Holden, Frances M 1982-03-18

Frances M. Holden reviews her family life as a child in West Texas, married life in Lubbock, and with the Texas Tech Museum.

General Interview Information

Interviewee Name: Frances Mayhugh Holden

Additional Parties Recorded:

Date: March 18, 1982

Location: Lubbock, Texas

Interviewer: Jean M. Robinson

Length: 1 hour

Abstract

Tape 1, Side 1: Holden Frances Mayhugh, She is wife of William Curry Holden, They live at 3105 20th Street Lubbock, She spent early years around Plainview Texas, Her father was from Warrensburg Missouri, He and older brother were large farmers, They got several sections of land on Rainwater Draw, She was raised on the ranch, The older brother came first to Hale County area, Her father and mother were double cousins, Not as complicated as Reynold and Matthews families, Eleven sibs on one side 7 on the other, She is the oldest child, Father moved everything from Missouri in 2 box cars and bought cattle, Her mother was from Alabama and lived in Indian Territory, Mother was oldest of the Patterson family, 1889 to Nashville Tennessee, Grandfather at Vanderbilt University then to Alabama, Grandmother got tuberculosis so they moved west, Aunt Alpha and Uncle Lloyd, Story-telling, When she was age 2 and sister was just born they moved to the Rainwater place, One mile from the Running Water community- church and school there, They rode a shetland pony double to school, They drove 15 miles to Plainview, At age 7 the family moved to Louisiana business with Bradshaw Plantation, Baton Rouge area experiences then they moved to Mobile Alabama, Father worked at a Catholic university in Mobile, She had great teachers there, Introduced to Lou Wallace’s New Mexico work, She, sister and brother were only Protestants in the school, They moved back to Plainview and she started at the new Junior High, They learned from their trips and experiences, Her mother loved history her father an avid reader, After high school she attended Wayland Baptist College, English teacher was from Waco Texas ?Wilma, Glee club wore organdy dresses, She then attended Texas Tech University, Road from Plainview to Lubbock was dirt to Amarillo was better, She worked her way through Tech, Teacher was Mrs. James Goodman, She worked at Hemphill-Wells in the ready-to-wear on a balcony, She worked 6 days a week and walked to save the 5 cent bus fare, Lubbock cultural community, Her aunts after her mother married: Etna Emma Jean and Roxy/?Flossie, Aunt Alta married Uncle Lloyd, In 1913 the 3 sisters decided sister-in-law should have culture, Travel study club organized, Plan to go to Obergammen Passion Play in Germany, World War I started so trip cancelled, Junior travel study club she attended, Saturday afternoon opera programs on radio, Until age 15 she had not seen a mountain just sand hills at Muleshoe, West to New Mexico to mountain with friends and lady mentor, In 1934 her 1st archealogical trip on the Pan American Highway.

Tape 1, Side 2: Holden, Frances Mayhugh (again), The lady mentor died in 1937, Her husband encouraged her to get a Masters Degree, Thesis about business, her work in merchandising, Her husband’s memoirs project, In early days Plainview culture was greater than Lubbock, Aunt Emma never got over Lubbock getting Texas Tech, Lubbock Chamber of Commerce manager A. D. Davis, Primary reason Lubbock got Tech, Her husband asked her not just to marry but to be a partner in work, Early difficulties of the museum and building, Visit to American Association of Museums, Best background should be history and anthropology, Consultants and advisors role, Her writing and museum publications, She wrote a history of the museum, Miss Irwin and the Plains to Rails Project, Costume collection that Betty worked on, Ranching and Heritage Center development after her husband retired, [Much of rest of tape is at low volume], Dr. Murray discussions Holdens become co-chairman, D. Burns, The Albany old newspaper 1927 experience of indexing old papers, Sisters Ethel and Sally, Community boards she served on and Texas Arts Commission, Her articles about ranch women, Sally Matthews’ book, Her oldest daughter birth of her son, Mrs. Madgean’s visit, Strange name of Lambshead Ranch near Albany, The only way to learn to write is to write, Courses give you some tools.

Range Dates: 1890-1982

Bulk Dates: 1900-1970

Access Information

Original Recording Format:

Recording Format Notes:

Transcript:

---

Thank you for your interest in this oral history interview. Our oral history collection is available to patrons in the Southwest Collection's Reading Room, located on the campus of Texas Tech University. For reading room hours, visit our website. Please contact Reference Staff at least one week prior to your visit to ensure the oral history you are interested in will be available. Due to copyright issues, duplications of our oral histories can only be made for family members. If an oral history transcript has been made available online, the link will be provided on this page. More information on accessing our oral histories is located here. Preferred citation style can be found here.