The Seminole Sentinel (Seminole, Tex.), Vol. 49, No. 11, Ed. 1 Thursday, February 9, 1956 Page: 1 of 12
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VOLUME 49
TWELVE PAGES IN TWO SECTIONS
SEMINOLE, GAINES COUNTY, TEXAS
PRICE 10c
THURSDAY, FEB. 9, 1J56
NUMBER II
One of Local History's Greatest Snowfalls Covers Seminole And Area
SNOW, SNOW AND SNOW—Snow covered just about every-
thing- in Seminole last weed during the record snow storm. Tills
picture is typical of the sights along the city streets. Many cars
had to be pulled or pushed away from curbs due to the slick
footing.
Seminole turned into a winter
paradise last week during the
heaviest snowfall in local history.
The snow, which began falling
Wednesday night and continued
until Sunday morning, measured
approximately 10 inches.
Freezing temperatures and a
steady fall of snow flakes for
about 84 consecutive hours failed
to dishearten area residents who
looked upon the storm as both a
novelty and a temporary curb to
the pressing drouth.
Oldtimers scratched their heads
in an attempt to remember when
this area ever experienced a
worse snow storm. Concensus of
the group was that last week's
snow was the heaviest in the
county's history.
The snow resulted in approxi-
mately one inch of moisture to
parched farm land in this sec-
tion. It was the first moisture of
consequence since the first week
of October. Only moisture re-
ceived here between last October
and last week was .16 of an inch
realized from the season's last
snow last November.
Because of the wind and snow
drift, it was difficult to arrive at
an approximate depth of the
snow. Len Dugan, local weather
recorder, said his equipment was
not capable of measuring the
snow. He estimated the fall at
"8 to 10 inches." Other estimates
ran a good bit higher. Hobbs re-
ported 15 inches and many per-
sons here believed the snow at
Seminole was just as deep as it
was at the New Mexico city.
While record snow falls were
reported at numerous South
Plains cities north of here, Semi-
nole was actually in the south
end of the storm. At Andrews,
the fall was light and at Odessa
and Midland, it was even lighter.
But to the north, all kinds of
records were set. Plainview and
still as highways were coated
with ice and snow, Seminole nev-
er threatened to become a para-
lized city as many in the area
did. No great damage resulted
from the storm, most here agree-
ing that the moisture received
far out - weighed the damage.
City streets were coated with
ice and dozens of motorists were
temporarily stranded or stalled.
The area in front of the ppst
office and adjoining buildings
was the scene of many incidents
involving spinning wheels and
still cars Friday.
Two basketball games schedul-
ed here last weekend were can-
celled. The contest with Crane
Friday night was forfeited by the
Cranes who did not believe it
wise to make the bus trip to
Seminole. The Seminole - Sea-
graves homecoming tilt schedul
Hereford reported more than 30 I ed here for Saturday night was
inches, heaviest snow fall in j cancelled because of the ice-coat-
Texas history. | ed roads. School here remained
Although traffic in and out of in session, although buses ran
Seminole was at a virtual stand- j shortly after noon on Friday.
Many neighboring schools were^
closed for at least one day. T
Only three accidents were re-
ported in the area and none re-
sulted in injuries. Two cars were
badly damaged, however.
The youngsters had the time
of thtfir lives playing in the snow.
For many native youngsters, it
was their first snow of any size.
Parents probably set some sort
of record in snow man construc-
tion since there were hundreds
appearing in various yards dur-
ing the weekend.
Cub Scout Banquet
Set for February 23
The annual Blue and Gold ban-
quet of the Cub Scouts of Semi-
nole will be held in the Com-
munity Building on the evening
of Feb. 23, it has been announced
by Jim Vining, cub master. The
banquet is to begin at 7:30 p.m.
Special Bus to Basketball Game
In Alpine Leaves al 2:45 Friday
The Seminole Indlahs will have
plenty of moral support when
they take on the Alpine Bucks
in the Big Bend country Friday
night. Some 40 Indian fans are
expected to take a chartered bus
to Alpine to help cheer their
loyals to victory.
Seminole lions Club members
started a drive last week to con-
tact all persons interested in
riding the special bus. By Wed-
nesday morning, there had been
approximately 25 persons who
had requested seats. Members of
the committee in charge of mak-
ing arrangements, Walter Woods,
George Zoller and Sherril Davis,
expressed confidence that quite
a few others would join the
trcupe.
Assurance that the bus would
make the trip came this week
when four local men guaranteed
to pay for all unused seats on
the bus. This group included Al-
ton Freeman, Charlie Benson, A.
C. Ward and W. E. Cox.
Bus tickets are selling for $6.75
each for a round trip. The bus
will leave Seminole from the
local bus station at 2:45 p.m. Fri-
day and will return immediately
after the game. A lunch stop be-
tween here and Alpine is not
planned, so persons wishing to
eat during the trip should bring
their own lunches.
Mr. and Mrs. Harry Smith and
daughter Sharon were business
visitors in Lubbock Wednesday.
Annual Boy Scout Banquet
Scheduled Monday Night
Four scouts of Boy Scout Troop
105 will be presented with Life
Awards Monday evening when
the troop holds its annual ban-
quet and Court of Honor in the
school cafeteria.
Scouts to receive the Life
awards are Rodney Decker, Fred-
die Gothard and Ray Stanley.
These three youngsters will re-
ceive the highest awards ever
given by a Seminole troop, ac-
cording to Loyd Stiles, scoutmas-
ter. Stiles said he remembered
only one other instance when a
local boy got the Life award.
Seminole has a number of boys
who have received Life and high-
er awards, but part of their train-
ing was done elsewhere.
Presentation of the Life awards
will be made by Tommy Roberts,
Seoul Council Balks at Accepting
Check from Local Community Chest
The South Plains Scout Coun-
cil has balked at accepting the
Check for $1,113.60 from the
Seminole Community Chest .and
has raised a protest of the local
campaign.
Bill Postman of Lubbock, re-
presenting the council, made a
hurried visit to Seminole Wednes-
day morning and informed local
officials of the group's reaction.
Mrs. Bell Opens
New Dress Shop
Mrs. Inez Bell has announced
the opening of a new dress shop
at the same location where Mrs.
Irene Vanlandingham formerly
operated a similar business. Mrs.
Bell purchased part of the fix-
tures from Rudy Kahn last week
and is now open for business af-
ter a trip to Dallas and Fort
Worth where she purchased mer-
chandise.
At the present time, Mrs. Bell
said her stock of merchandise
was far short of the stock she
will carry in the future, but new
merchandise is arriving ddfily and
she cordially invites all her
friends and former customer's of
Irene's to visit her and inspect
the stock. She plans to carry
merchandise similar to that
handled by Irene and also plans
several new additions.
Mrs. Bell has been employed
at Irene's for the past four years
and is familiar with the needs of
■the women of Seminole and sur-
rounding areas.
Formal opening of the new
store will be held in the near
future.
Emmick Trial
Set for Monday
The trial of Walter Emmick
of Seagraves, charged with the
murder of George D. Rayel, will
be held in district court here be-
ginning Monday.
Emmick, 44, was indicted by a
Gaines County grand jury last
summer. Rayel, a 57 - year - old
farm laborer, died at the Sea-
graves Hospital shortly, after he
was shot at the Quinlan Tourist
Courts in Seagraves last August.
He was shot with a .22 caliber
single shot rifle.
Hie Seagraves man was ar-
rested at his home that evening
by local sheriff department of-
ficers. His bond was set at £>,000.
Under the Community Chest
budget set up here last October,
it was decided to ask $2,160 for
Boy Scouts, but directors voted
to keep $1,000 of this amount in
Seminole for local use, believing
there would be greater benefit
to local troops. It is on this point
the council has objected. Post-
man said the Boy Scout request
was based on the number of re-
gistered scouts in this area and
the council did not believe it
should accept les.s.
The possibility of such a situa-
tion arising had been expected.
Directors had discussed it on sev-
eral occasions, once during a
meeting which Postman attend-
ed. Since it has been discussed
frequently, it is felt directors will
turn a deaf ear on the council's
plea for an adjustment.
Postman listed several alter-
natives he felt the council would
take if the budget stands as it
is. One of these was that the
check might be accepted if the
council is allowed to come into
Seminole" and conduct its own
drive to raise the remainder of
the request. Local officials did
not feel this is likely since the
purpose of the Community Chest
is to consolidate as many drives
as possible.
Actually, the group had plan-
ned to collect $1,160 for the scout
council, but since the Community
Ohest "budget fell Short, all or-
ganizations were paid on a 96
per cent basis. Because of this
the local fund for scouts was re-
duced from $1,000 to $960.
SHS Homecoming
Is Re-Scheduled
Homecoming activities planned
by the school last Saturday were
postponed when snow forced can-
cellation of the Seminole - Sea-
graves basketball game. The
event has been re-scheduled for
the evening of Feb. 14 when the
Indians meet Kermit in the final
home basketball game of the sea-
son.
Barbara Green will reign as
homecoming queen and will be
escorted by Bill Burnett and Don-
nSe Wilson.
Attendants for the queen will
be Jeannie MoMurry, Lois Cle-
ment, Gerravee Mlze and Patsy
Clark. Escorting the attendants
will be Charles Benson, Harry
Walker, Rupert Comlbs, Bobby
Bingham, Edwin Young, Leland
Caffey and Charles Agullar.
president of the Seminole Lions j
Club. P. J. Stanley will present j
Star awards and Stiles will give !
first and second class awards, j
Merit badges are to be presented
by C. V. Shelton.
Charles Lawrence, Gaines!
County judge, will serve as mas- [
ter of ceremonies for the ban-1
quet. The Rev. H. D. Christian,
pastor of-the Frst Baptist Church,
will deliver the principal address.
I. T. Moore, a member of the
scout troop, will give the wel-
coming address and the Rev.
Horace Brooks, pastor of the
First Methodist Church, will give
the invocation.
R. R. Hendricks will sing, "On
My Honor", a Boy Scout song.
Mrs. A. J. Mabry, Billy Childers,
and I, T. Moore will play "On-
ward for God and My Country,"
a song titled after the theme of
the newly - adopted Boy Scout
four - year program. Cookie
Sneed will present two panto-
mime performances.
The banquet begins at 7:30
p.m. in the high school cafeteria
and the public is invited. Admis-
sion is $1 per plate which is to
be paid at the door on the night
of the banquet. Stiles said scouts
were not selling advance tickets
as they had done in the past.
Boy Scouts will not fill city
offices this year as they have
done during the past few years.
This practice was follewed dur-
ing Boy Scout Week, but Stiles
said it was decided not to do it
this year.
Students Collect
$387.70 for Polio
Money collected through vari-
ous activities and sections in
the Seminole schools for the
March of Dimes totals $387.70.
Most students in school have
had several opportunities to con-
tribute, and the programs and
activities have been too numer-
ous to mention all of them.
Many sections of the fourth,
fifth and sixth grades have sold
sweets from home or funny
books brought from home.'Two
sixth grade sections, Morris Fos-
ter's 6-5 and Tom Rogers' 6-1,
collected a display of World War
I weapons, pictures and souve-
nirs and admission was charged
for seeing the exhibit.
Miss Madge Watson's 5-1 sec-
tion carried trays for students
and teachers in the cafeteria at
two cents a tray.
The high school student coun-
cil sponsored a talent show on
Monday that netted $70.52. The
talent show included readings by
Wylene Tennill, Danna Martin,
Sherry Carson, John Crismon
and Glenda Stone. Instrumental
music was furnished by the
swing band, Shirley Grayson and
Jeannie McMurry. The junior
high sextet, girl's quartet, girl's
trio and the triple trio sang for
the show. Students giving pan-
tomimes included Cookie Sneed,
Roy McGehee, Leland Cnffey,
Pete Gist and John Penninger.
Hie primary building has one
of Che best contribution records
of the buildings. Its total at this
time is $154.74.
Three Accidents,
No Injuries Here
Over Weekend
While a number of neighbor-
ing cities and towns set sadly
impressive accident records dur-
ing the snowstorm last weekend,
Seminole and this area counted
only three automobile mishaps,
none of them resulting in in-
juries.
A car driven by Thomas A.
Nicholson of Odessa collided with
one driven by Benjamin D. San-
ders of Seminole about 4 p.m.
Saturday, 19 miles northwest of
here on the Lovington cutoff.
Patrolmen said the Nicholson oar
was traveling north and began
sliding when it hit a snow bank
on a curve. It swerved into the
path of Sander's car.
Neither driver was injiired al-
though damage to both cars was
great. Patrolmen said Nicholson's
1954 model car was damaged to
the extent of $800 while the San-
der's automobile, a 1950 model,
was damaged to the extent of
$450.
A car driven by an Arizona
woman Saturday night was side-
swiped as it headed toward Hobbs
on U.S. 180. When the driver of
the other car failed to stop, the
woman's husband took over the
wheel and took out after the
other car. He was unable to get
him to stop, but obtained his
license number and reported the
incident to patrolmen.
Shortly after a pickup alarm
was broadcast, officers arrested
an 18-year-old Seminole yoath.
The boy told officers he knew he
hit the other car, but he did not
know the other car stopped.
A third accident occurred on
the Lovington cutoff when an
unidentified man turned over his
pickup. The wreckage was clear-
ed by the time investigators ar-
rived.
Seminole Church
Plans Dedication
Formal dedication of the en-
larged building of the South
Seminole Baptist Church will be
conducted Sunday, it was an-
nounced (this week by the Rev.
Wayne Randolph, pastor.
A 36 by 30 - foot two - story
addition has been added to the
west side of the building. The
new addition houses six new
class rooms and two modern
nurseries. Nurseries have central
heating systems. They will be
open for all services.
In addition to the remodeling
done on the building, the church
is being air - conditioned thru-
out.
During the dedication services
Sunday, recognition will be given
to the largest family present.
The family having most mem-
bers in attendance will be pre-
sented a gift.
Visitors are welconie, Rsv. Rsn-
dolph said.
Undergoes Surgery
Mrs. B. F. Wallace underwent
surgery Tuesday this week at
the M. D. Anderson Hospital and
Tumor Institute in Houston.
Seminole Chamber Promoting
Housing Corporation for City
SeminoleCagers Journey
To Alpine Friday Evening
20 Rent Houses
Is First Goal
Facing virtual elimination from
the district race if they stumble
once more, the Seminole Indians
close out their regular season by
playing three games in the next
seven days.
Next opponent for the Indians
will be Alpine, in a game to be
played there Friday night. The
Bucks gave Seminole a terrific
scare in their first meeting here
Jan. 20 before the Indians pulled
it out of the fire in the last
quarter, 55-50. The fact that this
week's game will be played on the
Alpine court further indicates a
close struggle.
Alpine has had its ups and
downs this season, looking bril-
liant on occasions and only so-so
at other times. But Coach Metz
LaFollette and his Indian band
have learned through experience
that all teams are up for Semi-
nole. Since Seminole is the de-
fending state champion, opposing
coaches hiave had no trouble get-
ting their teams fired up for the
Indians.
Next Tuesday night, the In-
Water District
Hearing Is Held
Five counties were' represent-
ed Wednesday when the State
Board of Water Engineers held
the hearing on the proposed wa-
ter district for this area. Repre-
sentatives from Dawson, Terry,
Yoakum, Lynn and Gaines Coun-
ties attended the session which
was conducted in the Seminole
court house.
A resolution that the boundar-
ies for a district reservoir be
defined by the board after due
consideration of the testimony
which was presented at the meet-
ing was passed by the group at
the conclusion of the hearing.
This resolution does not mean
that a district wll be created. It
is up to the people of the dis-
trict to petition the state board
for such action. If the board
finds a water district feasible,
then an election will be held to
determine if the people actually
want the district.
4-H Girls to Meet ■
Monday Afternoon
All 4-H girls are urged to be
present at the regular chJb meet-
ing which is to be held in the
Community Building Monday im-
mediately after school.
A food demonstration will be
given by Charlene Potts, assist-
ant home demonstration agent.
Seizor members will elect offi-
cers after the demonstration has
been given.
dlans entertain Kermit here in
the final home game of the sea-
son. Seminole holds a 67-47 ver-
dict over the Yellow Jackets, but
Kermit always provides plenty of
opposition for the Indians. Tues-
day's game will be homecoming
here and the queen will be crown-
ed. Homecoming activities were
originally scheduled for last Sat-
urday night during the Seagrav-
es game, but that contest was
postponed because of snow.
The final game of the district
season will be played next Thurs-
day night when Seminole goes to
Monahans. The Lobos are now-
deadlocked with Crane for last
place in district 6-AA and have
had little luck in dealing with
district clubs. Their biggest suc-
cess has been at playing ball con-
trol games. Their lone victory,
for instance, was a 33-24 win over
Kermit. Among their brighter ac-
complishments are a 23-12 loss
to Pecos and a 34 - 33 loss to
Brownfield.
Seminole and Pecos are still
deadlocked for the district lead-
ership and it appears more and
more likely that the two lea-
gue titans will be forced to go
into a playoff to determine who
is better. ' The two teams have
split games with each other,
Seminole winning at Pecos, 49-45,
and Pecos winning at Seminole,
64-59. These are the only confer-
ence losses by either team.
Since the district champion
must be determined by Feb. 18,
and the district race does not end
until Feb. 16, the two teams will
have very little time to get their
playoff game arranged should
one be necessary. LaFollette said
the playoff would not be consid-
ered until the season is complet-
ed. He said officials of the two
Shooting Scrap
Brings Charges
Fred E. Belt was charged with
assault with intent to commit
murder in justice court last
Thursday as a result of a shoot-
ing at a local drive in cafe on
the previous night.
Belt is accused of firing a shot
at Alvin Brown after the two
men had had an argument. The
shot, from a 32 automatic, enter-
ed the left hand of Brown and
then went through the upper part
of his right arm. His injuries
were not serious.
Officers said the argument be-
gan after Brown had driven up
to the cafe with Belt's wife. Mrs.
Belt was still in the car when
the shooting occurred.
Belt was released after post-
ing a $1,000 bond.
schoofs would p ;bably get to-
gether next Thursday night or
Friday morning if the race ended
in a tie. For that reason he feels
that the playoff contest, if neces-
sary, will be played Saturday,
the final day for deciding district
champions under interscholastic
League rules.
Actually, a two-or three-game
playoff series is not out of the
question. The participating
schools have the option of play-
ing a single game or a best two
of three series. But because of
the short length of time for get-
ting the playoff out of the way,
it is virtually certain that both
schoojs will favor the single
game.
Site of the playoff will also
be settled by the schools. In all
probability, a playoff would be
played on a neutral court, al-
though both schools will have
the option of playing it on the
home floor of one of the partici-
pants. In most cases, schools pre-
fer to play on neutral courts
rather than run the risk of los-
ing a coin flip and playing on
the home floor of their opponent.
Former Seminole
Roughneck Hurt
A soj'rtiuu to dicSiriXeal rent
housing situation in Seminole
is the No. 1 project adopted by
the chamber of commerce for
the new year of 1956 and the
liklihood that a locally - owned
$100,000 housing corporation
would be formed puts teeth in
the group's aims.
Manager H. C. Kyle said Wed-
nesday that the chamber's pro-
ject of getting local persons in-
terested in investing money in
the housing corporation had been
met with eagerness by many. He
expressed great satisfaction in
this reaction.
Because of the interest shown
already, it appears very likely
that the $100,000 can be raised
without great difficulty. Al-
though all plans would have to
come from the eventual stock-
holders, Kyle said it was tenta-
tively planned to have 20 two-
bedroom rent houses. An option
on 209 lots in Austin Acres has
already been taken, he said.
Under the tentative plans, a
revolving fund would be set up.
Profits would be used to build
more houses, rather than as divi-
dends. Estimates as to how much
the housing shortage has re-
tarded Seminole's growth run
high.
Although new homes are being
built in record numbers and the
future looks bright, chamber of
commerce members have long
felt that adequate rent houses
would be a tremendous asset to
the city. So many of the people
who move to Seminole are here
only temporarily and are not in-
terested in buying homes. Some
persons connected with the local
Henry Harrison, 39 - year - old
roughneck, who had recently
moved from Seminole to Odessa
was seriously injured last Thurs-
day afternoon in an oil well fire
five miles southeast of Midkiff.
Two other persons, W. B. How- j oil industry drive more than 40
ard and G. E. Hackney, both of
Odessa, were killed.
Harrison suffered second and
third degree burns about his
arms, face and legs. He is a pa-
tient in Medical Center Hospital
in Odessa where his condition is
reported as "fair."
All three men were working
for Buck Drilling Company of
Midland on a well being complet-
ed on the Upton County Elkins
Ranch for B. L. McFarland Drill-
ing Company of Midland.
An official of the firm said the
fire followed an explosion at the
well. The well was being readied
for completion and the crew was
drilling out a cement plug. The
official said Harrison was clear
of the blaze, but ran back to the
tool house on the platform of
the rig to get some money he had
left in some clothing.
Cause of the fire was not de-
termined, but witnesses theorized
that It may have been caused by
a formation of a gas pocket in
the well. The fire was extinguish-
ed In about an hour,
miles to work since they cannot
find housing here.
Another chief project of the
Chamber of Commerce for this
year is a recreation program. The
chamber has not revealed just
What it plans to do to improve
the local recreation situation, but
it is being studied thoroughly.
See CHAMBER, Page 4
C. OF C. BANQUET
TICKETS ON SALE
Tickets to the annual Seminole
Chamber of Commerce banquet
are now on sale and may be
purchased from any chamber di-
rector or from the local office.
Tickets are priced at $2.25 each.
The banquet is scheduled for
the nigh school cafeteria on Feb.
20, beginning at 7:30 p.m. The
National Orchestra Service of
Omaha, Nebraska, is providing
the entertainment. This is
same group which
here last year. This year's [
gram and personnel will
tlftiy —
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Faught, Wendell. The Seminole Sentinel (Seminole, Tex.), Vol. 49, No. 11, Ed. 1 Thursday, February 9, 1956, newspaper, February 9, 1956; Seminole, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth416164/m1/1/: accessed June 30, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Gaines County Library.