Texas News Briefs Highlight Local Deaths and Distances
Mrs. Mary Abigail Browder died in her farm home near Dallas where she was born, living 78 years in the same house. A mad squirrel injured E B Downing of Roswell helping to hospitalize him. Levi Ward and wife have five grandsons in the U S Army, inducted November 28 1940. Postman B H Moss retired after 20 years walking 90000 miles delivering 175 tons of mail. A section of U S Highway 80 between Tyler and Jacksonville sunk eight feet from heavy rains. Texas 1940 property valuations total 4213395457 with 254 counties showing a net rise of 59926182.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Mary Abigail Browder
Dallas
Tyler
Jacksonville
Rhodes Brothers Reunite After 42 Years in Clarendon
Dusty and Bert Rhodes, Texas cattlemen, were strangers for 42 years before a chance meeting in Clarendon brought the brothers back together. The reunion highlights a family story of separation and lasting kinship.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Dusty
Bert Rhodes
Clarendon
Scalped by Wind Charger Fatal Wind Accident
Mrs. W. C. Herndon aged 46 was badly scalped when struck on the head by the blade of a windcharger she was attempting to stop at her home in the Grayback community of Wilbarger County.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
W. C. Herndon
Grayback
Wilbarger County
Crooked land deal surfaced from El Paso records
County records reveal a 1921 land promotion case in El Paso where a man bought eight city lots from a promoter. The plots lay on Mount Franklin, a rugged, inaccessible mass three miles north of El Paso.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
el Paso County
Mount Franklin
FE Paso
House crashes into car in Houston: odd reversal shocks responders
A Clarksville Times report describes a Houston incident where a house, jacked up and on rollers, slipped from a pulling truck and rammed a parked automobile. Police and emergency crews responded to the unusual crash scene.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Clarksville
Houston
Beware Where You Play Bridge in Texas
Texas bridge and whist players who play in places other than their own homes or homes of friends are not criminals in general but an Attorney General investigation found that playing cards anywhere but a private residence occupied by a family is unlawful.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Attorney General's Department
Wrong Number Call Triggers Jailer Conversation
In Dallas a caller questioned M. J. Patterson, the city jailer, about two piece and one piece silk underwear. The exchange prompted Patterson to identify his role at the jail before the caller abruptly hung up.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Dallas Journal
M. J. Patterson
Dallas
Patterson
Texas economy to gain from defense contracts and wider spending
Texas business circles expect further gains in coming months driven by increases in income from agriculture minerals and non agricultural payrolls. Federal defense program expenditures are rising in Texas and will spread beyond immediate localities, boosting statewide economic activity.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Texas Business Review
Texas
Evidence of remote human habitation in Texas carved artwork
Dr. E H Sellards of the University of Texas told the American Geological Society in Austin that carved stone images from a gravel pit in East Texas indicate humans lived in Texas about 100 000 years ago. He called the discovery the oldest sculpture in the Western Hemisphere. He asserted the images were hand carved in the pleistocene age about 100 000 years ago.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Texas
E. H. Sellards
University of Texas
American Geological Society
Austin
Sellards
Hemisphere
Sellars
Mystery Lake of Caddo Texas Emerges From Indian Legend
The Caddo Lake in East Texas is described as the state's largest natural lake, about 20 miles long and 16 miles wide, with over 400 oil derricks and pipelines beneath its surface. Most of the lake sits in Marion County with parts in Harrison County and Caddo Parish, Louisiana. Local Indians reportedly claimed the lake formed overnight in 1812 during a volcanic eruption, with many associated deaths.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
McKinney Examiner
Caddo Lake
Texas
Marion County
Harrison County
Caddo Parish
Book Returned after 40 Years Overdue at UT Library
A book issued November 29 1900 for two weeks was returned to the University of Texas Library in Austin after forty years. The long overdue item reappears in a quiet archival moment highlighting library lending records.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
University of Texas Library
Austin
Middle name tale leads to quick release in Dallas
Dallas officers stop a girl for routine questioning and record her name as Thelma Moss. When asked for a middle name she lists Thelma Helen Lois Mary Frances Moss, and she is released.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Dallas
Thelma Moss
Thelma Helen Lois Mary Frances Moss
Medal Delayed Reward for Local WWI Gallantry
John H. Roberta acting constable of Precinct No. 5 in San Antonio received a hero medal for gallantry in action in the Champagne sector during July 1918. He said the award surprised him and that there was a lot going on at the time.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
San Antonio
John H. ‘Bob’ Roberta
Champagne
France
Roberts
Woman Cuts Off Hand Near San Antonio
A 24 year old mother of three near San Antonio severed her hand at the wrist with an ax. She gave only the remark I had to do it as neighbors provided emergency aid that saved her life.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
San Antonio
Albino Opossum Display Shocks Hamilton Residents
Elder Schrank recently exhibited a rare albino opossum caught on a road near his home in town. Scientists note such solid white opossums occur only about once in several thousand births, making the sight notable for local readers.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Hamilton News
Schrank
Salary of average Texas worker revealed
The average worker in a Texas business establishment puts in 49.51 hours weekly and earns a salary of 18.67 dollars, based on statistics compiled by the State Bureau of Labor Statistics.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Texas
State Bureau of Labor Statistics
Woman Bronco Buster Becomes Flight Instructor
Lucyle Richards once a star bronco rider and trick rider has quit bronco busting to become the Southwest’s only woman CAA flight instructor. She will teach flying at Lon Morris College in Jacksonville Texas after attending a CAA school in Fort Worth to prepare for her first class of 10 students.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Lucyle Richards
Southwest
CAA
Miss Richards
Houston
Texas
Lon Morris College
Jacksonville
Fort Worth
Stolen Raphael Madonna from UT Cal State Mines Museum
A Raphael painting titled Madonna and Child, part of the S. H. Kress collection, was stolen from the University of Texas College of Mines Museum in El Paso. Officials report the work is insured and missing.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Raphael
S. H. Kress
University of Texas College of Mines
el Paso
Zoo Monkeys Threatened by Flu at Dallas Zoo
Walton Carlton, Dallas zoo superintendent, says 150 monkeys may catch cold and flu like humans. He notes similarities between diseases and that local physicians help save monkey lives. pneumonia cases have been treated successfully.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Walton Carlton
Dallas
Zoo
Clean hands and nails urged for Texas guardsmen
San Antonio dispatch reports Maj. Gen. Claude V. Birkhead of the Thirty-Sixth Division orders all officers to inspect soldiers’ hands before meals. He warns that death and disease follow imperfect sanitation and that anything less than perfect hygiene is a failure.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
San Antonio
Thirty-Sixth
Texas National Guard
Claude V. Birkhead
Wills Point Man Pays Doctor in Pennies
Mack Goode of Van Zandt County paid his doctor bill in pennies. He handed Dr H T Fry a fruit jar containing 16 pounds of pennies for delivery of a baby weighing 8 pounds.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Mack Goode
Wills Point
van Zandt County
H. T. Fry
Pioneer Texas Educator Mary Wrye Dies at 102
Mrs. Mary Wrye age 102 pioneer Texas educator died at her home near Mopetie Wheeler county after teaching school until age 75. Her long career and devotion to schooling marked a notable chapter in local education history.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
San Angelo
Mary Wrye
Texas
Mobeetie
Wheeler County
Mollie O Daniel Presents Scroll to Mexican President
Miss Mollie O Daniel daughter of Texas Governor presented Foreign Minister Ezequiel Padilla a scroll from her father extending good wishes to Mexico's new President Manuel Avila Camacho.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Mollie O’daniel
Texas
Ezequiel Padilla
Mexico
Manuel Avila Camacho
Texas Tech Hires M West as Board Chairman
Texas Tech head M West, a Houston millionaire, was named chairman of the board of directors for the Texas Technological College in Lubbock. Tech, with 3 500 students and 175 faculty members, ranks behind only the University of Texas and Texas A M College in size.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
M. West
Houston
Texas Technological College
Lubbock
Tech
University of Texas
Texas A. & M. College
Texas Ranks Sixth in Big Game Population
A U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service report places Texas sixth among states in big game numbers. The survey lists a total of 301 822 big game animals in Texas excluding antelope, with 238 565 white tailed deer and 17 555 mule or black tailed deer.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Texas
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Lone Star
Texas cities top list of air service in Braniff map
Texas has the nation’s largest number of cities served by regular air transport with 16 direct Braniff routes, leading Florida with 18 and California with 11. Braniff, American, Delta, Pan American, TWA and Eastern Air Lines serve Texas.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Texas
Braniff Airways
Florida
California
Braniff
American
Delta
Pan-American
Eastern Air Lines
Longview man jailed for hot check, grocer says
A Longview man was jailed on a hot check charge filed by grocer H. J. Shadwick. The grocer says the man gave a $9.60 grocery check and claimed he had funds, later telling deputies he had money in the bank and to notify him when it ran out.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Longview News
Longview
H. J. Shadwick
Shadwick
Will Hayes
Traffic Safety Urges Texans to Slow Down
Homer Garrison Jr. of the State Department of Public Safety calls speeders the traffic enemy number one and urges every driver to reduce speeds to stop the wanton slaughter on Texas roads. Col. Garrison emphasizes the need for safer driving on public highways.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Homer Garrison, Jr
State Department of Public Safety
Col. Garrison
Hotel Resident Seeks Return Of Left Behind Teeth
Dallas hotel manager received a letter from a St. Louis resident asking that his false teeth, left in a hotel room, be forwarded to him at once.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Dallas
St. Louis
Thief Steals Shrouds From Walker’s Car
A Fort Worth burglar stole a large number of one piece shrouds from the automobile of R. M. Walker a salesman for a casket company. He faces death perhaps wearing a shroud himself if pursued by justice.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Fort Worth
R. M. Walker
Largest trees noted in Southwest Texas study
A Southwest Texas survey lists the largest tree in the region as an ancient cypress near Cypress Mill in Burnet County with a 29 foot circumference. The largest live oak by circumference is on Lamar Peninsula at 27 feet, while the Hauschild oak near Victoria in Victoria County is described as the most nearly perfect tree, measuring 21 34 feet in circumference, 70 feet high, and a 124 foot branch spread.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Nordheim
Texas
Cypress Mill
Burnet County
Lamar Peninsula
Victoria
Victoria County
When Cells Begin to Wear Out
Dr. E W Bertner of Houston argues health research should extend healthy years, not just life span. He notes cells begin to wear out around age 45, with 70 year olds having spent 20 years growing 25 maturing and 25 degenerating.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
E. W. Bertner
Houston
Houston Public Health Institute
Dr. Bertner
Suspension Toll Bridge Collapses into Red River
A $75,000 suspension toll bridge twelve miles north of Clarksville in Red River county pulled its cable anchor loose and dropped into the Red River. No one was aboard at the time of the collapse.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Clarksville
Red River County
Red River
Austin Charter Misapplied to Dallas Night Club Redesign
A charter issued in Austin to Bomb Shelter Co. Inc. was not a permit for manufacturing bomb proof shelters but authorizes a Dallas nightclub to redecorate its basement to resemble the interior of an air raid shelter.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Austin
Bomb Shelter Co., Inc
Dallas
Framed 1800 Chillicothe News on Washington Death
A framed print from Chillicothe features an 1800 newspaper item reporting the death of George Washington and recounting other contemporary incidents. Mrs. R. H. Stuckey of Chillicothe owns the framed piece.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Chillicothe
R. H. Stuckey
George Washington
Freakish Lightning Strikes Orange Home
Lightning struck the home of M. P. Jefferson in Orange tearing a roof hole and windows, piercing the front room and carving a large hole in the concrete sidewalk. The Jefferson family received only a severe shock with no injuries.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
M. P. Jefferson
Orange
Orange County
Texas Farm Cash Income Rises in 1940
Tex as cash income from agriculture in November totals 42 748 000 up from 33 650 000 in November 1939. For the first eleven months of 1940 aggregate farm cash income reaches 398 921 000, about six per cent higher than 377 083 000 in the same period last year.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Texas
Bureau of Business Research
Austin
Woman driver sets safety record for Houston school buses
Mrs. W. Pugh of 2112 McCarty Street Houston has driven a Houston public school bus for 17 years without an accident. She logs over 55 miles daily under a school board contract and has worn out three buses. No injuries have occurred to children on her routes, though they sometimes run in front of the bus after alighting.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
W. Pugh
McCarty Street
Houston
Home Building Up In Texas Says 1940 Data
The F. W. Dodge Corporation reports 6000 Texas families spent 32000000 dollars on new residences in 1940. Previous years show 5886 new homes in 1939, 5154 in 1938, and 3799 in 1937.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
F. W. Dodge Corporation
Texas
Purse Lost in Corpus Christi Sewer Recovered
A purse lost in the Corpus Christi sewer system for four days was recovered by workers and returned to Miss Jackie Bliss. It held a diamond brooch valued at 1500 dollars and 27 dollars in cash.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Corpus Christi
Jackie Bliss
Estimate of Whitewings Killed in Rio Grande Valley
State Game Warden Charles G. Jones of Weslaco Hidalgo County estimated that at least 1,000,000 whitewing doves were killed by about 4,000 hunters during the 44 day Ir season in the lower Rio Grande Valley counties.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Charles G. Jones
Weslaco
Hidalgo County
Rio Grande Valley
Barry's Cryes Save Family in Pampa Gas Leak
Six month old Henry Atchison son of L N Atchison merchant awakened at 3 a m crying and alerted a family of six to a furnace vent pipe outage that caused gas fumes to blow back into the house in Pampa Gray county saving his parents and others from asphyxiation
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Henry Atchison
L. N. Atchison
Pampa
Gray County
Flu Epidemic Feared In Texas Says Health Official
State health officer Dr. George W. Cox warns influenza may reach epidemic stage in Texas. He urges avoidance of crowds, maintaining fitness, keeping feet warm, and general cold prevention measures.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Texas
George W. Cox
Banks Loan Texas Firms 1940 First Half Report
Twenty one percent of Texas commercial banks extended more than 424,000 loans totaling 570 million dollars to firms and individuals statewide in the first six months of 1940, per the American Bankers Association annual survey of lending activity.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Texas
Sey
American Bankers Association
Perfect Sunday School Attendance Reported in Dallas Family
Mrs H R Peters of 2112 Bennett Street and her son Harry D Peters of 2130 North Carroll Avenue Dallas have completed sixteen years of perfect Sunday School attendance. Mrs Peters notes the effort is hard but maintaining the record provides strong incentive.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Dallas Times-Herald
H. R. Peters
Bennett Street
Harry D. Peters
North Carroll Avenue
Dallas
Texas Birth and Death Rates in 1939 Report
The Census Bureau shows Texas births at 121,049 and deaths at 60,218 in 1939. Texas birth rate was 19 per 1,000 population, above the national 17.3, with a slight drop from 19.2 in 1938. Death rate was 9.4 per 1,000, below the national 10.6 and under 1937’s 10.5.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Texas
Census Bureau
Dallas Aliens Registered by Country Totals 59 Nations
Five thousand eight hundred ninety nine aliens registered in Dallas representing 59 foreign countries. Mexico led with 2940 followed by Great Britain 500 Germany 355 Italy 353 Russia 275 Poland 133 Austria 100 Greece 90 Ireland 73 Czechoslovakia 70 Switzerland 47 and France 43. The data shows some of Dallas oldest residents had never sought citizenship.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Dallas
Mexico
Great Britain
Germany
Italy
Russia
Poland
Austria
Greece
Ireland
Czechoslovakia
Switzerland
France
Also Mentioned on This Page
BRIEF
Texas News
State
E. B. Downing
Roswell
N. M
Abilene
U. 8S Army
Levi Ward
Ellis County
Uncle Sam's Army
B. H. Moss
Tex
George Sheppard
Mac
Mollie Presents
Kathryn Adams
Temple
Texas Tech
Barry
America
This is just the beginning! Our collection holds over 300 years of history, including rare newspapers, obituaries, marriage records, birth records, and so much more—most of which you won’t find anywhere else!