The Swisher County News (Tulia, Tex.), Vol. 3, No. 24, Ed. 1 Wednesday, June 22, 2011 Page: 4 of 12
This newspaper is part of the collection entitled: Tocker Foundation Grant and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the Swisher County Library.
- Highlighting
- Highlighting On/Off
- Color:
- Adjust Image
- Rotate Left
- Rotate Right
- Brightness, Contrast, etc. (Experimental)
- Cropping Tool
- Download Sizes
- Preview all sizes/dimensions or...
- Download Thumbnail
- Download Small
- Download Medium
- Download Large
- High Resolution Files
- IIIF Image JSON
- IIIF Image URL
- Accessibility
- View Extracted Text
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
Page 4
Opal Ladell Luster
ued to work and enjoy her family
great-grandchildren and five great- Juanelva had not started to school why I'm pretty sure all the parents day
it was a few miles closer to
before he started to school Mrs
The Wilmeths were at Valley
and 42-43 Those were World War
mg maps on the wall, and getting
Fights were not uncommon on
ews
feated. It was a frightening time
live type, and I was sitting on the
But there was some levity, even
I
I
New Series
WE SALUTE
I
I
This Summer
Swisher County
I
RSVP Volunteers
at
I
I
1
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
Please call the
Swisher County News
if you have an
obituary that you
would like to have
printed.
There is
never a charge for this
service
yO\A.YS>
Now
you
Two Services
9:00 A.M. or 10:45 a.m
was listed as first grade teacher m
Tulia Elementary School in Patn-
Cook, and I think Joyce Shurbet
and J W Maynard. When Mrs.
Order A
Subscription to
The ^wisher Coun-
ty News
Catt 995-0052
over.
But the war wasn't over. We
lived with it every day.
mam Kjod Ke
With
I
I
fti/vd Always
: was
a good teacher Mr Wilmeth was a
Lee Summit, MO, son Jerry Luster by Mr C W Rose Mr and Mrs
of Cisco, and a sister. Mattie I ee
Also sur-
Tulia Christian
Fellowship
Give the gift that keeps
on
giving.
the E L Graham Hospital in Cisco.
Wilburn preceded her in death
Ladell Luster, 93, of Cisco, on August 19. 1986 Ladell contm-
passed away Monday, May 16,
2011, in Cisco, Texas.
Services were Thursday at 2 00
lllii
The Java Cafe is open
Every Sunday with your
favorite frappe or latte!
Pallbearers were
Craig Starr, Glen
Toler, Stan
David Schaefer and Mathew Wel-
don.
[Aadline for |\|
Articles for
fTe 5wisher CLountu
News
The Swisher County News June 22»2011
| School Days (Part II) |
| By Charles Kiker i
= Tulia, Texas =
TuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiHiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiir
15
5:OO p.m. Nriaacj
afternoons
The Valley View school had two does on occasion.
She was a member of First Baptist teachers and two classrooms, one
room for the “big kids” and one for —------------------------
uie last icw yc<us the “little kids ” 1 think grades 1-5 grades) was a very special person staying there, so
Survivors include two daughters, were in the little kids’ room, taught who taught in country schools all the Kikers. We had a larger nouse
Lavada Starr of C isco and Letha by Mrs Anderson, and grades over our part of the county I'm and just one teenage boy bo 01-
Bamthouse and husband, Ed, of 6-9 m the big kids’ room, taught pretty sure she taught at Red Hill lowing the rule ot hospitality. Boo-
by Mi C Vv Ruse Mi <uid Rhs and probably Love as well as at by and Boots stayed at the Kikers.
Rose lived m the teacherage on Valley View I think she left Vai- They played the guitar an sang
— - » »» ‘ 2 us royally I think
year to go to Love 1 don't know they were at Valley View only a
- -- •• • or so before Mr. Tucker took
J them back to town and got them
dri the children Vossibly mto the sheriff s office where ffiey
her ShenffHugh White got_ tn touch
I think it was I think their parents
came and got them. Anyway they
besides memories of their music
house and they had some teenage
Mayrene (Mrs Porter) Ander- boys, so Mrs Tucker didn t much
son (my teacher in first and second cotton to the idea of those girls
- J • -------*'---- "o she sent them to
(grades 3-5) in the little kids’ room
I remember Geraldme Stewart, Ei-
leen Nuzum, Ludene Tucker, Jewel was around.
As mentioned above, Mr Rose
was the big kid’s teacher He was
first graders, I would eavesdrop on which would not be tolerated today, Mrs. Anderson, but I think she
the little kids’ room So, as I moved days at cotton picking time so the big, red-headed man Andof course
up in grades, 1 would already know “big kids” could pull bolls on ' ’ ’ '' ------
a lot of the material.
I remember my first report card
i-rdUvll Wdo JJICVCUvm 111 Utulll ollv MICVt 11VJVV IvdU mILV Ldu^lli llvi y uO U1U Ulv vmiuivn A » - j
by a brother, Nelvin Malone and my younger brother Frank to read she went to another school because fessed up as to who they were, an
□Lvr before he started to school Mrs it was a few miles closer to 1... H"" 'to "n n"7
grand- Rose had been the “little kids” home than Valley View Or maybe with the sheriff down in Memphis,
Ruda, she retired from teachmg temporar- the school's teacherage and it
ily before LaVelda was bom. Mr j_
Rose retired from teachmg after my couple the next year smce Mr
attention to Ins farming. He later Porter had no children, and she lav-
became Swisher County Judge i ‘
Church and attended faithfully un-
p.m. at the First Baptist church til the last few year5
under the direction of Kimbrough
Funeral Home Rev Elvin Nor-
ns officiated, assisted by Dr Kel-
vin Kelley. Bunal followed in the
Scranton Cemetery Visitation was
Wednesday from 5 00 p m until Ingram of 1 ulia. TX
7 00 p.m in the Kimbrough Cha- "
Pel ■ , ..
Ladell was bom September 9, great-grandchildren
1917, to Enc and Lavem (Norns) '
Malone at Red Hill Community in . , , „ , ,
Swisher County After attending daughter-m law, Barbara Luster
school, she and Wilburn C Lus- P-"-
ter were mamed on September 4, s°ns
1935. She loved being a homemak- Monty
er and homemaker and cooking at
Starr, teacher just before I started. I think it was because she did not live at
“ ' ' ' _ u.v was -------w - - -
ily before LaVelda was bom. Mr going to be needed for a teacher were gone, but they left something
second grade, I guess to give more Rose was moving on. Mayrene and behind.
■ ■ It wasn’t long before the Kik-
u^cu.v 3v, wM. ished her maternal instincts on her er kids woke up scratching their
Mrs Rose resumed teachmg. She pupils At her funeral a few years heads All the kids at Valley View
ago her pallbearers were all former were scratching Bobby and Boots
. „„„ ... . —. students I was not privileged to be had brought more than music. They
cia Kiker’s 1954 school yearbook, among them, as she made plans for had brought the whole community
Allene, Irene, and Jim were al- her funeral while 1 was still far re- an infestation of head hce. No tell-
ready with the big kids when I moved from this county Porter was ing what else they might have left
he smoked a pipe, and always had a little longer'
a kind word for the kids when he ’ *■“* u"
Allene, Irene, and Jim were al- her funeral while 1 was still far re-
started. There were a few older kids also a jolly person. I remember that m the community if they had stayed
1 don’t remember too much about
the Wilmeths as teachers. I was still
in the little kids’ room Mrs. Wil-
... meth was stem, and not nearly as
Anderson was not working with the also a farmer, and had the practice, warm and loving toward the kids as
f _ . ■ ' . ..........‘ -......
the lessons for the older children m of dismissing school for a couple of
his any discipline problems in the little
farm kids’ room were referred up to him.
. .... „r... I vaguely remember school hoh- I don’t remember anyone ever be-
I got A’s in “readm’ and ntin’ and days for cotton pulling. Jim tells ing sent to him, but I was afraid of
nthmetic” and in conduct. But, hor- me that he went to the Rose farm him
ror of horrors, I got a C m art. Now to pull bolls one time An older boy The Wilmeths were at Valley
C was not a very good grade, and kept picking on Jim Finally Jim’s View for the school years 41-42
1 remember my older siblings giv- buddy, Don L McCune, came out and 42-43 Those were World War
ing me a hard tune about it. My of his cotton sack and gave the II years In the fall of 41, before
problem in Art was that I was and bully, who was much bigger than Pearl Harbor, I can remember see-
still am color blind. I was also not he, a sound thrashing That was in mg maps on the wall, and getting
very well physically coordinated, the days before zero tolerance, and lessons as to where the Germans
and so I colored outside the lines, nobody got a juvenile police record were in Russia, and hearing that
Fhose two characteristics have got- out of it Germany was probably going to
ten me tn trouble down through Fights were not uncommon on win the war After Pearl Harbor,
the years Mrs Anderson was my the Valley View schoolyard The and the fall of the Philippines it
teacher for my first and second Wilmeths followed Mr Rose and looked like America might be de-
grade years Rheta Stewart and Mrs Anderson as teachers at Vai- feated. It was a frightening tune
Betty Ruth Thomas were new first ley View They had a son named for children as well as adults Al-
graders my second grade year I Dwain. They were staunch Church most every family had loved ones
remember one incident from that of Christ adherents, popularly in the military The Kikers were
year 1 was always the contempla- knowfi by'Baptists and Methodists concerned for Weldon and Craw-
tive type, and I was sitting on the as “Campbellites,” because of the ford, sons of Schley and Ada Kiker.
steps just thinking philosophical influence of Alexander Campbell Crawford enlisted in the Army Air
thoughts one warm day Betty Ruth on their belief system But Church Force in hopes of bemg a pilot, but
and Rheta asked me to come play of Christ adherents resented that he inherited the color blind gene
with them, and I said, “Heck no1” moniker, probably not quite as which ruled him out as a pilot, so
Now that was almost cussing, and much as African-Americans re- he became a mechanic and spent
certainly not very pohte They told sent the “n” word. One day Valton the war years stateside
the teacher on me! Mrs. Anderson Tucker called Dwam Wilmeth a
rebuked me, not very severely I’m Camphellite They went to fist city about the war The Kiker kids reg-
sure She probably said something I don’t know who won. It was prob- ularly rode to school with Mary
like, “Now Charles Wayne (she ably a draw I fought quite regu- Thomas and Betty Ruth. She lived
always called me Charles Wayne), larly with one of the students there, a mile north of us and would stop
you talk nicely with the girls ” Her who will remain unnamed. I was and honk and we would all jump
rebuke was severe enough that my awkward and not good with my in the back seat and Betty Ruth
feelings were hurt fists, but very strong. I could take would lean against the door in the
Jerry McCune heard “Charles him down and hold him down. He front and look back and visit with
Wayne” as “Chasquane” so that did get in a pretty good lick one day the Kiker kids for the three or four
was what he called me, and still and hit me in the eye I don’t think mmutes it took to go the two miles
it was hard enough for a black eye, to school One day Mary, who had
M but it did smart. Neither of us got a cautioned Betty Ruth about leaning
g juvenile record. against the door, said to her, “Betty
Fights at school were still not Ruth, if you fall out that door I’m
uncommon when I went to Tulia gonna slap you through this wind-
■ High I never got into one there, but shield.”
H I remember a couple of guys that We had a momma cat, a white
did They went at it pretty vigor- Persian named, what else, Puss,
ously right out in front of the main She was a good mouser. And of
entrance Both went on to become course as momma cats will do, she
■ leading Tulia citizens The whole had kittens. But there was a big
■ busmess of zero tolerance, calling old white tomcat on the premises,
B the police over these altercations, probably the daddy of the kittens,
and saddling kids with police re- and, as daddy cats will do, he killed
cords, needs a thorough rethinking, all the baby kittens. We nicknamed
It is not progress him Hitler Well, Puss got in a fam-
One time Paul Max Tucker, ily way again, and Jim took the
who had already graduated Vai- .22 nfle and did away with Hitler,
ley View before I started, was in The morning after this momentous
Tulia and came across a couple of event, when Mary stopped for the
■■ - - , , //■ runaway teenage girls who called Kiker kids, one of us announced,
r^milv ■ themselves Bobby and Boots They “Hitler’s dead!” Mary exulted
I Q I I I I I V I I Q I H needed a place to spend the night back, “Yippee dang! The war’s
' — so Paul Max brought them home.
The Tuckers didn’t have a very big
I
and probably Love as well as at by and Boots stayed at the Kikers.
_ . * ___ J _ . . . . , « T’t____ —1___rniitor and conn
the school property They had two ley View after my second grade and entertained
viving are nine grandchildren, 24 daughters, Juanelva and LaVelda ; '
i when I was in the first grade, but and trustees at Valley View loved
Ladell was preceded in death she knew how to read She taught her, as <
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
Hooten, Patsy. The Swisher County News (Tulia, Tex.), Vol. 3, No. 24, Ed. 1 Wednesday, June 22, 2011, newspaper, June 22, 2011; Tulia, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1249063/m1/4/?q=%22%22~1: accessed July 13, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Swisher County Library.