Mattie’s Corner
Today is Monday June 18, 2012. The birthdays for the week are: June 18: Jimmy Wulf, Laura Jeanne Butts, Bobby Pigg and Joe Fincher. It was the birthday of Mrs. William Ihlo Sr. and John Covington. It is a wedding anniversary for Dr. and Mrs. Joe Hooker.
June 19: Marcell Jackson, Tina Andrews and Leon Rhame.
June 20: Edwina Samford, Joe Shofner, Randy Russell, Jason Griffin. A wedding anniversary for Mr. and Mrs. Wayne Christian. It was the birthday of Jo Mallory and Perry Smith.
June 21: Jay Williams, Kathy Howard and Doug Pate. June 22: Johnny Gee, Gwen Stewart, Pamela Bowlin, Christene Hill and Darla Gibson.
June 23: Larry Sample, Kristi Kraemer and Vernon Pate who was born in 1930.
June 24: Pat Childs. It was the birthday of Nell Rushing and G.W. Griggs. A wedding anniversary for Mr. and Mrs. Carl Baggett and Mr. and Mrs. Wendell Johnson.
June 25: Clifton Palmer McLendon (my cousin), Jim Ann Taylor, Mary Haley, Beverly Ann Griffin, Stephanie Crelia, Arlene Lefever, Harold Hansen, Eddie Jean Watson, Barney White and Steve Dudley. It was the birthday of Laura Paul and Dot Otterman.
••••••• I received a letter from Lynn Saintignana of Shelbyville this week. Lynn explained that the Municipal Auditorium building is still there in Shreveport and is located on the same street, but it is now named Elvis Presley Blvd. in honor of Elvis who sang there often.
She went to performances at the Municipal Auditorium often and said she has seen Johnny Cash, the Hayride Singers, Bob Dylan and others in addition to Elvis.
Lynn said, “They say the Auditorium is haunted by the ghost of Hank Williams and claim they even hear him sing ‘They Saw The Light.’” This building, along with the Strand Theater, are old landmarks of Shreveport.
We miss receiving the Shreveport Times as a way of keeping in touch with our Louisiana neighbors.
••••••• I was asked recently if I knew of anyone who makes cakes for special occasions. At that time, I didn’t. I recall when Garland Burrows did this service from her home many years ago. Since then, I have found that Mrs. Regina Moore makes beautiful cakes for special events. Her husband Brother Don Moore is pastor of the Providence Missionary Baptist Church. Mrs. Moore’s home phone is 936590-4163 or you may write her at PO Box 751,Center, TX 75935.
••••••• Pine tar soap was a popular soap in the 1920s. It had a healing effect and sold for 10 cents or 15 cents a bar. I saw it advertised this week in a sales magazine at $8.50 a bar.
••••••• Can you recall a redemption Savings Stamp store in the Sammy Dance Building? I was asked if there had been one there.
There were a number of offices and stores there prior to the Dance Furniture Store. Included were Sears, Piggly-Wiggly, County Agents and a bookstore.
I can remember further back than that when all that area was the Will Bridges’ home lawn.
It was perhaps the most spacious lawn in town. There were numerous pecan trees, a tennis court and at one time during the early depression days there was a miniature golf link on the lawn. Guy Willis was the manager.
His daughter, Marguerite, worked with me at Bridges Drug Store and we got to play the golf game for free.
The tennis court was used by the schools for county and district meet tennis contests.
••••••• Sam Malone’s cat was named Ventilator because as a stray alley cat it was trying to get into Sam’s office through the ventilator and was stuck in it for a while. Sam and Margaret tamed the cat that soon became famous with many articles written about him along with pictures.
••••••• Have you written AT&T company to suggest larger print in the next directories? Maybe you’ve been intending to change your name or entry. Well, now is the time to do it as they are editing and preparing for the November 2012 distribution.
The toll-free number for AT&T is 1-800-288-2020. This is the main number so they should be able to forward your complaint.
••••••• I’m trying not to be a fault-finding, crabby old person as I age, but I do get aggravated. I look forward to my Sunday TV attendance at my First Baptist Church. I feel I am there as the camera moves slowly from side to side to show the ones entering. They stop to greet each other which is a part of the good fellowship. The TV coverage was started for those watching at home instead of the audience benefit.
When the commercials are shown to replace people, it is disappointing to those of us at home. Last Sunday the church announcements rolled around four times before the viewing of the audience. By then they were already seated.
••••••• There was an ice storm maybe 25 years ago in January which covered most of the nation. Do you remember it or what year it was?
There was a number of us Center members of the First National Bank Travel Club stranded in Las Vegas, Nevada at that time. There’s quite a story connected with that ice storm and the dangerous airplane trips that finally got us home.
I know that Mildred Pinkston and I are two of the survivors of that “Stranded in Las Vegas” ice storm but are there others? Syble Holt and Kathleen Parker were our two buddies on the trip and elsewhere. They are dead now.
I’ll write about this someday, but if you were on that trip, please contact me and we’ll put together a good story. Joanne Walker and Earl Biggers were the bank’s appointed leaders for us on those travel trips. Is Earl’s wife still living?
••••••• Several of us including Dr. John Rogers and Louis Muldrow are trying to find out the relationship of J.C. Wilson to the Rogers grandparent W.P. Wilson.
Jessie Amason is currently getting the praise and honor of giving 50 acres for the township of Center.
But courthouse records will show that J.C. Wilson also gave his 50 acres at the same time as his friend Jesse Amason did. We do know that there was a 100-acre town donation for county surveyor Sam Weaver to work on and map out the huge town square as we have it to day.
Wilson’s 50 acres were on the west side of the courthouse and Amason’s was on the east side. Surveyor Weaver mapped out the blocks and Miss Louie Mae Davis’ grandpa was appointed to sell the town blocks for $100 each.
Davis reported back to the commissioners court later that $100 was too high and no one was buying. So, they reduced the price to $50 for a town block.
That was when Dr. John Roger’s grandpa W.P. Wilson bought that whole Roger’s block for $50. W.P built the now Duke Taylor house on Houston Street and raised his family there. He sold off land all along and John C. Rogers and his wife Miss Bell, a daughter of W.P. owned quite a bit of the block.
Later, Dr. Hap Rogers developed part of it and named it the John C. Rogers Drive. But we still do not know if J.C. was related to W.P.
I notice on some of my home tax statements that I live in the 8th block from town. I don’t know where the block starts and ends.
This Center town donation would make an interesting research project for some of our historians and would provide valuable historic information.
The clerk’s office is the only place to confirm it in their earliest commissioners books of minutes.
I copied much of my history which I now use from the Commissioners Book of Minutes Volume I.
••••••• I talked with A.J. Procell June 14 about his fig crop. The figs will start ripening the first of July and he will have over 50 gallons to sell.
He will sell most of them to commercial buyers, but individuals may come and purchase them at $5.00 a gallon. A.J.’s mayhaw crop was a failure this year but the figs are looking good and A.J. is looking forward to the harvest.
••••••• Tom and Mary Jean Steele in Los Angeles, California keep pretty flowers in my room for me to enjoy. Last week one of our local florists delivered to me a fresh arrangement of roses and carnations and a beautiful rubber tree plant. I do appreciate them.
••••••• Mattie