Difference between revisions of "Givens, Mrs John 1973-02-01"

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(Abstract)
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==Abstract==
 
==Abstract==
  
'''Tape 1, Side 1:''' Goforth James,
+
'''Tape 1, Side 1:''' Father M. B. Sawyer came to Terry County in 1901,
Born in Fayetteville Arkansas April 10 1918,
+
Describes house he built,
Father and grandfather were farmers in Fayetteville AR,
+
Original ranch discussed,
Father became an auto mechanic,
+
Reviews life on the Sawyer ranch,
Move to Tularosa New Mexico – 1919,
+
First post office mentioned,
Father (again),
+
Recalls cowboys bringing candy,
Worked as an auto mechanic carpenter and farmer in New Mexico,
+
Entertainment in the early days explained,
Work as an auto mechanic included working on farm equipment,
+
Remembers Fourth of July celebrations,
Goforth James (again),
+
Relates father's activities as a Texas Ranger,
Grew up working on cars,
+
Picnics held at Silver Falls,
Maternal Grandfather,
+
Got caught once in a hailstorm,
Moved to Tularosa New Mexico from Georgetown, Texas,
+
Young people's entertainment in early days described,
Owned a store and a stage stop hotel,
+
Lists old buildings in Brownfield which have been torn down.
Goforth James (again),
 
Grew up in the town of Tularosa New Mexico,
 
Tularosa Basin,
 
Small agricultural production due to lack of space and water,
 
Mountains on one side, white sands on the other,
 
Water supply,
 
White Sands Area,
 
Very salty water,
 
Tularosa Basin (again),
 
Ranching area,
 
Father (again),
 
Started a ranch in 1898,
 
Ranched in Tularosa to ranch until 1908,
 
Moved to Arkansas,
 
Ranching,
 
Sheep goats and cattle,
 
Largest ranch owned by the Charlie Lee family,
 
Orchards,
 
Pecan and a few small fruit orchards,
 
Staulman (?) Farms,
 
Las Cruses New Mexico area,
 
Largest Pecan orchard,
 
Operating since World War II,
 
Chili pepper production,
 
Grown in Tularosa Basin in the Rio Grande Valley and in the Hatch New
 
Mexico area,
 
Types of peppers,
 
Orchards (again),
 
Locations and sized of local pecan orchards,
 
Holloman Air Force Base,
 
Established in 1940 as the Alamogordo Army Air Base,
 
Used during World War II for training,
 
Stealth fighters came in three or four years ago,
 
What it was like growing up near mountains,
 
A place to go hunting, fishing and on picnics,
 
Timber industry,
 
Local saw mill,
 
Hunting and fishing game,
 
Lincoln National Forest,
 
Hunting and fishing game (again),
 
Bears,
 
Wildlife currently in the area,
 
Coyote bobcats mountain lions,
 
Problems with mountain lions killing livestock,
 
Changes in wildlife,
 
More game now because of support from hunters,
 
Antelope on surrounding plains areas,
 
Coyotes becoming more aggressive,
 
Wildlife in the area (again),
 
Raccoons and their locations,
 
Skunks, jackrabbits, cotton tails,
 
Eagle problems during spring lamb season,
 
Changes in wildlife (again),
 
Last Lobo wolves were killed around the early 1920’s,
 
Ski Resorts,
 
White Mountain was the first ski area,
 
Mescalero Apache tribe bought it and renamed it Ski Apache,
 
Ski resorts started in the 1960’s,
 
Altitudes of the ski resorts,
 
Reactions of the local people to the ski resorts being built,
 
Story about childhood camping in an area before it became a ski resort,
 
Fishing on the reservation,
 
Changes in the Reservation,
 
Inn of the Mountain Gods Casino,
 
Out door recreational sports,
 
Farming,
 
Cattle Growers Association.
 
 
<br>
 
<br>
  
'''Tape 1, Side 2:''' Changes in the Reservation (again),
+
'''Tape 1, Side 2:''' Early Christmases recalled,
Horses and trail rides,
+
Town of Gomez described,
Transition in the 1930’s,
+
Discussion of life on the Sawyer Ranch,
U.S. Government’s plan to “civilize” the Apache,
+
Cowboys mentioned,
Efforts replace teepees with houses,
+
Description given of roundups,
Impact of military service on Native Americans’
+
Mother's duties and activities listed,
lifestyles,
+
Names children of M. B. Sawyer,
Service in World War II,
+
Tells of incident of bucking horse.
Working at First National Bank in Lubbock Texas when drafted,
 
Living in Lubbock Texas,
 
Moved to Lubbock Texas to attend Draws (?) business college,
 
Worked at the Walker Hotel while in school,
 
Married in 1941,
 
Lubbock was a good place to find work in the 1940’s,
 
Return to Tularosa New Mexico after World War II,
 
Work experiences,
 
1946 – 1981 worked in banking full-time,
 
Worked at the bank part-time after retirement in
 
1981,
 
Service in World War II (again),
 
Inducted into the army at Fort Sill OK then shipped to Miami
 
Beach FL,
 
August 1943 was shipped to England,
 
December 1945 returned home,
 
Point system to determine when soldiers were discharged,
 
Mail was censored,
 
“Scuttle-butt” as a source of information for the enlisted men,
 
Shipped to England on the Queen Elizabeth,
 
No convoy escort,
 
Round about route to England,
 
Returned to the U.S. on the Queen Mary,
 
Atomic bomb testing in New Mexico,
 
No local residents knew what was going on,
 
White Sands Missile Range,
 
First used as a bombing range,
 
Becoming a research and development site, then the missile
 
range,
 
German rocket scientists were working there,
 
Current German population in Alamogordo New Mexico,
 
Training for German fighter pilots at Holloman Air Force Base,
 
German population has become significant in only the last two
 
or three years,
 
Cable TV station with German programming,
 
Building a new German school,
 
German pilots are in the U.S. for 2 years training then they
 
return to Germany,
 
German POW camps in New Mexico during World War II,
 
White Sands Missile Range (again),
 
No serious mishaps,
 
Noise from the missile range,
 
Alameda Park Zoo,
 
Experience as a caddy at a “sand-greens” golf course,
 
Sand storms,
 
Very bad when the air force base was being built,
 
Bad during the 1930’s dust storms,
 
More vegetation now and a spray to control the dust,
 
Alameda Park Zoo (again),
 
Description of the park,
 
Working at the bank (again),
 
Bank was located near the zoo,
 
Lion’s roaring could be heard from the bank,
 
Alameda Park Zoo (again),
 
Mostly local animals now.
 
 
<br>
 
<br>
  
'''Range Dates:''' 1898-1981
+
'''Range Dates:''' 1900-1973
 
 
'''Bulk Dates:''' 1920-1981
 
  
 +
'''Bulk Dates:''' 1900-1940
  
 
==Access Information==
 
==Access Information==

Revision as of 20:09, 4 December 2014

Mrs. John Givens reminisces about her childhood life on a ranch at Brownfield, Terry County, Texas. She discusses ranching and related Terry County history.

General Interview Information

Interviewee Name: Mrs. John Givens

Additional Parties Recorded:

Date: February 1, 1973

Location: Brownfield, Texas

Interviewer: Katherine Hamilton

Length: 55 minutes


Abstract

Tape 1, Side 1: Father M. B. Sawyer came to Terry County in 1901, Describes house he built, Original ranch discussed, Reviews life on the Sawyer ranch, First post office mentioned, Recalls cowboys bringing candy, Entertainment in the early days explained, Remembers Fourth of July celebrations, Relates father's activities as a Texas Ranger, Picnics held at Silver Falls, Got caught once in a hailstorm, Young people's entertainment in early days described, Lists old buildings in Brownfield which have been torn down.

Tape 1, Side 2: Early Christmases recalled, Town of Gomez described, Discussion of life on the Sawyer Ranch, Cowboys mentioned, Description given of roundups, Mother's duties and activities listed, Names children of M. B. Sawyer, Tells of incident of bucking horse.

Range Dates: 1900-1973

Bulk Dates: 1900-1940

Access Information

Original Recording Format:

Recording Format Notes:

Transcript:



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