Thomas Benjamin 1984-03-29

Thomas Benjamin Mason reviews agriculture development in West Texas.

General Interview Information

Interviewee Name: Thomas Benjamin

Additional Parties Recorded: None

Date: March 29, 1984

Location: Tahoka, Texas

Interviewer: Richard Mason

Length: 90 minutes

Abstract

Tape 1, Side 1: [Much of Tape 1 Side 1 is inaudible, with just a few key words noted.] Mason, Thomas Benjamin (referred by abstractor as ‘T. B. Mason’), He was gone 1926 to 1932, In 1929 or 1930, Papa (?L. R. Mason) traded for a Farm-all tractor, (inaudible), Mules shipped to Mississippi delta, Changed to tractors about 1935-40, His father traded for horses or mules, Horse traders camped in the area, Ranches had mustang hunts, Breaking horses and mules, Pasturing wild versus tame horses, Wagon shops and corral in town, He bought bull near Snyder, Big fine house, Mr. ?Porter worked for the fellow, They worked teams on credit, (inaudible), When ?Larry (?his father) first got married about 1915-16, Wagons and mules, Got a ¼ section where Gomez is, It didn’t suit them, Mason (?father) moved from McLennan County to Post, About 1917, T. B. Mason was just a baby then, (inaudible), Chillicothe and box cars, Misrouted to Waxahachie instead of Dallas, Chickens and turkeys in crates, They lived in Wilbarger County about 3 years, Some settlers from Jones County, They farmed around Post about 7 years, Started building houses, People came from Wilbarger County and Hardeman County, (inaudible), His father bought land in McLennan County near Waco, It did poorly, and traded for a house in Waco, (inaudible), Land on Wilbarger/Hardeman County line, Summer and fall of 1918, Poor crops, Roy and cotton, Wagon and teams, borrowing and credit, Water in Hardeman County, “Gyp” water near Medicine Mound, Dam site on Wandering Creek, Hauling ?peaches to Quanah in 1915-16, Stationary hay baler and alfalfa, Peddlers to Quanah and hotel, Watermelon the next year, (inaudible), Wheat pasture, (inaudible).

Tape 1, Side 2: Mason, Thomas Benjamin, In Post, a Harper kid we called “Stringbean”, Pa, Claude, Clarence and Stringbean talking about old mule “Bill”, Jack bred a mare and fell over dead, so died happy, Stingbean joined the army, went to war and didn’t return, How L. R. Mason got started in farming, He worked for Cecil Tolbert, Herded sheep at 9-10 years old in the 90’s, Moved off ranch back to town, Worked for J. A Tolbert, Sons of J. J. Tolbert, Worked for J. J. Tolbert and lived in China Springs, Freight wagon and mules to Valley Mills about 12 miles, Fuzzy seed to old Cottonseed oil mill at Valley Mills, Hulls and meal back to China Springs, He lived a mile north of China Springs, He (T. B. Mason) was born at the Foster place, Father lived at Erath, 2-3 miles below China Springs toward Waco, Difficult travel in rainy weather, Cotton varieties, Mebane cotton in the 1920’s, Lankart cotton, On the Plains, Half and Half had short fiber, Sold “hog round”, East of Waco, they ginned cotton and took the bales home, Hold until needed to sell, Cotton buyers in early 1920’s, Cotton yards certified weights, Public weigher was an elected official, Bale tags, Old buyer at Post, Marcus Edwards was buyer at Tahoka, Wanted $4-5 per bale, Farmers Coop Gin started about 1930 in Tahoka, Dispute so Tahoka Coop Gin built by the railroad tracks, Grassland Gin built in 1933 on east side of road, Producers Gin belonged to Thomas brothers, Old man Thomas in 1918 shipped gin from Shelby County, Their first year, they hauled cotton to Post to gin, Wagon going down the Caprock without brakes, Lock back wheels with a chain, Depression had some influence on co-op development, “Farm Bureau” type groups began in late 1920’s, Bureau gins were started, Cotton pool at Galveston, Old Bureau gins were sold, Meadow gin in 1934 was sold to farmers, Start of credit agencies, Federal Land Bank in 1917, Production Credit Association in 1933, $5 fee to join in 1933, He joined in 1946, Fathers place east of Tahoka, Loan from Charles Beard, banker of Kansas City, Sold about 1927 to partner, Partner defaulted about 1931, Federal Land Bank (again), $20 per acre on a ¼ section, He traded for his farm in 1938, Farm credit (again), Bank of Co-operatives, 100 billion a year nationally in loans, Government bonds, Farmers signed notes at gins, His $102 dividend at Meadow Gin reported by his wife, Growers Seed Association co-op at Lubbock, Poor management and $9 million liabilities, Bought by seed company from Denver for $5 million, Became Gro-Agri, L. R. Mason (again), His attitude towards co-ops, “If they would buy Jim Winder out”, Winder had a gin at? Ragtown and bought lots of farms, He is still alive, older than Mason, His wife and one daughter, T. B. Mason (again), He ginned, also Charles was on the board, UD Press, Module feeder, Federal Land Bank (again), Bank of Co-operatives (again), New state office at Austin, L. R. Mason (again), His use of credit, Small loans at bank in Post, They milked cow, sold cream, sold eggs for cash.

Tape 2, Side 1: Mason, T. B. (again), Groceries on credit, Eggs, milk, hogs and canning home gardens, Farmers moved off land to Wilson, C. A. ?Stone, wife Margaret works at bank, He and his boy each farm, Hog industry in 1940’s, His children were in school plus stock shows, He raised hogs for 4-H and FFA, Hog sales at Lubbock auction barn, He quit hog business and kept cattle, Farm is mostly cotton and “maize” (sorghum), Soil conservation practices, He saw decline from 1920’s to 1930’s, Started leveling with Lee in 1932, Contour lines, Lee farmed by himself, Building terraces in 1935-36, Old man Haley used the equipment, Point row problems and bigger tractors, Parallel terraces, Use of laser 5-6 years ago, ridges and leveling, Tailwater and run-off use, He has mostly dryfarm operation, Irrigation boom in 1950’s, Ditches and concrete pipe, Aluminum pipe, He got Papa’s place in 1957, Underground plastic pipe in 1960’s, “I have more pipes and pumps than I do water”, Place where Charles lived and the Ray place, He bought aluminum sprinkler pipe in San Angelo in 1953, Plastic pipe in 1960’s (again), Fuel for wells was butane, Northern Lynn County used natural gas, Parmer County where Sonny is, Feeder lines by farmers and problems with them, He bought Parmer County farm in 1959, Some neighbors went up there, Sonny wanted a place up there, Natural gas prices high now, Land costs were up to $700/acre, Loan interest up to 11%, his loans 5-7%, J. A. (?Mason) bought land 3 years ago, Interest of $60,000/year, Taking Chapter 11 (bankruptcy), Different farming up in Plainview area, Farming practices on sandy land, Cotton and maize rotation, Yields best on terraced land.

Tape 2, Side 2: Blank

Range Dates: 1915-1984

Bulk Dates: 1915-1984

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