Barrier, Mrs Eppie 1958-07-31

Mrs. Barrier has lived on ranches in the vicinity of Lubbock, and her recollections of ranch life on the South Plains are invaluable, particularly from the point of view of a pioneer woman who was faced with tending to the innocuous chores of the household. Later the Edsalls moved into town so that their children might attend public schools.

General Interview Information

Interviewee Name: Mrs. Eppie Barrier

Additional Parties Recorded:

Date: July 31, 1958

Location: Lubbock, Texas

Interviewer: Jean A. Paul

Length: 2 hours

Abstract

Tape 1, Side 1: E. P. Earhart (Mrs. Barrier's maternal grandfather) travels to South Plains (15), Mr. Horace Van Edsell's diary mentioned (36), E. P. Earhart a friend of John Chisum. Tells of experiences on Chisholm Trail (48), Col. Earhart fights Indians in Jack County (62), Grandfather Earhart a charter member of Masonic Lodge in Lubbock (90), Mr. Earhart an organizer of Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Lubbock (115), Lubbock's attraction for settlement destined town for growth (143), Tech's part in Lubbock's growth (171), Everybody "lives off of everyone else in Lubbock" (181), Immigration of families as a unit into Lubbock (230), Horace Vann Edsell arrives on South Plains (259) first settles near Plains, Texas

Tape 1, Side 2: Lived in a dugout on South Plains and engaged in Shepherding (297), Mr. Edsell meets future wife as a result of a prairie fire (330), Hospitality offered travelers on Plains by people of south Plains (370), Beards on men a social mark of distinction--sign of manhood (408), Courtship on the plains (477), Well houses behind every plains home kept milk and cream cool (493), Barbed wire reaches the South Plains (533), Severe winters and stock feeding (575), Wildlife on South Plains rangelands (595), Hogs, Production, slaughter, preservation (632), Lamb and mutton consumption in plains households (681), Range fenced into pastures for controlled feeding (720)

Tape 2, Side 1: Horses and teams (748), Recollections of Dr. M. C. Overton, Lubbock physician (760), Fried chicken for breakfast, a ranch tradition (787), Travelling spice paddlers on South Plains (829), Loneliness of the Plains (10), Social get-togethers (57), Mrs. Barrier recalls her first ice cream cone (68), Son-of-a-gun a traditional barbecue delicacy (83), Precinct elections in Early Lubbock County held in Edsell house (121), Early school days in Lubbock County (145), Edsell family moves from ranch into town (163) to send children to school, Paved streets and streetlights in Lubbock (209), Problems of fuel surmounted by chips, corn, maize--all burned in stoves (228)

Tape 2, Side 2: Members of school board use carpentry skills to build desks for rural schools (263), "Whitehouse Cookbook" a standard item in south Plains homes (289), Weekend excursion by wagon to Silver Falls in Crosby County (304), Yellowhouses Canyon the scene of flash floods (320), Mrs. Barrier believes winters more severe in early days (343), Lubbock school children picnic by Edsell's pond (372), Cotton planted commercially as staple crop in 1920 (384) to become main crop, Automobiles in Lubbock (402), Preservation of meat in Lubbock (453) hang on windmill in the snow, Community hog-killing in the fall (470), "One hog for the preacher" (495), Preserving fruit from local orchards (515), Root cellars common in Lubbock (529), Friday set aside for "baking day" (570), Hired hands treated as "one of the family" (630)

Tape 3, Side 1: Bathtub on the Edsall Ranch (645), "Lots of snakes" on the South Plains in the early days (660), Loco weed and "locoed" animals (716), Attractions held out by South Plains to settlers--reasons for migration of E. P. Earhart's family to vicinity of Lubbock (6), E. P. Earhart's acquaintance with Chisholm Train traffic (28), Indian troubles encountered in crossing reservation lands on way to cattle markets in Kansas (40), Wire cutting "wars" on the South Plains (46), Markets for wool grown on the South Plains (80), Mustangs on the South Plains a nuisance (9)

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