DONNELL'S LIFE STORY

Part 2

This is Part 2 of my story as I lived it over the first 85 years. (Part 1 starts at the bottom of the page.) Many of these historical events were reconstructed from photos, letters, and such that I have in my possession. Some facts came from family members, others solely from my memory.

LIVING WITH GRANDMOTHER DILLARD

Part 1 began with the birth of my granddad William Lee Hoggatt on December 27, 1855. Lee died May 2, 1895. He was the son of Jacob and Mary Cooper. Part 1 ended in May 1932, soon after my family returned to Texas from Colorado. Bonnie was 15, Burl was 13, I was 11, Billie Ted was 9 and Baby Joyce was three months.

We were happily received by those still living with Grandmother Dillard in a rather large but old house in Waxahachie. Like most rented houses, it was in need of paint and a few repairs. To us, though, it was like Paradise compared to what we had been living in. We now had electricity, running water, gas for cooking and heating, and even a bathroom with hot water. Still, it was semi-rural, possessing a pigpen and a couple of cows. Also, we did the laundry in a big black pot in the back yard.

Living with Grandmother were Uncle Tince, Aunt Ruby and Durl Wilson, her son of around six years old. Several things happened while we lived there. Dad went back to work at the cotton mill; Durl left to live with Uncle Buford and Aunt Ethel on the farm and Tince got married; then Aunt Ruby got married. Then a very sad thing happened: our little baby sister Joyce died with pneumonia on December 11, 1933. Not long after that, Grandmother Dillard, Dad, Bonnie, Burl, Billie Ted and I moved to Holland Ave., just a few blocks away.

DEPRESSION WORSENS

We lived on Holland Ave. for probably two years. The Depression got worse during that time. Burl lied about his age and joined the CCC. The cotton mill closed, leaving Dad with no work. He was too proud to accept help from the relief program (WPA). We managed for a while with a lot of “cotton picking” and what few small jobs Dad could get. Us kids gathered pecans for one cent a pound. Two-hundred pounds was our best for an eight-hour day at the pecan orchard next to the Waxahachie Cemetery.

One of the things I remember was the way we paid for the natural gas used for heating and cooking. The gas meter used for billing purposes was adapted to the low financial conditions of that time. It had an attachment that required quarters be inserted before gas could pass through. Then, to protect the safety of the quarters inside, a strong box as built around the meter with a big lock on the door. If the gas suddenly went off, someone had to dash out with quarters and a key to turn the gas back on.

MOVE TO CORSICANA

Finally, Dad got a job weaving at the Corsicana Cotton Mill, which had not closed. Suddenly, we moved to Corsicana, which was about 35 miles south of Waxahachie. Although the mills rented out company-owned houses around the plant to their workers, Dad rented a house a half mile away in a more favorable environment. As for back as I can remember, the Ted Hoggatts never lived on what was referred to as the “Cotton Mill Block.”

NEW TOWN HAS SKYSCRAPER

We were now living in the big city of Corsicana, which was somewhat larger and more modern than Waxahachie. Our former town had been dependent on farming, but Corsicana had farming plus other industry such as shallow oil wells all over the area and a large Magnolia gas/oil/etc. pump station. Our new town was also known to have a skyscraper. We couldn’t wait to go up Main Street to the State National Bank Building and ride the elevator all the way to the top—nine or ten stories as I recall. None of us had ever ridden in an elevator or seen a building so high. That building still stands, a showplace for that era. It still means a lot to me and I never miss an opportunity to see it when going through Corsicana.

BONNIE AND I PERFORM ON KAND

The first radio station (KAND) for that area was in the basement of the State National Bank Building. A year or so later, Bonnie and I performed there a couple of times. She and I had taken guitar lessons back in Waxahachie: she on the steel and me on the standard. Our playing together ended when she met Vernon Hagler, a farmer who lived a few miles out of town in the Mildred-Eureka area.

One may wonder how Bonnie and I took music lessons, things being so bad economically. This is how it happened: I had always wanted to play the guitar so I caddied at the Corsicana Country Club on weekends to pay for my lessons. Since things were also bad for music teachers, I got a free second-hand guitar and 30 lessons for $30. Bonnie paid for one lesson at a time with milk and butter. She was also given a free used guitar. I went on to play on KAND for a short time in a band called the Buccaneers.

FOUR MAN BAND

Our little four-man band played at a few dances, although none of us knew how to dance or ever tried to. Other than that we played at several beer joints along Main Street on Saturday nights. We would go in and do four or five songs, pass a hat around, and then go to the next bar. Most of the time we just liked to get together and practice, nearly always at Jimmy Morris’ house. Jimmy was an only child and his parents loved for us to meet there. We were all around 15 or 16 years old and not interested in the girls, just graduating from Junior High school. The picture here is one of JC Parnell, Jimmy Morris, and lil’ old me at the graduation.

Things were not too bad, but we still picked cotton during the fall and helped Dad pay the bills. Dad got me a part time job at the mill on the swing shift. I made 25 cents an hour filling batters, sweeping, and cleaning bobbins in the weave shop. I didn’t like working there at all. I didn’t complain to Dad but made a promise to myself that I would never work there full time. My happiest time was when the boss told me that I wasn’t needed that night!

TEXAS NATIONAL GUARD

Around this time I joined the Texas National Guard stationed in Corsicana. As a private I made $l.00 each night we drilled, which was once each week and two weeks at camp each summer.

BONNIE AND VERNON MARRY

Bonnie and Vernon married and Bonnie moved out to the farm. She was one happy sister to finally be a full time housewife and have her very own family. She and Grandmother Dillard got along fine but I know she was ready to marry and be on her own. I visited her regularly and worked out on the farm several times when they needed help. Bonnie was happy. Bonnie and Vernon had three sons: Larry, Jerry and Vernon, Jr. (called Pete). All are still living today and have families. Vernon served in the Navy for a while during World War II but never left the U.S. Bonnie was able to stay with him near his base. When discharged, he went to work for Gulf Oil Corp. at Crane, Texas, and the family lived there until Vernon’s retirement. They then built a nice brick retirement home in Kerens, Texas, just a few miles east of Corsicana.

Bonnie lived a devoted Christian life, never varying from the teachings of the Southern Baptist Church. She was very proud of the success of her three sons, but never got her wish to have a little girl. After several years of poor health, she died on January 1, 1991. Vernon died suddenly on February 27, 2002. They are buried side by side, using the same headstone, in the Providence Cemetery, just a few miles from the old Hagler farm where they started out.

BURL AND BILLIE JOIN UP

Burl also got married while we were just getting settled in Corsicana. He married Willie Lee Jones, his first sweetheart in Waxahachie, and they had one child, Ada Lou. Both were too young and too wild for the union to last, and sadly, it ended in divorce. Ada now lives in Englewood, Florida with her husband. Burl and Billie joined the Navy together in 1942. After training in Norfolk, VA, Burl became an anti-aircraft gunner assigned to a merchant ship that delivered war materials to England. After additional medical training, Billie was assigned to an LCI (Landing Craft, Infantry) as a medico and served in the Pacific.

BURL MEETS AND MARRIES GRACE

After the war, Burl met Grace while in the hospital in Dallas for a service-connected illness he got while in the navy. Grace is what Burl needed to straighten out, as he still was restless, disorganized and troubled. On the positive side, he had an uncanny gift to learn all the trade skills rapidly. After his early medical discharge from the navy, he worked in the shipyards in Galveston, had various jobs at welding, house painting, carpentry, and auto mechanics. In all of these, he was most competent but impatient. (I have two of his toolboxes with tools I bought from him in 1947. He needed the money. I didn’t need the tools and still don’t but I wouldn’t sell them – never!)

Grace saw something good in Burl that she liked and thought that all he needed was a good woman to guide, take care of, trust and love him. She soon found out, after the wedding, that she was right: Burl was going to be a keeper!

Burl put all his skills together and became an elevator installer, a very technical trade that required stability and resourcefulness, qualities he never used before. He adopted Grace’s three small children: Wanda Fern, Dale Wayne, and Kedith. Then they had a son together: Ronald. Burl personally built a comfortable house with a large garden and fruit trees, a place anyone would be proud of. They had many happy years together and are buried together in the National Cemetery at Fort Worth, Texas. Burl died on January 12, 2004 and Grace died on September 16, 2005.

This completes Part 2. Donnell, 11/01/06.