The Albany News (Albany, Tex.), Vol. 123, No. 43, Ed. 1 Thursday, March 25, 1999 Page: 4 of 12
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Opinion Pa
The Albany News
1998
Thursday, March 25,1999
The Albany News
Since 1875
Oldest journalistic venture west of the Brazos
Editor / Publisher Donnie A. Lucas
Managing Editor
Melinda L. Lucas
Advertising/Business Manager Betty Viertel
Moran Correspondent
Audrey Brooks
Company Coming
The computer guys are coming!
It is an announcement that has been long
awaited by many local residents and one that
will hopefully have a long-lasting positive
effect on the future of Albany.
Officials, with InterPase Technical Ser-
vices officially announced plans td locate their
new internet-based computer company in
the former Welco building representing a
$2.1 million investment in Albany.
However, the "real boon for the local
economy will be the anticipated 150 jobs that
company will create over the next three years.
Several local business leaders have been
active in recruiting ITS to Albany and their
hard work has paid off.
Albany needed to have a couple of assets to
even hope to land this deal. Having the right
kind of building available and fiber optic
telephone lines were both important.
But irt the end the real deal clincher was
the people of Albany and the kind of life they
make for themselves.
We may not always recognize that we have
a quality of life in Albany that is so different
from most other small towns — but we do.
And that is exactly what companies like ITS
are searching for, a certain way of life for
their employees.
If we ever wonder why so much effort is put
into projects like the Fandangle, the Old Jail
Art Center, Watt Matthews Day, historic
preservation, the Aztec and many more ex-
amples, it is so the best of life can be offered
right here at home.
It is something that we do for ourselves
and our children first, but others are cer-
tainly welcome to share this way of life with
us.
We are glad that ITS recognizes what
Albany has to offer and is willing to invest in
our community. We expect that it will always
be a mutually beneficial alliance.
There are many people to thank for their
countless volunteer hours of hard work iron-
ing out details, showing visitors the sites,
hosting them in their homes, doing whatever
is necessary to provide ITS officials with all
the information needed to make a decision-
Some of the main players in attracting ITS
have been Jon Rex Jones, Randall Palmore,
Mike Parsons, Ed Tackett, John Huffman,
Harold Cox, Robert and Susan Montgomery
and Bobby Russell, just to name a few,
We appreciate your dedication in helping
secure a brighter future for Albanyl
We also welcome ITS to Albany: We are
glad you like us and we invite you to join us
in continuing to make Albany a great place to
call home.
THE ALBANY NEWS
(USPS 012400). is published weekly for $24 per year for
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Albarty, Texas 7643(10273
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AFFILIATIONS.
1999 MEMBER: Texas Press Association,
West Texas Press Association
ipondefmgs by Pat
By Pat Lidia Jones
I suffered all winter, wanting it to
be winter. Boiled down, I guess that
means snow — enough snow to watch
it fall all day and all night and stack
up on lawns and in trees.
I wanted kids outdoors in warm
clothes, making snow men and snow
women, making snow forts, having
snowball fights, and making snow
angel imprints. I wanted it deep
enough to have lots of clean snow to
use for snow ice cream.
I love to watch it and to smell the
cold, clean air.
When spring break came, half of
my family headed for the hills to ski).
I rarely allow myself envy, but I en-
vied them going up to Snow Country.
They were kind enough to invite me
along, but I have altitude illness, and
I can't stay in the Colorado Moun-
tains, as much as I love the state and
its year-round natural beauty.
My partner had to be gone for a
week: Dallas, Houston, and Washing-
ton, DC. He invited me to join him if
I'd like.
Then it came to me; I was going to
Santa Fe, New Mexico. It was such a
sudden impulse that I jammed a few
clothes in a bag, grabbed a sack of
oranges and graham crackers, my
pillow and blanket, and a book bag
and needlework, and I was off — solo.
My little Jeep was all serviced and
ready. I had maps, iced bottled water,
and a phone in the front with me.
. I spent the night in Clovis, New
Mexico, for no particular reason ex-
cept that we usually do, when we get
a late start.
Fresh as a daisy, the next morning,
I was on the last leg to Santa Fe. I
arrived at the La Fonda, and my suite
was ready.
I'm no snob, and I don't stay in
hotel suites everywhere I go, but I do
in Santa Fe. Years ago, I wanted a
house in Santa Fe, a second home-
type place. When I began to try to sell
my partner on the virtues of a house,
it was the first time he'd realized I
was serious. It was the first time I'd.
realized that the last thing he wanted
was 9 second house in another state.
He rarely says just a flat-out, "NO"
to me except about my herd of buffalo.
He discusses, until he wins. During
one of these months-long discussions,
he said, "For less than a house would
cost and the ongoing upkeep, you could
stay in the best hotel suite in Santa
Fe every time you came."
My response was quick. "OK, I'm
going to take you up on that."
Since I love the funky old La Fonda,
the financial damage has not been
heavy, but he's still surprised when I
call home and tell him I'm enjoying a
big living room, dining room, kitchen,
fireplace, etc. We both won that war.
Alone this time, I occupied a one-
bedroom suite, including three walls
of windows, a fireplace, and lots of
space. I unpacked my few belongings,
and went downstairs for lunch.
Since I would be there four days, I
didn't go into my panic shopping gear.
Santa Fe is about 7,000 feet in eleva-
tion, so I got a book and a blanket, and
had a nap.
The evening news told me that a
cold front was coming through, and
there would be rain mixed with snow
during the night, ending the next
morning except in the higher eleva-
tions.
The next morning, there were about
two inches of snow everywhere, and I
was thrilled. It had quit snowing, and
soon the sun came out, and all the
snow melted. It was about like our
scanty brief Albany snows.
I bundled up and got out to look
around a bit. It was pretty cold, and
after a couple of hours, I went back to
the hotel, had a cup of hot chocolate,
and took my package to my room.
I decided to read a bit, and while I
did, the sky darkened and snow be-
gan to fall. This time, there was no
kidding around; it was a true snow-
storm. I was in hog's heaven. I opened
all the blinds and curtains, so I could
see and enjoy.
Soon,I could not see the old church
across the street, the snowfall was so
heavy. There was no wind, so snow
stacked up on every pine needle, ev-
ery tree limb, every table and chair on
the balcony, everywhere.
history :as it lingers
♦ ♦♦
When I went to bed late that nighty
the snow was still falling, about ten
inches mounded on every surface. Thq
temperature set at 27°.
I got the winter I'd wanted.
Later I learned that Albany had
gotten a rain that day. That good
news outdid the snow.
Late the last night, my partner
came many hundreds of miles to join
me and drive home with me. He flew
from Washington, DC to Dallas, to
Albuquerque, and then rode a shuttle
to the La Fonda.
I was so glad to see him.
The next morning, we left Santa Fe
and started the eight-hour trek home,
arriving just in time to gri to the Al-
bany Chamber of Commerce banquet.
It is the only banquet in the world
that I thoroughly enjoy.
This time it was at the lovely
Whitney that Betsy and Mike Par-
sons have so beautifully and lovingly
restored to far surpass its former glory.
I wouldn't have wanted to miss a
dream team like Martha Stewart and
John Wayne.
Congratulations to all who worked
to make the evening a success. Con-
gratulations to all the winners of
much-deserved awards, especially to
our dear friend, Dr. Luther S. Key,
who was awarded the coveted Cor-
nerstone Award.
A week of winter, rains, and win-
ners!
By Emalyn (Sam) Gillispie
In this day of antibiotics and all the
fancy medicines, most people do not
realize that in theblden days medi-
cine did not come in a bottle or from
«i the pharmacy. It came from the plants
and trees around us.
Our ancestors lived many miles
from the nearest doctor and had to try
to heal their own. Some of the rem-
edies they used are the root of our
medicines today.
I thought it would be fun to list a
few of the things that were used in
pioneer times.
At one time it was thought that a
bunch of spiders carried around a
person's neck would heal them of
whooping qough.
Asthma was thought to be helped
by a person swallowing a ball of spi-
der webs.
It was recommended that three
drops of blood from the left ear of a cat
taken in a wineglass full of spring
water would cure the measles. Ugh!
If a wound would not stop bleedi ng,
it was suggested that you take a small
amount of gunpowder, put it in the
wound and light it with a fire stick.
Indians would burn a badly in-
fected place and heal, the burn.
For wasp and bee stings, bluing
was thought to be a good medication.
A chew of tobacco placed on the sting
was supposed to take the sting out.
Another treatment for wasp and
bee stings was to eat chocolate and
drink sugar loaded drinks to ease the
pain /
Did you know it is said that in the
old days you could use a fresh sage
leaf to clean your teeth?
People with chest colds would rub
their chests with goose grease, wild
onions or garlic oil. I bet they did not
have much company when they did
this.
Sunburn could be treated with
slices of tomatoes or a cucumber.
A black eye could be treated with a
piece of steak,They laid it on the eye;
they didn't eat it.
A stye on the eye was treated a
couple of ways. The stye would go
away if someone gave you a straight
pen and you wore it every day until
the stye disappeared Another treat-
ment was to drink a teaspoon of
ground nutmeg in a glass of milk.
I found several remedies for a sore
throat — l6mon and honey, lemon
and salt, and coal oil and sugar. All
were sworn to be great pain relievets.
Of course, we all have heard of the
snake bite remedy — rotgut whiskey.
In days gone by, they did use whiSr
key for a wound cleanser. It seems
logical; it is alcohol.
, When a woman fainted, it was
thought that a burned feather waved
Under her nose would revive her.
Goose grease with rose leaves
mixed in it made a good hand cream.
If you had a leg ulcer, it was thought
that if you put a cow pat to the af-
fected area, it would heal faster.
I am so glad that I don't live in the
time of the cow pat. 1
. 1__ , -V
By Joan Halford Farmer
Men who grew up between 1865 and
1880 lived their lives in a tirn^of tremen-
dous change. The bloody Civil War had
come to an end. Adventurous men oil
horseback with their families piled into
wagons, pulled up stakes and began to
move west
Indians were a threat to all who dared
to enter their domain. This did not dis-
courage them— they came alone on horse-
back or with wagon trains
One such man began his trip by train
and ended it in a six-horse hitch stage to
arrive in Shackelford County. He came
first to Fort Griffin and then to Albany.,
Shackelford County would be his home
for the rest of his life. His name was Louis
Hamilton Hill
The son of Samuel A. Hill and Jean
Ballantine Coke was born on October 3,
1859 in Alabama. Ho lived on a plantation
for the first 11 years of his life and at-
tended a private family school. He re-
membered Yankee soldiers camping in
the-front yard of the Hill home and raid-
ing the smoke house for all the choice
meat they wanted
After the War, as did many other south-
ern families, the Hills came to Texas. The
family settled in Bellville.
At age 20, Louis deeded to see the
West. His only possessions were u pony,
saddle, bridle, blanket, u pair of saddle
bags and $25 in money. He rode horse-
back from BellviUe to Austin. There he
met George Littlefield and signed up as a
trail hand to move a herd of cattle from
South Texas to the northern market
The trail outfit consisted of a big mess
wagon drawn by four big mules, about 15
men and about 100 horses. When he ar-
rived in camp, Louis was considered a
"greenhorn," but being the only one who
could read or write, he put in his first
Sunday writing letters for cowhands to
parents and sweethearts.
The trail passed through Indian Terri-,
tory. One night after bedding the cattle
down, the drov-
ers were select-
ing their night
horses , when
about 50 well-
mounted and
well-armed In-
dian warriors
rode up and sur-
rounded the en-
tire outfit. The
Indians de-
manded all the
heat horses 'Hie
situation looked
dangerous, but
by killing a beef — —~
for them and feeding them a good meal,
the cowboys persuaded the Indiana to
leave the camp
On this trail drive, the herd bedded
down near Fort Griffin and the drovers
went into town to purchase supplies. There
Hill metB.F. York, owner of th<B B.F. York
and Company stores. After three months
on the trail, Hill had seen enough hard-
ships. York had offered him a job in his
store at Fort Griffin and he accepted
When Hill arrived in Fort Griffin, there
were nine saloons, three dance halls, and
a variety theater, all going day and night.
The population was about 2,000. The
townsmen consisted of buffalo hunters
and cowboys. There were several hun-
dred Tonkawa and Lipan Indians camped
along the Clear Fork Kiver.
lii 1882 the Texas Central Kailroad
was built from Waco to Albany and the
next year Hill began a job as clerk for E R
Manning, who op-
erated a general
stofe in the new
town.
Thatsameyear
Hill entered into a
partnership with
L.W. Campbell,
an attorney and
R.E. Watts, who
was an old ex-sol-
dier who was dis-
charged at Fort
Griffin. The trio
formed the firm of
Watts, Campbell
— :—- and Hill, conduct-
ing real estate, insurance and livestock
business. Later Watts left the business
and the firm changed to Campbell and
Hill. These men laid out the town of
Haskell and owned an interest in the
town.
' In 1886 Campbell and Hill and the
firm of Webb and Webb (composed of Sam
Webb and his father, Gerieral W.G Webb)
were consolidated under the firm name of
Webb, Campbell and Hill, The firm
changed again in 1888 to Webb and Hill.
This partnership purchased the Goethe
HILL HOUSE BUILT IN 1886
round and about
and Finch ranches on the Clear Fprk
River and laid off the town of Lueders,
opening up the rock quarry and helping to
get the right of way for the Texas Central
Railroad to extend from Albany to Stam-
ford. ,
On March 10, 1886 Louis Hamilton
Hill was married to Sallie Vpris. Three
children were born to this union, Mabel
Jean, born December 18, 1886 and died
September 9,1887; Ruby Voris, born July
2, 1888 (married J. Carter King, Sr.); and
William Louis Hill, born July 29, 1892
(married Alice Latham)
On January 4,1899 Hill married Car-
rie A. Crigler. She died January 20,1901.
Hill's last marriage was to Elizabeth
Ewing. They were married November 18,
1903 and made their home where he had
lived since 1886
Hill became a Mason in 1886 at fort
Griffin, took the York Rite degree in Al-
bany, consisting of Post Master, Chapter,
Royal Arch and Commander degrees. He
took the Scottish Rite and Shrine degree
in Dallas in 1907, being a 32 degree Ma-
son.
He once said, "I never hald an office
except that of Notary Public, and never _
sat on a jury, either petit, grand or United
States. I have never scratched a Demo-
cratic ticket in my life, have never owned
but one home, and that is where I now
live, and purchased same and moved there
in 1886, about which time I also pur-
chased the suite of furniture still used by
me in my bedroom."
By Emalyn (Sam) Gillispie
The two W M U Circles of the First
Baptist Church had a joint meeting on
March 9. They had a speaker from Abilene,
a hometown girl raised in the First Bap-
tist Church of Albany . Her nanie is Gayla
Vardeman COrley. She met her husband,
' Charles, at Hardin-Simmons. Then they
were called as medical missionaries and
served for many years in Mozambique,
Africa. The morning circle named their
W.M.U. circle the Gayla Cofley Circle.
Another special guest, Debbie Woodfin,
came and played the piano for them
Bettie Townsend is back in town. She
has been gone for several days visiting.
Her sister from Lubbock came home with
her.
We have several sick folks in Albany.
Some have the flu, some pneumonia.
Harvey Buckner is still in the hospital as
I write this, Billie Rodriguez is in very
poor health. Your prayers are needed for
these people.
I am happy to tell you that Patsy Beaty
is up and around. Saw her in town last
week and she looked good
Tricia and I went.to Browriwood last
Thursday and visited with Edwin and
Ann Newcomb. They are doing nicely and
it is good to see Ann Up and on her feet.
It was raining when we left and it
rained all the way.-Edwin said they had
received about four in*!; j of rain since
midnight It rained on us iaost of the way-
home. Just the other side of Moran, it had
come a gully washer. Water was in the bar
ditches and fields were flooded. The creeks
were running real good. When we got
home, someone said we probably received
about four inches of rain all together.
I saw some bluebonnets blooming. Can
you believe that? I keep forgetting thaf we
have seen the last day of winter — hard to
believe with the mild winter behind us
A lot of people are on the move. We
have had a lot of travelers stopping in and
visiting our downtown stores.
On Monday morning I was downtown
and met a nice couple from Sayre, Okla-
homa. They had been to San Antonio and
were just traveling the back roads. They
were taking advantage of our shops and
we hope Mike and Bunny Neff come-again.
I saw Ann McGaha downtown theother
day. She is here for a few weeks. Her.
brother-in-law, James Harris, is not in
good, health, so she may have to return
home sooner thanshe plans. We hope she
gets to stay awhile.
The Chamber of Commerce held its
banquet" last Saturday night and from all
accounts, it was a great success. I did not
get to attend due to a health problem, But
I got a report of the goings on.
The guest speaker was Buckey
Methfessel. He is the new kid in town. He
is one of the owners of the computer com-
pany that is coming to Albany.
The Stasneys were there in force. Dick
and John were here for the weekend.
They had as their guest a Mr. Allen Sa-
vory. Savory is the founder of Holistic
Management. He is living in Albuquer-
que, New Mexico at this time, but he is
from Zimbabwe, Africa. Earlier in the
day, Savory held a seminar for the
Stasneys.
During the Chamber program, I hear
that John Wayne (Jim Hill) met Martha
• Stewart (Pam Davis) on the streets of
Albany and got to know each other.
Savory later made the statement, "Now
that was a very unique Chamber ban-'
quet. I loved it."
Bill Cauhle and crew did a superb job
on the food. Melanie McCarthy did a beau-
tiful job on the decorations. They say the
Whitney Theater was beautiful. Congratu-
lations go out to all who had a part in the
banquet. Good show, y'all
Catfish are biting in the Clear Fork
River. They are small, but that is encour-
aging. Larry Churchill had good luck put
at the City Lake. He caught a 52-poipid
catfish on his trotline I did not get to go
fishing this past weekend, but I intend to
spend this coming weekend fishing. SO 1*11
give you a crappie and bass report then.
This is Sam
And I will see you Round and About
i
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Lucas, Donnie A. The Albany News (Albany, Tex.), Vol. 123, No. 43, Ed. 1 Thursday, March 25, 1999, newspaper, March 25, 1999; Albany, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth413859/m1/4/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting The Old Jail Art Center.