Evans, Jo Fred Burt 2009-12-03
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General Interview Information
Interviewee Name: Jo Fred Burt Evans
Additional Parties Recorded:
Date: December 03, 2009
Location: Lubbock, Texas
Interviewer: Andy Wilkinson
Length: 01:25:18
Abstract
Background, Born in 1928, Last Child, Two older sisters: 8 and 10 years, Were not expected to reach adulthood, Meningitis, Grandfather: Burt, Has a degree from Tulane, Towns would pay for members of the community to go to medical school, but then they were obligated to stay in that town, 1884 came to Kimbell County, Physicians Surgeon, Grandmother: Burt, Parents left Germany, Raised horses, Pharmacist, Junction, Texas, Had two children: Ernest Warren and John Fred, Fred is the family name, Great Grandfather was in the Civil War (The Clouds), He was captured, On his way back from being a prisoner of war he married his wife Rebecca, Red River Landing, Louisiana, Went to Austin, Built a house at Cloud Point in 1875, First native Pecan: The Oliver, Benowski, 1890 Office was built, Was sold so Evans’ father could go to medical school, He went to Fort Worth Medical school, Graduated in 1911, On selective service, Secret service, No worries about money, A lot of Germans settled the area, Flooding, 1887, 1935 was the first flood Evans remembers that changed the beauty of the land, 50 year flood, In 1979 flood was 4-5ft, Camp houses were built right on the water because there hadn’t been a flood in years, A frame house to rest while out fishing or picnicking, Some houses were washed out, Alfalfa fields, Family built another house above the flood lines, How Mother and Father met, Mother lived across from the Catholic Church, Grandparents were friends, Heard that her mother was born and her father wanted to go see the new baby, Father was 12 at the time, Father asked if he could marry the baby (The story that was told), Married January 8, 1922 Mother was 32 and Father was 44, Grandfather Oliver did in 1908 of the plague, Mother was the Oldest, stayed to take care of the family, Family came from money, Bought the “bogs”, Became the president of a bank, Survived the bank closing during the depression, Father owned a lot of land because he was forced to buy if no one else wanted the property, South Llano range 9 miles from town, Life on the River, Beautiful life, Willow tree for fishing, No flooding, Valley, Rock bluff, Pecan Trees, largest in the county, 1,000 years old, Owned both sides of the river, Learned how to swim, Mouth of Gray Hollow, House parties, Dances, Rapids, Gip Harden, Very wealthy, Owned property from Coke Stevenson, 4,000 acres, Spoiled his daughter, Train ran over him and killed him, Pecans were very valuable, A penny a pound, Thrashing stick, All the fences were washed out, Goats were more important than cattle. 5,000 goats, Sidewinders in the basement after the flood, Snakes and squirrels were swimming out, Was illegal to take a fish out of the water unless it had a hook, Not a lot of water in the river, They have two bull dozers, Stopped farming for awhile, Coyotes were eating the goats, Potter Gang, Five Texas Rangers, Grandfather was a surgeon, When people were shot Evans’ Grandfather was brought out, If he told anyone about what was going on, then he would have been killed, Never found the gang, Man was shot in the stomach and needed major surgery, Murder was legal during hunting season, Goats, Goat hair was very popular in furniture, Couldn’t keep the coyotes away, Couldn’t poison the coyotes, Deer population, Once the Screw traps were done away with, the population increased, Deer were not plentiful in the 20’s, December 1 a man killed a 40 point deer, Deer hunting
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