Bonnie Jo Waggoner
    Bonnie Jo Waggoner was born October 16, 1924, at Dimmitt, Texas in Castro County.  She is the fourth child of John and Reina Mae Waggoner.
    Bonnie married Olin Jessie Johnson on June 19, 1943, at Tahoka, Texas. Olin's parents were Jess Troman and Cora Lee Petty Johnson.  Olin died November 21, 1983, at Lamesa, Texas.  He is buried at Tahoka.  To this marriage were born two daughters; Oleda Jo (born April 1, 1944) and Cora Jean (born January 26, 1946).  Both girls were born at Tahoka.
    Oleda married Edward Benton Merrick (born August 6, 1935) on January 25, 1970 at Lamesa.  To this marriage were born two children; Cynthia Ann (born February 1, 1971, at Vernon, Texas) and Michael Edward (born April 1, 1974, at Rotan, Texas).  Edward is the son of Jess Malign and Elizabeth Elaine dinkins Merrick.  He was born at Stanton, Texas.
    Cora Jean married Larry Morris Lonis ( born February 12, 1943, at  (     ) on September 22, 1975, at Lubbock, Texas.  Larry is the son of Henry C. and Morene Lonis.
    Bonnie married again on January 30, 1985,in Lamesa to Johnny Newton Sanford (born August 23, 1915,at Tolar, Texas in Hood County).  J. N. has two daughters, five grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
    I remember living in Vernon on Lexington Street.  My brother, J. L., Jr., and I were under the dining room table eating a raw sweet potato.  My little sister, Mattie Faye, was born in another room at this time.  I don't remember much about her for awhile.
    One day a negro in overalls came to the house and I was the only one at the house, except Mattie Faye.  When I answered the door, the negro asked for something to eat.  I told her we just had some black-eyed peas and corn-bread.  It is then that the negro started laughing.  Seems like this "negro" was my half-sister playing a joke on me.  When this happened I was about four or five years old.
    We had an old man to come by with a horse-drawn ice cream wagon.  The ice cream he sold had to be dipped by hand and every time he dipped up some ice cream he would lick the spoon.  Our nickname for him was "old spoon licker".
    I do remember getting to ride in our four door Model T Ford.  Daddy took us for a ride and Mother was home doing work for someone.
    Vaguely, I can remember playing with one of the twins, Oleta.  She was so sweet.  Because my birthday was in October, I was seven before I got to go to school at Sunny Side School near Dimmitt.  The bus came by very early one morning and I had to go to school without combing my hair.  We lived in the same two room house that the twins were born in at Dimmitt.
    Sue was born when I was eight years old.  Gladys and Nannie Lee and their families lived in some small houses near us.  These may have been chicken houses.  We  kids were sent to Gladys's house and Sue was born that night.  It was January 22, 1932.
    Grandma and Grandpa Waggoner lived a mile or two south of us and we really enjoyed walking to see them.  One day "Sis" (Lillie Belle) pulled a little red wagon with Sue and Mattie Faye.and I pushed.  Not paying any attention to what was going on, we passed over or beside a rattlesnake. We were sure glad Jr. was walking along side of us.
One day at Pie Town, Jr. and I were walking to the mail box--which was about three miles.  As it was cold, I had on my old black coat, but no shoes.  Walking along, Jr. didn't say anything but he climbed up an old tree and hollered "Wolf!".  I jumped up and reached for the nearest branch--wrapping my legs around the limb.  But there was my coat—it was hanging down so the wolf could get it.  I cried, "The wolf is going to get my coat."  Jr. got tickled and fell out of the tree and couldn't get back up. He convinced me there was no wolf and I came down.  He was always playing little tricks like this.
    Jr., Mattie Faye and I would walk after the cows in the evening.  It was always difficult to find the cows as there was a whole section of pasture land on which to look for them.  One thing that did help was that one of the cows wore a bell.  Lots of times when we were out we would get cedar bark, crumple it in brown paper and then smoke it like a cigarette.
    Out where we lived was a good place to find arrowheads; and we found alot of them.  Sometimes when we were in the woods, Sis's little dog Sport or one called Bulger would walk so close to us that we couldn't walk without tripping over him.  This was usually a signal that some kind of wild animal was close.  Once when Cleatus was robbing a pack rat's nest for pinion nuts. Sport kept staying right with him.  Cleatus looked up just in time to see a big black wolf.  Needless to say, he ran all the way home. Sport found his way through the brush fence and they both got home safe. Our entire 640 acres was fenced with brush and trees and limbs that Dad and the family cut while clearing the land.  We just drug them to the property line; only the cattle guard was left open.
    One day Sis's boyfriend and some other guys came by in a Model A Coupe. All of us little kids climbed all over the car while Sis was talking to her boyfriend.  All the kids wore long-handle underwear and overalls.  To finish out my outfit I had a little red tam that I wore all the time.
    We were living in Dimmitt when Sis was riding a horse.  She and the horse failed to make a jump together and Sis fell off on to a fence post. She had a bad rupture, but she didn't want to tell Dad.  She just wore a truss until she started having bad headaches.  Dad had to take her to have the hernia fixed.
    We didn't go to the doctor very much, but t remember being real sick and the doctor giving me alot of castor oil.  I got real weak and skinny. Once Mattie Faye got a piece of glass in her hand and she went to the doctor to get it out.
    I guess "Skeets" and Jr. stayed out alot with Dad as I don't remember much about them except they pestered Sis alot.
    Gladys's daughter, Elsie, and I used to fight alot.  I can remember Elsie letting the air out of the car tires on our 1928 Ford Coupe (with a rumble seat) that we called "Blue Bird".  Anyway, she blamed it on me. I can't remember how now, but I didn't get punished for it.  Another time Mattie Faye and I hid in the rumble seatand closed the lid.  While we were  in there, John Molar and Dad drove the car to Uncle Norman's store.
    When we lived at Pie Town, I can remember Mother sitting up a pinion pine tree with Sue in her lap putting a handle in the grubbing hoe with a hammer.  Sue stuck her finger between them and she still has a split end on her fore finger.In the evenings, lots of times we would chase bats around and around the outside of the house.
    One winter, Jr. and Cleatus got the "itch" (Scabies--a communicable disease caused the itch mite).  They would put the red liniment on themselves and would run around the house a few times in the snow--wearing their long-handle underwear.  This was to help cool off the liniment before going to bed.  I remember, in the dug-out where the kids slept, I wanted to sleep with my brothers, Cleatus and Jr.  They didn't want me to, but I did some times go to sleep across their feet.  Lillie Belle, Mattie Faye, Sue and I slept in the same bed.
    Sometimes Mattie and I would get to. go walking with Dad.  When we came to the cattle guard, we would each hang on his arm and hold up our feet and let him carry us across.
    On our homestead, Dad dug for water but never found any.  So, we had to haul water from Pie Town in the summers.  In the winters we used a sled in the snow to haul water.  One day we saw Dad coming with a load of water in barrels.  The barrels were covered with ducking material placed over the tops.  Being in the winter, the water was being hauled on the sled. The team of horses pulling it had a run-a-way.  Dad sure had some kind of a rough ride.  The team didn't stop until they got home.  Dad was glad he only lost some of the water and the barrels were still standing.  Dad had alot of experience with horses and mules and he was good at using them. One thing he hated was a balking horse or mule.  While in Greens Gap, New Mexico  we lived near a saw mill at which Dad and Jr. worked.  They were building the big log house and the horse Dad was working started balking. He tied that horse to the fence and hit him across the nose.  His nose bled and Dad put some snuff on it.  There was never anymore trouble out of that horse.
    My Grandpa Waggoner tried to make me eat right handed.  My food would usually all wind up on the floor.
    I can remember Cletus had an accident and a tree fell on him.  As I recall, it crushed some of his vertabrae.
    Dad, Sis, Cletus and Jr. cleared a hundred acres of land at Pie Town for farm land.  As it didn't rain very much out there, we only made one crop.  We would come back to Texas and Oklahoma in the fall to pick cotton and to buy staples to take back to the homestead.  Our mail box was about two miles from where we lived and to the main highway.  Jr. and I walked to the mail box about two or three times a week—this is how often the mail ran.
    I believe it was in 1933 when we moved back to Vernon—after we had been to Pie Town—because of Daddy and Mother's health.  Anyway, I know Dad had prostrate surgery six times and had a kidney stone that passed and cut an artery. He had emergency surgery.  Mother's health was failing and her heart got bad.  The doctors then didn't know what they know now about treating her.  Mother's 'health continued to keep her down, although we continued moving back and forth from Texas to Pie Town.  Then on February 9, 1937, Mother died.  She was buried in Wichita Falls beside her mother, daddy, brother and sister.  At this time. Dad was still recovering from surgery. Lillie Belle (Sis) took us to Los Angeles, California with her.  Dad came for us when he had his strength back.  Sis already had Cletus with her and now she had Jr., Mattie Faye, Sue and myself.
    In Vernon, we lived across from Parker School on Olive and Violet Street, Jr., Mattie Faye, Sue and I were home a lot alone.  Jr. worked at the newspaper office at night and made $2.50 a week.  We stayed home good, like we were suppose to, but as with all kids we were alittle mischievious.  For some reason I wasy always getting my nose blooded.  I don't remember doing anything wrong, but I remember a big girl threw a goard and hit me in the nose—which made it bleed.  Then, on the school yard, several kids were together with the same girl and they hit me in the nose.  Once again my nose started bleeding.  Another time my nose started bleeding while Jr. was pushing me in our little red wagon.  The kids saw us and really embarrassed Jr., and he said, "Now look what you did!".  The kids were laughing at us. Jr. probably would have gotten them if there hadn't been so many or them. I do remember throwing a tin can at a boy we knew and cutting his face— I wasn't very proud of this.  We grew up in one piece somehow.
    I have fond memories of my growing up even if we had some rough times. We had a good home life.  Daddy and Mother were good people and took good care of us.  I always felt safe at home.
Going back to Pie Town, we slept with the doors open and there were no screens on the doors or windows.  At times, small bears would come into the house hunting for food.  Mother would be alarmed, but Daddy told her not to get up and to stay very still.  Mother was always afraid the bear would go down in the half dugout where five or six of us kids slept.
    After Mother died, Daddy would buy our clothes when we were in Pie Town.  Once he bought me a pair of size 6 shoes and I wore a 7 or 7-1/2.  They were too small, but I had to wear them for a year anyway.  I still have problems with corns on my little toe.
    When we moved to Tahoka, Daddy did most of the cooking.  One meal that he fixed was chili, pork and beans and fried potatoes.  He thickened everything with corn meal.  This particular night, we had company—a girlfriend of mine.  We were afraid she wouldn't like it, but I never saw anyone enjoy eating any more than she did.
    I had friends over from time to time, but it was hard for me to spend the night with anyone.  Early the next morning I would get up and get home before breakfast.
    Downtown in Tahoka one day I was standing beside the drug store talking to a friend and I saw Jr. coming down the street in his old Plymouth car and he was really speeding.  The windows were down and his hair was blowing in the wind.  Then I noticed a police car chasing him.  Talking to my friend I said, "I wonder what that policeman is doing chasing Jr?"  I thought Jr. could do no wrong.  I asked him later what had happened.  He said the police told him to get that old smokey car out of town.  What I didn't know was that Jr. gave the police quite a bit of trouble.  Jr. told me when we were grown that he had spent several weekends in jail.
    Back in Vernon, after Mother had died. Mattie Faye and I had to do the laundry on the rub board and with a bar of P & G soap.  She was only 10 years old then.  It took so long to do the laundry one day, that it was time for me to go start dinner and I told her to rub the clothes while I was gone.  Well, when I came back out she was playing dolls.  Oh, yes, the dinner I fixed—which was a first time—was mashed potatoes that I poured into a platter.  We also took turns washing dishes.  Sometimes Mattie Faye would hide some of the dirty dishes under the wood stove.
    Not too long after we moved to Tahoka, I married Olin at the office of the Tahoka Courts Motel by Rev. Aurther E. Brown.  He was the manager of the courts and the pastor of the Assembly of God Church.  Olin's dad and a couple of friends attended our wedding on June 19, 1943, at 7:30 P.M. Olin was a private First Class in the Air Force and was stationed in Pampa, Texas.  We only got to be together a couple of weeks at a time or until money ran out and I would catch a bus back to Tahoka.  I stayed with his folks most of the time.  Then Oleda was born.  At this time, Olin made $32.00 a month, so I could only live in Pampa for awhile.  Twenty-one months later, Cora Jean was born.  We were then transferred to Enid, Oklahoma.  In 1945 the war was over and Olin was transferred to Randolph Field in San Antonio, Texas.  He received his honorable discharge December 10, 1945 .  Olin was born in Hillsboro County, Texas.
Olin came to Tahoka on January 1, 1946.  We farmed the north side of his Dad's land.  We had been on the farm 26 days when Cora Jean was born. It was a dry land farm and a drought in the early 50s made farming hard.
    In 1955 we moved to O'Donnell, Texas and bought a house and completely remodeled it.  We sold it in 1958 and bought 26-1/2 acres of land.  We moved in an old house and completely remodeled this one, too.  We lived here until 1963 and then sold our house and land and moved to Lamesa on May 20, 1963.  June 19, 1968, we sold this home and took off with a 1963 Pontiac, a new 22 foot camping trailer, a wheel barrow and an ice cream freezer. We just traveled that summer.  On our journey, we went to Oregon to see Sis and Oliver.  Then in February of 1969, we bought some vacant lots--six in all—and put in a Mobile Home Park there in Lamesa.  We retired May 15, 1983.

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Clifton Waggoner
Clifton Waggoner was the third child and first son of John L. and Josephine.  He was born November 8, 1904, at a farm near Soonover, Texas in Hopkins County.  Cliff was the first of three sets of twins.  There is 15 minutes between he and his twin, Claude.  He married Faye Edmonson, who is the daughter of John Alexander and Mary Jane Higgins Edmonson, on August 25, 1925.  They are of Irish descent.  Two children were born to this marriage: Margaret Josephine and Billy Gene.
    Margaret Josephine was born October 30, 1927, at Vernon, Texas.  She died December 25, 1969, in Electra, Texas of diabetes.  She married William R. Weathersby, the son of Marie Christina Neilson (Danish-Swedish descent).  Her father was [________] Weathersby.  Josephine "Jo" and Bill had two daughters: Rene Jill "Kissie" and Dana Chris.  Rene Jill was born December 12, 1949, in Electra, Texas.  She married Ronald Bledsaw (born                  at                ).  They had three children:  Ronald Craig (born January 15, 1969 ), Mathew Shane (born July 1, 1976) and Amie Christine (born May 4, 1967).  All three children were born in Tulsa, Oklahoma.  Dana Chris (born May 28, 1955 at Witchita Falls, Texas) married                  (born              at           ) on        at                .  They had         children.
    The second child of Cliff and Faye was Billy Gene (born January 8, 1930 at Electra, Texas).  He married Louadah Gimlin (born December 15, 1933 at        )on September 1, 1951 at Yuma Arizona.  She is the daughter of Palmer and Grace Marrow Gimlin of Electra, Texas.  To this marriage were
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to protect the rig and contents.  Therefore, he and his family went to this small settlement called, Newton, Texas, as a guard.  They decided to enjoy the freedom of the outdoors and cooked over a campfire.  They had a large hay trailer with a top over it for shade in the daytime or night cover and beds at night.  Staying out like this, they all were really suntanned.
    January, of 1933, was very cold and windy.  Cliff, Faye and two small children (Jo and Gene) moved to Pie Town from Vernon.  They moved into the house with Cliff's mom and dad.  Already in the small log cabin were eight people; now there were 12.  Dad said they would build Cliff and Faye a log cabin as there was lots of timber and brush.  Dad and Clifton went to the saw mill in the Dodge truck to haul the split tree halves and slabs.  Dad, Clifton, Charlie, Bud, John, Cletus and Jr. all helped.  Faye had to drive four mules on the north side of the house.  There were used to pull the long ridge pole up.  All hands were helping.  Thirty foot peeled logs were used to build the roof.  Dirt, grass, gravel and whatever were used to fill the cracks.  The windows were small slabs that opened out and, were proped open with a stick on leather hinges.  A 55-gallon drum converted into a heating stove.  A small four-eyed cookstove set on a large wooden box.  It had a tiny oven and fire box.  The table and benches were built from smooth slabs.  Doors were made of slab lumber with leather hinges.  There were dirt floors that they wet with water  and would become as hard-as concrete. You could then sweep them with a broom.  There was a bench built beside the heating stove with pillows on it which made it very comfortable.  As there were no screens on the doors and windows, when they were open you had to watch for deer, coyotes or other wild animals as they would jump into the house through the window.    
    The children would try to have kittens to play with, but the owls would carry them off.  Keeping chipmunks, squirrels or other small animals out of the house was constant work.  Dad saw that everything was built for warmth—keeping out the snow or rain in the cracks  of the house.
    Every drop of water we used had to be hauled.  They decided to try to drill.  A drilling unit was rigged up using one of the back wheels of the truck for a pulley with the engine running it.  He drilled several holes, quite deep, but found no water and gave up drilling.
    Ice, food, fuel and water were carried to them by company employees. Cliff took time to kill rattlesnakes—and there were some big ones, too—also rabbits and birds.  This was quite a good experience for the kids.
    Clifton had to go to this small town of Pie Town to do the family shopping.  There was a general store where you bought clothes, food, gasoline or whatever you needed.  In February, 1933, Clifton took his family with him to town.  Josephine, and Billy Gene were both blonde and curley headed.  Jo was four and Gene was two.  While Faye and Clifton were in the store shopping, the kids were left in their Dodge sedan.  While Clifton and Faye were trying on shoes, some Indians were going to the commissary for supplies.  They stopped in Fie Town to get food and gas.  The Indians got out of the transort and were all over town.  Being fascinated by the car, they were all over it.  All this commotion awakened the sleeping children.  Being frightened, they began to cry.  The Indians wanted the little blonde girl with the blue eyes.
    Riding horseback to Pie Town, which was seven and a half miles, was a nice outing if one had a saddle to use and if the horse hadn't been trained to jump cattle guards and brush fences.  Gladys, Nannie Lee and Gladys's two girls, Beatrice and Else, were out gathering nuts in the woods.  They
were robbing a packrats nest of nuts, when, over the ridge they could see what looked like feathers of an Indian.  They could see these "feathers" moving behind a fallen tree.  Being frightened, the girls ran to their horses to ride away when they looked back and saw it wasn't Indians or feathers, but it was wild hogs.  Their ears were sticking up above the tree.
    Dad said they would just try farming and hunting.  Corn, beans, squash and other vegetables that had a short growing season were tried.  We had a good supply of small game.  Dad, Charlie, Clifton and Uncle Otis would go different places hunting and trading.   This way they met lots of people and learned how others got by..  A large deer would not last long with so many of us to feed.
The domesticated animals were always thirsty and kept someone busy hauling water.  Of course, Reina had a time with water herself with so many to cook and wash for.  She had a huge range in the kitchen with a water reservoir and a warming place on the top.  Trying to keep wood, water and extra food cooked ahead was a full time job.
    Sewing, cooking, training children, keeping them in school and Sunday School left very little time for rest for a rather thin woman with beautiful brown hair, large lovely eyes and a welcome smile that was full of love and understanding to any and all.  She was never too busy or too tired to stop and pick up a little one or help Dad in his many chores.  A mother in every sense of the word.  No one had time or maybe a thought of how many steps she took or all the things she did.  Could there ever be enough love or compassion for a lady such as she?  Yes, she held a very big family together.  I, for one, hope her reward was great when she went to live with Jesus.  Such a gentle person is always a loss to people in this world.
    The open range had wild horses and the men went out whenever possible to catch and break them for their own use or to trade.  So many of these people had homesteads and needed stock for work.  There was always a thrill in the drive and capture of these beautiful ponies.  Most all the horses the Indians had were captured wild and broken.  The Indians usually had horses to trade or sell to the homestead people.  Our families learned how to hunt and trap in different ways.
    On our Mesa, the Indians were friendly.  They expected to be invited to eat or spend a night when passing through.  Our western code was that a family being gone never locked a door.  If a person came by he was welcome to come in and use the fuel, food or beds, but leave them in good condition. Very seldom was this hospitality abused.  The Indians in the area were friendly and helpful.  They taught the different families how to preserve corn. When the milk would form in the young ears, take a board, tin or whatever--even a sharp knife and cut the corn off the cob.  Scatter over this prepared surface and put to dry—turning every 2-3 days.  When all this was completely dry, pack in jars, if possible.  If not, put in tin containers or pack in dried areas in the ground and seal out all air, if possible,  then. when ready to use, take one or two  or more cups of this corn and place in a bowl or stewer and cover with cold water.  Set overnight.  Cook slowly for 35-40 minutes.  This was like eating fresh corn. Also, they took pine-cone nuts, mesquite beans, berries and at times cactus apples and put them all together and beat into a mealey contene; water was added and cooked together to made bread.
    Lots of flowers, some we called weeds, were used for medicine.  Also, the different colored flowers were used to make dyes by boiling them.  This dye was used to dye their threads to be used in hand-woven rugs and things.  All skins were kept and used for their hogans, wigwams or brush homes. Nothing was ever wasted.  On this high Mesa, water was very scarce.  When it rained or snowed, they would keep the run-off because wells or water-holes were far apart.
    Where money and food were both scarce, everyone had a meat pole that reached above the fly-line.  The common fly only goes so high in the air, especially in the mountains.  It made it easier to hang their meat high, out of the reach of flies.
    Even when deer was out of season, a person going outside early in the morning might see a half of a deer swinging high on their meat pole.  No one ever asked questions.
    Everyone appreciated fresh meat and didn't want to get their neighbors, whether they be near or far, into trouble.
    Panthers were very plentiful and they were bad thieves.  Everyone hung their fresh meat of beef or hogs on the outside of the house.  These panthers were large and fierce.  They were seen carrying a side of bacon or a ham in their mouth for a long way and never dragged it on the ground.
    Chickens, young pigs, cats or dogs weren't safe from the panthers and owls (which were also very large) were eaten by them.
    Faye was only 16 years old when she and Clifton married in Vernon. They moved to Dimmitt in the house with his family who lived in an old two-story ranch house. Reina taught Faye how to cook as she had not yet learned.
    There were 11 people co cook and wash for each day.  A large garden that was irrigated from windmills grew lots of healthy vegetables.  Canning of huge tomatoes, corn, beans, okra and peas was also in the teaching. There was also a time to make chocolate fudge, popcorn and taffy.
    Fun to be had and enjoyed without even a radio, TV or record player. But there were neighborhood parties, dances and picnics.  Not all land was under fencing and it was not unusual for cows, sheep or horses to be in your yard when you came out in the morning.
Cooking pumpkin to make pies, in which Reina was so good at making. Also, cheese, vinegar and buttermilk pies and bisquits so big and fluffy they would melt in your mouth.  Of course they were made by hand.  How else?
All of the older Waggoner women were wonderful cooks.  They even compiled a large and very knowledgeable cookbook which sold alot of copies. They had a club in Elliott Community known as the "The Homemakers Cookbook".
At a farm north of Bowie, Pat, Cliff and Jack had the bedroom together and a snake always got in bed with them and they thought it was each other--and would kick each other.  One night they saw it go up in the ceiling corner.  They grabbed a gun and shot the snake and blew the roof off at the same time.  Dad was so mad!
    There was a creek that ran through this farm that was northwest of Bowie.  The boys loved to fish, swim and water the stock from it.  At night they would go coon or possum hunting and at times they had their own horses racing.  It was quite a ways to get on the bus to go to the Bowie school. Later the farm was sold.  Oil was found there and there was great demand for the land.  On this place  were trees that would be used for firewood.
    In New Mexico, between our house and Uncle Otis's, there lived some close friends--Mr. and Mrs. Hull (from Texas, too).  They had a lovely little girl named Nancy and they  ere expecting another baby.  There was no doctor closer than 67 miles.  The neighbor women and friends usually went to help—taking food and bedding--to stay until the baby was born.  So, coming from Uncle Otis's one day with a truck load of fresh water from his windmill, Clifton, Faye and two children, stopped at the Hulls and found they had a new baby girl, but she was not expected to live as she was a blue baby.  So weak, life almost gone, they were trying to find some real whiskey—not moonshine—well, when Cliff and Faye left Texas, her brother Frank had given her a new bottle of bonded whiskey which had never been opened.  They went after this bottle.  A few drops mixed with warm water and sugar were fed to the baby several times a day for three days and nights.  The baby overcame her weakness and was able to nurse and was saved to live a normal life.  Of course, this formed a closer bond of friendship between the two families.
    Cliff and family moved to Electra where they raised their children.  Josephine passed away and is buried in Electra.  Gene and his family live in Lubbock, Texas.  Faye lives in Vernon.  Cliff passed away and is buried in Tahoka, Texas—beside his dad.
      ... [end of Pie Town relevant part of narrative]

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Gladys Louisa Waggoner
    I was born Gladys Louisa Waggoner on October 14, 1902, in Emblem, Texas.  I am the second child of John and Josie Waggoner.  I was raised in Texas.  I went to a ninth grade college in Bowie, Texas.  I considered myself a good Christian and enjoyed helping others.  I loved to go and help the sick.  I rode horseback all over the area doing what I could for people. I had a little medicine bag with maybe jelly, homemade cheese or outgrown clothes always attached to my saddle.  I went into homes with no thought of harm being done to me or having my horse stolen.  There were homes where moonshine whiskey was being made—more of which was drank than sold or traded.
    I married Lenord Harmon (Bud) Molar on June 17, 1919.  Bud was a very big trader and was always on the go after something to feed his family.  He did road work on county roads, hunted wild horses and he would break or train ox sell them.  We came to Pie Town, New Mexico, with nothing to speak of—no worldly goods or money.  Bud worked at cutting timber and clearing land, in saw mills, hunting, trapping and helping me build log fences.  We built a log fence close to the half-dugout home.  I had a garden inside the fence.  Bud brought half wild white faced cows for milk for the family and to make cheese.  He would insist on the calves having half of the milk.  We raised wonderful gardens.  We had large sweet cabbage, carrots, tomatoes and most anything else that had a short growing season.  I made lots of cheese and cream cheese which I put away for trading in the fall.  I traded this cheese to a little man who came to Pie Town.  This little man brought apples and other fruit—some of which was dried.  He also had pot and pans, needles and thread  and other things that were so hard to get because it was so far to where you had to go to get them.  He would take chickens, turkeys, pigs or cheese in trade.  It was hard to buy feed for these animals, but they were a welcome change to our diet.
    Most of our food was beef, deer, antelope, wild hog, turkey and squirrel.  Bud knew people from all over the country—Silver City, New Mexico to Springerville, Arizona; north to Colorado to Socorro, New Mexico and Datil, New Mexico and Horse Springs, New Mexico.  Horse Springs was a meeting place for so many who had homesteads and needed to trade or swap.
    In Datil the big ranch house was the place to gather.  It had a very big dining area with a large table.  In the center of this large table was a lazy-susan.
    This was quite an attract ion for people so far west.  Most of these people had large hunting dogs that were used to hunt bear and other wild animals.  Faye Edmonson Waggoner raised one of these dogs from a pup.  She traded it to Otis Waggoner for a large hog that was ready to butcher.  This was a very welcome change to what they had been eating and it would feed so many.
    We didn't have money to buy barbed wire fencing, so we had to cut down trees and made a brush fence to hold our cows and horses.  Bud was a good hunter and each year at deer season alot of hunters would come out to go with him.  Elsie and I would go with them to do the cooking.  Beatrice didn't like to go so she stayed at home to care for the stock.  They always had cows to milk.
    Bud ran a saw mill which we all worked at.  We cut trees high upon the mountain and pulled them down in a draw with a team of horses.  We loaded them on a wagon and hauled them to the mill.    When Beatrice was 17 she married "Snooks" John R. Whinery.  To this marriage two children were born; Robert Clifford  and Danny Lester.
    On one occasion, while living in the mountains, we lived in a half-dugout with dirt floors.  Beatrice had a white straw hat that she wore to church which she kept under her bed.  She wore it to church one Sunday and while she sat in her pew, she felt something crawling in her hair.  She thought she had lice off the cows while milking.  After church she pulled off her hat and a big black trantuala fell out.
    The Navajos bought pinions from Bud.  He would go to Gallop, New Mexico and bring the Indians back in the truck to pick the pinion nuts.
    The Indians that had babys would carry them on their backs and the ones that were old enough to walk, walked beside their mothers or older families.  They would cut the seat out of the childrens' britches so they wouldn't have to change them.  The squaws sometimes wore four or five skirts at a time.  When one got dirty, instead of taking it off and putting on a clean one, she would just put a clean one on top.
    Beatrice used to have a turquoise ring they made for her.  The Indians would make jewelry out of silver money.  They would cut brush and build a brush circle about seven feet high and twelve to fifteen feet across.  A fire was built in the center and they would sleep around the fire with their feet to the fire.  Sometimes they would have what they called a dance by trotting around the circle while some chanted.  Sometimes we would join them.  It was fun! 'One time one of the Indians tried to trade his sister for Beatrice.
    We didn't have creeks to fish in as there were few springs.  If you drilled a well you would have to go 2,000 feet or more and then you may just get a dry hole.  On our homestead, we didn't have water; neither did John and family.  We had to hall water.  We would load as many barrels in the wagon as we could—which was from six to eight (depending on how long the wagon bed was).
Bud traded  our homestead for the land we built the big log house.  It had a spring on it.  We were so glad to not to have to haul water anymore. On our land we raised cows and horses.  The Allegra and the Sawtooth Mountains were so steep we wouldn't go too high when we were out riding for fun and adventure.
    Beatrice and Snooks' oldest son, Robert, works for the gas company in Hobbs, New Mexico.  He married Shirley M. Davis of Hobbs.  Their four children were Roberta, Robert Lake, Penny and Susie.  They also raised and adopted one of their grandsons.  The second son of Beatrice and Snooks is Danny Lester.  He married Shirlie Kay          of Hobbs.  They had three children: Tammy, Alien and Elsie Mac.  Elsie Mae was born             at
    She married Autry Mosley and they had one son                 .Elsie Mae and Autry divorced and she married Tommy Reighlant on         at                    .  They had     children.

         

John Luther Waggoner, Jr.
    I was born John Luther Waggoner, Jr. on March 12, 1921, at Bugscuffle, Texas.  I am the second son of John Luther, Sr. and Reina Mae Andrews.  On February 14, 1957, I married Marcine King in Electra, Texas.  Marcine was born in the Rocky Point Community of Wichita Falls, Texas on October 4, 1929.  To this marriage two sons and one daughter were born:  John Thurman was born September 25, 1961,  Orrilea was born February 19, 1966 and Travis Wayne was born August 30, 1967.  All three children were born in Wichita Falls.
    Thurman married Terri Elizabeth Johnson on August 16, 1980, at the South Side Church of Christ in Electra, Texas.  Orrilea married Ronald Wayne Thomas at her home north of Electra.  Ronald was born February 26, I960, in Kermit, Texas.  His parents are Jack and Laverne Bowles Thomas.
I did alot of babysitting when I was little.  Also, I carried wood and water and built fires in the house stove or under the wash pot outside. When the lamps needed filling, I filled them. Another chore was to carry out the ashes.  And of course, I did whatever else was asked of me to do. Mother was so sick for  so long that lots of times I helped wash clothes on the rub board.  I spent alot of time in the kitchen, too, as I did most of the cooking and saw that the little girls went to school.
    We traveled back and forth from New Mexico to Texas.  In Pie Town, though, I was afraid to go outside at night into the heavy woods as panthers were very numerous.  What would be so scarry was the big owl screeching overhead at night.
    Mother was so friendly and jolly and was always ready to go or stay. Faye and Cliff married in 1925 and moved from Vernon to Dimmitt.  They moved into the house with Mom and Dad.  Mom had not learned to drive, so, when she and Faye went places to visit, Faye would crank the old "Model T Car". After it was started. Mom would drive.  She would take the three smallest kids when they wanted to go along.  Bonnie was just a baby and barely crawling.  One afternoon they went to visit the Jollys--who had a farm about four or five miles away.  While there, Mrs. Jolly fixed tea cookies and lemonade.  Everyone was having a good visit when they heard Mr. Jolly yelling very loud.  Everyone rushed outside to see what was wrong.  What they saw upon the windmill tower was Cletus  and I.  We were almost to the top where the wheel with long blades was going around very fast.  Everyone was so scared.  Up there we could not hear them yelling at us.  the wind was blowing so hard—as is common on the high plains and the windmill was also very noisy.  Mom handed Bonnie to Faye and up that ladder she went after us. Her skirts were very long and full and the wind was whipping them.  This made it difficult for her to climb, but she still climbed with speed and caught us just before we reached the top.  Then she helped us down. Mr. Jolly asked Mom if she planned to really whop us, but she said, "No, I think they have been punished enough."
    Mom really loved babies alot and she was a devoted mother.  These visits with the neighbors were fun as they always had something that we didn't have.
    I had alot of nightmares and would cry.  After a hard day's work. Dad didn't feel much like listening to me crying in the middle of the night. I got my fanny tanned sometimes for this.
    Dad, Bud and John were having a fight when Charlie Rowland drove up and stopped it.  The fight was caused about a misunderstanding over who owned the truck.
    We built a log house large enough for four families.  It had a sixty foot long gabled roof which made the upper story.  It had double windows only on the back and front with a lean-to type porch.  There was no porch at the back.  The roof was covered with tin.  The kitchen had an eight-burner wood stove with a water resouvior.  Beside the big oven was the fire box.  A shed room was beside the house and there was a bunkhouse for the saw mill help.  The main house had 13 rooms.  We lived there from 1937 to 1939.
    We lived in Zunnie Indian territory.  An old Zunnie that worked at the sawmill asked me to help him get an old car started.  I direct wired the car and the old Indian drove off.  The sheriff came and got the Indian because the car wasn't his, but he was stealing it.  I was sure scared the sheriff was going to get me.
    One Indian, that was a friend of ours, was named Antenito Armiehijo. Once he drove a cow and a calf up to our house to trade for a horse.  He did this because he knew we needed milk.  He rode the old bronc back home. A ranch is named after him at Adams Diggins.
    Cletus and I shared a very pretty horse named Shorty.  Shorty  was very fiesty and loved to run.  He would jump cattle guards, fences and ditches.  He was also good at traveling in the cotton field or wherever. We were so proud of him.
    To help get some of the things we needed, Cletus  and I would hunt rabbits and sell them in Quamada, New Mexico where we would trade for bullets, staples such as salt, pepper, etc. and some candy.  At Pipe Springs we had a big corral for Bud's stock that he used at the sawmills and for riding stock.  There was a pond where Pipe Springs ran into the north tank. It was here that we would get drinking water, before it got to the stock tank.  Before going to school at noon, we had to round up the stock.  Sometimes we would run to school in a deep dry arroyo.  One time I was barefooted and ran around a bend and ran into two lobo wolves.  I ran up the side of a bank and on to school.  After school a friend and T went back and killed them.  Those two hides brought $7.00.  Another time I caught a huge bobcat in a trap.  I tanned the hide myself and swapped it off in Tahoka.  In a bear trap that I had once, a bear that I caught  would set one foot on the trap and pull the other one out.  Once I did catch a bear in my trap.  I found him while out horseback riding.  The horse got scared and I fell off.  Being free, the Bear started after me, but he could not [run] down the hill very fast.  Dad had started to help me, but the bear stopped and ran away.  I had really made him mad by shooting him with a .22 rifle.
    Dad and I were out in the woods one day, when lightening or something started a brush fire.  There was no water for milesaround.  Dad got excited and said "Wet on it Shorty! Wet on it".  I told Dad I had just wet alittle while ago and couldn't right now.  Dad said, "You had better make some water quick or I'll give you a whipping".  I don't know where it came from, but I wet on it and we put out the fire.
    We traded our homestead for 16 acres of land in Tahoka, Texas.  I lived in Tahoka until I volunteered for the army' in 1944.  My basic training was in Ft. Knox, Kentucky and was sent on to Germany.  In Bastrop, Germany the United States was liberating a town.  Once we got there, I needed to go to the bathroom and I stopped at an old store.  The only place I could find to go was a showcase that had some manicans in it.  I went inside and preceded to removed my pants.  Before I could get it taken care of, I fell through a trap door.  I managed to catch myself with my elbows and not fall all the way down.  Unknowing to me, there were German soldiers and civilians down there.  My helmet and gun fell through but my buddy got them for me.  The Germans started laughing and when I held my gun on them to take them prisoner they were still laughing.  I thought I was saying "I'm going to shoot you if you don't come with me".  However, in German, the word shoot and another word sound nearly the same.  One German soldier was laughing so hard that he had to sit down—even if he was going to be shot.
    I received the Purple Heart and the Silver Star, but I threw them away so I could come home.  In Cologne, Germany I was hit by some fragmented heavy artillary shell.  I really didn't know it until I felt something sloshing in my boot.  My leg was badly wounded.
    After the war was over I returned to Electra, Texas where I lived with Clifton and Faye Waggoner.
    My wife, Marcene, and I have three children; two boys and one girl. The boys work with me in the oil business.  I took them out in the oil field where I worked when they were still in diapers.  By the time they began to talk, their first words were the oil field language.  I am ready to retire and turn my oil field business over to the boys.  My daughter is married and lives in Electra.
    Marcene and I live in a large seven room brick house that we bought and remodeled.  I have helped my oldest son drill an oil well and to learn the costs and benefits of the oil business.  My favorite pastimes are hunting and fishing.  I also farm a little of my land near our house and raise a calf or two for eating purposes.  I am looking forward to retirement so I can enjoy my later years.
    John Thurman and Terri are the parents of John Michael Waggoner—born on June 27, 1986, in Witchita Falls.

         

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Mattie Faye Waggoner
    I was born Mattie Faye Waggoner on March 28, 1927, in Vernon, Texas. I am the fifth child of John and Reina Mae Waggoner.
    We moved around alot before I started to school,  I can remember us moving to Pie Town, New Mexico where we lived in a half dugout until our house was built.  It seemed like the house was built such a long way from the dugout.  In reality, it was no more than thirty feet.  Dad, Jr. and Skeets dug a well that was eight or ten feet deep and I fell in it.  It seems that I had a knack for falling.
    On one of our trips back to Vernon, all the family, except Dad and Skeets, were riding in the back of our truck with the furniture.  As we were going through Roswell, New Mexico I had a bad toothache.  Just before we stopped in Roswell to go see the dentist, I fell out of the truck.  I think Dad traded a sack of pinion nuts to the dentist for pulling my tooth.
    Jr. had brought a pair of squirrels back to Vernon; with him.  I can remember him selling them, but I don't remember how much he got.
    We were living in Vernon on Texas Street when Mother died.  After that we moved to a one room tin shack on Wilbarger Street.  Sue and I attended a Lutheran School as Sue was too young to go to a public school.
    We moved back to Pipe Springs, New Mexico and lived there about three years.  By then Lillian and Skeets had left home.  There were at least 13 people living in the same house at the same time—sometimes more.  Most everyone worked at the sawmill.
    All the kids had to help carry water from a spring that ran out the side of a mountain.  This was especially true on wash day.  Carrying water was everybody's job.  During one fall evening all the kids from school were having a brush burning party.  This is the only special event I can remember and I had the chicken pox and couldn't go.  In the three years we lived in New Mexico, I went to town one time—on a logging truck with my cousin, Beatrice Molar and her Uncle John Molar.
    We moved from New Mexico to Tahoka, Texas...
[end of Catron County-relevant content]...

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Nannie Lee Waggoner
    Nannie Lee Waggoner, the daughter of John and Daisey, was born January 31, 1912 in Harrold, Texas.  She married John Molar on June 6, 1929, in Ryan, Oklahoma.  There were three children born to this marriage.  The first was Johnny Lee (May 6, 1935) who was born in Magdelena, Mew Mexico. His first wife was Loreta Webster (          ) at               .  To this marriage was born Drenda (April 3, 1939) at                         .  His second wife was Joyce Berry (              ) at               .  To this marriage was born Brian (             ) at               .  Johnny Lee died March 16, 1963,in Hobbs, New Mexico.
    The second child was Janet May (February 13, 1939) who was born at Soccorro, New Mexico.  She married David Seaton on To this marriage was born David (           ) at                   ,  He married                  .  To this marriage was born Janie (          ) at                  and Katherine  (               ) at Monahans, Texas. Later Janet married Steve Hardy on                   at        .
    The third child was Ruby Lee (October 26, 1935) at Pie Town, New Mexico. She married Dennie Perry October 27, 1951 at                   .  To this marriage           children were born.
    I was born Nannie Lee Waggoner on January 12, 1912.  My mother was Daisey Turner Brown and my father was John Luther Wagoner.  I was born in Wilbarger County, six miles north of Harrold.  The doctor who delivered me was Doctor W. W. Cox.
    In 1929 we left Vernon and went to Ryan, Oklahoma.  It was there I met and married John Molar in 1929.  From there we went on to Dimmitt and then on to live out a claim in Pie Town.  We had three children.
    It was in Pie Town that we had many wonderful and exciting experiences out in the mountains.  We lived many, many miles from a neighbor.  We also faced alot of hardships and dangers.  One day John came home with a baby coyote that he found wandering around lost.  That night the coyotes were all around the house--howling.  It frightened me so that I would not go outside.  One day a friend came by the house and took the baby coyote out to the edge of the clearing and left it there.  The coyotes all went away.
    Bud and John worked on county roads and sometimes they didn't come home at night.  We kept busy cleaning house and taking care of children.  I noticed my silverware was missing and in the drawer would be a piece of cactus or pine cone—something was always in the place of what was taken.  I finally decided something was wrong and when there was not enough silver to set the table, my earrings were missing and all my hair pins were gone. Sitting quietly one afternoon, I saw a big rat come gliding along with a cactus burr in his mouth.  He ran into the cabinet and I watched him come out with a spoon in his mouth.  I watched where he went and recovered all of the missing items by digging into his nest.  Later I found out that they would take anything shinney and would leave something in its place.
    Everywhere there were chipmonks of all sizes and they were so cute.  We all caught the young ones and tamed them for pets.  If one was teased though, he would bite.  There were lovely tallelled eared squirrels were so pretty, active and yet so very tasty.
    During the winter trapping and hunting season, we would have venison, duck and maybe a bear to eat.  Bud and John were good hunters.
While living at Pie Town, each family had their own dugout.  Bud and John always built a huge corral and a large barn.  They rounded up, trapped, and broke wild horses and then they would haul them to where they were to sell them.  Our place was across the road from the church-school.  Both Bud and John's families lived there.
    At our Pipe Springs land grant, Bud, John, Gladys, Charlie, Bertha and I were always scaring the younger children.  We would tell them that there were Indians outside.  I would get dressed up in a sheet and hide behind a tree.  Gladys would bring the kids outside.  When I would raise up and scare them, they would run back to the cellar.  Charlie said "Open the gate and let us in.  The Indians are after us."  Little Charles was so scared his little heart was pounding.
During the depression we caught and killed rabbits.  We could sell them for 12₵ a pound.  The money we earned was used to buy sugar, flour and coffee.  Sometimes we would put a fat hen in the beans to season them.  In the winter when we hunted rabbits, we would wrap our legs in tow sacks so the snow wouldn't get in our shoes.
John died and was buried in Tatum, New Mexico.  Our son Johnny also died after a lengthy illness.  Later I met and married Carl Griffin.
    John and I lived in New Mexico for many years—in our memories and thoughts more than in fact.  Later we moved to Tatum and there we raised oar family and it is I now live.

         


         

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Sue Carroll Waggoner
    I was born Sue Carroll Waggoner on January 22, 1932—the 17th child of John Luther, Sr. and Reina Mae—at Dinmiitt, Texas.  I am the last child of John and Reina Mae Waggoner.  I, being proud and remembering such an interesting life, approached my husband with the idea of writing this book of "Memories".  He said "Memories" would be a good name for the book.  With grateful acknowledgement to him, I took pen in hand and we began to gather the information.
    The earliest I can remember is at Pipe Springs, New Mexico.  Mother had never lived so far from people or in the mountains where so many different wild animals lived.  She was afraid to let me outside alone.  I was small for my age and very curious.  The late evening and the early night was the time of day I enjoyed getting out in the open the most.  Times got hard as the drought came and everyone was having to find other places to live so they could feed their families.  We moved back to Vernon.  Dad went to work for Long Bell Lumber Company.  At one time, we lived across the street from Parker School where one of my brothers and two of my sisters attended school.  Once I had a bout with a boil on my bottom.  Mother was going to open it and she told me to watch out the window for the kids to come home.  She had the boil drained before I noticed it was going to hurt.
    We lived on Texas Street when I was four years old.  Mother made me some cookies for my birthday.  She died the following February, 1937.
    In New Mexico, I remember stories being told, songs being sung and musical instruments played.  The neighbors would join in when they visited. We popped corn, parched peanuts and pinion nuts or had candy.  The elders would discuss their daily happenings such as building a barn, a corral or a pig pen.  They also talked about building brush fences for themselves or a neighbor.  People out in this area were very friendly.  They seldom saw each other and were happy to get together.  The Southalls were the first neighbors to the southeast of us.  They lived two and a half miles away.  Their children attended the same school and Sunday School as we did.
    I remember getting a great deal of attention from my brothers and sisters after Mother died.  Of course, I missed my mother, but this attention made it easier.  We had some wild pigs.  Jr. and Cleatus had teased them and made them mean.  The pigs would chase the boys and they would swing away from them on a large grapevine or rope.  One day I wandered into the pig pen and these pigs were coming after me.  The boys had to swing across the pen and pick me up just before the pig got me.
We walked to school in a deep gulley that had been made by the rushing water down out of the mountains.   A doctor and a nurse would come to school once a year to give typhoid and other shots.  This was a one-room school house.  All grades were taught in one room and Mrs. Ridgeway was our teacher.
    Some of the family went to Quamada, New Mexico once a month to buy groceries and clothes.  Bad bought me some pretty coral colored socks. They were too small.  I tried to wear them anyway because I knew it would be a month before they went to the store again.  I finally pulled the tops off of the socks from trying to get them on my feet.
    Preparing and serving meals for the family was a super event as there were many to fix for.  There was always plenty of work for the women to do, such as boiling clothes outside in an old iron kettle, hanging them on a fence to dry, cooking, cleaning house and helping with their families various needs.
    The men worked in the saw mill and sold logs.  We played in the saw dust from the saw mill which was emptied in the deep gullies.  This saw dust generated heat and sometimes would catch fire.  It was alot of fun to make caves or deep holes in the saw dust.  It's a wonder that it didn't cave in on us.
    Riding in the wagon when we went to the garden or to get water was one of the fun things that I loved.  Our family had large cattle trucks that were used to haul cattle to a sale and to haul logs.
    We had a large cellar where we kept all our fresh vegetables and the wild meat.
    Our days mainly consisted of either going to church, school, doing our chores and have a brush party.  I loved the life and surroundings of the big log house, the church and the lady preacher named Mrs. Hutzen.  She was very devout in her calling to preach God's word.  She came frequently to this small church called the "Blue Ridge" church and everyone looked forward to her coming.  When she wasn't there the mountain people would take turns preaching.
    The evenings were filled with storytelling around the fireplace. They frequently told scary stories and then send us to bed—-which were upstairs.  I was barely able to breathe from being covered up to my head. Nannie Lee dressed up in an overcoat and a big black hat.  She did this after I had gone to bed.  She slipped up to the foot of the bed and started pulling the covers.  I hung on for dear life as I followed the covers all the way to the foot where I saw this dreadful "thing".  I jumped out of bed and ran down the stairs—touching only every third or fourth step. They caught me at the foot of the stairs and were laughing.  Then I knew someone had played a trick on me.
    One winter Jr. came in from trapping and he had caught the biggest cougar and killed it.  Jr. hid it under his overcoat and brought it in the kitchen where Gladys and Lee were fixing lunch.  He just dropped it at their feet.  They really were scared.
    Cleatus and Jr. slept in a bunkhouse.  In the winter sometimes the snow would pile up high around the door.  Their beds were shuck mattresses and homemade quilts.  To help them get warm they used hot bricks in the bed. 
    Being the youngest and smallest, I was lucky enough to get to sleep in the middle of two sisters.  I never had to worry about being cold.
    One time when I was out in the back yard walking on the fence—which fenced off the yard above the gulley—my foot slipped and caught in between the boards.  There I was, hanging upside down.  I would yell awhile and then rest awhile and then try to unhook myself.  After a good bit, I got undone.  I never mentioned this to anyone and I don't know if anyone knew about it or not.
    The log house that the family had built was very strong and tight against the weather.  It had a huge, well built, fireplace.  As with any fireplace,it had a flue and a damper.  Because of the flue, it made it possible to use very large logs and the smoke would be drawn out of the house.  The   andirons and rods that swung in and out      were used to hang kettles and pots for cooking.  It was enjoyable to bank the fire at night and to have a warm room to dress in on cold mornings.  Dad always liked his rocking chair close to the fire and hold me or one of the other smaller children and tell stories or tease us until bedtime.
    Since our water had to be hauled seven and a half miles, we were always careful not to waste any of it.  On wash day, extra water had to be hauled.  We used a big truck or a wagon with two teams of horses—which were kept ready all the time.  Eight to ten large barrels were used. 
    Dad really had a time with us kids chewing rosin from the trees, as the rosin made our mouths sore—our gums and lips would swell.  Of course, to get out of trouble, we lied.  Somehow, Dad could tell we had been chewing and then came the spankings.  Chewing rosin was one thing Dad could never stop us from doing.  It wasn't until we grew up alittle that we understood why he didn't want us to chew the rosin.
    While playing on the kitchen floor one day, I found some dried beans. No one noticed and I put the bean in my ear.  This seemed to be a major problem as everyone was asked for a remedy to get the bean out.  Because it was hurting and I was scared, I would scream and fight them as they tried to help me.  A cure was finally found.  They warmed castor oil and poured it into my ear and it came out.  Mother and Dad and everyone else were all relieved when all the noise died down.
    As I said before, I was a curious child.  That is why, I guess, that the next day that I got my toe caught in the trap set for squirrels.  I was so full of life—in and out of everything—that Dad said, "It's a good thing that I was the caboose".  My nickname was "Bootsie" and then "Tootsie.”
    On Memorial Day, or Declaration Day as we called it, alot of people gathered at Adam's Diggins for a day of cleaning and caring for the cemetary.  People came from miles around on horseback and wagons and  we would all have a picnic.
    Storms in the high mountains were usually filled with very bright lightening, but with very little wind.  The lightening would strike, splitting large tall trees in half or felling them to the ground.  Sometimes, it would even start fires.  To Texans, these storms were very exciting. Instead of rain falling from a storm like this, there would be a heavy snow.  We would have heavy snow, even in July.  Even in the shadow of the trees, it would be cold. When the sun was out though, it was very nice. At the edge of the mesa, about two or three miles northeast of our place, a person could look out over a vast area of the valley.
    In the spring, when the grass, trees and wild flowers were in leaf and bloom, it was such a sight of beauty that even a poet would enjoy. There would be many colorful birds nesting and singing so beautifully. Mr. Brag was the main property owner of Pie Town in 1932.  Pie Town consisted of a general store that was very large and well supplied.  Our mail came from Tres Lagunas.  At Quamado most of the cowboys gathered to discuss branding.  Their trail included going on east to Datal and then to Horse Springs for roundups.
    Once or twice a year a trip was made to Clovis, New Mexico for supplies in large quantities.  No less than one hundred pounds of needed commodities such as flour, sugar, coffee, potatoes and above all was the pinto beans.  Clothes, thread, school supplies, most needed medical and first aid supplies are among the items bought on these trips.  Also, we had to keep plenty of shells and gun oil for keeping a fresh supply of venison.
    Most of the men who were physically able and needed work were hired by the government.  These men would build homes and would sometimes be gone for seven or more days at a time.  Another job they might do would be to poison prairie dogs and shoot porcupines.  The government furnished the men with shells and guns.  Since there was the danger of any number of wild animals, such as bears, cougars, mountain lions and lobo wolves, the men would work in groups.  Also, it was necessary in case there was an accident or at times Indians who had left their habitats would cause trouble.   They would steal their horses and supplies.  Therefore, a man had to be on
guard duty all night long to protect the camp.
    People would come to Grants, New Mexico to the ice caves and would cut large chunks of ice to take home.  It would be packed in saw dust from the mills.  This ice was used for preserving food and making cold drinks.
    There was an Indian named Antholine Armeijhoe at Old Horse Springs who owned many sections of land.  In fact, he owned so much land that you couldn't count the cows he had.  Cliff traded his Gibson Guitar to him for a horse called Steel Dust.  This was a mustang that had never been ridden.  There was a cedar tree nearby and Anthonline rode off a distance and ran the horse toward the tree and then around the tree.  When he was asked what he did this for, he said he wanted to see if the horse had any sense.  Our house had only string latches on the doors, so when Antholine came by he would simply walk into the house.  He also expected to get to eat with us.  He lived in Squire, New Mexico with his wife—who was of a family of 12.  It seems her dad had advertised for a husband for her. Antholine saw the ad and answered it.  There was some kind of deal made with her father and he married her.  They had four boys .and three girls.
    Dad became very sick while living in Pie Town and Cliff took him to Magdelene, New Mexico to a doctor.  A surgeon had to travel 67 miles to operate on Dad.  Cliff called Pat and Jack.  They and their families all came to see about Dad.  After Dad got well, all the men went wild horse hunting.
While living at Horse Springs, I remember being scared of the sound of rushing water that came from high up in the mountains.  Gladys would tell me,that God had promised that we would never be destroyed by a flood again, so we would look for a rainbow.
    My brothers and sisters and I all went to school together and carried our lunch in gallon buckets.  Several cousins ate with us and shared their lunch.  We packed red beans, fried pies, bisquits, venison, rabbit and squirrel.  We could really enjoy the beautiful country eating our lunch.
    Dad's health became worse and he was trying to get us somewhere that we could survive.  So, we started to Tahoka, Texas in a 1939 Chevrolet. The car was packed so high inside that we had to ride lying down.  When we arrived at the farm that Dad had traded for, the people living there were having lunch.  I was so hungry that I just started helping myself.
    We received a bill from Underwood's Funeral Home in Vernon for Mothers funeral in the amount of $500.  We really had to get busy pulling cotton to pay this bill.
    The land Dad traded for had to cleared of mesquite trees and rocks. When we got all this done, Dad put it into cultivation.  He planted sweet potatoes near the ditch on one side of the road and Irish potatoes on the other side.  Peanuts, corn, beans, peas and cotton were planted for the money crop.
    Dad married Eunice Lee Craig Gurley.  Eunice was a very nice lady who took over the household duties.  She was a neat housekeeper.  Dad and the rest of the family built a cellar for protection from the storms. The cellar was also used to store the canned goods and alittle home brew. There was an outside privey which was fine except in the winter.  When it was cold, the kids wouldn't make it all the way to the privey.
    We also had a wind charger which made enough electricity for the house.  There was a barn for the livestock in the winter.  We also had chickens, pigs, horses and cows.  Dad would get everyone up at 5:00 A.M. for a big breakfast.  Right after we had moved to Tahoka, a church brought us some clothing.  There were some high buttoned shoes with which you had to use a shoe horn to button up.  I could only wear them after bending my...

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