(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 10th child. Mama (Sarah Jane Garner)
had 6 boys, I was the 6th, 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. (8th
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 15th for Christmas. On December
1st 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 19th.
I went in on January 21st 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.
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