The Nocona News (Nocona, Tex.), Vol. 109, No. 47, Ed. 1 Thursday, May 8, 2014 Page: 7 of 10
This newspaper is part of the collection entitled: Montague County Area Newspaper Collection and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the Friends of the Nocona Public Library.
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Thursday, May 8, 2014, The Nocona News, Page 7
Visitors
Members of the Brazoria
County Cattlemns Associ-
ation stopped at the Tales
‘N’ Trails Museum Friday
ending their weeklong tour
of historic and agricultural
sites in North Texas. They
paused to give TNT Vice-
President NellAnn
McBroom some thank you
gifts.
MUSEU1
Nocona. Tsxe
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Marker dedication recoi nize§ Illinois Bend’s rich history
Continued from Page 5
Smith, resident of the earli-
est marked grave in the
cemetery. The family’s earli-
est known connections were
in Virginia, pre-American
Revolution, and associated
with the presidential Adams
family. They moved through
North Carolina, Tennessee,
Georgia, and apparently
weathered the Civil War in
East Texas, moving to he
“Bend” sometime after the
Civil War. They raised 5
foot tall cotton on the river
and likely had their own
horse powered cotton gin a
little east of the current
Community Center.
The formal program con-
tinued with a sentimental
flair as Larry Cook, Laurie
Martin, and Fran Alderman
shared “Pappy” O’Daniel’s
“Beautiful, Beautiful
Texas!”
Janis Sneed concluded
the program, turning atten-
tion to the official unveiling
of the marker, handled by
Billie Grigsby and Bob
Langford. Anticipation
focused to the drum roll of
Randy Dunbar as the
moment approached, then
concluded with the moving
strains of taps ringing across
the grounds one more time.
Lemonade and pretty blue-
bonnet decorated cupcakes
were offered to refresh all
who would enjoy.
White settlement began in
the area at about the time the
Civil War commenced. The
hardy pioneers braved major
hardships to see their com-
munity grow and prosper,
but not without struggle, and
not without loss. Rich soil
deposited by the Red River
provided farmers a setting to
grow near legendary,
bumper crops. The low lying
landscape also exposed resi-
dents to hazards like flood-
ing and washing by the
river’s untamed waters, and
did little to shelter those pio-
neers from raids by untamed
neighbors from Indian
Terriotory, just across those
waters. Some early victims
of those raids, Andersons
and Willetts, are said to have
been buried in nearby Saint
Jo.
Today the lovely burial
ground stretches up the front
and down the back of its
wildflower studded hill, with
the earliest marked grave
being that of Nancy Smith,
buried there in 1873. In all
likelihood, unmarked graves
preceeded hers on that hill.
In 1873 the Indian Wars
abatted, the Chisholm Trail
offered a new avenue to mar-
ket Texas cattle, and a log
school known as Valley
Branch stood by the
Cemetery. The settlement
was known variously as
Maxwell, Maxville or
Wardville until the Illinois
Bend Post Office was estab-
lished in 1877, branding the
identity of the settlement for
posterity. The adventure of
being Illinois Bend was well
under way, peaking in the
30’s.
As the community grew
and prospered the cemetery
required more space. Four
families are documented to
have donated parcels of land
to accommodate the loss of
dear friends and family. A
stroll through the grounds
today presents any area resi-
dent with familiar family
names, some long since
passed and others only
recently departed, sorely
missed. Illinois Bend lives
on in the memories and lives
of its sons and daughters and
exemplifies much of what
has been esteemed in the
pioneer spirit. Hardy pio-
neers produced hardy
descendents with strong
characters, valuable
resources for the future.
As Ray reminded his lis-
teners, “ History does not
repeat itself. Things change
and things can never be the
same exact way again, ft is
human nature that remains
constant. Things change,
people repeat themselves.”
Remember well.
To find the cemetery,
travel HWY 677 14.3 miles
north from Saint Jo to arrive
in Illinois Bend, then turn
left onto Illinois Bend Rd
and proceed .4 mile to the
entrance of Illinois Bend
Memorial Cemetery. The
site is well marked.
To Subscribe to The
News, Cali - 825-3201
Applicator tests May 241
WICHITA FALLS —
Testing for Texas
Department of Agriculture
(TDA) pesticide applicator
licenses will be held at the
Wichita County Extension
office on Wednesday, May
28. This testing will be for
all classes of TDA pesticide
applicator licenses: Private,
Commercial, and Non-
Commercial. Pre-registra-
tion is required. Call TDA at
(214) 631-0265 to pre-regis-
ter.
Commercial and Non-
Commercial Pesticide appli-
cator exams begin at 9 a.m.
Applicants for these licenses
must successfully complete
three exams - General, Laws
& Regulations, and subject
area.
There is no charge for
taking the General and Laws
& Regulations exams.
Subject area exams cost $24
each, and the fee must be
paid by check or money
order. Subject areas include:
Field Crop Pest Control,
Weed & Brush Control in
Pasture & Rangeland,
Ornamental & Turf Pest
Control, Right-of-Way Pest
Control, Aerial, Vector
(mosquito), and Aquatic
Plant & Animal Pest
Control.
A complete listing of sub-
ject area exams can be
obtained by calling the TDA
regional office at (214) 631 -
0265.
Study materials for
Commercial and Non-
Commercial applicator
exams can be purchased
through the Texas AgriLife
Extension website: www-
aes.tamu.edu.
Persons seeking to
acquire a Private Pesticide
Applicator’s license must
attend a Private Applicator
training prior to the test date.
The Wichita County
Extension office will hold a
Private Applicator training
on Wednesday, May 28,
beginning at 8 a.m. Testing
for the license will immedi-
ately follow.
Pre-registration is
required. Cost for the train-
ing and study materials is
$50. Contact the Wichita
County Extension office at
(940) 716-8610 to register or
for more information.
The Wichita County
Extension office is located
on the second floor of the
County Courthouse Annex at
600 Scott Street (comer of
6th and Scott streets) in
downtown Wichita Falls.
Persons seeking to
acquire a license for indoor
termite/pest control or any
other category covered by
the Structural Pest Control
Service must contact the
SPCS at (866) 918-4481. For
information go to the SPCS
website at
www.tda.state.tx.us/spcs.
Please note that exams for
Structural Pest Control
Service licenses are NOT
currently being offered in
Wichita Falls.
TRADE FAIR
9:00 -10:00 a.m., Mon. - Fri
www.kntxradio.com
940-872-2288
Cookins breakfast . . .
—Photo by Tracy Mesler
After three days of cooking breakfast and a bucket full of
donations, more than $10,000 was raised for the Luke
West fund to help defray out of pocket expenses as the
NHS grad, son of Dr. Rusty and Sabrina West, continues
battle with complications from Leukemia.
WANTED
GREAT EARNING RCTENTIAE
STATION OPERATOR
TO ROy WIED POOS
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1-888-868-884C
GeT Ftgfitl Winl
The Arrow
For all your food, fuel
and convenience needs
825-6965
109 E. US Hwy 82
K J
General Hospital
100 Park Dr 825-3235
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Mesler, Tracy & Mesler, Linda. The Nocona News (Nocona, Tex.), Vol. 109, No. 47, Ed. 1 Thursday, May 8, 2014, newspaper, May 8, 2014; Nocona, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth703843/m1/7/?q=%22~1~1%22~1: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Friends of the Nocona Public Library.