Katie’s Life: Katie Lee Williamson

 Katie’s Life

 part 1 as dictated to her daughter Sherry Snyder

September 2, 1916 must have been quite a day for my parents. Here was Ma, 9 months pregnant, Pa had been sick in bed with typhoid fever for several weeks. There was no money left. Ma, age 44, had given away all her baby furniture thinking there would be no more babies.

Ma decided to make donuts for the 3 small children she had. While she cooked them she thought of the old steamer trunk. Maybe she could make it do for a bed. Yes the tray would keep the baby up high for a while. When it grew the bottom would do for a crib. That afternoon she fixed it up and went to bed satisfied. That night she knew it was time to call the doctor. In 1916 there were no cars. Uncle Frank lived near so she had sent him to get a doctor. He saddled his horse and rode to a neighbor and told he Ma’s time had come. Then rode on to find Dr. Hay who lived about 10 miles away. Minnie Jewel came to be with Ma. I was born at 4:00am. Minnie Jewel ha me all bathed and dressed by the time Dr. Hay rode up on his horse. All Dr. Had did was come in and check Ma, and change my diaper, my brothers and sister teased me about that for years. I was born near Richland (now Pep) New Mexico. I was a healthy baby and caused little trouble.

Pa got up the next day he was still very weak but felt he had to have work. He applied to teach school at Center. A small school near the ranch. He got the job! We were living in a shack near the windmill on the ranch, near the corral.

One of my first memories was the house burning down. 1918 had been a dry year, no crops. Pa had gone to Bisbee AZ to work in the copper mines, leaving Ma home with the for kids, me 2, Jim was 6, Jo was 8, and Jack 10. It was a cold sandstormy day. Ma had built a good fire in the stove we were all sitting around the table writing Pa a letter. My letters were just crooked lines, but Pa said he could read them. All of a sudden Ma looked up and the whole ceiling was ablaze, the fire had started in the attic. Ma sent me to Uncle Frank and Grandma Williamson’s house which was where the ranch house is now. As I climbed under the fence around our house, I looked back and saw the house all a fire. It had started so fast Ma couldn’t save a thing. All was lost pictures, clothes, treasures. We had only the clothes on our back. Ma sent a telegram to Pa “Come home now, house burned”. When Pa come home we moved back in the sandhills on our claim. It was a one room shack, it is now the harness house in the corral. Jo said they would pull the covered wagon up to the window of the shack and crawl back and forth and use it as a bedroom.

I remember one time Uncle Stewart Hunt came to see us. In the late evening while we sat outside the shack on the door step and on the ground he made me a little bow and arrows. It was a neat toy. We did not have any toys and I really liked it. Uncle Stewart lived on a ranch in Sonora Mexico called the Tapela. He came in a car, I guess we got in the wagon and went to see it. Cars were very scarce in those days. If there was a road he probably drove it to Grandma Williamson and Uncle Frank’s house. I don’t remember. Uncle Stewart was a good man, kind and honest, and helped a lot of different people.

They built a cement tank in the orchard, it is 16 feet square and 4 feet deep. While they were building it they had a trough that they mix the cement in, later we used that for a boat in the tank. It always sank in the deep end, jack would save me when it got over my head. I was sure the older kids wished I would stay home, but I always wanted to go because it was so much fun. There were catfish in the dirt tank, it was near the cement tan and held the runoff from the cement tank. The water was clear and the little school of black catfish were really pretty swimming around. When I was about 7 years old I fished there, Ma took a needle and bent it to make a fish hook, I caught 10 or 12 fish, that was the only time I ever fished. We ate them and they were so good! This is the only fish I ever ate that didn’t make me sick.

We had a big orchard there at the east end of the tank we had dewberries (similar to blackberries) bushes. Over on the south side there were lots of grape vines, they were little wild purple grapes. They had vines and I would crawl under and eat delicious grapes without being seen. Wehad big apple trees, the limbs came down and touched the ground and made a great play house. Lots of fruit to eat and no worms in them. I loved the orchard. I played there a lot while Pa watered the orchard. He had an old iron “ice cream parlor” chair he sat in while he watered when he got older.

Steinbo Place

We moved to the Steinbo (Steinbaugh) place when I was about 4. It was a small shack, with a kitchen, living room and a lean to for beds I think. It had a big dirt tank with a weeping willow on the north ban and an apple tree on each corner at the west end. I learned to swim and dive there. WE put fruit jars in a gunny sack at first to hold us up, early water wings. My swimming lessons consisted of being taken out in the deep water and swimming or sinking, so I learned to swim young. We loved to play in the water and did it a lot. Ma was brave and let us swim often. The older kids used to climb the willow tree and slide down the limbs into the water. We also had a diving platform that Pa had built near the willow tree. I learned to dive off there when I was about 4, everyone was amazed that I could swim and of course I loved showing off. The preachers had the baptizing in our dirt tank because that was the only water around. We had to have water for our cows. One time after a brush arbor revival they baptized a lot of people and one man’s stomach didn’t go under. Jim and I thought the devil lived in his stomach, because it did not go under. After seeing that, Jim and I baptized each other all summer taking turns being the preacher.

Ma got sick while we lived there, she was probably going through the change of life and was very sick. One of the neighbors made me a new dress, either Mrs. Rightmer (Rightmeyer?) or Mrs. Gumm, I thought it was really pretty. Mrs. Rightmer had the first phonograph I ever saw. It squeakily played “It ain’t Gonna Rain No More”. I can still hear how it sounded.

There was a girl my age, 4 or 5, named Ethel Drenon (sp) she lived in the Ailers house. The Drenons came first the Ailers came later. She had a little iron stove. We went down in the cellar and built a fire in it to make candy. Mrs. Drenon frowned on that! And she stopped the candy making. I remember her dragging us out of the cellar.

Before I started to school Jo said I should learn the ABCs and to count to one hundred so I would not be stupid and she proceeded to teach me. I remember that on the first day of school I got up and said them.

I started to school when I had just turned 5 in September. Ma was sick so I started early. Mrs. John Stroud was the teacher, her son Jim was 4 and we learned and played together. We read from a chart on the wall that had pages printed with large black type, like a big tablet. We did not have books. We rode to school in an open stake truck with one long bench on each side, it had a top and canvas side flaps, they popped in the wind all the way to school letting in a very cold breeze. The roads were so bad that we always got stuck in the sand and everyone would have to get out and push. I was the least one on the school bus, but I got on first so I always had a seat. When more kids got on I would sit on Talbert Smith’s lap to make room for others, he was the biggest boy. When others would tease me for sitting in his lap he would push them on the floor or make them stand up and give me their seat. We had to walk about a quarter mile to catch the truck. We played in and out all the way to school. When it snowed Pa would come and meet the truck and carry me home. We had some cold and deep snow then or they seemed deep to me. Pecos Finley was a cute little boy who would bring me a treat to school lots of days. I thought he was neat! Who wouldn’t? My first boyfriend, ha.

Jo taught me a lot of nursery rhymes and poems while we did dishes. We would take turns reciting poems to see who could last the longest. Of course she could, but I learned a lot that way. I still remember many of the poems I learned. She washed because I was so slow that we never go finished if I washed. I did not like the feel of the homemade le soap on my hands, it was not like the detergents we have now. Detergent was one of the best things invented in my opinion.

One Christmas Ma’s cousin Nell Rider sent a package to us from Las Angeles. There was a great big doll with celluloid hands, head and feet and a cloth body. It was for me….! I was so happy, I named the doll Nell after this cousin I had never seen. We had so little money Ma wrote and told her not to send any more gifts, because we could not send any in return. I was sure glad to get Nell before she quit! That was the only big doll I ever had. I used to take my doll Nell to play down by the lake east of the house by the clay field on the Steinbo place. We could wade in the lake and sit under the mesquite bush for shade. It didn’t make much shade but that was all there was. [During World War Two I lived in California and met Nell. She was a nice lady. Nell and Ezra had me come to eat with them once a week all during the war. It was so nice to get acquainted with them at last. I loved them. I had to ride the street car to their house. One time I left my purse on the street car with @20, wedding ring, engagement ring and watch in it! The conductor saved it for me! We were not allowed to wear any jewelry at work.]

While we lived at the Steinbo place we burned cow chips, it was my job to go and gather them up. East of the house was a prairie dog town. While getting the chips we could see the cute prairie dogs. Dog Owls lived in the prairie dog’s holes and would hoot in the evenings. We liked to hear them hooting. Ma would sit on the doorstep with us in the evening and we could hear them. It was cooler outside the house in the evening. She would tell us stories while she sat there. I think Ma had written a few children’s stories. One was about little children in the woods, going farther and farther in the woods and picking flowers. You were afraid they would get lost. You could almost see the forest. She was a good story teller. Ma used to be a kindergarten teacher, she would sit and help us make a farm or other things out of writing paper. That would really entertain us on a rainy day. She was a really good mother. I can still make cows and horses that stand up. [Sherry still has a few she made.]

Jim shot his first rabbit there. We were proud of him and we all enjoyed eating the rabbit. The gun was a 12 gauge double barrel shot gun I think. It kicked him over when he shot the rabbit. He was probably 8 or 9 years old.

I milked my first cow on the Steinbo place. Old three-tit into a tin cup. I stood up and milked the cow with one hand and held the cup with the other. I wanted to help but did not really do any good, but my cat appreciated it.

Pa got his first vehicle, it was an old Model T truck. He taught me to drive through the gates so he could open and close the gates and not get back in. I could barely see through the glass standing up, but I could drive through the gate.

We planted cotton while we lived there, and I helped pick some. Ma made me a little cotton sack similar to what the others used. We soon decided that this was not cotton growing country.

The road to Portales was dirt and some red clay. On a rainy day we would get stuck on the road, so we would get out and push. If you passed another car you would always wave. Pa knew nearly everyone that lived between home and Portales. We would stop and talk to them and get a drink of water. If someone new was there we always stopped to get acquainted. Often he knew them from school or somewhere. People were always glad to see us, it was thinly settled and company was always welcome. It was fun to go with him. We often went to town in the wagon. We probably only went to town once or twice a year so it was quite an event. One time Pa took us to the top of the court house to see the pigeons. He took us through a Catholic Church in Clovis and talked to the priest. He taught us to read street signs and house numbers.

If a cowboy came y your home you would always feed them. They would come in and cook a meal if you were not home, and just leave a note that they had been there. Everyone’s house was always open and they were ready to help their neighbors. No one locked their door, we did not even own a key!

School Section

We moved to the NE corner of the School Section when I was about 7. We moved the harness house there and Grandma Hunt slept there. (I think the harness house started out as the shack on the sandhill claim and was moved several times and added to.) She spent the summers with us and the winters in Arizona with Uncle Dave. We built the east room on there, I think. Ma had the most beautiful flower garden in the L the 2 rooms created. 2 squares touching only on the corners. The morning glories grew to the top of the house. I wish I had a photo of them. We carried water in buckets from across the road and across the fence at the windmill. It seemed like a long, long way to me.

There was a bad twister there one time. I laid down on the ground. It came up very suddenly and stuff was blowing all around. I think the windmill blew over but I’m not sure.

We knew the Gathens there they had several boys, Alton, JP, Glen and ?? one was my age. He and I burned tumble weeds all one Sunday Boy that was quite a fire. It was fun to see.

It seems we walked a long way to catch the school bus. We walked to Jack (Betts maybe) house to catch it. I remember walking in fog one time, it was scary. We went to Richland to school. The penalty for bad behavior was walking a ring around a bear grass plant all during recess. It was very humiliating. I had my spelling words written on a paper on my seat between my legs and I was going to read it since I couldn’t spell back then either. The teacher saw me… that was the last time I ever cheated. I think that was 2^nd grade. Another method of punishment was to sit on the wall with no chair, or to hold the heavy geography book with your arms stretched out. I never had to do those. On trip to the bear grass was enough for me!

Jim had a teacher Henry Miller who told him to learn the multiplication tables or get a dos of “hickory tea” which was a whipping with a hickory stick. He got busy and learned up to 6x12 one night and up to 1212 the next night. He should have learned them the year before, but he didn’t want to. Fifth or sixth grade I think.

The Richland school house burned down. The parents fought over where to build a new one, Highway or somewhere above Richland. I don’t remember much about it but that there were 2 sides. We were in the Richland District, to go to Highway you had to find your own transportation. After the school war Jim (13 or 14 years old) drove the school bus to Highway (Richland?) for 3 years. I was in the 6^th grade and wanted to go to Highway (Richland?). So I rode horseback 4 miles to the Sprigs’ house. Then the teacher picked us up and took us the 4 miles on to school. To pay for that I had to sweep one third of the school house, build a fire and dust the seats. Annabelle and Ruth Sprigs also did this. We did that for 2 years and never missed a day even in the rain and snow. The school was 2 big class rooms and an auditorium. The Sprigs family took care of my horse during the day. Mr. Sprigs was a trucker and he would give us a nickel to buy candy every now and then. I think he had more lose money than the farmers, because the farmers only had money in the fall. The Sprigs had a rodeo most every Saturday for the neighbor’s kids and young adults. They had lots of horses. We bought a beautiful horse from them, and when Jim and I went to pick it up they roped it and it broke it’s leg and had to be shot, so they gave us a scrawny colt that we named Flee.

That was where I met the Brown family, Zell and Iva were the girls. Iva and I were in the same class. We learned the sign language alphabet so we could talk during books. We both still remember it after all these years.

EA Hunt (no relation) was the principal and Pa taught there. I was in Pa’s room and they had a penmanship contest, I wanted to win so I tried really hard. One night I heard him tell Ma that I won but he couldn’t give me the prize because I was his daughter. I was so hurt that I never tried to write well again! No wonder even I can’t read my own writing.

One time I was seesawing with Lory Mun, Jack Mixon came up and picked up a bear grass that had been cut and was lying there. He poked Lory. I got off and beat him up. EA Hunt called us in. I thought he would whip us. He asked me if I thought I should have a whipping. I said no, I would do it again. So he let me go. He spanked me every 3^rd day even if I had not done anything wrong.

The Autman’s girls, Marie and Odessa, and Iva, Zell and I were all good friends. Their brother Ray was a good dancer and I loved to dance with him. The Autman’s had a baby that died. Zell made the dress it was buried in. Gene Hay made the coffin from planks. I helped Zell to decorate the coffin, we padded the sides with cotton and used satin and lace on it. It was very pretty. Zell, Iva and I sat up all night with the corpse, so the parents could sleep. While waiting Cory Betts filled our bottom lip full of snuff. We had quite a time trying to spit it all out in the same slop bucket, I spit in Iva’s hair. We were all sick and groggy. Finally we ate a bowl of black eyed peas to keep from being sick. The Autmans asked Iva and me to sing at the funeral. I have no voice, Iva could sing pretty well. We sang “Shall We Gather at the River” I guess it went ok. It didn’t cost anything to get buried back then.

Annabelle came over on her horse that was kinda wild and I was going to ride behind her and hold a bucket of water with green apples floating in it. We planned to eat the apples for lunch. The horse threw us off, and I hurt my hip real bad. Annabelle said we couldn’t let the horse win we had to get back on and keep going so we went on to Mr. Moore’s Mountain, tied the horse to a chinery bush (scrub oak) and played all day. The water bucket had a lid so the apples and water were not spilled.

One Christmas when I was about 7 or 8 the Sprigs had me spend Christmas Eve with them. It was the first time I ever hung up a stocking. But I hung it up with Annabelle and Ruth and sure enough it was full of candy and nuts the next morning. I thought Santa Claus filled it. I could hardly believe it. The next year Pa, Jim and Jack went off to pick cotton. They were gone for Christmas. Mrs. Santa came to see us. She said Santa was sick so he sent her. She gave me a little six inch china doll “Johnny Bob”. I loved that doll. I kinda thought Mrs Santa was Mama but wasn’t sure. She did a good job.

Our first Christmas trees were plum bushes. We would sting popcorn and cranberries. Made paper loop chains and painted them with Crayolas. We made a star and covered it with foil. It looked good to me. One Christmas Uncle Dave (he was a janitor in Douglas School) brought tree all decorated with bought things and tinsel. It was beautiful. We kept those trimmings for years. I was 7 or 8 that year.

When I was in High School I was in a play and fell behind the piano and pushed my kneecap over to the side. It was very painful for years and years. I went ahead with the play because I was playing an old crippled lady. Jim had come to Richland to get me riding a horse and leading a bronc that he was breaking to ride. I was supposed to ride home and hold the bridle of the bronc and keep his head up while Jim rode him home. My knee was so sore I could hardly stand it but I had to ride home anyway leading that bronc.

Katie’s Life Part 2

From a notebook she wrote. Starting at page 13…. Typed by Sherry Snyder (her daughter)

Whe a preacher came through the men would build a bare grass arbor to have church under as there was no building. The arbor had board benches to sit on. A bare grass arbor is some poles set up with chicken wire across the top. We would cut bare grass and throw it on top to provide shade. There were no trees in the area. All the neighbors would take a big dinner and set it up together for all to eat. We clled it “dinner on the ground”. It was lots of fun.

Jackie Hunt spent that summer with us. He and I went around and got the gizzards for me and drum sticks for him – from several peoples dinners. Lots of good food. Everyone had a good time as it was a way to visit. There were no phones or TVs then.

While Pa and Jack and Jim were gone picking cotton, Jo and I hauled shinery roots for the fire. We hitched up the ho

From a notebook she wrote. Starting at page 13…. Typed by Sherry Snyder (her daughter)

Whe a preacher came through the men would build a bare grass arbor to have church under as there was no building. The arbor had board benches to sit on. A bare grass arbor is some poles set up with chicken wire across the top. We would cut bare grass and throw it on top to provide shade. There were no trees in the area. All the neighbors would take a big dinner and set it up together for all to eat. We clled it “dinner on the ground”. It was lots of fun.

Jackie Hunt spent that summer with us. He and I went around and got the gizzards for me and drum sticks for him – from several peoples dinners. Lots of good food. Everyone had a good time as it was a way to visit. There were no phones or TVs then.

While Pa and Jack and Jim were gone picking cotton, Jo and I hauled shinery roots for the fire. We hitched up the horses one cold winter day and set out for the hills. (We lived on the school section then). We had the wagon box about ½ full. Jo walked on one side of the wagon and me on the other. We picked up the roots and throw them into the wagon. All of a suddden it started to snow. The team took off running for the house and left us standing there. We had to walk back home in the snow.

That summer Grandma Hunt and Jackie came and spent the summer with us. I had a lot of fun playing with Jackie (6 or7 years old, I was about 7) He was Uncle Daves boy. He had not lived in the country. He claimed a baby chick…when it grew up (it was a rooster) Ma killed it to eat. Jackie creid and cried. We didn’t now he thought of it as a pet. We were verry sorry we killed it.

The next summer when Grandma Hunt came she was sewing for us. We had an old treddle sewing machine, it made her tired to peddle so she taught me to sew. I was about 8 years old. She got some newspaper, took the thread out of the needle and had me practice sewing on the paper. She said when I could sew a straight line I could help her on the cloth. I was thrilled and practiced until I could do it. Then we made dresses for Jo and me and shirts for Jim and Jack. (note she taught me, Sherry, to sew the same was when I was 5. I put the needle through my thumbnail and she had Daddy come home from work to pull it out! But I did learn and enjoy sewing).

I wanted to mae a dress by my self. We didn’t hae any cloth but Ma had two aprons alike. She gave them to me and I made whit I thought was a beautiful sleeveless dress. I have loved to sew ever since. Pa was shocked as he didn’t thing girls wore sleeveless dresses. But there was no more material for sleeves. I loved to wear it. It was very cool and nice to wear. Blue checked gingham.

One Christmas I wanted a BB gun, sure enough I got it! Not having money for more BBs we took a 3 gallon bucket and stuffed it full of newspapers. Put a bulls eye on top. Turned it on its side and we would shoot into the bucket. When all the BBs were shot up we would open the bucket ant shake out the BBs so we could use them again. I got to be a very good shot. When JT Tooms or AE Williamson came to visit we would go and see who could shoot the best.

Another thing AE and I used to do was swim I a lake near his house (Milnesand) after a rain. The water was deep and we wished for a diving board. I decided to ride my horse out into the water and dive off her hips. This horse (Blacky I guess) did oblige. We dived off her all afternoon. It was a beautiful spring day.

Uncle John was the Roosevelt county School Superintendent. He was going to Clovis and I went with him. A truck ran into us. John got scared and froe and didn’t avoid him. I got thrown into the windshield and cut my face. Someone took me to the hospital. It took 28 stitches to sew up my cheek and chin. I had to stay all night in the hospital by myself. I was lonesome and scared. A nice lady gave me a boquet of pompom daliahs, there were a lot of different colors. I thought they were beautiful it is still one of my favorite flowers. It was so nice of her. I think I was about 7 years old. I sure wanted my mama. It made an swful scar on my face. [she was always so concious of this scar. I don’t remember ever seeing it… she had lovely wrinkles on her face that hid it, but she always thought it was glaring. Always turned that side from the camera. She was shocked to find that Allan who had know her since she was 54 had never seen it!]

AE lived at Minlesand. A man came there teachig Guitar lessons. I always wanted to play an instrument. Jack ahd given me a fiddle and I traded it for a guitar. So I took my guitar and rode horseback across the pastures to Milnesand to take lessons in the afternoon. But to go home it was dark. There were no gates in the fence. I had to cross the fence, I had to stand on the barbed wire so my horse could go aross. When I got on the wire that night she knocked me off and it came up and hit her in the stomach. I finally got up and got on the wire and got her across. Then the coyotes started to howl all around me. I go so scared I didn’t go back to class. So I didn’t ever get to learn to play. [She took organ lessons in her 70s] AE got to learn and could play and sing well.

Jack and Jo went to school in Canyon TX. Jack for College and Jo for High School. Jack sold his first story while he was there. One day he went for groceries and saw the magazine in the store window. He recogonized the picture on the magazine as being his story “The Metal Man”. He didn’t know it had been accepted. He ran home to tell Jo and forgot his groceries. He had to go back and get them. We were so happy for him. That led to a wonderful life for Jack. I got to go to Canyon with Ma and Pa. The truck got stuck on the rail road track, I was afraid the train would get there before we could get it started. We barely made it. We could hear the train coming. I was petrified!

That Christas Jack gave me a phonograph and some records. We wanted to learn to dance. Georgie and Lee Betts taught us. They weren’t good just hopped arouond, but did their best. We invited the kids Anabell and Ruth or any one passing to come in and dance. We scooted the furniture back and danced in the living room. That was fast as there was not much furniture only cane bottom chairs. It was lots of fun. The neighbors gave dances in their homes and we would bake and cake to take and ll the neighbors go and dance. I danced with Walter Adkins he said he would show me how to dance right. He was vry smooth. It was fun and I learned a lot from him. Ma had showed us how to waltz. She used to whistle “Rye Whisky” (How dry I am) and show us how. She also taught us “Put Your Little Foot” She was the daughter of a Southern Belle and knew a low of things. A very sweet lady. She had lots of patience with me and was a very good mother.

Ma was brave too. We raised watermelon to sell. Someone was stealing them. She and Jim harnesed up the horses got in the wagon and spent the night guarding the field. Sure enough in the middle of the night here came the theives. She got her shot gun out and told them to leave. Jim and Jack were thrashing broom corn the next day and someone asked another “How do you like to look down Mrs. Williamson’s shot gun?” So we knew who there were. Another time we were raising turkeys. The turkeys lived in a chicken house east of the house. When the theives got in the house and cught one, the turkey got scared and made an swful raket flying around. Ma grabed the shot gun and ran out in her night gown to stop them. She was too late and we didn’t know who it was. The turkeys were so scared they never went into that chicken house again. They roosted in trees and all around. My job each morning was to go for walk with the turkeys and keep the coyotes from eating them. They would get up at dawn and run as fast as they could toward the sand hills. I would take the 22 gun and go with them. That was when I got my first yoyo. Jack and Sally Hunt came to see us and left their little kids for me to take care of. When they came back from Clovis they brought me a yoyo. My, how much fun. I loved it. Good pay for babysitting! I took it with me to play with while guarding the turkeys.

I decided I needed some money. Ma gave me 100 baby chicks. I dug a hole in the ground and put a lantern in the hole, then covered it with tin and a layer of sand. Made a box to put over it for a brooder. It worked out fine. I raised all the chickens. My first money. I guess Ma paid me for the chickens I don’t remember.

Anabell Sprigs and I had lots of fun. One time we took a bucket of water with apples in it and spent the day playing on Mr. Moores Mountain. She came on a kinda wild horse. We got on with the bucket of apples and the horse didn’t like it so the threw us off. Anabell said we can’t let him win, lets get back on. It really hurt my hip but we did get back on and rode over to the sandhills. We spent the day playing in the sand. Anabell was a brave one.

On a cattle ranch you have brandings and invite the other ranchers in to help work. The ladies bring a covered dish or come early and help cook. The men do the branding work. At noon the work is all done. The men come to the house and all have a very good dinner. We used to dance with the cowboys all afternoon. So brandings were lots of fun as well as work.

One thing I didn’t like about the ranch was going to count the cows. Or bring certain cows in. I couldn’t see very well and had a lot of trouble doing these things. [probably injured her sight in the car accident] Jo loved the outside work, but Ma and Pa wanted her to be a lady and not do outside stuff. She loved it outside and did it much better thank I could. I liked to clean house and sew and do inside stuff. I could do it much better than she could. Funny how kids turn out. Jo wasn’t afraid to turn the cows. If one ran at me I just wanated to get out of the way.

The country schools weren’t accredited, so I went to Portales High School for 12^th grade. I lived with Uncle Frank. Jo was living there too and working as a secretary. Zell was also working for the Radcliffs. Zell and I double dated some boys from Texas. They would come over Saturday and take us to the movies in Clovis. Then take us home and come back on Sunday. We would picnic or drive somewhere. Zell and Gerald fell in love. He wanted to marry her but she had been so poor in early childhood she held out for Allan Chapman. She had only been married a short time when Gerald struck oil on his place and had plenty of money --- Gee. [After Allan Chapman and Gerald’s wife had both died, they did get to marry. In about 1994 or so. Mama and Bobby and I were going to the wedding but were stuck at the ranch in an ice storm]

I also dated James Jackson. Blondie was his sister, she and I were good friends. We went to a lot of dances with his family. Mrs. Jackson wanted me to marry James. She even started a quilt for us. That was when you could go to Alaska and they would give you a quarter section (160 acres). I kinda wanted to go to Alaska, but I didn’t want to marry James. I just enjoyed the whole family and loved to dance with James. But we weren’t serious. I graduated in 1935. (19 years old)

Jo had gotten sick, so I stayed home the next 2 years helping take are of her. [Sherry has a quilt made for her during that time. Sherry doesn’t know what the sickness was] Then I went to college at Eastern. I worked for my room and board in the dining hall. It was a nice place to work. I took all the home Economics classes I could and teacher education. I would have majored in Home Ec if I had thought I could go 4 years. Eastern was only a two year school then.

Well the College rodeo was woming up. My room mates job was to get entries. She entered me in the barrel race. I didn’t know she did. Several of the girls sent home for their horses to ride in this race. I was sitting in the grandstand when I heard my name called to come ride. I didn’t eve have a horse there. I went down to tell them I couldn’t ride. A cowboy said here take my horse. A girl never rode him but I you aren’t afraid you can ride him. I said he won’t know if I am a boy or girl so I got on him. He was a good cow horse. I ha to ride aainst my friend for the first chair. I hated to beat her as she had sent to Miami NM for her horse. But her horse wasn’t a roping horse and didn’t stop like mine. So I beat her. I won a red silk vest with bramahs (?) on the back. I was proud of it. Ma said she was listening to the radio and just said she wished she had told me not to ride when she heard I had won!

I took Spanish at Eastern. Had a wondeful teacher (Glockbower?) we were not allowed to speak a word of English in his class. We learned a lot. They planned a trip to Mexico City for $20, I didn’t have $20. Jim said he would lend it to me, but I couldn’t see how I coud ever pay him back so I didn’t get to go. I have always wished I had borrowed it from him and gone.

I graduated with an AA degree. But by then to teach school you had to have 3 years college. Eastern had just truned into a 3 year college so I went again that year.

I was going with Bud by then. He would come to town and we would go to the show. I think tickets were 15 cents. We would eat a big hamburger for 10 cents and go to the show. Sometimes he would take me home and come back Sunday night and take me back to school. That way I got to go home more often.

Mrs. Potts was the dorm manager. You had to sign out when you left the dorm putting down who you were with. I always put “Bud”. She thought he was my brother for a long time. I didn’t know that she did. She checked out all our dates but not “Bud”. Ma invited her out to the ranch and then she realized Bud was a friend. I used to take my roommates out to the ranch or any friend who wanted to go. It was nice for them to get out in the country, ride a horse etc. Peggy Lund came out, we asked her if she knew how to ride, she said Oh yes. So got her on probably “Flee” I am not sure which horse, anyway he started to run and she would start to fall off and he would stop, she would get set up and off he would go again. She was really mad when she got off.

Mrs Potts sorted the girls out who were wild and those who weren’t. At first I had a room mate who said she lost her girdle in the grass, she smoked etc. So Mrs. Potts moed me to room with Peggy Lund and we got along fine.

Working in the dining hall Ma Bright was our boss. I set tables, served meals and washed dishes. There were 120 girls in the dorm. One day Mrs Potts wanted extra syrup, I brought it out. When she poured it out it had lumps…cockroaches. It was awful! They were the first I ever saw. I never saw them in the kitchen so I don’t know where they came from.

I went to the First Christian Church there. They had a good Young peoples class. Parties most Friday nights. The preacher wanted me to do something one Sunday. I said “No, I have to study”. Bud came to town and had bought us tickets to go up in an airplane. When we got there the preacher was there. He said “I see what you had to study”. He was going up flying too.

For extra money I babysat for the Economics teacher. He had a cute little boy about 3 years old. I used to color with him and must have shown him how to mix colors. He told his parents. When I applied to teach he gave me a wonderful reccomendation.

I also cleaned house for a lady who never washed a dish all week, just stacked them all up for me to do. I don’t see how she stood the dirty kitchen, but I needed the money. We also served dinners for people, helped to cook it and serve the guests so the hostess could sit and visit. Then we cleaned up and did the dishes.

At the end of my 3^rd year I applied to teach. That must have been in 1939. There were few jobs. I applied at 6 or 7 schools, with no luck. Even one where no one spoke English! I even milked a cow to show the board member I could! Finally I applied at Miami NM. The Superintendent met me in the Hall and said “Are you Jack Williamson’s sister?” I said yes and I got the job. I got $110 a month. Theresa Maga was hired for 3^rd and 4^th grade, me for 1^st and 2^nd. No one spoke English so Theresa said “Let me teach the 1^st and 2^nd and I will teach them English. I can read in Spanish and then in English and they will learn faster. So we traded without telling any one. I borrowed 1^st and 2^nd grade books and caught my kids up on reading, then we could go on with the regular work. It was a good trade for everyone. I liked teaching, the kids learned fast. I read them children’s stories. No one had ever read aloud to them. They loved it. Theresa and I lived with the Mixles. Ruth kept us to have some white ladies to talk to. It snowed 3 feet on Thanksgiving. Didn’t melt until May… not like the ranch! We played lots of snow games. The kids loved to dump me in the snow, and I loved it.

Easter Vacation my secon year I went to see Bud at Ft. Sill (near Abilene TX) while I was there Claude Messengale said why don’t we have a double wedding. I said good idea so we got married. I had to keep my marriage a secret as married women were not allowed to teach. We got married at Easter time, April 4 1942 a Saturday night. Bud was to be in Texas for at least a year. We married that Saturday night. Monday they told him he was to go to (probably Ft. Devens) Mass. I went back and finished the school year as I didn’t think it right to quit in the middle of the year. Then I borrowed money on my next year’s contract and went to Mass.

This is the story we always heard as kids: In 1941 at age 25 she went to be a 2^nd and 3^rd grade teacher in Miami New Mexico. This was up in the mountains where there was lots of snow. Just one of the different things she had to get used to. She lived with the Mixles family. Theresa Maga was also a teacher. She loved teaching. She once spanked a boy for some infraction and he tearfully said “I don’t care if you spank me, I love you anyway!” Bud went into the Army in 1940. He asked her to marry him in the spring. You were not allowed to be married in those days and be a teacher so she wrote home and asked if she should tell the school board and lose her job or keep it a secret and teach the next 2 months. Her parents Asa and Lucy Betty Williamson wrote back and said she should wait till school was out to get married. She wrote back and said “That was NOT the question!” She traveled to Abilene TX where Bud was stationed with the Army and they got married on Saturday night at 9:15. The preacher was marring people every 15 minutes! Bud’s brother Clayton was there for the wedding as best man. He dropped the ring and had to crawl around on the floor looking for it. This made Bud and Katie Laugh. Clayton looked up and sternly said “marriage is no laughing matter”. They were just happy to be getting married. They went to the hotel for their honeymoon weekend and the story goes that she didn’t “feel” married so she made Bud get twin beds and she put tacks on the floor between the beds! (I’m pretty sure that was not true, but who knows?) Monday they went to pick up the photos from the wedding and they didn’t turn out. So their wedding photos were taken in their normal clothes. Katie went back to teaching and kept the secret. On Katie’s way back to teach she stopped in Brownfield TX to meet Bud’s parents Sarah Jane and William Thomas Littlefield. What a hard thing to meet your new in-laws alone. Sara asked if Katie would like some tomato juice and she agreed. She though this is strange tomato juice, but everyone made their own at that time so she drank the very thick tomato juice. About half way through the glass Sarah realized that she had given Katie catchup instead of juice! She was impressed with Katie’s good manners in not complaining about the “juice”.

Bud was a private and made $22 per month. He got to be a corporal in a few weeks and got $66 per month. The government passes a law to give $50 a month allotment (to spouse). When I got the first back pay check for $200 I paid off the loan on my contract and stayed in Mass. With Bud.

I worked in several jobs there. Graded apples, graded leather in a factory, worked in a plastics factory and learned to work on a milling machine. My college education helped me to get jobs easily. I could always get a job.

The Army sent Bud to New York on manuvers. Phylis and I caught a bus and went over there. I got a job in Dime Store for 25 cents and hour selling Christmas Cards. There came a big snow 3 to 4 feed deep everywhere and 40 degrees below zero. It was so cold I had to wear my gloves to sell the cards.

Bud fell on the ice and was in the hospital. I quit the job and went to see him every day.

Then he got the mumps and was in the hospital in Cape Cod. He was there on manuvers when he came home his cheeks were still swelled up. He looked pretty funny.

Then they sent him to (probably Camp Pickett) near Blackstone Virginia. His captian said there won’t be much room there for us wives. He told us to go on ahead and get a room. So Phylis and I got on the train for Blackstone VA. The first house I tried was a big pretty house. When I knocked a black lady came to the door. She said “Honey Child you don’t want to live here. Go on over to that part of town and get a room. Three quarters of Blackstone was Black. We got a room in a big house 4 bedrooms upstairs. There was no heat. We were allowed only 4 sticks of wood a day. The landlady was always going through our stuff. So we looked for another place.

A girl and I finally found an attic for rent. It was much better! We took cardboard and particioned off half for her and half for me. It had nails from the shingles sticking down all over our “ceiling”. The attic had an opening all around the eaves that you could see out of. No heat here either. I worked 8 hours a day so I got by fine. It had a twin bed and a glass china closet for a chest of drawers. And a nail keg to sit on. We cooked on canned heat. We would open a can and warm it and all eat it while we warmed a can of something else. Believe it or not Bud’s friends would leave camp and come eat with us! I had lots of company. One time I thought I had a can of salmon…it was salmon eggs. So we scrambled them – Gee. I can’t remember how they tasted but we got by. The girl in the other half was ashamed and had no company. But no one cared and all came to see us. I guess it was just good to get away from camp. We had lots of fun and laughter.

No one at camp had much money so when someone got leave we all pooled our money so that one could go. Everyone was glad to help each other.

At each town I would find all the sights to see and we went to see them all.

In New York we had our honeymoon, a 5 day leave. We saw all the sights there, Statue of Liberty, A boat ride around the island, a planetarium etc. Went to Coney Island we had a lot of fun.

In Boston we saw the longest bar, where they slid beer from one end to the other. Went to a Strip Show (really Mama?!!!) where they sang “Take it off, Take it all off”. A buggy ride to see where Paul Revere went. Sat in a chair made form the “Spreading Chestnut Tree”.

Then Bud had to go overseas. We always kept enough money for me to go home. So… we caught a slow train home. They only fed the soldiers, but I had fried a chicken and took a loaf of bread. My two friends didn’t take anything so we all ate mine. About half way home a negro lady was selling cooked chicken at the train window. I bought us more so we got by ok. It was good chicken. It was a long sad ride home.

When I got home I stayed a few days. I decided I didn’t want to work on the ranch. Zell Chapman and I wnet to Clovis and had our fortune told. This lady took my hand and said “your husband is on a ship going across the water. He will be ok and come back home. If you go west you will find a job the day you get there.” So I decided to go see Peggy Lund in Roswell and on to Las Angeles California. I didn’t know anyone there but I knew we had a few relations there. I took the train. I got off and was walking down the street and I heard a milling machine running. I had worked on one in Mass. I walked around the building warehouse on the third side I found a door and went in. They hired me to run the milling machine. I worked there until I met my relatives. They said they could get me on for more money at the shipyard. I quit and went there but missed the friends I had made at the first job. I decided I would quit and go back for less pay. Jobs were frozen and they would not let me quit. I called every day til someone picked up the phone and said ok. Friends were better than more money. That was the Las Angeles Down Town Sopping newspaper. I drilled holes in a Bazooka gun shell. I really liked it. The machine shop had several different machines. I learned to run them all. I was the only girl and did odd jobs for the men. Like get cokes and cndy and take stuff to bass etc. They pulled tricks on each other and would send me to do those. Like loaded cigars etc. We all had fun. Then the plant started folding Time and Life magazine and I worked on a folding machine. My sister Jo decided she would come to LA. I sent her round trip money. She got a one way ticket and came to stay. The place where I was living had a fit that she was there. Rooms were very hard to find. I got all the people at work to help me ffind a place where Jo could stay too. Finally a man named Ray told a place I was his sister and she let us rent a room, really a kitchen, living room a Murphy bed came out of the wall, and a bath. It was in North Hollywood. Then Jo stayed there with me and I got her a job where I worked. Runing the folding machine was a man’s job but I liked it. There was one other war bride there. If they would let her work with me we had a lot of fun. She was a good worker too so I would get down and help her and we could talk and work. It usually took 2 girls to take the paper off and stack it. But she and I could run it by ourselves. It didn’t look good to the others, who didn’t really want to work so they complained. Women can be so jealous – oh well. The war was finally over.

Bud got out in El Paso and went to see his Folks. They called and wanted me to come there. I couldn’t get a train or Bus ticket. But a man said I could ride with him in his fancy car. He was taking a car load of people to New Mexico. So we set out. He had radiator trouble and we stopped at a lot of stations.. The rest rooms had slot machines in them. They gave me money to paly them and then we all had drinks on the money I made. I had never seen one before and thought it was fun. I was lucky and we always had money for cokes. It took 2 or 3 days to get to Clovis. Bud was in Clovis to meet me! We stayed in the Clovis hotel for a few days. Then went to Brownfield. Tommy Littlefield (Bud’s brother) told Bud we could farm his place and he would build us a new house. We lived in a 2 room shack while he built it. Oh yes, before that Bud and I went to LA to get my things. I left with only a bag.

New tablet….

rses one cold winter day and set out for the hills. (We lived on the school section then). We had the wagon box about ½ full. Jo walked on one side of the wagon and me on the other. We picked up the roots and throw them into the wagon. All of a suddden it started to snow. The team took off running for the house and left us standing there. We had to walk back home in the snow.

That summer Grandma Hunt and Jackie came and spent the summer with us. I had a lot of fun playing with Jackie (6 or7 years old, I was about 7) He was Uncle Daves boy. He had not lived in the country. He claimed a baby chick…when it grew up (it was a rooster) Ma killed it to eat. Jackie creid and cried. We didn’t now he thought of it as a pet. We were verry sorry we killed it.

The next summer when Grandma Hunt came she was sewing for us. We had an old treddle sewing machine, it made her tired to peddle so she taught me to sew. I was about 8 years old. She got some newspaper, took the thread out of the needle and had me practice sewing on the paper. She said when I could sew a straight line I could help her on the cloth. I was thrilled and practiced until I could do it. Then we made dresses for Jo and me and shirts for Jim and Jack. (note she taught me, Sherry, to sew the same was when I was 5. I put the needle through my thumbnail and she had Daddy come home from work to pull it out! But I did learn and enjoy sewing).

I wanted to mae a dress by my self. We didn’t hae any cloth but Ma had two aprons alike. She gave them to me and I made whit I thought was a beautiful sleeveless dress. I have loved to sew ever since. Pa was shocked as he didn’t thing girls wore sleeveless dresses. But there was no more material for sleeves. I loved to wear it. It was very cool and nice to wear. Blue checked gingham.

One Christmas I wanted a BB gun, sure enough I got it! Not having money for more BBs we took a 3 gallon bucket and stuffed it full of newspapers. Put a bulls eye on top. Turned it on its side and we would shoot into the bucket. When all the BBs were shot up we would open the bucket ant shake out the BBs so we could use them again. I got to be a very good shot. When JT Tooms or AE Williamson came to visit we would go and see who could shoot the best.

Another thing AE and I used to do was swim I a lake near his house (Milnesand) after a rain. The water was deep and we wished for a diving board. I decided to ride my horse out into the water and dive off her hips. This horse (Blacky I guess) did oblige. We dived off her all afternoon. It was a beautiful spring day.

Uncle John was the Roosevelt county School Superintendent. He was going to Clovis and I went with him. A truck ran into us. John got scared and froe and didn’t avoid him. I got thrown into the windshield and cut my face. Someone took me to the hospital. It took 28 stitches to sew up my cheek and chin. I had to stay all night in the hospital by myself. I was lonesome and scared. A nice lady gave me a boquet of pompom daliahs, there were a lot of different colors. I thought they were beautiful it is still one of my favorite flowers. It was so nice of her. I think I was about 7 years old. I sure wanted my mama. It made an swful scar on my face. [she was always so concious of this scar. I don’t remember ever seeing it… she had lovely wrinkles on her face that hid it, but she always thought it was glaring. Always turned that side from the camera. She was shocked to find that Allan who had know her since she was 54 had never seen it!]

AE lived at Minlesand. A man came there teachig Guitar lessons. I always wanted to play an instrument. Jack ahd given me a fiddle and I traded it for a guitar. So I took my guitar and rode horseback across the pastures to Milnesand to take lessons in the afternoon. But to go home it was dark. There were no gates in the fence. I had to cross the fence, I had to stand on the barbed wire so my horse could go aross. When I got on the wire that night she knocked me off and it came up and hit her in the stomach. I finally got up and got on the wire and got her across. Then the coyotes started to howl all around me. I go so scared I didn’t go back to class. So I didn’t ever get to learn to play. [She took organ lessons in her 70s] AE got to learn and could play and sing well.

Jack and Jo went to school in Canyon TX. Jack for College and Jo for High School. Jack sold his first story while he was there. One day he went for groceries and saw the magazine in the store window. He recogonized the picture on the magazine as being his story “The Metal Man”. He didn’t know it had been accepted. He ran home to tell Jo and forgot his groceries. He had to go back and get them. We were so happy for him. That led to a wonderful life for Jack. I got to go to Canyon with Ma and Pa. The truck got stuck on the rail road track, I was afraid the train would get there before we could get it started. We barely made it. We could hear the train coming. I was petrified!

That Christas Jack gave me a phonograph and some records. We wanted to learn to dance. Georgie and Lee Betts taught us. They weren’t good just hopped arouond, but did their best. We invited the kids Anabell and Ruth or any one passing to come in and dance. We scooted the furniture back and danced in the living room. That was fast as there was not much furniture only cane bottom chairs. It was lots of fun. The neighbors gave dances in their homes and we would bake and cake to take and ll the neighbors go and dance. I danced with Walter Adkins he said he would show me how to dance right. He was vry smooth. It was fun and I learned a lot from him. Ma had showed us how to waltz. She used to whistle “Rye Whisky” (How dry I am) and show us how. She also taught us “Put Your Little Foot” She was the daughter of a Southern Belle and knew a low of things. A very sweet lady. She had lots of patience with me and was a very good mother.

Ma was brave too. We raised watermelon to sell. Someone was stealing them. She and Jim harnesed up the horses got in the wagon and spent the night guarding the field. Sure enough in the middle of the night here came the theives. She got her shot gun out and told them to leave. Jim and Jack were thrashing broom corn the next day and someone asked another “How do you like to look down Mrs. Williamson’s shot gun?” So we knew who there were. Another time we were raising turkeys. The turkeys lived in a chicken house east of the house. When the theives got in the house and cught one, the turkey got scared and made an swful raket flying around. Ma grabed the shot gun and ran out in her night gown to stop them. She was too late and we didn’t know who it was. The turkeys were so scared they never went into that chicken house again. They roosted in trees and all around. My job each morning was to go for walk with the turkeys and keep the coyotes from eating them. They would get up at dawn and run as fast as they could toward the sand hills. I would take the 22 gun and go with them. That was when I got my first yoyo. Jack and Sally Hunt came to see us and left their little kids for me to take care of. When they came back from Clovis they brought me a yoyo. My, how much fun. I loved it. Good pay for babysitting! I took it with me to play with while guarding the turkeys.

I decided I needed some money. Ma gave me 100 baby chicks. I dug a hole in the ground and put a lantern in the hole, then covered it with tin and a layer of sand. Made a box to put over it for a brooder. It worked out fine. I raised all the chickens. My first money. I guess Ma paid me for the chickens I don’t remember.

Anabell Sprigs and I had lots of fun. One time we took a bucket of water with apples in it and spent the day playing on Mr. Moores Mountain. She came on a kinda wild horse. We got on with the bucket of apples and the horse didn’t like it so the threw us off. Anabell said we can’t let him win, lets get back on. It really hurt my hip but we did get back on and rode over to the sandhills. We spent the day playing in the sand. Anabell was a brave one.

On a cattle ranch you have brandings and invite the other ranchers in to help work. The ladies bring a covered dish or come early and help cook. The men do the branding work. At noon the work is all done. The men come to the house and all have a very good dinner. We used to dance with the cowboys all afternoon. So brandings were lots of fun as well as work.

One thing I didn’t like about the ranch was going to count the cows. Or bring certain cows in. I couldn’t see very well and had a lot of trouble doing these things. [probably injured her sight in the car accident] Jo loved the outside work, but Ma and Pa wanted her to be a lady and not do outside stuff. She loved it outside and did it much better thank I could. I liked to clean house and sew and do inside stuff. I could do it much better than she could. Funny how kids turn out. Jo wasn’t afraid to turn the cows. If one ran at me I just wanated to get out of the way.

The country schools weren’t accredited, so I went to Portales High School for 12^th grade. I lived with Uncle Frank. Jo was living there too and working as a secretary. Zell was also working for the Radcliffs. Zell and I double dated some boys from Texas. They would come over Saturday and take us to the movies in Clovis. Then take us home and come back on Sunday. We would picnic or drive somewhere. Zell and Gerald fell in love. He wanted to marry her but she had been so poor in early childhood she held out for Allan Chapman. She had only been married a short time when Gerald struck oil on his place and had plenty of money --- Gee. [After Allan Chapman and Gerald’s wife had both died, they did get to marry. In about 1994 or so. Mama and Bobby and I were going to the wedding but were stuck at the ranch in an ice storm]

I also dated James Jackson. Blondie was his sister, she and I were good friends. We went to a lot of dances with his family. Mrs. Jackson wanted me to marry James. She even started a quilt for us. That was when you could go to Alaska and they would give you a quarter section (160 acres). I kinda wanted to go to Alaska, but I didn’t want to marry James. I just enjoyed the whole family and loved to dance with James. But we weren’t serious. I graduated in 1935. (19 years old)

Jo had gotten sick, so I stayed home the next 2 years helping take are of her. [Sherry has a quilt made for her during that time. Sherry doesn’t know what the sickness was] Then I went to college at Eastern. I worked for my room and board in the dining hall. It was a nice place to work. I took all the home Economics classes I could and teacher education. I would have majored in Home Ec if I had thought I could go 4 years. Eastern was only a two year school then.

Well the College rodeo was woming up. My room mates job was to get entries. She entered me in the barrel race. I didn’t know she did. Several of the girls sent home for their horses to ride in this race. I was sitting in the grandstand when I heard my name called to come ride. I didn’t eve have a horse there. I went down to tell them I couldn’t ride. A cowboy said here take my horse. A girl never rode him but I you aren’t afraid you can ride him. I said he won’t know if I am a boy or girl so I got on him. He was a good cow horse. I ha to ride aainst my friend for the first chair. I hated to beat her as she had sent to Miami NM for her horse. But her horse wasn’t a roping horse and didn’t stop like mine. So I beat her. I won a red silk vest with bramahs (?) on the back. I was proud of it. Ma said she was listening to the radio and just said she wished she had told me not to ride when she heard I had won!

I took Spanish at Eastern. Had a wondeful teacher (Glockbower?) we were not allowed to speak a word of English in his class. We learned a lot. They planned a trip to Mexico City for $20, I didn’t have $20. Jim said he would lend it to me, but I couldn’t see how I coud ever pay him back so I didn’t get to go. I have always wished I had borrowed it from him and gone.

I graduated with an AA degree. But by then to teach school you had to have 3 years college. Eastern had just truned into a 3 year college so I went again that year.

I was going with Bud by then. He would come to town and we would go to the show. I think tickets were 15 cents. We would eat a big hamburger for 10 cents and go to the show. Sometimes he would take me home and come back Sunday night and take me back to school. That way I got to go home more often.

Mrs. Potts was the dorm manager. You had to sign out when you left the dorm putting down who you were with. I always put “Bud”. She thought he was my brother for a long time. I didn’t know that she did. She checked out all our dates but not “Bud”. Ma invited her out to the ranch and then she realized Bud was a friend. I used to take my roommates out to the ranch or any friend who wanted to go. It was nice for them to get out in the country, ride a horse etc. Peggy Lund came out, we asked her if she knew how to ride, she said Oh yes. So got her on probably “Flee” I am not sure which horse, anyway he started to run and she would start to fall off and he would stop, she would get set up and off he would go again. She was really mad when she got off.

Mrs Potts sorted the girls out who were wild and those who weren’t. At first I had a room mate who said she lost her girdle in the grass, she smoked etc. So Mrs. Potts moed me to room with Peggy Lund and we got along fine.

Working in the dining hall Ma Bright was our boss. I set tables, served meals and washed dishes. There were 120 girls in the dorm. One day Mrs Potts wanted extra syrup, I brought it out. When she poured it out it had lumps…cockroaches. It was awful! They were the first I ever saw. I never saw them in the kitchen so I don’t know where they came from.

I went to the First Christian Church there. They had a good Young peoples class. Parties most Friday nights. The preacher wanted me to do something one Sunday. I said “No, I have to study”. Bud came to town and had bought us tickets to go up in an airplane. When we got there the preacher was there. He said “I see what you had to study”. He was going up flying too.

For extra money I babysat for the Economics teacher. He had a cute little boy about 3 years old. I used to color with him and must have shown him how to mix colors. He told his parents. When I applied to teach he gave me a wonderful reccomendation.

I also cleaned house for a lady who never washed a dish all week, just stacked them all up for me to do. I don’t see how she stood the dirty kitchen, but I needed the money. We also served dinners for people, helped to cook it and serve the guests so the hostess could sit and visit. Then we cleaned up and did the dishes.

At the end of my 3^rd year I applied to teach. That must have been in 1939. There were few jobs. I applied at 6 or 7 schools, with no luck. Even one where no one spoke English! I even milked a cow to show the board member I could! Finally I applied at Miami NM. The Superintendent met me in the Hall and said “Are you Jack Williamson’s sister?” I said yes and I got the job. I got $110 a month. Theresa Maga was hired for 3^rd and 4^th grade, me for 1^st and 2^nd. No one spoke English so Theresa said “Let me teach the 1^st and 2^nd and I will teach them English. I can read in Spanish and then in English and they will learn faster. So we traded without telling any one. I borrowed 1^st and 2^nd grade books and caught my kids up on reading, then we could go on with the regular work. It was a good trade for everyone. I liked teaching, the kids learned fast. I read them children’s stories. No one had ever read aloud to them. They loved it. Theresa and I lived with the Mixles. Ruth kept us to have some white ladies to talk to. It snowed 3 feet on Thanksgiving. Didn’t melt until May… not like the ranch! We played lots of snow games. The kids loved to dump me in the snow, and I loved it.

Easter Vacation my secon year I went to see Bud at Ft. Sill (near Abilene TX) while I was there Claude Messengale said why don’t we have a double wedding. I said good idea so we got married. I had to keep my marriage a secret as married women were not allowed to teach. We got married at Easter time, April 4 1942 a Saturday night. Bud was to be in Texas for at least a year. We married that Saturday night. Monday they told him he was to go to (probably Ft. Devens) Mass. I went back and finished the school year as I didn’t think it right to quit in the middle of the year. Then I borrowed money on my next year’s contract and went to Mass.

This is the story we always heard as kids: In 1941 at age 25 she went to be a 2^nd and 3^rd grade teacher in Miami New Mexico. This was up in the mountains where there was lots of snow. Just one of the different things she had to get used to. She lived with the Mixles family. Theresa Maga was also a teacher. She loved teaching. She once spanked a boy for some infraction and he tearfully said “I don’t care if you spank me, I love you anyway!” Bud went into the Army in 1940. He asked her to marry him in the spring. You were not allowed to be married in those days and be a teacher so she wrote home and asked if she should tell the school board and lose her job or keep it a secret and teach the next 2 months. Her parents Asa and Lucy Betty Williamson wrote back and said she should wait till school was out to get married. She wrote back and said “That was NOT the question!” She traveled to Abilene TX where Bud was stationed with the Army and they got married on Saturday night at 9:15. The preacher was marring people every 15 minutes! Bud’s brother Clayton was there for the wedding as best man. He dropped the ring and had to crawl around on the floor looking for it. This made Bud and Katie Laugh. Clayton looked up and sternly said “marriage is no laughing matter”. They were just happy to be getting married. They went to the hotel for their honeymoon weekend and the story goes that she didn’t “feel” married so she made Bud get twin beds and she put tacks on the floor between the beds! (I’m pretty sure that was not true, but who knows?) Monday they went to pick up the photos from the wedding and they didn’t turn out. So their wedding photos were taken in their normal clothes. Katie went back to teaching and kept the secret. On Katie’s way back to teach she stopped in Brownfield TX to meet Bud’s parents Sarah Jane and William Thomas Littlefield. What a hard thing to meet your new in-laws alone. Sara asked if Katie would like some tomato juice and she agreed. She though this is strange tomato juice, but everyone made their own at that time so she drank the very thick tomato juice. About half way through the glass Sarah realized that she had given Katie catchup instead of juice! She was impressed with Katie’s good manners in not complaining about the “juice”.

Bud was a private and made $22 per month. He got to be a corporal in a few weeks and got $66 per month. The government passes a law to give $50 a month allotment (to spouse). When I got the first back pay check for $200 I paid off the loan on my contract and stayed in Mass. With Bud.

I worked in several jobs there. Graded apples, graded leather in a factory, worked in a plastics factory and learned to work on a milling machine. My college education helped me to get jobs easily. I could always get a job.

The Army sent Bud to New York on manuvers. Phylis and I caught a bus and went over there. I got a job in Dime Store for 25 cents and hour selling Christmas Cards. There came a big snow 3 to 4 feed deep everywhere and 40 degrees below zero. It was so cold I had to wear my gloves to sell the cards.

Bud fell on the ice and was in the hospital. I quit the job and went to see him every day.

Then he got the mumps and was in the hospital in Cape Cod. He was there on manuvers when he came home his cheeks were still swelled up. He looked pretty funny.

Then they sent him to (probably Camp Pickett) near Blackstone Virginia. His captian said there won’t be much room there for us wives. He told us to go on ahead and get a room. So Phylis and I got on the train for Blackstone VA. The first house I tried was a big pretty house. When I knocked a black lady came to the door. She said “Honey Child you don’t want to live here. Go on over to that part of town and get a room. Three quarters of Blackstone was Black. We got a room in a big house 4 bedrooms upstairs. There was no heat. We were allowed only 4 sticks of wood a day. The landlady was always going through our stuff. So we looked for another place.

A girl and I finally found an attic for rent. It was much better! We took cardboard and particioned off half for her and half for me. It had nails from the shingles sticking down all over our “ceiling”. The attic had an opening all around the eaves that you could see out of. No heat here either. I worked 8 hours a day so I got by fine. It had a twin bed and a glass china closet for a chest of drawers. And a nail keg to sit on. We cooked on canned heat. We would open a can and warm it and all eat it while we warmed a can of something else. Believe it or not Bud’s friends would leave camp and come eat with us! I had lots of company. One time I thought I had a can of salmon…it was salmon eggs. So we scrambled them – Gee. I can’t remember how they tasted but we got by. The girl in the other half was ashamed and had no company. But no one cared and all came to see us. I guess it was just good to get away from camp. We had lots of fun and laughter.

No one at camp had much money so when someone got leave we all pooled our money so that one could go. Everyone was glad to help each other.

At each town I would find all the sights to see and we went to see them all.

In New York we had our honeymoon, a 5 day leave. We saw all the sights there, Statue of Liberty, A boat ride around the island, a planetarium etc. Went to Coney Island we had a lot of fun.

In Boston we saw the longest bar, where they slid beer from one end to the other. Went to a Strip Show (really Mama?!!!) where they sang “Take it off, Take it all off”. A buggy ride to see where Paul Revere went. Sat in a chair made form the “Spreading Chestnut Tree”.

Then Bud had to go overseas. We always kept enough money for me to go home. So… we caught a slow train home. They only fed the soldiers, but I had fried a chicken and took a loaf of bread. My two friends didn’t take anything so we all ate mine. About half way home a negro lady was selling cooked chicken at the train window. I bought us more so we got by ok. It was good chicken. It was a long sad ride home.

When I got home I stayed a few days. I decided I didn’t want to work on the ranch. Zell Chapman and I wnet to Clovis and had our fortune told. This lady took my hand and said “your husband is on a ship going across the water. He will be ok and come back home. If you go west you will find a job the day you get there.” So I decided to go see Peggy Lund in Roswell and on to Las Angeles California. I didn’t know anyone there but I knew we had a few relations there. I took the train. I got off and was walking down the street and I heard a milling machine running. I had worked on one in Mass. I walked around the building warehouse on the third side I found a door and went in. They hired me to run the milling machine. I worked there until I met my relatives. They said they could get me on for more money at the shipyard. I quit and went there but missed the friends I had made at the first job. I decided I would quit and go back for less pay. Jobs were frozen and they would not let me quit. I called every day til someone picked up the phone and said ok. Friends were better than more money. That was the Las Angeles Down Town Sopping newspaper. I drilled holes in a Bazooka gun shell. I really liked it. The machine shop had several different machines. I learned to run them all. I was the only girl and did odd jobs for the men. Like get cokes and cndy and take stuff to bass etc. They pulled tricks on each other and would send me to do those. Like loaded cigars etc. We all had fun. Then the plant started folding Time and Life magazine and I worked on a folding machine. My sister Jo decided she would come to LA. I sent her round trip money. She got a one way ticket and came to stay. The place where I was living had a fit that she was there. Rooms were very hard to find. I got all the people at work to help me ffind a place where Jo could stay too. Finally a man named Ray told a place I was his sister and she let us rent a room, really a kitchen, living room a Murphy bed came out of the wall, and a bath. It was in North Hollywood. Then Jo stayed there with me and I got her a job where I worked. Runing the folding machine was a man’s job but I liked it. There was one other war bride there. If they would let her work with me we had a lot of fun. She was a good worker too so I would get down and help her and we could talk and work. It usually took 2 girls to take the paper off and stack it. But she and I could run it by ourselves. It didn’t look good to the others, who didn’t really want to work so they complained. Women can be so jealous – oh well. The war was finally over.

Bud got out in El Paso and went to see his Folks. They called and wanted me to come there. I couldn’t get a train or Bus ticket. But a man said I could ride with him in his fancy car. He was taking a car load of people to New Mexico. So we set out. He had radiator trouble and we stopped at a lot of stations.. The rest rooms had slot machines in them. They gave me money to paly them and then we all had drinks on the money I made. I had never seen one before and thought it was fun. I was lucky and we always had money for cokes. It took 2 or 3 days to get to Clovis. Bud was in Clovis to meet me! We stayed in the Clovis hotel for a few days. Then went to Brownfield. Tommy Littlefield (Bud’s brother) told Bud we could farm his place and he would build us a new house. We lived in a 2 room shack while he built it. Oh yes, before that Bud and I went to LA to get my things. I left with only a bag.

New tablet….

Bud's Life: Smith Donley Littlefield

(also in Littlefield Family Tales)

I was born at home in Lea County New Mexico, near Lovington, in a wood house with adobe insulation on January 29, 1919. The Doctor was named Smith and the preacher was Rev. Donley so that is the way I got my name. I was the 10^th child. Mama (Sarah Jane Garner) had 6 boys, I was the 6^th, and 5 girls. They were: Exie, Gerald, Tommie, Maude, Myrtle (twin to Maude died at birth), Bernice, Herschel, Clayton, Verdie (Sis), Smith (Buddie) and Docia. I was told I was a pretty baby with curly hair. My hair didn’t get cut until I was over 2 years old. Pretty ringlets.

It was a dry year so we went to Hagerman to pick cotton. We lived in a tent. My youngest sister Docia was born there in November 1921 when I was about two and a half. When she was born I ran into the field and said “Mama has a little one and it’s black headed”.

My folks homesteaded the place in Prairie View New Mexico. Papa (William Thomas Littlefield) was a farmer and Rancher. They raised sugar cane and made their own syrup. The syrup making was a community project. We used a mule to turn the press. I remember chasing around after the mule. I started to school there. We walked a mile and quarter to school. Mama told me to tell them my full name. I said “Brother Smith Donley Littlefield” my family teased me about that.

Then we sold all our cows and moved to Meadow Texas about 1924. I met Johnnie Martin and his family there. We worked pulling cotton for them. We have been good friends ever since.

In 1926 my father bought out some fields of cotton to pick. Thanksgiving Day it came a bad sandstorm and ruined the whole crop. The next year he rented a farm to farm. The next year he rented a different one. That crop was pretty good so he rented a better place near Ropesville Texas. It was the Berry place (no relation). I walked three and a half miles to school there. I was 9 then. I stuck a limb in the ground that made a big tree. We had used that stick for a stick horse all that day. It was a wonder that it grew! We farmed a section of land there (640 acres). We stayed there 4 years and then moved to Tokyo Texas. I went to school there and played on the basketball team. I also graduated from grade school there. (8^th grade). I was the first one in the family to get a diploma. I was so proud and bragged about it. But… I went off and left my cap there, the family never let me hear the end of that. It was a small school.

Then we moved to the Black place, it was near Happy Texas. We lived there til I was 17 years old in 1936. I moved to Pep New Mexico after that and stayed with Exie my oldest sister and her husband Ed Martin. I worked some for Mr. Asa Lee Williamson and that is where I met Katie his youngest daughter. While I was there I went to county dances with Katie and her brother Jim. Maybe Martin brought me to some of the dances. They were a lot of fun. One night Katie had to go shut up the chickens. I decided to “help” her. While she shut the latch I put my arms around her while she turned the wire, and I kissed her for the first time! I stayed there on the ranch and worked a while and then went to California with 4 boys. I decided I really wanted to keep in touch with Katie. I was in the Bunk house packing and she came out to bring me some laundry and I kissed her good bye and asked her to write. I think she liked me and hated to see me go! When we got to Tucson 2 of them got work in the mines. I was too young to work in the mines. We were in their car to Tucson so I got a Freight train to Las Angeles. I accidentally got on one going to Mexico with about 10 more men. They stopped us at the border and made us walk back. (60 miles) Then we did catch the right one to Las Angeles. We went to Hartley Days (?) sister’s house in California. I got a job working on a dairy. There I bought my first car, it was a 1928 Model A 2 door sedan, black. I finally had wheels!!

Clayton came out to see me. He got a job on a ranch driving a 4 horse team hauling dirt. I decided to quit milking and get a job on the ranch. At first no luck so I got a job washing dishes in a café. I opened it up each morning and then did dishes. After a little while I did get on at the ranch. They were cleaning out the bar ditches to drain the water off. I helped the man that ran the dredging machine when I started working there. Clayton another man and I decided to batch… we got a little house. I remember cooking rice. We started out with a little and soon had all our pots full!

We decided to go to New Mexico on December 15^th for Christmas. On December 1^st I got laid off so we started for NM then. Another boy wanted to go with us, he went on to Arkansas. We planned to just drive daytime and camp out at night. But it started raining so we drove straight through. We went on to Brownfield TX, I stayed there a few days with the folks then went to NM to see Katie. I could hardly wait to see her. That January I turned 18, Katie was in College in Portales. She lived in a dorm out on the Elida Highway. I didn’t know where the college was so asked for directions to the Elida highway in a gas station. I took her to a show then spent the night in a hotel and went to see her again the next day. The next day I went back to the same station. They said I thought you were going to Elida? I said no I changed my mind. She was just as sweet as I thought she would be. We had a great time.

When I went to work for Mr. Williamson I knew I had met one of the finest families in the world.

I sold Ed Martin (Exie’s husband) my car. Then went to Brownfield and worked for farmers and saved all my money. Then I bought a Plymouth Coupe for $20. Then I made a deal with Ed Martin to farm with him in Pep in 1940. I did the work and got paid part of the crop. I also worked for Mr. Williamson and other people in my extra time.

I hadn’t seen Katie for quite a while and on my birthday here she came on a little horse with a card that said Happy Birthday, it wasn’t signed but I knew who it was from. I was so embarrassed I didn’t know what to do. So I went to see Katie again. The year before she had made me a cake for my birthday as I was working on the ranch. So I knew she knew when it was.

That fall I went back to Brownfield. I wanted to get married but couldn’t afford to. I bought half of a quarter section with Clayton in Brownfield. Clayton was to farm it for one year and I would go to the Army, then I hoped to get married to Katie and farm it the next year. Then Clayton was to go to the Army while I farmed. When I got my draft number it was #13 so I wrote to the draft board and volunteered for 1 year. They wrote back to report in 2 days! So Tommy took me over there to NM. I didn’t get to see Katie as she was teaching in Miami NM. She gave me a radio for my birthday on January 19^th. I went in on January 21^st 1941. So I didn’t get out til after the war and Clayton never went in. They stamped my papers “for the duration plus 6 months”. I didn’t want to get married and leave her and she wanted to teach a year so we decided to wait.

I first went to Ft. Sill Oklahoma, then to Ft. Bliss near El Paso for 4 months then to Abilene. I had been in almost a year and couldn’t get out so I gave Katie an engagement ring for Christmas and she gave me a Bulova watch. She came to see me in Abilene in April and we were finally married on April 4, 1942. I was supposed to be there for a year. We were married on Saturday night at 9:15. I was sent to Massachusetts on Monday!

--See Katie’s story for the next years.