This Is Ten Years Later - See How The Family
Has Grown
Those of
our particular clan today should look at the picture at the top.
Daniel and Zora with their ten children. These are your mothers and
fathers, your grandfathers and grandmothers, your great grandfathers
and grandmothers and great great grandfathers and grandmothers.
These ten kinfolk are responsible for those of us who gathered
shortly during June of 2009 and, more particularly of Daniel who
started it all.
Daniel was a stern man yet a happy individual who loved to joke and spend time with his family. He came from Starkville, Mississippi as a young man along with his brothers and landed somewhere near Honey Grove, TX.
From that point shows a history of him and his children where he was in various employment, including mechanic, farm hand, dairy farmer, red dirt famer, Mayor, Fire Chief, Police Chief and finally a fruit farmer. In his later days he wound up south of Abilene, TX where he built a two story home from bridge timber. He never did anything small - it was all or nothing. That house still stands today, one of a few who do remain in that area.
He was never content with just being a farmer but, continued to attempt to advance himself even in the throws of the great depression. A land opportunity appeared in south Texas near the ocean where new land had been cleared, waterways to water the crops of beautiful fruit grown there. It seem a new land of opportunity so, he purchased property there and put up his farm in Abilene, TX for collateral. The depression took it's toll and somewhere during the 30's both farms were in foreclosure for non payment. The promoters could not complete their promise of irrigated water and the farms had bad years. However, Daniel stayed there and worked different jobs until his death in 1962. lp him
This was a man, a Grandfather that I hardly knew. I could count on my fingers the number of times that I got to see him. I cherished those trips for it was going to another land from the one I was raised. Compared to red dirt, grotesque Mesquite trees and nothing but Johnson grass it was paradise. There were fields of green trees with bright orange or yellow fruit dangling from them, green carpet grass and funny looking tall trees with no branches except at the top. The weather was warm and moist from the breeze from the nearby sea. The house that we stayed at was full with twelve people but there was always room for four more.
Our stays were filled with wonderful dinners, fresh citrus fruit, melons and peaches. It was there that I had my first taste of orange juice or grapefruit juice. Unheard of in my home. Fresh made ice cream and cake abounded and games for all to play before bedtime was the order of the day. On week ends it was a trip to a place called Boca Chica. It was the only way to the ocean for there was no bridge to Padre Island at the time. This small parcel is still there at the mouth of the Rio Grande river. This would be my first sight of an Ocean so great that all you saw was endless water.
The visits would end too soon and it was back to a red, hot Texas farm. But, I remember those trips still vividly and longed for the next one. This is where your Grand, Great Grand, Great Great Grandfathers and Grandmothers grew up. They had a happy, wonderful life with nothing but an old house and companionship to grow up with. Papa, as they called him, saw to that. They are all gone now. But, as one of our clan said, "I can just hear them laughing and carrying on up there."
Daniel was a stern man yet a happy individual who loved to joke and spend time with his family. He came from Starkville, Mississippi as a young man along with his brothers and landed somewhere near Honey Grove, TX.
From that point shows a history of him and his children where he was in various employment, including mechanic, farm hand, dairy farmer, red dirt famer, Mayor, Fire Chief, Police Chief and finally a fruit farmer. In his later days he wound up south of Abilene, TX where he built a two story home from bridge timber. He never did anything small - it was all or nothing. That house still stands today, one of a few who do remain in that area.
He was never content with just being a farmer but, continued to attempt to advance himself even in the throws of the great depression. A land opportunity appeared in south Texas near the ocean where new land had been cleared, waterways to water the crops of beautiful fruit grown there. It seem a new land of opportunity so, he purchased property there and put up his farm in Abilene, TX for collateral. The depression took it's toll and somewhere during the 30's both farms were in foreclosure for non payment. The promoters could not complete their promise of irrigated water and the farms had bad years. However, Daniel stayed there and worked different jobs until his death in 1962. lp him
This was a man, a Grandfather that I hardly knew. I could count on my fingers the number of times that I got to see him. I cherished those trips for it was going to another land from the one I was raised. Compared to red dirt, grotesque Mesquite trees and nothing but Johnson grass it was paradise. There were fields of green trees with bright orange or yellow fruit dangling from them, green carpet grass and funny looking tall trees with no branches except at the top. The weather was warm and moist from the breeze from the nearby sea. The house that we stayed at was full with twelve people but there was always room for four more.
Our stays were filled with wonderful dinners, fresh citrus fruit, melons and peaches. It was there that I had my first taste of orange juice or grapefruit juice. Unheard of in my home. Fresh made ice cream and cake abounded and games for all to play before bedtime was the order of the day. On week ends it was a trip to a place called Boca Chica. It was the only way to the ocean for there was no bridge to Padre Island at the time. This small parcel is still there at the mouth of the Rio Grande river. This would be my first sight of an Ocean so great that all you saw was endless water.
The visits would end too soon and it was back to a red, hot Texas farm. But, I remember those trips still vividly and longed for the next one. This is where your Grand, Great Grand, Great Great Grandfathers and Grandmothers grew up. They had a happy, wonderful life with nothing but an old house and companionship to grow up with. Papa, as they called him, saw to that. They are all gone now. But, as one of our clan said, "I can just hear them laughing and carrying on up there."