Born 9 September 1900 the day the big storm hit Galveston Island. Somethought that she was a continuation of that storm, but only in theprotection of her family. Never met a person that she didn't befriendand never passed through a town without stopping and visiting herrelations.
Never Married
I will introduce myself as Jay Dee Freeman as the sixth child, and fourthson born to William Nixon Freeman and Ada Mae Aylor on Dec. 17, 1907. Iwas born in a farm house on the Fisher--Nolan County line near KilduganCreek, about four miles North of S'water.
I was born only named as Jay except my dad always called me JayDee. There was a neighbor farmer named Dee Whitworth, who could not getalong or be friendly with any person. He was the world's worsttightwad. His father owned the farm next to him. The father also wouldnot get along with the son. Their farms were joining but they would notshare the same fence. Father and son each built a fence just one footapart seperating the farms. The son Dee who owned a car walked 6 milesto work at the cotton oil mill, worked a 12 hour shift for $1.25 a day,about 10 cents an hour. His three sons also walked to school with fullbook satchels.
I don't know why my dad tacked the Dee to my name. When dad went tothe courthouse to apply for my birth certificate he filled in the name asJay Dee.
My first memory I had at age foour that brother Ode had foundseveral baby praire dogs puppies. In playing with them I pulled the skinoff their tails.
Mom tells this other. On wash day she would walk to the creek wherethere was water. She said that I either poured out or drank herkerosene that she used to start a fire.
At age four (about 1911) we moved to Indian Territory, Okla. Thoseyears were very lean years. At age six I entered school at Wapanucka,Okla. After a short stay we moved to Olney, Texas. I entered
the second grade and third grade. (Jay told me that the family moved fromOkla. to Olney, Tx. in a leased boxcar, they loaded kit and kittle in thecar and road it to Texas. The family hunting dog jumped from the trainin the switching yard in Ft. Worth and was nerer seen again) Sbout thistime oil was discovered in Young Co. The only dry well in the county wasdrilled on our place. We did reealize enough lease money to pay on afarm at Sweetwater, where we moved.
I entered East Ward School in Sweetwater for the grades 4th thru 7thexcept while in the 6th a boy named Fred Dixon set fire ti the school sohe could ring the triangle while all the kids maarched out. He
was expelled from school. I don't think he went to Reform School but hehad to stay at his father's side forever.
While the school was burned I went back to Olney. We still ownedthe farm and my brother Jerdon Rucker Freeman and wife Virginia Riley andchildren, boy Holland, girls Datha, Fairy, and Mary Ada were there.Holland and Mary Ada were later drowned while visting their grandmotherat Coleman, Tx.
Also later, 1924, wife Virginia died.
At this time I was in the 7th grade except we had to go to highschool. In my 8th grade the high school burned, at this time, whileschool was closed due to the fire, I rode the train to Wapanucka, Okla.
to visit grandpaw and G'ma Aylor. They lived in town had a small houseon one acre, had a large barn, garden and cellar. I don't know what theylived on as they had no visible income. They also raised a neice my age,a neice on my mother's side, her name Dama Lee Rose. Dama's mother, whowas my mothers sis died so Dama was raised by the Grandparents. Damalived a wasted life and died at middle age. There remains only oneneice, Gereldene Marchant, who lives in Okla.
I returned to SW and in meantime we went to Hi School ina large hotmetal bldg. near the Sweetwater ballpark. With the HIgh School buildingcompleted I returned and graduated in 1926. Dad was having a new homebuilt in '26. We had wrecked out the old house. Our family lived in thecow barn. Our new home a 4 room stucco was built for $2600, with aninside bathroom, with a kerosene hot water heater that did not work. Wealso had a Delco pawer plant for elec. It had 32 large glass wet cellbatteries being charged by a gas dynamo. With the engine running we hadgood lights but you couldn't hear anything, with batterie charged thelights would fall to dim. Electric ice boxes were not on the marketyet. Neither were electric radios.
In 1924/25 two boys from Fisher Co. lived with us to go school atSWS, they only had the 8th grade in Fisher Co. One of the boys was PaulCarlton. He now lives in ARk. and is 88 years old. I don't know wherewe all slept on the floor. Later Paul Carlton farmed in BusbyCommunity. He owned a good team of mules, and each year he would takethe mules to the bank at SW and Ed Bradferd would look at the mules andloan Paul $100, to live on for one year, it also had to feed his twogreyhound.
Our family had prospered through good and bad years. Since the farmwas so iffy due to weather and droughts we kept a small dairy forsupport. Mama also had her chickens, garden, and hogs. In 1918(drought) we made one bale of cotton. In 1919 we made 42 bales andcotton sold for 42 cents a pound. Single farmers had to pay income tax.Much later, 1932, cotton prices fell to 5 cents a pound.
As our family prospered we owned automobiles. In 1916 we had a newDart, built in Dart, Michigan.
We lived in Olney, one summer we went to see Harvey and Altha in N. M.They were homesteading 80 acres of land. Dad never learned to drive,only to herd. On our way to New Mexico we got to Cap Rock, mama made allus kids get out and walk about two miles up. Harvey and Altha in an oldadobe shack with a dirt floor. Trees were scarce and Altha had to foragefor cow dung for fire wood. They didn't survive the homestead, I guessfrom hunger. They returned to Roby by covered wagon. It was also winterand they nearly froze. Seems as if hard times, bad luck, and povertyplagued Harvey through life. They also lost a daughter Eunice while inN.M. Their 80 acres, 70 years later, was part of an oil field.
After a few years with the Dart auto, Oh my !! The early autos werea disaster. With it we moved to Sweetwater, dad traded it for a sorrymule. In 1918 we bought a new Oakland touring car. Our next car was a1925 Dodge. A good car with a Delco Remy starter. A silent starter, youturned the key and the motor will run. It road like a wagon. After theDodge we went to the Model T's. They only cost $450.
We'd buy with the good crops. We had one big family that picked cottonand they could buy a new car in three weeks. When I was a teenager inSweetwater I had several worn out Model T's given to me, or you couldfind one at a dump yard. I would chop off the bed with an ax, put a boxover the gas tank. The gas tank was in front of the steering wheel. Iwould jack up the back wheels and crank it until it started and takeoff. I would get a license plate off any car as they were not dated. Icould buy an old Model T for 5 or 10 dollars. Four boys upon graduationwent to Carlsbad Cav. in a $10 discard. On the way a wooden wheel fellapart but we had a spare wheel.
In 1928 when I lived in Los Angeles I had a Model T Sport Roadster,a 1926 but worn out. At fast speed it would start knocking as if allrods were gone. Let it rest 5 mins, I'd crank it and off I'd go. Ipulled that prank on people. One time I drove down to San Diego, Ipicked up two boys, I got up to high speed and it locked up. The boysjumped out and struck out down the highway. A few minutes later I passedthem by and they couldn't believe what they saw. Before I retd to TexasI sold that car to a boy at the bank where I worked. I didn't enen thinkto tell him about the high speed affair. Later he gave me ole Billy forselling him a car with burned out rods.
I finished HS at Sweetwater in 1926. I worked around Sweetwater fora couple of years. Attended TCU in 1927 lived in a boarding house withmy brother W. O. Freeman. Summer of 28 a SW boy and myself worked inHouston at Houston Power nnd Light. This boy Walter Scales, his brotherwas a Supt at H.P.&L. The brother gave Walter a job as elec helper at$30 a week. He also put me to work as a laborer at $18 a week, talkabout a screwing. When Sept came we quit and caught the West TexasNational Guard Train to Palacious for Summer Camp. Walter was a guardand I joined when we got there. We swam in the Gulf and the jelly fishate on us. We got camp pay of $14.
I was sad but in a later year Walter Scales continued with H.P.&L.and was electrocuted on the job. I never knew the details but it musthave been an utter disregard for the rules. Three Scales brothers werekilled while working for HP&L.
After Guard camp I returned to Sweetwater and about 12 Dec 1928another boy and myself took off for California. A Hi School chum of minehad lived in L.A. for a couple of years, he is known as Tex Robertsonowner of Camp Longhorn on Inks Lake near Burnett, Tx. The camp for richboys and girls has four semesters for a total of 3000 kids. Last summerPres. Bush's five Gr. Children were in camp.
Lets back up, back in Hi School this Tex was Doolie Robertson to us,he invited us to California. Any
way another ex Hi School chum who lived in Dallas and worked in Insurancewrote and sent me a copy of a contract to sign up as a rod man on asurvey team in South America for a meer $350 a month. $18 a week had beenmy peak.
O.K. now lets take off again for Calif., you notice I call all thesefriends of mine boy or boys. At this age that is what they were. Thisboy, my buddy, for the Cal. trek name was Sam Morrow. a big hulk, nicelooks. In Hi School we called him Fly because everthing he saw he wantedstuck to his hands.
O.K. lets start again on 12 Dec 1928, my Bro., Joe and my dog Pup,bade farwell to mon and dad, picked yp Fly in Sweetwater and drove toRoscoe where he bid us adiu. O Yes we were hitch hiken. Our first ridewas a meter reader for SW elec.. Between Roscoe and Colorado City hestopped a every house to read the meter. The meter reader made uspromise to buy money orders with our money, so in Colorado City, we eachbought $18 in M.O.'s. With no ID's we had a time cashing them back in.
Well our rides began to peter out about Midland, and it was gettinglate when a freight train slowed down for some reason. LOOK I am a rideto El Paso. Earlier in the day I looked down in the gravel and saw a FTWorth street car token. I kept that token and used it 10 years later inFT. Worth.
We hopper wuickly on that freight flat car and hid under stacks oflumber, hours later a friendly brakeman saw us. Get your butts fromunder that lumber, too dangerous. Go get in the cooler end of a yellowrefeer Car. Good Idea, we used that advice all the way. We got to ElPaso in the early morning and took off for Jaurez. It was so early inthe morning that each place we went to said first drink on house. We hadseveral before we got down to 5 cent beer. They had a peon drink for anickle called Sotol, amde from the Sotol plant. Now that was a widowmaker. Then it cost a penny to walk the bridge, one young man spent alland swam the river and got caught as a wet back. We were feeling highwhen we got back on the way to Las Cruses. We did hitch a ride, but oldSam decided he wanted to stop and get a store bought shave. After Samgot his store bought shave we had to resort to the rails and for somereason we landed in Lordsburg N.M., where we were accosted by a personwho in the conservation asked how we arrived. One of us mentioned therails. Then he introduced himself as a railroad agent. Then he gave usa choice, first was to buy a ticket out of his district. We didn't wantto know what the second choice was. It cost us $3.30 each to buy a ticketto Tuscon. Now we were riding first class, we shaved, shined, and bathedon the train until we reached Tuscon. We liked this ride so when we gotoff we sized up the outside of the train. I was small and would crawlunder the steps and wedge myself tight. Sam hopped up between the carswith little to grasp to. This way we rode to Phoenix. As the trainpulled into the station the train porter raised the steps floor. Afterhis surprise he proceeded to kick me off the train. I had to stay putuntil the train slowed but Sam leaped, one leg hit the ground, he flippedand fell on his belly and wore out the front of his good overcoat. Ileft the steps (with the porter still kicking) at a safe speed.
We hitched our last train from Phoenix to Yuma Ariz., when the trainarrived it was met by dozens of police officers. They pulled off andlined up about 100 including Sam and myself and were told to get out oftown. We met lots of characters from one train to another. We met twoboys from Brooklyn, both were dressed in expensive clothes but both werepretty dirty. Our paths crossed every few days. Sam and I missed atrain one day and we looked up and saw them standing on top of the trainholding a big German Shepard dog. We also met a Bozo we called Germany.He almost lived on tramp steamer ships. He offered to sell me hisSeaman's I. D. for $3.00. He was always crying as he had a chance tomarry a whore who had $1000. About one month later on a busy L. A.street, I was dressed in a new tweed suit and tie and ran face to facewith Germany. He had no earthly idea who I was when I spoke to him. Hesaid "Man you done hit the big time" He didn't even try to sell me his I.D.
Now back to the nite the police told us to gwet out of town. Samsaid lets find a nice hotel. We did and Sam went straight to the deskclerk. He told the clerk that he was a science professor from Tex.University, and that he and his driver (me) would like a clean room. Wellwe got free service, you wouldn't believe it. But the next day we werewalkin the highway out of town, well here driving up the road is no oneexcept the desk clerk on his way home. As he looked back he nearly losthis auto.
Sam and myself were now within strink distance of L.A. We hitchedrides on trailer trucks until we got close to the electric-interurbanwhich we rode into L.A. In the 1920 dozens of surburban trains cruisedhourly to many of the surburban towns. L.A. proper was infested withhundred of elec. street cars.
I want to back up a few hundred miles. The time when Sam and myselfcrossed into Calif. Within a few miles we saw our first orange orchard.The oranges were ripe. We climbed thru the fence, climbed a tree, ateour fill, filled our pocket, climbed thru the fence, looked back and sawthe warning sign posted by the Sheriff's Assoc. Had we been caught wewould have gotten a Singapore caneing.
Now back to the arriving in L.A. We looked up our friend DoolieRobertson. Doolie had a good job, I now had $5, we moved into a smallapartment. Doolie insisted that I spend my last $5 and join the YMCAThey had a free employment agency. Sure enough in a week I was sent toFarm and Marchants Bank for interview and was hired to go to work on12-26-1928. I didn't know but the Y hac sent another Freeman boy'sbrochure. He had good local references and I ahd none. All was goodexcept the other Freeman boy showed up. Well he was also put to work.Luckily I didn't get fired. Starting salary was $65 a month.
My job was to work in collection department. I would go to thesmall merchants and collect on their loans, like $20, $25, or $ 50, if wecollected $500 we had to call and ask for a bank guard. One of my firststops was at the L.A. Stock exchange. The bag contained $50,000. Icouldn't even count it. I sure did call for a guard. One of thecollectors I worked with was born in China. His father was American andhe lived with him. Came to America with a small box of his father'sremains. He knew several of the HoWood stars. One day we ran intocowboy star Jack Holt, one day Wallis Berry, Death Valley Scottie was inour bank at times. Mr Nash of Nash Autos was a customer, ran into WarnerBaxter on the street.
One day a drunk agitator wound up in our bank presidents office witha threat. Mr. Graves to protect himself threw a glass paperweight andkilled the rascal. Main street L.A. was lively in the 20's and 30's.There was all nationalities, jewelry auctions, burlesque shows, side walkdentist, and call girl barber shops. Part od my regular route was whereSanford and Son showed. We would collect small loans, I even had fivefunny boys on my route that I had to avoid.
After fbout 4 years all the Sweetwater boys had drifted back toTexas. The stock market crashed in 1929 (OCT) . I staid on until Oct of1931 when I was terminated. No jobs were available, I ran a newspaper ad"Young man will drive to Texas for transportation". My landlady culledmy calls. She said all the old women only wanted a young man. A youngguy did call and I told him I was going to Texas by hiway and rails. Hesaid lets go. We got rides as far Yuma, then we hit the rails. Wefinally got to El Paso. We could not resist Jaurez. First thing we raninto was two S'Water girls. One I had known very well, but she was nowliving with a German Eng. The other girl lived in El Paso Del NorteHotel. I expect she was a party girl. We caught a train that night,arrived next night in Sweetwater. I walked out to our farm house. Momwoke up. Is that you Jay, go to bed and we will see you in the A.M.
While in Calif. I had returned to S.W. in May 1931 for vacation. A50 hour non-stop bus trip on Greyhound. To sum up the Calif. spree. Ilest Sweetwater with $18 and returned with $42 and a suitcase ofHollywood clothes.
Now back in Sweetwater, what would I do. I had just left abeautiful garden of eden and wound up in a land dormant of all folliage.Mighty drab scene after leaving a land where all plant life was in fullfolliage year round. While I was in Calif and fully employed I had noidea there was a nationwide depression but when I ret'd to Sweetwaterthere was total unemploynment.
My family lived on a farm and dairy only 2 mi out of SWater. Imoved back after three years with mon dad and 17 yr. old Joe. We couldeke out a living with farm by milking cows, selling chicken eggs, killinghogs, and selling yearlings. You sure couldn't make it selling baledcotton at 5 cents a pound ( depression prices as compared with 80 cents apound at todays prices--1994)
Come Spring 1832 my dad agreed to pay me $5 a week as a field hand.This continue until Fall and I was promised a bale of cotton. Luckily mydad scouted a job for me at Sweetwater gin where cotton was ginned. Mypay was $1.75 a day. I ran the weigh in office as well as the cottonpress where the cotton was pressed and weighed. The days were long andthe pay was small. I did manage to save $60 by Xmas. I bought a Model ARoadster that was only one year old but was nearly worn out. My girlfriend and I also ran the wheels off of that fliver. We even took a spinto Mississippi the next Summer. Oh yes when dad drove up to the ginwhere I worked "This is your bale of cotton" I was working the presswhere the bale was pressed and tied. We had hundreds of cotton sampleslaying around the gin. I startd throwing the cotton samples into thepress with my cotton. An average bale of cotton weighed 500 pounds, mineweighed 525. 1500 lbs of picked cotton would gin out to a 5oo lb bale,900 lbs of seed and 100 lbs of crud.
Sll of this was in the fall of 1932. The times were bleak, farmerswere killing and burying their starving cattle. The gov't was paying 5cents a pound as subsity. The drought dried up the water. Pre.
Roosevelt declared wages minimum to be raised from 25 cents to 40 centsan hour and declared a 40 hr. work week. My bro. W.O. "Ode" wasemployment Mgt at ARmour Ft. Worth. Got a permanent job for me ArmourCity Sales. Start 40 hours for $16. Except the management would nothonor the 40 hr. week and we worked another 40 hr. for free. No onecomplained because there were hundred of people wanting our jobs.
I started this job in Sept. 1933 and the very next month, I drove toSweetwater and married the object of my affection. The girl that waswaiting for me was Lexie Penton. We spent 9 joyful years, had manyfriends, worked long hours, got very little appreciation for our work,but we managed to work around the situation.
One time the National Labor Relation Board intervened on our freeovertime and we received back pay to pay the amt. of six months work. Nowwe were considered the enemy. I distinctly remember how every year Iwould have to catch the mgr. completely alone when relaxed to ask for a$3 raise.
Lexie and myself had a son and daughter born while employed atArmour. Dec 7, 1941 came Pearl Harbour and with the impending War acertainty it was time for me to leave the packing house sweatshop forcleaner employment in the defense industry. In 1945 our third and lastchild was born. Year of 1972 I retired to civilian life. The next 22years I was a part timer at the FT. Worth Stock Show, retiring from therein 1994.
I am going to fix a date for my present age, this day beingHalloween Oct. 31, 1994. I am going to mention some men still livingthat are my age. Gene Autry, Jimmy Stewart, Cab Calloway, Melton Berl,Sid Ceasar. Here I am 18 days later finishing this para. and CabCalloway has died. Now let us see who will be next.
I believe it was Mar 1971 my (Altha) sisters husband Harvey Edwardsdied. Altha always wanted a cat but Harvey would never allow it. Wewere all riding baack from the funeral. Myself, Altha, my sister
Ethel included. Ethel you know could be the one to break the tension.Ethel said "Altha you can now get a cat"
I will sign off for now by saying that Lexie my wife and myself havehad a good life and a long and healthy life. Lexie did have a minor setback 0n May 30, 1994. She had a minor stroke (T.I.A.) Nothingphysical. The cat scan was clear and she is returning to normalcy withher memory and balance. We learned one thing that all adults should takeone aspirin daily for blood thinner.
Signing off this day
Nov. 20, 1994
Signed Jay D. Freeman
Typed copy of hand written letter without corrections.
From Obit.
Lexie Penton Freeman was born Dec. 26, 1909 in Enon, La. She was theyoungest of eight children.
When she was four, her family moved to Sweetwater, Tx. She and Jaymarried 14 Oct. 1933, in Sweetwater and soon after moved to Ft. Worth,Tx. Lexie possessed many creative talents and skills, all self taughtfrom very early age, In the 1950 she was a professional dressmaker forfashion shows with many department stores in Ft. Worth. Her creativetalents included so many areas of gardening, gourmet cook, seamstress,and homemaker with a flair for style and fashion. She enjoyed many yearsas a member of the North Ft. Worth Women's Club and was an active bridgeplayer for over twenty years. Jay and Lexie were faithful members ofNorth Ft. Worth Baptist Church for 65 years. In the early 1960's Lexiestarted a successful dog grooming business in River Oaks.
Jay and Lexie enjoyed so many wonderful trips with their son JayOran, to vacation spots around the world. During the Gulf War, Lexie wasinstrumental in organizing a letter writting cmpaign to servicemenabroad. She was featured in an article printed in the Ft. WorthStar-Telegram about her spirit of patriotism. Yellow ribbons throughouther neighborhood reflected her compassion for the servicemen. This veryendearing quality of compassion and love for others is what makes her aspecial loving lady.
God blessed our family dearly with the most wonderful caring wifeand loving mother and grandmother. We are forever grateful for havingher all these years. We will never forget the love she has shown us, herconstant support and encouragement throughout our lives.
Never Married
Never Married