Saturday, July 31, 1999
Happy 80th!
On July 31, 1999 Grandmom celebrated her eightieth birthday in the company of her husband John, her daughter Carolyn, her son Jim and his wife Carolyn, her daughter Mary Ann, her son John Dan and his wife Michelle, her grandchildren Steve, Lisa, Brian, Brian’s wife Lyndsae, Laura, John, and her great-granddaughter, Olivia. Unable to attend, but sending their love were her granddaughter Lee, who was in school in Washington D.C., her son-in-law David, who was taking care of Lee, her granddaughter-in-law Maria José, who was in school in Chicago, and her grandson-in-law Don, who was working
Summer Visitors
We had a wonderful day yesterday (July 11, 1999). Brian and family came by about lunchtime, and we had a great visit.
How Olivia has grown, and what a bright, beautiful baby she is. She was so friendly with us immediately and was delightfully cuddly and precious.
John approached her carefully, since babies are sometimes frightened by his voice. Not Olivia, she almost laughed out loud, as he told her that it wasn't always easy for him to make people understand him, either.
Lyndsae sang the "ABC' song to her and signed the words to Olivia. Our Baby loved it, and concentrated on her Mom's signing as she listened to her song.
She'll be doing that alphabet in sign before long!!
How Olivia has grown, and what a bright, beautiful baby she is. She was so friendly with us immediately and was delightfully cuddly and precious.
John approached her carefully, since babies are sometimes frightened by his voice. Not Olivia, she almost laughed out loud, as he told her that it wasn't always easy for him to make people understand him, either.
Lyndsae sang the "ABC' song to her and signed the words to Olivia. Our Baby loved it, and concentrated on her Mom's signing as she listened to her song.
She'll be doing that alphabet in sign before long!!
March 1998: A Reckoning
I am the oldest living grandchild of my Mama.
My younger cousins Moselle, Ben, and Dottie are still living.
I keep in touch with Moselle. She lives in Lewisville now and raises cats and dogs. She was a music teacher for many years. Graduated from the women’s university in Denton.
Dottie and I exchange Christmas cards, and that's about all. She and her husband have recently retired from teaching. They live six months in Colorado, near one of their children, and the other six months on the Texas coast near the other one.
Ben is retired from the Air Force. He was a weather specialist and lives in Colorado Springs.
Haven't seen either of Ben or Dottie in a long time.
I laugh often these days. I almost never cry anymore. Laughing is much more healthy!! When things get tedious, I tell myself that we are having an adventure, and try to find the funny side in situations.
My younger cousins Moselle, Ben, and Dottie are still living.
I keep in touch with Moselle. She lives in Lewisville now and raises cats and dogs. She was a music teacher for many years. Graduated from the women’s university in Denton.
Dottie and I exchange Christmas cards, and that's about all. She and her husband have recently retired from teaching. They live six months in Colorado, near one of their children, and the other six months on the Texas coast near the other one.
Ben is retired from the Air Force. He was a weather specialist and lives in Colorado Springs.
Haven't seen either of Ben or Dottie in a long time.
I laugh often these days. I almost never cry anymore. Laughing is much more healthy!! When things get tedious, I tell myself that we are having an adventure, and try to find the funny side in situations.
Sixtieth High School Reunion
What a trip ! Filled with nostalgia ! John, Moselle, and I set out for the West bright and early Friday morning, a beautiful day. We checked into the Holiday Inn at San Angelo about 3 p.m. and began our tour westward, where Moselle and I had lived many years ago.
First we searched for Tankersly, 15 miles west where Mother, Aunt Lura, and I lived for a few years. -about 1930 to 1933, more or less. The brick building that was the school building is still standing and being used for something—storage of some kind. The tiny, four-room teacherage is gone and so are the outhouses, but I was amazed to find that old brick building. Aunt Lura was the principal of the school, and she built the coal stove fires in the three school rooms before school on cold days.
Down the road on the left, the old church building was gone. It was used by the Methodists one Sunday and the Baptist the next.
Farther down on the right the old Church of Christ building was gone, but we continued to the river, Spring Creek and there was a beautiful part -Foster Park now.
When I was a child there was nothing but a dry water crossing that dammed up enough water for swimming. I learned to swim in that little pool of water. A large bridge was built and the park was full of beautiful pecan trees. In that small river, water cress used to grow, and in the early spring before veggies were available, we picked the delicious cress for salad.
We drove on west for about 15 miles to Mertzon where Moselle and her family had lived. Her father, Uncle Dan went to West Texas first because the economy was better out there. The next year he sent for Mother to teach at Arden, and the next year Aunt Lura came out and Mother and I moved to Tankersly.
The old Mertzon school building was still being used. It is beautiful—two and a half stories, built of some kind of masonry and in excellent condition. It is the center of a good school complex for Irion County High School.
Uncle Dan named their school mascot the Hornets, and that is still used.
We saw the tall mountains where we used to roam for hours and hours, and somehow they had shrunk. As we drove along we saw two deer in the pastures beside the road and lots of goats grazing. There were also oil wells pumping. Oil had not been discovered when we lived there.
Then we drove toward Arden, remembering how it was in 1929 or 30. We had no car. There was no public transportation. Twenty miles from Mertzon, twenty-eight miles from San Angelo.
Uncle Dan had a Model T Ford and he took us over the mountains to that wild and woolly new place. The mountains were too steep for the old Model T. As we went up one or two of them, Uncle Dan drove the car up as far as it would go and it would stall. U. Dan yelled, "Everybody out and get a rock to put under the wheels" We all fell out and did as we were told.
Then he would turn around and back up the mountain. Evidently the rear gear worked better than the forward. Then he'd drive on to the next mountain and repeat the drill. I could hear him yet on that hillside yelling, "Everybody Out!” I could imagine a snake under every rock, but no one was too young to help. He and Aunt Velma, his wife, rescued us like that many week-ends.
On Friday we saw there was nothing left to mark the Arden school except two old gate turn around fixture that were broken, and it was all fenced in. But there was a roadside marker telling of the old two-story building that served as a school and a church for the community of Arden.
The reunion of classes 1936, ‘37, and ‘38 was held in the renovated old Cactus Hotel. The hotel is not in use, but the Mezzanine and ballroom were beautiful as they were long ago, but somehow they had grown smaller. The chandeliers were shiny and bright, and I could almost see the Big Bands what used to play there.
I visited with lots of old friends and that was great. They told me all about their ailments and who all was dead. I looked around that room and wondered, "What in the world am I doing here with all of these OLD PEOPLE." I carefully didn't look in the mirrors. Ha!
My friend, Nelle Taylor Shipley, took us to lunch and on a tour of the old haunts, what few were left there in San Angelo. We talked and talked and talked and remembered and remembered.
My rememberer was all worn out afterward, and I needed to rest for days.
First we searched for Tankersly, 15 miles west where Mother, Aunt Lura, and I lived for a few years. -about 1930 to 1933, more or less. The brick building that was the school building is still standing and being used for something—storage of some kind. The tiny, four-room teacherage is gone and so are the outhouses, but I was amazed to find that old brick building. Aunt Lura was the principal of the school, and she built the coal stove fires in the three school rooms before school on cold days.
Down the road on the left, the old church building was gone. It was used by the Methodists one Sunday and the Baptist the next.
Farther down on the right the old Church of Christ building was gone, but we continued to the river, Spring Creek and there was a beautiful part -Foster Park now.
When I was a child there was nothing but a dry water crossing that dammed up enough water for swimming. I learned to swim in that little pool of water. A large bridge was built and the park was full of beautiful pecan trees. In that small river, water cress used to grow, and in the early spring before veggies were available, we picked the delicious cress for salad.
We drove on west for about 15 miles to Mertzon where Moselle and her family had lived. Her father, Uncle Dan went to West Texas first because the economy was better out there. The next year he sent for Mother to teach at Arden, and the next year Aunt Lura came out and Mother and I moved to Tankersly.
The old Mertzon school building was still being used. It is beautiful—two and a half stories, built of some kind of masonry and in excellent condition. It is the center of a good school complex for Irion County High School.
Uncle Dan named their school mascot the Hornets, and that is still used.
We saw the tall mountains where we used to roam for hours and hours, and somehow they had shrunk. As we drove along we saw two deer in the pastures beside the road and lots of goats grazing. There were also oil wells pumping. Oil had not been discovered when we lived there.
Then we drove toward Arden, remembering how it was in 1929 or 30. We had no car. There was no public transportation. Twenty miles from Mertzon, twenty-eight miles from San Angelo.
Uncle Dan had a Model T Ford and he took us over the mountains to that wild and woolly new place. The mountains were too steep for the old Model T. As we went up one or two of them, Uncle Dan drove the car up as far as it would go and it would stall. U. Dan yelled, "Everybody out and get a rock to put under the wheels" We all fell out and did as we were told.
Then he would turn around and back up the mountain. Evidently the rear gear worked better than the forward. Then he'd drive on to the next mountain and repeat the drill. I could hear him yet on that hillside yelling, "Everybody Out!” I could imagine a snake under every rock, but no one was too young to help. He and Aunt Velma, his wife, rescued us like that many week-ends.
On Friday we saw there was nothing left to mark the Arden school except two old gate turn around fixture that were broken, and it was all fenced in. But there was a roadside marker telling of the old two-story building that served as a school and a church for the community of Arden.
The reunion of classes 1936, ‘37, and ‘38 was held in the renovated old Cactus Hotel. The hotel is not in use, but the Mezzanine and ballroom were beautiful as they were long ago, but somehow they had grown smaller. The chandeliers were shiny and bright, and I could almost see the Big Bands what used to play there.
I visited with lots of old friends and that was great. They told me all about their ailments and who all was dead. I looked around that room and wondered, "What in the world am I doing here with all of these OLD PEOPLE." I carefully didn't look in the mirrors. Ha!
My friend, Nelle Taylor Shipley, took us to lunch and on a tour of the old haunts, what few were left there in San Angelo. We talked and talked and talked and remembered and remembered.
My rememberer was all worn out afterward, and I needed to rest for days.
Bad News
Rennie died on the 20th of November 1996—the 56th anniversary of my marriage to James.
Rennie was 58.
Our phone rang in the middle of the night, and it was John Dan and Michelle telling me of Rennie's death. Carolyn had called Jim and Carolyn, but their phone was out of order—something to do with the computer connection. Then she called John Dan, and they called me. This was at 2 or 3 o'clock in the a.m..
I was so shocked, I had trouble getting myself together.
They asked if I wanted to meet them at DFW to fly over to Virginia, and of course, I did.
They made the reservations and I still couldn't get organized even with John's help. I felt like I was moving in slow motion. Michelle called back and told me firmly that I had to leave right then.
Finally, I left home and the traffic was terrific. Where all those cars came from at that time of day, I'll never know. It was dark and raining and I had a bad time trying to see.
I had never left a car at DFW before, didn't know how or where to go, but I finally managed that. I was late, though, and to my horror, I saw our plane take off as I was riding the tram to the station.
I grabbed my disorganized gear and started running to the gate when I saw Michelle. She was smiling and motioning to me to slow down. John Dan was on that plane and she was waiting for me to take the next plane. I appreciated her patience immensely and caught my breath.
We sat down. Looked up and there were Jim and Carolyn coming from Tulsa, and they were taking the same plane as us. Now I could relax. John Dan would be with his sister, and the rest of us were on our way.
I have often had nightmares about trying to get somewhere and couldn't. This was that nightmare: knowing our daughter needed us and we couldn't get there.
But we did.
Rennie was 58.
Our phone rang in the middle of the night, and it was John Dan and Michelle telling me of Rennie's death. Carolyn had called Jim and Carolyn, but their phone was out of order—something to do with the computer connection. Then she called John Dan, and they called me. This was at 2 or 3 o'clock in the a.m..
I was so shocked, I had trouble getting myself together.
They asked if I wanted to meet them at DFW to fly over to Virginia, and of course, I did.
They made the reservations and I still couldn't get organized even with John's help. I felt like I was moving in slow motion. Michelle called back and told me firmly that I had to leave right then.
Finally, I left home and the traffic was terrific. Where all those cars came from at that time of day, I'll never know. It was dark and raining and I had a bad time trying to see.
I had never left a car at DFW before, didn't know how or where to go, but I finally managed that. I was late, though, and to my horror, I saw our plane take off as I was riding the tram to the station.
I grabbed my disorganized gear and started running to the gate when I saw Michelle. She was smiling and motioning to me to slow down. John Dan was on that plane and she was waiting for me to take the next plane. I appreciated her patience immensely and caught my breath.
We sat down. Looked up and there were Jim and Carolyn coming from Tulsa, and they were taking the same plane as us. Now I could relax. John Dan would be with his sister, and the rest of us were on our way.
I have often had nightmares about trying to get somewhere and couldn't. This was that nightmare: knowing our daughter needed us and we couldn't get there.
But we did.
The Marrying Bentons
On May 27, 1994, Steve married Maria José Ruiz Blanco.
On March 11, 1995, Lisa married Don Sanders.
On July 13, 1996, Brian married Lyndsae Moore.
On March 11, 1995, Lisa married Don Sanders.
On July 13, 1996, Brian married Lyndsae Moore.
Another Grandchild
In February of 1991, I went to the Coffey Castle in Aledo to help Mom, Dad, and Laura prepare for the arrival of the new baby.
On February 5, 1991, Laura went to bed. Michelle and John Dan decided soon afterwards that it was time to go to the hospital.
Early the next a.m., the phone rang, and John Dan was in the birthing room. He said things were going well. Then, he said, "It's time. Our baby is arriving" or something like that. Who could remember words at a moment like that??
Then I heard our baby cry! What a thrill! I was there by telephone, though I was really with Laura at home.
Soon Laura awoke, and we went to the hospital to see that precious new little boy, John Steven Coffey.
On February 5, 1991, Laura went to bed. Michelle and John Dan decided soon afterwards that it was time to go to the hospital.
Early the next a.m., the phone rang, and John Dan was in the birthing room. He said things were going well. Then, he said, "It's time. Our baby is arriving" or something like that. Who could remember words at a moment like that??
Then I heard our baby cry! What a thrill! I was there by telephone, though I was really with Laura at home.
Soon Laura awoke, and we went to the hospital to see that precious new little boy, John Steven Coffey.
Green Acres
While Mary Ann and David were living at Hawthorne, Christmas was first held at the Coffeys’ new home in the country.
I do like living here at the farm. I wish I had a house when company comes, for I can't make guests as comfortable as I would like. But I can't say that I really like mopping , dusting, sweeping, and
cleaning. I think some people really do.
John and I enjoy lots of stir-fry dishes now. I seldom fry anything anymore.
I like living here because the air is not so polluted. We are five minutes from the bank, the grocery, the church, and the University. There are many cultural events that take place at the University that we could take advantage of, and we do. There are many interesting people connected with the University and many retirees who are our friends.
I miss my friends in Fort Worth, but the true friends are available any time I want to go visit them. Those that are still living, anyway.
I don't miss the noise of the city or the traffic. I can go to see my Aledo children anytime I want, and they can come here. I can still drive to Bartlesville, D. C., and Virginia to see our family. We are about an hour from Love Field and an hour and a half from DFW.
I like the wide-open spaces. Walking through the bluebonnets and daffodils. I love walking on MY VERY OWN property. About 200 acres of it!
I enjoy the birds, the trees, the quiet, the sunsets and sunrises, the ponds.
We are both content where we are at our age. Just hope we can continue to look after ourselves here for a long time.
I do like living here at the farm. I wish I had a house when company comes, for I can't make guests as comfortable as I would like. But I can't say that I really like mopping , dusting, sweeping, and
cleaning. I think some people really do.
John and I enjoy lots of stir-fry dishes now. I seldom fry anything anymore.
I like living here because the air is not so polluted. We are five minutes from the bank, the grocery, the church, and the University. There are many cultural events that take place at the University that we could take advantage of, and we do. There are many interesting people connected with the University and many retirees who are our friends.
I miss my friends in Fort Worth, but the true friends are available any time I want to go visit them. Those that are still living, anyway.
I don't miss the noise of the city or the traffic. I can go to see my Aledo children anytime I want, and they can come here. I can still drive to Bartlesville, D. C., and Virginia to see our family. We are about an hour from Love Field and an hour and a half from DFW.
I like the wide-open spaces. Walking through the bluebonnets and daffodils. I love walking on MY VERY OWN property. About 200 acres of it!
I enjoy the birds, the trees, the quiet, the sunsets and sunrises, the ponds.
We are both content where we are at our age. Just hope we can continue to look after ourselves here for a long time.
The Stork Strikes Again
Like her cousin Lee, Laura also got us out in the middle of the night. Our phone rang after midnight, in the early hours of March 28, 1989. John Dan was saying they were on their way to the Hospital.
John and I jumped out of bed, went downstairs, and began our journey. The skies were cloudy and the lightning fierce, but not one drop of rain fell on us. The rain began after we were in the hospital.
We found John Dan and they insisted that we go back into the large pleasant "Birthing Room." Pretty soon, Michelle got very busy though and we waited in another room.
Not long after that, John Dan told us that Laura was there. Soon we saw the three of them coming down the hall. Michelle was lying on the gurney with our precious Laura beside her in her little warm cap. John Dan was beaming beside them.
We got to “oooo” and "ahhhh" and touch our new grandbaby before they took them to their room. What a thrill.
In May 1989, when Laura was just about two months old, Mary Ann had us for dinner at Hawthorne. It was the day of Steve’s graduation from T.C.U. and he, Brian, and Jim sang "Bentons on the Go” to Laura.
Then we all went to Steve’s graduation in different cars. I was going back to the farm afterwards, so I took my car. Michelle, John Dan, and Laura came also, and we all met at the graduation ceremony. I think I held Laura most of the time.
There were so many people there, I don't know how we all found each other, but we did.
John and I jumped out of bed, went downstairs, and began our journey. The skies were cloudy and the lightning fierce, but not one drop of rain fell on us. The rain began after we were in the hospital.
We found John Dan and they insisted that we go back into the large pleasant "Birthing Room." Pretty soon, Michelle got very busy though and we waited in another room.
Not long after that, John Dan told us that Laura was there. Soon we saw the three of them coming down the hall. Michelle was lying on the gurney with our precious Laura beside her in her little warm cap. John Dan was beaming beside them.
We got to “oooo” and "ahhhh" and touch our new grandbaby before they took them to their room. What a thrill.
In May 1989, when Laura was just about two months old, Mary Ann had us for dinner at Hawthorne. It was the day of Steve’s graduation from T.C.U. and he, Brian, and Jim sang "Bentons on the Go” to Laura.
Then we all went to Steve’s graduation in different cars. I was going back to the farm afterwards, so I took my car. Michelle, John Dan, and Laura came also, and we all met at the graduation ceremony. I think I held Laura most of the time.
There were so many people there, I don't know how we all found each other, but we did.
Wedding Fever
On February 20, 1989 Mary Ann and David Levy married.
I remember very little about the marriage ceremony. I had a high fever and was really a zombie walking around. I know I could hardly wait until it was over and we could bring Lee home with us.
I remember that John and I stood on the platform with them, and David smashed the glass on the floor. That's about all.
I remember very little about the marriage ceremony. I had a high fever and was really a zombie walking around. I know I could hardly wait until it was over and we could bring Lee home with us.
I remember that John and I stood on the platform with them, and David smashed the glass on the floor. That's about all.
Memory Lane
In 1987, John and I went back to San Angelo for my 50th high school reunion and had a great time.
Mr. Anderson, my high school orchestra director in San Angelo, came and we had a long, long talk.
John and I also had a good visit with my old friend Nelle Taylor and her husband Bill Shipley. Nelle met Bill when he was stationed at Goodfellow Field in San Angelo. She went with him to Okinawa and at some time during their marriage, they both went to U. T. and finished their degrees.
They never had any children.
Nelle and I still correspond and visit when we can. She'll call me on my birthday, and I always talk to her on her birthday. We always write at Christmas. If she had e-mail, we'd keep in touch oftener.
Mr. Anderson, my high school orchestra director in San Angelo, came and we had a long, long talk.
John and I also had a good visit with my old friend Nelle Taylor and her husband Bill Shipley. Nelle met Bill when he was stationed at Goodfellow Field in San Angelo. She went with him to Okinawa and at some time during their marriage, they both went to U. T. and finished their degrees.
They never had any children.
Nelle and I still correspond and visit when we can. She'll call me on my birthday, and I always talk to her on her birthday. We always write at Christmas. If she had e-mail, we'd keep in touch oftener.
A Memorable Mother’s Day
On May 10, 1986, I went to Denton to spend the day with Mary Ann. She was uncomfortable and I thought she needed a little TLC from her Mom. Mark was at work and I took her out to a Chinese buffet for lunch.
It was a sunny day in Denton. It rained in the Commerce area while I was gone, but I didn't know that.
As I was driving home, I thought I'd take a short cut over a road that looked dry and was sorta humpbacked in the middle. I had not gone far when I realized I had made a mistake.
Too late to back up, and soon our wagon was just sliding into the ditch—all four wheels were out of control.
I took off my shoes and walked in the mud about a half a mile to a house for help. We called John and he came with the Jeep to rescue me.
About 2 a.m., I guess the next day, the phone rang and Mary Ann was on her way to the hospital in McKinney, where her doctor practiced. She went into hard labor but couldn't deliver the baby. She tried so hard, and finally the doctor said a Caesarian was necessary. The baby was in trouble, and the surgery was the only way, he said.
For a few hours we feared that some damage had been done to our precious granddaughter, but later in the day, the doctor assured us that all was well with mother and daughter.
We took them home a few days later and Mary Ann developed some kind of infection. Had to go back to the hospital. Baby couldn't go back into the nursery but she could spend the day in her mother's room if another adult was there to look after Lee.
I made that trip back and forth to McKinney for about a week, I think, until Mary Ann was able to go home again.
Lee was born on Sunday, May ll, 1986—Mother's Day.
It was a sunny day in Denton. It rained in the Commerce area while I was gone, but I didn't know that.
As I was driving home, I thought I'd take a short cut over a road that looked dry and was sorta humpbacked in the middle. I had not gone far when I realized I had made a mistake.
Too late to back up, and soon our wagon was just sliding into the ditch—all four wheels were out of control.
I took off my shoes and walked in the mud about a half a mile to a house for help. We called John and he came with the Jeep to rescue me.
About 2 a.m., I guess the next day, the phone rang and Mary Ann was on her way to the hospital in McKinney, where her doctor practiced. She went into hard labor but couldn't deliver the baby. She tried so hard, and finally the doctor said a Caesarian was necessary. The baby was in trouble, and the surgery was the only way, he said.
For a few hours we feared that some damage had been done to our precious granddaughter, but later in the day, the doctor assured us that all was well with mother and daughter.
We took them home a few days later and Mary Ann developed some kind of infection. Had to go back to the hospital. Baby couldn't go back into the nursery but she could spend the day in her mother's room if another adult was there to look after Lee.
I made that trip back and forth to McKinney for about a week, I think, until Mary Ann was able to go home again.
Lee was born on Sunday, May ll, 1986—Mother's Day.
Car Talk
I remember one Christmas after John Dan and Michelle married. The temperature was cold—in the 20s, and we were having the celebration on Townsend. Something happened to their furnace, and we had no heat. Beth Ann was there, and she wore her leopard coat all day. The water froze in the Christmas tree holder, it was so cold.
But Michelle and John Dan served all of us a delicious dinner. John and I couldn't leave because that old diesel Buick wouldn't start when the temperature got below 32 degrees. That's all pretty vague.
I remember once I had been to Odessa and was bringing Jim and Carolyn’s children back with me. Maybe just Lisa and Brian, I don't remember.
Lisa was going to visit Grandmother. We were low on diesel fuel, driving on Loop 820 in south Fort Worth. The "low fuel" sign was flashing madly. If diesel fuel ran out, something special had to be done before it would start again, and I was not a happy Grandmom with that old diesel auto.
We did find fuel before it ran out, but just barely. After that, I was ready for another car. Soon we bought a white Buick wagon that we still have (1998) and drive around Commerce. Later we would buy a newer white Buick wagon and it would become our best car.
But Michelle and John Dan served all of us a delicious dinner. John and I couldn't leave because that old diesel Buick wouldn't start when the temperature got below 32 degrees. That's all pretty vague.
I remember once I had been to Odessa and was bringing Jim and Carolyn’s children back with me. Maybe just Lisa and Brian, I don't remember.
Lisa was going to visit Grandmother. We were low on diesel fuel, driving on Loop 820 in south Fort Worth. The "low fuel" sign was flashing madly. If diesel fuel ran out, something special had to be done before it would start again, and I was not a happy Grandmom with that old diesel auto.
We did find fuel before it ran out, but just barely. After that, I was ready for another car. Soon we bought a white Buick wagon that we still have (1998) and drive around Commerce. Later we would buy a newer white Buick wagon and it would become our best car.
A Rock Band
John Dan talked to us about getting Michelle an engagement ring. He told Grandpop how much money he had to spend on the ring.
John went with him to Haltom's to buy the ring. John really appreciates diamonds and added to John Dan's money to buy a bigger "rock band,” I think.
Michelle and John Dan were married on May 15, 1982. John Dan had graduated from TCU at the time. I think Michelle had another year to go.
John went with him to Haltom's to buy the ring. John really appreciates diamonds and added to John Dan's money to buy a bigger "rock band,” I think.
Michelle and John Dan were married on May 15, 1982. John Dan had graduated from TCU at the time. I think Michelle had another year to go.
Developments on the Jade Front
Michelle came to Texas to visit her grandmother, Eloise Coffey, the summer she turned 16. That was 1977—the spring that John Dan graduated from high school.
We helped Eloise entertain Michelle and all enjoyed her a lot. I think John Dan was working in a day camp and was busy a lot. But he was friendly when he had time.
We told John Dan that he could go to any state school, or live at home and go to TCU. He chose the latter. He was at home alone a lot, and I think he liked that. We had started spending a lot of time at the farm.
John Dan played in the TCU Band. Don't think their team won a game while he was in college either. No wonder football is not a big item in his life.
I think it was the summer after John Dan’s freshman year at TCU that Pam, Michelle's mother, brought her family to Texas and they rented a home in Lake Country for a while. Michelle graduated from high school at Saginaw and John Dan took her to the prom.
During this time, something was said about Michelle being his cousin. I explained how she was his cousin by marriage. Soon they became closer.
John Dan went to Florida to work in a YMCA camp. He was able to find a job for Michelle there after he arrived at the Camp. He sent for her, and they had a great time working in Florida together.
They were definitely a "couple" from then on.
Michelle did her first year of college and Tarrant County Junior College—maybe two years. I don't remember. Then she got a scholarship working at the YMCA to pay for her last two or three years at T.C.U.
Michelle and I went to all of the TCU home games, and enjoyed them in spite of the losses. She had never seen football games, and I taught her what I knew about football.
Michelle and her siblings were in and out a lot at our home at that time.
We helped Eloise entertain Michelle and all enjoyed her a lot. I think John Dan was working in a day camp and was busy a lot. But he was friendly when he had time.
We told John Dan that he could go to any state school, or live at home and go to TCU. He chose the latter. He was at home alone a lot, and I think he liked that. We had started spending a lot of time at the farm.
John Dan played in the TCU Band. Don't think their team won a game while he was in college either. No wonder football is not a big item in his life.
I think it was the summer after John Dan’s freshman year at TCU that Pam, Michelle's mother, brought her family to Texas and they rented a home in Lake Country for a while. Michelle graduated from high school at Saginaw and John Dan took her to the prom.
During this time, something was said about Michelle being his cousin. I explained how she was his cousin by marriage. Soon they became closer.
John Dan went to Florida to work in a YMCA camp. He was able to find a job for Michelle there after he arrived at the Camp. He sent for her, and they had a great time working in Florida together.
They were definitely a "couple" from then on.
Michelle did her first year of college and Tarrant County Junior College—maybe two years. I don't remember. Then she got a scholarship working at the YMCA to pay for her last two or three years at T.C.U.
Michelle and I went to all of the TCU home games, and enjoyed them in spite of the losses. She had never seen football games, and I taught her what I knew about football.
Michelle and her siblings were in and out a lot at our home at that time.
A Return to the Old Country
In 1976, John retired from The Telephone Company, and in 1977 he began building the Barn. We had Christmas at Hawthorne a number of years after that.
When John was building the apartment on top of the barn, we thought we would just use it for vacationing.
I wasn't ready to leave Hawthorne then, but as the time went by, I became more at home here "vacationing" all the time and didn't want to live over there any more.
I don't remember when I stopped working with the four-year-olds at Broadway. I guess it about the time John retired.
When John was building the apartment on top of the barn, we thought we would just use it for vacationing.
I wasn't ready to leave Hawthorne then, but as the time went by, I became more at home here "vacationing" all the time and didn't want to live over there any more.
I don't remember when I stopped working with the four-year-olds at Broadway. I guess it about the time John retired.
The Best Christmas Gift I Ever Received?
One wonderful Christmas, Jim’s Carolyn helped John surprise me. (John doesn't usually go in for surprises.)
That fall we had bought a new, fancy sewing machine for Carolyn. It did all sorts of fancy things, and was the top of the line at that time.
Carolyn knew that I would love a machine just like hers. She helped John get one, and it was delivered on Christmas Eve—a total surprise and delight to me.
That fall we had bought a new, fancy sewing machine for Carolyn. It did all sorts of fancy things, and was the top of the line at that time.
Carolyn knew that I would love a machine just like hers. She helped John get one, and it was delivered on Christmas Eve—a total surprise and delight to me.
Central Christian Church
When Jim started working at Central Christian in Fort Worth, he needed John Dan's talents and knew that his brother was dependable. John Dan had enjoyed Broadway in a passive way. There were "experts" at Broadway who did everything. The young people weren't given a chance to be helpful.
John Dan loved helping his brother in his work with young people and being able to use his abilities. Went in the old church bus with Jim, and kept the old bus running most of the time.
At Central Christian, John Dan met Jeff Manske. Jeff would come to our house in the middle of the night when he couldn't get in at home. He climbed the trellis and slipped into John Dan's room, never waking anyone. I guess John Dan left his window ajar.
Our boss always had a knack for finding boys who needed family.
I don't remember when John Dan actually moved his membership to Central. He just sorta grew up there.
He's still doing the sort of things that he and Jim did there together, I think. And he is appreciated.
Some time in there K- Mom's 1959 Ford was passed on to us, and John Dan drove that for years. Probably used it to take Steve and Lisa to rehearsals for The Littlest Wiseman in the winter of 1976.
John Dan loved helping his brother in his work with young people and being able to use his abilities. Went in the old church bus with Jim, and kept the old bus running most of the time.
At Central Christian, John Dan met Jeff Manske. Jeff would come to our house in the middle of the night when he couldn't get in at home. He climbed the trellis and slipped into John Dan's room, never waking anyone. I guess John Dan left his window ajar.
Our boss always had a knack for finding boys who needed family.
I don't remember when John Dan actually moved his membership to Central. He just sorta grew up there.
He's still doing the sort of things that he and Jim did there together, I think. And he is appreciated.
Some time in there K- Mom's 1959 Ford was passed on to us, and John Dan drove that for years. Probably used it to take Steve and Lisa to rehearsals for The Littlest Wiseman in the winter of 1976.
Another Grandchild
Brian was born at All Saints Hospital in Fort Worth on June 27th, 1975. I was not as involved with that occasion as much as Lisa's birth. I think I was in charge of keeping Lisa maybe.
I think Grandpop or Aunt Eva took over with her after a while and I went to the hospital. Eloise was there and maybe Hazel, maybe Judy. I just don't remember. I know that it took quite a while, but I waited until he was born before leaving. Mary Ann was at camp.
When Carolyn went home, I wanted to go along to help, but Jim had vacation time and wanted to take care of his family on his own. I waved as they all drove off. I went to see them soon, though.
I think Grandpop or Aunt Eva took over with her after a while and I went to the hospital. Eloise was there and maybe Hazel, maybe Judy. I just don't remember. I know that it took quite a while, but I waited until he was born before leaving. Mary Ann was at camp.
When Carolyn went home, I wanted to go along to help, but Jim had vacation time and wanted to take care of his family on his own. I waved as they all drove off. I went to see them soon, though.
Jim Crow at Eagle Mountain
When he was at Paschal, John Dan played in the band. I think the football team lost every game they attended then, just as when Mary Ann was in school.
During John Dan's teen years, he spent a lot of time sailing. One summer, maybe two, he joined a group of men who had a racing club. They invited him to race with them. Soon he won all of the trophies, and they stopped inviting him to the races.
I remember one poignant incident about that. These races were held at private clubs like the Eagle Mountain Sailing Club where he took lessons on Tom and Agnes' membership.
One week-end John Dan wanted to take his "Friend" who was black to be his crew. He discussed it with me. I knew what the attitude of "Private" club members might be. I told John Dan that he would have to decide what he would do if he and his "Friend" were asked to leave the Club. I knew that was possible.
As a teen-ager, he decided that it was not the time for him to take that kind of stand, maybe embarrassing him and his friend.
It hurt me deeply for John Dan to have to become aware of the "Cold, Cruel World".
During John Dan's teen years, he spent a lot of time sailing. One summer, maybe two, he joined a group of men who had a racing club. They invited him to race with them. Soon he won all of the trophies, and they stopped inviting him to the races.
I remember one poignant incident about that. These races were held at private clubs like the Eagle Mountain Sailing Club where he took lessons on Tom and Agnes' membership.
One week-end John Dan wanted to take his "Friend" who was black to be his crew. He discussed it with me. I knew what the attitude of "Private" club members might be. I told John Dan that he would have to decide what he would do if he and his "Friend" were asked to leave the Club. I knew that was possible.
As a teen-ager, he decided that it was not the time for him to take that kind of stand, maybe embarrassing him and his friend.
It hurt me deeply for John Dan to have to become aware of the "Cold, Cruel World".
Up and Onward
When Mary Ann graduated from high school in 1974, the custom of parents honoring their graduates with a party and inviting friends was almost passe. We had a party in Fellowship Hall and Broadway with punch and goodies
The two Carolyns served the punch. John Dan arranged the nice background music. John helped entertain Lisa. We have a picture of them dancing together.
Mary Ann chose to go to Denton to college. I really don't know why. Don't think she had a positive goal at that time, but she was very interested in living in the Co-ed Dorm. I didn't think she was ready for that, but that's where she lived. That's also where she met Mark, and he was upper-most in her mind after that.
They eventually married on May 19, 1978.
The two Carolyns served the punch. John Dan arranged the nice background music. John helped entertain Lisa. We have a picture of them dancing together.
Mary Ann chose to go to Denton to college. I really don't know why. Don't think she had a positive goal at that time, but she was very interested in living in the Co-ed Dorm. I didn't think she was ready for that, but that's where she lived. That's also where she met Mark, and he was upper-most in her mind after that.
They eventually married on May 19, 1978.
Another Eagles
John Dan kept very busy as a teenager.
He was interested in drama. Enjoyed helping do "Fiddler on the Roof" in the Middle School. Sewed his own hat when I couldn't make one look right.
When it was time for him to go into Scouting, we hunted a troop that was doing good work. We found Joe Paul Jones, who was a Scout Master! The Very Best!
They enlisted John as an assistant Scout Master, and they did some good work together.
Troop 400 camped once a month, rain or shine, snow or heat. While John Dan was in that troop, they celebrated their one hundredth monthly camp out.
I remember a fifty-mile bicycle ride John Dan made to Hillsboro as part of his scouting work. I think we went by to see Carolyn’s mother before we returned to Fort Worth with the bicycle in the back of the wagon.
When John Dan earned his Eagle badge, there were seven other boys who finished the same work. And they earned it. John Dan was 14 or 15 at the time.
He was interested in drama. Enjoyed helping do "Fiddler on the Roof" in the Middle School. Sewed his own hat when I couldn't make one look right.
When it was time for him to go into Scouting, we hunted a troop that was doing good work. We found Joe Paul Jones, who was a Scout Master! The Very Best!
They enlisted John as an assistant Scout Master, and they did some good work together.
Troop 400 camped once a month, rain or shine, snow or heat. While John Dan was in that troop, they celebrated their one hundredth monthly camp out.
I remember a fifty-mile bicycle ride John Dan made to Hillsboro as part of his scouting work. I think we went by to see Carolyn’s mother before we returned to Fort Worth with the bicycle in the back of the wagon.
When John Dan earned his Eagle badge, there were seven other boys who finished the same work. And they earned it. John Dan was 14 or 15 at the time.
Mary Ann: The Teen Years
Mary Ann was interested in drama in her teen years. She sang in the school chorus.
Went to a few football games. I don't think Paschal won a football game the whole time she was in High School. That would dampen anyone's enthusiasm for football, I'd think.
She loved Camp Fire Camp in the summers. Went to El Tesoro every summer, did Counselor in Training, and then went to Camp as a counselor. She had friends who were boys, but was more interested in reading and crafts than she was in "boys."
I do remember one fellow that Mary Ann dated in high school, though; he had red hair, but I can't remember his name. He made delicious lasagna once in our kitchen for our family. He seemed like a nice young man.
I don't know what became of him. Mary Ann tired of him.
Went to a few football games. I don't think Paschal won a football game the whole time she was in High School. That would dampen anyone's enthusiasm for football, I'd think.
She loved Camp Fire Camp in the summers. Went to El Tesoro every summer, did Counselor in Training, and then went to Camp as a counselor. She had friends who were boys, but was more interested in reading and crafts than she was in "boys."
I do remember one fellow that Mary Ann dated in high school, though; he had red hair, but I can't remember his name. He made delicious lasagna once in our kitchen for our family. He seemed like a nice young man.
I don't know what became of him. Mary Ann tired of him.
Panic at Purgatory: Part Two
The summer of 1973, when Lisa was about a year and a half old, we all went back to Colorado for vacation. We camped about 50 miles, mountainous miles from Purgatory Canyon.
One day we all went over to Purgatory to make a hike. Rennie and Carolyn in their car, Jim, Carolyn, Grandpop, Lisa, Steve, and I in our wagon.
We had a great hike and picnic. It was late when we got back to the campground and our cars. We got separated on the trail back to the cars, some of us hurrying more with the Little Ones. I had last seen John with Carolyn and Rennie, so when the rest of us got back to the car, we left.
Got back to our campsite, 50 mountainous miles away, and went to bed. Later Carolyn and Rennie drove in, and I listened for John to come to our tent. Heard Carolyn and Rennie preparing for bed in their tent, but no John.
They turned out their lantern, still no John.
I sent Jim over to find out where John was.
Isn't he here with you, asked Carolyn and Rennie?
Well, Purgatory Canyon had me panicky again.
Where was John? Did he fall?
Was he lying in a ditch with a broken leg?
With a mountain lion eating him?
Carolyn came over to out tent, and Jim stayed with the hysterical women while Rennie raced back over the mountains to find John.
When he got back to Purgatory Canyon, John was sitting by a friendly camper's fire, toasting his toes and drinking hot chocolate, waiting for Rennie to come.
One day we all went over to Purgatory to make a hike. Rennie and Carolyn in their car, Jim, Carolyn, Grandpop, Lisa, Steve, and I in our wagon.
We had a great hike and picnic. It was late when we got back to the campground and our cars. We got separated on the trail back to the cars, some of us hurrying more with the Little Ones. I had last seen John with Carolyn and Rennie, so when the rest of us got back to the car, we left.
Got back to our campsite, 50 mountainous miles away, and went to bed. Later Carolyn and Rennie drove in, and I listened for John to come to our tent. Heard Carolyn and Rennie preparing for bed in their tent, but no John.
They turned out their lantern, still no John.
I sent Jim over to find out where John was.
Isn't he here with you, asked Carolyn and Rennie?
Well, Purgatory Canyon had me panicky again.
Where was John? Did he fall?
Was he lying in a ditch with a broken leg?
With a mountain lion eating him?
Carolyn came over to out tent, and Jim stayed with the hysterical women while Rennie raced back over the mountains to find John.
When he got back to Purgatory Canyon, John was sitting by a friendly camper's fire, toasting his toes and drinking hot chocolate, waiting for Rennie to come.
Let the Cartoons Begin
On December 2, 1971 Jim’s Carolyn went to the hospital, and I drove down from Fort Worth. It was snowing in Fort Worth. I don't usually drive on snow, but this was different.
Fortunately, the snow stopped about 50 miles out of Fort Worth and the rest of the drive was uneventful. The delivery did not happen that day, and that night the doctor decided to let Carolyn rest and start the process in the morning.
I think Steve and I stayed at Aunt Carolyn's that night. Jim never left the hospital the whole time.
It was the same hospital where Jim had been after his serious car wreck. I had spent hours and days in the Intensive Care waiting room there at that time.
I don't think there was a hospital in LaMarque so the choice was Pasadena or Galveston when Lisa was born.
Next morning Steve and I began our vigil again in that dark, crowded, noisy, smoky waiting room in Pasadena Hospital. There were no windows in the room. Rennie came over also, and stayed upstairs with Jim and Carolyn. All morning he came down every half hour or so and gave us progress reports.
Children were not allowed on the obstetrics floor at all in those days. The TV was blaring all day in that room. We escaped long enough to have lunch down the hall.
After lunch Rennie didn't come back. He didn't come back at all, and I began pacing. I couldn't take Steve upstairs to find out what was going on, and I dared not leave my little grandson in that crowded room alone.
About 2:30, I recognized the program that was on TV and knew that at 3:00 the cartoons would come on. Maybe I would dare leave Steve engrossed in the cartoon and dash up stairs to learn what was going on.
Shortly after 3:00, before I could make my wild dash, Lisa was born and Rennie came down with the news.
Late in the afternoon after Lisa was born, Judy and Carolyn’s parents came. All was going well, so we all went to Clear Lake City for supper that Carolyn and Rennie prepared. I think Steve spent that night with the Franks.
The next day or so, it was time for us all to go home . The Franks had gone back home. It was late afternoon. Dark. Raining ... raining ... raining... and it had been raining all the time we were at the hospital. There wasn't much room in the driveway to Jim and Carolyn’s house, so I parked my car in the dentist's parking lot next door, thinking I'd move it first thing the next morning.
Well, I went out to move my car the next morning and it was gone! My car was gone!! I went into the office and inquired.
Yes, they knew where my car was. Hadn't I seen the sign that said any car parked there would be towed away!
I couldn't believe my ears!
Such nice, friendly neighbors! I think it cost $50 to get my car back, to say nothing of the hassle of going to the pound!
I was supposed to be helping at Jim and Carolyn’s house, and there I was making trouble. What a day!
Fortunately, the snow stopped about 50 miles out of Fort Worth and the rest of the drive was uneventful. The delivery did not happen that day, and that night the doctor decided to let Carolyn rest and start the process in the morning.
I think Steve and I stayed at Aunt Carolyn's that night. Jim never left the hospital the whole time.
It was the same hospital where Jim had been after his serious car wreck. I had spent hours and days in the Intensive Care waiting room there at that time.
I don't think there was a hospital in LaMarque so the choice was Pasadena or Galveston when Lisa was born.
Next morning Steve and I began our vigil again in that dark, crowded, noisy, smoky waiting room in Pasadena Hospital. There were no windows in the room. Rennie came over also, and stayed upstairs with Jim and Carolyn. All morning he came down every half hour or so and gave us progress reports.
Children were not allowed on the obstetrics floor at all in those days. The TV was blaring all day in that room. We escaped long enough to have lunch down the hall.
After lunch Rennie didn't come back. He didn't come back at all, and I began pacing. I couldn't take Steve upstairs to find out what was going on, and I dared not leave my little grandson in that crowded room alone.
About 2:30, I recognized the program that was on TV and knew that at 3:00 the cartoons would come on. Maybe I would dare leave Steve engrossed in the cartoon and dash up stairs to learn what was going on.
Shortly after 3:00, before I could make my wild dash, Lisa was born and Rennie came down with the news.
Late in the afternoon after Lisa was born, Judy and Carolyn’s parents came. All was going well, so we all went to Clear Lake City for supper that Carolyn and Rennie prepared. I think Steve spent that night with the Franks.
The next day or so, it was time for us all to go home . The Franks had gone back home. It was late afternoon. Dark. Raining ... raining ... raining... and it had been raining all the time we were at the hospital. There wasn't much room in the driveway to Jim and Carolyn’s house, so I parked my car in the dentist's parking lot next door, thinking I'd move it first thing the next morning.
Well, I went out to move my car the next morning and it was gone! My car was gone!! I went into the office and inquired.
Yes, they knew where my car was. Hadn't I seen the sign that said any car parked there would be towed away!
I couldn't believe my ears!
Such nice, friendly neighbors! I think it cost $50 to get my car back, to say nothing of the hassle of going to the pound!
I was supposed to be helping at Jim and Carolyn’s house, and there I was making trouble. What a day!
More Camping Fun
I think when we camped at Lake Ouachita in Arkansas, Carolyn was pregnant with Lisa, but we didn't know it yet.
I remember how beautiful it was at our campsite on a peninsula at the Lake. Someone had tied a rope on a tree over the water, and Steve and John Dan spent most of their time swinging on that rope and dropping into the water, which was beautifully clear and cool.
The bottom of the lake was made of sharp rocks, so not much wading was done. I mainly watched the swimmers. Jim and Carolyn seemed to enjoy reading most of all in the shade and cool breeze.
One day we drove into Hot Springs sightseeing. And we went out to see Leona Waund, Rennie's mother. Toni and Kim were there with her for the
summer, and I remember that they made lemonade, and we sat in the yard under the big trees and visited and enjoyed the lemonade.
On another side trip we must have visited Pea Ridge Battlefield. I barely remember that.
I remember how beautiful it was at our campsite on a peninsula at the Lake. Someone had tied a rope on a tree over the water, and Steve and John Dan spent most of their time swinging on that rope and dropping into the water, which was beautifully clear and cool.
The bottom of the lake was made of sharp rocks, so not much wading was done. I mainly watched the swimmers. Jim and Carolyn seemed to enjoy reading most of all in the shade and cool breeze.
One day we drove into Hot Springs sightseeing. And we went out to see Leona Waund, Rennie's mother. Toni and Kim were there with her for the
summer, and I remember that they made lemonade, and we sat in the yard under the big trees and visited and enjoyed the lemonade.
On another side trip we must have visited Pea Ridge Battlefield. I barely remember that.
First Family Reunion
On July 4, 1970 we celebrated Steve’s birthday at the Jenness’ lakeside home. John Dan (age eleven) and I decorated a birthday cake and made party hats from newspapers for Benton-Coffey relatives—maybe forty of them. That blue-eyed Steve Frank Benton was welcomed with open arms. We all stood at the lakeside around him as he blew out the candles and sang a Happy Birthday.
Everyone remembers that first family reunion—1970.
Everyone remembers that first family reunion—1970.
Fun and Sadness at Toledo Bend
In 1970 we went to Toledo Bend Lake at Spring Break-time, Easter. Alice Sells had serious surgery that spring, and we took Guy, their youngest on the camping trip with us.
Uncle Henry came in his pickup truck with a camper on the back. Aunt Margaret was there and she and Henry slept in the camper. His boat was there and so was ours. Carolyn and Rennie camped in their tent. And I guess, we set up two tents for Carolyn and Jim and Steve.
After dark Bill Kuykendall, Betsy, and their three children came with their camping gear. The next day Jim’s Carolyn fished and said she caught more fish than ever before in her whole life.
Sunday was Easter, and we hid eggs for all the kids. Special ones for Steve and lots of them. I was so very proud of my first grandchild !
As Sunday progressed, each family packed and left. John and our children had more time off Monday and Tuesday, so we planned to slowly pack up on Monday and return to Fort Worth on Tuesday.
We had brought our two station wagons pulling the boat and lots of gear to share. We had just snuggled down in our sleeping bags Sunday night when we began to notice some flashing lights and someone calling us outside the tent. Scary !
It was the Sheriff, and Rennie had called him. We were to call Rennie! That's all the Sheriff knew. Call Rennie.
Well, there we were with three sleeping children in the tent, and the nearest phone was about ten miles into town. Nothing to do but to bundle the children up in their sleeping bags in the back of the station wagon and take them along.
On the way to town, we thought of all the people that we loved who had been on the highway that day. Steve, Carolyn and Jim. Bill and Betsy and theirs. Henry and Margaret. Carolyn and Rennie.
But Rennie told us that it was Daddy Bent who had died.
They were preparing to leave as soon as they could. I think maybe they picked up Jim and Carolyn on the way. Steve must have stayed with his Grandmother, I don't remember.
We returned to Camp and waited until daylight to begin packing up. Something was wrong with one of the cars. Don't know which one, but I thought we would never, never get home.
All day we struggled with that car. Stopping off and on. Finally we got home. Packed up again to go to San Angelo for the funeral. What a nightmare!
But we had a wonderful vacation together, and felt that it was good that everyone had gotten home safely.
Uncle Henry came in his pickup truck with a camper on the back. Aunt Margaret was there and she and Henry slept in the camper. His boat was there and so was ours. Carolyn and Rennie camped in their tent. And I guess, we set up two tents for Carolyn and Jim and Steve.
After dark Bill Kuykendall, Betsy, and their three children came with their camping gear. The next day Jim’s Carolyn fished and said she caught more fish than ever before in her whole life.
Sunday was Easter, and we hid eggs for all the kids. Special ones for Steve and lots of them. I was so very proud of my first grandchild !
As Sunday progressed, each family packed and left. John and our children had more time off Monday and Tuesday, so we planned to slowly pack up on Monday and return to Fort Worth on Tuesday.
We had brought our two station wagons pulling the boat and lots of gear to share. We had just snuggled down in our sleeping bags Sunday night when we began to notice some flashing lights and someone calling us outside the tent. Scary !
It was the Sheriff, and Rennie had called him. We were to call Rennie! That's all the Sheriff knew. Call Rennie.
Well, there we were with three sleeping children in the tent, and the nearest phone was about ten miles into town. Nothing to do but to bundle the children up in their sleeping bags in the back of the station wagon and take them along.
On the way to town, we thought of all the people that we loved who had been on the highway that day. Steve, Carolyn and Jim. Bill and Betsy and theirs. Henry and Margaret. Carolyn and Rennie.
But Rennie told us that it was Daddy Bent who had died.
They were preparing to leave as soon as they could. I think maybe they picked up Jim and Carolyn on the way. Steve must have stayed with his Grandmother, I don't remember.
We returned to Camp and waited until daylight to begin packing up. Something was wrong with one of the cars. Don't know which one, but I thought we would never, never get home.
All day we struggled with that car. Stopping off and on. Finally we got home. Packed up again to go to San Angelo for the funeral. What a nightmare!
But we had a wonderful vacation together, and felt that it was good that everyone had gotten home safely.
Another Passing
I don't know the exact date, but it was after Jim and Carolyn married, that Aunt Nan, daughter of my great-grandfather Cornelius Browning, died. She was born on the 22nd of June, 1866 and was 103 years old when she died.
When she died, we picked Jim and Carolyn and Steve up in Waco, and we all went to the funeral I have a picture of Steve and Carolyn sitting on her porch at the hotel, eating lunch before the funeral.
We also have pictures of Steve on my father's tractor that day. My father and his wife and Nelda came to the funeral and we all went home with them for a visit before we left.
Incidentally, Aunt Nan’s hotel was later sold. And after a number of years, my second cousin, I think, Reuben's nephew, bought the hotel and moved it about six or seven miles away, set it on a hill, and renovated it.
I go by there every chance I have, for I loved Aunt Nan and her home, and it brings back good memories to me to see it.
When she died, we picked Jim and Carolyn and Steve up in Waco, and we all went to the funeral I have a picture of Steve and Carolyn sitting on her porch at the hotel, eating lunch before the funeral.
We also have pictures of Steve on my father's tractor that day. My father and his wife and Nelda came to the funeral and we all went home with them for a visit before we left.
Incidentally, Aunt Nan’s hotel was later sold. And after a number of years, my second cousin, I think, Reuben's nephew, bought the hotel and moved it about six or seven miles away, set it on a hill, and renovated it.
I go by there every chance I have, for I loved Aunt Nan and her home, and it brings back good memories to me to see it.
Long Term Benefits of Education
When Mary Ann was in junior high, I guess, she went to some kind of enrichment program at the Children's Museum. That Museum has always offered opportunities for adults a well as children. John and John Dan took a rock polishing course once.
When Mary Ann went, David Levy was the editor of some sort of publication that a number of the worked on, and he was in charge of the class, I think. She was quite smitten with him at that time.
They were friends from that time on, but no love affair developed at that time.
When Mary Ann went, David Levy was the editor of some sort of publication that a number of the worked on, and he was in charge of the class, I think. She was quite smitten with him at that time.
They were friends from that time on, but no love affair developed at that time.
Becoming a Grandmother
During the fall of 1969 we enjoyed getting to know Steve. The Shrine Circus was coming to town, and we always went to that. We invited Steve and Jim and Carolyn to go and Carolyn said that her parents had never been to a circus. So John invited them to go along.
We all wanted to watch Steve enjoy the circus. Grandpop put on his fez and took us all along: Ida and Marvin, Carolyn and Jim, Mary Ann and John Dan, Grandpop and I all enjoyed it most of all through Steve’s eyes.
That fall Mary Ann, John Dan, and I also took Steve down to Forest Park to see the rides. We enjoyed watching Steve on the little cars and the little boats. We all rode the little train, but Steve was intrigued by the mini Ferris wheel that didn't look "mini" at all to us three who have acrophobia.
We tried to divert his attention , but were unsuccessful. John Dan and I said we could not ride that thing. Mary Ann said she would and she took Steve along.
Everything was fine until the wheel stopped at the top to load more passengers. John Dan and I were sitting below trying not to look. Mary Ann tells that Steve said, "If my mother knew where her little boy is right now, she'd cry!" But Steve didn't cry.
We all wanted to watch Steve enjoy the circus. Grandpop put on his fez and took us all along: Ida and Marvin, Carolyn and Jim, Mary Ann and John Dan, Grandpop and I all enjoyed it most of all through Steve’s eyes.
That fall Mary Ann, John Dan, and I also took Steve down to Forest Park to see the rides. We enjoyed watching Steve on the little cars and the little boats. We all rode the little train, but Steve was intrigued by the mini Ferris wheel that didn't look "mini" at all to us three who have acrophobia.
We tried to divert his attention , but were unsuccessful. John Dan and I said we could not ride that thing. Mary Ann said she would and she took Steve along.
Everything was fine until the wheel stopped at the top to load more passengers. John Dan and I were sitting below trying not to look. Mary Ann tells that Steve said, "If my mother knew where her little boy is right now, she'd cry!" But Steve didn't cry.
Backseat Drivers
After Christmas 1969 we drove to California to Melissa Coffey's wedding.
Jim and Carolyn made us a huge box of homemade candies, and we enjoyed them for days. We drove to El Paso the first day. John and I, Mary Ann, John Dan, Margaret, and Nell. Spent the night and picked up Agnes there. The seven of us went on to the wedding.
Afterwards, Agnes flew home and the rest of us went to Disneyland. I think we were there a couple of days before heading home.
I remember on that trip there were a lot of us women. Some of us kept telling the driver where to turn and how to drive. John made a rule that only the person sitting next to him could give him instructions. We had a lot of fun about that.
As we drove out to California, we bought a basketful of grapefruit. When we came to some state line, California, I guess, the patrolmen told us we couldn't take the grapefruit into the next state. There was something in the rind of the fruit that was not to be spread.
We drove to the side of the road, and Agnes, Nell, Margaret, and John got busy peeling those grapefruit. When they were finished, we drove on into the next state.
Jim and Carolyn made us a huge box of homemade candies, and we enjoyed them for days. We drove to El Paso the first day. John and I, Mary Ann, John Dan, Margaret, and Nell. Spent the night and picked up Agnes there. The seven of us went on to the wedding.
Afterwards, Agnes flew home and the rest of us went to Disneyland. I think we were there a couple of days before heading home.
I remember on that trip there were a lot of us women. Some of us kept telling the driver where to turn and how to drive. John made a rule that only the person sitting next to him could give him instructions. We had a lot of fun about that.
As we drove out to California, we bought a basketful of grapefruit. When we came to some state line, California, I guess, the patrolmen told us we couldn't take the grapefruit into the next state. There was something in the rind of the fruit that was not to be spread.
We drove to the side of the road, and Agnes, Nell, Margaret, and John got busy peeling those grapefruit. When they were finished, we drove on into the next state.
A Week on Lake Powell
The summer of 1969 we bought the big blue boat and began a trip to Lake Powell and the Glen Canyon Dam. We had seen the Dam being built and had watched its progress in magazines and National Geographic.
Carolyn was at Clear Lake City, helping put the man on the moon. We started out pulling that big blue boat, and drove to Durango for a night or two. We watched the man walking on the moon and felt a part of that since Carolyn had worked on some of the programs that involved that shot.
We made the train trip to Silverton and returned to Durango to begin our journey to Lake Powell. It was slow going as we began to climb mountains with that big boat behind, but we continued and arrived there late one afternoon.
As we got out of the car, over the lake we could see the most beautiful double rainbow that I ever saw. We camped and the next a.m. began our ride up the Lake. The water was cold, clear, beautiful, and DEEP. We steered through the "narrows" and went on up the Lake. The water was delightful and the scenery was stark and dry.
In our imaginations we could see those Indians coming down the valley to meet us. We had great maps and detailed descriptions as we drove our boat up the Lake for 150 miles. There were very few others on the Lake at all.
At one spot there was a floating dock where we could get supplies. They had a microwave oven to warm our food. The first microwave oven I had used, I think.
At night we slept in our boat. There were huge over hanging cave-like places where we could tie up. We fished and ate all the fish we wanted. We swam in the clear, cool water. Played on floating logs, and had a peaceful eight days almost alone on that vast body of water.
Once it rained and we began to go into a cove for protection. Soon rocks and trees and all sorts of heavy things began falling in the boat. We moved out into the open lake quickly and were glad to find an
overhanging cliff for protection.
We spent a night or two in a motel in Page, Arizona before we came on home.
Carolyn was at Clear Lake City, helping put the man on the moon. We started out pulling that big blue boat, and drove to Durango for a night or two. We watched the man walking on the moon and felt a part of that since Carolyn had worked on some of the programs that involved that shot.
We made the train trip to Silverton and returned to Durango to begin our journey to Lake Powell. It was slow going as we began to climb mountains with that big boat behind, but we continued and arrived there late one afternoon.
As we got out of the car, over the lake we could see the most beautiful double rainbow that I ever saw. We camped and the next a.m. began our ride up the Lake. The water was cold, clear, beautiful, and DEEP. We steered through the "narrows" and went on up the Lake. The water was delightful and the scenery was stark and dry.
In our imaginations we could see those Indians coming down the valley to meet us. We had great maps and detailed descriptions as we drove our boat up the Lake for 150 miles. There were very few others on the Lake at all.
At one spot there was a floating dock where we could get supplies. They had a microwave oven to warm our food. The first microwave oven I had used, I think.
At night we slept in our boat. There were huge over hanging cave-like places where we could tie up. We fished and ate all the fish we wanted. We swam in the clear, cool water. Played on floating logs, and had a peaceful eight days almost alone on that vast body of water.
Once it rained and we began to go into a cove for protection. Soon rocks and trees and all sorts of heavy things began falling in the boat. We moved out into the open lake quickly and were glad to find an
overhanging cliff for protection.
We spent a night or two in a motel in Page, Arizona before we came on home.
A Traumatic Time
Uncle Dan died August 5, 1968 three days after his 82nd birthday. Mother was in the midst of one of her manic episodes then and it was a very traumatic time for us.
He is buried here in Commerce beside his first wife, who died very young of meningitis. His second wife, Aunt Velma is buried there also.
He is buried here in Commerce beside his first wife, who died very young of meningitis. His second wife, Aunt Velma is buried there also.
A Brush with Death
One morning in June of 1968, I guess, I was getting Mary Ann and John Dan's clothes organized for them to go to camp, I think. Maybe they were already at Camp. The phone rang. I was alone.
This foreign-speaking man told me that Jim had been in a car accident.
He had been driving Carolyn’s blue Mustang on a wet morning when a bus hit him near Pasadena. Jim was seriously injured and the doctor wanted to know could he have my permission to operate on him.
I didn't know what kind of doctor he was, and he said they had contacted Carolyn and she was on her way.
I asked if he couldn't wait until she got there. The doctor said Jim might not be alive by the time she got there, so I gave my permission.
John came home immediately. Waneta Ezell came over and made my flight arrangements. Alice Sells came over and packed my bag and promised to look after Mary Ann and John Dan.
I was on the way to the airport in nothing flat. DFW airport had not been built at that time, so I guess I was leaving from Love Field. John and I walked into the ticket area, and they held the plane for me.
John ran with my luggage, and I ran to the plane as they were about to lift up the stairs.
Rennie met my plane and took me to the Bay Shore Hospital in Pasadena, where we stayed for three weeks, I think.
Jim was unconscious for days and Rennie stayed in the Intensive Care Unit with him. The nurses had trouble getting Jim to use the urinal, and Rennie took care of that. He was there with Jim, night and day. I was in the Intensive Care Waiting Room. Rennie came out often to give me news.
Finally, Jim was able to go to a private room. He remembered nothing and had aphasia. Couldn't think of the names of things.
Grandpop came for the weekend and tried to help Jim remember things.
The doctor came in every morning and asked Jim what he held in his hand. It could be a pencil, but Jim might call it a stethoscope.
He got better. Later, they wanted an ear specialist to check his hearing. We went to a private office, and after the examination, the doctor came to us and said, he was afraid he had bad news for us. I was ready for anything. "This young man has totally lost the hearing in his left ear." Well, of course, he had never had any hearing in that ear, so that was good news.
Later, Carolyn and Rennie were planning a vacation, so Jim and I stayed in their apartment when they left. Soon Paul Bradbury came over to stay with Jim, and I went home to be with the rest of the family.
Alice had been looking after John Dan and Mary Ann and took them to Red River, New Mexico on their vacation. Paul helped Jim to recover a lot of his memory. We thought he couldn't go back to school in the fall, but Paul helped him remember.
The doctors had said his memory might never return. But it must have sharpened his memory. John came down to bring me back to Fort Worth and to visit with Jim. Jim sang that Harold Hill soliloquy about pool after school for him then, and we knew that his memory was back.
None of the other children were ever injured seriously. One was enough ! What a terrible time, it was. That was a hard story to relive.
This foreign-speaking man told me that Jim had been in a car accident.
He had been driving Carolyn’s blue Mustang on a wet morning when a bus hit him near Pasadena. Jim was seriously injured and the doctor wanted to know could he have my permission to operate on him.
I didn't know what kind of doctor he was, and he said they had contacted Carolyn and she was on her way.
I asked if he couldn't wait until she got there. The doctor said Jim might not be alive by the time she got there, so I gave my permission.
John came home immediately. Waneta Ezell came over and made my flight arrangements. Alice Sells came over and packed my bag and promised to look after Mary Ann and John Dan.
I was on the way to the airport in nothing flat. DFW airport had not been built at that time, so I guess I was leaving from Love Field. John and I walked into the ticket area, and they held the plane for me.
John ran with my luggage, and I ran to the plane as they were about to lift up the stairs.
Rennie met my plane and took me to the Bay Shore Hospital in Pasadena, where we stayed for three weeks, I think.
Jim was unconscious for days and Rennie stayed in the Intensive Care Unit with him. The nurses had trouble getting Jim to use the urinal, and Rennie took care of that. He was there with Jim, night and day. I was in the Intensive Care Waiting Room. Rennie came out often to give me news.
Finally, Jim was able to go to a private room. He remembered nothing and had aphasia. Couldn't think of the names of things.
Grandpop came for the weekend and tried to help Jim remember things.
The doctor came in every morning and asked Jim what he held in his hand. It could be a pencil, but Jim might call it a stethoscope.
He got better. Later, they wanted an ear specialist to check his hearing. We went to a private office, and after the examination, the doctor came to us and said, he was afraid he had bad news for us. I was ready for anything. "This young man has totally lost the hearing in his left ear." Well, of course, he had never had any hearing in that ear, so that was good news.
Later, Carolyn and Rennie were planning a vacation, so Jim and I stayed in their apartment when they left. Soon Paul Bradbury came over to stay with Jim, and I went home to be with the rest of the family.
Alice had been looking after John Dan and Mary Ann and took them to Red River, New Mexico on their vacation. Paul helped Jim to recover a lot of his memory. We thought he couldn't go back to school in the fall, but Paul helped him remember.
The doctors had said his memory might never return. But it must have sharpened his memory. John came down to bring me back to Fort Worth and to visit with Jim. Jim sang that Harold Hill soliloquy about pool after school for him then, and we knew that his memory was back.
None of the other children were ever injured seriously. One was enough ! What a terrible time, it was. That was a hard story to relive.
The Next Generation
On July 4th, 1967 our family was packing up 
picnic food, swim suits, towels and all the traditional things for a day and evening at Eagle Mountain Lake with family and friends. It was a fun day for everyone except Jim who didn’t go along.
On the 5th, we were resting from a day of swimming with the Jenness family at the lake. Soon Jim and I were seated in the maternity waiting room at Harris Hospital impatiently waiting. Then the nurse invited us to come to a window to view through the glass.
There was a precious bundle wrapped all in blue, trying to peek out to see with two deep blue eyes. My FIRST grandchild! Those beautiful blue eyes have been seeing the sights all over our wonderful world every year since then.
picnic food, swim suits, towels and all the traditional things for a day and evening at Eagle Mountain Lake with family and friends. It was a fun day for everyone except Jim who didn’t go along.On the 5th, we were resting from a day of swimming with the Jenness family at the lake. Soon Jim and I were seated in the maternity waiting room at Harris Hospital impatiently waiting. Then the nurse invited us to come to a window to view through the glass.
There was a precious bundle wrapped all in blue, trying to peek out to see with two deep blue eyes. My FIRST grandchild! Those beautiful blue eyes have been seeing the sights all over our wonderful world every year since then.
The “I Don’t Wanna Go Home” Dog
After our cocker spaniel Star Dust died, we bought Phoebe, the basset hound, who ran away every chance she had. She was full of wanderlust.
We had her neutered when she was young.
John Dan missed her when he went to camp. She was his real companion. One winter, it snowed, and Phoebe got out. I went in one direction in the car, and John Dan went toward the Park, down behind Tillery's Grocery Store.
He found her, but she was so strong, he couldn't get her back home. He wrote something big in the snow, hoping to attract attention before they froze.
Sure enough, I found them, cold and snuggled up together.
We had her neutered when she was young.
John Dan missed her when he went to camp. She was his real companion. One winter, it snowed, and Phoebe got out. I went in one direction in the car, and John Dan went toward the Park, down behind Tillery's Grocery Store.
He found her, but she was so strong, he couldn't get her back home. He wrote something big in the snow, hoping to attract attention before they froze.
Sure enough, I found them, cold and snuggled up together.
Visiting the Newlyweds
At one time, Greyhound Bus Company offered a trip to Houston: a "Red Carpet Trip." They were trying to compete with the fast trains and planes to Houston.
Often I had ridden the fast train from Dallas to Houston—only four hours. Not a bad way to go.
John Dan and Mary Ann had never been on a bus or train. So I planned a trip to Houston where Carolyn and Rennie would meet us.
We went down on the fast train, and had dinner in the diner and all the trimmings. We came home on the Red Carpet bus. They actually had a red carpet leading up to the bus. Served us juice on the way, and it was a pleasant trip.
Don't know whether Mary Ann and John Dan remember that or not, but they did have the bus and train experience while those modes of transportation were still operating.
Often I had ridden the fast train from Dallas to Houston—only four hours. Not a bad way to go.
John Dan and Mary Ann had never been on a bus or train. So I planned a trip to Houston where Carolyn and Rennie would meet us.
We went down on the fast train, and had dinner in the diner and all the trimmings. We came home on the Red Carpet bus. They actually had a red carpet leading up to the bus. Served us juice on the way, and it was a pleasant trip.
Don't know whether Mary Ann and John Dan remember that or not, but they did have the bus and train experience while those modes of transportation were still operating.
Early Six Flags
I think when the Six Flags Over Texas amusement park opened in Arlington, Carolyn was gone from home and Jim went with friends. Some time later, John and I took Mary Ann and John Dan They were pretty young. When we first went in, we were thirsty, so we bought coolers.
We took in the whole area and it became near closing time and certainly time for us to take our young ones home. We'd had a great time. Before we left the park, John checked on his car keys and they were missing.
A young man who worked for John saw us on the way out and saw our problem. He and his wife stayed with us to take us home if necessary. We went to the "Lost and Found" and there were our keys. John had left them on the counter when we were satisfying our thirst as we went in.
We had some anxious moments before we found those keys. We surely appreciated John's friend who was willing to help us.
We took in the whole area and it became near closing time and certainly time for us to take our young ones home. We'd had a great time. Before we left the park, John checked on his car keys and they were missing.
A young man who worked for John saw us on the way out and saw our problem. He and his wife stayed with us to take us home if necessary. We went to the "Lost and Found" and there were our keys. John had left them on the counter when we were satisfying our thirst as we went in.
We had some anxious moments before we found those keys. We surely appreciated John's friend who was willing to help us.
Life Changes
When I was 45 or so, I think, I remember having trouble threading a needle. Just couldn't see it well enough. That's when I got "peep-over" glasses. Needed no other correction until just a few years ago (mid-1990s).
In 1965, Mother retired from Everman when she was 65. She lived on Merida for a while then.
James' brother, Roddy died in June of 1965. He was only 45. He either died of lung cancer or a heart attack. Something caused by his heavy smoking.
After Jim left home in the fall of 1966, the boys' room became John Dan's.
On December 26, 1966, Carolyn married Rennie Waund.
In 1965, Mother retired from Everman when she was 65. She lived on Merida for a while then.
James' brother, Roddy died in June of 1965. He was only 45. He either died of lung cancer or a heart attack. Something caused by his heavy smoking.
After Jim left home in the fall of 1966, the boys' room became John Dan's.
On December 26, 1966, Carolyn married Rennie Waund.
A Dream Car and a Nightmare Job
The fall after Carolyn graduated she got a job teaching math in Austin, and she bought her dream car, a blue Mustang!
Carolyn hated her teaching job. The students were unruly and she couldn't cope with them well. One student came at her with a sharp compass and she had to run next door for help. When she came home for Christmas, she said she couldn't go back. Well, we didn't know what to do.
My cousin Ethel (Aunt Sister’s daughter) called during that time to wish a Happy Christmas. We kept in touch, and Ethel was always interested in our children. Ethel’s husband Ross had become and engineer and had worked in Dallas for lots of years.
Eventually, Ross was sent to NASA to do his engineering work there. When I told Ethel of Carolyn's problem, she said maybe Ross could help. They were desperately in need of people at NASA.
Soon Carolyn was on the train to Houston to see Ethel and Ross. He took her out to NASA.
She had taken one computer science course in U.T., the only one offered at that time, but she had a double major in Math and Physics.
She applied to a number of contractors. Before she got home, IBM was on the phone offering her a job at two or three times her teaching salary.
Needless to say, she moved, and was always grateful to Ethel and Ross. Ross always would say, he didn't do anything. He just took her to NASA and she did the rest.
A Longhorn In the Family
When Carolyn was a senior at U.T., she was doing her practice teaching and had to get to a school far away from the University. She used that old green and white ’54 Ford we had, I think.
Carolyn graduated from U.T. in 1964. She was living at the Delta Gamma House, and John, Mary Ann, John Dan, and I went down , spent the day with her, and in the late afternoon it began to rain.
I don't remember if Jim was there. He wasn't exactly keen on going anywhere.
The ceremony was to be in the U.T. Stadium. A big crowd was expected because a Doctor of Laws degree was to be given to LBJ (click here to read the speech he gave: May 30, 1964), and a Doctor of Letters was to be given to Lady Bird.
Well, it rained and it rained, and it Poured ! It was a big disappointment to us all that we had to go to the Convention Hall that was over by the river. As we were driving over there, Carolyn began to cry. She cried and it rained, and we were all wet.
When we got there, we could not find a seat, much less four seats. We were ushered into the basement, and we watched the ceremony from the basement on the TV. Many, many people had come to see the President, and that over-shadowed the graduation somewhat! But we lived through that just fine.
Carolyn graduated from U.T. in 1964. She was living at the Delta Gamma House, and John, Mary Ann, John Dan, and I went down , spent the day with her, and in the late afternoon it began to rain.
I don't remember if Jim was there. He wasn't exactly keen on going anywhere.
The ceremony was to be in the U.T. Stadium. A big crowd was expected because a Doctor of Laws degree was to be given to LBJ (click here to read the speech he gave: May 30, 1964), and a Doctor of Letters was to be given to Lady Bird.
Well, it rained and it rained, and it Poured ! It was a big disappointment to us all that we had to go to the Convention Hall that was over by the river. As we were driving over there, Carolyn began to cry. She cried and it rained, and we were all wet.
When we got there, we could not find a seat, much less four seats. We were ushered into the basement, and we watched the ceremony from the basement on the TV. Many, many people had come to see the President, and that over-shadowed the graduation somewhat! But we lived through that just fine.
Summer Music
Malcolm Edwards, the Music Minister at Broadway Baptist, did Gilbert and Sullivan Operettas with the young people of the church. They worked on these all summer long and performed them just before school began each fall. I guess this was one of the reasons Jim didn't like to go on vacation with us. He would miss the fun they had working on the Operettas.At that time we began going to Glorieta with Malcolm and his wife, Billie, for Music week. I transported Jim and a group along with Malcolm and Billie for a number of summers.
The music there was wonderful. I attended some of the sessions about teaching music to children, and really enjoyed it. The singing in the worship services was fantastic. Here were all of these musicians, hundreds of them, singing like a choir. Almost heavenly. There were concerts that we could attend also. A week of really fine music.
Over time, Jim's friends, David Casstevens, and Terry Wilkins began to be with us lots. They formed a trio group, maybe David's brother Mark was in on that too. They sang for lots of occasions and were paid now and then for their work.
The "I Wanna Go Home" Trip
The "I wanna go home" trip was not the best trip that we had. I don't remember the year, but John, Jim, Mary Ann, John Dan, and I drove to Colorado. Way up in the back of nowhere, high in the mountains, seeking to be away from all civilization.
We set up camp and the mosquitoes descended on us. Big, black, sluggish mosquitoes like I had experienced in Galveston. The little pests slept at night when it was cold, but everywhere we hiked and explored, those little imps bit us.
The station wagon was a refuge, and Jim retreated there with his guitar and kept singing "The Sloop John B” (the chorus of which repeated the words, “I wanna go home”).
We had seen no one at all until one night we kept hearing loud engine noises arriving. When we waked up the next a.m. there were dozens of motorcyclists camped all around us. They were racing their motors, and racing their motorcycles all around. Such an unearthly noise there in the beauties around us. They had come for racing and camping.
So we all began to feel like Jim , and decided, "I wanna go home" and we did. Jim had not wanted to go on the camping trip, but I thought he was too young to stay home alone.
We set up camp and the mosquitoes descended on us. Big, black, sluggish mosquitoes like I had experienced in Galveston. The little pests slept at night when it was cold, but everywhere we hiked and explored, those little imps bit us.
The station wagon was a refuge, and Jim retreated there with his guitar and kept singing "The Sloop John B” (the chorus of which repeated the words, “I wanna go home”).
We had seen no one at all until one night we kept hearing loud engine noises arriving. When we waked up the next a.m. there were dozens of motorcyclists camped all around us. They were racing their motors, and racing their motorcycles all around. Such an unearthly noise there in the beauties around us. They had come for racing and camping.
So we all began to feel like Jim , and decided, "I wanna go home" and we did. Jim had not wanted to go on the camping trip, but I thought he was too young to stay home alone.
"I Would Be a Ham"
I don't remember that Jim was a "ham" until about junior high age.
When he was at McLean Middle School, he was a member of the Jr. Honor Society and in the spring, they were going to the elementary schools to promote the Honor Society. The sponsor asked Jim to sing, "I Would Be True.” I was one of the mother transporters and sat in on the program.
And I was amazed.
There Jim stood before a mike singing ! He was good!
But he needed voice lessons. His diction and phrasing were poor, but he had the voice. I talked to Malcolm Edwards, our Music Minister and he said he'd be glad to give him lessons. And so it began.
When he was at McLean Middle School, he was a member of the Jr. Honor Society and in the spring, they were going to the elementary schools to promote the Honor Society. The sponsor asked Jim to sing, "I Would Be True.” I was one of the mother transporters and sat in on the program.And I was amazed.
There Jim stood before a mike singing ! He was good!
But he needed voice lessons. His diction and phrasing were poor, but he had the voice. I talked to Malcolm Edwards, our Music Minister and he said he'd be glad to give him lessons. And so it began.
A Tassel and a Beau
When Carolyn was a senior at Paschal, the custom was to have parties for girls graduating from high school. We had a "tea" for her at Hawthorne.
Beth Ann also entertained Carolyn and some friends in Dallas at her poolside. Jim went along for that party.
A friend of ours had a luncheon at the Womens' Club for her and there were lots of activities at that time.
Carolyn decided to take freshman English that summer at T.C.U. She and some friends met together in the Student Center after class every day.
Someone brought Rennie along one day.
He was enrolled to play football at T.C.U. that fall. He was driving a fancy convertible, and he was just back from his tour of duty in China or Korea or wherever it was that he had been in the Navy.
Quite a glamorous young man, he was.
Sometime after Carolyn went to college , her room became Mary Ann's.
Beth Ann also entertained Carolyn and some friends in Dallas at her poolside. Jim went along for that party.
A friend of ours had a luncheon at the Womens' Club for her and there were lots of activities at that time.
Carolyn decided to take freshman English that summer at T.C.U. She and some friends met together in the Student Center after class every day.
Someone brought Rennie along one day.
He was enrolled to play football at T.C.U. that fall. He was driving a fancy convertible, and he was just back from his tour of duty in China or Korea or wherever it was that he had been in the Navy.
Quite a glamorous young man, he was.
Sometime after Carolyn went to college , her room became Mary Ann's.
The Eagle Campaign
Jim's scouting experience was not the best in the world. Lamoine Hall was the scout master. His idea about scouting was "anything to keep the boys off the streets."
Well, our boy wasn't going to be on the streets. Bruce Beard and John were Eagle Scouts and they tried to help with the scouting program.
I think Jim was the only scout who made Eagle. He had a lot of family help.
He earned the "Animal Husbandry" merit badge, just by memorizing the book that went with it.
The "Cooking" merit badge required him to cook a three course meal outside for four or more people. He loaded up nearly every pan we had in the kitchen, all sorts of food, and the five of us drove out to Benbrook Lake for a "cook out.” John and I looked after the young ones and explored the territory, while Jim did the cooking.
It was a good meal and we all enjoyed the outing. We took home many dirty, messy pots and pans, but Jim earned his "Cooking" merit badge and his Eagle award at an early age. I don't remember how old he was exactly—thirteen, I think. Very young, anyway.
Well, our boy wasn't going to be on the streets. Bruce Beard and John were Eagle Scouts and they tried to help with the scouting program.
I think Jim was the only scout who made Eagle. He had a lot of family help.
He earned the "Animal Husbandry" merit badge, just by memorizing the book that went with it.
The "Cooking" merit badge required him to cook a three course meal outside for four or more people. He loaded up nearly every pan we had in the kitchen, all sorts of food, and the five of us drove out to Benbrook Lake for a "cook out.” John and I looked after the young ones and explored the territory, while Jim did the cooking.
It was a good meal and we all enjoyed the outing. We took home many dirty, messy pots and pans, but Jim earned his "Cooking" merit badge and his Eagle award at an early age. I don't remember how old he was exactly—thirteen, I think. Very young, anyway.
Panic at Purgatory: Part One
Remembering summer of 1960, I guess. John Dan was real young, and Jim must have been eleven and in Boy Scouts. We rented a travel trailer to pull along and we filled it so full of "stuff,” all six of us couldn't sleep in it. But we reached Colorado, Purgatory Canyon Camp Ground late in the afternoon.
We talked about everyone helping to get camp set up before nightfall, but "everybody" wasn't listening.
We got the tent set up and kept looking for Jim. Thought maybe he was taking a long time in the two hole privy up the way. There was no one in the campground except us and the busy beavers in the cold stream nearby. Still no Jim.
We got the whole camp set up, and still no Jim.
We were getting worried by that time. There was a sign at the back side of the campground saying "5 miles to the Animas River.” Ten miles there and back. He needed a ten mile hike in Scouts, but surely he wouldn't have done that. Alone!!
Dark was coming, and I began to panic. Ten miles up and down and all around with mountain lions and goodness knows what all along the way.
We had seen a Rangers station nearby as we drove in. We went over to talk to the Rangers while Carolyn looked after the Little Ones. They assumed that he had walked down to a honky-tonk place a couple of miles away, and we knew that he hadn't.
They took our names, and began asking us if we had been fighting with him in the car, and a bunch of nonsense stuff like that.
But finally one Ranger said he'd be over shortly. He drove into the campground and started preparing to go down the trail. He had his climbing boots, first aid kit, and a portable stretcher. When I saw all of that gear, I almost panicked! I can hear those ropes and pulleys and gear rattling now as the Ranger started down that ravine.
Night was coming soon. John and I went into the trailer and prayed earnestly! What else could we do?
Not long afterwards, here came Jim up that trail with the Ranger behind him. I was never so glad to see anyone!
But I was a little angry with him also. Lots of mixed emotions. I just cried
We thanked the Ranger and he left.
John and Jim went across the way and sat on a picnic table. I don't know what was said, but the conference lasted quite a while. Afterwards we prepared a meal and all settled down for the night.
Jim chopped lots of wood for lots of fires the rest of the week.
Jim never told us how near to the River he got, but later in the week, we all took the hike to the River together, and it was an all day’s journey.
One day we decided to go into Durango for supplies. John stayed in camp, fishing, or something, I guess. Carolyn and Jim had seen a public swimming pool on the edge of town and they wanted to swim, of course, so did I.
We paid our admission and went into the dressing room. There was a sign in the ladies room that said "No swimming in the pool without a cap." Well, Jim had gone to the men's room and there was no sign in there so he was swimming.
There were hot showers, and we were all dirty, so Carolyn and I decided to bathe ourselves and the Little Ones. We had a leisure shower and cleaned up John Dan and Mary Ann and were preparing to get Jim out of the pool and leave.
Carolyn told me I should ask for my money back, and I thought I'd had my money's worth of hot water. But I gave her the tickets and told her she could get the money back if she wanted to. She did, and that money went in her pocket.
Jim had a bladder infection soon after we returned from the vacation. The streams that we explored looked so cold and clean and beautiful, and we all drank some out of them.
Later we realized that some of them were flowing through abandoned gold mines that might have been laced with arsenic. We wondered if that caused Jim's problem. He never had a recurrence, but we were careful not to drink from those streams again.
Aunt Sister died on the 22nd of December, 1960.
We talked about everyone helping to get camp set up before nightfall, but "everybody" wasn't listening.
We got the tent set up and kept looking for Jim. Thought maybe he was taking a long time in the two hole privy up the way. There was no one in the campground except us and the busy beavers in the cold stream nearby. Still no Jim.
We got the whole camp set up, and still no Jim.
We were getting worried by that time. There was a sign at the back side of the campground saying "5 miles to the Animas River.” Ten miles there and back. He needed a ten mile hike in Scouts, but surely he wouldn't have done that. Alone!!
Dark was coming, and I began to panic. Ten miles up and down and all around with mountain lions and goodness knows what all along the way.
We had seen a Rangers station nearby as we drove in. We went over to talk to the Rangers while Carolyn looked after the Little Ones. They assumed that he had walked down to a honky-tonk place a couple of miles away, and we knew that he hadn't.
They took our names, and began asking us if we had been fighting with him in the car, and a bunch of nonsense stuff like that.
But finally one Ranger said he'd be over shortly. He drove into the campground and started preparing to go down the trail. He had his climbing boots, first aid kit, and a portable stretcher. When I saw all of that gear, I almost panicked! I can hear those ropes and pulleys and gear rattling now as the Ranger started down that ravine.
Night was coming soon. John and I went into the trailer and prayed earnestly! What else could we do?
Not long afterwards, here came Jim up that trail with the Ranger behind him. I was never so glad to see anyone!
But I was a little angry with him also. Lots of mixed emotions. I just cried
We thanked the Ranger and he left.
John and Jim went across the way and sat on a picnic table. I don't know what was said, but the conference lasted quite a while. Afterwards we prepared a meal and all settled down for the night.
Jim chopped lots of wood for lots of fires the rest of the week.
Jim never told us how near to the River he got, but later in the week, we all took the hike to the River together, and it was an all day’s journey.
One day we decided to go into Durango for supplies. John stayed in camp, fishing, or something, I guess. Carolyn and Jim had seen a public swimming pool on the edge of town and they wanted to swim, of course, so did I.
We paid our admission and went into the dressing room. There was a sign in the ladies room that said "No swimming in the pool without a cap." Well, Jim had gone to the men's room and there was no sign in there so he was swimming.
There were hot showers, and we were all dirty, so Carolyn and I decided to bathe ourselves and the Little Ones. We had a leisure shower and cleaned up John Dan and Mary Ann and were preparing to get Jim out of the pool and leave.
Carolyn told me I should ask for my money back, and I thought I'd had my money's worth of hot water. But I gave her the tickets and told her she could get the money back if she wanted to. She did, and that money went in her pocket.
Jim had a bladder infection soon after we returned from the vacation. The streams that we explored looked so cold and clean and beautiful, and we all drank some out of them.
Later we realized that some of them were flowing through abandoned gold mines that might have been laced with arsenic. We wondered if that caused Jim's problem. He never had a recurrence, but we were careful not to drink from those streams again.
Aunt Sister died on the 22nd of December, 1960.
Family Times
The Clements had two daughters, near the age of Mary Ann and John Dan. They both also loved our older children very much, and we had so much in common that we spent lots of time with them, visiting and picnicking.One fall the rats were almost taking over the place. Phyl hated them, of course. John bought a couple of air guns that shot lead capsules, and he and Jim shot hundreds of rats that fall. He even rigged up flashlights on the guns and they hunted those rascal rats at night.
Carolyn rode Rebel, John and Jim hunted rats, and Phyl and I played with our babies and visited.
John and I enjoyed family times. I remember one winter, we all took turns reading together Swiss Family Robinson around the fire.
It would have been easy to involve ourselves with the babies, but we continued to drive carpools and do special things with each of the children.
If John were not at work, he gladly kept the Little Bits while I chauffeured the teenagers. Aunt Eva and Mother were often helpers also. I have driven lots of miles carrying Jim and his track meet friends and basketball buddies.
Jim's friend, Royce, was also like a member of our family, just as Tuck Gumm was. He spent most of one Christmas with us, more than one Christmas, really. His mother worked at Christmas, I guess. I don't remember how he got to our house to visit when he was a teenager. Maybe I drove him, or maybe he walked.
One year Mary Ann got a cardboard stage with actors and props and all. Royce helped her put it together, and they worked days on that.
One of our favorite dishes when the children were growing up, was spaghetti and meat sauce. I fried chicken and steak a lot also.
There was a Colonial Cafeteria on Berry where Aunt Eva ate often and took all of us there too. We all came to love El Chico on Berry also.
A Highly Active High Schooler
When John Dan was born, Carolyn was 16 or 17 and "in love with" Tuck Gumm. There was a time when I prayed not to be a pregnant Mother of the Bride! Ha!
She and Tuck were really just very good friends and that was all. Tuck was like one of the family. He got contact lenses while they were in high school. I remember spending hours searching for them on the living room carpet.
Carolyn was very busy in high school. She took piano and voice lessons. Sang in the high school chorus and girls sextet. She sang one season in the operas that were performed in the City Auditorium—
famous soloists, and she was in the chorus. She sang alto and that alto voice was much in demand.
Her voice teacher recommended her to sing for "money" at the Episcopal Church services. She was very proud of that job.
She spent her summers at El Tesoro Camp Fire Camp. First as a camper then as a counselor. She loved that and worked out there two summers after she went to college, I think.
John bought Carolyn a horse, Rebel, when she was in high school, and the Clements kept it at their ranch.
She and Tuck were really just very good friends and that was all. Tuck was like one of the family. He got contact lenses while they were in high school. I remember spending hours searching for them on the living room carpet.
Carolyn was very busy in high school. She took piano and voice lessons. Sang in the high school chorus and girls sextet. She sang one season in the operas that were performed in the City Auditorium—
famous soloists, and she was in the chorus. She sang alto and that alto voice was much in demand.
Her voice teacher recommended her to sing for "money" at the Episcopal Church services. She was very proud of that job.
She spent her summers at El Tesoro Camp Fire Camp. First as a camper then as a counselor. She loved that and worked out there two summers after she went to college, I think.
John bought Carolyn a horse, Rebel, when she was in high school, and the Clements kept it at their ranch.
Wagon Train: Part Two
When we became a family of six, we bought a white Chevrolet Station Wagon, the first in a series of station wagons we’d buy.After the white wagon came a yellow one.
Then that brown diesel Buick wagon. What a lemon! The diesel motor smelled all the time. Fuel was hard to find, and it wouldn't start when the temperature was below freezing.
We bought another Buick wagon sometime in the early 80s and a third in the early 90s.
Guess we'll always drive a wagon. Seems like we always carry a bunch of "junk" when we go on a trip. And there's room for lots of "junk" and people too.
Femme Fertile
We didn't know the dangers of an older pregnant woman then as much as we do now. I had been glad to get Jim here before I was 30, though!
Before delivery time for John Dan, I asked our obstetrician about the possibility of my having any more pregnancies. He said that the way it looked to him, I could have ten more children! Wow!
That helped us decide for me to have a tubal ligation. I must have come from a fertile family of females. My grandmother had K-Mom when she was 46.
All day on January 15th, I had vague labor pains .…not much…. just off and on.
By the time John got home from work, we decided it was time to go to the hospital. Agnes again came for the children.
The labor slowed down before midnight and the doctor decided to wait until morning to start them again.
I remember nothing about that night, but they started the labor the next morning. Don't know whether John went home or not, but John Dan arrived the next morning, the 16th of January, 1959.
After we admired our beautiful son, John left, and of course I slept. He went to Paschal and asked for Carolyn. They found her and he told her about her new baby brother.
Before delivery time for John Dan, I asked our obstetrician about the possibility of my having any more pregnancies. He said that the way it looked to him, I could have ten more children! Wow!
That helped us decide for me to have a tubal ligation. I must have come from a fertile family of females. My grandmother had K-Mom when she was 46.
All day on January 15th, I had vague labor pains .…not much…. just off and on.
By the time John got home from work, we decided it was time to go to the hospital. Agnes again came for the children.
The labor slowed down before midnight and the doctor decided to wait until morning to start them again.
I remember nothing about that night, but they started the labor the next morning. Don't know whether John went home or not, but John Dan arrived the next morning, the 16th of January, 1959.
After we admired our beautiful son, John left, and of course I slept. He went to Paschal and asked for Carolyn. They found her and he told her about her new baby brother.
The Shrimp Bringer
I remember when Carolyn began to drive. There were no driver’s ed. courses then, I think. She and John drove lots of miles out at Benbrook in the area below the Dam, before that area was made into a golf course.
I was pregnant with John Dan when Carolyn got her driver’s license, and she loved to do errands for me. I craved shrimp cocktail. They prepared them at the Safeway Store on Berry and often she drove there to bring me some shrimp!
Just before John Dan was born, John and I decided it was time to buy our own dryer. That was a real luxury.
I was pregnant with John Dan when Carolyn got her driver’s license, and she loved to do errands for me. I craved shrimp cocktail. They prepared them at the Safeway Store on Berry and often she drove there to bring me some shrimp!
Just before John Dan was born, John and I decided it was time to buy our own dryer. That was a real luxury.
A Teacher's Wisdom
In Lily B. Clayton Elementary, Jim’s music teacher was a loser. She tried out children in the 4th grade for the Chorus, and didn't let Jim become a member. Said he couldn't sing !
Maybe that was a help. Any time he was told he COULDN'T do something, he proved that he could!
Maybe that was a help. Any time he was told he COULDN'T do something, he proved that he could!
The Grand Tour
In the summer of 1957, I think, John and I took Carolyn and Jim for a grand tour. Mother kept Mary Ann at Hawthorne while we were gone.
We went through Colorado and on up to Yellowstone National Park. We stayed in motels that trip. Explored Colorado Springs. Drove over old mountain roads.
Found an old hotel up in the mountains and spent the night there. The bathroom was down the hall, but the place was very nice. At night they had a Hiss and Boo play , and that was fun. We went into an old abandoned gold mine and drove up Pikes Peak.
Then on to Yellowstone. The first night we arrived there we had to sleep in our car. That wasn't very comfortable, but the next morning we were standing in a line for a place to sleep. We stayed there two or three nights and saw everything.
One night we went to the big lodge for a Western Square Dance party. I remember that we were sitting in a balcony watching the dancers down below, when a nice looking young man came over and talked to us. Introduced himself, visited a while, and asked if Carolyn would like to dance. Of course she would.
Our next stop was Salt Lake City, and we toured the Mormon facility and heard the organ. Looked over, and there was that nice young man again.
I think he and friends were touring the West after high school graduation. He told us about his parents who were both college professors in an Ivy League school in the New England states. He seemed to enjoy listening to us talk !
Carolyn and Jim were so tired of sightseeing that they didn't want to go out to the Salt Lake. We checked into a nice motel and they fell into the swimming pool there. No desire to see the Salt Lake.
Well, I had come a long way to see that Lake, so we finally decided to let them stay alone. I guess they were 14 and 8. That was a big decision, but it worked out fine.
We got home eventually, hot and tired, from our two week journey. The yard was all grown up, hadn't been mowed in two weeks. Mary Ann was OK, and we were unpacking the car when that nice young man came driving up.
Of course we were all very surprised to see him. He helped with what we were doing and asked if he could mow the lawn. Well, he was almost one of the family by then.
I think I cooked chicken fried steak and black-eyed peas, etc. and he was amazed at the Southern cooking and hospitality. He had never been South or to Texas before.
Later that evening he joined his buddies and continued on his trip. He wrote to Carolyn for quite a number of years, and she lost interest in him.
When we were crossing the Colorado River near Page, Arizona that summer, we saw the new dam that they were building. John and I were very interested in how they were doing that and we stopped to take it in. The dam would make Lake Powell, and we hoped that someday we could come back to see it.
And we did.
We went through Colorado and on up to Yellowstone National Park. We stayed in motels that trip. Explored Colorado Springs. Drove over old mountain roads.
Found an old hotel up in the mountains and spent the night there. The bathroom was down the hall, but the place was very nice. At night they had a Hiss and Boo play , and that was fun. We went into an old abandoned gold mine and drove up Pikes Peak.
Then on to Yellowstone. The first night we arrived there we had to sleep in our car. That wasn't very comfortable, but the next morning we were standing in a line for a place to sleep. We stayed there two or three nights and saw everything.
One night we went to the big lodge for a Western Square Dance party. I remember that we were sitting in a balcony watching the dancers down below, when a nice looking young man came over and talked to us. Introduced himself, visited a while, and asked if Carolyn would like to dance. Of course she would.
Our next stop was Salt Lake City, and we toured the Mormon facility and heard the organ. Looked over, and there was that nice young man again.
I think he and friends were touring the West after high school graduation. He told us about his parents who were both college professors in an Ivy League school in the New England states. He seemed to enjoy listening to us talk !
Carolyn and Jim were so tired of sightseeing that they didn't want to go out to the Salt Lake. We checked into a nice motel and they fell into the swimming pool there. No desire to see the Salt Lake.
Well, I had come a long way to see that Lake, so we finally decided to let them stay alone. I guess they were 14 and 8. That was a big decision, but it worked out fine.
We got home eventually, hot and tired, from our two week journey. The yard was all grown up, hadn't been mowed in two weeks. Mary Ann was OK, and we were unpacking the car when that nice young man came driving up.
Of course we were all very surprised to see him. He helped with what we were doing and asked if he could mow the lawn. Well, he was almost one of the family by then.
I think I cooked chicken fried steak and black-eyed peas, etc. and he was amazed at the Southern cooking and hospitality. He had never been South or to Texas before.
Later that evening he joined his buddies and continued on his trip. He wrote to Carolyn for quite a number of years, and she lost interest in him.
When we were crossing the Colorado River near Page, Arizona that summer, we saw the new dam that they were building. John and I were very interested in how they were doing that and we stopped to take it in. The dam would make Lake Powell, and we hoped that someday we could come back to see it.
And we did.
Getting It All Done
After John and I married, and Mary Ann was born, I was swamped with housework and the needs of Carolyn and Jim. We hired a series of "maids" who were black.
Imogene was the last, I think. She came by bus and went to the back door the first time she came. I told her to come to the front next. I think she came three times a week.
When Mary Ann took her morning nap, I could go to the grocery or do some of the millions of things necessary for running our home. I was a Den mother for Jim's scouts, a Camp Fire leader for Carolyn, and the mother of a small child. I tried hard to be a good mother to each child.
Imogene was the last, I think. She came by bus and went to the back door the first time she came. I told her to come to the front next. I think she came three times a week.
When Mary Ann took her morning nap, I could go to the grocery or do some of the millions of things necessary for running our home. I was a Den mother for Jim's scouts, a Camp Fire leader for Carolyn, and the mother of a small child. I tried hard to be a good mother to each child.
The House on Merida
It was in 1955 (or 1954) that Mother moved from Sterling City (or was it Roaring Springs?) where she worked teaching elementary school, to 3125 Merida to join her sister Aunt Eva.
Mother then started to teach at Rendon, near Fort Worth.
Mother always made the dressing for the turkey at Christmas after we all moved to Fort Worth. She made a big deal out of it and seemed to enjoy it a lot. She worked on it for two or three days ahead of time. And it WAS good.
Aunt Eva and I always had a great relationship. She knew that we could help each other, and she could help with Mother's stability. She and Mother helped with the younger children when I needed to take Jim and Carolyn places.
John Dan would stay with Mother and Mary Ann would with Aunt Eva. Aunt Eva loved my children and grandchildren like her own, and was very helpful to us. Mother tried to be helpful, but her jealous nature was not easy to handle. Aunt Eva was helpful to Jim’s family also after she retired.
One day in early 1960’s, maybe, I don't remember, Aunt Eva left her rings and my wedding ring on her desk in the back bedroom while she went outside watering her plants. Left the door open, and when she came back the rings were gone. That is such a public place there on Merida, especially the north duplex.
Mother then started to teach at Rendon, near Fort Worth.
Mother always made the dressing for the turkey at Christmas after we all moved to Fort Worth. She made a big deal out of it and seemed to enjoy it a lot. She worked on it for two or three days ahead of time. And it WAS good.
Aunt Eva and I always had a great relationship. She knew that we could help each other, and she could help with Mother's stability. She and Mother helped with the younger children when I needed to take Jim and Carolyn places.
John Dan would stay with Mother and Mary Ann would with Aunt Eva. Aunt Eva loved my children and grandchildren like her own, and was very helpful to us. Mother tried to be helpful, but her jealous nature was not easy to handle. Aunt Eva was helpful to Jim’s family also after she retired.
One day in early 1960’s, maybe, I don't remember, Aunt Eva left her rings and my wedding ring on her desk in the back bedroom while she went outside watering her plants. Left the door open, and when she came back the rings were gone. That is such a public place there on Merida, especially the north duplex.
There Will Be Cornbread
The Camp Fire Girls had their meetings in our den in those days, and on one February day the two leaders were with the girls and it wasn't my term to be helping.
About 4:30 in the afternoon I was in the kitchen preparing dinner. John had called about noon as he always did to check on us, and I asked him to stop by the grocery store for something or other.
I had just begun making cornbread, when suddenly the "water broke."
Carolyn had been checking in and out of the kitchen. I was not in pain, but I knew that when that happened, the birth could happen at any time.
The Camp Fire meeting was nearly over, and Carolyn shooed everybody out. I called John and told him not to go by the store, but to come on home. But not to hurry.
He hurried!
I couldn't get that cornbread finished. I kept on working on it, with Carolyn trying to get me out of the kitchen. She was afraid that the baby would come with the two of us in the kitchen.
I don't know where Jim was. Maybe at the Tomlin’s or up in his room.
John got home and I finally got that cornbread in the oven.
We called Agnes and she said she'd be right over. As we were getting in the car, Agnes, Elizabeth Ann, and Thomas drove up. They followed us to the hospital, waving all the way, but went on somewhere because the children couldn't be on the floor where we were going.
Don't remember what happened to that cornbread!
Mary Ann was born about 9:30 that night, February 22, 1956. An easy birth and a short labor.
Of course they knocked me out completely, but evidently not as much as with Jim, for I waked up that night.
Agnes was with the older children when John was at work. They were very excited when the beautiful baby sister came home a few days later.
I didn't try to breast feed Mary Ann. The doctor told me that with our busy family, Carolyn 13 and Jim 7, it wouldn't work. So she was on a bottle from birth.
About 4:30 in the afternoon I was in the kitchen preparing dinner. John had called about noon as he always did to check on us, and I asked him to stop by the grocery store for something or other.
I had just begun making cornbread, when suddenly the "water broke."
Carolyn had been checking in and out of the kitchen. I was not in pain, but I knew that when that happened, the birth could happen at any time.
The Camp Fire meeting was nearly over, and Carolyn shooed everybody out. I called John and told him not to go by the store, but to come on home. But not to hurry.
He hurried!
I couldn't get that cornbread finished. I kept on working on it, with Carolyn trying to get me out of the kitchen. She was afraid that the baby would come with the two of us in the kitchen.
I don't know where Jim was. Maybe at the Tomlin’s or up in his room.
John got home and I finally got that cornbread in the oven.
We called Agnes and she said she'd be right over. As we were getting in the car, Agnes, Elizabeth Ann, and Thomas drove up. They followed us to the hospital, waving all the way, but went on somewhere because the children couldn't be on the floor where we were going.
Don't remember what happened to that cornbread!
Mary Ann was born about 9:30 that night, February 22, 1956. An easy birth and a short labor.
Of course they knocked me out completely, but evidently not as much as with Jim, for I waked up that night.
Agnes was with the older children when John was at work. They were very excited when the beautiful baby sister came home a few days later.
I didn't try to breast feed Mary Ann. The doctor told me that with our busy family, Carolyn 13 and Jim 7, it wouldn't work. So she was on a bottle from birth.
Adding on
The summer of 1956, when we were expecting Mary Ann, we knew that we would need more room for our growing family. Jim and Carolyn had been sharing the room on the East upstairs, and John and I used the west bedroom upstairs. The room off the living room was our den.
We built the extension behind the house that summer and fall. It didn't get finished in time for Thanksgiving, I remember. Behind the downstairs bedroom, we built a sewing room with three enormous closet rooms.
John and I moved downstairs. Carolyn moved across the hall, and Jim had his room to himself. Of course the den was great for the whole family, and the living room was the second entertaining area, I guess.
We made the small study room into a room for the baby. She and John Dan shared that room for a number of years.
We built a bar in the den with the window into the kitchen. We ate lots of meals on those bar stools. It was very convenient to cook and pass food out the window. But we still used the dining room often also.
We built the extension behind the house that summer and fall. It didn't get finished in time for Thanksgiving, I remember. Behind the downstairs bedroom, we built a sewing room with three enormous closet rooms.
John and I moved downstairs. Carolyn moved across the hall, and Jim had his room to himself. Of course the den was great for the whole family, and the living room was the second entertaining area, I guess.
We made the small study room into a room for the baby. She and John Dan shared that room for a number of years.
We built a bar in the den with the window into the kitchen. We ate lots of meals on those bar stools. It was very convenient to cook and pass food out the window. But we still used the dining room often also.
A Live-In Gumm
Tuck Gumm, one of Carolyn's early beaus. Practically lived with us when they were in junior high.
He and his mother became good friends. They moved away and I haven't seen them in years. They were very good to Carolyn. Took her along with their other children to California one summer to Disneyland.
He and his mother became good friends. They moved away and I haven't seen them in years. They were very good to Carolyn. Took her along with their other children to California one summer to Disneyland.
Weekend Adventures
After John and I married, we traded my little blue Ford in for a Ford Fairlane with air conditioning! What a boon!John and his brother, Henry, owned a rustic cabin on Lake Texoma. After we married, John took Carolyn, Jim, and me there for a week-end.
It was very pleasant. There was a small fireplace, bunk beds, a picnic style table, and bathroom facilities along with a stove and refrigerator.
It was very pleasant. There was a small fireplace, bunk beds, a picnic style table, and bathroom facilities along with a stove and refrigerator.
In the summer of 1955, we spent a week or so on vacation at that rustic cabin. John made a surf board and we all took turns riding behind the boat on that. Never tried skis, tho'.
We also fished up there. Picnics on the sandy beach were fun with big campfires beside the water. We had lots of happy moments there.
It was after John and I married that I moved up to working with four year olds at Broadway, and he helped with them. We worked together until he began working nights. I enjoyed teaching small children in that venue.
It was after John and I married that I moved up to working with four year olds at Broadway, and he helped with them. We worked together until he began working nights. I enjoyed teaching small children in that venue.
A Big Turnout at Broadway
John and I were married in the Chapel at Broadway on October 22, 1954, with Helen Joyce West playing the organ. Mostly classical music. (John was reared a Baptist and he joined Broadway before we were married.)
Friends decorated the Chapel and the Fellowship Hall for the reception. There was a beautiful candelabra with a flower arrangement on either side of the pulpit. Carolyn and Jim lit those candles before John and I came in. Then they sat with Mother and Aunt Eva.
John and I walked in together. Beth Ann was my maid of honor, and John’s brother, Henry was his best man.
The Chapel was so full that chairs were brought in for people to sit in. Many of John's friends at his work came. Many people came from the medical community, and many more friends from church joined us.
Mommy and Daddy Benton were not well and couldn't come, but James' brother Roddy served as an usher.
Bill and Eloise Coffey also drove from Connecticut with their family for the affair. There were many people who wished us well.
And sure enough, Sam Cunningham was right about Lake Murray being the perfect honeymoon place for John and me.
Friends decorated the Chapel and the Fellowship Hall for the reception. There was a beautiful candelabra with a flower arrangement on either side of the pulpit. Carolyn and Jim lit those candles before John and I came in. Then they sat with Mother and Aunt Eva.
John and I walked in together. Beth Ann was my maid of honor, and John’s brother, Henry was his best man.
The Chapel was so full that chairs were brought in for people to sit in. Many of John's friends at his work came. Many people came from the medical community, and many more friends from church joined us.Mommy and Daddy Benton were not well and couldn't come, but James' brother Roddy served as an usher.
Bill and Eloise Coffey also drove from Connecticut with their family for the affair. There were many people who wished us well.
And sure enough, Sam Cunningham was right about Lake Murray being the perfect honeymoon place for John and me.
The Blessing of Friends and Family
John and I had spent many hours talking about many things while we watched the children play or swim. One night Carolyn met him at the door. She called me into the living room and there John stood with a beautiful diamond ring.
He asked Carolyn if he could ask me to marry him and she agreed. Aunt Eva came in about that time and saw what was going on.
I still wore my wedding ring, and I asked what I'd do about that. Aunt Eva said she'd wear the wedding ring, and she did.
If she and Beth Ann had not encouraged me , I doubt that I would ever have given up my widow status.
Sam Cunningham had taken care of Jim and Carolyn until he took tuberculosis just before John and I married. He had developed the TB from some strain that got loose in Galveston.
One Sunday John and I drove to the government-run sanitarium where Sam was, north of Fort Worth—Wichita Falls, Dennison, Denton or Gainesville. I don't remember, but we went to visit him.
He was so pleased about our coming marriage. He told us that he knew the best honeymoon spot. Lake Murray in Oklahoma. He convinced us that it would be great and got on the phone and made the arrangements before we left.
He was so lonely, away off there. I guess at that time, little was known about a cure for TB, and so many people were afraid to go near some one with the disease.
Sam didn't live long after that, and over the years I haven't kept in touch with his children or his wife Betty (who was the sister of Rush McMillan, James’ witness at our wedding; Rush practiced medicine in Central Texas, maybe Llano, but I didn't see him much after graduation).
He asked Carolyn if he could ask me to marry him and she agreed. Aunt Eva came in about that time and saw what was going on.
I still wore my wedding ring, and I asked what I'd do about that. Aunt Eva said she'd wear the wedding ring, and she did.
If she and Beth Ann had not encouraged me , I doubt that I would ever have given up my widow status.
Sam Cunningham had taken care of Jim and Carolyn until he took tuberculosis just before John and I married. He had developed the TB from some strain that got loose in Galveston.
One Sunday John and I drove to the government-run sanitarium where Sam was, north of Fort Worth—Wichita Falls, Dennison, Denton or Gainesville. I don't remember, but we went to visit him.
He was so pleased about our coming marriage. He told us that he knew the best honeymoon spot. Lake Murray in Oklahoma. He convinced us that it would be great and got on the phone and made the arrangements before we left.
He was so lonely, away off there. I guess at that time, little was known about a cure for TB, and so many people were afraid to go near some one with the disease.
Sam didn't live long after that, and over the years I haven't kept in touch with his children or his wife Betty (who was the sister of Rush McMillan, James’ witness at our wedding; Rush practiced medicine in Central Texas, maybe Llano, but I didn't see him much after graduation).
The Chessman Cometh
One Saturday morning in the summer of 1954, Carolyn and Jim were gone somewhere, and I was busily cleaning house when the door bell rang.
There stood John with a chess set in his hand.
I knew that he was Agnes' brother, and I had seen him at the Lake a time or to, but he was practically a stranger to me.
He asked if he could come in and give the chess set to Carolyn. Said she had shown an interest in chess recently at Agnes' house, and he'd like for her to have a set.
I asked him to come in, but Carolyn wasn't at home. He got around to asking if I thought she and Jim would like to go fishing and boating.
Well, of course, they would.
Well, how about today, and wouldn't I go along. No date. Just taking the children for an outing.
I'm sure that Agnes had told him that I wasn't interested in ANY man. My friends had tried to introduce me to eligible men, and that was NOT for me.
ME? Dating? No indeed.
But the children would love a boat outing and it was a beautiful day. John said he'd be back about three to pick us up. No need to make a picnic, he'd take care of that.
Aunt Eva was still living in our downstairs bedroom at that time and on the morning that John invited us to the lake, Beth Ann also came by. I told Beth Ann what I had accepted, and that I had decided I couldn't do that. I was going to call John and make some excuses. She laughed at me and encouraged me to take the children on that fun outing and enjoy it myself.
When John returned to work from the War, cars were very scarce. He finally found a little old Crosley, but he had worn it out and bought a big black Buick before I met him. He took us to Lake Whitney in that car and he kept it for many, many years after that.
I don't think the children had been in a boat before, not Jim, for sure.
John had everything in that boat. All sorts of fishing gear, and live minnows.
The fish were biting and we really pulled them in. Carolyn and Jim caught so many, it kept John and me both baiting hooks and taking fish off lines.
About dark, we got hungry. John pulled out a one burner stove, and he cooked hamburgers there in the boat. We tossed the scraps into the water and the fish jumped at them. Then John pulled out tremendous apples and oranges. Delicious.
It was late when I decided we must go home. Carolyn and I helped unload the boat, and Jim, age four, tried to help pull the boat in.
John accidentally knocked him in the water, and immediately pulled Jim out again. John said, "You're all right!"
Jim looked up at him with those big, blue eyes and said, "I'm not all right either !"
On the way home, Jim slept and Carolyn pretended to sleep, but I think she was listening to our conversation. Most of our conversation in the boat had been with the children.
John asked me lots of questions. One of them was, did I ever plan to have any more children.
MORE children! I replied. Of course not. I don't plan ever to marry again. Loving is too painful.
Never again!
Famous last words.
I don't think John and I ever had a "date." But we had many "outings " with the children. Everyone has heard me say many times, no doubt, that John fell in love with the children and had to take me along with them.
It was very late when we got home. Jim was sound asleep and John carried him upstairs to bed. Carolyn managed to get to bed on her own. John cleaned those fish in the kitchen sink before he left.
Aunt Eva was asleep in the downstairs bedroom and that made me feel better to have a man in the house at that time of night.
I think John came back the next day after church and cooked those fish. He made a hit with Aunt Eva, she always called him Mr. John. Fish was her favorite food, and he really made it taste good.
Another Saturday in the summer of 1954 John took Carolyn and Jim and me swimming at Lake Whitney. We cruised up the river and tied up the boat to swim.
Carolyn and John jumped in and began swimming. I tied Jim up well in a life jacket and he went in the water. He had not learned to swim yet, and I had always played with him in the shallow water.
John thought I couldn't swim either. He kept offering me a life jacket, but I eased into the water and started swimming away. John was so excited, being out there with us that he forgot to take off his glasses. He didn't remember them until we were in the car on the way back home, and realized that he had lost them in the lake.
There stood John with a chess set in his hand.
I knew that he was Agnes' brother, and I had seen him at the Lake a time or to, but he was practically a stranger to me.
He asked if he could come in and give the chess set to Carolyn. Said she had shown an interest in chess recently at Agnes' house, and he'd like for her to have a set.
I asked him to come in, but Carolyn wasn't at home. He got around to asking if I thought she and Jim would like to go fishing and boating.
Well, of course, they would.
Well, how about today, and wouldn't I go along. No date. Just taking the children for an outing.
I'm sure that Agnes had told him that I wasn't interested in ANY man. My friends had tried to introduce me to eligible men, and that was NOT for me.
ME? Dating? No indeed.
But the children would love a boat outing and it was a beautiful day. John said he'd be back about three to pick us up. No need to make a picnic, he'd take care of that.
Aunt Eva was still living in our downstairs bedroom at that time and on the morning that John invited us to the lake, Beth Ann also came by. I told Beth Ann what I had accepted, and that I had decided I couldn't do that. I was going to call John and make some excuses. She laughed at me and encouraged me to take the children on that fun outing and enjoy it myself.
When John returned to work from the War, cars were very scarce. He finally found a little old Crosley, but he had worn it out and bought a big black Buick before I met him. He took us to Lake Whitney in that car and he kept it for many, many years after that.
I don't think the children had been in a boat before, not Jim, for sure.
John had everything in that boat. All sorts of fishing gear, and live minnows.
The fish were biting and we really pulled them in. Carolyn and Jim caught so many, it kept John and me both baiting hooks and taking fish off lines.
About dark, we got hungry. John pulled out a one burner stove, and he cooked hamburgers there in the boat. We tossed the scraps into the water and the fish jumped at them. Then John pulled out tremendous apples and oranges. Delicious.
It was late when I decided we must go home. Carolyn and I helped unload the boat, and Jim, age four, tried to help pull the boat in.
John accidentally knocked him in the water, and immediately pulled Jim out again. John said, "You're all right!"
Jim looked up at him with those big, blue eyes and said, "I'm not all right either !"
On the way home, Jim slept and Carolyn pretended to sleep, but I think she was listening to our conversation. Most of our conversation in the boat had been with the children.
John asked me lots of questions. One of them was, did I ever plan to have any more children.
MORE children! I replied. Of course not. I don't plan ever to marry again. Loving is too painful.
Never again!
Famous last words.
I don't think John and I ever had a "date." But we had many "outings " with the children. Everyone has heard me say many times, no doubt, that John fell in love with the children and had to take me along with them.
It was very late when we got home. Jim was sound asleep and John carried him upstairs to bed. Carolyn managed to get to bed on her own. John cleaned those fish in the kitchen sink before he left.
Aunt Eva was asleep in the downstairs bedroom and that made me feel better to have a man in the house at that time of night.
I think John came back the next day after church and cooked those fish. He made a hit with Aunt Eva, she always called him Mr. John. Fish was her favorite food, and he really made it taste good.
Another Saturday in the summer of 1954 John took Carolyn and Jim and me swimming at Lake Whitney. We cruised up the river and tied up the boat to swim.
Carolyn and John jumped in and began swimming. I tied Jim up well in a life jacket and he went in the water. He had not learned to swim yet, and I had always played with him in the shallow water.
John thought I couldn't swim either. He kept offering me a life jacket, but I eased into the water and started swimming away. John was so excited, being out there with us that he forgot to take off his glasses. He didn't remember them until we were in the car on the way back home, and realized that he had lost them in the lake.
Family in Fort Worth
In the summer of 1954, Aunt Eva decided she should sell her home in Commerce and make a move to Fort Worth to be close to me and my children. Aunt Eva had been alone in Commerce alone since 1948. Beth Ann lived in Dallas at that time.
Mother was nearing her retirement age then, and she and Aunt Eva bought the duplex on Merida together. Mother made the payments on the remainder of the balance, but didn't live there until a little later. They rented out Mother’s side, the south side, and she continued to teach in West Texas.
Aunt Eva went to work for Cox's Department store that fall. Couldn't get possession of her house immediately, so she continued to stay with me at Hawthorne for a while.
Mother was nearing her retirement age then, and she and Aunt Eva bought the duplex on Merida together. Mother made the payments on the remainder of the balance, but didn't live there until a little later. They rented out Mother’s side, the south side, and she continued to teach in West Texas.
Aunt Eva went to work for Cox's Department store that fall. Couldn't get possession of her house immediately, so she continued to stay with me at Hawthorne for a while.
The Repentant Radio Thief
One morning, I went out to our car and the radio was gone. Nothing else touched—just no radio.
Of course, I told our neighbor about it. Sara Tomlin lived behind us. She had Alan, who was close to Jim's age, and Sheila, close to Carolyn's age, and Dalton, who was a teenager.
We were very good friends and she told her children. Dalton said he'd see what he could do.
The next day my car radio was sitting in the front seat when I went out. And Dalton came over to put it back in. He wouldn't talk about it, though.
His Mother said he knew a neighborhood boy who was bragging about stealing from the neighbors. He told the boy that I was a nice lady, and he'd better take that radio back or he'd turn him in to the police.
We had lots of good people looking after us when we lived alone there.
Other than that one experience, I've never really been robbed.
Of course, I told our neighbor about it. Sara Tomlin lived behind us. She had Alan, who was close to Jim's age, and Sheila, close to Carolyn's age, and Dalton, who was a teenager.
We were very good friends and she told her children. Dalton said he'd see what he could do.
The next day my car radio was sitting in the front seat when I went out. And Dalton came over to put it back in. He wouldn't talk about it, though.
His Mother said he knew a neighborhood boy who was bragging about stealing from the neighbors. He told the boy that I was a nice lady, and he'd better take that radio back or he'd turn him in to the police.
We had lots of good people looking after us when we lived alone there.
Other than that one experience, I've never really been robbed.
Summer Camp
In the summers of 1952 and 1953, Carolyn, Jim, and I went to Western Life Camp in New Mexico two summers. It was located high in the mountains above Las Vegas, New Mexico.Anne Clements, sister to John Clements , was the director of Camp Fire Girls in Lubbock. She had been instrumental in getting Carolyn started in Camp Fire Girls in Fort Worth.
Lubbock Camp Fire Girls rented the camp in New Mexico, and Anne invited us to go with her group for the camping experience. Carolyn could be a camper, I could be the Nature counselor, and Jim would be my helper.
It was a great, free vacation for us. I think Jim was three that first summer. Carolyn invited Elizabeth Ann to go with us, and they were great pals that summer.
The car we had at that time was old, and we had just bought a new, blue Ford before we left for camp. Kenneth Kellam owned the Ford dealership in Fort Worth and he helped us get a good, new one, which was smaller than the Nash I’d been driving. His wife, Mary, had been James' patient, and we had become very close friends.
In those days, a car had to be "broken in”--driven under 40 mph for the first 500 miles. The children and I had tolerated that trip to Lubbock at 40 mph, and were to follow Anne and her group to New Mexico. We could hardly wait to speed up.
Well, would you believe that Anne had a new car, and we had to drive all the way to New Mexico at 40 mph. Some trip! But it was worth it!
All of the counselors were mothers, and we had a great time together. There was a cook who lived at the Camp and she was a great help, too.
There was a pool, and of course, we Texans could hardly wait to get into it. Whew! It was icy, icy, straight off the melted snow up the mountain. Carolyn was about the only one who braved the pool more than once.I took along all of my nature books, and learned a lot that summer identifying trees, flowers, rocks, fossils, etc. We made hats of leaves. And did all sorts of nature projects. We had long hikes into the mountains and up cold streams.
At night there was always a campfire with singing. One night they had a square dance party. About 50 girls.
We all had a great vacation together. I guess my avid desire to identify all of the nature objects around me began that summer. Of course, I had always loved the outdoors.
A Fortuitous Friendship
When Jim was two, I began visiting the elementary area at Broadway, and soon began working there. My specialty was working with two year olds. (This is how I first met Royce, who would become one of Jim’s friends. Royce’s big sister brought him to Sunday school. I guess they lived near the church.)
It was at Broadway that I met Agnes Coffey Jenness. She and I worked in Bible School together in the summer of 1951, I think.
She and her husband Tom had recently bought the Eagle Mountain Lake property. They had no improvements on the place, no house or dock or water or shelter. But Agnes and the children, Elizabeth Ann and Thomas, spent a lot of time out there around the water.
One day Agnes invited some of us to go with her and her children for a picnic and swim after Bible School. We had such a good time that we did that every day for a while, I think. Jim loved playing in the shallow, and Carolyn loved swimming with the girls.
Agnes and I became very good friends, and we met Tom and liked him a lot also. We did lots of things together.
First Tom and Agnes built a "cabin" where their home is now. It consisted of a screened porch which is still in tact. What is the den now was the living area with a small kitchen. The bedroom and bath were the same.
We were really glad to have a bathroom and a place to change clothes in private. There were very few houses close to them at that time.
Later, they built their lovely home around that cabin and finally moved out there to stay. They spent lots of week-ends in the cabin before they built their home.
It was at Broadway that I met Agnes Coffey Jenness. She and I worked in Bible School together in the summer of 1951, I think.
She and her husband Tom had recently bought the Eagle Mountain Lake property. They had no improvements on the place, no house or dock or water or shelter. But Agnes and the children, Elizabeth Ann and Thomas, spent a lot of time out there around the water.
One day Agnes invited some of us to go with her and her children for a picnic and swim after Bible School. We had such a good time that we did that every day for a while, I think. Jim loved playing in the shallow, and Carolyn loved swimming with the girls.
Agnes and I became very good friends, and we met Tom and liked him a lot also. We did lots of things together.
First Tom and Agnes built a "cabin" where their home is now. It consisted of a screened porch which is still in tact. What is the den now was the living area with a small kitchen. The bedroom and bath were the same.
We were really glad to have a bathroom and a place to change clothes in private. There were very few houses close to them at that time.
Later, they built their lovely home around that cabin and finally moved out there to stay. They spent lots of week-ends in the cabin before they built their home.
A Doctor's Wisdom
The spring after James died, I noticed that Jim didn't always pay attention to what I said—but what year and a half old child does?
Kept noticing.
One day we were sitting on the couch and he wasn't paying attention to my reading aloud. I covered his right ear with my hand and whispered in his left ear. "Do you want to go to Ashburn’s for an ice cream cone?"
No response.
Then in his right ear, and he jumped off the couch ready to go.
The next day I told Sam. Well, neurotic moms are a real bother, and especially one whose child was just recovering from months of trauma and whose husband had died recently. But Sam was always patient and great to us. Seldom did we go to his office when the children were sick.
He stopped by the house on his way home. And this was after doctors stopped making house calls. He couldn't see anything wrong with Jim's ears. But there was a new ear doctor in town, and he wanted me to go to him. He made the arrangements.
We went in to see the strange doctor.
He went to work with his tuning forks and lights and stuff, and Jim was NOT cooperative at all. Jim was about two and a half by then, and conversed in sentences—when he wanted to! But he refused to answer any questions.
So the doctor told me he must be deaf and if he never learned to talk , come back in 6 months.
I was so furious that I took Jim out of that office and went to Sam. He arranged for me to take him to Houston to THE BEST specialist in the state. Jim cooperated there with a doctor who knew how to handle children.
He gave me the news that there was nerve deafness in the left ear, and there was NOTHING to be done. Just take good care of the right ear.
Kept noticing.
One day we were sitting on the couch and he wasn't paying attention to my reading aloud. I covered his right ear with my hand and whispered in his left ear. "Do you want to go to Ashburn’s for an ice cream cone?"
No response.
Then in his right ear, and he jumped off the couch ready to go.
The next day I told Sam. Well, neurotic moms are a real bother, and especially one whose child was just recovering from months of trauma and whose husband had died recently. But Sam was always patient and great to us. Seldom did we go to his office when the children were sick.
He stopped by the house on his way home. And this was after doctors stopped making house calls. He couldn't see anything wrong with Jim's ears. But there was a new ear doctor in town, and he wanted me to go to him. He made the arrangements.
We went in to see the strange doctor.
He went to work with his tuning forks and lights and stuff, and Jim was NOT cooperative at all. Jim was about two and a half by then, and conversed in sentences—when he wanted to! But he refused to answer any questions.
So the doctor told me he must be deaf and if he never learned to talk , come back in 6 months.
I was so furious that I took Jim out of that office and went to Sam. He arranged for me to take him to Houston to THE BEST specialist in the state. Jim cooperated there with a doctor who knew how to handle children.
He gave me the news that there was nerve deafness in the left ear, and there was NOTHING to be done. Just take good care of the right ear.
With a Little Help from My Friends
The three couples with whom James and I had been friends—the Ezells, the Beards, and the Kellams—were wonderful to the children and me when we were living alone. All of us were and are still great friends. Those of us who are still living! They included us in everything and looked after us in every way.The Beards took us to Dottie's fathers ranch in the Hill Country in the summer. They took me with them to the TCU games some. Kenneth Kellam always had tickets to games. His wife Mary wouldn't go because she had a phobia about crowds that James had helped her with.
Kenneth took his young son Ken and Carolyn and me to a TCU game in Waco once and we ate at the new Fried Chicken place there on the way home to some. Leslie's Chicken Shack was the first fried chicken place I ever saw. He also took Ken, Carolyn, and me to Dallas Texans football games in the Cotton Bowl.
A Nanny
After James died, Edgar Ezell became Annabelle’s doctor.
My father came to visit and saw how much help she was to me with the two children, Jim, just turned two and Carolyn just eight. I could not afford to pay Annabelle, and she had to work. So, my father offered to pay her if she would stay on with us. That arrangement lasted for about a year, I think, and then she moved to Dallas with her sister.
Sometimes on the weekend she took Jim with her for the week-end to Dallas. When Jim was only two, I think, we'd be getting ready to go somewhere and he would say , "Well, My-m not going !" When I could, I let him stay at home.
He adored Annabelle. She never said "No" to him. She became his "Nanny,” I guess.
We have kept in touch over the years. She always calls at Christmas time. She married after she left, to a man named Robert Louis Shelton, and took his name. In my address book, I still have her under Fagan since that name comes to mind much easier than Shelton. (Now she is in a nursing home in Texarkana, where her nieces look after her. We've always been like family. I would like to go to see her this spring…)
My father came to visit and saw how much help she was to me with the two children, Jim, just turned two and Carolyn just eight. I could not afford to pay Annabelle, and she had to work. So, my father offered to pay her if she would stay on with us. That arrangement lasted for about a year, I think, and then she moved to Dallas with her sister.
Sometimes on the weekend she took Jim with her for the week-end to Dallas. When Jim was only two, I think, we'd be getting ready to go somewhere and he would say , "Well, My-m not going !" When I could, I let him stay at home.
He adored Annabelle. She never said "No" to him. She became his "Nanny,” I guess.
We have kept in touch over the years. She always calls at Christmas time. She married after she left, to a man named Robert Louis Shelton, and took his name. In my address book, I still have her under Fagan since that name comes to mind much easier than Shelton. (Now she is in a nursing home in Texarkana, where her nieces look after her. We've always been like family. I would like to go to see her this spring…)
Healing
After James died, John Clements was very good to us, came by often to check on the children and me, and took us out to visit his parents and family.
I felt the need to go to the cemetery now and then. Jetton's sold barbecue sandwiches, five for a dollar and Jim loved those "barbe shoot hamiches." There was a duck pond at the cemetery, and we'd take those sandwiches there for a picnic.
I don't think either of the children knew that we were there for any reason except to have a picnic and eat" barbe shoot hamiches."
It was also soon after James died that Star Dust, our cocker spaniel (whom Jim called “Tardie” before he could speak clearly) had NINE little black pups. None of them looked like her.
The backyard at Hawthorne was small, and there wasn't room for ten dogs. Our friend took those nine puppies to the vet and he found homes for them.
Jim loved Star Dust a lot. She lived to be old.
I felt the need to go to the cemetery now and then. Jetton's sold barbecue sandwiches, five for a dollar and Jim loved those "barbe shoot hamiches." There was a duck pond at the cemetery, and we'd take those sandwiches there for a picnic.
I don't think either of the children knew that we were there for any reason except to have a picnic and eat" barbe shoot hamiches."
It was also soon after James died that Star Dust, our cocker spaniel (whom Jim called “Tardie” before he could speak clearly) had NINE little black pups. None of them looked like her.
The backyard at Hawthorne was small, and there wasn't room for ten dogs. Our friend took those nine puppies to the vet and he found homes for them.
Jim loved Star Dust a lot. She lived to be old.
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