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
12th 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
3rd 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 3rd and 4th
grade, me for 1st and 2nd. No one spoke
English so Theresa said “Let me teach the 1st and 2nd
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 1st and 2nd 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 2nd and 3rd 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
12th 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
3rd 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 3rd and 4th
grade, me for 1st and 2nd. No one spoke
English so Theresa said “Let me teach the 1st and 2nd
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 1st and 2nd 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 2nd and 3rd 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….
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