Bott, Ted 1980-06-19
Ted Bott reminisces over his experiences living and working in the coal mining town of Thurber, Texas.
General Interview Information
Interviewee Name: Ted Bott
Additional Parties Recorded:
Date: June 19, 1980
Location: Ranger, Texas
Interviewer: Richard Mason
Length: 1 hour
Abstract
Tape 1:
Ted Bott,
b: October 14, 1917; Thurber, Texas,
W. K. Gordon,
Strength,
Personality,
Production strategies,
Relationship with miners,
Oil discovery technique,
Settlement of disputes,
Organized labor,
Affect on mining,
Strikes, 1920s,
Brick yard,
Jack Narsine,
Office fire,
Market hardware,
Thurber, Texas,
Self containment,
Dry goods,
Grocery store,
Opera house,
Checking accounts,
Office fire (again),
Pumping water from ice plant,
Support units from Straun, Texas,
Population, late 1920s,
Mines,
W. K. Gordon (again),
Affinity for business,
Contributions to Thurber, Texas,
Coal and oil deposits,
Ted Bott (again),
Employment,
Transportation department,
Truck driver,
Coal,
T. P. Oil Company,
Operations,
Changes dues to oil discovery,
Land leasing,
Area of holdings,
Land agents,
Office locations,
Drilling wells,
Drilling rigs,
Construction timber,
Equipment,
Crew,
Job specialization,
Self-sufficiency of Thurber Community,
Equipment production,
Drilling operations,
Photographs of early Thurber,
Descriptions,
Black community,
Grant town,
Strike (again),
Population,
Affects on Brick yard operations,
Brick yard operations in general,
Oversize brick,
Housing of employees,
Ranger, Texas,
Oil boom,
Population diversity,
Comparison to other boom towns,
McClosky well,
W. K. Gordon (again),
Impact on Ranger,
Thurber, Texas (again),
Fencing,
Description,
Beginning of mines,
Buying and leasing land,
Tony Campanero, Italian band member,
Dances,
Minorities,
Jobs,
Christmas supplies,
Churches,
Catholic church,
School,
Anecdote: Priest and Bott's BB gun,
Nuns,
Move to Mingus, Texas,
Klan activities in Thurber,
Klan activities in Comanche,
Anecdote: running a car under a house,
Town Characters,
Old man Kerr,
Citizen who dug his own grave, and made his own casket and monument,
Baseball teams,
Early roads,
Grading the road,
Lawrence Santee,
Union activities,
Radical views,
Political activism,
Negative affect on union,
Union attempts to control town,
National Guard intervention, 1921,
Wallace Warfield Simpson,
Visit to Thurber,
Friendship with plumbers,
Lawrence Welk,
Dances in Thurber, Texas,
3-piece band,
Train route,
Bands played for new suits,
Free music,
W. K. Gordon (again),
Influence in town,
Company repairing houses,
Use of donkeys in the mines,
Release of old donkeys and horses into the wild,
Anecdote: Drinking beer with black caretaker,
Ted Bott (again),
Musical ability,
Townspeople relate to one another,
Company picnics,
Ability to get along,
Lunch breaks,
Wages,
Trade days,
Description,
Donkey races,
Give-aways,
Groceries,
Dry goods,
Delegation of shopping duties,
Gordon Bain,
W. W. Johnson,
Children,
Photographs (again),
Funeral,
Company furnished plot,
Housing,
Shape,
Layout,
Construction techniques,
Quality of housing,
New York Hill housing,
Tennis Courts,
Old housing,
Effect of miners walk-out,
Deterioration company housing,
Marshton Street (again),
Condition of housing,
Brick row housing,
Plumber's house,
Moses Miller,
Book keeping,
Grocery operation
Range Dates: 1917- c. 1930
Bulk Dates: 1917- c. 1930
Access Information
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Recording Format Notes:
Transcript:
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