Bridges Reunion in Merkel, Texas 1945

BRIDGES FAMILY HOSTS REUNION

Merkel, Texas 

News article in The Abilene Reporter-News

Friday Morning, October 19, 1945, p.11

 The Article reads: 

MERKEL Oct 18 -- Mrs. Lucy Ford hosted a reunion of the sons and daughters of the late Mr. and Mrs. W. L. Bridges, the first time members of the family had been together in more than 15 years. Eight of the 9 sons and daughters present were H.S. Bridges of Rotan, Mrs. J. A. Collum of Lamesa, Mrs. Daisy Dwiggins of Merkel, Mrs. M. H. Jones of Thalia, Mrs. O. S. Campbell of Roby, J.H. Bridges of Lamesa, Mrs. Faye Lyles of Savoy and the hostess. 

2023 Comes To A Close

 

Martin Harmon & Mattie Bell Jones 50th Wedding Anniversary

 

They were married 28 June 1896 at the Bridges' home in Orangeville, Fannin County, Texas.This was just across the county line from Whitewright, Grayson County, Texas. This news article was most likely from the Vernon Daily Record. I found this in my mother's (Carolita Quillin) family heritage album. 

History of Martin Harmon Jones

Remembrances of Martin Harmon Jones by his grandchildren  

 Martin Harmon Jones

Background History

 Interview with Carolita Quillin Jones

March 1, 2003

Recorded by Nancy Quillin Long

Martin Harmon (Granddaddy Jones) was one of Carolita’s favorite people.  The Joneses were the salt of the earth but were considered “hayseed” country people. 

 

Carolita remembers Martin Harmon being a well-framed, handsome man of medium height.  He was thin, but not poorly.  He was a very quiet, unassuming, gentle man.  He was very kind and soft-spoken.   He was a spiritual man and didn’t make much adieu about it.  He was honest, upstanding and hardworking.  Martin Harmon always wore suspenders and long sleeve shirts with kaki pants. He had false teeth but never wore them; he even ate without them.  He whittled and made the children whistles out of hollow willow stalks.

 

Carolita’s first recollection of Martin Harmon was as a janitor at the Thalia schools.  Carolita would help him sometimes with his chores there.  She remembers him sprinkling the floor with “O’Cedar” and sweeping and cleaning the floors.  He would also attend the boilers and did most anything that needed to be done at the school.  Martin Harmon was responsible to ring the school bell in the morning for the start of the day, at noon, and again for school to let out. 

 

Carolita was told that he was a day laborer, mostly clearing land or tending to other people’s land.  He was basically a sharecropper.  Martin Harmon never owned any land himself. During the Depression, the Jones family would have practically starved if it had not been for Joe Carroll Jones.

 

Granddaddy Jones did night watch at the cotton gin.  His assignment was to make sure that a fire was not ignited.  When the cotton bales came off the press, they would be so hot they could easily ignite.

 

Martin Harmon fell into bad health with heart problems, yet he never complained.  Carolita remembers him being short winded and that his nose would bleed profusely. 

After he fell into ill health, Pap (Jo Carroll Jones, his son) moved Martin Harmon and Mattie Bell’s 2-room house onto his property in Thalia.  They placed the home at the back of the property.  Carolita remembers him sitting in his chair at the back of the house.  He would always lean the chair against the wall.

 

Martin Harmon loved to help with the animals.  He would milk the cow, keep some of the milk for himself and bring the rest to Ava.  He tended the chickens for Ava, and he cared for their horse.

 

They dug a cellar in the dirt, and Martin Harmon was the storm watcher.  They would gather everyone in the cellar and Martin Harmon would stand outside and watch the storm.  Carolita remembered getting to go out and watch with him.  She felt that she learned a lot about the weather from him. 

 

Inside the dirt cellar, Martin Harmon dug a hole to keep his cash.  No one, save Eddie Hugh knew where the money was hidden.  Martin Harmon was saving this cash (not much more than $100) to pay an old grocery bill.  When he died, Eddie Hugh told the family about the money, and they all wanted to split the cash among themselves.  They eventually did split the money and it also split the family.  Jo Carroll was left to pay the grocery bill.  All the Jones family would have starved if it had not been for Joe Carroll who always had work and a little money and didn’t mind caring for his family.

 

Granddaddy (Martin Harmon) was crazy about Carolita’s son, Bryan, and Truman, her husband, loved to hang out with him.  Martin Harmon loved fishing and would fish with a cane pole.  Truman and Martin Harmon were great fishing buddies. 

 

His death certificate says that Martin Harmon died quickly of a heart attack.

 

 Martin Harmon Jones is remembered by his grandson.
February 12, 2013         Interview with my uncle, Martin Frank Jones
I went to visit with Martin.  The following is from that visit.  See also the printed copy of Martin Frank’s blog.  Several years ago, Martin Frank wrote his memories down and now is placing them a little at a time on his blog. 
 
Martin Harmon Jones never owned anything.  He grubbed out mesquite trees, chopped cotton, and was a day laborer for other farmers.   People thought a lot of him.  He was known as “Farmer Jones”.  He always lived on farms.  When the Depression hit, he lived in a 2 room house that Mimi and Pappy had lived in.  They moved to their house on the hill.   When that home burned, Mimi and Pap rented from Allen Schulty, and then bought the Stovall’s house (the house by the school).  When Martin Harmon developed bad heart problems, Pappy moved the little 2 room house onto their lot, very close, so that Mimi could care for them.  That is the house that Martin Harmon lived in when he died.  Pappy had purchased a home in Crowell that he was letting Martin/Vonne live in, and when he retired from farming, Martin and Vonne bought a house by the school and Mimi and Pap moved to Crowell.  Pappy moved that little 2 room house to Crowell and place it on a lot just across a pasture for Mattie Bell to live in.  Pap added a room to it.  Pap also purchased the house right next door and Bill/Faye lived there until Bill got a job as a game warden in Canadian.  When Bill/Faye moved, Pap sold Mattie’s house and moved her in next door. 

 

History of Mattie Bell Bridges Jones

 

Interview with Carolita Jones Quillin

March 1, 2003

Done by Nancy Quillin Long

 

 
Background History
Mattie Bell Bridges Jones

 

Mattie Bell was a short, pudgy lady with a round belly.  She wore her hair pulled back into a bun.  Mattie had lots of vanity and was meticulous in her dress.  She liked new things. 

 

Mattie was a sickly woman, but she did not look sickly.  Carolita always thought her to be a hypochondriac.  Mattie would take to the bed for weeks having others care for her.  She was very demanding of others, and Carolita remembers Granddaddy getting off the tractor to come in to give her her pills.  Carolita remembers all of Mattie’s children being called to her bedside, thinking that she was dying.  The grandchildren were made to stand outside, and they could hear her carrying on.  

 

Martin Harmon would do lots of the cooking and household chores and Mattie would pack her bags and leave for 2-3 weeks at a time to go visit her sisters.

 

Mattie Bell was very demanding of Ava as well.  For most of Ava and Jo Carroll’s married life, Mattie and Martin Harmon lived in their back door.  Ava would take care of them daily.

 

Mattie Bell was highly thought of and very religious (not spiritual).  She would always be with her church friends and most of them were gossips.  She was a “loper.”  Carolita remembers her getting up very early, putting on her bonnet, and making the neighborhood rounds.  She would then come in through the back door of Carolita’s house croaking, “Lazy, lazy, lazy,” if no one was up yet.  Mattie Bell would always say, “I just don’t know what to think of these young people.  They’re just going to the dogs.”  She tended to hoard things and would dole it out later.  For example, if she had fresh fruit, she would finally offer it to the grandchildren when it was nearly ruined.

Mattie Bell Jones Death Certificate

 Daughter Lucy Day gave the name of Mattie's father incorrectly. 

It should be William L Bridges. 

1880 Census Mattie Bell Bridges

 My great-grandmother, Mattie Bell Bridges Jones, is found living with her father and mother in Dalton, Whitfield, Georgia, line 14. Her father was William Bridges. Her mother was Hattie Springfield. 

1900 Census Martin Harmon and Mattie Bell Jones

 They are found on the last two lines of the census sheet.

Places I Remember

 

Legend of Rudolph

 Before we know Rudolph and his story, we should know about Bob May, the person behind this kid's favorite because the actual story of the creator of Rudolph is also not less than any astonishing fairy-tale. Bob May's wife, Evelyn, was a cancer patient nearing death. They had a little daughter who, on a December night, approached him with a question "Why isn't mommy just like everybody else's mommy?" She was wondering why her mother always stayed away from her. Bob wanted to give a Christmas gift to his daughter, but his wife's treatment had left him bankrupt. Left with not even a single cent, Bob decided to gift a story book to her, and this led to the creation of the wonderful character Rudolph. Since then, the legend of Rudolph has become a prominent Christmas legend.

Truman Bryan Quillin, Jr. 1957

 Bryan would have been 10 or 11 years old in this photo. I separated this picture to post it alone. There is such a story told by the surroundings. First, there was a much-loved swing set that was homemade for our use in the backyard. I notice that Mother has the proverbial white picket fence at this point. And how could I overlook the water cooler air conditioner in the window? I remember Mother placing me on her bed during the summer for naps directly in front of this cooler. It would drown out the noise and I would be perfectly fine napping for some time each afternoon, safe and secure on my parents' bed. 

Grandma and Santa Claus

 I found this story in 2011. I made a copy of it for my files. I believe the author is unknown, found a link to the story at GRANDMA AND SANTA CLAUS — God's Other Ways (godsotherways.com) shared by Donna Kersey.

 Santa Claus and Grandma

I remember my first Christmas adventure with Grandma. I was just a kid. I remember tearing across town on my bike to visit her on the day my big sister dropped the bomb: "There is no Santa Claus," she jeered. "Even dummies know that!"

My Grandma was not the gushy kind, never had been. I fled to her that day because I knew she would be straight with me. I knew Grandma always told the truth, and I knew that the truth always went down a whole lot easier when swallowed with one of her "world-famous" cinnamon buns. I knew they were world-famous, because Grandma said so. It had to be true.

Grandma was home, and the buns were still warm. Between bites, I told her everything. She was ready for me. "No Santa Claus?" she snorted...."Ridiculous! Don't believe it. That rumor has been going around for years, and it makes me mad, plain mad!! Now, put on your coat, and let's go."

"Go? Go where, Grandma?" I asked. I hadn't even finished my second world-famous cinnamon bun. "Where" turned out to be Kerby's General Store, the one store in town that had a little bit of just about everything. As we walked through its doors, Grandma handed me ten dollars. That was a
bundle in those days. "Take this money," she said, "and buy something for someone who needs it. I'll wait for you in the car." Then she turned and walked out of Kerby's.

I was only eight years old. I'd often gone shopping with my mother, but never had I shopped for anything all by myself. The store seemed big and crowded, full of people scrambling to finish their Christmas shopping. For a few moments I just stood there, confused, clutching that ten-dollar bill, wondering what to buy, and who on earth to buy it for.

I thought of everybody I knew: my family, my friends, my neighbors, the kids at school, the people who went to my church. I was just about thought out, when I suddenly thought of Bobby Decker. He was a kid with bad breath and messy hair, and he sat right behind me in Mrs. Pollock's grade-two class. Bobby Decker didn't have a coat. I knew that because he never went out to recess during the winter. His mother always wrote a note, telling the teacher that he had a cough, but all we kids knew that Bobby Decker didn't have a cough; he didn't have a good coat. I fingered the ten-dollar bill with growing excitement. I would buy Bobby Decker a coat! I settled on a red corduroy one that had a hood to it. It looked real warm, and he would like that.

"Is this a Christmas present for someone?" the lady behind the counter asked kindly, as I laid my ten dollars down. "Yes, ma'am," I replied shyly. "It's for Bobby."

The nice lady smiled at me, as I told her about how Bobby really needed a good winter coat. I didn't get any change, but she put the coat in a bag, smiled again and wished me a Merry Christmas.

That evening, Grandma helped me wrap the coat (a little tag fell out of the coat, and Grandma tucked it in her Bible) in Christmas paper and ribbons and wrote, "To Bobby, From Santa Claus" on it. Grandma said that Santa always insisted on secrecy. Then she drove me over to Bobby Decker's house, explaining as we went that I was now and forever officially, one of Santa's helpers.

Grandma parked down the street from Bobby's house, and she and I crept noiselessly and hid in the bushes by his front walk. Then Grandma gave me a nudge. "All right, Santa Claus," she whispered, "get going."

I took a deep breath, dashed for his front door, threw the present down on his step, pounded his door and flew back to the safety of the bushes and Grandma. Together we waited breathlessly in the darkness for the front door to open. Finally, it did, and there stood Bobby.

Fifty years haven't dimmed the thrill of those moments spent shivering, beside my Grandma, in Bobby Decker's bushes. That night, I realized that those awful rumors about Santa Claus were just what Grandma said they were -- ridiculous. Santa was alive and well, and we were on his team.

I still have the Bible, with the coat tag tucked inside: **$19.95.**

And may you always believe in the magic of Santa Claus!

I John 4:19 We love each other because He loved us first. 

Poodle Skirts 1956

 I feel certain that either Mother or Mimi made this fantastic poodle skirt. They were the rage and you can see how proud Paula is of her new skirt. And take a look at how dapper Bryan looks. They were quite a pair. I was 10 years younger than my brother and 6 years younger than my sister, so I grew up completely different circles and in a different time and place than my siblings.

My Big Brother 1956

 Truman Bryan Quillin, Jr

Christmas 1957 with Granny Hart

 For some reason there were very few pictures of this Christmas. We always had Christmas on Christmas Eve at Granny's (Merphia Ewing Hart) house. Then on Christmas morning, we had our tree at home. We would then go to Crowell, Texas, to spend the day with Mother's family, Ava and Joe Carroll Jones. 

Me and my cousin, David Carver

My Aunt Billye Merle Carver and cousin Beverly

My beautiful aunt, Billye Merle Quillin Carver

Christmas 1957