The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 47, July 1943 - April, 1944 Page: 399
456 p. : ill., maps ; 24 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Texas Collection
much for the rest of us to bear, she would not let us quit, but set her
lips in a tighter line, through endless hours outworked us all, and spurred
us on with the cheering view: "It will surely rain in time."
Our individual troubles and tragedies were always her own. But she
shared them with no one else, and, having raised us to maturity, left
us alone to meet them as we should. As is usual with a strong and resolute
character, she suffered alone, and in silence. But not for long. By sheer
mental discipline, she worked her troubles out of her mind, and, with a
healthy sense of humor, viewed this mad world with tolerance and
perspective.
Her personal loyalties knew no bounds, for luke-warm interests and
half-way measures had no part in her active life. When she devoted
herself to a person, she did so with all the warmth and feeling an af-
fectionate nature could exercise; when she gave herself to a cause, she
did so with all the ardent energy and keen wit of which she was capable.
In a world of shifting principles and uncertain ideals, she stood as steady
and true as the poles.
Until the last, age never imposed its limitations upon her active body,
her inquisitive mind, and her dominant will. She handled her own affairs
without interference from any source; she drove to her own objective
independent of others' views; and she formed and spoke her own con-
victions with a reckless courage that marks the warrior's heart, apart.
She was proud in the proper estate of a real and noble lady, but no
false pride or lack of confidence ever kept her from placing her worn
but steady hand upon the job that had to be done. The terrible blizzard
of January, 1918, caught her alone in a twelve by fourteen, clap-board
cow-camp, thirty miles from town. She fed our miserable little herd
through that bitter blizzard, and even though she carried the weakest
calves into the house that night with her, one froze to death behind the
kitchen stove. Yet, never, in her entire life, did she know what a hardship
was. She always seemed to be blessed with perfect health, conceived a
wholesome joy from work, and maintained her rigid personal discipline
until the last. Unbothered by the sophisticated urban atmosphere that
was rising around her, she always attended to the family laundry at
an old-fashioned wash-pot, in the back-yard, even if the house were full
of maids, in what seems to have been a sort of a reverent ritual to the
dignity of hard work.
She was sociable and friendly by nature, and though tolerant toward
the frivolities of youth, her social activities never tended toward the
modern kind. She loved the life and the soil of Texas, and was public
spirited at heart. She maintained an aggressive interest in education, and
served as chairman of the local Red Cross for more than twenty years
when simple devotion to cause, rather than the high emotionalism of war,
impelled her to service. We always sympathize with the weak and take
the feelings of the strong as a matter of course. But shortly before her
death, her considerate associates in the Red Cross sent her flowers, and
some endearing sentiment, and for once, that we can recall, those strong
emotions that had always run so deep, gushed forth in a generous,
womanly flood.
It might seem unjust that one who had lived so well should have to die
so hard. But there is a tragic, poetic fitness in the fact that her dominant
example should hold for us until the last. We have balm for grief for
having lived in the bosom of the brave. With character and courage
she showed us how to live; with consummate courage she showed us how
to die.
She passed in what should be the restful hours of early morning, soon
after a gentle rain. Her steadfast faith in life was justified. No matter
how dry and dreary the prospect, for those of enduring faith, courage
and devotion there must be ample reward. For those who eternally
persevere, "it will surely rain in time."399
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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/m1/448/: accessed May 7, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.