From "Cresson, Community Crossroads" by Shirley Robert Smith
Willie Russell (Dick) York married Ora Wells July 22 1925, on the courthouse lawn in Granbury, in the shade of big tree.
W.R. and Ora York's parents were both tenant farmers. (Folks who moved every year and never had a home of their own.)
Dick and Ora moved to Oklahoma for awhile but returned to Texas and settled in Cresson in 1928. They first lived in a small building next to the State Bank. Later the building was moved along side the Slocum building and became their cattle office.
Dick worked on the railroad section gang for a short period of time. One day a foreman of the railroad forgot to warn the gang about an oncoming train. It was too late for the crew on their hand car, and they were all forced to jump just before the engine plowed into them. The entire crew quit that day.
The Yorks bought a gas station, formerly run by Marlin Bracken, at the north corner of the highway intersection and next to the Santa Fe tracks. This station was only about 14 feet across the front and 8 feet deep; but the Yorks lived in it, and they ran a small grocery store and the gas station. There was no electricity, the gas was pumped by hand , and the plump handle was removed at night so no one could help himself to free gas. Geraldine says three lanterns were hung outdoors on the front of the station for night business. Dot remembers when cars would stop, their chickens would run up to feast on the bugs that were plastered on the radiators. The cars were hand cranked, so that would scare the chickens away before they got run over.
One Christmas, when Geraldine was four, there was no money to buy her a gift, so Dick caught and skinned skunks and sold their pelts until he had enough to buy her a $6.00 doll. The doll was bigger than Geraldine, and she wore the toes off it by dragging it around with her every where she went.
Mr. York knew every bus driver by name and would yell at them as they slowed their bus for the railroad tracks. The locomotive crews were known by him too and would give extra toots of their whistles if they could not stop.
Dick loved to talk to his customers. Some stopped and he would say to them, "Been down to Tolar to see your mother-in-law, I betcha." In most cases his guess was correct.
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