what he could and I would pay him when I could. He sald he understood and would make it as lighE as posslble on me. I{e owned the hospiEal and could handle that part of the cosE as well as the cosE of his servlces.

I{hen I goE to Ehe hospltal I found thaE the trouble was a conplicatlon of the scarlet fever from whlch Frank nas recovering. The germ Ehat causeC scarleE fever had attacked Ehe kldneys and stopped them from functlonlng compleEely. IE was called acute BrlghEts disease and was potentlatly fatal unless kidney acElon could be restored. Frank was already ileginnlng to swel1 from Ehe polsons in Ehe body thaE the kldneys ordinarlly renove. There were no antlblotlcs at Ehat tlme. The only Ereatnent lras to put the patienE lnto a klnd of Eent-llke arrangenenE and to ralse Ehe body Eemperature with steam. This was done to cause as much sweaElng as posslble wlEh Ehe ldea that Ehe srreaE would remove some of the polsons from Ehe body.

was It sald of old Dr. John Burns Ehat he never goE lnterested in a case untll Ehe patlenE was near death. He mrst have Ehought Frank was really near death. He sEayed in close conEact wlth hlrn until after 11:00 Ehat nlght, slttlng for hours rlght by Ehe bed. Some sweatlng had been lnduced by thag tlrnq and he left saylng he thoughE he would make lt through the nlght. The steam treatment contlnued through the nlght and next day. Flnally the kldneys began to function slrghEly, and Ehe swelrrng of, the body decreased. His llttle 85

body had been so puffed up thet it looked llke a balloon wlth hls eyes looklng llke dark spots on the surface. By the tltr€ the swelllng in the body was elimlnated, a gland tn hts neck began swelllng. The doctor sald that ltas anoEher aEtack of the same bug that caused scarlet fever--that he was havlng all Ehe compllcatlons ln the book. The gland got almosE as blg as my flsE' and Dr. Burns said he would have to lance lt'

Frlends and relatlves had been conlng by to see Frank and to comforE me and hls grandnother. I'iany of Ehem had glven hlm nlckelse dlnesr or quarters Eo cheer hln up, and Ehere was qulte a plle of colns on the bedslde Eable' As they were taktng Frank to Ehe operattng room Eo lance the gland he began to whlmper and was v€ry upset when chey acEually began to prepare hlm for the lanclng. Dr. Burns told hlm if he would be a good boy and lle real qulet he would glve hln a nlckel. Frank Eold hlrn, "Irve got loEs of money." I thought to myself whaE a blesslng lt was that he dld not reallze Ehe financlal pressure I was under. BuE he dtd qulet down enough for the docEor Eo nake the lnclston to draln Ehe excess fluid from Ehe gland' lils recovery after that was Eairly rapldl and he was soon back home. After that severe bouE, he never had the recurrtng strep Ehroat wiEh accompanylng hlgh fever that he had experlenced so ofEen prior Eo thaE. He was hale and hearty and soon began Eo grow long and tall. Hosever Ehe hlstory of Brlghtrs dlsease and the cause of hls moEherfs deaEh bel.ng llsted as TB caused hlm to be rated a poor rlsk when I applled for llfe lnsurance on hlm.

The hosplEal and doctor bt11 sas betveen three and four hundred dollars. It would probably have been three Eo ftve thousand today. But added Eo debts I already had, lE dldnft seem so llghE. However Dr. Burns Eold me to just pay a llEtle on lt whenever I could. I was nanaglng Eo keep uP Payments on the home but could pay very, very llEtle on oEher debts. tihenever I nade even the smalles E donatlon Eo the church I felt,1lke I was uslng someone elsets money.

AnoEher sad experlence hlE Ehe famlly whlle we were stlll llvlng ln Ehe ClinEon SEreet home. Elnorats broEherr Joe Lee, ln order to make more rbney to supporE his wtfe and Ewo daughEers, had Eaken flytng lessons and had earned a conlerclal pllotrs llcense. H€ had taken a job flying a plane for an oil conpany ln San AnEonlo.

He had flown lt for several months. AE least once that I recallr he had buzzed the CllnEon SEreeE house and dropped a message for his moEher. After Elnorars death he was her only chlld. He had landed once ln Cuero and wanted Eo take me up for a rlde. IE was a very nlce slngle-engine plane wiEh seats for four passengers as I recall. l'lhen he came to the sEore and asked me to go up for a rlde we were very busy gerttng ready for a sale, so I told hin I could not take tlrne off . The fact ls that I was a blt afrald of airplanes at thaE Elme, He had a lot of confldence ln Ehe plane and in hls abillEy to handle lt.

A fev nonths after thls (I thtnk lt was August 1932) he had orders to fly froin San Antonlo to Shreveport to ptck up some company offlcers or clients. When he left San AnEonlo Ehundershoners were in Ehe area. Near Seguin he apparently ran lnto one that was too much for the plane. 86

l{ltnesses sald they saw the plane slam lnto the ground once, get lnEo the alr agalry and Ehen slarn lnEo the grorrnrl agaln wlEh such force that tt broke up and bursE lnto flanes. The plane was totally destroyed and hls body mrtl laEed beyond recognltlon.

When Ehey called to tell us what had happened, Ehey called me aE the Bass Brothers store and gave ne the task of breaking Ehe news to hls mother. Thls rras her last chtld. Now all she had left were Joe Leets Er.rogirls and Frank--her grandchlldren. It was a terrlble shock to her, buE she Eook tt nrore bravely than I thought posslble.

l{hen we got to San Antonlo for Ehe funeral, they asked nre if I wanted to see the body. I told then EhaE I had no lnEerest ln Ehat lf they were posltlve about Ehe idenEiflcatlon. I'iy recollectlon is that the body was burled in the Gtlltan fanlly lot ln Hondo Cemetery.

He left some lnsuranC€--some Eo hls mother and SIOIOOO Eo hts wlfe and 'Panchltachlldren. That was qulEe a large sun ln those days, but iE did noE last very long and she had Eo go Eo work. She vas the daughter of wealthy parenEs and had never learned to be economical. While panchtEa workedr the Ewo glrls, Panalee and Joan, often spent qulte a biE of tirne wlth thelr grandmoEher and ne in Cuero. I belleve Panalee attended school there for a fen nonths at one tlme. Thetr grandmother took conforg In moEherlng them, and I began to feel almost llke Ehey were my daughters. We have sEeyed qulte close Ehrough the years. 87

EAST MORGAI.IAVET{UE

In Ehe sunmer of 1932 I heard that a Mr. A. l{. Bourke was very interested ln buylng the Cllnton StreeE home. He owned a sltghtly srnaller place at 905 East l'lorgan Avenue (where I noro ltve) whlch he wanted to trade ln. Property on Ehe souEh slde of Morgan was consldered "on the nrong stde of the tracks'r to a certaln exEenE at that tlne, but tt was showlng sone evtdence of Ehe development that has slnce occurred. I llked the locatlon wlth its blg oak tree and roomy lot and nade Mr. Bourke an offer. I donrE rerember the exact terns; but I know I got Ehe l,lorgan Avenue property clear of debt, 8oE the debt on the Cllnton Street house paid ln full' and a few hundred dollars ln casho tJtEh thaE cash I was able to pay off Mr. IJalker for what the casket for Elnora's funeral had cost. I remem- b€r that I sent htn a check for Ehe amount of Ehe bill plus lntereet aE elght Per cenE frorr the date of its purchase untll the date of the check. He sent that bheck back and said he dtd not do whaE he dld to nake money and to just send a check for the face amount of the b111. He was a very thoughtful person, and I appreclated the gesEure a great deaf.

After I had agreed to the trade wiEh Mr. Bourke, Elnorars mother let me know that she dld not favor movtng out of Ehe house Elnora and I had planned so carefully and llved ln wlth such prlde. Perhaps f should have dlscussed lE wtth her more fully before naking the trade. AfEer all, lt was Ehe cash noney she had glven us Eo apply Eo Ehe down payrnent that enabled u6 to geE flnanclng for the Cllnton SEreet home. But I ees so dlsturbed by debts I could noE pay thaE I jurnped at Ehe chance to get ny head above water. She dld not make an lssue of lE, butr I knew thaE she was very dls- appolnEed by the mo\fe.

Bedrooms lrere very small ln the new placer afld we had to use the llvlng room for a fantly sltttng room. The back porch at that Elne was just blg enough Eo hold a small lcebox and provtde a passage to the back yardr The llvlng room had an attracttve flreplace, but lt never drelr too well and would send smoke lnto the house occaslonally. llowever, we had the blg stalnless steel gas heater thaE He had used ln the other flreplace. It dld a good job of keeplng Ehe roon comforEeble, and we dld not have to bother viEh the mess of ashes and wood. There were only two bedrooms, and I do noE remember where Frank slept. I thtnk we had a snall bed for hlm aE the fooE of my bed ln the back room, but Itm noE sure.

The blg oal( tree in the yard was nagnlflcent. The soll was very sandy, and we could not get Bernnrdagrass Eo grow under the tree where Frank and hls frlends played. That nade for a constant trail of sand in the house, and Ehere rtas an abundance of $rass burs to snke llfe miserable for the bare feeE. In addltlon co that there seened to be an unusual number of anEs of every varlety under the sun, and they nere constantly getting lngo every- thing in the house that was not sealed up. they would even get ln Ehe beds sometimes lf the covers happened to touch Ehe floor. Mrs, Thonson ftnally solved Ehls by getttng used crankcase oil from fllling stations and pouring It onEo every anE bed she could flnd. 88

To offseE Ehese negatlve Ehlngs, Ehere was a wllderness area Just up the hill a short dlstance fron our ne\J homeo IE was always grown up ln weeds and prickly pear, but lt had worlds of beautlful old Erees tllth moss and grapevlnes draped frosr their llnbs, thaE made an ldeal place for klds Eo explore and play, Frank soon found a llttle glrl ln the block just hls age, and Ehere was no shortage of other playrnates. A11 ln all we settled lnco the nelt surroundlngs wlth a nlnlmum of trouble.

But Ehls was 1932. The depresslon that hlt the nation ln 1929 had not lnproved. However tt had not been felt very deeply ln Cuero untll the Runge Bank closed--the one everyone Ehought nas the soundest in the state. They had worlds of assets buE closed thetr doors vhen they ran lnto a cash flow dllemna that was too rntrch for them Eo handle. They were the ones thaE financed lots of Dewltt County farmers, merchanEsl and small buslness people. That was when Cuero realized there nas a depression going on. I sttll owed qulte a blt on the noEe coverlng the expenses of Elnora's last lllness and soon found out Ehey had sold lt to a bank in St. Louls. Naturally that bank began presslng for thelr money after the Runge Bank closed. It so happened that the Bass BroEhers SEore checklng account had a balance ln the Runge Bank that rras almost Ehe sarne as my noEe. They couldnrE give the store cash Eo cover the arnount due Ehem buE did manage to get the noEe transferred i:ack here and Eraded lt Eo them instead of cash. Now I owed ny erniloyers lnstead of the bank. The old note ls stlll ln ny files wiEh an addlng machlne Eape several feet long attached showlng weekly payments of 52.50 on lt. It took rne about ten years, but I ftnally got lt paid off.

I belteve lE ras the year after lre moved to the Morgan Avenue house thaE Frank starEed to schoot. Stnce hls ordeal following the scarleE fever attack hls healEh could not have been beEEer. The prlnary school was about a nlle fron our new home, and lt was pretty far for htm to walk. l{e still had Ehe 1930 l.iodel-A Fordr and hls grandmocher usually Eook hin Eo school in Ehe mornings buE he soon learned to walk home ln the afternoon. There were no school lunch programs Ehen, and we ofEen picked him up and took hlm back aE noon. tte did well ln schoot; Ilost of Ehe teachers had been frlends of hls mother and were all very helpful. Detalls of that perlod are vague ln my mlnd, so I suppose nothlng too exclting heppened.

I remenber all too well the happenlngs of 1935. The Bass sEore in Cuero was loslng money. Uncle Jim hed been forced to make good on a bond of several Ehousand dollars he had signed for Ehelr bank ln Yoalmmas securiEy for school funds. The bank went brokel and he had to pay up. That put them ln such a blnd thaE they felt tt was no longer posslble Eo keep the Cuero store open. That nade lE necessary for me Eo flnd a job at a tlme when very few jobs were avallable.

A year or trlo prlor to Ehls Leon had stoved to Cuero and rras also work- lng at Ehe Bass Brothers Store. That nade tvo of us that would be ouE of a job. He and hls firsE wlfel Constancel had been dlvorced. Ilama had their Etln boysr Paul and l*tllton. Leon had marrled i'illdred Baker whlle llvlng in Gonzales and working ln a cloEhlng sEore before movlng Eo Cuero. Their daughter, Barbara Ann, had been born ln Cuero ln August L934. 89

I had several offers of jobs. One was offered by a Jewlsh merchanE who had a small store on WesE }ialn SEreet. Another was offered by tgre r,: local head of the welfare agency that had been set up under the RoosevelE adminlstratlonr I was also offered an agency for Anlcable Ltfe Insurance Companye and the dlstrict agenE for the San Antonlo Express offered ne the dealershlp for the ExDress and Evening News. t ;greed to Eake on the Amlcable offer and the newspaper dellvery job, but I realtzed thaE I could not make a livlng ouE of Ehem alone. Leon had not recelved any offers. He wanEed to go lnEo the retall she buslnessl and he was a flrst-class shoe nan. But neither of us had any capital.

I had the house on l4organ Avenue clear of debt and flnally decided to use lt as collaEeral on a loan of $2'OOO to buy a small sEarglng inven- Eorlr You canrE borrow money on a home ln Texas, so I agreed Eo sell Ehe house to Leon for $21000 whtch he would borrow from the Cuero Building and Loan Assoclation Eo pay me for the house. I would contlnue to llve in the house and would make the monEhly paynenEs. This is the klnd of deal Ehat I would conslder unethlcal as I slt on the other stde of the lendlng Eable today, but we dldnrt see anything wrong wiEh iE at the time. ilowever iE casle verv near ending up in a catasErophe for me as I will relate later.

I was delivering papers every nornlng ln the l,iodel-A car and had boys dellverlng evening papers on blcycles. pretty soon I had the agency for other papers lncluding the Houston Chronlcle and the San Antonio Light. The laEter was ln the name of o@ worked for s,e. At one Elme we had nearly 11200 PaPers comlng ln here each day, whlch we had to derlver and Ehen collect for. The mornlng papers came ln on a traln frorn San Antonlo at 5:30 A.Ii. GetElng up at that Elme titas no fun, buE I managed to do tE. Two boys would go wlEh me in the car Eo ro11 the papers and Ehrow them ln Ehe yards of sub- scrlbers. In the afternoon, boys on bicycles would deliver the papers after Ehe bus broughE them. Ihey had Ehelr btkes and worked for a dollar a week.

The subscrlptlon price for the Express, Chronlcle, and Lighg was seventy- flve cents per month. The News r"" ffi""FGT6'p"iJ ?Fah" n.or" weekly. }flth the sunday p"lFtt cosE flfteen cents per week. The boys on the afternoon routes dld nost of Ehe weekly collectlon. I wenE around dn the flrst of the rnonEh and made the oEher collectlons. I soon found out I ltas a flop at selting life lnsurance and gave iE up.

Ileanwhlle we were working on the deal Eo open the shoe store. After Ehe bulldlng and loan approved the loan, we rented a sEore bulldlng wlth elghEeen- foot frontage ln the loo block of East }latn SEreet and began contactlng shoe factorles for dealershlps. i{e flnally declded on the tsuster Brown ltne of chlldrents shoes and the llne of menrs and women's shoes maae Ly Ehe same company. Thls was a franchise deal1 and they had field t.pt.""r,tatives to set up buylng gutdes and accountlng and tnventory procedures. gur original order was for 91'500 worth of shoes. l{e held back g500 out of Ehe g2r000 borrowed for shelves and flxtures for Ehe new store.

That anount of money would not go very far today, but prices rrere very mrch lower Ehen. r.iany sEyles in aduit snoes sold foi-g2.gg; and I Ehrnk 90

Ehe hlghesE prlced shoes we had were $4.95, Such a llniEed lnventory did make lE hard to do enough buslness to nake a llvlng for Ewo famllies. The average rate of turnover for shoe sEocks is about three tines a year and our volume was llmlted by the small lnvenEory. But we kept shoes coming. Every nlght we would order slzes to replace the ones sold Ehat day. Leon was dranlng Ewenty dollars a week, and I vas trying Eo ltve off what the PaPers made and thoughE we were dolng fairly well. Our books showed Ehe sEore was naklng a lttEle money, and lre were butldlng lnventory slowly. Brown Shoe Company allowed us a small line of credlt.

Early in 1936 the Nlodel-A Ford began Eo show Ehe lr€ar and Eear of the paper route, and I decided lE would be cheaper Eo buy a new V-8 lnsEead of paying so nuch for repairs. The car selected nas a plaln black ttio-door sedan El'raEsold for $695. f traded ln our old i,iodel-A and pald a few dollars cash. The Ford dealer agreed to take out Ehe rest In Erade frorn Ehe shoe stor€-- Er deal which we boEh later regretted. They were Ehe hardest people to flt Ehat I ever saw and it took a loE of Elme and a lot of patlence on both our parEs before lE was over.

Later, ln the sutnmer of 1936, calarnlty struck shen the Brown Shoe Company field nen ran an lnventory on our stock and audiEed Ehe books. The actual physlcal lnventory showed we had over a Ehousand dollars less stock Ehan Ehe books showed. fhere lras no way of knowing how the shortage canre about, but no matter hos it happened lt put me ln Ehe poslElon where I could not only lose the store, but could also lose my home whlch had been put up as securlEy for the $21000 borrowed money. Instead of havlng a blgger lnventory as the books showed, Ehere rras actually less Ehan we started wlthr and I owed Brown Shoe Company several hundred dollars for shoes Ehey had shtpped on credlto r was stunned beyond beltef by the si EuaElon faclng nre.

Brown Shoe Conpany demanded that I puc another g500 in cash lnto the buslness and Ehat I take charge of Ehe store full tlrne. That meant I would have to turn most of the paper routes over to the boys. I.lhere to get g500 was the questton. It could not be an lncumbrance wlth clatm on shoes lnven- Eory. Again, CrandnoEher came to the rescue. she agreed Eo loan me the cash wlth payments spread over a number of years. I paid Leon two weeks wagesr and he left for Jefferson. IE was going to be a hard old flght wtth a very shorE sttck, but r was determlned to flghc tE out ln sptEe of the fact that I had never ltked to sell shoes. fn fact I had avoided the shoe departuent of the Bass Brothers SEore whenever posslble. But I had done the buylng wlEh Leonrs help most of the time. Irly total Eaxable earnlngs for 1936 were $360 accordlng Eo an old 1040 r.po"t in ny files. ThaE lncluded what I had slade by getEtng up at 5:30 for mornlng paper deliverles, what was made on evenlng roules as well as Ehe loss ln the score.

I think lt was thls sarne year Ehat wood shingles on the l,lorgan Avenue home began Eo leak, and I had to make a g500 home lnprovenent loan Eo repalr the roof and make oEher needed lmprovements. It seems unbellevable today, 91

r roof buE had a 12 by 20 foot te housel had Etro coats of good rooms lnslde the house repapered. r nas enclosed by windows and ls lrank used lt for hls bedrooi long

Later in 1936 I was suddenly Eold that the turnlng over @ rors rts paper rouEes to someoneelse--or possibry later. rt was a year I renenber Grandmother Thomsonworkrng wrth evening the boys on the routes for several months after I begJn glvrng store. furr Erne to the

i sEory should be tol.d here too. r $300 lnvolce due Brorrn Shoe Company lf patd tn thtrty days or was net I had my checklng account ' and showed ln sEock and asked to borrow g300 rt. I thought the banker lras a ad taught school together, we had wo boys and Frank often played on Elme. I had not been a cusconer k closed. As a result, he told me ther-ln-lan to slgn the note wtEh me. rty Bonds stored ln thelr vault. E rras noE a good enough loan for a Ete poor vldow, and he could just

s sttll funrlng. Leon was talklng to rff. f saw hln scrlbbltng on sorn€_ rne a check for $300. He Eold ne Eo that I could geE the money, I pro- rney and dld noE really have to have iE. rt he had turned htn down the week hungry.rf Dr. prldgen had enough rt llttle bank lf he so deslred, and rk ln San Antonlo offering him a llne rok the check back Eo the bank and I lras second ln conmand ln Ehe bank me I needed money. There was never toans after that. I never forgot

ely aE work ln Ehe church as Sunday sor of the youth fellowshlp. The 92 canp from Ehe bank EhaE handled the church accounE had alloved hln to overdraw hls accounE when necessary. lilhen he rtrote a few checks around to\.n the bank Eurned thern down, and I began Eo get complaints. I contacEed a few of our best glvers and goE enough money Co cover hls overdrafts and asked hlm to please let sre know ln the future when he had Eo have rlor€lr I pronlsed I would get lt for hln even lf Ehe treasury was bare. He was jusE as embarrassed as I was and made an excellent pasEor.

As superlnEendenE of Sunday School I was forEunaEe ln havlng very capable dlvlslon superlntendents, and the work sent off srnooEhly. It was never easy to geE Eeachers, and very few Sundays passed Ehat I dld not have to teach a classr At Ehat tlme all classes nec for openlng exerclses ln the church senctuary for devottonal exerclses before classes' It was my custom to tead EhaE servtce.

When deallng wlth a group of children you can expect the unexpected. One Sunday norning afEer singlng a fewsongs I had jusE asked EhaE we bow our heads in prayer. At just Ehat momenEa snall boy bursE through Ehe back door. He was a neighbor who llved across the sEreet from me and who often followed me around as I did yard work. ilhen he saw rIE up there he greeted me wlth a hearty, 'rHl, i.ir. Bassr" and proceeded bliEhely Eo his seat. It broke up the dignity of the servlce, but no harm was done. As f led the stnging I usually walked back and forth across ln fronE of Ehe audlence trylng to urge each group to sing. One ltEEle glrl afEer gettlng home one day asked her rnother, r'l{hy does I'lr. Bass march up and down saying, t246'?tt ThaE made me a bit self-consclous, after I heard abouE it, about walklng back and forth. 0n another occaslon when I was walking in front of the storer I saw a llEtle chlld about four or flve years old wavlng at r;e from a parked car and yelllng, "H1." When I noticed hls aEtenElon I went over to Ehe car and told hln I beE he dldn't know who I was. He replled, "Yes, I do. You are.Ehe man that preaches at our Sunday School.r'

AnoEher lncldenE that I remember from about Ehls Elme took place ln a class of lnter:nedlat'e boys whlch I was Eeaching in the pastorrs study. I. had been called from the class momentarlly to solve some problem ln my capac- lty as superintendent. When I sEepped back into the room I heard one of the twelve-year-olds say to another, ttYou meet me aC Ehe corner afEer church, and I'11 show you who ls a slssy." It took a ltttle dlgglng to flnd out what Ehat was all about. I finally found thaE sosre of the boys had started pastlng pages togeEher ln some of the pastorrs books. When one boy protested that lt vasnr E rlghEr another boy called hlm a slssy. I donr E Ehink he had to prove he was noE a slssy. The other boys knew what he could do with his fl s Es.

The youth fellowshlp (formerly Epworth League) was very acElve during thls tlne. I was not only local councllor buE had the same Eask for Ehe dlstrict. Once a quarter we would have dlstrlct rneetlngs of all Ehe groups in Ehe dlstrlct. That group usually fllled the sanctuary of the church where Ehe gGeEing was held. This gave the local group a chance to see that the fellow- ship was nuch larger Ehan each local group and gave a chance to exchange ldeas as well as to worship together. It also enEailed quite a blt of travel 93 as the meetlngs rotated EhroughouEthe dlstrlct. We had two dlfferenE memberselecEed Eo serve as president of the distrlct group durlng Chat time. I can remember&oing to some of Ehese meetings in Ehe 1930 &lodel-A Ford and some ln the 1936 V-8. Oeveral sunmers we had dlstrtct encampnents lastlng several days at Ehe Baptlst encampmentgrounds at Palaclos. The housing was crude and mosquitoes sonctlmes were flerce ln the open pavilionr buE the fellowshlp was rrarn and meetlngs very lnsplratlonal. One of Ehe glrls goE to calllng rne by rny first name. Apparently she wanted a little more personal relaEionshlp--possibly to get marrled. Her home 11fe nas nade mlserable by an alcoholic father. One day a daughEer of our pastor rebuked her for calllng ne "biyron.r' She replled by saying I was not much older Ehan they r{€r€o The preacherrs daughter sald, i'l'iaybenot, but hers sElll }ir. Bass to Ill€.tt

As I wrlEe Ehls, lt Ls early January 1985. I am well inEo my elghty- fourEh year, and I flnd my memory is gettlng a blE fuzzy as Eo the sequence of evenEs. I see I have written about some 1936 happenlngs. Frank nust have been in the third or fourEh grade by now. i{e always dld well in school but dtd not make outstandlng grades. He was also Ehe reclplent of several good clttzenship awards. It rnust have been whlle he was in Ehe flfES or slxth grade that Cuero schools hlred a band lnsEructor and Frank joined Ehe band, He enjoyed the band and liked Eo go on Erlps wlEh Ehea to ball games. I belleve he had a ErumpeE. As soon as he goE old enough to play fooEball, he qulE Ehe band ln favor of the sporto He also took plano lessons about Ehls tlme from a I'lrs. North. Hls grandmother helped Eo buy a pretty good plano for $50 which would probably cost at leasE ten Eimes 'Ehat much now. He llked the muslc lessons buE was not wlld about practlcing. For Ewo or Ehree years we endured the reciEals flE on by !1rs. North's pupils. Frankts playlng sounded about as good as the rest of then Co me. I an glad he had enough nnrslc to learn to read mrslc and know someEhlng about ltr whlch ls more than I can do. Grandmother was able to get her rioney back ouE of the plano when he flnally gave lt up.

When he was about ten or eleven years old he wanted a blcycle very much, but I was stlll Eoo broke to afford one. Again Grandmother came ln handy. He had sone savlngs, and she cane across wlEh the rest to buy a very good one aE l{estern Auto store. Its was a little heavy and blg for hirn, but he learned to handle it and finally grew blg enough to flt it. One mlsEake I made was doing all the repalrs on it when sonethlng wenE wrong, As a result he dtd not learn the rnechanlcal skllls Ehat he should have picked up at Ehat €18€. Why should he when I dld everythlng for htrn?

The shoe store bustness gren very gradually and by the early 1940s lnventory had lncreased Eo where f was rnaklng a half-way decenE llvlng and naking payments Eo reduce old debts. I could have made more working for wages lf I had a good job but wasto lnvolved by thls tlne to geE out wiEh- out takinC a iblg loss.

',ihen Frank was ln the sixEh and seventh grade a junior school football team Ehat had unlforms and played out of Eown schools was organlzed. I had always been a nut about football and may have pushed hlm lnto iE a blt. llowever, he seerned to like lE and worked very hard aE lt. He was growing 94

tall buE was very slender. By Ehe tlne he was ln hlgh school he was about as Eall as he ls now (5'11" I thlnk), but he Just welghed llg lbs. The coachr Eddte Shlnnr was a good coach and a Chrlstlan genEleman who had a deflnlte lnfluence for good on all of hls players, Frank dld noE nake Ehe flrst team as a sEarter, buE he got Eo play enough quarters to earn his lecter ln Ehe freshrnan !€afo He gained sonre welght and nore skill and was a starter ln most ganes after his freshman year, earnlng four football letters. He lras a team captaln his senlor !€aro He also leEtered ln baskeEball, baseball, and track,

As a student he nade B and C grades wiEh apparently little effort. I have often sald lf he ever brought a book home whlle he was ln hlgh school r never caught hlm wlth one. Apparently he was brlght enough Eo prepare hls lessons durlng study perlods at school. He was able to help n€ at the store some durlng surm€r and some saturdays. He l'as very good help, but I could tell lt bored hlm Eo death.

Before hls junlor year sEarted the Japs attacked at Pearl Harbor, and the war began. l"lr' Shlnn had gone to Vlctorla College Eo coach, and the Cuero superlntendenE had noE enployed a coach for that leorr lle had also cancelled all out-of-Eorm games because wartlme raElonlng nade lE tllegal to use school buses to transport players. Three of us parenEs who had boys on the squad Ehought lt was unfalr to deprlve the klds of a rlght Eo play and posslbly cost Ehe scholarshlp to college. lle wenE before Ehe school board and persuaded them Eo relnstate Ehe program lf we would guarantsee EransPortation. But slnce scheduled games had been cancelled almost aII games had to be played ouE of torrno i{e managed Eo serounge enough gas ratlon stamps to get Ehen to every gameo I belleve they won the dtstrlct thaE year. nath A teacher who had never coached acted as head coach, but Ehe klds won mosEly on what Ehey had learned from Shtnn Ehe prevlous yeers.

I belleve tt'!tas at mldEerrn 1943.that Frank graduaEed and went to Rlce on a football scholarship. Coaches Jess I.IeetAy and Joe Davls agreed Eo glve him a Erlal slnce so many upperclassmen had gone tnro Ehe armed forces. He just welghed 165 lbs' buE had never been hurt enough to leave a game during hlgh school. But iE lras noE rn Ehe cards for hlm to ptay aE Rlce, Hrs grades were not qulte good enough to make hlm ellglble Eo play Ehat fall. I have always wondered lf they iteered hlm lnto sone courses too advanced to when Ehey saw Pass how sma1l he was. For lnstance they let him reglster for a second year language class when he had not had the ftrst y""r. ;;--- enllsted ln the us Navy alr crew tralnlng progran that fa1l wlEh a promlse that he would gec at least Ewo years Eralnlng tn thts country. They rnade me thaE prornlse before I slgned the papers. He was stlll under elghteen and had to have my consenE.

l'ieanshtle back aE the ranch--rather, the shoe store--thrngs were changlng. A prlmary fllght tralnlng school had been started near cuero, That brought several students, lnstructors, and fasrllles Eo Cuero. That brought a big change ln retall business, Shoes were ratloned, wtEh nany stamps Just so Per Person. Prlce controls were puE tnto effect, and g"oJ-"ho", becane hard to get. The harder lt ls Eo get sorrethtng, the nc,re man wants lt, 95

IE got to where we could sell anything we got to sell, and people nanaged to get slamps for what they needed. Buslness was better than iE had ever been. For once I had nore money ln the bank Ehan I could spend for lnven- toryr A11 my old debts were pald off, and I felt free agaln.

I remember an lnterestlng event connected wlth ratlonlngo The firsE shoe stanp had a maEurlty date. IE would not be good after that daEe. That created a mad scramble. One old lady spent several hours trylng on shoes and could not find one Ehat would even go on her footo In spite of EhaE, 'ilhen she finally said she would Eake a certaln pair. I asked why she dld not leave lE for someone who could wear ltj she said she dld not want to lose her stamp and thaE she would sell lt to sornebody thaE could wear lt.

When I began to show a little slgn of prosperiEy I began getElng appolnEed Eo Chanber of Couurerce jobsp ScoutmasEer jobsr school boardr eEc. They provlded some very lnterestlng experiences. Selectlon as a dlrector of Cuero Federal Savlngs and Loan Assoclatlon proved Eo be one of Ehe most lnEeresElng and lucratlve of these extracurrlcular actlvities.

I DR.FRANK M. BASS EO23 HIGH PLACE CIRCLE DALLAS. TEXAS 75240

TELEPHONE 2 I 1.386.9 I 4''

it'ovember 18, 19E6

Olivia c1eVaux Avenue 905 E. ir'iorgan'l795Lf Cuero, Texa-s Dear Olivia:

I heve enclosed two coPies of Dadd.yI s memoirs. You can pass one of tkiem alonq to Kent. I have mailed coples to Ji-irurryr l,rilton and KerrrrY.

I hope you have been feeling better. f imagine the ain conditioner has been fj-xed' and. rEturned by nolv. I doubt that ;you will need. lt in the near futurer but it vrould be nice to have it available.

Ilave 'irou n+eieci ihe heat yet? lile h-ave had a col-d' 'r';armed spe1l herer but ii; has up a65ain norr'

Let us hear.

Love t !r.,,^'*.{.' Frank