ACCM - Dec 23 – Christmas Sweetheart Memories

Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories

My husband and I met in October 1974 so I hadn't known him long at Christmas time, but we were in love.  I was teaching in Big Spring, Texas and planning to go home to Abilene during the holidays.  However there was a terrible flu epidemic and Daddy called to tell me Mother had it.  He then hesitantly told me that the doctor said she wouldn't have to be hospitalized if Daddy was there with her and advised that I not come home until she was better.
 
I was stunned and had no idea what I would do for Christmas that year.  Where to go?  What to do?  When I told Joe, he said he wanted me to go home with him and that he would call his parents.  He used my phone to call and I was in the room to hear his side of the conversation.  He asked if it would be okay for me to go with him for Christmas and proceeded to explain about Mother having the flu and that I had no where else to go.  I was humiliated because he made me feel like a charity case.  I still laugh now remembering it. 

When we got to his parents' house, his dad greeted us at the front door saying, "It looks like Mutt and Jeff walking up the sidewalk."  I pointed at Joe and responded, "He's the Mutt!" which made him laugh and broke the ice.  Joe's mother and sister weren't at home so I hung my clothes in the guest room closet and we left to do some shopping.  When Christmas gifts were opened, I remember there were a couple of gifts for me.  One was a bottle of perfume from his family, but I can't remember what Joe gave me or I gave him.  I can remember the small oval of framed dried flowers on a black background we chose for his mother.

I also remember how welcoming my future in-laws were and that they did not make me feel like a charity case.  They told me Joe had never brought anyone home before, so they knew I was pretty special.  I only felt like a charity case when Joe called them because he was nervous and kept repeating that my mother had the flu and I had no where to go for Christmas.  Had I been asking my parents' permission to bring him home under similar circumstances, I would have been more comfortable doing so. 

Years later Joe's sister told me she and her mother couldn't stand the suspense so while Joe and I were gone shopping, they looked at my clothes in the closet and were surprised by how small I was since Joe is so tall.  They wondered if he would be giving me a ring for Christmas, but that didn't happen until Valentine's Day.

ACCM - Dec 10 - The Gift of Music

Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories

This year I want to write down my memories of a special gift from my Daddy when I was in 4th or 5th grade.  Mother was the one who bought presents and wrapped them, but this year a gift was placed under the tree that was obviously a record album.  I could tell Mother hadn't wrapped it because we didn't have that wrapping paper.  The gift tag said it was from "Dady" to me.  That made it special even before it was unwrapped and I had some fun teasing Daddy and calling him "Dad-Y".
When we finally opened presents on Christmas Eve, I was a little surprised and a little disappointed to find the album was "Sing a Hymn with Me" by Tennessee Ernie Ford.  Just what every girl that age wanted for Christmas, right?  I know Daddy loved gospel music so I felt it was partly because he wanted it and probably teased him about that as well.  The truth is, I enjoyed it and enjoyed listening to it with him; I listened to it even when he wasn't around and I did sing along with Tennessee Ernie Ford.  As you probably have guessed, I still have it with my collection of records and it is priceless to me now.

Daddy couldn't carry a tune very well so he would just listen.  Since he was a preacher, I asked him about why he didn't sing at church when the Bible says "to make a joyful noise."  He told me then he couldn't sing, but he loved to listen.  That speaks volumes because the singing at most of the small country churches where he preached wasn't always on key or on tempo, but it was heart-felt.

A memory also associated with this gift of music is how we would listen to the "Old Time Camp Meeting" on the local radio station as we drove to Lawn, Texas where he preached for the Church of Christ for many years.  I can remember other times when he would listen to gospel quartets and his foot or hand would be quietly keeping time with the music as he smiled and often closed his eyes in enjoyment.

The album cover "opens into a special hymn book that includes complete words and music to all the hymns in the album."  All of the songs were familiar to me except "The Church in the Wildwood" and I learned to love it as well.  "When the Roll is Called Up Yonder" was a favorite because when Daddy preached at the Church of Christ located at Plum and Wilson Streets in Abilene, church members would visit the Sunshine Nursing Home on Butternut Street to have a short worship service and sing.  There was a man who resided there who had had a stroke.  I wish I knew his name, but I only remember we called him "Gee Whiz".  That was because we would always sing that hymn for him and he would sit there, smiling and saying "Gee Whiz" as we sang it.  I cannot hear that song today with out smiling and whispering "Gee Whiz".  (As an aside, I also remember he had a small collection of wind up toys we'd sometimes get to see.)

"I Love to Tell the Story" is also a favorite hymn on the album.  I requested it to be sung at Daddy's funeral because he did love to preach The Gospel and tell the story that meant so much to him.

Military Monday - Italian Prisoner in World War II

A few days ago I asked my cousin if he would write down some stories he remembers his dad, my Uncle Wilber, telling about his service during World War II.  In particular I wanted the story that was shared at his funeral about him helping an Italian POW.  Many thanks to Duane for writing this for me to post on my blog.  I've inserted two pictures from Uncle Wilber's WWII photographs I scanned, but I don't know if one of the men is the POW in the story.  At the top of one of the pages is a note stating he visited "Rome and other points of interest in Italy, Sept. 1944."

MY FATHER, WILBER CONLEY, AND THE ITALIAN P.O.W.

By Duane F. Conley

My father, Wilber Franklin Conley (1919-1984), served in the Army Air Corps (predecessor of today’s Air Force) during WW II. He was in a ground crew unit, providing maintenance support for the bombing raids over Nazi-occupied Europe that were being staged out of North Africa. When I was growing up Dad used to tell me a lot of stories about his experiences during the war. Here is one of my favorites (as best I can remember it after so many years). It is a short and simple story, but to me it is an important part of remembering Dad.

Background.

Mussolini, Hitler’s European ally, had grand dreams of a second Roman Empire in North Africa. Unfortunately for him, Italian troops fared badly against the British in the early years of the war, resulting in thousands of Italian P.O.W.’s. One of these wound up in a work crew which Dad supervised (unloading supplies, as I recall, while Dad operated the crane). Apparently they chatted with each other from time to time. (I guess the prisoner must have learned pretty good English, because I don’t think Dad knew any Italian.) This prisoner had a wife and children in Rome, with whom he had not been able to make contact, so they presumably had no idea whether he was dead or alive.

The Story.

Sometime late in the war, after most of Italy was liberated, Dad got a furlough that allowed him to visit Italy. When the prisoner found out about this, he begged Dad to look up his family in Rome, to let them know that he was alive and well. Rome was not on Dad’s itinerary (which was mainly Naples and the Isle of Capri, I think), but he agreed to give it a try. 

 Dad managed to hitch a ride to Rome and found the address, not without some difficulty given his lack of Italian. He found the family in one of the upper stories of some kind of tenement, not in the best neighborhood. You can imagine the wife’s astonishment and perhaps unease when a soldier showed up at her door in a U.S. uniform. After he communicated his message, she became ecstatic, crying and hugging him and trying to thank him in Italian.

My [Duane's] Comments.

When I was a kid hearing this, it pretty much went in one ear and out the other, like so many other stories, but from an adult’s perspective this one has stuck with me like no other.

It has been said that war brings out the best and the worst in people. In the great cauldron of WW II, millions of people from all over the world encountered one another, many of them far from their homes. The way I look at it, every one of them was kind of an ambassador, representing his home town and nation by his conduct. Some behaved badly, committing wartime atrocities. Some, like Audie Murphy of Texas, showed exceptional battlefield valor and became heroes in that way. In my eyes, by his act of compassion to this Italian family, my Dad became a hero in a different way. I am proud of the way he represented Cherokee, Texas and the U.S. of A. on that occasion.   

Sentimental Sunday – Remembering Clarence Conley

In the Georgetown (Texas) Public Library I found a book entitled Adamsville Through Their Eyes: History & Reflections compiled in 2008.  In it I found an article submitted by Wenona Conley, daughter-in-law of Clarence Conley, my mother’s uncle.

From it I learned some of our Conley family settled in Adamsville about 1919.  In the article, Wenona said that Will and Clarence moved from Evant [in Lampasas County] to Adamsville and built a cotton gin.  I remember my mother, Iva Conley Robbins, telling me about a cotton gin, but I don’t remember the location or who ran it.  Her father, Frank Conley, was the brother of Will and Clarence.  If I remember correctly, she told me she had a pet goat and it would follow her up the stairs of the gin into an area that would be like a loft in a barn.  Outside, below, were fairly high piles of cotton lint.  She would hide from the goat and when it would go to the edge looking for her, she would push it into the pile of fluff.  It’s a wonder the goat didn’t return the favor.

In the article Wenona stated, “Will and his wife Nora soon moved to Cherokee.”  Will’s wife was Violet Inman Conley, the sister of Nora Inman Conley who married John Franklin (Frank) Conley.  Brothers, Will and Frank Conley married sisters, Violet and Nora Inman.  Will and Violet, Frank and Nora, Iva, and Wilber did move to Cherokee, but were still listed in Adamsville on the 1920 Lampasas County, Texas Census.

Clarence and his wife, Willie (Carrigan) owned land between the Lampasas River and what is now U. S. Highway 281 about six miles north of Adamsville.  I did not know, “The Conley’s were the first in the community to have electricity generated by batteries before LCRA put in a line.”  I remember Uncle Clarence had what I called a horse ranch in Adamsville; I did not know he raised Welsh ponies and sheep.

One summer, when I was about eight years old, my Granny Conley, (great) Aunt Violet and Uncle Will visited my (great) Aunt Willie and Uncle Clarence.  He had horses from newborn to very old.  He loaded my cousins and me in his pickup and took us to a pasture to see the horses.  I grew up in Abilene and as a “city girl” was wearing my little white sandals with no socks – definitely not appropriate for walking in a pasture, but he told me not to worry because we’d be driving up close to the horses.  

We did walk around a little to get closer to the horses.  At some point I told him my ankle was stinging and I thought something had bitten me.  He knelt beside me and told me it looked like I’d gotten into some stinging nettle.  Of course I had no idea what that was, but he pointed it out and then broke off some milk weed and rubbed the white milk on my ankle to stop the stinging.  It was a plant that had a white, milky substance inside but I don’t really remember what it looked like. 

 

He told me there are lots of things in this world that can hurt us, but if we’ll just look, the Good Lord put lots of things here to help us.  He told me if I’d look around, everywhere I saw stinging nettle, I’d find some milk weed nearby.   Whether it’s factual or not isn’t very important to me now, but I believed him and of course, my ankle quit stinging.  What a special memory to have of him!  

Uncle Clarence’s son, Charles Allen Conley, was Wenona’s husband.  She states in the article that Charles spent the last 25 ½ years of his 40 year preaching career as pastor of the Adamsville Baptist Church.  I did not know that he served as an MP in the occupation of Japan in WWII.  I did know Uncle Clarence served in World War I.

I learned from the article that Uncle Clarence and Aunt Willie donated a portion of their land for the Hines Chapel Cemetery.  In a quick online search, I found the oldest known marker was dated 1885.  Perhaps I need to add another cemetery to the list of those I’m working on for historic cemetery status.

Halloween in the 1950's

Things were so different when I was a girl growing up in Abilene, Texas on ACC Hill.  It was called that because of the location of Abilene Christian College.  Most of the people who lived in that part of Abilene were associated with the college.

I remember the kids playing together and walking to friends' houses blocks away, riding our bikes, and having to be home by dark.  At Halloween, the kids who lived on "the hill" would walk blocks in the dark to go trick or treating.  The lady who did my mother's hair, Thelma Beall, lived about two blocks over and two blocks down from our house.  I would always try to trick her, but she would pick me out each year.  I tried hiding in the middle of a group of friends or hiding at the back.  I tried not speaking.  One year I even switched masks with a friend just in case my mother had given away what mask I would be wearing, but nothing worked.  She always picked me out of the group.

Those were simpler times.  We didn't have Halloween costumes; we had masks.  And what a time of innocence that was, too.  There was no fear about us roaming for blocks to go trick or treating.  There was no fear that someone would give children something harmful or harm them.  

Another memory that stands out is Mother making pop corn balls.  She had a white dishpan with a thin red line around the edge.  It was big enough to fit over both burners on the stove.  She would pour pans of popped corn in it and then pour the syrup mixture in to start forming the popcorn balls.  She wrapped them in waxed paper and tied them with a ribbon.  As I write this, I can picture her smiling as she made them and as she waited for the kids to start knocking at the door.  It did not take long for word to spread that Mrs. Robbins made popcorn balls.  I was so proud that everyone made sure to stop at our house.  The next year she made even more, but quickly ran out. 

John H. Robbins - Part III

Yesterday as I was finishing up my posts on John H. Robbins I omitted some things I intended to include, so they are being posted today. 

His obituary stated he had two daughters and one son living in 1916.  The 1880 Branford, New Haven, Connecticut census lists John, age 25 and wife, Emily, age 24 with William C., age 5, Annie E., age 3, and Lila E., age 2.  In the 1900 Stone Mountain, De Kalb, Georgia census, the number of children Emily had is difficult to read, but may be 8; the number living is 4.  Gladdis E. is the only child listed as living with them at the time and she was born in April 1899.

Annie E. Robins Dower, wife of John H. Dower, is buried in the Stony Creek Cemetery in Branford, New Haven, Connecticut.  The picture of her grave marker shows her name as Annie E. Robins, wife of John H. Dower, that she was born in 1876 and died in 1930. 

The 1900 Branford, New Haven, Connecticut census shows John was born in England in July 1875 and was a stone cutter.  He and Annie had been married 3 years and had 2 children, a son and a daughter.  The names are difficult to read, but look like Lovel, a son, age 2, and a daughter whose name begins with an E, age 2/12, which could be read as Edith M after seeing it on later census records.  The year of immigration for John was 1872; Annie immigrated in 1873.  The 1900 census showed John's brothers, Edwin and Harry, immigrated in 1873.

The 1910 census shows John and Annie are the parents of Lovell, a son, age 12, Edith, a daughter, age 10, and Richard, age 5.  Living with them is a sister-in-law named Gladys Robins, age 11.  A few entries prior on the same page has Howard G. Robins, Annie's brother, and family listed.  His occupation is assistant supervisor in a rail road office.

By 1920 the family is in Middletown, Middlesex, Connecticut.  John Dower is a granite cutter for a monumental company.  Edith is a developer for a Kodak Shop and Richard J. at 15 is an "elevator boy" at a bank.  Additions to the family are a son, Ralph E., age 8 and a daughter, Cecillia, age 2 years, 11 months.

Since John Dower died in 1923, Annie is listed as the head of the household on the 1930 Branford, New Haven, Connecticut census.  The enumeration date was April 24, so it is assumed she died after that date.  Listed with her are Ralph, age 18, Cecelia, age 13, and son, John, age 8.

Mystery Monday - More About John H. Robins

Last Monday I blogged about the mystery of finding John H. Robins in Llano, Texas and am fairly certain he is not part of my family line.  Even so, I looked at the other two news articles in The Llano News, and found out a little more. Since his death certificate had the date of death on September 13, the article published on September 11 seemed to precede his death.  However, when the article was found, it proved the date on the death certificate to be incorrect.  The following is a transcription of the article.

J. H. Robins Dead
Yesterday morning at 12:10 o’clock J. H. Robins passed away at his home a few miles from town.  Interment was made in the Llano cemetery yesterday afternoon following services by the pastor.

Mr. Robins was above sixty years of age.  He had been sick for a long time and all that human skill and patient ministering could do was done to bring him back to health.  But those efforts would not avail and the patient sufferer passed away.

The NEWS begs to add its sympathy to that of the many friends of the bereaved.

The obituary will appear next week."

Since this article was published on September 11, the date of death would be September 10, not September 13 as recorded on the death certificate.  The article also states he was buried in the Llano City Cemetery although there is no marker and no record of the burial in the existing cemetery records.  Based on this new information I have added his name to the Llano City Cemetery on findagrave.com and linked his first wife to that record.  I have not researched further to find more about his second wife at the time of his death.

The other article in The Llano News dated May 11, 1916 is as follows: 

Runs Into Telephone Pole. 
"Sometime Tuesday night or Wednesday morning the telephone pole that stands at the Corner Drug Store was hit by the heavily loaded truck of the Waco Quarry Company and was broken in two several feet above the ground.

The early risers on yesterday morning were much concerned over the looks of the pole as there was every indication that it had been hit by an avalanche, the like of the slides in the Panama Canal.  Investigation showed, however, that the young Mr. Robins in making the sharp turn with the heavy car was unable to turn quick enough and the collision was the result."

 Who was "the young Mr. Robins?"  Was he the stepson mentioned in the obituary since it stated the rest of the family was all in Connecticut or was one of his sons working with him at the quarry at that time?

Since last week's post I received a reply to my request for a photo of the gravestone for John H. Robins in the Stony Creek Cemetery in Branford, New Haven, Connecticut.  He has no marker there, but his first wife, Emeline is buried in Stony Creek.  Hers is a single marker in a curbed area with Robins carved in the curbing.  She is buried next to their son, William C. Robins, and his wife, Lilla M. Thomas.  I placed a note (on the memorial page for John H. Robins in the Stony Creek Cemetery that was transferred to me) indicating no marker was found and referenced his page in the Llano City Cemetery.  I decided to leave both entries in hopes of helping other researchers since the moves from England, to Connecticut, to Georgia, to Llano might not be that easy to find had I not come across his obituary.

John and Emeline's son, William and his wife, Lillian M., are listed on the 1900 Branford, New Haven, Connecticut census as being married two years.   He was age 25, born September 1874 in Connecticut and she was 30, born November 1880 in England.  They had a child, Florence E., born in September 1898 in Connecticut, who was listed as a son in the 1900 census, but as a daughter, age 11, in the 1910 census.  William's occupation was also a granite cutter.  Harry, Edwin, Ernest, and Howard were also easily located on the 1900 Connecticut census records, but none of them were listed as stone cutters.

Besides finding John H. Robins in the census records mentioned in last week's post, I found his parents and siblings in the 1880 Branford, New Haven, Connecticut census on page 58.  His father was John Robins, born in England and was the superintendent of a stone quarry.  His mother, Mary [Deeble], was also born in England as were his siblings: J Annie S, Harry L., Edwin D., and Sidney H.  Two siblings, Ernest G., about 8 and Howard G., about 5, were born in Connecticut.  A brother-in-law, John L. Deeble, age 38, born in England, was living with the family and was a stone cutter.

As time allows, I may pursue this family a little more, but since they don't seem to be part of my Robbins line, I think it's best I decide the mystery has been solved for my research interests.

Sunday's Obituary - Aaron R. Robbins

This is a transcription of the obituary for A. R. Robbins found in the Waco Times Herald published on Tuesday, June 2, 1903, on page 4, column 3.  Although I had found a transcription of the article, there was no citation with it.  Fortunately, a genealogy reference librarian at the West Waco Library and Genealogy Center was able to locate it on microfilm and made a copy of it with the sourcing information.

 MORTUARY.
"A. R. Robbins, aged 77 years, died at No. 922 South Sixteenth street last night at 8 o'clock after an illness of several weeks.  He was an old man who enjoyed the highest esteem of all who knew him.  He was the father of Mrs. W. W. Smith and has been in Waco for some time.  The remains were shipped on the noon Katy for Granger, where they will be interred this afternoon upon arrival at Granger."

This is the Aaron R. Robbins who was written about on pages 563 and 564 of Goodspeed's History of Texas: Together with a Biographical History of Milam, Williamson, Bastrop, Travis, Lee and Burleson Counties.

When I first started researching my Robbins family, I thought it was wonderful so many names were given to the next generation, but as I kept finding more and more, it became frustratingly confusing.  There are so many men in the family named Aaron Robbins I've made a chart to help me try to keep them straight.  To add to the confusion, there are several named Aaron R. Robbins.  The terms Sr. and Jr. weren't always used, but even when they were, it did not necessarily mean they were father and son, only older and younger by that name.  This applies not just to Aaron R. Robbins in my family, but to the use of Sr. and Jr. when researching any line.

Mystery Monday - Northern Robins in a Southern Nest

It's true that birds of a feather flock together, so when I came across an obituary for John H. Robins who died in Llano, Texas in 1916, I thought he might be part of my Robbins line.  I copied the information and started doing a little research.  If there's a connection, it isn't an obvious one,  but I thought I'd post what I found in case it helps another Robbins/Robins researcher trace him from England to Connecticut, to Georgia, to Texas. 

Here is the information I found in the obituary for John H. Robins in The Llano News published on September 21, 1916:

• He was born at Gunnis Lake, Cornwall, England on 6 August 1855
• His parents were John and Mary Anna (Deeble) Robins
• He moved to Stony Creek, Connecticut in 1870
• He came to Texas from Georgia in 1909 to oversee the granite work of the Harris County Courthouse
• He was over the Gooch & Wells granite quarry in Llano
• He had been sick for about two years
• He was a member of the Episcopal Church
• Survivors were his wife, 
• two daughters, one son, four brothers and one sister who all lived in Connecticut 
• and one stepson in Llano
• five children preceded him in death

The next step was to look on familysearch.org and luckily I found his death certificate.  Information on it confirmed what I'd found in the obituary and had a little more information.

• He died in Llano, Llano County, Texas on September 13, 1916.
• His occupation was listed as a quarryman and an employer
• His mother's birthplace was Plymouth, England
• The cause of death was pneumonia with a contributing cause of pneumonia in Nov. 1914
• It did not have the information filled in about where he was buried

My next search was on findagrave.com. There is a John Robins listed in Stony Creek Cemetery in Branford, New Haven County, Connecticut but there is no photo of a marker and the birth and death dates are listed as unknown.  There are no links to family members.  I contacted the manager of the page and asked if she would mind transferring it to me since I have information to add even though I don't fall under the guidelines of being a direct relative.  It has been transferred to me, but I do not know if John was actually buried there or not.  The page was created for him based on information found in the Hale Collection which was published in 1937.  I have submitted a request for a photograph of his first wife's marker since she died in 1903, but if it happened to be a double marker with only his name on one side, that would not mean he was buried there.  If I wanted to research this further, I would try to locate the cemetery records and newspaper articles in Connecticut about John Robins in 1916.

There is no other record on findagrave.com for this John Robins.  A search of the City of Llano Cemetery Records yielded no entry for him either.

A search of WorldVitalRecords.com listed two more articles about John Robins in The Llano News in 1916, but my subscription had expired.  One is dated May 11, 1916 and one September 11, 1916. The Llano County Public Library also has this year of the paper on microfilm where they can be viewed at no cost. 

Since I was still interested in finding more, I looked on Ancestry.com and found a few family trees for this John Robins, but little other information on them.  Since I do not have the World Explorer Membership, I cannot view the census records in England for him on Ancestry, but located him in 1880 in Connecticut, 1900 in Georgia, and 1910 in Llano.  Having his occupation listed as "stone cutter", "quarryman", or "granite cutter" was a tremendous help.  Had he been a farmer, it would have been much more difficult to identify him.

Now I can look for passenger lists and even try looking for him in the census records in England on familysearch.org if I decide to continue the research.

Why spend all this time on someone I probably cannot link to in my research?  That's no mystery.  I have enjoyed the research and it has opened new possibilities for me to explore.  Since most of my research has been focused on Texas and Arkansas, I've only listened to others talk about researching passenger lists and census records other than the U.S.   In addition, my nephew submitted a DNA sample for our Robbins line, so who knows what connections we may find in the future.

Church Record Sunday - Ballinger, Texas Church Directory

Church directories can provide the names of church members, their addresses, phone numbers, and in more recent times, photographs.

I do not know the year this directory was printed, but it was about 1945 and my father, Richard Robbins, was the minister.  He may have printed the directory as well.

All of the telephone numbers were only 3 or 4 digits long, and many members did not have a number listed.  I have combined two entries as Mr. & Mrs. when it is obvious they are husband and wife; otherwise I have typed the names in the order they appear.

	A
Mr. & Mrs. Roy Allaman		South Ballinger, Route 1
Mrs. Horace Atnipp		803 Phillips Ave.
H. L. Atnipp		803 Phillips Ave.
Mrs. O. B. Amarine		201 Eighth Street
Mr. Dormon Neil Amarine		201 Eighth Street

	B
Mr. & Mrs. J. P. Boothe		Three miles South, Route 1
Mr. & Mrs. E. H. Becton		800 Ninth Street
Mrs. W. C. Bryan		704 Harris Ave.
Miss Ann Bryan		704 Harris Ave.
Miss Fadinie Baker		Ballinger, Texas

	C
Miss Jewel CartWright		707 Fifth Street
Mr. & Mrs. L. L. Clark		700 Tenth Street
Miss Wanda Crager		Ballinger, Texas
Mrs.  Alma Curbo		217 South Broadway
Miss Elyon Curbo		217 South Broadway
Mrs. Ella Cross		1102 Strong Ave.
Mrs. C. E. Cape		Paint Rock, Texas
Mr. Clifford Cook		903 Fifth Street
Mrs. M. L. Cook		1109 Tenth Street, Route 2
Mrs. Jim Collins		1306 Seventh Street

	D
Mrs. Alta Davison		419 Hutch Ave.
Mrs. Oran Dean		701  12th Street
Mr. E. L. Dewitt		809 Ninth Street

	E
Dr. & Mrs. J. Dexter Eoff		700 Eighth Street
John Eoff		700 Eighth Street

 

	F
Mrs. E. D. Floyd		608 Bonsall Ave.
Mr. Jack B. Fry		803 Third Street
Mrs. Ed Farley		South Ballinger, Mail: 1208 Hutch Ave.
Miss Gloria Farley		South Ballinger, Mail: 1208 Hutch Ave.
Mr. Edward Farley, Jr.		South Ballinger, Mail: 1208 Hutch Ave.
Mrs. Andrew Flint		Box 124, Route A. – Five miles South

	G
Mrs. Elmer Greenwood		1005 Eighth Street
Mr. & Mrs. R. B. Gulley		1103 Railroad Ave.

	H
Mrs. Lee Harris		1306 Ninth Street – Route 2
Mrs. L. L. Heywood		801  12th Street
Mrs. Herman Hulsey		416 Hutchins Ave.
Mr. & Mrs. S. H. Hickam		Route 2, Box 28
Mrs. P. P. Holton		401 Seventh Street
Miss Sally Hall		1306 Seventh Street
Mr. & Mrs. N. W. Hudson		606 Broadway
N. W. Hudson, Jr.		606 Broadway
Mrs. George Harris		905 Snap Ave.

	J
Mr. & Mrs. J. F. Joy		Two miles South of Ballinger
Mr. & Mrs. O. K. Jacob		503 Tenth Street
Mrs. C. L. Jennings		209  13th Street

	L
Mrs. C. B. Looney		505  12th Street
Miss Sue Looney		505 12th Street
Mrs. Vertie Lewis		704 Eighth Street

 

	M
Mrs. Lee Roy McAulay		1106 Eighth Street
Mr. & Mrs. Jim Miller		300 South Broadway
Mrs. Bertes Morgan		906 Snap Ave.
Mrs. Beulah McMillian		701 Tenth Street
Miss Dorthy McMillan		701 Tenth Street
Miss Barbara Jeanne Morlan		800 Sixth Street
Mrs. J. L. Moreland		709  12th Street
Mr. S. M. Middlebrook		909  12th Street
Mrs. D. H. Macune		Two miles South
Mrs. J. W. Mayes		Broad Street, Route 2
Mrs. Robert McGarvey		701 Tenth Street
Mrs. A. J. McDaniel		508 Fifth Street
Hal McDaniel		508 Fifth Street
Mrs. Arlie Miller		704 Eighth Street
Miss Dorothy Miller		704 Eighth Street
Mrs. A. D. (Elsie) McElroy		1609  16th Street
Mrs. S. A. McElroy		1609  16th Street
Mrs. Margaret Miller		Abilene Highway, Route 2

	N
Mrs. A. A. Neely		503 Third Street
Mr. William R. Nuckls		300 Phillips Street

	O
Mr. & Mrs. J. Lester Ohlhausen		1100 Hutch Ave.
Mrs. C. A. Orr		1701 Eighth Street

	P
Miss Dorothy Primrose		800 Ninth Street
Mrs. Bill Pagels		1305 Eighth Street
Mr. & Mrs. Albert L. Penuel		1204 Sixth Street
Mrs. Louise Phillips		618 Park Ave.
Miss Eunice Phillips		618 Park Ave.
Mrs. S. V. Parrish		419 Hutch Ave.

	R
Mr. & Mrs. B. D. Roberts		Talpa, Texas
Mr. & Mrs. T. J. Riddle		1109 Tenth Street
Miss Maurine Riddle		1109 Tenth Street
Mr. & Mrs. O. H. Rezzlle		1 mile South of Ballinger
Miss Bernice Rezzlle		1 mile South of Ballinger
Mr. & Mrs. Richard Robbins		707 Bonsall Ave.
Mrs. Opal Richards		400 Fifth Street

	S
Mr. & Mrs. Ross A. Smith		404 Tenth Street
Miss Bessie Smith		600 Ninth Street
Miss Alice Smith		209 Third Street
Mr. & Mrs. C. L. Sargeant		Route 1, South of Ballinger
Mrs. R. N. Stark		South of Ballinger
Mr. R. L. Sutphen		1007 Ninth Street
Mrs. Jewel Sutphen		1007 Ninth Street
Miss Clora Beth Sutphen		1007 Ninth Street
Bobby L. Sutphen		1007 Ninth Street
Mrs. Dee Saylors		803 Sixth Street
Miss Bettie Stuart		305 Ninth Street

	T
Mrs. W. H. Taylor		707 Fifth Street
Mrs. Guy Taylor		1201 Fifth Street
Mrs. Frank Tatum		Abilene Highway

	W
Mrs. Archie Wallace		900  15th Street, Route 2
Mrs. J. Alton Williams		601 Third Street
Miss Wanda Williams		601 Third Street
Gene Weldon Williams		601 Third Street
Mrs. Kate Wood		413 Hutch Ave.
Mr. & Mrs. W. H. Wilder		500 Fourth Street
Mr. & Mrs. J. H. West		Talpa, Texas

When I saw my mother was on the committee to care for the yard, I remembered at one time she had only one pants suit.  That was probably in the late 50s. It was brown cotton, tailored, and semi-casual by today's standards.  When I asked her why she never wore pants, I told me that in some place they had lived she was criticized for wearing pants in the front yard while doing yard work.  I wonder if Ballinger was that place.  At least a decade later, she had several pant suits, but I don't think she ever wore them to church.  My how times have changed!