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A LETTER ~ FROM GOLDO copied June 8,1952 Coolridge, Arizona April 4, 1954
Home of the Casa Grande Ruins, Giant Cactus, Beautiful Mountains, Desert Land, Range Country, (better than California) Wonderful climate, no floods, tornados, or 'quakes, and we must admit Cotton Country (which was started by some Texas guy).--"Arizona Brags".
Hi Gang, Someone must get this chain started, so here is the first link, and like any other chain, even those that pull the biggest loads would be of no use with a missing link. When I think of the purpose of this letter, my thoughts wander back over the years, and I remember even though we did not have the advantages that other families had, and home life was not too cheerful at times, there was that something that seemed to have bound us together which made us appreciate the little things that to someone else would mean nothing. I don't recall too much before we landed at "Hog Ranch" (an ideal place for us, I guess). There my life started, and for some of you I suppose there were hopes for a new start in life. "Ignorance is bliss". I was just as happy as I wanted to be, except of course when Grace, Ray and packed our worldly possessions in a shoe box and left home to keep from being punished any longer by that hard job of fanning flies. One of my earliest thrills there was picking up the "Jumping Jacks" the next morning after Uncle Abe gave the big reception. Then of course Gene, Grace, Ray, and I (they were inside) pulling mud balls off the hog's tails. Gene yanked too hard and pulled the hog's tail of, then very calmly put it upon the shed and started slicing it in little slices, telling us that was the way to make hogtail sauce - we believed him! Then we were bound for Saragosa Creek. Highlighting that place was Egg-o-see, (I guess that's right)--the big oval box of chocolates, Mother passed them out one at a time with a little tin spoon clamps or whatever they were, while we were all huddled around on the floor near her chair. Incidentally, I suppose that was the parlor, as I remember it was the tent with the floor. The runaway gray team. Bob was a big hero to me when he helped Mother to get a fish bone out of a little pig's throat. Then John was "sorta" super to me when he made real steps down to the spring, which made a real convenience few people had. Ray initiated me by pushing me "head fosmus" into the spring because I beat him down the steps. About all I can recall about Jennie and Gert, there were the big ironings on the old table, petticoats with yards and yards of material, and getting ready for the huge crowds on Sunday. Then came the move to the Apple John Place, where we really had a new house started, even tho it was papered with newspapers. A favorite evening’s entertainment was seeing who could remember the most adds on the wall. "S-S-S cures old sores", "Hale and hearty at ninety", (maybe that's what I need. That's probably Hadacol now.) Still we had the tents and what a brave soul Jennie must have been to prepare a birthday supper, even for some of the higher-ups in that old tent. There was lots of bravery there, if you ask me. Then came the tragic day when Gene’s leg was yanked off. He was very calm while Gert fainted and threw school books in every direction. I suppose John and Jennie were right in there helping, as they were always called upon to help grab the bull by the horns. While Gene was still in bed, the wind storm came and blew the old clock of the wall and clear outside. There I remember that Jennie and Gert "snuck" a boy friend once in a while. Probably that’s where Gert managed to see John J. Bugg. We even had a neighborhood grocery there! Talk of a railroad--Balmorhea's cars passed our house. Old "Red Hat" was Gert's Mexican. The old taffy candy peddler, who also sold green chili, we snitched eggs and traded for candy or we were allowed to trade for green chili, then we had a big skillet of milk gravy and biscuits, for me that was high living. Old Prince died there. My school career began there and we became allies with John Hourigan against the belligerent Gaines family. Some of the best remembered school mates, or at least some that went to school, were the Jones, Bear, Frog, Jigg, (he was a big hero because he could jump the canal). What was Verlie's nick name? Snide? Pige Gaines, Speck Webb, strange, I can't remember many girls. A big thrill to me were the big Christmas trees, where step ladders were used to get gifts from the top and our family usually carried away about ten bags of goodies. And, of course, the all day preachin' and dinner on the ground. Yep, we were growing with the country, moved to Headquarters, or I guess it was Balmorhea, then-~Pioneers we really were! Must mention Father Hoban, he was really Santa Claus for all the kids! At last—settled in the boom town of Balmorhea we really started a colorful life. We were a pretty healthy bunch for us to have so many aches and pains now. Maybe that's why, we had them then but couldn't afford to know it. Ray was very generous; he went out and got something for all of us--the measles. But we got it back on him, when he finally got up all the others took down and he had to help wait on us and run errands. Poor kid! I guess that's why he turned out to be such a runt! Finally we were in the house, then the years really began slipping by. The family began to scatter, but a few we like to recall before we scatter. Sometimes in the evening after supper we sat around the table and sang hymns. That was the beginning of mine and Grace's, (Grace and mine, Grace and my, Grace and me, me and Grace, Grace and I, ah heck! That was when the girl just older than Ray and the youngest gal started singing together). Singing career, as I was saying. Wups! left out some reminders that go right in here. Forgot to say that singing and basket ball gave Grace and me a chance to do a few more things than the other gals did. We weren’t always singing or playing basket ball when that took us away from the “Iron Curtain”. We must not forget Bob’s singing career either when he was singing "The Old Oaken Bucket with the Blue Ribbon on it" and showing us what an athlete he was! Remember the bottle of wine in the old wardrobe that was kept for communion at the church? Grace, Ray, and I had several swigs of it. The big can of coconut "that was kept in the quilt box? Grace and I would find everyone gone after school and our first thoughts were to do something that we weren't supposed to do. We filled our cups with coconut, swiped churning cream to put on it, then took turns pushing each other around on the sewing machine. I wonder how it happened we didn't get started smoking bull durham then. We did chew some tobacco tho. Remember Bob's Sunday shoes and the butter beans? I thought we were really in high cotton when we had the old tool box filled with salted rabbits. I believe that was John's contribution. Oh yes, it was a thrill when John ordered the big bunch of groceries from Sears--apple butter, peanut butter, the first I guess that we had ever seen. We were quite proud of his being a railroad man! Mother enjoyed going to his tent by the mill and eating that new kind of milk right out of the can (Eagle Brand). We also looked forward to Mother and Dad going to the Griffin Farm for apples and pears. Of course everything was canned as quickly as possible and that was the only time we ever had fresh fruit. Say, you might have thought I lived to eat instead of eat to live. Haven't changed much I guess. We must remember old Mage (Major with warts on his eyes) Silver, and Burney. Guess they played pretty important parts in our career. "Lady Bird", how Gert hated her and Jennie milked her all the time. Still can almost hear Mother calling Lady Bird late in the evening when she didn’t come in. I thought then that was a lot of bunk but I learned years latter that cows are called on the range that way and can hear for miles and miles. Yes, we were growing with the town. New business brought new people. We were all proud of the new church where two school teachers were necessary. There I started to Miss Carrie (what an awful name for a young school teacher.) Then we got a new school building with two rooms. We had a newspaper. Strange, the coming of that paper molded my whole life. Remember those two Edgell boys that took turns going to the parties wearing the white shirt? Then the people that put in the grain store had a surrey with a fringe around the top. They also had a gal named "Marie" who gave me all of her clothes that she grew out of. I’m glad I have proof of that or at least people to back me up in my statement. Their coming to Balmorhea made another change in our family. Then we got another really up-to-date red school house and there was a young, ambitious teacher landed in our midst, wearing a .. straw ka ty" and lampblack shoes who was also destined to cross our path again. Prof! The first superintendent in our new school building, was he not? He made lots of changes in our school system--started basket ball and got real suits for the players, and was considered very brazen for discussing with the girls the kind of "bloomers" they wanted to have. At that time I guess there were only four of our family in school--Jennie and Gert had both become "school marms" for a short time. Jennie was governess for a ranch school and Gert had substituted for the principal, Bernice Judkins! I guess she (Gert) must have been all of seventeen then! Guess John and Bob had been taking their places in the world for a long time. I must mention the old stile over the fence to school. With time it became weather beaten but Grace and I got to be professionals on that hulking thing when we had about one minute to get to school.
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