Carol C Taylor Blog

Who Would Cheat at Football?

Posted on December 18, 2016 by admin

Clyde Littlefield at the University of Texas in 1914 (Stark Center.org)

Texas, the big football powerhouse that it is, was somewhat a latecomer to the sport. High School sports as we know them today were organized in the state about 1919. Prior to that time, most rural schools only went to the sixth grade. Towns like Greenville and Commerce offered five more grades for high schools. By 1916, though, high schools were organizing games and setting schedules for football, basketball, and baseball themselves. The size of the school wasn’t as important as its availability of a train station for teams and fans to arrive for games.

In 1916 Greenville High School hired Clyde Littlefield (1892-1981) to coach football, basketball, teach school and serve as Athletic Director after graduating from the University of Texas that spring. In 1916 he led the Greenville team, which may have been known as the Greenville Hunters, to a state championship in track. In the three years he coached football in Greenville he lost only one game, to Sherman in late November 1916. Immediately after the loss, Littlefield claimed that Sherman was playing at least one ineligible man who was over the age limit. The winner was to play Oak Cliff for the unofficial state championship. In turn, Oak Cliff accused Greenville as having two ineligible players and claimed the unofficial title.

World War I interrupted sports in many ways. One of the most unusual was the fact that green dye was nationalized for use in all army uniforms. That meant Greenville had to change from Hunter green uniforms to another color. Littlefield chose red and christened the former Hunters the Thunderbolts with red and white uniforms. Don’t ask me where the name Greenville Lions came from.

In the 1919 football season Greenville Thunderbolts won the unofficial state championship. It was that year that Texas Interscholastic League was organized. Rules were formulated; schedules were organized, and ineligible players were frowned upon. That year the Greenville Thunderbolts outscored all opponents 283 points to zero.

It wasn’t long before the University of Texas realized what a jewel they had in their alumni. Littlefield was offered the job of track coach at UT in 1920, a position he held for forty-one years. In 1925 he co-founded the Littlefield Texas relays. In all, his teams won twenty-five Southwest Conference track titles.

By 1927 the University of Texas added head football coach to his titles. He held that position until 1933. During that time he led the Longhorns to two Southwest Conference championships. In 1952 he was on the US coaching staff at the Helsinki Olympics.

But Littlefield did not forget Greenville and Hunt County. In 1922 he married Henrietta Rabb of Lone Oak. At some point the couple inherited a ranch located near the Two-Mile Bridge across Lake Tawakoni and frequently spent time there. The couple had one child, Clyde Littlefield, Jr. who is known as the Longhorns’ Resident Historian. The younger Littlefield is well known as one of the most successful advocates of history of the University and an avid historic preservationist.

Bravo Littlefields!

Posted in Greenville, Historical tidbits, Texas | Leave a comment

Where Were They?

Posted on December 11, 2016 by admin

USS Arizona burning at Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941 with 1, 774 crew members aboard who lost their lives. All twenty-one members of the Arizona’ band, known as U. S. Navy Band Unit (NBU) 22 died. (Photo from Wikimedia Commons)

Wednesday, December 7, 2016, was the 75th anniversary of the Day of Infamy, when Japanese aircraft routed the ill-prepared U. S. Naval Base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii Territory. The surprise attack on Sunday morning began at 7:53 a.m. there and was over in little less than three hours.

More than 2,300 Americans died, including a young man from Hunt County. The USS Arizona was destroyed with men aboard; the USS Oklahoma capsized. In all, twelve ships were sank or beached and nine more damaged. Approximately 160 aircraft were destroyed and 150 damaged. The United States Navy was near complete destruction.

Within the next twenty-four hours, Japanese planes attacked Malaysia, Guam, Hong Kong, the Philippine Islands, Wake, and Midway.

President Franklin Roosevelt addressed Congress and the nation the next day at noon. Congress then declared war on Japan within an hour after the president gave his Day of Infamy speech. Within days the Axis Powers (Japan, Germany, and Italy) countered with declaration of war on the US.

As soon as the attack began, radio stations in nearby Honolulu broadcasted the news. Some of the stations had the capability to reach the US mainland. In New York, the radio broadcast of the Giants and Brooklyn Dodgers was interrupted. The American people were told, “The White House announces Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.”

Much like the assassination President John F. Kennedy in 1963 and the attacks of 9-11 in 2001, almost every American would remember where they were and what they were doing when they heard the news about Pearl Harbor.

My mother clearly remembered December 7, 1941 for the rest of her life. She and my father married in late September that year. Both were students at what is today the University of North Texas. For some reason, they were driving to her family ranch west of Archer City when the radio station interrupted programming to announce the disaster. Everyone was in shock, even though most knew what was in store for the country.

My father was an engineering student at Denton. He and three other men were hired by Consolidated Aircraft in San Diego to work as draftsmen on current and new aircraft. I never thought to ask if he left after Christmas; I always assumed he did. But with the severity of the situation, I now wonder if he didn’t leave sooner.

Mother continued in school until she was able to join him in San Diego. Later he was transferred to Fort Worth. I knew he served in an infantry unit in Italy from Naples to the Austrian border. Shortly before he died, he told me that he was ashamed for not serving in the military, quit his job with its deferment, and joined the Army. Fortunately he made it home.

I wonder how many older citizens can still remember what they were doing that peaceful Sunday morning? To hear those early broadcasts and FDR’s Day of Infamy speech on film, go to youtube.com. Type in “FDR Declares War”. Note that Speaker of the House Sam Rayburn is sitting behind President Roosevelt.

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A Century Ago

Posted on December 4, 2016 by admin

Find me on Facebook: Carol Coley Taylor

Next month will mark the third anniversary of my “A Century Ago” segment posted daily on Facebook. Many of you read it, send a comment, and like it. When someone tells me he reads something I wrote, I am thrilled. I am well aware that with all that is online and in print, to have something I created and is then acknowledged is indeed an honor.

When the first post went online, it was actually historical research and is still research I do to this day. My whole reason was to determine how the residents of rural Northeast Texas assessed the impending war in Europe. Were they aware of the horrors of that particular war? What were the sentiments of citizens in this part of Texas? Were the people of Northeast Texas affected economically?

In my research, as in most historical research, there was no full-blown article in a newspaper or a blunt statement about the war. I was well aware it would take reading countless articles in a wide variety of newspapers over a number of years. The answer lay in editorials, in obituaries of victims, of agricultural market reports, and surprisingly women’s club news.

At first, only editors mentioned the war with brief humorous and sarcastic remarks. Because newspapers in rural areas had small staffs, much of the news, especially editorials, were taken from other papers throughout the country. To a certain extent the custom carries on today.

But gradually church groups, women’s clubs, and students began to form relief campaigns. The price of cotton dropped with European textile mills converted to armament factories, and newspapers encouraged farmers to diversify their crops.

At the same time the revolution in Mexico was increasingly moving northward to the Rio Grande and the US border. National Guard units from every state were sent to outlying sites from Matamoras to San Diego. They rode trains through Northeast Texas. Young men from our area were sent to the border. Recruiters worked all the small towns and large cities. But were the two events, the Mexican Revolution and the Great War in Europe connected? Only time would tell.

Over the last few months in 1916 more and more news of the conflicts made the local newspapers. I will tell you that beginning in December 1916, more items in “A Century Ago” will be war related.

I have relied on newspapers from 1914-1916 published in Greenville, Dallas, and Commerce with a few items from the Fort Worth Star Tele-gram and the Paris (Texas) newspaper. Starting this month I will branch out further, but probably won’t look outside Texas. There will be a major change in U. S. foreign policy. But how will the average person react? That will be my new approach in “A Century Ago.”

You may already know what happened. For some of you it will be a surprise. I have found World War I similar to a novel by Charles Dickens. Every event is very subtlely linked to every other event. It will be sad, glorious, and even a few bits of humor. I hope you continue to follow “A Century Ago.”

Posted in Genealogy, Historical tidbits, North Texas History | 1 Comment

The Incredible Mr. Sam

Posted on November 27, 2016 by admin

Sam Rayburn, U. S. Representative from Texas District Four. Wikipedia

Ask anyone who has lived in Greenville or other parts of Northeast Texas for a long time who they has done the most benefit for the area and the answer will probably be Representative Sam Rayburn. Some say that during the Depression many farmers hung photographs of Franklin D. Roosevelt and Sam Rayburn on their living room walls. Mr. Sam truly represented all of his constituents from 1913 until his death in 1961. He served forty-eight consecutive years after being elected twenty-four times.

For seventeen years of his terms, Rayburn held the crucial position of Speaker of the U. S. House of Representatives with the ability to greatly influence legislation. As a leading supporter of the New Deal, Rayburn saw that his Texas District Four received rural electrification, numerous Public Works Administration and Works Progress Administration projects such as the Greenville Municipal Building and a dormitory at what is now Texas A&M University Commerce, and highway funding.

It is interesting to note that in 1930 only 10% of the rural residents of Northeast Texas had electricity. By 1955 the rate had risen to 90%. Congressman Rayburn proudly explained how electricity would make farm life so much easier, a task he took to heart.

As events in Europe became more critical, it was evident to the United States that war was looming. Federally funded airports, hospitals, training schools sprang up throughout the country, including Northeast Texas. Greenville residents can thank the local Rotary Club and Mr. Sam for the designation of a pilot training school south of town. Opened in early 1942 Majors Field trained numerous pilots, including those men in the 201st Mexican Fighter Squadron. Near the end of the war, Rayburn and Texas Senators Lyndon Johnson and Tom Connally negotiated an agreement with the War Department to convert several of these airfields to civilian use. Majors Field was among them. Today the field is home to L-3 Communications Corporation, the largest employer in the county.

After World War II, Rayburn was instrumental in passing a minimum wage law, expanding social security benefits, and establishing federal aid to housing. Highways such as Farm-to-Market roads found in rural areas, and the Interstate web of cross-country highways came into existence thanks to the work of Mr. Sam.

A lifelong Democrat, Sam Rayburn did not feel integration was viable until the end of World War II when he helped pass the Civil Right Act of 1957. Yet, many of his constituents benefited enormously from it.

After years in politics, Sam Rayburn’s eyes began to wear out. His health declined but he still worked hard for the people of Northeast Texas until his death November 16, 1961. His body was returned to his beloved farm near Bonham, Texas. After the funeral service the body was transported to Willow Wild Cemetery in rural Fannin County where other family members were buried.

The country lost a statesman but Northeast Texas lost a very good friend. Mr. Sam was briefly married to the sister of a fellow Texas congressman. For reasons never known to anyone, they separated and divorced within a year. Mr. Sam was one of those men who was wedded to his work.

The latest issue of the Southwestern Historical Quarterly (October 2016) had an article about Margaret Fallon (Peggy) Palmer, Mr. Sam’s supposed lady friend. While it remains that the two were close, there were too many obstacles to any deep relations. To put it bluntly, Mr. Sam’s constituents would have been appalled. If you can find a copy, read it. Otherwise go to http://www.rayburnmrspeaker.com. There was a great article a few years ago in the East Texas Historical Journal that focused on Northeast Texas and Mr. Sam. Find it at http://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/ethj. Both are great tributes to a great man.

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A Nation Divided

Posted on November 20, 2016 by admin

This photograph was taken by famed Civil War photographer Matthew Brady on November 19, 1863 on the occasion of the dedication of the Gettysburg military cemetery. It shows a Regiment marching down a village street in Gettyburg.

On a dreary day in November 1863, President Abraham Lincoln climbed aboard a train in Washington for a short ride to the small town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. It was a sad and somber occasion that brought him to the college community. Asked to speak a few words, he was part of the dedication of the new Gettysburg National Cemetery. Author Edward Everett was to be the principle speaker.

The divided nation had celebrated as General U. S. Grant ended the siege at Vicksburg on July 4th, opened the Mississippi River to Union warships, and isolated communication in Texas, Louisiana, and Arkansas with the rest of the Confederacy. In late June General Robert E. Lee moved his army of Virginia into Pennsylvania hoping to create havoc in the north. After three days in early July of hand-to-hand combat in hot, sultry weather, the death toll was horrendous. It was estimated at 7,000 men dead.

When Lee pulled his survivors back to Virginia Union newspapers heralded General George Gordon Meade victor. However, Meade and his army were nearly ravished in the worst three-day battle in the Civil War. They slowly made their way north. Both armies left their dead for the small population of Gettysburg to bury.

By September Union supporters were busy constructing a planned cemetery on the idea of a rural park where Union soldiers were buried with their unit and state. More than 3500 men, known and unknown, lie in that stately park. At the dedication, about 15,000 people heard Edward Everett talk for three hours.

But no Confederate graves are to be found. While some Confederates may still lie in shallow graves today, the vast majority was re-interred at cemeteries in Virginia and other southern sites. You may question the reality of this policy. But remember this was a rebellion by part of the United States. By joining the Confederate Army, those men chose or were drafted into an enemy army. We were a nation divided that took many, many years to completely reunite.

At the end of the ceremony, Everett reportedly told President Lincoln, “I should be glad, if I could flatter myself that I came as near to the central idea of the occasion, in two hours, as you did in two minutes.”

Why did I choose to write about this event today? Well, for one reason the Gettysburg Address was delivered on November 17, 1863. But more importantly, I believe we should all heed the last sentence in Lincoln’s speech, “that this nation under God shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth.” Remember this as you enjoy Thanksgiving.

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Ben K. Green

Posted on November 13, 2016 by admin

Ben K. Green as photographed by James Narramore.

The other night I was somewhat restless. I had just finished an intriguing book and wanted something that would engage my mind again. I had lots of books relating to research I am involved with, but I really wanted something light and fun. I was in no mood to take notes while curled up with a good book.

So I chose a work by the late Ben K. Green (1912-1974) of Cumby, Texas. If you are not familiar with Green, you need to meet him through his work. He lived in this area much of his life. At the age of twelve, he left home to seek out wagon yards, mule barns, and livery stables while looking for a more useful education. At age nineteen, he was well into his life-long career of horse-trading.

Around 1963, Ben K. Green submitted a short piece to a journal of Texas short stories. Once it was accepted, Green began a new career; one that A. C. Greene called “the last real voice of old-time Texas in literature.” Ben would talk into a tape recorder in his normal speech. His secretary would transcribe it and sometimes do a little editing. Between 1963 and 1974, Ben K. Green “talked” eleven books into publication.

I have collected most of them. I think my favorite is The Shield Mares. But I recently read The Last Trail Drive Through Downtown Dallas. I laughed so hard I had tears in my eyes. Believe it or not, it is a cross between a page-turner and a mile a minute chuckle.

Now I feel I need to explain a few things for those of you who don’t know me well. I come from a long line of avid readers in my mother’s family. In addition, my husband and son love to read.

My mother had several favorite authors including Edgar Allan Poe, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and J. Frank Dobie. I inherited her Dobie books when she died. About that time I discovered Ben K. Green. So with a love of Dobie and Green, along with the fact that her father was a cattleman in Archer County where I spent almost every summer while in school, it is natural that I love books about Texas cattlemen and horse traders.

Now back to that last trail drive. Somehow, modern Americans believe that life in 1900 or 1910 or even 1920 was not much different that the 21st century. Of course, there was no television or Internet, but there were many more differences. One was transportation. My dad told me that it was completely normal for farm families to come to town in a wagon or on a horse until the end of World War II.

So about 1929, Ben K. Green rode out to Paint Rock, Texas, and purchased forty-two head of horses for $840. Along with an old chuck wagon cook and a drover wanting to go home to Oklahoma, the three men set out for Bossier City, Louisiana. Along the way they drove those horses through downtown Dallas, causing traffic jams, scaring the horses, and losing the cook. Finally they made it to Garland where they bedded down their herd for a couple of nights and sold a few horses. The only place where they had any trouble was in Rockwall where a policeman told them to move on or he would fine them $200.

Needless to say, they drove the horses to Greenville, and as they went down Lee Street, Green spotted an old friend Al Eiland. The two men struck up a bargain, both trying to get a troublesome horse off their hands. But you will have to find a copy and read what happened to that trade and many more like it.

Ben K. Green was a true Texas writer.

Posted in Historical tidbits, North Texas History, Recommended Reading | 1 Comment

Who Won the War of 1812

Posted on November 6, 2016 by admin

1812 The War That Forged A Nation by Walter R. Borneman

This afternoon at 2:00 we celebrate the life and death of James Hicks Gee. Mr. Gee served as a musician playing the fife during the Battle of New Orleans. Born in Virginia, he answered the call for volunteers in the Tennessee Militia in the fall of 1814. Only 15 years old at the time, he gallantly served the United States in a war that is often misunderstood. Please join us for the service at East Mount Cemetery in Greenville.

When asked to say a few words at the ceremony for Mr. Gee, I realized I knew very little about the War of 1812. Most of what I knew came from Johnny Horton hit song, “The Battle of New Orleans.” Not a great source to say the least. I found 1812: the War That Forged a Nation by Walter R. Borneman on my bookshelf and decided to give it a try. Someone gave it to me for Christmas in 2004 and now was the time to read it. It was just what I needed.

We often think we know the simple cause of a war, but it is much more difficult. There are always so many different causes, so many different viewpoints, and so much propaganda involved with any conflict. The War of 1812 was no exception.

Probably the foremost reason was the impressment of United States sailors on our ships, on merchant ships, and other vessels on any sea. Great Britain controlled all shipping and all seas and therefore claimed that the strength of her empire depended on taking able-bodied men from any ship they boarded.

Two rights the British claimed absolutely galled the U. S. The first was impressment and the second was Right of Deposit. That meant that pioneers west of the Appalachians could lose the right to use the port of New Orleans to store and export farm products and other goods to the rest of the world.

One reason for the Louisiana Purchase in 1803 was to guarantee settlers land rights between the Appalachians and the Mississippi River and the right to use the port at New Orleans freely. By 1807 Great Britain was showing signs of repealing that right, even though the British had no control of New Orleans.

Add to these insults from Great Britain were the War Hawks, Congressional representatives from the territories and states adjacent to the Great Lakes who wanted to conquer Canada for the United States. After two or three tries, it became evident that was not to be something the U. S. gained. Then there was Andrew Jackson and Sam Houston who attempted to subdue the Creek Indians in Alabama.

The two nations met in Ghent, today a part of Belgium, and agreed to a treaty that must be signed by rulers of both countries. The British signed on December 28, 1814 but the document did not reach Washington for some time. Part of the treaty was status ante bellum, a term meaning all territory captured before the end of the war went to the victor.

The Battle of New Orleans was fought during most of the month of January 1815; with the result that the U. S. claimed New Orleans at the time the U. S. Senate ratified the treaty. The United States became a full-fledged nation of the world as a result. It was the beginning of our greatness.

Posted in Greenville, Historical tidbits, North Texas History | 1 Comment

James H. Gee

Posted on October 30, 2016 by admin

Ghastly hand to hand conflict between British soldiers and frontiersmen with General Andrew Jackson. The last major battle of the War of 1812 was the Battle of New Orleans. On January 8th 7,500 British soldiers marched against 4,500 U.S. troops led by General Andrew Jackson. The British were defeated in just 30 minutes. The Treaty of Ghent, which ended the war, had been signed two weeks before, but the news had not yet crossed the Atlantic.

Next Sunday, November 6th several patriotic groups are planning a War of 1812 Patriot Grave Dedication for James H. Gee (1799-1883) in East Mount Cemetery at 2:00 P.M. The public is invited.

James Gee was born earlier than any other male in a marked grave in the cemetery. Several women are buried there who were born earlier, including his mother-in-law; Margaret S. Hawkins (1779-1859) wife of Brig. General Caleb Hawkins. But James H. Gee holds the distinction of being the only veteran of the War of 1812 buried in Greenville.

Gee, a fifteen-year-old musician in Captain Lewis Delahanty’s Company of the Tennessee Militia, served as a substitute for Joseph Woods. On November 13, 1814 he enlisted for six months at Nashville in General Andrew Jackson’s Army. The men boarded boats to float down the Mississippi, landing four miles north of New Orleans. The battle lasted for weeks in January 1815.

By spring of that year, Jackson began sending his troops north to Nashville for discharge. James H. Gee received his papers on May 13, 1815, exactly six months after he enlisted.

Not much is known about Gee until his marriage to Ann W. Hawkins in Lauderdale County, Alabama in 1826. By 1855 the large family was in Carroll County, Tennessee where James H. Gee received two 80-acre bounty land warrants under the Act of 1852. There he served as District Clerk and county surveyor. In November 1859, Gee and his family arrived in Greenville, in Hunt County, Texas in covered wagons.

A few weeks after their arrival in Greenville, Gee’s mother-in-law passed away. By 1860 his wife, Ann W. Gee was a schoolteacher at the Masonic Lodge supported school. When the first Confederate unit left Hunt County, daughter Lucy Gee presented the men with a flag and good wishes on their endeavor. Lucy was quite a beauty and many a man dreamed of her on the way to battle. Unfortunately, the flag bearer panicked in one battle and took off with the banner. Neither banner nor flag bearer were ever seen again.

The Federal government agreed in 1873 to issue pensions to surviving veterans of the War of 1812. James H. Gee filed the requisite applications with several character witnesses from prominent local men. The paperwork was processed in a timely manner in Washington, D. C. However, it was returned with the statement that while he had honorably served the United States in the War of 1812, he was disloyal to the government. Therefore, the pension was denied.

What happened? James H. Gee was the father of at least one Confederate soldier. His fifth son, Thomas Jefferson Gee, served as a scout in Company F, Third Texas Cavalry, Governor Ross’ Brigade. The War Department made a thorough check of confiscated Confederate records before issuing pensions. Anyone with the same surname as a Rebel in the same county was denied federal funds.

The Dallas Weekly Herald of August 2, 1883 eulogized James H. Gee by saying he died after living in Texas for over forty years. Gee was “a man held in high esteem by everybody.” A fitting tribute for a War of 1812 veteran and a leader of Greenville.

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East Mount Cemetery

Posted on October 23, 2016 by admin

Tombstone of War of 1812 veteran James H. Gee and his wife Ann. Gee was the only veteran of that war buried in Greenville.

Let’s take a visit to East Mount Cemetery in Greenville this week. I must admit I have never walked the entire ten-plus acre cemetery myself, but I have visited many different gravesites over the years. The first marked graves date back to 1850, although it is entirely possible that earlier burials occurred. I suspect that maybe the earliest was in the mid-1840s. Several families lived in this vicinity well before the county was created with Greenville as county seat.

Those very early graves were marked with sandstone markers or wooden posts. Needless to say, neither material stands the test of time easily. Our blackland clay soil has not been kind to cemetery markers. It expands when wet and contracts during dry periods, creating a slowly moving base for tombstones. Right now the ground is dry. Many of the larger stones are tilting to one side or the other. Others have toppled completely or lost part of the tall stones. Earlier this fall I was out there and it was so sad to see the condition of the cemetery. But such is our environment.

There is some discussion about the first grave at East Mount. Historian W. Walworth Harrison believed it was the grave of Mary Shaw who died in childbirth in April 1850. Others suggest it was John W. Lane or George R. Moffitt, whose stone has this verse: “Go home dear friends and I will be here until Christ appears.” One of the early graves may be a child of attorney Hardin Hart, a staunch Unionist and District Judge appointed by the occupational forces after the Civil War.

The site was originally used for the first schoolhouse in Greenville. So before the Civil War it served as both cemetery and school. The earliest graves are at the top of the “hill”, the highest point around. At that time, the Jefferson Road ran from the town of Jefferson to Dallas. As it rounded the hill, it veered slightly to the north and then west to enter Greenville on what is today Washington Street.

Examples of Woodmen of the World grave markers at East Mount Cemetery. These were prevalent in the Midwest and South from 1890 through the Great Depression.

The graves exhibit many Masonic emblems, various sorts of Woodmen of the World markers, and beautiful artistry. The General Society of the War of 1812 has recently refurbished one stone, for James Hicks (J.H.) Gee and his wife Ann Hawkins Gee. Mr. Gee was a musician in Captain Bradford’s Company of Tennessee Militia when they marched to New Orleans in 1815 to fight the British under General Andrew Jackson. That makes him the only War of 1812 veteran buried at East Mount. While James was born in 1799, his mother-in-law, Margaret S. Hawkins was born in 1779. Her husband was J. H.’s brigade general Caleb Hawkins. The general didn’t make it to Texas but his wife did. If you are descended from James H. Gee, please let me know.

Now I must tell you my favorite or probably the most interesting grave at East Mount. It involves the death of John C. Wilson, a young lawyer here about 1858. It seems Wilson had earlier that year killed his brother-in-law Dr. James A. Coles with a double-barrel shotgun. Witnesses said it was self-defense. Shortly thereafter, Wilson was shot to death in the courtroom during a trial. I have never learned who pulled the trigger, but it sounds suspicious. To top it off, both men were married to sisters, daughters of James and Margaret Moody. Mrs. Moody definitely had a reputation for being somewhat of a wildcat!

Posted in Greenville, Historical tidbits | 4 Comments

Daylight Saving Time

Posted on October 16, 2016 by admin

HuffingtonPost.com provides a wonderful take on time in our modern world. I bet this guy didn’t have to complete his shopping by 6:00 PM, don’t you?

In three weeks we will take a leap backwards. Before we go to bed on November 5, we will go through the house and turn every clock back an hour, except for those clocks that are smart enough to do it with no human assistance. After all, it is an autumn tradition to Fall Back usually around Halloween. For some goofy reason it is the first Sunday in November this year. Actually it has to do with daylight longer on Election Day, but not this year because the election comes after our fall back.

As Americans we have used Daylight Saving Time for a large portion of time since we entered World War I in 1917. Notice, Saving is singular but most of us use the plural version. It’s easier to pronounce.

The standard reason given is we get more of our sun or better use of sunlight. Truly, most of the United States went on Daylight Saving Time back on the second Sunday in March and will change on the first Sunday in November. We can thank none other than Benjamin Franklin for the brilliant idea in 1784. Back in those days it wasn’t so vitally important to be on time. Actually it was quite fashionable in some circles to be late. But use of sunlight was a good reason.

With the introduction of trains, airplanes, television schedules, and other events of such magnitude, time became a big deal. In fact, that’s how the watch became so important until the arrival of Smart Phones.

On March 19, 1918 President Woodrow Wilson signed An Act to Preserve Daylight and Provide Standard Time for the United States. With that law, trains ran on time and civilians had time to tend to their Victory Gardens. However, the Victory Garden part was repealed in 1919 but trains and other forms of transportation still are expected to be punctual.

From February 1942 to September 1945, all the United States was on War Time Saving Time. Since then we have juggled the issue back and forth as Congress pleased. However, there was an issue in April 1910 I find rather unusual.

The new act signed into law by President Wilson included a part requiring grocery stores to close their doors at 6 o’clock p.m. every evening except for Saturday when they stayed open until 9 o’clock and Sunday when Texas law forbid stores to open. Previously grocery store owners set their own hours, usually from 6:00 a.m. to whenever they chose to close. Now grocers were told when to sell. In addition to staying late on the Saturdays, the stores must remain open until 9:00 p.m. on the first Monday of the month.

The Greenville Banner of April 10, 1918 suggested that if “you have been accustomed to wait until after 6 o’clock to buy your groceries, move up your buying time and buy them before then. The government wants them to close early and the public is expected to be patriotic in this measure and buy earlier.” Thirty-one grocers in the area agreed with a few who had not decided. I don’t know if they ever did.

My question is very simple. What was the reasoning behind legally setting the hours of retail stores? Did we need a law telling us it was time to go home to tend the Victory Garden?