BOWLBY
(west of McKinney around Stonebridge)
ON THE WING
Weekly Democrat Gazette, March 14, 1912
contd
Flushed with victory and leaving the glory field of Bois d'Arc
to the future historian, we sought new fields to conquer and Bowlby was the
first victim. We encountered some opposition but a wave of the tommy hawk was
generally sufficient to bring the obdurate "pale face" to terms and a demand to
pay tribute to our chief invariably resulted in pitching a wheel into the jeans
of "ourself." Our former belt was too small from which to hand the scalps
secured at Bowlby and a second one was ordered direct from the office.
Our genial friend John Branch kept the Democrat-Gazette man
his first night in Bowlby and informed your representative that his success in
farming was the result of diversified crops. He boasts of his industry, but our
observation is quite to the contrary; Mrs. Branch milks the cows, gathers the
hen fruit, makes butter, cleans the house and prepares three meals a day while
Uncle Johnny smokes his pipe and places his feet three times each day under the
dining table. He would have been a civil war veteran, but was born too late.
L. B. Brakebill is another pioneer citizen and knows a good
thing when he sees it. Taking time by the forelock he acquired many years ago
and comparatively cheap, several acres of Collin county soil and it makes the
stuff now while he waits.
Do you know S. P. Smith who lives just west of the Bowlby
school house? It has always been with reluctance on his part to chop the stove
wood for his good wife, so on a recent occasion when requested by his better
half to use the ax and replenish the wood box, he pretended to make an awkward
lick and almost severed one foot from his ankle. Mrs. Smith hustles the wood now
fearing that he will amputate the other foot.
J. B. Hickey, the merchant at Foote is kept quite busy selling
goods. His customers know sand from sugar, split beans from coffee and the
difference between twelve and sixteen ounces the pound.
We spent a delightful half hour at the home of J. F. Wilcox
who instead of raising all cotton as some do devotes his time to wheat, oats,
mules and Jersey cattle. The family consists of the father, mother and two
charming daughters. The eldest, Miss Taffie, who was connected with the dry
goods firm of Matthews Bros. Last year, is spending the present season at home
with her parents and sister. Mr. Wilcox is a native of Kentucky, famous for its
fast horses, pretty women and moonshine whiskey. We didn't ask whether he
received any mysterious packages from his native state.
Another warrior in the person of J. P. Duncan is a "hale
fellow well met." A veteran of the war between the states, he is proud of the
fact that he helped to restore the Union and that Uncle Sam has placed him on
the pension roll. From the hills of Tennessee to Texas in 1868, he made four
crops on shares and later on bought land. Settled on his present home of 350
acres in 1885. Diversified farming has paid him well and is still in vogue with
him. If you want to know what the Republican party stands form, ask him; if you
want a political licking, tackle Uncle Jim, Taft's policies or Teddy's
patriotism or statesmanship.
Ray Duncan, son of the above, is a "chip from the old block."
He housed and fed your field man last Friday night and I was glad indeed to
renew acquaintance with Mrs. Duncan whom I knew some years ago as a winsome
young lady.
On way out of Bowlby Saturday noon found me in the hospitable
home of L. A. Crutcher. No pressing invitation was necessary for us to remain
for dinner prepared by Mrs. Crutcher and her pretty daughter, Miss Una. Of you
are looking for a cure for despondency, hysterics and a bad liver, stir among
the farmers of our county, eat sweet ham, pure butter, fresh eggs, drink butter
milk until she who sits at the foot of the table sends a wireless across the
table to her husband asking if the visitor has reached the limit.
Miss Dollie Straughan is their worthy and efficient teacher
but who, on account the meningitis situation in the city, was advised by the
trustees to suspend school last week and resume this morning. By making personal
inquiry among the patrons, I learned that her work is entirely satisfactory and
her kind disposition to those committed to her charge have won for her the
gratitude of her patrons, the love and esteem of her pupils.
This closes our reminiscences for last week and buoyant with
hope we shall, within a couple of hours, don our war paint, put a feather in our
cap, buckle on the armor, seize the trusty tommy hawk and proceed to levy
tribute upon a helpless people. We must hold our job, the chief must have scalps
before ordering another tribal pow-wow, and the braves will soon become
discouraged unless given a chance to celebrate the display of hair.
D. W. Leigh
McKinney, March 11, 1912
BOWLBY JOTTINGS
Daily Courier Gazette, February 24, 1938
by Mrs. O. S. Scott
This community and school take their name from the late Judge
H. Bowlby, a prominent early settler of Collin County, who lived many years on
his farm here, and whose tragic death, years ago, caused wide-spread sorrow
throughout the entire county and this part of the state. His death resulted from
a vicious attack upon him by fine blooded but ferocious Jersey bull in his
pasture. Judge Bowlby was a fancier of purebred cattle and good livestock, but
his useful honored life was sacrificed by one of his most prized animals. Judge
Bowlby was the father of the late Mayor E. H. (Hunt) Bowlby, of McKinney, who
like his honored sire, also lived a very useful and honored life and passed away
at his home in McKinney, more than a quarter of a century ago. The latter's
daughter, Mrs. Annie Bowlby Bertrand, is still a resident of McKinney.
Bowlby Schoolhouse is located nearly four miles west of
McKinney on the McKinney-Foote pike. It is a one-teacher school with forty
pupils enrolled this year and Mrs. Louie Moore of McKinney as teacher. Splendid
work is being done by this rural district school for its pupils and community
under the direction of Mrs. Moore, who is well qualified and experienced in her
profession of teaching. The Bowlby School trustees are: J. Clay Duncan Jr., W.
H. Brice and J. S. Crutcher, all worthy citizens of their community.
Mrs. Alta Ducan is representative of the Daily Courier-Gazette
and Weekly Democrat-Gazette as Bowlby correspondent. We enjoyed meeting up with
her in discussing matters pertaining to the importance of community
correspondence appearing in the county press at regular intervals. People of any
community like to have their more important happenings, local news items and
personals reported in their county press. By reference to the files of the
Weekly Democrat-Gazette now in its fifty fifth year and the Daily
Courier-Gazette now in its forty-second year. Bowlby School community activities
may be found reported in their columns from time to time through these long
years. It should not be overlooked that the files of county seat newspapers are
in reality, the truest and most thorough history of the area in which the papers
are published of any source available for the information of present and coming
generations. Therefore, Mrs. Duncan like other correspondents, is rendering a
positive service in her community. And, incidentally, publishers Tom W. Perkins
and Walter B. Wilson of our two papers are likewise rending a service of
enduring benefit by opening the columns of their papers to these community
letters from their staff of rural correspondents like Mrs. Duncan. We have a
number of subscribers and readers in this community, but not all of these good
people are reading our papers who should take one or the other of them. We
invite all of them to enroll with us and thus cooperate in the good work.
While making a friendly call at the Clay Duncan home, we found
the following house guests visiting this worthy couple: Mr. and Mrs. D. O.
Matthews and son, Joe, all of Dallas and Dr. and Mrs. Laurence Lewis and
daughter, Margaret, all of Texarkana, Arkansas. We were happy to meet these good
people from another part of the state and from our sister state of Arkansas and
have the privilege of making their acquaintanceship.
W. H. Brice, who owns a half-interest in a McKinney barbershop
where he works most of the time, owns and operates a small general merchantile
store, a short distance east of the Bowlby Schoolhouse at the forks of the road
where one prong of the highway leads to Foncine
and the other to the Foote community. His wife looks after the
store most of the time while her husband is working at his other place of
business in McKinney.
Farmers in the Bowlby community like they are in every other
rural sections of Collin County are impatiently waiting for some favorable
weather and dry fields, so they can resume their early spring work that needs to
be done, now, as soon as they can get into their fields. If a good winter season
is obtained the old saying is that a good crop year is to follow. According to
that rule, Collin County is in for another good crop again this year.
Joe S. Crutcher is perhaps the most extensive farmer and
land-owner of this community. He is a very useful citizen. In addition to his
extensive farm operations he also operates one or two threshing machine outfits
every summer in helping to save the West Collin grain crop. Joe Crutcher was
reared in this community where his father was an early settler. His good wife,
who was a Miss Brakebill is also the daughter of an early Bowlby community
settler. The Daily Courier-Gazette has long been an appreciated visitor at the
family fireside of Mr. and Mrs. Crutcher. This good man and wife hold active
membership in the Central Presbyterian church at McKinney of which Rev. C. E.
Dodge is the beloved young pastor.
Communities
Index
- Recommended citation:
"Bowlby
- Collin County
Communities," Collin County, Texas History and Genealogy Webpage by
Genealogy Friends of Plano Libraries, Inc., <http://www.geocities/genfriendsghl>
[Accessed Fri February 13 13:37:28 US/Central 2004 ].
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