EARLY LIFE
I was born in Burnet, Texas, February 2, 1932. My mother was from Marble Falls, Texas and my dad was from Marietta, Ohio. He was working on Buchanan Dam when they met. They never told me too much about how they met and for some reason I never asked them; now I wish I had. My dad worked for Brown & Root Construction Companyand we moved a lot. I hated that, and I remember thinking that when I grew up I was not ever going to move. Yes! I have moved a lot. I lived in Venezuela, Egypt, Israel and who knows where else! Most of them were nice adventures and I am glad I had that experience because now at 85 I really don’t care to go anyplace. I am happy and content right here close to Marble Falls and Burnet!
My mother, Alice Sue Baugh, was born (old bluebonnet house) outside of Marble Falls…
My father, Chester Sayers, was born in …, Ohio…
The earliest thing that I remember was when we lived in Ft. Peck, Montana and my little brother was born. My mother told me that we were going to get a new baby. I was seven years old and so happy to have a brother or sister! When she went to the hospital with false labor she explained to me that they did not have a “pretty one” and she was waiting until they did. A few days later on March 4, 1939, she left and soon came home with this long, skinny, red baby.
I looked at her and said, “Is that the prettiest one they had?”
She smiled and said, “Yes.”
In all sincerity I replied, “Well, I sure feel sorry for the rest of them.”
I remember that I wanted to see every seat at our table with someone sitting there. I did not like to see that empty chair. How surprised I was to see that my baby brother was so little he could not fill that chair. Oh, the mind of a seven-year old!
Little did I know that he would become my very best friend and how much I would love him. My life would not be the same without him. Every event that I can remember had something to do with my brother, Ronald (Butch) Chester Sayers.
It was cold in Montana! It was fun pulling my baby brother around on a sled with snow everywhere. I went to school there for the first grade and I remember how cold it was and that I had to wear those darn long stockings. I hated those things and would take them off in the coat room, put them in my pocket, then make sure I had them on again when I got home. Mother would have been really mad at me!
It was just a year later in 1940 when my uncle (my mother’s youngerbrother) was killed at Marshal Ford Dam in Austin, Texas. My brother was a year old then and very sick. He had been sick often during his first year so we did not go to Texas at that time.
My uncle’s nickname was “Cotton” because of his snow, white hair. He was only in his early twenties and was going to get married. He had just purchased a very beautiful gift for his new bride to be—a new cedar chest. Rather than keep the cedar chest, she gave it to my grandmother. It was filled with everything she could think of that had belonged to Cotton. The young woman had a Kewpie Doll that Cotton brought her from the World’s Fair and she gave it to me. I still have that little doll!
I THINK OF HER OFTEN AND USE HER WORDS A LOT!. WHEN I QUIT THAT JOB AND TOLD THEM I WAS LEAVING SHE WENT INTO HER BEDROOM AND CAME OUT WITH HER PRIZED POSSESION—
HER MOTHERS COOKBOOK. SHE HANDED IT TO ME AND I , OF COURSE, SAID “THANK YOU BUT YOUR MOTHER GAVE THAT TO YOU AND MUST ALWAYS KEEP IT>”
Later that year we did go to Texas for a quick visit. Butch was sick again and I remember Ma Baugh rocking him night and day trying to comfort him, and to give Mother some rest. I could go across the street (where the new library now stands on Main Street in Marble Falls) to visit my great-grandmother Samantha Lamascus Lewis. She was a lady ahead of her time as she had red nail polish and would let me paint my fingernails. I would hold them over the wood stove to dry, peel the polish off and repaint them again and again. I was eight years old and did not have much to do, I guess.
They smiled and left. We were in the clear. However, when the invite came to our office my boss looked directly at me. I knew then that he knew
Does anyone remember the Teen Canteen that was set up for teenagers to go to and dance and listen to the jukebox? It was the old two story granite building on the corner of 281 and close to Main street. It is across from the police station now. We had the bottom floor and lots of kids would gather there. I remember because I was staying with my Grandparents for the school year, My Dad worked for Brown and Root and we moved a lot. When he was sent to work on High Bridge , as they called that job , there was no school and the kids would drive to Laredo and my folks did not like the idea of a bunch of kids in the car to get to school.
Well to get back to the story, I remember one Friday or Saturday night I* went to the movie (yes we had movies back then!) with a girl friend and when it was over we went to the canteen and got a coke and watched the kids dance. A couple of boys came over and ask if we wanted to go for a
ride with them. We giggled and went outside with them, got into their car and immediately 2 more boys joined us. Now we were 12 or 13 not very old and certainly not very smart. These young boys had a car so they were older than we were but we were thrilled that someone would want to go with us! Neither one of us had ever been on a date.
Nothing was ever said. The party, of course never went off, life went on. When I returned to the States I went to Illinois to visit John and Pat met Pats wife and several times John flew here to visit Dan and myself. I receive a Birthday card ever year from him and always a Christmas card. He is one of my best friends, He is also the first Gay person that I had ever known.
I remember when I was six or seven and we were visiting my grandparents, Ollie and C.V. Baugh. Between jobs we would go to Marble Falls and visit my mother’s family. One of the things I remember like it was yesterday, not 80 some odd years ago, was to shuck corn. My mother’s uncle, Uncle Tub and his wife Aunt Mary, asked me to go spend the weekend with them. They lived in the country somewhere in the Smithwick area. What I remember the most was the ride out there. They had a car with a rumble seat and I got to ride back there. It was a road on the river and I always was scared we would go off into the river. I remember the road was very narrow and the river was on the right.
It seems very stupid of two girls going with a group of boys today, but we never thought of any harm coming to us in Marble Falls. It just did not enter our heads. Of course today you have warned your girls about NOT doing something so stupid as this but there was not much crime or trouble going on 70 years ago in Marble Falls. Who would suspect,? Now if that girlfriend is still with us and reads that I want to hear from her.! If those boys are still around I hope that they read this and know that they were outsmarted by two silly little girls! No matter what was on their mind! And you know they may not even have been from Marble Falls for all I know!
He is an important part of my life.
They later moved to where the old library was on Main Street, but it is not there now. Their house had a water well in the back yard and we could look down and hope we did not fall in!
We had planned to take her to a park but it was a little nippy and windy, so we had it at the Bertram Nursing Home instead.
When I was 48 I had the opportunity to go to Israel to work. Ronnie gave me a reference ( even tho I had never worked for Ronnie, but he was good enough to do it or maybe he just wanted me out the Country!)This was one of the best experiences of my life! anyway I was flown to Washing to be interview and got the job.I had been working as a Bartender at German American and this was quite a big deal for me. I had taken courses at a business school in Victoria when I returned from Venezuela. The pay was $5000. a month and all expenses paid. I was really surprised that I got hired. We were building an air base for the Israel .Way out by the Red sea. ONe evening I was in the bar like everyone else and 2 new men walked in. We got to talked and they were new. One was an auditor named Pat and the other was a man named John. I had access to one of the military cars the next day , which was a Saturday and I asked them if they would like to go too town with me and I would show them the sight. My Goodness I had been there 3 weeks and thought I really knew more than they did about the area! We had a great time and over the 2 years became great friends. Pat had left his wife at home in the States , she was a Judge or something and did not was to come. He was a lot of fun and a good man. John was very high up in the government and was in charge of supplies. He had a secretary that flew in a couple of days later. Her name was Carol and she and I became good friends. A few weeks later we were setting around the pool \after work. (Yes they had built us a swimmimg pool , a bar, a library ,store .for supplies) John and Carol I were setting
having a drink and we decided that we should invite all the people , all 1000 of them to come to our pool for a great pool party.! I wrote the invitation, Carol typed it out and John saw that it was sent to every office out there in the morning mail!!Security came around checking all of our typewriters and mine of course was clear. They went to Johns and Carol sweetly said, “You don’t think I would have anything to do with that do you?” They smiled and left. We were in the clear. However, when the invite came to our office my boss looked directly at me. I knew then that he knew.
Nothing was ever said. The party , of course never went off, life went on. When I returned to the States I went to Illinois to visit John and Pat met Pats wife and several times John flew here to visit Dan and myself. I receive a Birthday card ever year from him and always a Christmas card. He is one of my best friends , He is also the first Gay person that I had ever known. He is an important part of my life. Last night he called me and told me that Carol had died of cancer. Pat had inhered 7 million Dollars from his Mother and.since his wife passed away he was along now.This is the end of the story, John has had cancer and recovered. He has since that time worked all over the world for the Government. I will always treasure my time in Israel, the other people I met there and the chance to see Israel. What a wonderful 2 years of my life.
The whole camp went wild and was in an uproar! The police were called and everything was upside down. We were all outside wondering where and how Joan was when her husband arrived from Maracaibo. The entire camp stayed up all night and before dawn Joan drove up in the company car that the robbers had stolen. She was alive, but had been raped over and over through the night. Soon after, they left Venezuela for the States.
SHE HAS BEEN A JOY EVER YEAR THAT SHE HAS BEEN HERE, NO ONE MORE GENEROUS THAN SHE. I WILL FOREVER BE GRATEFULFOR THE YOUNG LADY THAT SHE HAS TURNED OUT TO BE. SHE ONLY HAD ONE SPANKING IN HER LIFE, AND SHOULD NOT HAVE HAD THAT! PERFECT THAT IS WHAT I WOULD USE TO DESCRIBE MADELINE KAY JORDAN LEWIS.
There was another girl about my age. I don’t remember her name but we had a blast! We made pallets on the floor and in the day we could go out and help Aunt Mary pick corn and then she would let us shuck it for her. What a simple thing and yet how it sticks in my mind. If I close my eyes I can see that place! Oh, yes life was more simple back then and such fun. No TV, we played outside and I can still remember the taste of that corn on the cob, nothing like it.
About this time, my grandparents had a little restaurant in downtown Marble Falls on Main Street. I was especially fond of their cook. She called herself “Nigger Bertie.” We all called her that and meant no disrespect to her at all. After the café closed and we were visiting Marble Falls, my dad would always take me to visit the old cook. We would go to her house (I still know where it is) and she would be sitting on the front porch in her rocking chair. When we drove up and I got out, she would call out to me, “Come on, Chile. Come to Nigger Bertie!” She would hold me tight. I loved her and she loved me.
We made many trips in our car because my dad worked for Brown & Root and was often transferred to a new project. We would get so tired in the car on many long trips and my dad would try to get us to start singing. The only song he knew was Katy, Beautiful Katy. We would sing, “K K Katy, Beautiful Katy! I’ll be waiting at the k k kitchen door!! We sang that song at least one hundred times every day!
My mother had four younger brothers. I remember Carrol the best because he was the youngest. We loved to play like we were grown-ups and I would play like I was cooking and he would play like he was going to work. What fun! He also had a horse and he would take me riding on that horse over the Marble Falls bridge.
The horse would stop and look over the sides and I would cry and beg Carrol, “Please, please don’t let him jump!”
I remember the time Carrol took me to an outdoor fair in Marble Falls. I think I was six or seven and we were there between jobs. Carrol was a little older than me but we were such good buddies. He always let me ride behind him on his horse.
Well, this night at the fair there was a lot of preaching and other things and at the end the man speaking said, “Be sure and come back tomorrow night. I am going to give a baby away.”
They came back the next day and asked me the same questions and I gave them the same answers. This was the headline in the Houston Post.
Carrol and I ran all the way home to Ma Baugh’s house on the hill and told everyone all about it! We planned what we would do and love that baby if they gave it to us! We talked all the next day about it; I had never been so excited about anything in my life! Carrol was excited, too.
When we went back that night after everything was over and all the preaching and so forth, he took hold of a cute little baby that was about three months old. We could not wait. Then the man took a little scale, put it on top of the desk and weighed the baby! Talk about two mad kids! We ran back to Ma Baugh’s as mad as any grown man. We were fooled!
I was nine years old in 1941 and Dad was working in South Carolina. I got a letter one day from Carrol and he sent me a picture of a young girl with long, blonde hair. She was just how I wanted to look when I grew up. She was so pretty with that long, blonde hair. My hair was worn in a short bob, which I hated, but my mother liked it that way.
Carrol wrote to tell me that he was going to marry this beautiful girl. I was heart-broken! When we moved from there to the Navel Air Station in Corpus Christi, we stopped in Marble Falls to visit. Down on Main Street, at the very end, was a little house where Carrol and Lois lived. I met her and instantly I liked her; she was really sweet to me.
We moved on to the Corpus Christi area and a year later Mother got a phone call that Carrol had been in a wreck. We all jumped in the car and drove to the hospital closest to Hwy 281 where the wreck was. The hospital is now the old courthouse in the square in Blanco. Butch and I were told to wait in the car while my mother and Dad went in to check.
When they came out, my dad was holding my mother while she cried. I knew then that Carrol was gone. He was 19 years old, had been married one year and had a three month old baby girl. My heart was broken.
We had some great times and then my dad would get a call to go to workand off we would go. We got the call that Carrol had been killed in a car wreck. Mother was beside herself. ……..She had four brothers and now she had three. Soon after that, Cotton was killed at Marshall Ford Dam and then she had two brothers..…
My grandmother, Ollie Lewis Baugh, became very sad and never really recovered after losing those children. Sometimes it seemed that she resented my mother because she had survived and the boys were gone. Death does something to the ones left behind. I guess you never get over it, at least my grandmother did not.
December 7, 1941: Pearl Harbor day. I was nine years old and we lived in Hunnington, West Virginia near Marietta, Ohio. My brother was little then and was sick so he and I stayed home. My parents went across the Ohio River to see my dad’s mother. When they came back my mother was crying and my dad had a ½ pint of whiskey in his hand. He told me to sit on his lap because he had something to tell me. Tears ran down his face as he told me about the war that had just started.
“I was too young for World War I and now I am too old for World War II, but if anyone ever asks you what I did tell them I worked at the NavelAir Station in Corpus Christi, Texas.”
We left the next day for Corpus Christi and he never saw his mother again. However, Madeline and Shirley took me to Marietta, Ohio a few years ago and we found the place where the old house had been. It had been torn down a few months before we got there.
Memories. Memories good and some sad.
My dad was a very quiet man and my mother had a lot to say. That may be why they worked so well together. He was so quiet and would laugh at most of the things my mother came up with. I remember when we moved away from Corpus Christi and I had a cat and a dog.
Dad said, “They do not go good together. Only one can go with us. You will have to make a choice.”
He said, “The cat will make it on its own but the dog will not.”
I chose to take the dog.
I cried all the way to Marble Falls. Dad was so wise by making it my choice. He knew that if he chose that I would never get over it. To this day, I cannot touch a cat; I cannot be in the same place as a cat. I love dogs. My dad was smarter than I knew!
I was about ten years old and my dad had a job at Morgan’s Point, Texas. We lived in one of the cabins while our house in La Porte was getting ready. They had a nice, big restaurant over the water. That was nice because the parents could sit up there and have their beer or eat while the children played in the shallow water.
(As I was sitting there on the sand) One day I was in the water up to my waist and a really nice looking young man walked up to me. He was in his 20s and asked me, “Can you swim?”
I said, “No” and he said, “I’ll show you.”
He bent over backwards and, to my surprise, he never came back up!
After a few minutes, I got scared and ran up to the restaurant. By that time, I was crying and screaming at the same time! I ran up to my folks to tell them. All the men in that building realized that something was going on and by the time I told my folks that the man never came up, the men all had their shoes off and were running down to where I had been. They found the young man. He had drowned.
Later the police came to our cabin and asked me all kinds of questions. One of them was, “Could someone have come up from behind and pulled him over?”
I replied, “Yes, they could. But, they didn’t.”
YOUNG ADULT LIFE
My mother grew tired of the traveling that was required with my dad’s job. She told him that when I started high school we would not be traveling any more. My dad got a job somewhere (I don’t know where) and we settled in La Porte, Texas. I loved it there! I had friends that I did not have to move away from.
I loved high school and my best friend was named Mary Ann Muldoon. We had great times together and are still in touch after all these years.
One time we met these two boys and got to talking to them. One of them said, “I forgot my wallet. Let’s go pick it up.”
We went along with them to their motel room and they started fiddling around. When we got in there, we realized they were up to no good.
Mary Ann or I said, “We need to go to the bathroom.”
We climbed up on top of the commode, went out the window and headed for home. I wonder if they are still looking for us?
Then one day in the 11th grade Mary Ann said, “Guess what! I want you to stand up for me as I have decided to get married to this boy I have been dating.” Well, when you are 15 (nearly 16) that is a big deal!
Of course, I said, “Yes!”
She also told me that the guy she was going to marry had a good looking, nice roommate named Ted Jordan. Well, she was right! He sure was nice and good looking. He was a lot older that I was by eight years, but I didn’t even notice that. I was so excited about going out with a good-looking man that was not a kid from high school.
…..dating Ted
Soon I asked my mother if she thought it was okay.
She said, “Yes.”
Years later I asked her, “Why did you let me marry Ted?”
She said, “We thought you would run away with him.”
Maybe I would have, I do not know. The mind of a 15-year-old is a lot different that the mind of an 85-year-old. I also remember that my friend that married first, divorced one year later. I did not. I am glad that I did not because I would not have the three wonderful children that I have now.
Not too long after we married, Ted’s job ran out so we went to his home town to find work. This was Aransas Pass, Texas. There I met his grandmother, Miss Ima, who had raised him and his brother, Tommy. She was a great old lady! I have often wondered what she thought about Ted marrying a child bride. I wonder about that myself from time to time!
We had a bedroom upstairs and I was going to clean it really good. Since I was 16 and not thinking very clearly, I got a big bucket of hot water and poured it all over the floor. You can guess that when it ran down through the living room ceiling, everyone down there thought it was raining.
Ted’s Aunt Ella Floy lived next door. I remember her as being a little “off base” you could say. She never had a meal at her house; she always ate at Miss Ima’s. She had two boys that were really stinkers, one about ten year’s old and the other about eleven. When I took a bath, they would peek at me through the keyhole. Then I found out their little tricks and filled the keyhole with toilet paper.
Those boys raised little guineas and really loved those birds. One day Miss Ima had the idea of cooking the birds for lunch. Of course, the boys were taken for a ride to town and the birds were dressed and fried. When the boys came over for lunch they said, “This is the best fried chicken I have ever eaten!”
We hid our laughs with napkins over our faces and just kept eating. They never knew (for a while) that we had their pets for lunch.
While in Aransas Pass, Ted’s uncle, who was an attorney, came to our house one day.
He said, “Maxine, I have a friend who owns an insurance company and she is going on vacation. Would you like to answer the phone and take messages for her?”
I was so excited. Of course, I said “Yes!”
Who would know that when she came back she asked me to stay and work with her. That training helped me later in my life when the British Ambassador in Venezuela hired me to sell insurance for him.
In 1962 Ted got a job in Venezuela and was excited to get to make big money. I was excited to make a big move to a far-off place so Madeline, David, Shirley and I joined him there. None of us had ever been on a plane before and it was excitement for all four of us! We had a beautiful new house in the Oil Camp and several other friends were there. I remember when Vicki moved into Camp and many other friends. Carmen and Rusty had worked with us in the Texas Valley. (Which leads to today; Carmen is gone, she passed away from some illness she contacted overseas. Rusty, her husband, came to visit us a few months ago. I first met Rusty when he was 19 and he is now in his 70s so you can see this goes back a long way!) My kids had room to play in the Camp and things were great. I loved it!
We had only been there a few weeks when Ted’s boss invited us out to dinner with him and his wife, Joan. I had gotten dressed and someone knocked on the door. Thinking it was Joan, I opened the door and two men with guns walked in. One put a gun in my back and motioned for me to go to the end of the house where my husband was getting dressed. We passed the door to my seven-year-old son’s room who saw what was happening. He immediately grabbed four-year-old Shirley’s arm, pulled her into the room and locked the door. I heard him say to her, “Shirley, I will take care of you.” They got under the bed and never made a sound. The robber made several attempts to get into that door but they could not get in.
They told Ted, who was getting dressed, to take his pants off and sitdown on the bed. Now, they had guns pointed at us so we did what they said!
A few minutes later, someone else knocked on the door and they took me, with a gun in my back, to answer. It was Ted’s boss’ wife, Joan. She was then forced, with a gun in her back, to come to our bedroom and sit down on the bed with Ted and me.
The phone was ringing all the time and they would not let us answer it. Soon there was a knock at the door and one of the men went with me, a gun in my back, while the other man stayed with Ted and Joan. It was the office manager wanting to know why we did not answer the phone. He had a message from Richard, Ted’s boss, saying he was delayed in Maracaibo an hour away and would be late. The robbers brought the office man in and had him remove his pants then join us on the bed.
Again, someone knocked on the door. The same thing happened, with me going to the door as the man held a gun on me. It was the neighbor from across the street, …, who had taken his daughter and Madeline to the movies. The three of them were brought in and we all sat on the bed.
Of course, they had Ted remove his pants and took all his money, too. They also took the keys to his car that was parked right in front of the house. I slipped my wedding ring under my tongue so it was not taken.
Then they grabbed my arm for me to go with them. Joan, who by the way, was expecting a baby, jumped up and said, “No! Take me, she doesn’t speak Spanish and you can take me!”
They left with Joan. I do not know what all happened to her but I know it was not nice.
I spoke with Joan not too long ago and she told me this: “I told them to take me because if they took those two little girls (Madeline and Beverly) it would have ruined their lives. I owe her more than I can ever pay her.
The company Ted worked for then built a 6-8’ security fence around the Camp and hired an armed guard to protect us.
We stayed on. We felt pretty safe after the owner of the little restaurantwhere we all dined sent his men out to capture those robbers. They were captured and escaped then recaptured. The second time, they were put in a prison out in the middle of Lake Maracaibo and never got away again. We found out later that the restaurant was owned and operated by members of an Italian mafia.
One day in Venezuela, I was in the back yard with my seven-year-old son and the guard drove up. I noticed something riding next to him in the front seat of his old pickup.
I asked David, “What’s he got in that front seat?”
David said, “OH, THAT’S MY DONKEY! I AM GOING TO CALL HIM CHICO!”
My seven-year-old son had ordered a donkey from the guard and he brought it to him!!
We took care of Chico, even though he did like to eat the clothes off the clothesline.
One day a friend and I decided to jump on a plane and go to Columbia.We arrived, got a cab and started looking for a hotel. He took us to one and we went in to check out the rooms. The first room he showed us had a large hole in the ceiling.
We left that hotel and on our own found one across the street from Simon Bolivar’s old home.
When we checked in the clerk told us, “Never, never go out of this hotel after dark.” He also showed us how to carry our purses so they could not be ripped out of our hands. He told us that they had a college (if that’s what you want to call it) to show people how to pick-pocket.
We took a bus tour out to the salt mines. We went down the stairs (made of salt) into a large room filled with chairs. When we sat down on the front row the cover was removed from a figure and there was the most amazing site you could ever imagine! A large figure of Christ carved from salt stood about eight feet tall. Over the statue was a small hole in the ceiling and from the hole came a ray of sunshine. That small ray of sunshine illuminated the head of Christ. It was so beautiful that it really took my breath away! I wonder if it is still there.
We shopped as there were many, many people selling figures from beautiful wood and lots and lots of brass. When we started home, believe me, we were loaded (not booze, loaded with packages)!
On the flight home I carried a large brass tray that hangs in our living room today. This was very heavy but I managed it along with one more thing…a beautiful two-foot wooden carving of an old man. We arrived back in Venezuela, and I started to get off the plane with all my treasures when my high heel got stuck in a hole in the metal stairs. Back then you never got on a plane without dressing up—high heels, skirt, girdle, hose. You can guess what I was going through with one foot stuck in the stairs and my arms full of packages and more than a long row of people behind me!
I got free and went home with beautiful memories of a very fantastic place.
Soon, our daughter, Madeline, was fourteen years old and attending a boarding school in Dallas, Texas. I was in Venezuela. I missed her so much that I could not go another year without her with me.
Ted thought all would be fine in three years when David went off to military school in Oklahoma and then when Shirley followed Madeline to boarding school in another three years. Well, I knew that David would never go for that and neither would I so I moved with my children back to Texas.
While Ted was still working in Venezuela, I hired a lawyer to make up divorce papers for me and I met Ted at the airport. Of course, he was upset. Mad. Yes, really, really mad. We talked. We fussed, but I stood my ground.
MIDDLE ADULT LIFE
I went to bartending school in Austin because I had no skills and had held very few jobs. After a few classes I went to work at the beautiful German-American Restaurant close to Buchanan Dam.
One day I was closing up the bar and a nice-looking man walked in the door and said, “I am Joe. I am here visiting my sister and this is the dullest place I have ever been in.”
I replied, “You just wait here until I get this place closed up and I will take you some place.”
He followed me in his car and we went to a little spot that I knew. Dan Gatlin was playing the piano and Joe fell into a great time of dancing and loving the music.
Joe and I started dating. I had bought a little house at Hoover Valley and there were two lots on one side of me that I really wanted. I didn’t want neighbors up too close. One day I was talking to the realtor and Joe drove up. I told the realtor that I was interested in those two lots.
The realtor said, “Well, I have those two and 40 more just behind your house.”
Joe looked at me then at the realtor and said, “She will take them all!” (I nearly fainted) and he wrote a check right then and there for those lots.
That was many, many years ago. Joe has been gone a long time. I just sold the balance of those lots a few weeks ago.
One day Joe came by the house and announced that he had a job offer in Israel and did I want to go? Of course, I wanted to go! My children were raised and I was as free as a bird. We married soon after that and off we went for a great adventure.
How I loved Israel! I bought some lovely things from Israel so I would never forget that place. We were both working for the government on a project building an air base for the Israeli Air Force. After two years that job was finished.
We then moved to Cairo, Egypt for the next project. It was another great adventure!
I met many nice people and enjoyed my stay in Egypt until the day my life ended. No, I did not die but Joe did.
I knew he was sick and then suddenly he was in the hospital. Lying there, he looked at me and calmly said, “Maxine, I am dying.”
I went out into the hallway and beat on the walls with my fist; I did not want him to see me like that. I just lost it. Two ladies in burkas put their arms around me and held me while I cried. I never spoke a word to them and they did not speak a word to me. It was no time for talking. I spent two days and nights sitting by Joe’s side then I went home to rest a little. I fell asleep and someone knocked on the door. I opened it and Joe’s company men were there to tell me Joe was gone.
Joe’s last words to me were, “We will meet again.”
That chapter of my life was over. I will never forget it and I can never forget Joe either.
It was time for me to take him home. We had the funeral and, of course, the casket was never opened. I made it through those few weeks and my friend, Pat Gatlin, called me and said, “I know you are heart-broken but we want you to go to Mexico with us for a few days.
I said, “Yes” and off we went. We had long talks and she said the strangest thing to me.
“Maxine, if something happens to me will you take care of Mary Ann?” They were best friends and I really did not know Mary Ann very well. I never mentioned it to anyone, just a casual statement; however, a few weeks later, Pat was dead.
Her husband, Dan, and I would meet and have coffee and just talk. We were both in the same boat and needed to talk to someone who understood the pain we were going through. Several years after that, Dan and I married and have been together 25 years now.
Time marches on and hurts heal, even though you never forget.
LATER ADULT LIFE
I have owned and operated a few businesses in my time. I started a travel agency in Marble Falls and…
I started an exercise business called Busy Bodies (now known as Reflections) in Kingsland…..
I would like to say how wonderful it is to be content with your life and not try to reach that place that you can’t get to! I am happier than I have ever been.
I have such a wonderful family and a great husband who I can talk to. Sometimes it is very hard to just talk and ask for help about things you think about and no one listens. I don’t have to worry about that. I can talk and Dan can answer many things that I need to hear about.
Remember, always marry someone you can talk to! Sometimes you have a hard time finding someone that will let you talk and help give you answers. I am lucky, he is not perfect but I am not either!
Just about a year ago a little brown and white male dog ran away from his home in Marble Falls. He was running, all five pounds of him, to get away from an abusive family. I found him with a lady in Buchanan Dam who rescues animals and he is now mine.
I love him and take such good care of him; he no longer quivers or shakes like he did a year ago. He still hides under my bed if someone else knocks on the door and stays there until they leave, but he trusts me. That makes me so happy!
Tonight I sprayed him with some good smelling spray and boy is he mad! This makes me happy because he is not afraid any more. I loved it because he knows that no one was going to punish him or hurt him. I wish I knew the people who abused him—I would think of something very ugly and mean to say to them. I love this Little Boy so much! So, if you lived in Marble Falls and had a little male dog that you abused or you let your kids abuse him, shame on you! You are now the loser and Little Boy and I are the winners!
This morning I was thinking about all the times of my life. You must give me space; I am 85 years old so I have the right to think back!
What I think about, for one thing, is family and the many places on this earth that I have been able to visit. Today I have no desire to travel any place but Marble Falls and back to Smithwick. I have been so lucky to have lived in Venezuela, Egypt and Israel, and to have traveled to many other places. I think that since I have done that I am very happy to just stay where I am in beautiful Smithwick for the rest of my life!
It’s wonderful to have peace and contentment in your life. I have it, but I realize that not everyone in this world does.
I have “things” that I have picked up through all my travels and they are to remind me that I have memories of that place. If I didn’t have those little items I may forget some place. I do forget now and then. Sometimes it is good to forget and sometimes not!
For instance, I would like to forget the robbery in Venezuela where my dear friend was taken. I still talk to her after all these years. She was the brave one. She said, “I knew if they didn’t take me that they would take one of those girls.” She chose to go. That is a hero!
I never want to forget the people in Egypt who came to the hospital to comfort me. The two ladies in full Egyptian clothes both put their arms around me when I lost my husband there. I never saw them before or since, but they were there for me, a complete stranger from another country. This world is full of fabulous people wherever we go!
I have had a wonderful life! I know it was not for everyone, but I feel so lucky to have the friends I have and the places I have seen.
THE END
Need to find where these go!!!!!
Following are stories that Max had written, probably typed on typewriter and were found in a folder and transcribed just as we found them. – RL
First Document
NOW FOR THE GREAT PART, THE THING THAT MADE MY LIFE are WORTH WHILE! MADELINE WAS MY FIRST BORN. SHE WAS SO PRETTY AND SUCH A JOY TO US! HER DADDY THOUGHT THE NURSE IN THE SMALL HOSPITAL OF ROCKPORT WAS GOING TO STEAL HER! WE WERE ANXIOUS TO TAKE HER HOME TO 1001 NANDINA, CORPUS CHRISTI!
SHE PICKED A WONDERFUL MAN TO BE MARRIED TO AND HAVE A GREAT FAMILY 5, YES FIVE SONS THAT WE ARE SO PROUD OF!
I LOVE YOU SO MUCH, MOTHER
Second Document
“OUR NEXT MOVE WAS TO SOUTH CAROLINA…”
OUR NEXT MOVE WAS TO SOUTH CAROLINA, I DON’T REMEMBER MUCH THERE.
I REMEMBER IN SOUTH CAROLINA WAS GOING TO SCHOOL AND PASSING A LITTLE HOUSE WITH A WHITE PICKET FENCE. THAT FENCE WAS LINNED WITH ROSES! I CAN ALMOST SMELL THEM NOW WHEN I THINK ABOUT THAT HOUSE, I GUESS THAT WAS THE FIRST TIME I WOULD BE AWARE OF FLOWERS! MONTANA WAS COLD AND WE WERE THERE IN THE WINTER SO I GUESS THIS WAS MY FIRST ROSES!!
I ALSO REMEMBER AN OLD TWO OR THREE STORY ROCK SCHOOL AND THE SMELL OF GRITS FOR LUNCH, I NEVER DID LIKE THEM AND I STILL DON’T AT 81 YEARS OLD,!
ALSO THINK WE GOT TO SEE “THE WIZARD OF OZZ”. MA AND PA BAUGH CAME TO VISIT US, MY UNCLE CARROL USED TO TAKE ME RIDING ON HIS HORSE EVERY TIME WE WENT TO MARBLE FALLS. WE WOULD CROSS THE BRIDGE AND I WOULD TELL MY UNCLE “PLEASE DON’T LET HIM JUMP IN THE RIVER!” I GUESS I WAS ALWAYS SCARED OF HEIGHTS. ONE TIME CARROL AND I WENT TO A TENT MEETING WHERE THEY HAD MAGIC TRICKS AND STUFF LIKE THAT. I THINK IT WAS A CARNIVAL IN TOWN. THEY SAID FOR US TO BE SURE AND COME BACK TOMORROW NIGHT BECAUSE THEY WERE GOING TO GIVE A BABY AWAY. I LOVED CARROL SO MUCH HE WAS JUST A LITTLE OLDER THAN ME, MY MOTHERS YOUNGER BROTHER, WE WOULD PLAY TOGETHER IN THE BACK OF THE CAFE MY GRANDPARENTS OWNED, ON MAIN STREET MARBLE FALLS. THE COOK WAS SO GOOD TO US SHE WOULD MAKE EACH OF US A HAMBURGER AND ONE FOR MY DOG, A BIG RED DOG NAMED, RED!! WE WOULD SAY WE WERE GOING TO GET MARRIED WHEN WE GREW UP. WHEN THEY TOLD US ABOUT GIVING A BABY AWAY WE WERE HOT ON GETTING THAT BABY! WE WENT THE NEXT NIGHT SO EXCITED AND MAKING PLANS ABOUT THE BABY WE WERE GOING TO WIN. NOW I WAS ABOUT 8 YEARS OLD AND CARROL WAS 12 OR SO. THE HIGHLIGHT OF THE EVENING WAS WHEN THEY BROUGHT OUT THAT BABY AND PUT HER ON A SCALE AND GAVE HER A WEIGH! BOY WE WERE SO MAD AND FUSSED ALL THE WAY HOME!!
GETTING BACK TO SOUTH CAROLINA, I GOT A LETTER FROM CARROL THAT BROKE MY HEART, HE SAID HE WAS GOING TO GET MARRIED AND SENT A PICTURE OF HIS GIRL FRIEND, SHE HAD LONG BLOND HAIR AND I ALWAYS WANTED HAIR LIKE THAT BUT NEVER COULD GROW IT. I WAS HEART BROKEN. HE WAS 17 OR 18 AT THIS TIME AND I WAS STILL TOO YOUNG TO REALIZE YOU DON’T MARRY YOUR UNCLE!!
IN CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA THERE WAS A RAIL ROAD TRACT ACROSS THE STREET FROM OUR HOUSE. ME AND THE NEIGHBORHOOD KIDS WOULD SLIP OVER THERE AND PUT ROCKS ON THE TRACK FOR THE TRAIN TO HIT. WE ALSO HAD A LITTLE CREEK BEHIND THE HOUSE THAT WE WOULD BUILD DAMS IN AND WADE.
WAS PLAYING OUTSIDE AND BUTCH WAS WITH ME, I LOOKED AROUND AND COULDN’T FIND HIM. I WENT INTO THE HOUSE LOOKING FOR HIM, FINALLY I HA TO TELL MOTHER THAT HE WAS GONE! SHE CALLED THE POLICE, EVERYONE WAS LOOKING FOR HIM FOR A COUPLE OF HOURS, JUST KNEW HE WAS AT THE RAIL ROAD AND THAT WAS MY PUNISHMENT FOR NOT LOOKING AFTER HIM. I WAS SCARED TO DEATH THEN THE POLICE FOUND HIM — IN THE BACK SEAT OF MOTHERS CAR IN THE GARAGE FAST ASLEEP. ALMOST EVERY MEMORY I HAVE HAS BUTCH IN IT!
THE NEXT MOVE WAS TO WEST VIRGINIA MY DAD WAS THRILLED BECAUSE WE WERE JUST ACROSS THE RIVER FROM OHIO. HIS MOTHER AND BROTHERS STILL LIVED IN MARIETTA, WHERE HE WAS BORN, WE COULD DRIVE ACROSS AND VISIT HER WHEN EVER DAD WAS NOT WORKING. I REMEMBER THE DRIVE TWO STORY HOUSE AND THE DINNING ROOM. I THINK IT WAS IN FLOOD ZONE BECAUSE MY MOTHER WOULD SAY 2.
Third Document
“HOW CAN THEY THERE AND GET FLOODED EVERY SPRING?…”)
HOW CAN THEY THERE AND GET FLOODED EVERY SPRING? WHATS WRONG WITH THEM!! MY GRANDMOTHER, VIOLA RITCHIE SAYRES WAS A VERY SMALL LADY, SHE WAS VERY PROPER AND I HAVE READ STORIES OF HER HAVING PARTIES FOR THE LADIES AT HER HOME. ALSO IF YOU WOULD SET DOWN AT THE TABLE SHE WOULD NOT EAT BECAUSE SHE THOUGHT IT WAS DISREPTABLE TO HER. SHE HAD TO BE SEATED FIRST AND THEN EVERYONE COULD SET!! THATS ABOUT ALL I REMEMBER OF HER. HIS DAD HAD DIED YEARS BEFORE THAT. SHE LIVED IN A HOUSE THAT HER MOTHER CATHERINE STEWART RITCHIE HAD LEFT HER IN HER WILL. SHIRLEY AND I WENT TO OHIO AND LOOKED FOR THAT OLD HOUSE BUT NEVER FOUND IT. WE DID FIND A COUSIN AND HE WAS SO NICE TO US! THIS TRIP WAS IN 2012.
THE YEAR WAS 1941 AND MOTHER AND DAD WENT TO VISIT HIS MOTHER IN OHIO, BUTCH AND I STAYE HOME BECAUSE HE HAD BEEN SICK AGAIN AND WE HAD A BABY SITTER. I WAS 9 YEARS OLD AT THAT TIME WHEN THEY CAME IN THE HOUSE DEC. 7 WAS A SUNDAY AND IT WAS COLD IN WEST VIRGINIA. MOTHER HAD ON A BEAUTIFUL FUR COAT THAT MY DAD HAD BOUGHT HER, MOTHER WAS CRYING AND MY DAD HAD A ½ PINT OF WHISKEY THAT HE HAD BEEN SIPPING (AS HE CALLED IT) ON THE WAY HOME. HE ASKED ME TO SET ON HIS LAP THAT HE HAD SOMETHING TO TELL ME. HE SAID WE WERE GOING TO WAR AND THAT HE WAS TOO YOUNG FOR THE FIRST ONE AND NOW HE WAS TOO OLD FOR THIS ONE, BUT WHEN ANYONE ASKED ME WHAT HE DID FOR THE WAR I COULD TELL THEM THAT HE WORKED AT THE NAVAL AIR STATION IN CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS. WE LEFT THE NEXT DAY.
WE WENT TO MARBLE FALLS FOR A FEW DAYS AND VISITED MOTHERS FAMILY. BUTCH WAS STILL SICK AND MA BAUGH WOULD ROCK HIM AND TALK TO HIM. SAME AS BEFORE. I PLAYED IN THE BACK YARD AND FELL ON A CACTUS PLANT. IT STUCK IN MY KNEE AND I HAD TO GO TO THE DOCTOR TO GET IT REMOVED. HIS NAME WAS DR. NANNY, I THOUGHT HE WAS WONDERFUL!! THEN WE WERE READY TO GO TO CORPUS CHRISTI AND MY GRANDPA HAD SOME GOATS, OF COURSE BUTCH AND I WANTED ONE AND OF COURSE HE GAVE US ONE. WE NAMED IT DR. NANNY AND BROUGHT HIM ALL THE WAY TO CORPUS. THINGS WERE PRETTY GOOD THERE I HAD BEEN IN 3 DIFFERENT SCHOOLS THAT YEAR BUT WAS HAPPY TO HAVE A NICE CLASS WITH A TEACHER THAT I THOUGHT WAS A SUPER WOMAN. I HAD HER HIGH ON A PEDESTAL. MY FOLKS WOULD GO OUT WITH FRIENDS WHO OWNED A NICE BOAT AND THEY WOULD HAVE THEIR DRINKS AND THEIR KIDS AND ME AND BUTCH WOULD PLAY IN THE WATER. ONE DAY THEY ASKED MY TEACHER IF SHE WOULD LIKE TO GO WITH US.. JUST KNEW MY FOLKS WOULD NOT DRINK TOO MUCH AND IMBRASS ME. INSTEAD MY TEACHER GOT DRUNK AND I NEVER LIKED HER AFTER THAT! SHE DID LET ME PLANT SOME PINTO BEANS AND WHEN THEY STARTED TO COME UP IT WAS TIME TO MOVE AGAIN!
JUST BEFORE OUT MOVE WE RECEIVED NOTICE THAT MY MOTHERS YOUNGER CARROL, THE ONE I WAS SO CRAZY ABOUT. HAD BEEN IN A WRECK AND WAS IN THE HOSPITAL IN BLANCO. WE HURRIED THERE AND BUTCH AND I STAYED IN THE CAR WHILE MY FOLKS WENT IN TO SEE ABOUT CARROL. HE HAD DIED JUST AN HOUR BEFORE WE GOT THERE. MOTHER WAS BROKEN, HE WAS 19 YEARS OLD. MY GRNDMOTHER WOULD NEVER RECOVER FOR THE LOST OF HER 2 YOUNGEST BOYS. BEFORE IT WAS OVER SHE HAD LOST THE OTHER TWO BOYS MY MOTHER OU T LIVED ALL OF HER BROTHERS. SHE DIED AT 79, MA BAUGH LIVED UNTIL 99 AND 6 MONTHS. OUR NEXT MOVE WAS TO HOUSTON AREA, A LITTLE TOWN CALLED LAPORTE. I REMEMBER MY MOTHER SAYING SHE WAS GOING TO STAY THERE UNTIL I FINISHED HIGH SCHOOL BECAUSE WE MOVED TOO MUCH THAT MADE ME PRETTY HAPPY! WE
Forth Document
“HAD RENTED A 2 STORY HOUSE IN LA PORTE…”)
HAD RENTED A 2 STORY HOUSE IN LA PORTE AND WERE WAITING FOR IT TO BE READY FOR US SO WE LIVED IN SOME TOURIST COURTS ON THE BEACH CALLED SYLVIAN BEACH. THERE WAS A RESTAURANT AND THE FOLKS COULD WATCH US FROM THERE WHILE WE WERE IN THE WATER. ONE DAY A YOUNG MAN CAME UP TO US AND ASKED IF WE COULD SWIM. I SAID NO AND HE SAID “I WILL SHOW YOU HOW!” AND HE LEANED OVER BACKWARDS AND TO OUR SURPRISE NEVE CAME UP! I RAN TO THE RESTAURANT AND TOLD MY DAD, HE CAME RUNNING OUT AND SEVERAL OTHER MEN JUMPED INTO THE WATER AND STARTED LOOKING FOR THAT YOUNG MAN. HE DIED RIGHT HERE IN FRONT OF US! THE POLICE CAME, THEY LATER CAME TO OUR CABIN AND TALKED TO ME, THE NEWSPAPER REPORTER CAME IT WAS HEADLINES ON THE HOUSTON PAPER. THEY NEVER TOLD ME WHAT HAPPENED.
I GOT MY FIRST REAL JOB WHEN I WAS 14 I WAS BABY SETTING IN HOUSTON FOR A FAMILY THAT OWNED A RESTAURANT IN LAPORTE. I STAYED WITH THEM ALL WEEK AND CAME HOME FOR 2 DAYS AND BACK TO THEM ON FOR 5 DAYS ALL SUMMER. MY BROTHER WAS IN THE FIRST GRADE AND HAD A DOG NAMED LUDINE THE DOG WENT TO SCHOOL WITH HIM AND STAYED UNDER HIS DESK EVERY DAY. HIS REPORT CARD WAS BETTER THAN BUTCHES!!
WHEN I WAS ALMOST 16 I MARRIED TED JORDAN, HE WAS A GOOD LOOKING YOUNG MAN AND I THOUGHT HE LIKED ME. I WAS WAY TOO YOUNG AND NEVER SHOULD HAVE, BUT I HAD 3 WONDERFUL, CHILDREN AND AM SO PROUD OF THEM. EACH ONE IS SOMETHING SPECIAL! MY BROTHER IS STILL VERY IMPORTANT IN MY LIFE AND HE ALWAYS WILL BE.
IF YOU FIND A LOT OF MISSPELLED WORKD JUST REMEMBER WE MOVED SO MUCH THAT I MISSED THE SPELLING CLASS. I HOPE YOU WILL ENJOY THIS LITTLE BOOKLET THAT I HAVE MADE FOR YOU.
Next up are a series of Facebook Posts that Maxine “Meme” shared with us on The Angora Chronicles. This was during a time when she had excellent recall of happenings over the course of her lifetime. As you will see in the next group of entries, she was willing to share many aspects of her life. The good, the bad and the ugly. Her writing style changed over time, at times leaving her CAP LOCKS engaged. This could have been due to her eyesight worsening. There was a period where she did this but would disengage it with the first letter in the sentence, leaving it in lower case. Her loving daughters tried to explain to her the mistake she was making. However, she was hearing none of it and continued doing it “her way”.At some point as Facebook made it possible to easily make edits, many of these got corrected, making the entire writing capitalized. It was my thought that husband Dan went back and made corrections on her behalf in an attempt to make Max look a little bit less eccentric.
For all the things that some of us close to the situation, it was always amusing to watch the interactions of an aging couple take care of each other. It was very sweet most of the time. There was no doubt the abiding love those two had for each other of the 30 plus years they spent together.
This is a story told to me by my
Grandmother Ollie Lewis Baugh daughter of Charlie Lewis and Samantha Lamascus Charlie had been married to a Boltinghouse and she had died they had several children Samantha had been married to a Shepperd before and he had died she had several children. Charlie Lewis and Samantha Lamascus (Shepperd ) married and my grandmother was 4 or 5 years when this story came about!
:
When Ollie was 4 or 5 years old her family, along with several others, decided to go to New Mexico with the wagon train. Now Samantha had just had a baby boy and her sister Emily Lamascus Simpson had just had a baby boy also9. Emily died in childbirth and Samantha took Emily’s baby with them on the trip. She tried to nurse both babies and somewhere along the way both babies died and where buried someplace along the road. What a hard trip that must have been!.It took them 6 months traveling to New Mexico and most of them did not like it! They turned around and came back. It took just 6 weeks to get back home to Texas.!! A couple of the families stayed there and their ancestors are there today.
Ken Lewis drove the wagon they were on., He was the son of Charlie Lewis and Sarah Boltinghouse. They all considered brothers and sisters and never thought of them as half brothers and sisters. They all played and were good friends when they grew up. They all loved to go fishing and camping a long as they could get to the river.
We lived in Venezuela in the early 1960. A Man would come around and take orders for hand painted pictures from Equador . He would ask what color you liked and a year to the day he would bring your pictures . Here are 2 of mine. I really love them.
When I was 48 I had the opportunity to go to Israel to work. Ronnie gave me a reference ( even tho I had never worked for Ronnie, but he was good enough to do it or maybe he just wanted me out the Country!)This was one of the best experiences of my life! anyway I was flown to Washing to be interview and got the job.I had been working as a Bartender at German American and this was quite a big deal for me. I had taken courses at a business school in Victoria when I returned from Venezuela. The pay was $5000. a month and all expenses paid. I was really surprised that I got hired. We were building an air base for the Israel .Way out by the Red sea. ONe evening I was in the bar like everyone else and 2 new men walked in. We got to talked and they were new. One was an auditor named Pat and the other was a man named John. I had access to one of the military cars the next day , which was a Saturday and I asked them if they would like to go too town with me and I would show them the sight. My Goodness I had been there 3 weeks and thought I really knew more than they did about the area! We had a great time and over the 2 years became great friends. Pat had left his wife at home in the States , she was a Judge or something and did not was to come. He was a lot of fun and a good man. John was very high up in the government and was in charge of supplies. He had a secretary that flew in a couple of days later. Her name was Carol and she and I became good friends. A few weeks later we were setting around the pool \after work. (Yes they had built us a swimmimg pool , a bar, a library ,store .for supplies) John and Carol I were setting
having a drink and we decided that we should invite all the people , all 1000 of them to come to our pool for a great pool party.! I wrote the invitation, Carol typed it out and John saw that it was sent to every office out there in the morning mail!!Security came around checking all of our typewriters and mine of course was clear. They went to Johns and Carol sweetly said, “You don’t think I would have anything to do with that do you?” They smiled and left. We were in the clear. However, when the invite came to our office my boss looked directly at me. I knew then that he knew
Nothing was ever said. The party , of course never went off, life went on. When I returned to the States I went to Illinois to visit John and Pat met Pats wife and several times John flew here to visit Dan and myself. I receive a Birthday card ever year from him and always a Christmas card. He is one of my best friends , He is also the first Gay person that I had ever known. He is an important part of my life. Last night he called me and told me that Carol had died of cancer. Pat had inhered 7 million Dollars from his Mother and.since his wife passed away he was along now.This is the end of the story, John has had cancer and recovered. He has since that time worked all over the world for the Government. I will always treasure my time in Israel, the other people I met there and the chance to see Israel. What a wonderful 2 years of my life.
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For some reason I have always liked things to be even numbers, 2.4.6. and now I even venture out to 3 once in a while. I have found that some plants kook better with 3 instead of 2.I was born this way because one of my first memories was in the late 1930s when we lived in Montana. My Dad was working for Brown and Root and we moved a LOT!! I remember setting at the table and that empty chair bothered me. When my folks told me we were going to have a baby brother or sister I was thrilled. Now that empty chair would be filled and the table would be even all around!! I was so excited when Mother went to the hospital to pick out a baby! 2 days later she came home and NO BABY. I asked her what happened, and she said “They didn’t have a pretty one.” The next week she went to the hospital came home with a skinny ,long , red baby boy! I took one look at him and said ” Is that the prettyest one they had? She said Yes.
In my very best 7 years old voice I replied “Well I sure feel sorry for the rest of them.” Little did I know he would grow up to be my best friend and how much I would love those big brown eyes he has. He is my little brother and I have visited him in Cairo , Egypt,
Syria and now he lives a few miles from me.!~ Life is good!!
I married when I was very young, I remember telling you that my Father worked for Brown and Root and we moved a lot, I always hated that, 3 schools in one year! I claim that that is why I cannot spell. I missed “spelling.”l I never intended to go thro that again when I was an adult and guess what….I would up with a man who had Sand in His Shoes!! When I was married to Madelines Father I can count over 24 houses we lived in in 20 years..One story tho may be worth telling here goes:
When we lived in Victoria and built our first house, (we had owned 2 houses in Corpus and did NOT pick out the plan and build them like we did this). It was on 5 ac. and Shirley and David could have horses! I loved that house, it had a fireplace in the kitchen dinning room! We moved in October 31 , and Ted left for Venezuela the following January. Three months there , I stayed until school was out for the children. We went to Fla. to connect with plane to Maracaibo . When we got to the airport they told me David needed another shot, somehow we had not finished his. We got in a taxi went to the nearest Dr. told him our sad story and looked for David, he was gone! He had all the shots he wanted and the Dr. and nurse chased after him running down the street, caught him got the shot went back to the airport. I should have know then that this was not a good idea!.
When we got to Venezuela we had a nice house, of course we had a maid, everyone that lived in camp had a maid to help clean because most of the Ladies were playing bridge! We had been there just a short time when the maid came running in crying. “I asked her why, I did not have a good grasp on Spanish but she said in her best broken English “The President murdered”! I thought she meant Venezuelan President, she looked at me and said”Sue President, Mr. Kennedy” That was another bad omen that I did not get.
One day the bosses wife (Teds boss not mine) came over her name was Joan , she had children about the same size as mine and we became friends. Little did I know at that time what it would lead to. She invited us to dinner at the local restaurant, one all the Americans went to and really liked. Her husband was in Maracaibo on a quick job and as soon as he came home we would go. I heard the front door open and went down the hall thinking it was Joan and guess what? Two men with scarves on and guns in their hand were coming toward me! Ted was getting dressed in the bedroom and Shirley and David were playing in Shirleys and Madelines bedroom, Madeline was at the movies with Leos Daughter, They lived across the street. David quickly closed the door and put Shirley under the bed saying ” I will take care of you Shirley”. They took me to the room where Ted had just finished dressing, asked for money , we gave what we had to them. They opened every drawer, looked in the closet and then told Ted to take all his clothes off .He stood there in his underwear and the doorbell rang. One took me to the door with a gun in my back and told me to open the door. It was Joan! She was 3 months preg. They took her money and jewelry as they finished the 3 of us were setting on the bed the doorbell rang again. !We went thro the same thing and It was Leo with Madeline and his Daughter home from the movies!They took him and the girls to the back bedroom. Took his money and made him take his clothes off and there he was in his underwear.Meanwhile the phone had been ringing off the hook, they would not let us answer it.Then guess what, the doorbell rang again! It was the young man from the office calling on the phone and wondered why we would not answer it. He was calling to tll us Richard , Joan’s Husband had called he would be here in about another hour.We went tho the same thing me with a gun in my back and let him in off went his clothes and he was on the bed by the rest of us. They took his money and all the time they thought that the men were in their BATHING SUITS!They laughed all the time. Guess they had never seen boxer shorts before.Now Leo did a lot of work at the camp, if your air went out or you need help he had keys to every house in the camp, had a company car.They took all the keys, took me by my arm and said “Lets Go”.Joan jumped in and said “NO, she doesn’t speak Spanish, take me. ” They let me go and took her.
A little while Richard came in the whole came was outside talking , calling for help. Richard looked all night and came back at daylight and Joan was back in camp! They had raped her all night long and told her if she did not do what they said they would cut that baby out of her stomach. Then just at daylight they gave her the keys to the car and told her to go. She drove home, You can just imagine what she was like at this point. She was taken to the hospital and returned home.
For weeks afterward we were picked up by the police taken to every
jail and had to wear a hankie over mouths and try to hold our breath. They did not have separate rooms for the inmates they were housed together in one large room with NO bathroom. There was a trough in each area and that was where they used the bathroom for everything! Once a day they would floods water thro it from the top floor of the jail to the bottom. You have never smelled anything like that. We could not find anyone that looked like the men. I would not have ever known them because they had scarves at my house but Joan had been with them for 6 or 8 hours and saw their faces. ONe day she was at my house, we talked a lot about what had happened and the Police car pulled up again in front of your house. They had 2 men in the back seat and asked us to come take a look. Joan looked at them and them fainted on the lawn! She knew them!
We went to trial they were found guilty and put in prison. This was out in the middle of the ocean or River or someplace. Sort of like Alkraz I guess.
But they escaped. A few months later they were captured again! The people who owned the restaurant in Town was really owned by the Italian Mafia.!! They like the oil company people and found these guys , they were put back in a prison.This is the same restaurant that we went to and had escargot.
David would put the empty shells in his pocket when we left he loved to collect them! We did not know that would reuse them again and again and David was taking them home!
One really good thing happened tho . they put up a 6 ‘ fence all around camp and hired guards night and day to guard the gate. This is where David got his donkey Chico from one of the guards.
Joan and Richard left for the States not long after that never to return Her baby was born and o.k. Richard is now gone, but I talked to Joan not to long ago she said the main reason she told them to take her she was sure they would take the 2 little girls (Madeline and Leos daughter) and their lives would have been ruined.
We made many friends there and now most of them are gone. One couple what we really loved stayed there and he became head of a big oil company in Venezuela. His wife who taught my kids how to swim and opened up a catering company with me is gone, but her husband came to see me about 2months ago and we talked about the Old times. He lives in Fla now. What a joy to see him after all these years.
I still have 2 close friends that are on facebook that I met in Venezuela Vicki and Janie. Thank goodness for them.
Thanks for reading this, I am almost 83 now, I have been told that I have Acute Kidney failure (I don’t know why they call it Acute, there is nothing cute about it!?) I may live 5 more years and May live 10 I am not sure. but the life I have had! I have lived in Venezuela where I survived that experience , opened up a small catering service, worked for the Ambassador to Venezuela from England, Been to Bogota, Columbia, Syria,, Spain spent
a week in a castle in Portugal, Paris,, London, Thiland. Canada, (won $1000.on a slot machine there) Maui What a life I have had! I have made many mistakes but I have learned from each one! I have the greatest children anyone could ask for son in laws, daughter in law and have many friends. Dan is great to me we have been married almost 25 years, He has brought music to my life. He helps me is so many ways. Picks me up when fall down and believe me I do fall down! He is by my side and I don’t know what I would have ever done without him. That’s it Ronnie, I did this for you! Max
THIS IS A LITTLE STORY ABOUT MY DAD. NOW EVERYONE (MOSTLY EMERYONE) THAT WORKS IN CONSTRUCTION AND MOVES AROUND KNOWS THAT WE DO NOT MAKE FRIENDS. WE KNOW WE ARE LEAVING AND THE FRIENDS GO WITH US. I REMEMBER EVERY HOLIDAY ALL THE CONST. FOLKS WOULD COME TO SOMEONES HOUSE, THE MEAL WAS IN THE KITCHEN – THE KIDS ATE AND PLAYED, THE PARENTS DRANK AND TALKED.NOW MY DAD WAS A VERY GENTLE MAN, HE WAS LARGE AND SO SWEET. HE REALLY LIKED HIS WISKEY. HE WOULD BUY THOSE LITTLE 1/2 PINTS AND PUT UNDER THE SEAT IN THE CAR AND SIP ON IT DURING THE TRIP. NO WATER OR MIX. I DON’T KNOW HOW HE DID IT.! WHEN HE RETIRED HE STILL LIKED TO DRINK THAT WHISKEY AND WHEN THEYMOVED TO CIRCLE INN THERE WAS PLENTY OF TIME TO DRINK. THING WAS THEY DID NOT HAVE LICENSE FOR WHISKEY!
THEY HAD BEER LICENSE ONLY. MY MOTHER DID NOT KNOW FOR A LONG TIME HOW MY DAD WAS GETTING SO HIGH IN THE AFTERNOON WITHOUT GOING TO TOWN. HE HAD FRIENDS THAT DID. YOU COULD NOT HAVE ANYTHING TO DRINK IN THE BUILDING UNLESS YOU HAD LICENSE. SO HIS FRIENDS WOULD STOP BY AND SAY TO HIM THEY WERE GOING TO TOWN DID CHET NEED ANYTHING? HE WOULD SAY YES “BRING ME A BOTTLE”, NOT ONE TO BREAK ANY RULES HE WOULD TELL THEM TO GO AROUND THE BUILDING AND PUT IT ON THE TOP OF THE WINDOW AIR CONDITIONER. THEN COME ON IN. THEY WOULD HAVE A FEW BEERS, DAD WOULD SLIP HIM THE WHISKEY MONEY AND THEY WOULD BE ON THEIR WAY. THIS HAPPENED PRETTY OFTEN. NOW HE WOULD NOT LEAVE IT ON THE AIR CONDTIONER VERY LONG BECAUSE HE HAD THE PERFECT PLACE TO PUT IT.HE HAD BOUGHT A PONEY FOR DAVID AND CURTIS TO RIDE AND IT HAD A LITTLE BARN IN THE BACK. THERE WAS THE BOTTLE. HE WOULD GO OUT 5 OR 6 TIMES A DAY TO “FEED LUCKY THE HORSE”, MOTHER WOULD SAY “WHY ARE YOU FEEDING LUCKY SO OFTEN? YOU ARE GOING TO MAKE HIM SICK.” SHE FINALLY DID REALIZE WHAT WAS GOING ON. YOU COULDN’T GET AWAY WITH TOO MUCH
FROM MY MOTHER.
O.K. Ronnie you asked for something about Circle Inn, between Marble Falls and Johnson City . Here goes:
My folks had lived in La Porte trying to give me a stable life for a change. My Dad drove many miles to work every day.. Sometimes he would not get back till late in the evening. I surprised them by getting married early, maybe because my best friend Had just gotten married and it seemed so romantic. When we left La Porte my folks, Alive and Chester moved closer to where my Dad worked. There my Mother got sick in 1952 and went to a very small hospital nearby. It was early Spring and a nurse put an ice pack on her neck so she could get to the ice to put in her mouth. The air condition (window unit) gave her a bad cold , that on top of being sick. She lost one lung.The Drs. told them they had to move to a higher climate or she would not survive on the coast. They , at least she, moved to Marble Falls. My Dad kept working on the coast, catching a bus to come and visit her every so often as he had let her have the only car they had.It was hard living here and my Dad gave up his job and they tried to make a living and it was really hard to do. He found a part time job with a dragline, which is what he liked to do, He was proud and happy to put the granite cross on top of the Catholic Church on 1431 in Marble Falls. When that part was over they had a chance to buy Circle Inn and moved there. I moved here soon and worked for an attorney in Marble Falls in the beginning. I would go out there and visit them and this was a regular thing that happened:
My second cousin Henry Earl Lewis would come in after work and soon several regulars, Punk and Marie Wagenfuhr and several others would gather around and set at the same table drink beer and talk about what was going on in Marble Falls. Sometimes there would be 10 or 12 of us setting around and always someone would say to Henry Earl tell us about the house! (Meaning the poem” The House With Nobody In It” He would say not now, later. Well that meant later when he was a little tippsey and could recite it from top to bottom without fail. Here it is:
WHENEVER I WALK TO SUFFERN ALONG THE ERIE TRACK
I GO BY A POOR OLD FARMHOUSE WITH ITS SHINGLES BROKEN AND BLACK.I SUPPOSE I’VE PASSED IT A HUNDRED TIMES, THE HOUSE WITH NOBODY IN IT.
I NEVER HAVE SEEN A HAUNTED HOUSE, BUT I HEAR THEY ARE SUCH THINGS.
THAT THEY HOLD THE TALK OF SPIRTS, THEIR MIRTH AND SORROWINGS.
I KNOW THIS HOUSE ISN’T HAUNTER, AND I WISH IT WERE, I do;
FOR IT WOULDN’T BE SO LONELY IF IT HAD A GHOST OR TWO.
THIS HOUSE ON THE ROAD TO SUFFERN NEEDS A DOZEN PANES OF GLASS.
AND SOMEBODY OUGHT TO WEED THE WALK AND TAKE A SCYTHE TO THE GRASS.
IT NEEDS NEW PAINT AND SHINGLES , AND THE VINES SHOULD BE TRIMMID AND TIED.
BUT WHAT IT NEEDS THE MOST OF ALL IS SOME PEOPLE LIVING INSIDE.
IF I HAD A LOT OF MONEY AND ALL MY DEBTS WERE PAID.
I’D GET A GANG OF MEN TO WORK WITH BRUSH AND SAW AND SPADE.
I’D BUY THe PLACE AND FIX IT UP THE WAY IT USED TO BE
AND I’D FIND SOME PEOPLE WHO WANTED A HOME AND GIVE IT TO THEM FOR FREE.
NOW A NEW HOUSE STANDING EMPTY, WITH STARING WINDOW AND DOOR
LOOKS IDLE, PERHAPS, AND FOOLISH, LIKE A HAT ON ITS BLOCK IN THE STORE.
BUT THERE’S NOTHING MOURNFUL ABOUT IT; IT CANNOT BE SAD AND LONE.
FOR THE LACK OF SOMETHING WITHIN IT THAT IT HAS NEVER KNOWN.
BUT A HOUSE THAT HAS DONE WHAT IT SHOUD SHOULD DO, A HOUSE THAT HAS SHELTERED LIFE.
THAT HAS PUT ITS LOVING WOODEN ARMS AROUND A MAN AND HIS WIFE
A HOUSE THAT HAS ECHOED A BABY’S LAUGH AND HELD UP HIS STUMBLING FEET,
IS THE SADDEST SIGHT, WHEN IT’S LEFT ALONE, THAT EVERY YOUR EYES COUULD MEET.
SO WHENEVER I GO TO SUFFERN ALONG THE ERIE TRACK.
I NEVER TO BY THE EMPLT HOUSE WITHOUT STOPPING AND LOOKING BACK.
YET IT HURTS ME TO LOOK AT THE CRUMBLING ROOF AND THE SHUTTERS FALLING APART.
FOR I CAN’T HELP THINKING THE POOR OLD HOUSE IS A HOME WITH A BROKIEN HEART.”
HENRY NEVER MISSED WORD OF THIS POEM. HE KNEW IT BY HEART EVERYONE AT THE TABLE WOULD BE WIPPING THEIR EYES NO MATTER HAW MANY TIMES THEY HAD HEARD IT.
THERE WAS NEVER A PLACE JUST LIKE CICLE INN AND THE SAD PART IS THERE NEVER WILL BE.
JUST FOR YOU RONNIE!
Ronnie I worked at the Mathis Factory for a short time. I had moved up here with Madeline and David, before Shirley was born. I went down to Mathis and got a job in the insulating part! You may know how that feels when it is all over you arms,, boy it was something else! I went home (to Mothers and Dads,) right next to the Sinclair and Mother was laughing her head off. She watched As the World Turns every day. David was a little fellow and several times he ran outside the bathroom door and bent over yelling” I saved”, and then run back to the bathroom. Mother never took her eyes off the TV but would say “Good Boy”, and just keep watching the show. Finally after he had run out there several times and the commercial came on she looked at him and he was covered in streaks of blood. He was shaving with Dads razor which was loose and not tightened.up.! Thank goodness he did not cut his throat and bleed to death! I think that is about the time I quit Mathis and went back to Ted! I am not sure that was a good idea either!!
A little something that came to my mind tonight. You may enjoy. When Ted and I married in 1948 we lived in LaPorte a while and then Ted got sand in his shoes and wanted to move to Aransas Pass,, we didn’t have any money or a job and we stayed with his Grandmother in the beautiful old two story house that Ted had been raised in. Miss Ima (that is what we all called Teds Grandmother) was a grand old lady. She was very proper and had a heart as big as gold. She had a lady live with her named Mrs,,Ward. She was a ward of the State and back then you had to live with someone or go to the insane house I guess , There was no way to care for these old people who had no family. Miss Ima was paid to take care of her .. Everyone in the family treated her with respect, she was one of the family. She had a bed right in Miss Imas room so if she needed anything Miss Ima was right there.Mrs. Ward loved the men the most of all,,She loved to goose Ted every time he walked close to her and she loved to go out into the yard and break off Miss Ima flowers and then bring them and give them to her roots and all. She loved Miss Ima. Mrs. ward could not talk, and she had no teeth. She just made faces if she was not happy with something,One day we were eating lunch and with my dislike for cats Miss Ima had a cat. A big house cat. As usual cats like to come to me. That cat came under the table and rubbed on my foot I very gently put my foot under the cats belly and gave it a boot across the room. Miss Ima looked at Mrs. Ward and said to her “ Shame of you for doing that!!” I just looked the other way, the cat was o.k. but Mrs Ward had the totally look of surprise on her face. I really thought about that thro the years , that I let her take the blame for something I did. The cat was o.k. and we just finished lunch and that was the end of that! Miss Ima also had the first snowbird I guess that ever came to Texas. I don’t remember her name but she came every year rented a bedroom upstairs and had every meal with us and then went to her room. A lovely old lady that called Miss Ima ,, Mrs. Jordan and in turn Miss Ima called her by her Mrs… what ever. They were friends but very formal . I remember the Lady would help with Thanksgiving Dinner and Christmas also. Her favorite thing was fruit salad. SHE PEALED THE GREEN GRAPES. It would take her hours to get those grapes pealed and ready for the salad. Funny how things you think of at certain times of the year.
I was thinking this morning about my parents, Alice and Chester. They were
really great! My Mother was funny she could come up with sayings that no one else ever could. When I was a little girl she let me look thro the box of photos she had. Not many were taken back then it was pretty difficult I guess,Anyway I ran across a picture of my Dad nd another woman. I asked my Mother who is that? She replied Without cracking a smile “OH that’s your Other Mother”. I did not know that my Dad had been married before. At that young age it didn’t mean anything to me anyway, I was just so proud that I had two mothers!! Every time we had company I ‘ run get that picture and show everyone “Look this is my other Mother”:. One day my Dad got hold of that picture and I never saw it again. Mother thought it was funny, my Dad didn’t! I never asked as I grew up and I never heard anything else about my Dads first wife! The things children say!!!The things some Mothers say!!!
As the Holidays are upon us makes me remember something :
When Ted and I lived with Miss Ima in Aransas Pass we had the bedroom upstairs. One day close to Christmas I decided to clean the room really good. I got a bucket of warm water and poured it all over the floor. Now you must remember that I was only 16, and not a very smart 16 at that, I would not have gotten married at that age if I was smart! I got a broom and started scrubbing the floor really good, them I got the mop and moped all the water up that I could find. I was so proud of the way I had cleaned that room and was getting ready for Christmas! When I went downstairs all pleased with my myself, Miss Ima was standing in the middle of the living room wondering why the ceiling was raining all over her living room! It was not raining outside so what was going on? I realized at that moment what I had done! yes, I had poured the water all over the floor and of course it had came down thro the living room ceiling! Miss Ima never said one bad word to meabout that!! Bless her heart! She realized that I was just a foolish 16 old girl that never thought head! Then Christmas Day came and for the first time I was to meet my Step Mother-In-Law! Charlie Jordan (Teds Father) and his wife were coming for Christmas. I guess they did not do that very often. Miss Ima was so excited to have the entire family there for Christmas Day!! The tradition for years had been ,all the presents to go under the tree and NO ONE opened a gift until Miss Ima opened her gifts that was school I guess the Older ones had the respect of all the younger ones. This was her time to and make over each and tell who sent it to her. NO Child was to touch any gift until Miss Ima was finished with her gifts. Well just as she started to open her gifts , all the children waiting with hands folded in their laps, Charlies wife Gertrude opened hers!!
let out a scream and yelled “OH CHARLIE YOU GOT ME A FUR PIECE!” aLL WAS QUITE and then from the back of the room in his deep loud voice Uncle Jack said “MY GOSH, I THOUGHT A FUR PIECE WAS A LONG DISTANCE!” everyone BROKE DOWN AND STARTED LAUGHING, The tension was over! Bless Uncle Jack ‘s heart, he was one of a kind and always knew what do do! Miss Ima even laughed and Gertrudes moment of fame was gone! Oh those Holidays memories are just priceless.!!!
One more story, maybe the last one! As I have mentioned before we were in West Virginia in 1940 when Pearl Harbor hit. My Dad visited his Mother for the last time, however, we did not know it was the last time. WE moved on to Texas and then were in South Carolina for a short time. We lived across the street from a railroad there was not much traffic then and I was nine years old and me and a group of other kids would run across the road and put rocks on the track and then run back home to see if a train would hit them. Why? I do not know just kid stuff. One day Mother asked (told) me to watch my little 2 year old brother “Butch” while she was cleaning the house. Well I really didn’t want to I had other fun things to do but I said o.k We all went down to the creek behind the houses and built dams and waded in the clear creek water What fun!Then I looked around and Butch was gone!! Oh my Gosh, I rushed to the house and went inside and looked around, not saying a word to my Mother that I was looking for him! I went back outside and looked some more. The other kids helped me look also. He was no where to be found. I thought he went across the street and a train would run over him! I was so scared!! I finally went to the house and told my Mother, I was crying and so was shel We looked all over and then she called the police! They came and looked and looked. Then, one looked into the garage and there he was , in the back seat of the car sound asleep!!! Who ever thought that a little 2 year old would be able to open the door and get into the car! Don’t ever underestimate the brains of a two year old! I never let him out of my sight again!
I saw the post about Marble Falls and suddenly a memory came to me!
we used to come thro. marble falls when I was young because my Dad (Chester L Sayers) was working for Brown and Root and we traveled a lot. Once when we were in Marble Falls, Carol Baugh ( my mothers younger brother) and I went to a tent show. some of you may remember those traveling shows. it was just the 2 of us from the family there and at the end of the show the “ringmaster” said be sure and come back tomorrow night because we are going to give a baby away. well Carol and I were very excited and we got home told all the folks about it and said “we are going back tomorrow and get that baby” Does that tell you something about hold old we were? Well we talked all the next day about that show and we just could not wait to go to that show! We got there got a good seat down front and waited until the end of the show to get that baby! Well the man in charge brought this beautiful little baby out and showed him to all of us. Then came the big ringer==== he pulled out a scale from under the counted and placed the baby in it! HE GAVE THAT BABY A WEIGH!
We were so mad that we had been tricked and ran all the way home to Ma Baughs house mad as 2 wet hens. I never went to another meeting like that!!
Ronnie I worked at the Mathis Factory for a short time. I had moved up here with Madeline and David, before Shirley was born. I went down to Mathis and got a job in the insulating part.! You may know how that feels when it is all over you arms , boy it was something else! I went home (to Mothers and Dads,) right next to the Sinclair and Mother was laughing her head off. She watched As The World Turns every day. David was a little fellow and several times he ran outside the bathroom door and bent over yelling” I saved”, and then run back to the bathroom. Mother never took her eyes off the TV but would say “ Good Boy”, and just keep watching the show.Finally after he had run out there several times and the commercial came on she looked at him and he was covered in streaks of blood. He was shaving with Dads razor which was loose and not tightened.up.! Thank goodness he did not cut his throat and bleed to death!! I think that is about the time I quit Mathis and went back to Ted! I am not sure that was a good idea either!!
I remember they started driving down the hill to the cabins that were called Jays cabin. They said “come on out we need to pick up something.”
Well we walked in that cabin and saw 2 double beds, we looked at each other and one of us said “I got to go to the bathroom” I don’t remember if I said it or my friend. We got in that bathroom, locked the door
got on top of the commode (we left the water in the sink running) and opened a narrow little window and pushed the screen out and jumped out the window! We both took off running for the Canteen!!!
Today I was watching TV and the massive crowds in Paris. It got me to thinking about a few things .Remember this, I am not smart , I am not well educated – I* quit high school in the 11 grade to get married (would I do that again? HELL NO”.) but I have had some very interesting things happen to me.
I got to live in Venezuela a few years , and all tho some bad things happened some good things happened. I made friends that I am still in touch with. I wouldn’t have missed that for anything. I had an old friend make a trip to see me not long ago. What fun seeing him and talking with him. His wife was my best friend and even tho she has passed now I am still in touch with him. Through that trip to Venezuela I got to go to Columbia and see things that I would never have seen if I had stayed right here. I also lived in Israel for a time and when I was in Tel Aviv one Christmas a little Jewish man came dragging a green Christmas tree about 6 ‘ tall into our office! Even tho they do not celebrate Christmas he respected that we do! This touched my heart and I have thought about him every Christmas since.He was Jewish.
There was a time that I loved in Egypt and had a beautiful apartment in Cairo. We met with people from the American Embassy every Friday night and had dinner.Also a friend introduced us to someone that was from Egypt but went to U. T. in Austin and met and married a Texas girl. WE got to visit them several times. I remember the first time we went to their home he answered the door like this “Come in , Come in. I just got my new Patsy Cline Records and what do you want to drink , I have everything over here!”
I won’t forget them either! He was Muslim.
Our apartment was about 5 blocks from the market (outdoor) and since I did not care for the Egyptian TV I would walk to market every day and get fresh veg. and fruits. There was a large house about a block from where we lived and it had a high rock wall all around it, There sat an old Egyptian man on a bench (I guess he was supposed to be the guard) he must have been in his 80’s and every time I passed he would stand up and bow to me and say “Madam”. He made me think of my own Father back in the States.
I won’t forget him either. He was Muslim.
When I lived in Egypt my Husband got very sick and since we had no car I was rushing around running down the street to the main office (in the middle of the night) and could find no one to help me. When I returned to my house the landlady was just driving up in her car. She heard what I said and her Son was with her. He happened to be an solider in the Egypt Army and took over drove us to the Hospital and was so nice to me. and so helpful. I won’t ever forget him either. He was Muslim
On my way back from market it was about time school would be out and every day a group of small children would follow me chanting MUZZER,.
MUzzer, Muzzer. they were practing saying MOther and just could not get it right! But they tried. They were Muslim.
The Doctor was so kind and when we came home he came to the house every day (with no charge) and checked on us. After a while my Husband passed away and the Doctor and his wife wanted my address and wrote to me for about a year. . I won’t forget that either. He was Muslim.
THE POINT OF THIS STORY IS THAT WE MUST NOT PUT ANYONE IN A BOX. SOME ARE GOOD AND SOME ARE NOT. JUST AS SOME WHITE PEOPLE ARE GOOD AND SOME ARE NOT. I WAS SO PROUD THE SEE THE PICTURE OF THE POPE (NO I AM NOT OF THAT RELIGON BUT I RESPECT THEM,) WITH THE LARGE GROUP OF
DIFFERENT RELIGOUS LEADERS STANDING TOGETHER.
THATS ALL FOR TODAY COWBOY ARE COMING! LETUS WATCH THAT GAME!!
I HAVE been notified by daughter, Shirley that I should not use all CAPs
because it means that you age angry, well I did not know that and I must stop doing that. I can’t see very good and that is why I make the letters so big. I am sorry if I made anyone think I was mad. I am not.!!!!!
We have 2 rescue dogs, one is a boxer about 100 lbs and one is a little bitty dog about 18lbs. The boxer is so gentle and he plays with the little dog, they play the stare game and chase each other.When I was in HEB this week I saw some little rubber toys for dogs I picked up 2 one for each dog. Now Buddy, the Boxer never plays with toys in the 7 years we have had him never learned to play catch the ball when we throw it while the little dog loves to play.Every night after he gets his supper gets his 18″ rubber chicken and plays with it till he goes to sleep. Yesterday Dan went outside and Colin (little dog) went with him and he passed Buddys new toy (Did not touch it) just walked by it and Buddy attacked him! Dan had to pull him off the little dog! That is his toy and no one can look at it! He has learned to pay fetch with Dan with that toy! You never know whats in their head or what they willdo, now Colin will not go outside unless Dan goes first. He would no doubt would have killed Colin if Dan had not been there to pull him off. YOU NEVER KNOW ITS ALWAYS A SURPRISE AT OUR HOUSE!!
Taking An Art Lesson
Four of the ladies in this family had an art lesson at a Winery this afternoon. They just got back to our place a little while ago. I could hear the laughing, but that’s not usual for that group.
This time they did have something to laugh about. When they unloaded the paintings, they were admiring each other’s work, when they discovered the year Maxine painted hers.
WELL ITS 2:00 AND I CAN’T SLEEP ANYMORE. I HAD SUCH A GREAT DAY YESTERDAY WITH MY 3 GIRLS. I AM SURE YOU HAVE READ RONNIES EXPLAIN MY DAY, BUT I WOULD LIKE TO GET THIS STRAIGHT, SO THIS IS MY SIDE OF THE EVENT!
WE SHARED ONE BOTTLE OF WINE AND THEN I WAS SO EXCITED TO GO AND LOOK AT THE INSTRUCTORS PAINTING AND THINKING MAYBE I COULD FIX MINE TO LOOK MORE LIKE HERS! I RAN BACK TO MY PAINTING AND BEGAN PAINTING ON IT WHEN SHIRLEY SAID DID I MESS UP ON MY PAINTING? OH MY GOSH, I WAS PAINTING ON HER PAINTING AND NOT MINE! WELL THAT STARTED THE DOWNHILL SLIDE!!! WHEN THEY PASSED THE MARKER AROUND FOR US TO PUT OUR NAMES AND YEAR ON I PUT MINE AND WEGOT INTO THE CAR TO GO HOME, AS SHIRLEY OR MADELINE (DON’T REMEMBER WHICH ONE BECAUSE YOU ALL KNOW THEY LOOK JUST ALIKE ) SAID WHY DID YOU PUT 1915 ON YOU PAINTING?
WELL I JUST FIGURED IT OUT !! I JUST REALIZED THAT I AM NOT IN STAGE 4 OF KIDNEY FAILURE THEY (THE DOCTORS) MADE A MISTAKE I AM IN STAGE 9 OF BRAIN FAILURE!!
THATS MY STORY AND I ‘M STICKING TO IT.
YOUR FRIEND MAXINE WHATSHER NAME?
I remember being 6 or 7 and we were visit8ng my Grandparents Olli and CV. Baugh. My Dad worked for Brown and Root and we moved a lot.One thing we would do between jobs or transfers is come to Marble Falls and visit with my Mothers parents. One of the things a I remember , like it was yesterday , not 70 some odd years ago, My Mothers Uncle and his wife asked me to go spend the weekend with them. Uncle Tub and Aunt Mary lived in the country, as I remember it was somewhere here in Smithwick.
What I remember most was the ride out here. They had a car with a rumble seat and I got to ride back there! It was a road on the river and I always was scared we would go off into the river! I remember a narrow road and river on the lright.. There was another girl about my age , I don’t remember her name but she and I had a blast! We made pallets on the floor and in the day we could go out and help Aunt Mary pick corn and then she would let us shuck it for her! What a simple thing and how it sticks in my mine, if I close my eyes I can see that place! Oh, yes life was more simple back then and such fun! No TV , we played outside and I can still remember the taste of that corn on the cob, nothing like it!
We were watching an old western movie and it reminded me of the time Carol Baugh (Mothers younger brother) took me to an outdoor fair in Marble Falls. I think I was 6 or 7 and we were here between jobs. Carol was a little older that me but we were good buddies, He had a horse and would let me ride across the bridge on the back of that horse. Well this night at the fair there was a lot of preaching and other things and at the end the man speaking said this “Be sure and come back tomorrow night, I am going to give a baby away!’ Well Carol and I ran all the way home to Ma Baughs house on the hill and told everyone all about it! We planned what we would do and love that baby if they gave it to us! We talked all the next day about it, never been so excited about anything in my life! Carol was also. When we went back that night after every thing was over and all the preaching and so forth he took hold of a cute baby about 3 months old. We could not wait , then he put a little scale on the desk and weighed that baby! Talk about 2 mad kids that ran back to Ma Baughs as mad as a grown man. We were fooled!
I WROTE ABOUAT MY UNCLE CAROL YESTERDAY AND I THINK I MUST FINISH THE STORY.. MY DAD WAS WORKING IN SOUTH CAROLINA IN 1941 , I WAS 9 YEARS OLD. I GOT A LETTER ONE DAY FROM CAROL AND HE SENT ME A PICTURE OF A YOUNG GIRL WITH LONG BLOND HAIR, SHE WAS JUST HOW I WANTED TO LOOK WHEN I GREW UP, LONG HAIR AND SO PRETTY. MY HAIR WS WORN IN A SHORT BOB, WHICH I HATED , BUT MY OTHER LIKED IT THAT WAY
BACK TO THE LETTER, HE TOLD ME HE WAS GOING TO MARRY THIS.
BEAUTIFUL GIRL. WELL I AUESS YOU KNOW I WAS HEART BROKEN .! I WAS 9 YEARS OLD. WE MOVED FROM THERE TO THE NAVEL AIR STATION WHERE MY DAD WAS TO WORK. , ON THE WAY WE STOPPED IN MARBLE FALLS AND DOWN ON MAIN STREET , THE VERY END CAROL AND LOIS LIVED IN A LITTLE HOUSE, I MET HER AND I LIKED HER SHE WAS REALLY SWEET TO ME.
WE MOVED ON TO THE CORPUS AREA AND A YEAR LATER MOTHER GOT A PHONE CALL THAT CAROL HAD BEEN IN A WRECK. WE ALL JUMPED IN THE CAR AND DROVE TO THE HOSPITAL. IT WAS THE CLOSEST TO 281 WHERE CAROL HAD THE WRECK. IT WAS WHAT IS NOW THE OLD COURTHOUSE IN THE CENTER OF THE STREET IN
BLANCO. BUTCH AND I WERE TOLD TO STAY IN THE CAR WHILE MY MOTHER AND DAD WENT IN TO CHECK.
WHEN THEY CAME OUT MY DAD WAS HOLDING MY MOTHER AND SHE WAS CRYING, I KNEW THEN THAT CAROL WAS GONE. HE WAS 19 YEARS OLD HAD BEEN MARRIED ONE YEAR AND HAD A BABY GIRL 3 MONTHS OLD. MY HEART WAS BROKEN AGAIN. I WAS 10 YEARS OLD.
O.K. Ronnie, here is one you may have heard:
I had just been in Venezuela for a few days my children Madeline, David and Shirley and myself flew into the unknown! We went to Venezuela which was like going to Mars for us. We had never been o n a plane and it was excitement to all 4 of us. We arrived in Venezuela. Ted took us to the Oil Camp where we would live. The house was super nice and several other friends were there. I remember when Vicki moved into camp and
many other friends Carmen and Rusty had worked with us in the Valley of Texas. (Which leads to today, Carmen is gone she passed away from some illness she contacted overseas, Rusty (her husband) came to visit us a few months ago) I first met Rusty when he was 19 , he is now in his 70/s so as you see this goes back a long way!
We had only been there a few days, maybe a week I am not sure. Ted and Myself had been invited out to dinner and the one who invited us was across the river to Maracaibo. We had gotten dressed and were waiting for the couple Joan and Richard to come pick us up. Someone knocked on the front door and when I opened it two men were standing there with guns and they came in!
Madeline had gone to the movies with the camp managers daughter and David and Shirley were there. AS we went down the hallway to where Ted was (getting ready for a big night) we (me and the 2 gun holding men) passed by Davids bedroom. David, just a little boy grabbed Shirley and locked the door to his bedroom. He pushed her under the bed and just a little boy said ” I will take care of you Shirley”. He kept that locked and as he said took care of her for about 2-3 hours. am not sure. how many hours.
They, the men with the guns told Ted to take his pants off and they searched it for money, about that time someone knocked on the door and they put a gun to my back and took me to open the door. The lady at the door was our hostess for the evening and they moved her in to the back bedroom.The phone was ringing all the time and they would not let us answer it. Soon there was a knock at the door and the same thing I was taken to the door by one man the other stayed in the bedroom with Ted (undressed and Joan) It was the office manager wanting to know why we did not answer phone, he had a message from Richard (Joans husband) that he was going to be a little late. They brought him in and had him take his pants off and took his money. Now Ted and this office boy were setting there in their underwear and someone knocked on the door, it was the man from across the street with Madeline and his little daughter , they were returning from the movies.Of course you can figure, they took Leo and the girls back to the bedroom and took off his pants and got his money. That is not all they took, they took the keys to his car, which was in front of the house.! They grabbed my arm for me to go with them, JOan jumped up and said ” No take me, she doesn’t speak Spanish and you
can take me.” The three of them left. As you can figure, the Camp went wild the police were called everything was upside down.!!! It was hell on earth, the middle of the night, Richard came in from Maracaibo and we told him his wife had been kidnapped!.Early the next morning Joan came in driving the company car. She was alive , but had been raped over and over thro the night. She was 3 months with child when they took her.
I spoke with Joan not too long ago and she told me this ” I TOLD THEM TO TAKE ME BECAUSE IF THEY TOOK THOSE TWO LITTLE GIRLS ( MADELINE AND BEVERLY ) IT WOULD HAVE RUINED THEIR LIFE!
I OWE HER MORE THAN I CAN EVER PAY HER..
My Mothers youngest brother named Carrol had a horse and he used to take me for rides. He would go across the marble falls bridge and I would say “Please don’t let him jump Carrol, Please don’e let him jump! He never did jump! My Grandparents Virgle and Ollie had a restaurant on Main Street Marble Falls..When my Dad got a brake of a change of jobs we allways came to visit Ma and Pa Baugh. My Dad Chester Sayers worked for Brown and Root Constructon co. That is how he met my Mother he was here working at Buckhan Dam/. He was from Ohio!
I HAVE HAD MANY JOBS IN MY 83 YEARS! SOME WERE BETTER THAN OTHERS, BUT ONE JOB I HAD COMESTO MIND OFTEN. I WAS WORKING AT A HOUSE WITH DISABLED PEOPLE ONE TIME AND THEY WERE PRECIOUS! THERE WAS ONE LITTLE GIRL, SHE MUST HAVE BEEN IN HER 30’S BUT SEEMED TO BE ABOUT 10. . HER MOTHER THOUGHT SHE WAS INSANE AND HAD PUT HER IN THE AUSTIN HOME FOR THE INSANE. THIS LITTLE GIRL WAS OVERWEIGHT AND WE HAD HER RIDE HER BICYCLE EVERY DAY AND WATCH WHAT SHE ATE. ONE MORING I WENT INTO THE KITCHEN AND THE PANTRY DOOR WAS OPEN AND THERE SHE SAT, SHE HAD MOVED A CHAIR INTO THE LARGE PANTRY AND WAS LOOKING STRAIGHT UP ON ONE OF THE SHELVES. (COOKIE SHELF) I SAID TO HER “YOURE NOT GOING TO EAT THOSE COOKIES ARE YOU? HER PRECIOUS ANSWER WAS “NO I’m JUST LOOKING AT EM.”
I WONDER WHERE SHE IS “JUST LOOKING AT IT” NOW.
Ronnie, I just got home yesterday after a fun trip with Butch and Jan! We went to Galveston and went thro the MOODY House, It is the only building or house that stood up after the hurricane of 1900. I am not sure of the date but everything else was washed away , The house is so beautiful and was supposed to be Never , never sold but left to the Moody children as they came along, however Mary Moody married twice but never had any children so the house was taken over by the city for taxes due.It is the most beautiful thing that I have ever been in!i I think it was built in the 1800 and was the only house along that waterfront. It is worth a trip to see it.! Maxine Gatlin
Back When Marble Falls Was A Much Smaller Place
The gal in the picture was born on February 2, 1932. She appears to be a teenager, so probably this sign is prior to 1950.
The young girl is my 91 year old mother in law, Maxine Sayers Jordan Husted Gatlin. She is a real sweetheart.
We had a birthday party this afternoon for Maxine Gatlin.
Several great grandchildren, grandchildren and her daughter Madeline and me. It was a nice gathering.
Happy 93rd Max.
The Amazing Story of the Friendship between Maxine and Mary Ann Muldoon
Once again Facebook and The Angora Chronicles came through. (June 9, 2016) A couple of days ago, a letter showed up at the Marble Falls Post Office. It was addressed to the Post Master. In the letter was a note and eight photographs that were taken back in the 40s. The author of the note said she had an old friend, from childhood that she lost touch with and hadn’t spoken to in about 25 years. She gave the lady’s family name and her married name, as of 25 years ago. The 85 year old lady wanted help finding this person so she could have the pictures. A friend and fellow Angora member thought I may just know this person, so she messaged me. I ask her to forward the letter to me and I would personally deliver it to the rightful person. So this afternoon I got the recipients two daughters together and we took the letter and pictures over to Smithwick. Each of the photo’s had this special lady in them when she was only a teenager. Yes, Madeline Jordan Lewis, Shirley Jordan Benavides & Felipe Benavides were with me as we took this nice gift of pictures over to the girl’s mother, Maxine Gatlin. A copy of the pictures and sweet letter from one friend, Mary Muldoon, about the other are below. Before I left I found Mary Muldoon’s phone number and left it for Maxine. Max called me a little while ago to say that she and Mary had talked and are planning a reunion soon. Thank you Wanda Walker for your part in making this story happen.
Several of the family members went to Smithwick where Maxine and Dan were living and presented her with the letter from Mary Ann Muldoon. It was all videotaped while I read the letter to her.
These are still photos from the video that was taken that afternoon.
We recently received word that Mary Ann Muldoon passed away.
The Miracle of the Internet, Facebook and The Angora Chronicles
During the few years since the birth of The Angora Chronicles on Facebook we have uncovered several facts that may otherwise never been unearthed.
One day while discussing a doctor that played a huge part in the lives of many of us from Marble Falls, I told of this doctor delivering me on August 22, 1952.
Dr. Alonzo Church Wood III delivered and cared for many citizens of Burnet County prior to his deciding to move on in the spring of 1968, determined by a letter I found in papers left behind by my Grandmother, Leona. It help us to determine that Dr. Wood was in Matble Falls for the better part of two decades. There is no doubt he left a mark on the area.
My Mother in Law, Maxine mentioned that her first child, Madeline, was delivered by a Dr. Wood also. But that was in Rockport, Aransas County, Texas. Madeline, who is my wife was born on August 18, 1952.
One of our group members, Peggy Bishop commented that the Dr. Wood in Marble Falls had a brother that was a doctor in Rockport.
Sure enough with a little investigation we determined that my wife and I were delivered 200 miles and four days apart by doctors that were brothers.
Angora Chronicles 