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In Old Gustine

By Wynona White

This book is dedicated to the memory of those who have inspired these articles, and to those who have encouraged me to write them.

My inspiration has been the pioneer citizens of Old Gustine, and the residents who have succeeded them and faithfully persevered to keep Gustine alive.  These people were my friends, my family and my loved ones.                 

My greatest source of encouragement has been John Roming, Editor of the present Gustine Gazette, and my two children, Joe Dell White and Leanna Zay Wilson, who have made me feel that my articles were worthwhile. To the three of them I express my gratitude.

To the memory of my son, Gailord Murl White, who was always supportive of my endeavors, I also dedicate this book.

Once Upon a time In Gustine!

By ---Wynona White

From the Gustine Gazette, January 13, 1999

Did you know?

In years past Gustine had many places of entertainment.  In the early 1920's there was a silent picture theater.  It was located down the street behind where the bank now stands.  In the 1930's--40's there was a movie theater on the south side of Main Street,. It was open several nights a week, with the latest and popular films. "Gone With the Wind" reached Gustine less than a year after it was made into a film. Also in the 1940's and 50's there was a permanent skating rink where the post office is now.

For many years, every summer,Texas Kid's carnival came to Gustine for about a week.  Texas Kid was a man by the name of Virgil Knuckles.  His carnival was very entertaining with good clean, fun.  He had a Ferris wheel, Merry-go-round, and a type of rodeo, with bronc riding of wild horses, as well as many carnival booths of chance, and the well known cotton candy

Is it History,

Or Nostalgia?

By ---Wynona White

From the Gustine Gazette, January 21, 1999

Before the power companies invaded Gustine, or for that matter, before Texas-New Mexico Power, or T.P.&L and T.U. were even born, Gustine had electricity.  A generator powered Gustine, which was located on South Cottonbelt Street. The generator was owned and operated by a man named Sid Ford.  The power was turned on in the afternoon, sometime before dark, in order for homes to have lights.

Since Monday was ALWAYS washday,---with the old iron wash pots, and the rub boards---Tuesday was naturally the day to iron. After the generator had come to town most of the ladies had retired their old heavy "smoothing" irons, (also called "sad irons") which were heated on the wood stoves, or sometimes sitting on end in front of the fire place. Upon retirement of these necessities, they were replaced with electric irons.  Therefore, Mr. Ford obliged the town by leaving the generator on all day on Tuesdays, so the ladies could get the ironing done.

Now I realize that I am dating myself with putting these thoughts on paper.  But those of you who have lived in the Gustine community all your lives, as I have, already know my age--And the newcomers have but to look at my hair and wrinkles and get a pretty close age estimate.  I don't have time to worry about age, there is too much I want to do. Besides, on looking around I've found that everyone else is getting older with every year that passes.   Old wine is valued, old art is valued, antiques are valued--and these are all man made.  So what about the old things that God has made?

"Back When"

In Gustine

By Wynona White

From the Gustine Gazette, January 28, 1999

School kids, how would you like to start to school on the first Monday in September, go for a few weeks, then turn out for 2, sometimes 3 weeks, and then go back to school again? That's the way it was "back when". Of course, parents and teachers managed to take the fun out of it.  Those two or three weeks were so the children could help get the cotton crops gathered. It was called 'turning out for 'cotton picking'. Now cotton wasn't picked by machinery at that time. Every person had a long sack made of strong material, with a wide strap to go over the shoulder, and dragged up and down the cotton rows while the cotton was gathered by hand. Up and down, up and down the rows from sun up until sun down. The pay was sometimes as low as 50 cents per 100 lbs.

When a wagon load of cotton was gathered (it weighed about 2000 lbs.) it was taken to the gin where the seeds were separated from the lint, and the seedless cotton was bundled into a large bale, (the weight was then about 500 lbs.) Gustine had two cotton gins.  One was the Huey gin located on Speed street, behind where the Bennett home is now. The other was on the corner of Live Oak and Cotton Belt behind where Irene Miller now lives.  The gins provided jobs for a number of men and Gustine was a busy place until the cotton crops were gathered. When the break from school was over, every child was more than ready to resume their studies, happy that cotton picking was over. They were back in school with tired backs and sore fingers, but with new clothes with the money they made from their hard work, if they were fortunate enough to get paid. Allowances?  Children were not PAID an allowance.  It was part of their "job description" to help with the work toward the survival of the family, but they were provided for, well cared for, and protected by loving parents, who saw that there was also time left for fun and recreation.

Yesteryear

By Wynona White

From the Gustine Gazette, February 4, 1999

This is the way it was.  Every day was a busy day. From Monday morning until Saturday noon the Gustine community people went about doing their work. But at noon Saturday everyone laid aside their farm tools and work clothes. They dressed in better clothing and went to town. Saturday afternoons were the busiest time of the week for the places of business.. Farm people came into town, sold their eggs, butter and cream and bought their needed supplies then visited with neighbors and friends. The men spent their time in the hardware store, the garages, and sat on the sidewalk benches discussing the weather and the progress of their crops, with one another.  The ladies bought groceries, thread and material and occasionally a new hat at the two dry goods stores. One store was the still well known mercantile (where Linda's cafe is) and the other was Adcock's dry goods and grocery, that was where the Auto parts store is now. Then the ladies would sit in the stores or cars (parked, then, in the CENTER of the street, leaving the sides as one-way drives) to visit. The children ran and played all over town, on the sidewalks, behind the store and climbing and hiding on the lumber at Higginbotham's lumberyard. Yes, it was two story, just where it is now. At five o'clock a drawing would be held in front of Sadler's drug store (the partially burned building by the post office). Mr. Sadler would step out on the sidewalk, ring a bell, and everyone would gather around. Prizes were donated by the stores--- groceries from the grocery stores, a shave and a haircut from the barbershops.--free flat fixed at the garages, etc. After the drawing everyone went to their homes to feed the chickens, and pigs and to gather the eggs and milk cows, eat a quick supper---at that time the evening meal was supper--dinner was eaten at mid day.  Then it was back to Gustine for more social life, or to the Palace Theater to relax and watch a good western movie, which was always the Saturday night feature.  The teenagers had a party almost every Saturday night.  All that was necessary for a party was a home in which to meet. It was usually decided where it would be that same afternoon. Mothers and Grandmothers always provided a place, and welcomed the children. The party was playing games, then more games.--No one ever thought of refreshments and there was literally no expense attached to a party. Usually the party lasted until 10 or 11 o'clock. (The stores stayed open until the last car left town.).  Parents then gathered their children and went to their respective homes and to bed. They knew they would rise  early the next morning because it was the Lord's day and they would be at worship when the church bells rang. There were four church buildings. three of which stood where they are now.  The 4th was a small Baptist church located where the Clifford Harris home is now. People of yesteryear were mindful of their blessings and paused on the first day of their busy week to give thanks to the Lord for they were truly thankful to Him.

Back In Time

By Wynona White

From the Gustine Gazette, February 11, 1999

As a whole, religion in the past was taken more seriously than it appears to be now. Summers in Gustine were filled with "Revivals".  These "summer revivals" as they were called, (and sometimes protracted meetings) usually lasted 10 days.  The leaders of the different congregations in town would work together so there would be no conflict of time.  Most of these meetings were held outside near the church building.  One summer, a large tent was placed behind the buildings on the north side of Main Street, and each church group used it.---When one meeting closed, the next one began. Everybody from the surrounding area attended all of them, not just the church of their choice.  Maybe it was because there was not too many places to go, or maybe people really did "hunger and thirst after righteousness". There were almost always baptisms at the close of the meeting of that particular church group. Since there were no baptisteries in the church buildings, the baptizing were held in the South Leon River.  Usually the baptizing were held on Sunday afternoon following the meeting.  Sometimes they were held at night with only car lights to give enough brightness to see.  No, no one was ever bitten by water moccasins, if you are wondering.   People realized that "faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of

God'--Romans 10:17

In Old Gustine

By Wynona White

From the Gustine Gazette, February 18, 1999

TELEPHONES OF YORE

Now I'll admit, I've been around a long time, and very little of that time has been spent away from Gustine. However, Alexander Graham Bell had already made his splash, so there were telephones in our area as far back as I can remember. But they were very different from our dial system of today. Gustine had a "telephone office" with a switchboard, and switchboard operator. Neither my electronic knowledge nor my vocabulary will allow me to describe the switchboard.  Suffice to say, telephone lines ran all over the area and were all connected to the switchboard. There were "party lines". Six or eight families would be on one line.  No one in the country had private lines, and few in town, (possibly the businesses had private lines). When the phone rang in a home it rang in the home of every one on the line. You knew when the call was for you by the number of times it rang. For instance our number was 4912.-which meant that we were on line 49 and the phone rang one long ring and two short ones. Everyone "eavesdropped" each time the phone rang on their line. But it was never considered an invasion of privacy. Who cared? Nothing was ever said over the phone that should not be repeated. The switch board operator had the title of "Central", or sometimes was called "Operator", (even by her best friends).  The switchboard was manned twenty-four hours a day, and there were no eight-hour shifts. "Central" slept in the office, to answer the infrequent calls that might come in during the night. The office was at times in the home of the Operator. She was a public servant. If someone were expecting a long distance call, but did not wish to sit at home by the phone waiting, they would call the operator and tell her they were going visiting. Usually the expression was, '''we are going to 'set' 'til bedtime -----so call us at---"and she always found the recipient of the call.  She located them whether she had been notified or not.  Also she answered questions as best she could.  Once a child called the operator and asked, "Central, how do you make gravy?" And with her help he was able to prepare a meal when his mother was not at home.  Can you imagine calling 9-1-1 and asking, "Would you please tell me how to make gravy?

In Old Gustine

By Wynona White

From the Gustine Gazette, February 25, 1999

TELEGRAMS,TRAINS AND HIGHWAYS

Western Union? I wasn't aware that it was called that, at the time, but we were able to send telegrams from Gustine to ANYWHERE without leaving town, back 'in the good ol' days'. The railroad track was laid through Gustine in 1910, and to my knowledge, the telegraph office was always in the train depots everywhere. At least ours was. The depot was at the intersection of Cottonbelt street and what is now Highway 36. To send a telegram was very expensive.  It cost 10 cents a word. They were very brief, of course, and usually only sent in an emergency: such as notification of a death.  A sentence was ended not with a period, but with the word "stop".("Stop" cost 10 cents too.)  It was a treat to stand beside the telegraph operator watching him tap out  a message with his dots and dashes, in Morse code.

Sometimes a reply came back quickly----(not quite as fast as electronic mail, but  almost.) The Cottonbelt railroad Company was "advanced", too. There were passenger cars, and freight cars.  The train came through Gustine twice a day. A person could catch the evening train, go to Comanche, stay all night and come home the next morning on the train. Or one could go to Hamilton  in the morning, spend the day and come home in the afternoon. It made going to Hamilton to "shop" a wonderful treat, but the hitch was, not often did anyone have the train fare, AND money to shop. In the 30's when the railroad Co. removed its tracks was a sad time for the Gustine community. However it made way for highway 36, which came later, putting Gustine "on the map", so to speak. Right here it is only fitting to give credit to Mrs. Phil Bertram, Gustine's first lady mayor. She gave of her time and means to get the highway to come through Gustine. She became known as the "Mother of Highway 36". Remembering her should bring to our minds that our public servants, such as our mayor, city council, school board, community center board, or any who give of their time, without monetary gain, should receive more credit and thanks, as well as any help needed, and much less criticism.

In Old Gustine

By Wynona White

From the Gustine Gazette, March 4, 1999

The Depression, Banks and Farmers

It may have been called a 'depression', and there WAS one in the late 1920's and early 1930's. But Gustine had three barbershops, three grocery stores, and three cafes, to name a few of the businesses.  Maybe they didn't get rich, but they stayed in business. The bank was a busy place-----people were going broke, borrowing money, mortgaging their farms, and living on what they raised. Everyone in town, as well as on the farms had gardens, chickens, a milk cow and pigs to fatten and kill for meat.

Once the banker changed the combination on the safe, for some reason, then forgot it himself. Do you think that stopped business?  No!   The banker, the Justice of Peace and the town constable (yes, we had law enforcement) drove to the Huntsville prison, "borrowed" an inmate who had been convicted of "safe cracking".  They brought him home with them, he "cracked" the safe for them and they safely escorted him back to his "home away from home" and banking was carried on as usual. (Yes, this actually happened in Gustine, not in Mayberry, and the local lawmen were not Andy and Barney).

Farmers were struggling to keep body and soul of the family together. One important step that was taken stands out in my memory showing the ingenuity and intellect of some grain farmers. It became hard to find grain threshers to come in and thresh the grain. So 10 men who had a good grain crop, but little money, formed a co-op. They each invested $100 apiece (that was hard to come by), went to Ft. Worth and bought a grain thresher for $1000. They formally organized their co-op, with a president, vice president, secretary and treasurer. And they made by-laws. And called it merely "The Company Thresher". Each man had his personal job to do, and they went from field to field harvesting the crops.  Meals were served for this group of 20 or more men in the home of the place of work. The women helped each other prepare the meals.  Usually they were through with one farm in a day, unless there was a breakdown. 

Once my mother "hosted" the thresher crew at lunch for three days, but they never left the table hungry.  The company thresher was a success and stayed in business for years.

I guess it WAS "the worst of times"---especially in the cities, but in the rural areas, like Gustine, it must have been better. There was little or no money, but people wore old clothes that were handed down from the older siblings, cousins, or friends. There were no garage sales, things not being used or needed were given away to someone who needed them----never sold. However there was a 'false pride' that I do not believe we have today; no one ever admitted the fact that clothes had been worn by someone else. I know that in some places people actually went hungry.  Maybe we didn't have a banquet every day, in our area, but there were beans, potatoes, cornbread, milk, butter and eggs.  It may have been LEAN times, but there were still some FAT people around even then!