The Hopkins County Echo (Sulphur Springs, Tex.), Vol. 111, No. 28, Ed. 1 Friday, July 11, 1986 Page: 1 of 4
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Bj)e Hopkins G Sdjo
(ABSORBED THE GAZETTE CIRCULATION BY PURCHASE MAY 12, 1928).
0-28.
SULPHUR SPRINGS, TEXAS, FRIDAY, JULY 11, 1986.
4 PAGES—25 CENTS PUBLISHED EVERY FRIDAY
Magnificent salute
to Lady Liberty
Triumphant return
Members of the Sesquicentennial Wagon
Train paraded down Main Street Tuesday
afternoon on the unofficial last leg of the trip,
returning to the point of origin. The Wagon
Train officially ended when it reached the
Stockyards in Fort Worth last week. More
wagons are expected to arrive Thursday
afternoon. ^
. -,/ £
—Staff Photo by Richard Hail
Swappin' tales
Sulphur Springs resident Billy Nabors, right,
and Perryton resident J.W. Jines, the
"oldest Texan on the Sesquicentennial
Wagon Train," talk about the some the
action Jines' original Winchester .44 caliber
revolver may have seen. Jines claims the
revolver is one of only five left in the world
Nabors and Jines were among one of two
groups returning to Sulphur Springs from
Fort Worth after the completion of the
Wagon Train last week.
— Staff Photo by Richard Hail
Lack of official reception
disappoints wagoneers
By KAREN TURPEN
News Telegram SdMf
The Sesquicentennial Wagon Train
is quickly becoming a part of history
as some of the wagoneers return to
their starting point in Sulphur
Spring?.
The first wagons to return arrived
Tuesday afternoon and members- of
the small band of adventurers told
The News-Telegram late run the day
that they were disappointed that
there was no official reception and
'that the journey itself was not all
"happy trails."
The trip had the usual problems
that could be expected from traveling
by wagon across the state, first in the
wet cold of winter and then u\, the
blazing heat of a Texas summer sun
Wagons broke down, animals
foundered and the participants
suffered colds, flu, injuries and
exhaustion.
But the major problem ac-
cording to a handful of "in-
dependents" who had come full circle
Tuesday was an o(d one per-
sonality conflicts
About 15 weary travelers gatherer!
around a table in City Park as dusk
approached to air their views of
"what the wagon train was really
* like "
"The wagon tram was a political,
money-making operation," ac-
cording to Lynn Medlin, Gilmer,
wagon train nurse and organizer of
the group determined to close the gap
from the official closing point in Fort
Worth to Sulphur Springs. "That's
what kept it going — politics and
money.”
"There was no communication
whatsoever," Dort Jines of Perryton,
said. She said there was never a
meeting on the road of the par-
ticipants and the leaders.
"You never knew what was going
on," Joyce Walls of Henrietta said.
"If you weren't a sponsored wagon,
you didn't matter,” Doug Harmon,
Irving, said. 1
Cal Allison of Teague said that
several times a city or corporation
would donate goods to the wagon
train, "but the participants never
saw none of it. It never got past the
office."
The "independents" said they were
repeatedly told by wagon train
management not to talk to the news
media, that the threat of a lawsuit
against the Wagon Train Association
hung over their heads if they said
anything that would tarnish the
reputation of the wagon train.
Some said they felt guilty when a
town turned out to welcome them
with a big celebration. They said the
glory associated with the wagon train
was false; people didn't know what
By MARY GRANT
News Telegram Staff
NEW YORK - The only thing
better than being an American in
New York on this Fourth of July was
being a Texan in New York on this
Fourth of July.
With the sprit of patriotism at an
all-time high for the 210th birthday of
this nation, coupled with the
jubilation of the Statue of Liberty’s
refurbishing, only the spirit of Texas
already enfused by the Sesquicen-
teRnial could add to the mood.
Even New Yorkers, often maligned
for their cold shoulders, seemed
happy with the influx of the Lone Star
Staters. Big Appl# officials closed
part of their city streets for the
convenience of sight-seers, and even
a taxi strike failed to put a damper on
things.
By,the time the Ships of the World,
their sails fluttering in the breeze,
sailed up the Hudson Friday mor-
ning, just about everybody in town
was infected with the occasion's
spirit.
Part of the glitz staged for the
Fourth of July was the maritime
parade during the day and a never-to-
be-forgotten fireworks display
Friday night.
Friday morning, Mother Nature
appeared happy wdth the event and
launched sunshine and temperatures
in the mid-60s to low 70s. The Hudson
bobbed its appreciation, its whitecaps
tu ;ked away for a rainy day.
While what the New York Times
called "millions of spectators"
watched from grandstands set up
near Battery Park on the tip of
Manhattan Island, Texas made its
showing when her representative, the
Elissa, eased past — last in line but
hardly least — with the Texas flag
waving from her mainmast. The
Texans in the crowd waved back —
their Sesquicentennial spirit adding
to the excitement.
Others in the crowd represented the
melting pot of America — "My uncle
came through ,Ellis Island," one
gray-haired man said, his New
Jersey voice lowered with emotion.
"They all really thought," he added,
that the streets here were paved
with gold." The Texans sitting
around him listened quietly, sensing
his pride.
The man was but one of "the
millions" who watched the ships file
by in a seemingly never-ending sight
of sail and sheets and masts and
flags. Some of the larger ships from
other countries carried midshipmen
standing on spots throughout the
rigging, their white uniforms framed,
against the blue saltwater.
The Elissa, restored by the
Galveston Historical Foundation,
according to information about the
ships, is a 19th century bark built in
Aberdeen. Scotland, in 1877.
Escorting the big ships like
bridesmaids at a wedding were other,
smaller ships chosen especially for
the honor. At the head of the seagoing
parade was the U.S. Coast Guard's
Eagle with 12 officers, 38 crew and
150 cadets from the New York Coast
Guard Academy.
If pride and patriotism hadn't just
about filled every heart by the time
the ships finished their parade, the
emotions would leap right up into the
throat when the sun set, a New York
night closed in and 40,000 fireworks
burst overhead in rounds of spec-
tacular forms.
Once more, many Texans had
climbed their way back into the same
viewing bleachers ffpm where they
had watched the ships sail by about
eight hours earlier. Sitting among
them were New Yorkers who
welcomed them with friendly con-
versation. “We’re glad you came to
our party," the city people said.
"Thanks for inviting us,” the
Texans chorused." “You really know
how to give a party." All the while,
the Statue of Liberty, lighted from
ground to torch, watched her people
at play.
After about a 45-minute delay, the
fireworks started and seemed almost
to never end For about 30 minutes,
the skies over New York and New
Jersey near Manhattan were alive
with fire that would have been the
envy of Prometheus. At first the *
grandstand crowds shouted in ex- jw
citement, but the displays were so ”
brilliant that the shouts soon gave
way to awe.
Saturday morning, the New York
Times reported, “The sound and light
echoed and flashed off the towers of
downtown Manhattan, washed over
the floodlit Statue of Liberty,
illuminated tens of thousands of boats
dotting the harbor and overwhelmed
the sparkling lights of the city in the
distance.” 4.. -
When the last light had died and the
last firecrackers had cracked, the
first hitch of the big holiday event
occurred — “the millions” all went
home at once — gagging the subway,
wedging the buses and covering the
sidewalks. The result was that areas
of New York seldom used for late-
night walking felt the foot treads of
pedestrians as they made their way
back to their beds — and finally their
dreams of a fabulous Fourth of July.
Bank deposits up
$10 million in year
Second quarter deposits at the
city's four banking institutions are
holding strong at more than $211
million, up almost $10 million over
the same quarter in 1985
According to the figures provided
by bank officials, totals for the second
quarter show deposits of $221,097,638;
assets of $247,026,904: and loans of
$122,935,532.
Deposits are up from the second
quarter in 1985 at every bank except
BancTEXAS. which showed a
decrease of more than $8 million from
the same quarter last year.
Total assets for the four banks are
up almost $10 million over the second
quarter last year.
Total loans for the four banks show
nearly the same amount as last year
at the end of the second quarter.
Each bank's total deposits, assets
. and loans areas follows:
>faiibhur Springs State Bank
Second quarter deposits are
$109,967,185.54. compared to
$97,909,733 in the second quarter of
1985. an increase of more than $12
million.
Assets stand at $122,145,044.43,
compared to $109,271.528 last year.
Total loans in the second quarter
were |55,766.1)97.37, compared to
$52,030,646 at the end of the second
quarter of 1985
BancTEXAS
BancTEXAS reported deposits of
$20,386,377.77, compared to
$28,476,197 last year at this time, a
decrease of just over $8 million.
Total assets reported were
$21,482,656.06, while assets last year
at the end of June stood at $30,674,915.
In-force loans totaled $12,224,937.07,
compared to $18,415,450 in 1986.
First National Bank
Total deposits in the second quarter
were $32,826,746.85. while in 1985 at
this tune deposits were $30,957,539, an
increase of nearly $2 million.
Assets stood at $37,639,550.93 July 1,
but were $35,600,849 on Jidv 1,1985.
First National had $21w%8.269.06 in
loans in the second quarter, com-
pared to $21,583,089 last year at this
time, an increase of about $125,000.
City National Bank
City National’s deposits stood at
$57,917,341 33, compared to
$54,058,099 last year, an increase of
more than $3.8 million
Total assets were $65,759.654 48,
compared to $61,748,235 at the end of
June last year.
Total in-force loans stood at
$33,236,229.85. compared to a loan
figure of $30,515,043 in the second,
quarter last year.
was really going on.
The entire group expressed
disappointment in Sulphur Springs.
Several echoed the same comment
. they expected more from the town
that sent them off in such regal
fashion.
They said they were persuaded by a
Chamber of Commerce represen-
tative to change their schedule from
Fort Worth to skip one stop and
arrive in Sulphur Springs earlier, t
“When we got here, we got
, nothin’," Jines said "I think it was a
dirty deal.”
A spokesman for the Wagon Train
Association said “those people are
not part of the Texas Wagon Train,"
referring to' the group camped here
Tuesday and the one scheduled to
arrive Thursday. "The Texas Wagon
Train is completed They are in-
dependents."
Despite the harsh feelings ex-
pressed by the returning par-
ticipants, they all agreed "the good
outweighed the bad," that they en-
joyed the trip w hen they overlooked
the personality conflicts and personal
grudges.
Janies Smunons feud "I feel real
good about it. I made every foot of it.
Every day that wagon tram pulled
out I was in it. and when it came in I
was in it,"
"I have not one single derogatory
remark to make about the wagon
train," Bob Saint said
Tough cowboy
Perry Joe Frost of Point looks up from a
conversation with a friend at the festivities
surrouhding the arrival of the Sesquicen
tenrwal Wagon Train in Fort Worth Wed
nesday., Frost held the duty ot assistant
wagon master for the Wagon Train on its
historic |ourney around Texas. "The trip
had its high points and low points," he said,
bul averaqed out I loved every mmujte of it.
lt«f< Ptloto by Ka> n> 1 u» p#n
*
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Keys, Clarke & Hillsamer, Dave. The Hopkins County Echo (Sulphur Springs, Tex.), Vol. 111, No. 28, Ed. 1 Friday, July 11, 1986, newspaper, July 11, 1986; Sulphur Springs, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth775958/m1/1/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Hopkins County Genealogical Society.