The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 47, July 1943 - April, 1944 Page: 398
456 p. : ill., maps ; 24 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Southwestern Historical Quarterly
fought through the Civil War-was trailing cattle out of Texas. About
this time her mother's family left the post-war troubles of Bentonville,
Arkansas, to locate upon what was then the outside edge of settled
Texas. There William Caperton Evetts met and married Alice Johnson
Puett, and there, as Fall gently laid its golden touch upon the sumac,
the first child, Julia, was born. In healthy regularity the others came,
and perhaps the necessity of helping to care for a large family, even
in childhood, strengthened those practical maternal qualities that en-
deared Mama to many in her later years.
She grew up in a characteristically simple Texas frontier home, where
nature, as well as a strong-willed father, imposed a rigorous discipline
that moulded character of a sturdy, enduring kind. The homely arts
of the cupboard and the kitchen, the smokehouse and the sewing room,
that made each Southern home independent of the outside world were
embodied in Grandma Evetts. Grandpa Evetts was a fighter who loved
the life of the open range. Horses and cattle periodically pulled him
away to adventure upon the Texas Trail, but deep devotion to his family
perpetually drew him back to the noble live oaks that hovered over his
growing brood with a kindly, protective shade. Thus, they lived, and
in a frugal way, prospered, wanting nothing they could not honestly
make and have, but always ready to battle anyone who trespassed upon
their rights and premises.
Sometimes we think Mama must have caught up the character of them
both. That dynamic nature that drove her tirelessly through the years
was founded in her breeding and nurtured by her soil. The deft skill
that made her kitchen famous rested upon a traditional family art; that
zestful love of life that always kept her interested and eager came down
from many adventurous Evettses before her; that practical nature which
stabilized her life in a business world largely reserved for men was surely
cultivated by her early years; and that faultless courage with which she
challenged fate, always honestly speaking her forthright convictions
with a healthy love of battle, was inherent in her blood.
Yet, her Spartan character was mellowed by a genuine feminine nature
that yearned for something the frontier could not give. While Grandma
Evetts' work was never done, she suffered no sense of hardship or frustra-
tion, and as each night's share of quilting and sewing was being done,
she recited poetry to her children, sometimes Scott's "Lady of the Lake,"
complete, from memory. We can never know what intense ambitions
may have hovered over the cotton cards and quilting frames. Mama
always seemed to be thirsting for more of that heritage of cultivated and
civilized people that is known as culture.
After some measure of education at Salado College and the Sam
Houston Normal, at Huntsville, she taught school for awhile. Then,
December 28, 1891, she married John Alva Haley, and with a constancy
and a courage that seem reserved for woman alone, set herself to her
life's task- the making of a home. When uncertain and troublous future
faced them, she was eager to adventure westward, and after several
exploratory moves they finally reached Midland nearly forty years ago.
The story since then is known to many here. Her tremendous energy
drove her at some useful task night and day. Frugal and simple living
was her daily routine; hard work and self-denial her happy choice in
life. When, time and again, financial misfortune crowded at our door,
and physical and spiritual drouth threatened to sear our very souls, her
buoyant and optimistic spirit never faltered; her courage and energy
never flagged; her determination and will to win never failed. By out-
standing example alone-for she was not one unduly to lecture her children
-she pointed the way to the good life as a doer of deeds. At times
she helped to feed and clothe us by riding horseback to teach a country
school, even, as later, she did her part in chopping bear-grass to feed
the starving cattle upon our little ranch. And when the load seemed too398
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 47, July 1943 - April, 1944, periodical, 1944; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth146054/m1/447/: accessed April 23, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.