Purley TX - From Noel

http://www.mt-vernon.com/~skelly/pages/purley.php

Franklin County in deep East Texas has an interesting history. While researching the birthplace of my father, W.C. or Mr. Bill as he was called by his peers, I remembered he mentioned once that he was born in Mount Vernon, Texas. This is also stated on his death certificate. When my last sibling died, a former Marine in WWII, he had written two statements in a small black notebook, one about the location of a bank account, the other mentioned W. C. "W. C. was born near Winnsboro in a log cabin." Where my sibling got that information is unknown, family history was rarely ever discussed with me the runt of the litter of 9. Presently and for some time, my closest family left is a nephew and his wife, who both profess the Mormon faith in their rural home south of Winnsboro. The majority of the Garland family who eventually settled in the Central community, (not located but on one map that Ive foun d) in Parker County northeast of Garner, north almost directly from Weatherford, the county seat, are buried in a Baptist cemetery on the outskirts of the old Camp/Fort Wolters, still in Parker County.

From others research, I find that Grandfather William Amos Garland, born in Mint Hill area of Charlotte, NC, who lived until 1939, came to Texas around April or May of 1886. Prior to that his sister, Jane Garland, who had married a James Parker in Western South Carolina, had settled in Purley, Texas area on Christmas Eve of 1885, in the Possum Flats area. It is known that my father was born on May 12th, 1886 somewhere near either Mount Vernon, or Winnsboro if you rely on the verbal or written recollections of the pertinent family members, my father or my eldest surviving brother about the birthplace of W. C. There is no written documented proof that I can find yet on that location. The fact that it is documented that James and Jane Garland Parker settled in the Possum Flats area prior to the arrival of Amos and the birth of my father, lead me to believe that Amos settled close by the homeplace of James and Jane Parker, so that she could act as a midwife, thus it is possible that they lived temporarily in a log cabin, being the only habitable space available at the time. While I would have found people still living in that period of time in a log cabin, I have found that another Garland family kin to our Garlands, still lived in a log cabin in the area of Garland Bend on the Brazos, southeast of the future Possum Kingdom Lake in Palo Pinto County, where my dad's first and only home would be located in Mineral Wells. Those Garlands still used the log cabin for the births and deaths of some family members clear upto 1960, where a female Garland was born in the fireplace room. That log cabin still exists being in the restoration and modernization stage.
 

I feel a trip to Purley with the hope of finding the Possum Flats area is in order, but do not expect to be so lucky as to find some representative log cabins still standing, but hope doth spring eternal.

Read the story of Purley in the below quoted URL about Franklin County, I can see my grandparents and my fathers siblings that had been born back in North Carolina, trying to exist in rural East Texas in the 1880's waiting for Mr Bill to come onto the scene. Noel

Ray Bowen

5/30/2008 - Appeals court: Texas A&M officials not immune in bonfire collapse lawsuits 05:04 PM CDT on Thursday, May 29, 2008 Associated Press - HOUSTON – An appeals court has rejected a claim by Texas A&M University administrators that they are immune from state lawsuits brought by the families of those killed or injured in the school's deadly bonfire collapse. Twelve people died and 27 were injured in 1999 when the 59-foot-high log stack – burned on the eve of A&M's game with archrival University of Texas – collapsed as it was being built. A&M administrators had argued they are protected under the state's constitutional right that prohibits government agencies and officials from being sued. But the 10th Court of Appeals on Wednesday upheld a lower court's ruling that allowed the administrators to remain as defendants because they are being sued as individuals and not in their official capacities.

York to Be Guest Of War-Time Buddy
Dallas will be host Friday to the outstanding hero of the World War with the reception here Friday morning of Sergeant Alvin C. York, Tennessee mountaineer, who will relate his war experiences Friday night at North Dallas High School Auditorium.
The noted soldier will arrive at 7:40 a. m. to be greeted by a committee representing the Dallas schools and various patriotic organizations, by the Dallas R. O. T. C. Band and by an escort of honor chosen from the city high schools. He will then be driven to the Baker Hotel, where he will be a guest of Fenton Baker, who served with the Sergeant in France,
The proceeds from Sergeant York's lecture will be used by the Dallas grade teachers in relief work among the needy children in the local schools.

Date: 30 Oct 1931
Dallas Morning News

Mountaineer Comes Calling
Simple Tennessee Life
Glorified by War
Hero York.

Sergeant Alvin C. York, who left his Tennessee mountaineer neighbors only long enough to write his name into history as one of the greatest soldiers of all time, delighted an audience that crowded the North Dallas High School auditorium Friday night with his own account of his experiences in war and peace.

Now president and manager of the Alvin C. York Agricultural Institute, a vocational school he founded in his home county after his return from the war, Sergeant York's talk was devoted principally to the cause of education.

Dr. N. R. Crozier, superintendent of schools, recalled in his introduction that Sergeant York had been forced to overcome his scruples as a conscientious objector before he joined the army.

Backs "Us Mountaineers."
For Sergeant York, his one excursion into the world covered with glory not himself, but his mountaineer neighbors. He resents any implication that his folk are backward or ignorant, and in a high-pitched voice that sounds strange emanating from so virile and vigorous a frame, he drives home successfully the argument that "us mountaineers" are the secret of America's greatness.

Meeting the "higher-ups" in the world-people like Queen Marie of Rumania and King George of England, whom he accuses of having adulterated the King's English- and being forced to speak with them through interpreters, convinced Sergeant York of the value of an education.

Strengthened with his own difficulties in acquiring any "l'aran'" in the rough mountaineer schools, the determination to bring his people as many educational benefits as possible has become Sergeant York's lifework. Hence his school, supported by State and county aid and by his own lecturing.

Pleads for Simple Life.
For a while Sergeant York was a rural missionary in the Tennessee mountains. There was something of that in him as he addressed a plea to his audience Friday night not to neglect the underprivileged boys and girls. In his own school, he said, co-operation, neighborliness, community spirit and the personal touch are the aims sought. He pleaded also for the simple, religious life which has kept his own folk contented in their unchanging ways for many generations.

The soldier's appearance here was sponsored by the Dallas Grade Teachers Council, represented by the president. Miss Josephine Wilson, and Mrs. Morgan H. Cox. Among those on the platform were Congressman Hatton W. Sumners, who, a native of Tennessee; Lawrence Melton, Principal E. B. Comstock of the school; Alvin M. Owsley. Col. James Ronayne, Dr. John O. McReynolds, C. ?. Matthaei and Mrs. Crozier.  During the ? he was entertained by American Legion posts here and by Fenton Baker at the Baker hotel Mr. Baker was a buddy of Sergeant York's. In the morning Sergeant York visited Arlington to address the students at North Texas Agricultural College.
Date: 31 Oct 1931  Dallas Morning News

SGT. YORK LISTED AS BIT IMPROVED
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Sgt. Alvin C. York, an old soldier who has known long odds before, Monday battled both heart and lung ailments in a fight for his life.
The 75-year old World War I hero who won the Medal of Honor for single-handedly killing 25 Germans and taking 132 prisoners in the battle of Argonne Forest, was reportedly "slightly improved, but still critical" at St. Thomas Hospital.
York, who has been fighting a variety of illnesses for more than 20 years, was admitted to the hospital Saturday.

Date: 16 Apr 1963.
Dallas Morning News

Obituary - Sgt. York
Sgt., Alvin C. York, a one-time conscientious objector who became America's most famous soldier In World War I, has lost his last battle with the infirmities of age. In an era that has freely applied heroic superlatives to everything from flagpole sitters to crooners, the Tennessee mountain man was the real thing, a genuine America hero.
In the closing days of the war, York single-handedly put a German machine-gun battalion out of action, a feat unequaled anywhere on the world's battlefields. This mountaineer who did not really want to fight had not been reared, as had many of the soldiers of the Great Powers, on a steady diet of chauvinism nor had he been painstakingly indoctrinated to seek the glories of military conquest. But the qualities of courage and determination were part of him and when his country needed them, they were there.
He was held in high regard by his countrymen, not only for his gallantry in combat but for his conduct afterward. When the sergeant returned to this country he was greeted by a ticker-tape parade in New York, a standing ovation from both houses of Congress. He was given offers of up to a million dollars to capitalize on his fame. His answer to these was simple and to the point: "This uniform is not for sale."
Instead, he returned to his home and the brown-haired girl he'd left to go to France. He settled back into the quiet life of a farmer.
At 76, the Tennessean could look back on a long life of service to his country and his community. The end was not unexpected, for he had fought his way back from serious illness 10 times in the past two years. But when it came all Americans were saddened to see him go. He was one of our great ones.

Date: 4 September 1964
Dallas Morning News

Just read in a new book, a former North Dallas High football player, William Blessing, went to North Texas Agricultural College, now UT-Arlington, arrived in time at Aggieland to be a part of the 1939 Aggie football team which became the unbeaten-untied champions of the country that year. Played end on his sophomore year, but was sidelined due to an appendectomy that fall put him out of action. Came back in 1940, to earn his Aggie "T".
 
Another Dallas boy, Joe Boyd, out of Crozier Tech, and Paris Junior College, won his spurs winning SWC honors at strongside tackle, the at least one previous year, again in 1939, plus being All American in 1939. He joined Joe Routt, John Kimbrough in 39, Marshall Robnett made it in 1940, but was a standout in 1939. 

Does anyone remember Bob Smith, another A&M back who made All American in 1950, Im thinking he went to Sunset?
Source on Blessing:  The 1939 Texas Aggies: The Greatest Generation's Greatest Team.

By the way, the Vision 2020 plan was initiated by ND's own Ray Bowen, then president of TAMU, the plan mentioned in the previous article in todays Aggiegram.
 
Vision 2020
In 1997, university president Ray Bowen appointed a task force to create a new strategic plan for the university. The task force, comprised of more than 250 faculty, staff, students, former students, local residents, and various private- and public-sector representatives, devoted more than two years to examining all aspects of the university and studying benchmark institutions before unveiling the plan, dubbed Vision 2020, in 1999.^[33]
Vision 2020's goal is to make Texas A&M University recognized as a consensus "top 10" public university by the year 2020. The plan identifies 12 areas in which the university should focus on improving.^[33] Dr. Robert M. Gates succeeded Bowen in 2002, and during his four year tenure as president, Vision 2020's short-term focus narrowed to four key steps:^[34]

• Increasing the size of the faculty by 447 positions within five years.
• Improving student diversity among minority groups.
• Building new academic facilities totaling roughly US$272 million.
• Enriching the undergraduate and graduate education experience.

THE MASTER PLAN FOR TAMU’S FUTURE

The below article, with included photographs, was written by Lane Stephenson. For more information, please visit the following web address. http://www.tamu.edu/campusplan

Texas A&M University is in the midst of a $500 million building program in conjunction with its unprecedented endeavor to add almost 450 new faculty members to its teaching and research ranks. Construction is being conducted in adherence to the university’s award-winning master plan, which is designed to provide guidelines for shaping the campus over the next half-century.

      Texas A&M’s 5,200-acre campus, by some estimates the largest in the nation, serves a student body that now exceeds 46,000—one of the country’s 10 largest—and is expected to continue to grow modestly over the next few years. The campus also serves as home base for a variety of research activities --those conducted by the university and associated agencies within The Texas A&M University System. Their combined funding exceeds $550 million annually, a level that ranks among the top institutions nationally, according to the National Science Foundation.

      The campus master plan is the result of extensive work by university officials, assisted by two nationally prominent architectural and land-use consulting firms, with input throughout the process by faculty, staff, students and others.

            One of the plan’s objectives is to have the campus evolve in a manner that will help the university achieve its Vision 2020 goals. Vision 2020 provides a roadmap for the institution to enhance its programs to the degree that it will be recognized as a consensus top 10 public university by the year 2020.

     Campus Plan Reflects Texas A&M’s Mission

“Our intent is to build a university campus that reflects our vision, mission and strategic plan,” notes Texas A&M Vice President for Facilities Charles A. Sippial, Sr., whose office headed the campus master plan project. “A campus is space and buildings, but it is the people who make a university great.  The campus must support their efforts through its quality facilities and its pleasant and functional surroundings.”

      In addition to following campus master plan guidelines, Sippial points out that facilities placement, development and use are overseen by the Council on the Built Environment, a top-level group that has major faculty representation.

      The campus includes hundreds of buildings containing more than 15 million square feet of floor space. That is three times more than the university had in the early 1960s when it began its rapid enrollment and research expansion. (See the Good Bull Section for where A&M stood among state colleges in the early 1960s)

     Construction Presents Challenges

      Current construction includes a $95 million integrated life sciences building—which will be the largest facility on campus – and two physics buildings.

      One of the more ambitious master plan proposals calls for redeveloping the Wellborn Road/railroad area as a “seam” or boulevard framed by buildings, rather than having it continue to be a “divider.” The intent is to extend the "civic structure" of the eastern part of the campus across Wellborn Road by providing a major new quadrangle for the western part. Two more underpasses are proposed for the area.

      The master plan also calls for replacing as much surface parking as possible with green spaces, buildings and garages—and limiting the number of private vehicles within the core of the campus.

      The plans include eight overarching goals: Reinforce campus identity, reinforce campus community, establish connectivity, create architecture that contributes positively to the campus community, promote spatial equity and appropriateness, establish an accessible and pedestrian campus, promote sustainability and develop a supportive process.

That's what the Bryan Eagle Column Says, but it should have been the thirteen things you should know about the game. Thirteen because its Friday, and TU is ranked 13 in the football polls, so you know what Friday the 13  usually means for a person or a team, they should be wary, for they may be headed for a fall.

Here's 12 things you need to know about the Texas A&M-Texas game:

By HOLLY HUFFMAN Eagle Staff Writer

It has been 85 years since E. King Gill was called down from the stands and asked to suit up and stand ready on the sidelines as the Aggies faced off against Centre College.

The 11 players on the A&M football team ended up winning that game 22-14 and Gill never was needed. But his gesture -- which created the storied tradition of the 12th Man -- wasn't forgotten.

When the Aggies go up against the No. 13 Longhorns at Kyle Field on Friday, students, former students and fans swathed in maroon once again will stand ready.

In honor of Texas A&M's storied 12th Man, here are 12 fun facts about the long-standing rivalry between Texas A&M and the University of Texas.

1. The Aggie War Hymn The Aggies have caught a lot of grief about this fight song, which seems to focus all of A&M's hostility toward just one school: University of Texas. But there is more to the fight song. Turns out there is a first verse that not many know about.

According to the Singing Cadets Web site, the second and more popular verse was written in 1918 by J.J. "Pinky" Wilson while he was standing guard on the Rhine River during World War I. Because the Aggies aren't always matched up against Longhorns, Wilson wrote a first verse when he returned to the United States.

The verse, however, was a little too Ivy League for the Ags, who promptly refused to sing it. As a result, the Web site states, the verse never caught on.

Hullabaloo, Caneck, Caneck

Hullabaloo, Caneck, Caneck

All hail to dear old Texas A&M

Rally around Maroon and White

Good luck to dear old Texas Aggies

They are the boys who show the real old fight

That good old Aggie Spirit thrills us

And makes us yell and yell and yell

So let's fight for dear old Texas A&M

We're gonna beat you all to

Chigaroogarem

Chigaroogarem

Rough, Tough, real stuff Texas A&M

2. Yell Practice The tradition of Yell Practice -- the Aggie's version of a pep rally, just don't ever call it one -- dates back to 1913, when cadets would gather after dinner to "learn heartily the old time pep," according to aggietraditions.tamu.edu. But it didn't take its current form until just before a game against the University of Texas in 1931.

That year, a group of cadets were in the old Puryear Hall when someone suggested the freshman meet on the steps of the YMCA building at midnight, the Web site states. Though it wasn't authorized by senior yell leaders, the word spread quickly and a new tradition was born.

3. Pregame pep: Bonfire and Hex Rally The nearly century-old tradition of Bonfire -- built by students each fall and then set ablaze just before the annual match up -- was designed to symbolize A&M's burning desire to beat the University of Texas. The on-campus version was suspended in 1999, when the logs toppled, killing 12 Aggies, but students have continued to build an Aggie bonfire off campus.

The Hex Rally, the Longhorn's pre-game equivalent, was started in 1941, when Texas students consulted an Austin fortune teller, asking how to break the Aggies jinx over the Longhorns, according to texasexes.org. At the time, the Longhorns had lost every game at Kyle Field since 1923.

The psychic instructed the students to burn red candles the week before the game. Throughout that week, the Web site states, candles were burned in store windows, fraternity and sorority houses and residence hall lounges. Apparently, it worked. Texas came to College Station and defeated the No. 2 Aggies 23-0.

4. Tickets The average price for a pair of tickets to the big game: about $400, according to a quick search on eBay. Yes, some people still were trying to sell the tickets they bought for $90 or so on the online auction site just hours before kick off. A trio of seats in section 101, row 39 had a starting bid of $900, though no offers had been made as of late Thursday.

But the most ridiculous award goes to seller "bri31an," who placed two tickets on the site for a whopping starting bid of $2,000 each. Big surprise: there were no bids as of late Thursday. The seller detailed in his listing that the tickets would be given to a family friend if there were no takers.

5. The origin The match up between Texas A&M and the University of Texas always is the last game of the regular season for both teams. But when was their first game? Friday will mark the 114th time the two teams have battled for bragging rights since the series began in 1894 -- A&M's first football season, according to aggieathletics.com. The Ags and Longhorns have played annually since 1915.

6. Wins and losses Texas has led the series 73-35-5. The last time Texas A&M bested the Longhorns at Kyle Field was in 1999, just weeks after the Aggie Bonfire collapsed. The rivalry is the third most-played game in college football, behind Minnesota and Wisconsin, and Kansas and Missouri.

7. YouTube The phrase "Aggies and Longhorns" returns just 20 hits on the popular video-sharing Web site. Links range from game clips to a compilation of photos portraying A&M in a less than favorable light. But the funniest might just be a commercial in which an Aggie playing charades would rather lose than utter the phrase "Hook 'em Horns."

8. Coach connections Offensive coordinator Les Koenning Jr. played wide receiver for the Longhorns in the early 1980s, according to aggieathletics.com. Defensive coordinator Gary Darnell served in the same capacity at Texas from 1992-96 and helped Texas to a pair of conference titles.

Cornerbacks coach Van Malone was an all-conference defensive back for Texas and helped the Horns to the 1990 SWC crown. Texas OC Greg Davis coached the Aggie QBs from 1978-84, the Web site states, while Texas running back coach Ken Rucker coached the Aggie running backs from 1994-97 and 2001-02.

9. Player connections Running back Jorvorskie Lane and Texas tight end Jeremichael Finley are half-brothers and grew up within five miles of each other in Lufkin and Diboll, respectively, according to the Aggie sports Web site. A&M quarterback Stephen McGee and Texas wide receiver Jordan Shipley were a record-setting pass/catch combination at Burnet High School.

10. Making music The Fightin' Texas Aggie Band is known for its precision military marching drills and with more than 300 members, it is the largest military marching band in the nation, according to the Aggie Band Web site. Dressed in tan Corps of Cadets uniforms, the band members couldn't be more different than Longhorn Band, which is known as "The Showband of the Southwest." The Longhorn Band touts its use of Big Bertha, the largest marching drum in the world, according to the band's Web site.

The two bands do have a couple of things in common, though. Both are known to march across the field in a block "T" formation. And both have pages on MySpace.com.

11. Mascots The Aggies long have taken credit for the naming of BEVO, the Longhorn's beloved mascot. According to lore, it was 1917 when a group of Aggies branded the steer with the score from the previous year's game: 13-0. Supposedly, the Longhorns, embarrassed by the desecration of their mascot, turned the 13 into a B, the dash into an E, threw in a V and used the zero as an O.

But Jim Nicar, the director of the UT Heritage Society in Austin, has debunked that popular myth. The Aggies did, indeed, brand the animal. But the Longhorns, so they say, already had named their mascot Bevo -- eerily close to beeve, the plural of beef, according to Mack Brown's Web site -- months earlier.

12. The last word 12-7. That would be the score from the 2006 match up in Austin. Wonder of wonders, the Ags finally won one. Wonder who will have the last word this year?

• Holly Huffman's e-mail address is holly.huffman@theeagle.com.

http://www.b-westerns.com/durango.htm
 
 
TMC Channel is having a reprise today of the early films of Charles Starrett, better known in our day as the Durango Kid. Must be the Sons of the Pioneers doing the singing in various scenes of the movies. Seeing these films make me wish we could see more of William Boyd, aka Hopalong Cassidy, the Red Ryder films, Bob Steele, Lash LaRue, and many others. Gene Autry and Roy Rogers were not my favorites, their singing wasn't my favorite way to be entertained in the 40's when I first started seeing the Saturday matinees in Mineral Wells and later in Dallas.
 
There was one of these Saturday morning heroes of us young'uns who bought a ranch west of Mineral Wells to stay at when he came to town to take advantage of the Mineral Baths at those hotels and spas that sprung up during the 20's and 30's, I think he was known as Wild Bill, not the Wild Bill Elliott that was another one of my favorite actors, but I cant remember the actors names, having a spell of CRS.
 
Noel

12/12/2007 - George Edward Jones: WWII bomber pilot captured by Germans

By JOE SIMNACHER / The Dallas Morning News
jsimnacher@dallasnews.com

George Edward Jones survived 10 months in German prisoner of war camps after being shot down on his 33rd mission as a World War II bomber pilot.

Memorial contributions may be made to Royal Lane Baptist Church, 6707 Royal Lane, Dallas, Texas 75230
  
Additional facts of interest to Happy Warrior Members

Both schools anxiously await the naming of the next foosball coach at the Hilltop girls school. What a deal, both the Dallas and the Fort Worth institutions would look forward to the exciting times to come if the candidate mentioned in this Dallas Morning Snooze article becomes that coach.
 
Noel

SMU, Franchione discuss coaching opening - School, ex-Texas A&M coach have been in contact, sources say

07:35 AM CST on Wednesday, December 19, 2007
By KATE HAIROPOULOS / The Dallas Morning News
khairopoulos@dallasnews.com
SMU and former Texas A&M coach Dennis Franchione have been in contact regarding the school's open football coaching job, and Franchione has shown interest, according to sources with knowledge of the situation. SMU has declined to comment on candidates while the search is ongoing. The school has been looking for a coach since firing Phil Bennett on Oct. 28 and has reportedly interviewed former Miami coach Larry Coker. Franchione has been out of work since resigning from A&M following a win over rival Texas on Nov. 23. His tenure in College Station was rocky.

ICH SCHLEGEL / DMN

Dennis Franchione stepped down as head football coach at Texas A&M on Nov. 23.

He had a 32-28 record in five seasons, and his final season was marked by a fiasco involving a secret e-mail newsletter that sold insider information about the Aggies. A&M athletic director Bill Byrne wrote a letter of admonishment for Franchione's personnel file that stated the e-mails violated NCAA rules. Franchione's settlement with A&M guarantees the coach $1.7 million from the school during the 2008 season. He will make another $1.7 million in 2009, though A&M will owe only the difference between the total and Franchione's salary, if he is working. The same holds true with a $1 million total in 2010. If SMU hires Franchione, it would certainly add fire to the school's rivalry with TCU. Franchione helped turn around the long-struggling private school, going 25-10 from 1998 to 2000, before leaving for Alabama. He started TCU's ongoing streak of playing in nine bowl games in the last 10 seasons. SMU athletic director Steve Orsini has said that he wants a proven coach and that he is aiming high. Orsini has insisted that he has been pleased with the search process, despite its duration. Former Navy coach Paul Johnson interviewed at SMU two  before taking the Georgia Tech job days later.

Response to inquiry about Ms Griffen

The story that has gone on around here was that she ruled the hall with her ruler, yours is the first where Ive heard of the cane. Perhaps someone will clarify on Mr Tardy, the Spanish teacher, did he hold the offending student, males I think, by his feet or by his belt. Not having been there to ever see the man I cant say what his method operandi was. I do remember both of the ROTC teachers I had at ND and at CT, Major Menezes and Colonel Moses, former PMS&T of Dallas. Both were unique characters, Menezes was a WWI vet I think, coming to North Dallas in 1930, I have a picture of him from the 1930 Viking I found at the library, Colonel Moses, had lost an eye in a battle he was in there in Italy and was retired though a West Point graduate. The rumor was that he was retired mostly because he lost most of his battalion during that battle, but that was strictly latrine house bull. He did look after his cadet students, have heard too many tales about that since leaving high school. The other standout teacher I had at Tech was Mr Walter Davis, a drafting teacher and coach, who was Diane Davis' father. I cant remember if I had him but he did sign my senior annual. He was a very nice man, probably strict though, being of a coaching nature. Diane may have got her athletic ability because of him, possibly his coaching may have helped her also. Noel