Pulling Teeth

Daddy was a man of many talents. He was a natural with training horses, he could show and sell a horse to a deaf and blind man--very convincing- but hey, that was his trade and he had to be good at it. When he hauled hay many ranches depended on him to supply their hay because he always bought the clean and tight bales of hay. He had more friends than you could shake a stick at and I only wish I had their stories and experiences they shared with Daddy.
The man did what had to be done, as many people did back then ( sure makes me feel old everytime I say back then). When there was a need, you just took care of it the best way that you could. Raising six children Dad really had his share of assorted task-- one being pulling our teeth---yep, thats what I said pulling our teeth. Don't think for one minute that we didn't do our best to keep them but you know how baby teeth are, you either pull them or they "wiggle their way out." Dad would tie a string around the tooth and get a good grip-jerk it upward and -viola-the tooth was out and you were left bleeding a little, thinking that you were sure to die.
WEll, Cinda was very little and had a front baby tooth almost ready to "drop out" but she would not let Daddy pull it---being as she was the baby and so adorable we pretty much let her have her way. The tooth stayed--UNTIL one day while she and I were home alone I talked her into letting me pull the silly wiggley waggle tooth. She consented --I got the string and was talking to her all the while to keep her distracted--got it tied and jerked, out came the tooth. I felt 6 ft. tall until she asked me where that tooth came from, I told her that it was hers --tears began to flow with some yawling mixed in with it--she points to the front of her mouth and sure as all get out I had tied the string to the wrong tooth!
Daddy had a few things to say to me when he got home . I never had a secret desire to become a dentist anyway so I wasn't very upset about it.

Mom & J

When I mentioned that J Loyd was Mom & Dads first grandchild in my last post, a memory popped into my mind so I best get it written down before it leaves me. OH' to be young again and have full and total recall!!!
Bev and Cecil lived in a duplex in Rochester after their marriage and was still living there when she gave birth to J. The first grandchild and EVERYONE was so thrilled, especially Mom and Dad. You would think that after raising six children that a baby wouldn't have tripped their trigger as it did but they were over the moon about that sweet grand baby.
Cecil worked in the oil fields and his late shift made him getting home late so as long as the baby slept Bev would sleep late as well.
Dad and Mom were in town early one morning and before returning home they decided that they would go by Bevs and see if they could take the baby with them. You remember that in those days it was so different than today--we never locked our doors. You slept with the door opened and the screen door would be unlatched. Sounds scary now, huh?
Well, Mom opened the door and walked in to find all three of her loved ones sound asleep--just like the 3 bears. She didn't let it stop her - she goes over and lifts J out of the bed, wraps him up, gets his bottle and off they go--Daddy asked if she left a note and she said "yes" only later did we learn that all she wrote was " I got him" didn't sign it at all. I guess that her explanation made sense though - she stated that Bev knew her handwriting. As it turned out Bev did know that Mom was the one that wrote the note. People didn't have to worry so much in those days about the safety of their children as we do today. Mom handled her grandchildren as her own-- filling their bottle with sweet tea on occasion' putting Vicks vapor rub on the bottom of their feet if they had a stuffy nose etc. etc. A great big heaping of love showered on them all of the time.

Moms Make-Over

Mickey and Cheryl made Mom and Dad VERY happy when they blessed them with their first granddaughters--Kelley first and in a few years Kerrie. They were so in love with these little gals and the girls returned that love to them. When I was thinking about posting this another memory came to my mind,so I will tell it first---or I may forget it!! Yep, the ole mind is slowly slipping away, dear ones..
What came to mind was Daddy laughing one time and telling how the girls had Mickey wrapped around their finger--he added that he didn't think that Mickey had ever spank either one of them. Dad was at their house one day and one of the girls did something and Mick told them not to be doing that again---OF COURSE they did it again. Mickey tells them "I told you not to do that' when Cheryl gets home I'm telling her to give you a spanking"...Tickled Daddy to pass on the story. I never asked Cheryl
if she gave the delayed spanking or not---how 'bout it Cheryl?????
Now, for the story.....Mom wasn't only a great Mom but was the best grandmother a child could hope for. She was "Ma"to all of her grandchildren. Bev and Cecil gave them their first grandchild--J Loyd and he called them Pa and Ma so that was their name from then on.
Mom would let Kelley and Karrie play with her make-up and they would put the powder, lipstick, rouge and LOTS of necklaces on her. The hair styles they gave her were really something--mostly standing straight up. Well, one day Ma had Kerrie with her while Kelley was at school --after lunch Mom always lay down to rest--Kerrie went to work on her, powder started flying and Moms face was being transformed. She had her face painted up and I am sure the hairstyle was to die for--Mom glanced at the clock and jumps up telling Kerrie it was time to pick Kelley up from school. No time to fix her hair or wash her face- she just takes off. You gotta remember what a friendly lady she was, she waved and talked to anyone that was near her. She said one time "Why it never bothered me at all for people to see the good job that Kerrie did "fixin me up." If either of those gals did it, it was perfect in Mom's sight and as Paul Harvey would say "the rest of the story" is that never changed--they pampered Ma and visited her often...Mom loved and adored them....

Daddy

When I think of what Daddy looked like I always envision him in levis and a white western shirt. For years and years that was his preference, he felt dressed up as long as he had on his white shirt--He was a handsome man even as he aged, if you recall. I think that it was Mike that bought him a pretty colored shirt and told him that his feelings would be hurt if he didn't wear it. Well, the days of the white shirts were a thing of the past,Daddy decided that he liked the colored shirts
He would dress to go somewhere and enjoyed smelling good so brother, he would spray the cologne or after shave on--you know it was of the mind set " if a little was good than a WHOLE lot was better." One thing for certain the man never smelled anything but good!
He loved all of his children but I can assure you that his two sons- Mickey and Mike was such a blessing to him. They rode the horses that Dad would buy to re-sale and helped him from the time that they were very little. I remember the story of him showing a man one of his horses that had been a little wild and telling the man that he would let his little boys ride it--the man told him "yea, I bet you would too- they can ride broncs better than most men. He did end up buying the horse. Can't you just hear daddy telling him how gentle the horse was and adding "if I'm lying- I'm dying."
I laugh every time I think of how picky he was when it came to cleanliness--ESPECIALLY concerning his food. One of my Aunts had cats and when Mom & dad would go visit them he would never eat or drink anything--Nada - nothing..When asked about why he didn't he said that he saw some of the cats on the cabinets licking out of one of the dishes--that did it for him!! Well, to be honest it would have been all of it for me too.

Mom And Her Fun Lovin' Ways

Mom's fun loving ways was such a big part of her life. She would go to so much trouble to "pull off" a funny incident on someone. I know that Tom still remembers how she would put a sheet over herself and slip outdoors where the grandchildren were playing after dark. She would run at them making a scary sound and scare the stuffing out of them--I know that all of the grandchildren remember her doing it.
One of my favorites is one Halloween she had obtained a pair of overalls from someone (maybe Ralph--the one she doused with water) I know that he wore them when he wasn't cowboyed up. Anyway--she dresses in the overalls, old shirt and puts straw around the neck of her shirt and somehow attached some to the base of the pants. Her face was painted and she put a hat on her head with straw stuck underneath and hanging down---now we are talking about a sure'nough scarecrow here!!
She sit in a chair right next to the front door-let her head fall to the side- she had pulled the hat low enough to cover her eyes so no one could tell that it was her...Now she awaited the trick or treaters to come visiting--when they came and would knock on her door, she would let them do it several times before she reached out and grabbed their arm while saying in a loud voice "SHE'S NOT HOME". The children would scream and she would laugh. A friend of theirs brought his son and after the little boy knocked several times, the Dad tells him to knock harder that he knows she is there he could hear the t.v. About the the time he knocked Mom jumped to her feet and yelled "she's not home" --it startled the 2 of them so bad, the little boy took off running to the car and the Dad fell off of the porch.
Oh, what fun she had and loved to tell it, remembering what the children and parents would say---everything from "is she deaf' to "I hope she made her popcorn balls for us ".
I have told my grandson, Cade this story many times and he loves it..
Oh yes, can you guess which house all of the children LOVED to trick or treat every year?? You just never knew what on earth she may have thought up----all for fun and to make someone laugh. What a woman!!!

Mom's joking around

Mom and Dad enjoyed people--talking with them, lending a helping hand or whatever the need or occasion was they enjoyed it. Mom was really a "bigger" talker than Daddy, as I am sure that you remember. She was turned alot like her Daddy--our Grandpa Thead. Daddy use to say that Mom could visit with a fence post and be real happy about it, because it couldn't talk back. The woman did have the gift of gab but unlike some she listened to what others had to say and was sincerely interested.
They were both blessed with many, many friends throughout their life.
One of Dad's friends was younger than Dad and he absolutely loved Dad- said that he was like a father to him.
Ralph enjoyed going to the horse sales with Daddy, he bought him boots, western hat--the works and felt quiet the cowboy. It was late by the time they would return home. He would always walk with dad to the horse lot and wait while Dad fed the horses etc.He would then go on home feeling pretty much like a cowboy---
Well, this particular night Mom had gone to bed and been laying there listening to a baseball game (ugh)--she heard Dad drive into the drive in front of the house.
Her bed was right next to the windows--which were RAISED. She ALWAYS carried a glass of water with her as she went to bed---yep its a family thing-most all us have done the same thing all of our life.
Now back to marshall Dillion and Faustus--they go walking by her bedroom window, leading the horse to the lot. Dad was the closer one to the window--you just got to think back at how Mom LOVED to pull pranks on all of us.. As they came walking back to the front of the house, passing by her window --real close like--she picks up her full glass of water and throws the water out of the window just about drowning poor Ralph, He yells like he just went over Niagara Falls--sopping wet- Dad asking Mom what the heck she was doing but she couldn't answer him, she was laughing so hard
Her only comment in telling us the story was that she was so sorry that Dad had switched sides because she wanted to hit him with it.. Wouldn't you like to know how Ralph explained to his wife why on earth he looked like a drowned rat.....

Sharing and Caring

In the "good ole days" someone would drive up to the house and Dad or Mom would walk out to greet them "get out and come on in" was the standard saying. The next thing was "have you had dinner-supper--etc. It didn't matter if it 3 o'clock in the afternoon or 8 o'clock that night, by gosh they wanted to feed them something! There is a lot to be said about sharing your table and food with someone--it makes them feel cared for and welcomed. Well, my parents were masters at making you feel welcomed, whatever they had you were welcomed to share in it.
Many times we children gave up our beds for the night because the company would be convinced they needed to stay the night and "get a fresh start"in the morning. The quilt pallets would be brought out for us--but I don't think any of us ever minded.
I can't remember many times that Mom would not already have something in the way of dessert already prepared but if she didn't or there wasn't enough, she would "mix-up" a batch of doughnuts real fast or some of her fried pies. Doesn't this make you want to load into the car and go visit someone like Mom?
If the company were to be relatives with children, I remember how the women would go through the clothes that we had outgrown and select the ones that would fit their children. Mom would always put the outgrown ones that still looked good in a box for this very purpose. The other women did the same thing--personally I always thought it was a lot more fun to go to their homes and get their clothes, than giving them mine! That was as good as going to stores and buying them in our eyes.
If the company didn't can their their own vegetables or make their jams-jelly-etc. I can assure you when they loaded up the next morning heading for home they not only had our clothes but Mom had supplied them with enough canned goods to last a long while. Guess one might say that the good ole days was all about hard work, not having a multitude of things but whatever you did have you had open hands and a giving heart--at least Mom and Dad did!!!

More Cooking

As I was recalling Moms cooking I forgot to mention how popular her cooking was when we had the cafe in Rochester, goodness people came from the surrounding towns and the various work crews that were in the area always wanted to have their feet under one of Moms tables come lunch time! I mentioned how she had to fry Dads steak or chops, but in the cafe she cooked them just right- tender on the inside and a nice crust on the outside. I still maintain to this day that she fried the best chicken that I have ever eaten.
One day recently I made the remark to a friend that I had "whipped up" a pie that day. She said that she had never heard of the expression "Whipping up" a pie. I told her that it came from Mother as she would often say she was going to whip up a pie or "
stir up" a cake. She could make cooking look so easy, but with 6 kids to raise she had a WHOLE LOT of practice.
Whenever there was sickness in our community or a death, Mom would be one of the first to carry them food. She frequently carried a tray of food to the elderly while it was still hot- then would return home to feed her family.
She would can or freeze the vegetables of the season and could make the most delicious apricot preserves. I know that in a prior post I mentioned her fried pies--man -oh-man talk about making your mouth water they were out of this world.
She would quilt with the ladies of the community, so would often have them in our home as they alternated hosting the event. Everyone would bring a dish and at the end of the day they would write down various foods on little pieces of paper and would draw to see what they would have to bring to the next meeting. They wouldn't let Mom draw- she was told to bring her angel food pie or pecan pies.
Well, I have rambled on long enough about all of this great food, it has made me want to "whip up" one of her cakes-----maybe the urge will pass since its midnight>

Mom's Table

When Mom & Dad moved back to West Texas, they lived west of Rochester in a little community called Jud. Dad farmed some but worked with horses too. I can remember if he was plowing anywhere near the house, when Mom had lunch ready she would walk out to where he could see her and wave a white dish towel and he would know that it was"chow" time.
Now you have to remember that back then people didn't eat as many sandwiches or quick-fix meals as we do today. For one thing it was too costly and the other thing was Mom loved to cook--and I do mean that she liked it and was a VERY good cook as many of you remember. I am sure that you also recall that when she knew you were coming to see them that she would have the foods that she knew where your favorites.
Daddy liked for everything that he may want to use with his meal to be on the table , so in the middle of the table you could find --the pepper, salt, ketchup,pepper sauce, pickles,chow-chow and most of the time some jam or jelly.Really I think that most people did that as I remember Ma Blanche kept all of her pantry in the middle of the
table or at least it seemed so. My better half would love it if I did--get rid of the cutesy flowers and put the grub on the table!
Mom could make the most ordinary meal seem like a feast from her hot rolls to the melt in your mouth cakes and pies--the woman was a master in the kitchen. Many may say that she couldn't fry meat , but Daddy liked his meat well done and by that I mean that unless it was hard to stick a fork into and would make a hollow sound when you dropped it on the platter--than you best cook that sucker a little more! Most of the children followed in his footsteps-- you know its what you were raised with is what you like. My little brother Mike, would eat raw oysters after he was grown and Daddy would shiver from the thought.
I agree with Jerry Ann, one time we were talking about steaks cooked rare and that we would not eat it, she said " I may die from lots of things, but I promise you it won't be from eating raw meat." We had a Uncle that would eat his steak so rare that the meat would be floating in the blood. Daddy always said that he wasn't "real bright" was why he ate it like that---hey, it made sense to us!!

The early years of Dad & Mom

Mom and Dad moved to Benavides to make their first home. Daddy went to work for Brown and Root. The company provided small trailer houses for the families to live in--I do mean SMALL too! I have a photo of them standing in front of it and it looks like a one room--there is a tarp spread out above it & extending out to the side- Mom said it provided much needed shade on those hot humid days. She said that they were so proud of their first home and thought it was a palace. Looking back I realize that they continued to have the gift of being content wherever they lived.
They were transferred to Freer (near Alice' Tx.) I believe it was the second year after their marriage. While living at Freer (still in their palace) Mom became pregnant with the first of the six children that she & Dad would have. She had to use the hospital in Alice--so on Feb.2'1939 Jerry Ann was born. Mom didn't waste anytime in
having their second child--On January 2'1940 Beverly Juanice was born in Alice, Tx. After a few months they returned to the Rochester area and Dad continued to work in the oil field--in his spare time he was always riding and training horses-for himself or other people. He was very good at roping and won on a regular basis. In those days they had a event that was called wild cow milking that he was REALLY good at. Hard to remember a time that Daddy could move that fast- but he did.
Back to having babies--- Mom gave birth to me- Jimmie Sue on Oct. 10,1943 in Knox City Texas. Guess that she liked the hospital in Knox so well that she went back on August 24'1946 and gave birth to their first son- Mickey J. Two years later they had another son--Michael Edward was born Sept. 3'1948.. We moved to Stamford and while living there Mom gave birth to the last child that they would have--On Feb. 23'1951 Cinda Lou entered this world--a beautiful baby I can assure you- but Daddy and Mom thought all of their babies were.
Now that we have covered their first years of marriage and the family that they felt blessed to have, we can tell some of their stories...but it has to wait until tomorrow because having all of these babies has "tuckered" me out!!!

J D and Marie Juanice Sherley

Have you ever thought about how hard it is to really describe someone so that the person would have the personality, the humor and all of the traits that made them unique?? I don't think that you can convey such information or at least I can't--but I will try my level best. These two remarkable people deserve it..
Daddy was born September 16,1914 near O'Brien Texas. His father was Hiram Edward Sherley and his mother was Susan Gertrude Sherley. She died when Daddy was a baby so he had no memory of her--what he knew was what Grandpa Sherley had told him. She is buried in the O'Brien cementry near her parents. Grandpa Sherley died of pneumonia when daddy was almost 13 years old. He is buried in the Sipe Springs cemetery by his first wife and several of their children.
Mom was born August 12,1920 in Rochester. Her parents were Thead and Blanche Corley.Grandpa and Ma Blanche are buried at Rochester.
Mom and Dad knew each other as children--I remember a story about Daddy and Grandpa going over to Grandpa Corleys, seems like it was to get a dog. Well, Daddy could see Mom playing out by the side of the house and he climbs up in a apple tree and gets to throwing green apples at her. Daddy said that she was just playing hard to get and he meant for her to notice him. Ma Blanche finally told Mom to "go speak to J D or she wouldn't have a apple left on her tree."
The years passed and they remained "smitten" with one another. On July 21st 1936 they were married in Haskell Texas.One time they drove me by the house where the Justice of Peace had lived and Mom said " Right there is where me and your Daddy got married"--Daddy pipes up and says "yes, that was the happiest day of your Momma's life!
That marriage that took place in 1936 is our beginning, dear ones.. I guess you could say "it was the happiest day of all of our lives, huh?"