De Leon Free Press (De Leon, Tex.), Vol. 105, No. 21, Ed. 1 Thursday, November 24, 1994 Page: 1 of 10
This newspaper is part of the collection entitled: Comanche Area Newspapers and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the Comanche Public Library.
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De Leon - Home of the Annual Peach and Melon Festival
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24,1994
10 PAGES AND TWO INSERTS
VOLUME 105, NUMBER 21
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the Women’s Division of the Cham-
ber of Commerce at city hall. Time is
from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
For lunch, stew, cornbread, and
sandwiches will be available.
A door prize will be given every
30 minutes; these prizes are donated
by the exhibitors.
Texas.
The Chamber will be selling chili
at the chamber location, and Santa
will he available to hear what you
want for Christmas.
litis week the Free Press basket-
ball page begins.
It will feature each week indi-
vidual and/or action shots of the var-
sity Bearcats and Lady Bearcats, plus
The holiday season is upon us.
, Already there have been gather-
ings, parties and celebrations prior to
the holiday season, which I person-
ally consider to begin with Thanks-
giving. However, so far as I am
concerned, anytime you can get to-
gether and have a party of any kind it
is permissible and commendable to
those responsible for the special oc-
casion.
As the 1994 holiday season be-
gins, or has already begun, there is
much to d6 in the areas of giving and
thanksgiving, in which I encourage
you to join me. But, I also emphasize
that giving should not impose finan-
cial strain upon the giver to the point
it takes the joy out of giving.
Not being young anymore (if you
notice there was not a reference to
being middle aged or older), I have
personally found that most, if not all,
of my most memorable occasions
have come through friendships, love,
(Continued to Page 2)
Gayle E. Wilkerson's
Town Talk
ALL-DISTRICT FOOTBALL....-----These Bearcats were chosen for the All-District Teams from District 8-
AA. Back row (1 tor): John Hernandez First Team Defense. Cortney Golden-Second Team Defense, Dan Davis
- First Team Defense, John Burk - First Team Offense and First Team Defense, Derek Gilder - Second Team Offense,
Fd ward Meza - Second Team Offense and Second Team Defense, Jackson Jobe -1 lonorable Mention Defense; front:
Buddy Whitt - First Team Offense and Second Team Defense, Jason Brinson - Second Team Offense, Brad Bunting
- M. V.P. Defense and First Team Offense, Billy Millwee - First Team Offense, and Jonathan Weaver - Honorable
Mention Offense
peanuts were the leading cash crop in
the cotMUy, and the company enlargtxl
its operations to meet growing de-
mand. A six-story main building was
completed in 1917; soon the plant
was processing up to ten railroad
Basketball
Page Starts
This Week
ill
D€ ceon tree press
Q Serving De Leon For 105 Years)
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Ikto pmind rontaias a
minimum st N percent
mycted fflwr
week.
Those participating are: Ixwrence
Bros., I.G.A., Pate's Hardware,
Fontaine’s of De Ixon-De Leon
Motor Inn, First State Bank, Fanners
and Merchants Bank, Price’s Flow-
ers, A.E. Pino Clinic, Weaver Drug,
This Saturday will be the annual
Arts and Crafts Fair, sponsored by clothes, jewelry, wood articles, sculp-
tures, baked goods, sand art, etc. - all
with items for Christmas shopping.
Chamber Shoppers9 Nights Announced
The Chamber of Commerce & 5;00 to 8:00 p.m
—------1 The shoppers will greet Santa
Dedication Of Historical Markers
Set For Friday
Railroad construction in Texas,
interrupted by the Civil War and by
the National Economic Depression
of the early 1870* s, began a period of
recovery in the late 1870’s and early
1880’s. Chartered on May 31,1879,
the Texas Central Railway was owned
Two new historical markers arc to
be unveiled in De Leon this Friday,
November 25. One is for the De
Ixon Peanut Company and the other
for the Texas Central Railroad.
Time for the peanut company dedi-
cation is 10:00 a.m. and the railroad
ceremony begins at 11:00 a.m.
The railroad marker is located at
the depot, and the peanut company’s
just across the street in front of the
peanut storage building.
Program for the peanut company
dedication will be:
Registration of guests - Linda
Keith,
Distribution of the programs-Jack
Hasty, Comanche County Historical
Commission member.
Mistress of Ceremonies - Dorothy
F. Robertson, Comanche County His-
torical Commission Chairman,
Invocation - County Judge John
Mack Weaver,
Welcome - MayorCharies Chupp,
Unveiling of marker * Lanham
Higginbotham.
Reading of marker - John
Remarks-Trent Thomas, Histori-
cal Commission member,
Benediction - 220th Judicial Dis-
trict Court Judge James Morgan.
Program for unveiling of the his- carloads of peanuts per day.
The business survived an eco-
nomic crisis in the 1920’s and re-
mained a strong force in the local
LADY BEARCATS ALL-DISTRICT VOLLEYBALI------Back row (1 to r): Misty Barnes - Honorable
Mention. Stacie Hare - Second Team, Kathryn Otwell - M V P. - Hitler, Keilha Robinett - First Town front Kristal
Weaver - M. V.P. - Setter, Kimcie Hardin - Second Team, and Erika Weaver - First Team
Remarks - Trent 'Diomas and Bob
Huddleston.
Wording on peanut company
marker is as follows:
DE LEON PEANUT
COMPANY
Cotton was the major cash crop the Houston and Texas Central
Railway and was in competition with
the Texas Pacific to build a line west-
ward through North Central Texas.
Extending from Ross Station near
Waco in 1879, the Texas Central
reached the Erath-Comanche County
line in 1880. The Texas Central laid
out the town of De Leon on April 10,
Agriculture will have their annual ~
Christmas Shoppers’ nights protno- December9and 16 from 5:00p.m. to
tion. The dates are Friday, December 8:00 p.m. at the Chamber of Com-
FINAL FOOTBALL CONTEST WINNER OF $100.________.Freddie
Davis was the winner of the last football contest and is the recipient of a$100
check. He was the only person to miss just one game (Cardinals over Eagles,
which most entrants missed). Missing two games were Bobby Brinson, Pat
Frasier, Eddie Auvenshine, H. G. Sharp. Sharon Coan, Chad Rush, and Greg
Priddy Other than the Eagles - Cardinals game, games most often missed
were Navy over Rice. Alabama21-14over Auburn, and Brigham Young 34-
31 over Utah.
J
400
Per Copy
Comancne Public Library
Box 411
Coitiancne lx
for fanners in Comanche County until
the early 20th century. 'Die com-
bined effects of disastrous weather
conditions in 1908-09, a national eco-
nomic downturn, and a major infes-
tation of the Mexican Boll Weevil in
1914 caused many Comanche County
farmers to abandon their decades-
long reliance on cotton and turn to the 1881, and railroad official Robert M.
more lucrative prospect of peanut Elgin conducted the sale of town lots
fanning. from of a fiatcar on July 7.
Because shipping peanuts to Fort Although the initial sale of lots was
Worth for processing reduced their slow, the town soon developed and
profits, N.T. Haskins organized the
De Leon Peanut in 1912. Its first
board of directors included R.W.
Higginbotham, W.H. Williams, B.T.
Higginbotham, Jr., J .B. Wilson, A. E.
torical marker for the Texas Central
Railroad will be:
Registration of guests -Jack and
list all the upcoming games for the Rae Jean Hasty,
Welcome - Mayor Chupp,
Invocation - Rev. George Sutton,
Introductions - Trent Thomas,
History - Phil Tate,
Unveiling of marker - Bob County history. ‘Wilhelm, John Farley, Gerry Boykin.
Huddleston and M. O. Branum, yhe railroad historical marker Fain McDaniel, Jewell Huddleston,
Reading of the marker - C. L. reads as follows: Stewart Caffey, Vonita Powers, and
Shifflett Oil Company, Comanche Mohon,Jr„ TEXAS CENTRAL RAILROAD Jim Dudley.
County Telephone, Rollie’sonTexas,
B.F.I., Shelby Pharmacy, De Leon
Booster Club, and Higginbotham's.
De Leon PTO
Raises $5,850
With Coupon
Book Sales
lhe De Leon FIX) recently com-
pleted its coupon book fundraiser with
1,170 booklets being sold for a total
of $5,850. Charlie Northcutt, Sara
Mathis, and Chad Chupp were the
top salespeople throughout the el-
ementary school.
Northcutt, selling the most book-
(Cont'd to Page ?) 9, and Friday, December 16, from merce downtown location, 100 S.
ARTS AND CRAFTS FAIR
SATURDAY
A variety of booths will display
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attracted new settlers from southeast-
ern United States. Railroad offices,
shops, and a roundhouse were built
here, and De Ixon became the area’s
___ _ primary shippingpointforcottonand.
Hampton, and W.E. Lowe. By 1914, *ater’ Peanu,s and other products.
Acquired by the Missouri-Kan-
sas-Texas (Katy) Railroad Hl 1910.
the line continued to operate until
1967, when local backers purchased
part of the lien and continued to pro-
vide shipping service to customers
along the peanut line “connecting
Dublin, De Ixon, and Gorman.”
Members of the Comanche County
Historical Commission are: Dorothy
community, which has been called F. Robertson - chairman, Trent Tho-
“'Die Peanut Capitol of the World.” mas. Jack Hasty, Lowery Easley,
Acquired by a national company in James Wyatt, Doris Gore, Fredda
1967, the De Ixon Peanut Company Holcomb, Donna Woodley. Gaston
has played a vital role in Comanche Boykin, Ben Evridge, Wayne
County history.
The railroad historical marker
A DAY OF THANKSGIVING
THURSDAY,
NOVEMBER 24
Most of the businesses in De Leon all might rejoice together. Governor
will be closed for the Dianksgiving Bradford sent men to shoot water-
holiday on Thursday. fowl and wild turkeys. Chief
The courthouse in Comanche will Massassoit was invited to the feast
be closed both Thursday and Friday, and he brought with him 90 brightly
but the De Leon city offices will be painted braves-about four times the
open on Friday. number of Pilgrim men. Some of
This American holiday has been Massassoit’s men went into the for-
celebrated since the pilgrims first set estand bagged five deer. It wasagay
aside an occasion to thank God for a open-air festival that lasted for three
plentiful harvest. days.
The Pilgrims held the first Ihanks- There is evidence that the turkey
giving festival in Plymouth, Massa- eaten by Pilgrims on the first Thanks-
chusetts, in the month of October giving was one of the wild variety.
1621. The bitter winter of 1620, The turkeys of today are immigrants
when the ship Mayflower had brought from Europe of a stock originally
them to the new country, was over, developed by the Aztecs and imported
They had known hunger, and sick- from Mexico by the Spaniards.
ness had carried away half o^the The name “turkey” originally
band of about 100 settlers. Buf life came from its being confused with a
was better as the seeds sown in early guinea cock, a bird raised in Turkey.
1621 had produced a harvest which In Turkey, the turkey is called “the
allowed them to increase their scanty American bird.”
rations. The settlers were enjoying After that first New England
good health and they had made friends Thanksgiving, the custom spread
with the other Indians. throughoutthecolonies,buteachre-
Because of their good fortune, the gion chose its own dale. In 1789,
Pilgrims decreed a hofftlay on which (Coat'd to Page 2)
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Wilkerson, Gayle E. De Leon Free Press (De Leon, Tex.), Vol. 105, No. 21, Ed. 1 Thursday, November 24, 1994, newspaper, November 24, 1994; De Leon, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1244492/m1/1/?q=%22%22~1: accessed August 15, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Comanche Public Library.