Dad arriving in New Mexico

I remember Daddy talking about getting to New Mexico, too. After his dad died in Granbury, he took the family back to Gainsville where Grandma's brother Jim lived.
This was in 1927, a couple of years before the big crash and the coming of the depression. When he found he couldn't support the family where he was, Daddy decided to go to San Angelo where Leoder and Luther lived. They did travel by wagon from Gainsville to San Angelo and on to Hobbs where Knox and Rosie lived. They traveled just as you see the pioneers in the movies traveling - camping each night, cooking on campfires, sleeping outside. Sometimes they were able to camp on ranches or farms, but sometimes they just had to find a place by the side of the road to stop for the night. This meant carrying water with them.

When they finally got to San Angelo, Daddy looked for work but couldn't find anything but temporary jobs. Grandma wrote to Knox in Hobbs to see if there was work around there. Knox sent them some money to come on to New Mexico. Daddy said that about the time they were getting ready to leave, a man came and offered him permanent work. However, Grandma said that they had already spent most of the money from Knox on getting ready to go, and didn't have a way to pay him back. So, they came on to New Mexico. I always think that if Daddy had found work there, they never would have moved on, and then Mother and Daddy would never have met. And that means that none of us would be here!

They finally ended up in Roswell working for Bogle Farms, the same people Mother's brother Louis worked for most of his life. Daddy said they couldn't believe how green everything was around Roswell. Roswell is on the Pecos River, and besides that there were hundreds of artesian wells to water the farms.

I remember Daddy telling about the move the family made from East Texas to San Angelo and then to Roswell. They drove a wagon downtown Ft. Worth ovber the old brick road that is still in use. They either slept in or under the wagon at night. Daddy was able to ease his team to a farmer in SanAngelo but couldn't find any work. After about 30 days he received a letter from his half brother Knox to come to Roswell Knox had found a job for Daddy that paid $1 a day and a house for the family. It took them 14 days to go from SanAngelo to Roswell. Daddy later made the trip with his family to visit Leoder and Luther in 1927 Dodge touring car in about 9 hours. That was 1928-29 or there abouts.

Is Anyone reading these besides me and Dorothy? I see no comments, no other posts, What's going on. I like this stuff. I think that some of the younger generation might have something to add. It is all very interesting. I recall, been using I remember too much, the time I caughty first fish. Daddy took me to Delta Lake out by Hargill, which is NE of Edinburg, which is N of Pharr which is south of Indiana, (thats for Debbie) and he told me that if I caught a fish he would buy me a fishing pole. Well I caught a catfish about 18 inches long and shore 'nuff he bought me my first fishing pole.

THAT Thanksgiving!

I also remember that Thanksgiving. I was so sick! It took me a while, but I do eat giblet gravy, when someone makes it. I don't think we have really celebrated a Thanksgiving since Daddy died when Mother cooked a turkey and all the trimmings, including giblet gravy.

I also remember that the Saturday after that Thanksgiving, Carole wanted to go to the Texas Theater that afternoon (we went to the "show" a lot of Saturday afternoons to watch Roy Rogers, Lash LaRue, Red Ryder, and always the serials), but I didn't want to go as I still felt sick. Mother made me go, anyway. When the movie was over, I got ready to go home, and couldn't find Carole anywhere!!! I finally just went on home. Come to find out that Carole didn't even stay at the movies, she went off to the drug store or somewhere with some of her friends. I wasn't happy about that!!

Fishing stories

I remember one Thanksgiving that the family spent at the Arroyo. Granddaddy and Grandmama were there also. Everyone got sick from eating the stuffing,deviled eggs and giblet gravy except me and Carole. We didn't eat any of that stuff. I still won't eat stuffing and giblet gravy today. Another time daddy and I was fishing under the lights on the Arroyo and caught over 250 trout. He caught a hardhead catfish and I caught 20 trout before he could get the hardhead off of his hook. All we caught were over 20 inches long. We went out on a boat to the mouth of the Arroyo once and caught about just as many but they were not as big. I have many outdoor stories to tell.

South McColl Rd was between Pharr and McAllen. There was a tangerine tree there as well as other citrus tree. My sisters would pick all the lower tangerines and I couldn't reach any. There is an expressway that runs now just about where the house was that we lived in.