_,
THE INSTITUTE OF TEXAN CULTURES
ORAL HISTORY PROGRAM
INTERVIEW WITH: Alva Robinson
DATE: June 23, 1988
PLACE: Palestine, Texas
INTERVIEWERS: Joan and Sidney Ballard
JB: The olden times of Palestine.
Alva , would you tell us where and when you were born
and some of your early childhood?
R: Well, I was born in 1898, as I said before . lwo years
in the century befor8. And naturally, I don't remember too
much about the first three or four years. It was just a
normal country life . My father was fortunate enough to be
fairly prosperous. We lived like ev~rybody else except I
don't remember anything but good times. Isn't that nice?
JB : Just wonderful.
R: I really did ... My father and my two brothers died
early, in their 50s. My father lived a little longer; he
was in his 60s. But I think the one reason they didn't live
any longer was they lived too high on the hog. (laughter)
You know , the smokehouse with all those good things. I
think men, that's one reason they don't live any longer than
the women do, I believe . They just over-eat and enjoy life;
if enjoying life means eating a lot.
But we girls in the family were just normal. The boys
were, too. They worked hard so consequently they always ate
ROBINSON 2
R: well, too, you see. But I feel like that all along • ••
We went to a little country school. Started when I was five
years old. Horse and buggy, you know. Like so many of the
children did, who ~ere fortunate enough to have horses and
buggie~. Some walked all the ~ay. In fact, we enjoyed
walking to school because a lot of the kids did walk and it
was more fun. You go to school two and a half miles,
. ~alking is part of your day, really, of your education, if
it's just getting t o the school house.
But we first had a little one room school house, 1905,
'03, I guess. Because, see, I started school. Then, of
course, in a few years, just like all country schools, we
had a two room school house. That was really progress in
the country. And wonderful teachers as I look back now and
think of all the really good things I learned back in those
days. The classes were small. The teachers were wonderful;
they were good; extra good. And they trained us in such a
manner, even though the classes were small, three , four in a
class, everybody was disciplined and everybody wanted to
learn. It's not like that now. Some of ' em do; some of 'em
don't.
But now, I honestly don't remember any boys or girls in
any of my classes in the country that weren't just really
eager beavers, you know. And then of course, naturally,
when I was 13 1/2 years old, naturally I had outgrown the
little country school. And it was time that I came to
Huntsville. I went one year to Huntsville here. It just
ROBINSON 3
R: isn't satisfactory to go to school and live with your
auntie's family, a big family, etc. So I went to what is
now Lon Morris for my high school eucation. That's in
Jacksonville, just 28 miles away, I guess.
We had trains, went on the train. Muddy roads, no
highways, just a lot of •. . you know ... in the buggy to the
statio~ •.. on the train. And of course, naturally the boys
and girls at college . . . it was a junior college ••• it's
Lon Morris now •• it was the Jacksonville Collegiate
Institute then; very impressive. So that 's where I did my
high school work - four years of high school, or three and a
half years really, study. Real happy years. You're in your
early teens, and middle teens, how much fun it is. We just
the basketball teams, everything else was just wonderful .
We just thought it_ was the best place in the world. And it
was. It was a real nice place.
So naturally, after I got my high school education, I
was ready to go to college. And I went to Kidd-Key, I don't
know if you ever heard of Kidd-Key or not ••. I don't know
why I selected a girls' school but I had always heard that
Kidd-Key was one of the finest schools this side of the
Mississippi . Of course, we had many fine schools in
Virginia: still do. And in that section. But that was an
outstanding girls' school and why I chose a girls' school I
don 't know because you like to do things with couples .
But anyhow, I chose it myself. Since I was the first
child, I told my mother and father later, after I graduated
ROBINSON 4
R: from college, I don't believe I ever heard them say no
to me for anything I wanted to do. Which doesn't mean they
were permissive or I was spoiled or anything like that. But
they trusted me. They knew I . was the first child and the
only child ••• I had four brothers and sisters of course ·••
they always felt like if I wanted to do something, there was
a real reason. So I honestly, I don't think I was a
spoiled child and they didn't think I was.
But I did do almost all the things I wanted to do.
That's why, I think, I selected Kidd-Key, Sherman. It was a
wonderful girls' school - conservatory; musical
conservatory; art; all the arts, really. So I thoroughly
enjoyed that school; it ~as two years of a very wonderful
experience. Really, as I look back now it was the basis, I
guess, of the culture, if I have any. Because it was a fine
conservatory, music conservatory, as well as art, and other
arts.
So, anyh?w, I feel like that I do appreciate the finer
things of life. That is sort of the basis of it. You know,
sometimes those years in your teens, middle and later teens,
are very impressive. I did just love everyone of them. And
everything pertaining to it. The classes, the fun. Well,
the classes were fun, really, because there were wonderful
teachers. That ' s just about it until I went down to the
University of Texas for my final years. That was Austin; we
didn't have one in every town (laughter) then. But anyhow
those are the things about that section of my life.
No.w you may want to know how •.• if I rode in the wagon
ROBINSON 5
R: everywhere I went. Many country girls do. No, I don't
think I ever rode in a wagon. We always had a surrey or
two . We always had a lot of help . I mean my father had
families that of course, he had to have. We thought it was
a big farm. It wasn ' t anything real impressive. It was,
you know, a good farm, ranch. And he had a conservatory,
what he called his conservatory, that he kept the supplies
to take care of his families that he had working for him.
And then he had a cotton gin. I have a painting of it
in there. I want you to see it before you leave. And it
was my father's gin. And that was very fine, we thought.
And it was. It was nice; it was one of the finest gins in
that section of the county. We enjoyed it. As I say , two
or three times, I think I've mentioned it, seems like we
just had everything. I don't think we did, but it's the way
it impressed us, you see .
Speaking of a wagon , so many of my friends, and
neighbors, which were all right and fine, went even to
church in a wagon, things of that sort. But since we at
least had the buggies .with fine horses ••• incidentally, my
father prided himself on raising fine horses. I feel like
that was one of the things that he was outstanding for.
He had a cotton gin, and he had a sawmill, practically
anything else anybody would want. He had so many people to
work for him. At that time, in the early 1900s, there
weren't just too many farmers that just had a lot of things.
But my father did inherit from his father, who came from
ROBINSON 6
R: North Carolina, a little land; quite a little bit of
land, really.
And then he could always, not that he never borrowed
money because people who have a big farm have to borrow
money sometimes, but he always had enough collateral that he
had no trouble borrowing ••. that's what I started to say.
And so every year, his idea was, "All right now, let's pay
and get everything taken care of. I'll borrow some more
money and buy this nice piece of land over here."
(laughter)
He didn't believe like my husband ••. my husband didn't
borrow money. He said, "I'll buy what I can afford to pay
for at the time, with cash." Farmers can't do that, you
know. They have to have some credit and borrow a lot of
money.
So he never had any trouble borrowing anything he
wanted. But he always paid it back. So we felt that we
__ were always on Easy Street. But we really weren't; we just
thought_we wer~. (laughter)
JB: In your father's mill and cotton gin and all, did he
mill and do the cotton for neighbors, also? Or just did his
own?
R: Oh, no. Be had a big clientele; he really did. In
fact, in that section of the county, his gin was definitely
the best one in there. In that season of the year which is
corning pretty soon ••• _well, I guess it was not until
September, October, that was his main livelihood then.
ROBINSON 7
R: Because all the neighbors for miles around brought
their cotton in. That was the main thing they grew then was
cotton. That was the cotton time in the history of Anderson
County. Because so many people made their living ••.
SB: That was their money crop.
R: Yes, that was their money crop. You're right. Of
course, he naturally worked hard; real hard. But he had an
awful lot of help that also worked hard. They got along
fine. He was fortunate that he was healthy and well and
strong and had two boys, three girls, who lived to
adulthood. Had another daughter who died. But the whole
family pitched in and did what was necessary to do. But as
a little girl, I did not do farm wor~. There were plenty of
people who did and it was fine. I have a feeling, sort of,
that's what you'd sort of like to hear more about. Because
many of my friends, not many, because really that was a fine
neighborhood ..• you probably don't know where it is now •••
but it has grown a good deal even in the last years. We
helped sell it, of course, Grandfather did - he came from,
first, North Carolina, to Arkansas and lived in Arkansas for
a little while. Then he came to east Texas.
My father was born in Anderson County. He was the last
one. We were fortunate to have a few things that our
grandfather had left for us. And so it was a good life; it
really was.
And so many people who lived on farms just had to do
ROBINSON 8
R: without, of course. If you had a bad crop, as you
know, you have to depend on the elements so much, farmers
and ranchers do, that you may have a real good year this
year but maybe last year, you nearly starved. It evens up
as a rule.
JB: You mentioned when you went to high school that you
would drive the surrey. Would you drive it in or did
someone drive you in?
R: We always had so much help on the farm that we didn't
drive ourselves very much. We always had somebody do it.
JB: And they'd bring you to the train and you'd catch the
train to Jacksonville? Then come back that evening?
R: Oh, no. I stayed in the dormitory from the time I was
13 1/2 'til 20 or something like that at least. Maybe 21
when I went to the University of Texas. We were not day
students that would go back and forth. It was then, in the
horse and buggy days, too time consuming .
JB: What was your dormitory like?
R: In my first dormitory in Jacksonville and the school at
that time, I think I did mention was Alexander Coll egiat e
Institute. ~nd then when Mr . Morris endowed the school
later on it became Lon Morris and is now Lon Morri~. It was
a real fine school; still i s . ~ fine junio~ college.
It had a lot of art and the things that I enjoy. I
studied the harp; I studied piano; I studied voice. In
fact, I never said I'd like to take voice, maybe I didn't
have a very good voice .•• he should have said no; but he
ROBINSON 9
R: didn't. Anyhow, I've enjoyed my singing up until the
last four or five years; singing in the choir and things of
that sort in my church here. And of course, I helped to
bring up the little church out in the country. Naturally,
because we just enjoyed our church so much. We worked hard
for five days then Saturday we got ready for Sunday. Baked
a ham, made cakes and pies, things of that sort because the
preacher always came home with us for lunch on Sunday.
(laughter) .•• Mason would say, "Well, we'll go to the
Chewers and Miss Eddies's, that's my mother-in-law, tomorrow
for lunch." And they'd bring the whole family, of course.
And we loved it; we just loved it .
As you know, you didn't have libraries out there to go
to to find your books to read and things like that, but
there were plenty of people that came through the country
selling books. And our house was full of books that my dad
would, I don't think that he never let them leave until he'd
bought a book, whether it was a biblical book or a
historical book. He was quite an admirer of Lee, Abraham
Lincoln, different historians. So really, we had a houseful
of books.
JB: So you could read at home.
R: And read at home. And give the salesmen their lunch
before they left because if they got there at 9 in the
morning they used to stay for lunch. But it was fun. Now,
life should be maybe simpler. And if someone comes to your
home at 10:30 or 11, "Oh, all right we'll have lunch, I
ROBINSON 10
R: don't know yet what it's going to be but, maybe a ham
sandwich, but why don't you stay for lunch?" People don' t
do that, do they?
JB: Not anymore. Some of the old people do - not the young
ones, most of 'ern don't.
R: If you're in town there are resturants. But we were 10
miles out from this t?wn, Palestine. And we were 6 miles
from Neches. Neches was here and here's where the Davis
ranch was and here's where Palestine is. We were sort of in
the middle of the triangle, you see.
We had an excellent life. We were not, my father had
more friends than practically anybody because he was
friendly and good to everybody. They all loved him.
I bet this is interesting, isn't it?
JB: It's very interesting. I really enjoy doing it. How
many girls were there boarding at the high school there with
you? Were there several or • • • ?
R: Oh , yes. It was a very nice college. The Academy they
called the high school there. Pre-college, you see. And
then 2 years of junior college. I just finished the high
school part and then went to Kidd-Key in Sherman for the
college . That was also a junior college. And then after
that I went down to the University of Texas. In Aust in.
And really the community, the neighborhood, the
community where I lived, the church was just a big, one room
church but a very nice church. At that time, they had brush
arbors out at the churches in different communities. One
ROBINSON 11
R: highlight of our particular family and so many of the
families in our neighborhood, in the summer time, you know
always had revival meetings. You didn't realize that?
{laughter)
Ann Ramsey and who were some of the others who were big
evangelists? Ann Ramsey is one I remember. And so anyhow,
we'd pack up our wagons with our supplies that would last
for a week •.• all the families it seems like in the country
then had such big families. Did you want to tape this
because I think this is right interesting?
JB: I'm taping.
R: I didn't realize that. But anyhow, we had our
neighborhood church about two miles from us. Then this
arbor and the little town, very small town, had a nice,
bigger church, considered a little town, Brushy Creek. It
was a brush arbor. And the big ministers would come from
different places for that revival meeting in the summer;
camp meeting. We went and as I started to say, it was two
weeks I guess to get everything ready. Even would put a
chicken coop on the back of the wagon and take our chickens
and take a couple of maids with us to do all the work. It
was really fun. Besides being religiously oriented.
But anyhow, we'd get all the things ready. Cakes, the
lard, and pies. I don't know how they saved that long
because our ice, as you know, we had no electrical
refrigerator .•• but we had great big hundred pounds of ice
in the ice box. And could keep enough cold for two or three
ROBINSON 12
R: days. But they'd a~ways have to, these black women who
came with us, to do all the work for us, would have to clean
the chickens and get them ready to cook and all sorts of
things like that for the preparation. Course you couldn't
take too much since you didn't have too much good
refrigeration. And then, the wagon would stay until the end
of the season. Usually, about a week sometimes 'til May and
then the families, we would go in buggies and some didn't
have buggies. So by the time they - that came along, they
all had buggies of some sort.
But we would take some with us, of course, we usually
_would have a pretty good sized big buggy. So anyhow,_ we'd
have to get in a great big schoolhouse. It was a pretty
nice little town. So it was a big schoolhouse. And
curtains were sheets, you know. We'd divide the families,
have curtains between the families. Not much privacy, but
you know, enough.
So four or five families would live in this big
schoolhouse, you see. And it was, you know as I say, it was
real interesting and real fun and a real good meeting. And
they had church in the morning and church at night and then
fun things in the afternoon. So it was really quite
outstanding. It was more or less like Lakeview and
different places now that they have these things which is on
a different scale.
So we all had that and we enjoyed that. We always
looked forward to it. That was one of the highlights of the
ROBINSON 13
R: summer. And it didn't take a lot, you know. A lot of
them were in on things like that. Then they have fun,
didn 1 t they? In fact, I think we had more fun than they do
now. But, anyhow, it was just one of those things I felt
worth mentioning.
And then we always had five to seven day meetings here
in our little community. And it was called Mt. Vernon. So
we really had plenty of spiritual training. But my father
and all my family was real interested in the life of the
community like the church life and things of that sort. In
fact, when I go out now, we have a reunion or homecoming
once a year at Mt. Vernon Methodist Church. That's where I
always point out to them. ! 1m usually the oldest one there
now, of course. Not too many people who are still going to
church, flying around like I am, you know, at my age.
But I still like it anyhow. And so I say, "Now this
pew right over here in the very front is - was the Charlie
Davis pew." Mr. Charlie and Miss Eddie, all six of us
children were lined up before that pew. And it relly meant
a great deal. And naturally as we grew older and up until I
was 13 years old when I first started college - started my
high school work, at college, then I wasn't the pianist
anymore. They had to train somebody else. But we always
had somebody- it's a real nice community- a real nice one
and we always had somebody to lead the singing and somebody
to play the piano and things like that. And pretty good
voices, you know, a lot of people have pretty good voices
ROBINSON 14
R: that don't think they have. I sometimes think we, back
then, we used the talent we had and we did alright - did
fine. Didn't have much training, but a lot of fun and a lot
of good living.
So those are the things that always affect me.
JB: Now you had your pew marked. Were the rest of the pews
R: Oh, they were one behind the other just like they are
now.
JB: And they were all designated for familes?
R: Well, I don't know if we necessarily- like we had to
have a certain pew, but we just, from habit we just
JB: It just all fell that way.
R: Mm. But I've known even some of the churches - the
Presbyterian we belong to here, we try not to designate a
certain pew for people because we feel like church is for
everybody. But you sort of get in the habit of sitting in a
certain place, even with our own church now.
Well, we find that people are more or less in a way
similar from generation to generation, you know. The ones
of my generation live - still not active at age 90 . My
contemporaries are few and far between now or go out as much
as I do. But I make the .effort now, just to do it because
I'm not going to be old and sitting in a rocking chair.
JB: It'll make you old if you sit in a rocking chair.
R: I think it does too. I'm not ready for that, I'm still
young.
ROBINSON 15
JB: Let's talk a little more about the farm. Was it more
like a plantation? You had people working for you but they
weren't the black slaves?
R: They weren't slaves, because slavery was over then, you
see. That was in 1865. They were actually freed in 1865.
So anyhow, I believe it was back in 1863. Don't push me too
hard! (laughter)
But anyhow, we - they were little communites. It was
just natural for people - they had a big farm. We had, we
considered and everybody considered, was a big farm. But
not like the King Ranch or something like that, you know.
And so it was just natural that they had of - had to have a
lot of black people on the farm to work the farm, you know.
And some white people. There's one white family now
that was on our farm for many years. There were several
boys in the family, several girls. And they have moved into
town. In fact, they lived in the house they live in now.
And they are leaders in the church, leaders in the community
and just 90 years, you know. That's two generationss, I
guess. I started t o say one generation, but it was not, it
was another generation, maybe three.
But they are outstanding people. And it just pleases
me no end to know that, you know, they got a lot of the ir
training on my father's land. And they are proud of it now.
They are really pleased. They say, "Well, now we at least
got our beginning with Mr. Charles." And he did, he was
real good with people. I tell me one thing that really
ROBINSON 16
R: impressed my college friends when they v isited me. And
they really visited me plenty. But anyhow that was in the
horse an buggy days, really.
When I first went to Jacksonville College and did my
high school work up there in this junior college, in the
academy part - the free college. We didn't have highways.
Not very many. And the roads were muddy and things like
that, you know. You can hardly believe it now but it was
really an effort to go even in the buggy or the_wagon or
anything else that your transportation was. But there was
one black man on our farm and he had a family - no, I don't
believe he had any children, just he and his wife. And so
he_ was our pet, you know. He was about my father's age.
They were little boys together. And so the kids at
Jacksonville when I was in college, I'd invite t hem over and
when I'd let t hem - some invited themselves. They'd say,
the black man was named Rob, they said, "Be sure t o have Rob
meet us in the buggy." Because we would miss it if Rob
didn't meet us. He never owned a pair of shoes in his life,
winter or summer. I remember so well, one Christmas
especially. And so, we were all c razy about Rob. He was
just the finest and everything.
And so my fathe r got him a pair of shoes and o ther
clothing for his Christmas present. So he said, "I'll keep
these shirts and things like that , but you take these shoes
back to the store and get your money back because I ain't
going to put them on ." (laughter)
ROBINSON 17
R: And Papa say, "Well, you know you'll freeze around
Christmas time, in January and February." And he said, "No,
I've never owned a pair of shoes in my life and I don't want
one." Don't want a pair of shoes!
And he was out all winter long - all winter. It wasn't
that he stayed in and he had the best health of anybody on
the farm. Really, he did. But they'd say, "Now be sure
that you send Rob to the train to meet us." And they had
the biggest kick - and he was, he was quite odd. He was the
only person, I guess, that I knew, never had on a pair of
shoes in his life. And was out all winter long.
So we - he was quite a fellow, as I say, a very fine
JB: What were your Christmases like? You mentioned that
Christmas- what countries did you •..
R: We had trees just like we do now. You know, Christmases
were very much like they are now. Festive and the neighbors
- we had certain people where we'd all take our dinner and
serve dinner at the big table. Of course, it seems to me
there were always big families. And always a big table in
the dining room and kitchen together. So, and of course,
the eats were just piles naturally. Of course, I figure
everybody seems to think that in the country you have a lot
of food, you know.
And they were, as I say, there were grandchildren and
in our particular family-all the children and grandchildren
all gathered at our home. The Charlie Davis home. And we
ROBINSON 18
R: think back now and think about how much fun it was and
it didn't seem like it was much work.(laughter) It was just
fun. But anyhow, Christmases were very much like - we had a
Christmas tree - don't ever remember not having a Christmas
tree.
JB: You didn't have electricity, did you?
R: Didn't have what?
JB: Electricity?
R: No. No. I'm sure that when I went to Lon Morris, which
is, I say Alexander Free Institute then- BCI, and when I
went we must have not had electricty then. You know, they
had rural electricity a long time after we had it in the
city. But I was tel ling somebody about the way my father
believed making good grades. "You're smart, you've got a
good mind. The Lord has given you a good mind. Do
something with it. Don't just waste it."
And we had just big roaring fires. I'm thinking about
one of them now, of course. Roaring fires and a big
fireplace and this was a big bedroom with 2 big double beds,
a little trundle bed underneath because it was cold. And
when the little children were young, we had trundle beds so
they could sleep in the big warm bedroom where t here were 2
big beds and the trundle beds. Then we had 2 other bedrooms.
But in the winter we congregated, sort of, in the big room.
But we, the girls had a room and then the boys had a room
and then this big room where this big fire was.
But every night of my life, I remember, my father would
ROBINSON 19
R: say, "Now daughter you bring that good oil lamp in
here. Set it by the fireplace on this table and we're going
to get that arithmetic."
didn't get anything else.
really important.
SB: It really was.
So _we got our arithmetic if we
He firmly believed that was
R: It was. That's what we did. Somebody said, "No wonder
your eyes are bad. Just with the oil lamp." And I said,
"You know we just had oil lamps. That's all we had."
JB: That's all we had.
R: Anybody - and even in the city, you know. Everybody a
long time ago didn't have electricity, even in the city.
So anyhow I think of that and I think about this friend
of mine. He said, "No wonder you have bad eyes." And I
said with those chimneys to those lights, as you remember,
were shiny bright. That was the first thing that was done
the next morning is get those oil lamps ready. You remember
that? Oh, I'm glad I was reared in the country. I really
am. I wouldn't take anything for it.
JB: Do you remember - did they have lights of any kind,
like candles or anything on the Christmas tree? Or would
they get - I know the Germans would put candles on theirs.
R: Well, to a certain extent. You know, if there were
candles burning they~ere real careful with them. But we
had the tree and they had some shiny things on it. And, you
know ...
JB: Did you string popcorn?
ROBINSON 20
R: String popcorn and it was really a fun job to do. It
really was. I know my mother - she was a beautiful
seamstress and .we always had a new dress for Christmas. We
always had - of course, t he girls, we always had a doll and
some of the little children would look in one of the
drawers and find them before Christmas.
I remember one of the most unhappy days of my mother's
life, I guess, she had spent so much time on this beautiful
dress that she had dressed the doll, you know. And the
little girl it was for, found it, oh, about a week before
Christmas. "Hm! Boy, look at this doll! Isn't it
beautiful?" She didn't know what to say. She said, "Well,
it is. It's pretty. Let's just have it and I'l l put it
over here." "Oh, let me play with it."
I remember so well. And she said, "Well, we ~on't play
with it just today. We'll play with it some day." Well,
she had a hard time disguising Santa Claus, but •••
JB: I can imagine. Did your mother make all your clothes
then, or ••• ?
R: Yes, most of them. Well see, they did have a lot of
help, but as you know even now by yourself, you can have
help now and with - still there's a lot you have to do
yourself . And I know I have a maid who comes regularly on
Monday and she's supposed to come Mondays and Thursdays.
Well, today is Thursday and , of course, she had something
else she needed t o do at horne. So she is also the custodian
at the First Presbyterian Church here. So she only has
ROBINSON 21
R: those two days. And that's all I want, really, I don't
want her a lot here.
And so she often calls me on Wednesday, "Mrs. Robinson,
I'm just real sorry, but I can't come tomorrow (Thursday)."
But she's always here on Monday, at least.
Well, that's that much. And not only that, but you
know, I have to do an awful lot myself. You know, I want to
in the first place. But of course, I kind of like to do my
own thing about my - even though I've got a lot of stuff,
it's stuff I enjoy. My grandchildren and my
great-grandchildren and the pictures when they were little
babies and every year, and so forth and so on. And so I
really get along fine. Just with the amount of help I have.
JB: Did you play _with the children that worked on the
farm?
R: Very little. The families all picked cotton and had
chores to do on the farm really.
JB: Did they have - the children have education? You were
saying that some of them were all leaders and all. Did they
go to school of some sort - the workers?
R: No, you know in that generation the whites and the
others did not go to the same •••
JB: School.
R: That's, that's kind of the thing that I'm no t clear in
my mind. You know when compulsory education was not until,
when? I don't remember really. But they had to go to
school then but up until then they didn't get much
ROBINSON 22
R: schooling, as you know. Just what they got at home and
from my father and he tried to get - he was not a teacher as
such but he was a college man and he tried to do what he
could in a small way for their education.
But, of course, until then - 1900 - then the blacks
didn't have much education on the farms. And even up until
- I don't know, up until 1915, I guess. But I seem to be
concentrating on my own family which I don't mean to be.
Ours was a nice little community here. Everybody was
ambitious. They wanted to do and they did well. They
really did well.
JB: Did you have your own pony, or did you go in the
surrey?
R: Oh, I rode horseback part of the time. And then we
were 2 and a half miles from the school after about 3 or 4
years. Of course, when I first started school it was just a
one-room school house.
JB: Did you have slates there, or did you - how did you -
have a pad, or did you just have a slate that you used and
then you erased it?
R: We had a blackboard. We were almost brought up on the
blackboards. And then the slates, of course, too. And then
we - you know I can't remember not having note pads and
keeping those things up. I believe we must have, in fact.
SB: Big Chief tablet.
R: That's right. That's right.
JB: Big Chief.
ROBINSON
R: Uh huh. Big Chief. And we still have t hem.
SB: They're still here.
JB: I think they cost more than a nickel. They used to
cost
R: Yes. Considerable more. But those were good days.
Well, I mean, lines were far apart •.•
23
SB: You could write on to them, and ••• They were thick,
too.
R: Yes, I remember. They were nice tablets. They really
were. How old are you?
SB: 75.
R: Well, I would think you were about 70 - 75. I have a
very good friend now, a man who - he's a real good friend of
mine. He's been a good friend of mine for a long time now.
And I live alone so he wants me to understand that any time
in the world I need somebody, not because I'm afraid but -
because I'm literally not afraid of anything. Isn't that
nice? It really is because so many of my friends are scared
to death to live by themsel ves and I do live alone.
So he drops in sometimes once every day. But not every
day, but often every day. But anyhow, he says, "Now Alva, I
want you to understand anytime you want me, day or night,
all you have t o do is call me and I'll be right here."
And fortunately, I'm pretty well taken care of. I have
relatives here. I have a sister living here and my big
family. I'm the oldest and my sister, who is living, is the
youngest. We're the only 2 that are left. And she, of
ROBINSON 24
R: course, checks on me practically every day. But she
has a big family - children and grandchildren of her own,
you see. But anyhow, I'm well taken care of.
I have this daughter in Houston and she worries about
me more than my son does. You know when a man has other
things to do, making a living and everything, you just don't
have time to worry about other people. I tell Jane, "Now
don't you worry about me, I'm fine."
So, I find the trouble with me, probably just like you
and everybody else, we just don't have enough time, do we?
JB: That's right. A day's gone before I'm ready for it.
R: I know , it really is. I find that's true too. And I'm
beginning to depend on this man I was telling you about.
His name is A.D. Welch and he's single and he's about, you
know, a good deal younger than I am. And he's very nice to
see that I get to go anywhere that I want to go. Houston ,
to Alice, Sherman, anywhere, of course, I have relatives in
all those places. And he'll take me and naturally, I 'l l pay
him. At least I try to. He's the nicest person I know of
because he won't let me pay very much and I try because he
does bother me because he doesn't let me pay him. You know,
it's a hard matter, though. He says , "You know, you're my
friend. I like to do for my friends." And says, "I don't
want you to be feeling like you have to pay me." I said,
"It's not that I feel sorry for you. It's - you're real
lucky." He's got a wonderful home, and garden and
everything that 's, you know, and he is real happy. But he
ROBINSON 25
R: doesn't let me pay him. And you know you do sort of
feel like you want to pay for things. But A.D. is this
friend's name - A.D. Searles and he's real interesting -
after his mother died a year ago - not a year ago, 10 years
ago really. He took a great deal of interest in his farm
and his yard and he does well. He's got a beautiful horne
and a beautiful yard and collects things. You know, I guess
you can get obsessed, I guess, with collectibles. And I
tell him so. You're going to have to have hooks to hang
everything. But he's a real nice fellow.
JB: After you graduated from college, at UT, did you got to
work, or •••
R: I taught. I was a teacher.
JB: You taught. Where did you teach?
R: Here in Palestine. In fact, the president of the
school board called me and says, "Now, Alva, I want you to
teach next year." And I said, "I'm not a teacher." I
hadn't got my degree yet and I went back to school. And he
says, "Well, we just have to have you in Palestine school."
He was - my father's real good friend
END OF TAPE I, SIDE l - 45 MINUTES.
SIDE 2.
JB: Okay. So you went to teaching here then?
R: Urn-huh. But, I talked to him the next fall and we had a
wonderful superintendent. He and I were real good friends,
too. So he - I taught that year and I loved it. But I also
met at that November, my husband. I had not known Guy
ROBINSON 26
R: Robinson, my husband. And he was in the first World
War which was 1917 for - and then the war was over the 11th
of November 1918. That's the first World War. You don't
remember that, but you've heard about it.
JB: I've heard about it.
R: So, anyhow when he came home, I had never met him. You
see, he had been in college. He was several years older
than I was. And he had been in college when I was home and
going to dances and things like that at that age and I had
other friends.
But I had never met Guy. So when he came, when he went
into the service, he had just graduated from college,
University Law School. And he was, as he said, cannon
fodder because he was unmarried and he was 25 or something
like that and he knew he would be drafted. And he had set
up his law office; he'd graduated from law school and he had
a good practice but he says, "I realized that I was one of
the first ones that they were going to draft."
So those men then, as now I suppose they do, after they
have graduated from college and go into the training camp
they can go and prepare themselves for officers. So he went
to San Antonio, was down there for 3 months with a lot of
other men in the same category, you know. And they called
them the 90 Day Wonders. And they _were, really. Because
they graduated with a commission and right away they sent
'em over - they sent them over. He went to, oh, I can't
even think of the name now, in Georgia somewhere, Camp
ROBINSON 27
R: Gordon for about 2 or 3 months, that's all. And then
they sent them right over to France, where the fighting was
hard, you know. So he really was an officer and at, let me
see, I think it was in the heat of the battle of the fall
1918. So he ~as wounded badly, severely ~ounded on the 8th
of October of 1914, not 14 because that was when the first
war, when they first went in. America didn't go in until
1917. And this was the fall of 1917 • So the - he was in
the Army in France for a whole year before he got wounded on
the 8th of October of 1918. So then he was in the - he was
real badly wounded, they didn't think he was going to live.
And particularly they didn't think he'd keep his arm.
Gangrene had set in and evrything and he had wounds
everywhere, just on the battlefield. So his very best
friend was an officer too and his best friend brought him
piggyback from the front lines to the First Aid Station, you
know. And he did survive that initial deal and then he was
in the, either France or America , for a solid year after
that before he could be discharged because he was so badly,
you know, bunged up.
But he came out alright. So just as soon as he got
here in 1918, or 19 by then, we met. And it was right
funny when we met. One of our mutual best friends
introduced us but we hadn't been introduced. This friend of
ours had it all figured out that I was to meet him and he
was to meet me. So there was to be a dance, a veteran's
dance that fall when he first got home, and this friend of
ROBINSON 28
R: mine said, "Now Alva, I've got a veteran who has just
come home. He's been wounded and he's sort of in a bad
shape. But I want you to meet him and I want you to go to
this dance with him." I said, "For goodness sake, a veteran
that's just about gone and you want me to go to a dance with
him." He said, "Yes." I said, "I can't do it. I just
won't do it. That's all, I just won't do it. I'm going
with this man I'm already going with regularly." He said,
"Well, all right, we'll just drop it. We won't urge you."
So he said to Guy, my husband, he says, "Now Guy you've
never met this little cute school teacher, but you've got to
meet he r. She's just fine." Guy said, "Of all people I
don't want to meet is a school teacher. Now I'm not going
to meet a school teacher. Get me a date with somebody else.
I will not go with her." So he said, "All right."
So in about a week he accosted us both again,
separately, you see. So finally Guy said, "Well, if she'll
consent, I'll consent." So we had our first blind date to
go to a dance. And really he was a beautiful dancer. He
hadn't gotten wounded in this part of his body. (laughter)
Here and here and here, so anyhow he was a beautiful
dancer.
So I dated him. Isn't that funny? And the next year
we were married . So I think that's always kind of nice that
you didn't - that you knew that you were not going to date
this person, you know. But you ended up doing it.
JB: Where did they have the dance?
ROBINSON 29
R: At the Elks Hall here, and they had the best dances in
the world, we thought, at the Elks Hall - an upstairs hall
downtown, the Elks Club. And that's where they had all the
big dances.
And that was more fun and they don't have a place here
now in this modern day. They don't have a nice big upstairs
hall for dances. Isn't that a shame?
JB: They don't have the dances anymore, either.
R: No, that's true. It's really true.
JB: I understand that they had an opera house here. Do you
remember that?
R: A beautiful one. A beautiful opera house. And they
had more beautiful operas. We really were lucky to have
such nice operas. That's the doorbell.
JB: What types of plays or operas or whatever did they have
at the opera house?
R: Oh, they really did have excellent operas. And then a
lot of - they had a little theater and they had, you know,
local talent a lot. It was real good. You know how it is
when you live somewhere and your hometown people put on
things? If they're pretty good , you always think they're
just wonderful . We have a pretty good little theate r here
now, don't we?
JB: Do they still - of course, I realize it's gone n~w, can
you tell us something about what the theater looked like?
R: Well, it was really just like a city theater and small ,
of course. But they did, they had a very active group,
ROBINSON 30
R: local group, that saw to it that we had several operas
during the season. And it was just like a civic center,
wasn't it? You've seen picures of it. A civic center in a
way, wasn't it? You know you've seen pictures of it,
haven't you?
It was down on this little triangle from the - the
First Presbyterian Church is on Avenue A from the courthouse
uptown and this little triangle in there and that is where
the opera house was.
And it was very- quite, quite •••
JB: Elaborate.
R: Yes. It was nice, very nice. And, of course, naturally
- you've been here a few years but you haven't been here
long enough to know very much about things like that, have
you?
Voice: Well, I was born here.
R: You were born here. Well, but sometimes I think even
though we're born in a place, we're not too actively
associated with it unless we, you know, are really
concerned.
Now as a little girl you weren't an actress or didn't
take dancing or things like that. Well, recently, of
course , they have pretty good little dancing groups here. I
think Joy Bently - Joy Cow - Cow/Bently is an exce llent
little dancer. But then we didn't have dancing as such.
But we had shows, a lot of shows, and there was a really a
lot of local talent that we took a great deal of pride in.
ROBINSON 31
JB: Did- on the interior was it •••
Did it have a stage and things like that?
R: Yes, uh-huh.
JB: Did they have the seats then that carne up in a slant
or, with ••.
R: Not quite as much of a slant as we have now. But
anyhow, yes, they had a nice slant. Box seats. They even
had box seats, you know. As the bigger theater does.
Except on a smaller scale naturally .
JB: Did they hold dances or anything, too, or .••
R: No.
JB: Just the opera and things like that?
R: But the Elks Club was the thing where they had dances
as a rule, or the big entertainments. It was an upstairs
club and it was very - a nice, big place and ~ell taken care
of and I remember •••
Voice: That was in the same building, wasn't it?
R: No . The opera hous~was all by itself.
JB: Do you remember anything, then ••• I was reading in
some brochures about the Trinity River and a lady was
telling me about steamboats corning up. Do you remember
those?
R: As such, because see, I lived this way about from
the river was about 25 or 30 miles and 10 miles from
Palestine, Palestine was about 10 or 12 miles from the
steamboat landing _and , but they do have the .•• You know
I've never been down to the landing, have you?
ROBINSON 32
Voice: Yes.
R: You have. It's a shame that I haven't, I should do it
sometime. But I'm to the point now that, you know, I a~ways
have to go with somebody when I go like that. So I don't­if
I've missed it, I've just missed it. But, anyhow, they
had the ferry, you know, going from the Trinity Riuer bridge
over here - they didn't have the bridge, of course, at the
time where the Trinity River bridge is now - they had a
ferry landing that went across the river and if you wanted
to go to Fairfield or Oakwood, or any of that section, you
went - had to cross the river on the ferry.
JB: With your horse and buggy?
R: Uh-huh, with your horse and buggy.
JB: How did they propel the ferry?
R: I don't know that. I •••
JB: Did you ever go across on the ferry?
R: No, I really didn't.
JB: You were too far.
R: Uh-huh. My father had land in different sections of
the county. But a promoter tried to sell him some land down
there at the bridge where the ferry was then, but where the
bridge is now and he was sensible enough not to buy it.
Because he lived in this direction a l ong way and that was
in this direction, see. But he had sense enough to know
that was not for him.
JB: Back in the early times when you and your husband first
met and then you_were here, what were the streets and
sidewalks and things like here in town?
ROBINSON 33
R: Oh, the streets were muddy, not paved. Now I'm talking
about early. Now you're talking about when we were married?
JB: Well, early times. Did people wear long dresses then?
R: No, I don't remember myself ever wearing those real
long dresses. But my mother did and my grandmother, of
course. My grandmother lived with us for years and she, of
course, I never saw her in anything else but a long dress.
JB: How did they keep them out of the mud?
R: Oh, (laughter) they didn't go out very much, that was
one thing about it. So, anyhow, she was - of course, we
thought she was a great woman and she was. She had 5 little
girls and raised them all by herself. Her farm was near -
oh, between here and Brush Creek. Elmwood, I'm trying to
think of Elmwood. And she had a big farm out there but she
sold it later. But, of course, she couldn't live out there
by herself, and her children were married.
But she had a real prosperous farm. Her husband did
die early and she had 5 little girls. Imagine being on the
farm by yourself with 5 little girls. So she had to have
managers to take care of the farm. But the oldtimers said,
"Well, Miss Angie really did a good job. She put on that
sunbonnet and apron" and they always tied the apron around
here, you know. And said, "She went out and saw that every
man was working. They sure didn't put anything over on
her."
She saw they took care of everything and they did.
They really did a good job. That's the Howard Valentine now.
ROBINSON 34
R: That's my grandmother's. It's out there and Howard's
grandfather, I guess, bought it from my grandmother.
JB: Well, when you used to go to town then, in your surrey.
Did they have liveries that you tied the surrey, or did you
just tie them up on the street, or, how did you go about
doing it?
R: As a rule, you know, 10 miles is a long way in a
surrey. It really is, isn't it?
JB: How long did it take you to come to town?
R: Oh, about 2 hours and maybe a little bit longer - 2
hours and 15 minutes, something like that. And, as I say,
the horses had to have water when they had come. I don't
ever remember them putting them in a livery and feeding them
or anything like that. I'm not just sure of that.
But, we didn't take the time to stay all day long as a
rule. I remember my father when he'd come, of course, he'd
come more than we did when I was a little girl. Because,
you know, we had school and we had things to do. We always
had a l o t to do, not like the kids now.
Now, it's, "Oh, Mother, what will I do? What are we
going to do today?" We never thought about that, you know.
There was always something to do. But anyhow, when you'd
come to town, you got what you came for and you went home.
JB: And he would come to town for supplies and •••
R: Yes. He'd come. And as I said before, he had this
little store on the plantation, you know, where he had kept
supplies for his tenants. And he had several families - 30
ROBINSON 35
R: or 40 farniles, really. Because he had farms here and
here, you know, in different places. And they were all real
happy and we were real happy with them. We were fortunate to
have nice people. At least, the only thing I remember of
anyone stealing of any consequence was one of the tenants
stole my engagement ring.
SB: Did they have sharecropper's cabins? Did they build
those on the farm?
R: Oh, yes.
SB: Someplace - for the workers to live.
R: Oh, yes, my father had everything pretty good for them,
in the way of a horne and a big fireplace and a little stove.
They really had it pretty comfortable. And plenty of shoes,
except, as I was telling about Rob, my favorite tenant who
had never worn a pair of shoes. Never had owned a pair of
shoes.
And one Christmas my father, he always gave clothes,
things like that for Christmas. So Rob, this favorite hand
of ours, said, "Now, Cap'n, don't you keep these shoes,
'cause I'm not going to wear them. Take 'ern back and get
your money back for them. Because I'm not - I never has
worn a pair of shoes in my whole life and I sure ain't going
to start now." Isn't that something?
And this was Christmas. He never had owned a pair of
shoes. Never had worn one, never wanted to wear one, and
never expected to wear one, he says. So he went out in the
snow and ice barefooted.
ROBINSON 36
JB: When you started teaching school, you started in a one
schoolroom? And then went on - when you started teaching,
what was it like in the schools, then?
R: Well, just like they are now. Very much like they are
now. I taught English and math in junior high school.
JB: In junior high. What grades were you teaching?
R: The grades then were 7th and 8th grades that I taught
in. I taught math just like my father taught me how to do.
I used to tell them, Dad taught me, if you can do math well,
you're pretty well educated. So he saw that I got math. I
really was pretty good in math. And I say this because my
father just felt like it was necessary. I don't mean he was
ugly to me. He taught me in front of the fireplace _ ~ith an
oil lamp. And I really knew math real well. And so did I
English. I also taught English.
JB : Did you have the paddle that you could paddle •.•
R: Well, I don't believe I ever paddled them. When I - I
did more or less like they do now. No, no, I didn't. I
didn't have any disciplinary trouble. I had 2 boys. One of
them is dead and gone. But he was a troublemaker. But I
never did paddle him as such. But I did send him to the
principal, who padd l ed him. And then his mother waited on
me and boy, she was a humdinger! And she said , "Now you are
not supposed to paddle my son. He's not a bad boy. He's a
good boy." I don't think others in Palestine said so, but
she did.
And so, anyhow , I said, "Well , he has to be paddled.
ROBINSON 37
R: Somebody's got to paddle him. If Mr. (whatever his
name was) was principal, can't do it, I can." "Don't you
dare paddle my son." I said, "Well, I'm going to let him
stay at home all day tomorrow with you. But," I said, "he
can come back if you can promise me that he will settle
down." (Oh, he was a ringtail, really.) So anyhow, there
was one other. I did paddle him a little bit.
I guess maybe I was thinking about this first boy's
mother jumping on me and jumping on every teacher that he
had because you know how that thing can snowball, you know.
So , anyhow, I had no disciplinary problems. That's the
only boy that gave me any trouble. This little one, younger,
I paddled very lightly like I would one of my grandchildren
or something, you know, very like that.
But , anyhow, I enjoyed my teaching. I thoroughly
enjoyed it. After I married Guy Robinson, he was of the
age , you know , I don 't mean he was harsh, but he just didn't
believe in women working. That's all. And he said, before
we were married, "That's one thing I'm going to require is
that you don't work." I said, "Well, that'll be fun, won't
it?" He said, "You can do volunteer work, just don't get
paid for it." I said, "You mean work all day long and not
get a penny for it?" "That's what I mean. Volunteer."
So, anyhow , I didn't work, because he was unhappy about
it. In fact, the only time he was really unhappy with me was
because I substituted once without asking his permission.
And the substitution lasted 2 or 3 months before the
ROBINSON 38
R: substitution was done, in the second World War. And he
had told me not to, but I hadn't had a chance that day to
ask him. If he'd please give me permission to teach until
the end of the year - from the end of January 'til the end
of school.
It must have been that I finally consented to the
principal and then I said, "Well, my husband's going to have
40 fits about it. And," I said, "I'll be there next
Monday." And this was about Tuesday the week before. I
said, "I'll be there next Monday." "No," he said, "I've got
to have you tomorrow." Said, "My back's just against the
wall. I've just got to have you tomorrow."
Well, that was ten o'clock in the morning, so I think
the only thing I was thinking about was not asking Guy's
permission, but think of, "What am I going to wear to
school? What am I going do this, what are going to be my
lesson plans." I wasn't thinking about Guy, you see, I was
thinking about myself.
So I said, "Okay, if I have to be there in the morning,
I'll be there." And I was. But in the meantime, you see,
my husband - I shouldn't be telling this, because this was
kind of in the family. In the meantime, Guy had not come
home for lunch that day, you see. And I had planned to tell
him when he got home that afternoon. But in the meantime
the paper had come out - the Herald Press - and about - when
do you all get out, about 2 or 1:30 or somewheres
thereabout?
ROBINSON 39
Voice: Yes. We do now, I don't know what they did then.
R: Then they got the paper out soon after lunch. And here
I was at home slaving, thinking about what I was going to
have the maid do for lunch and how she was going to take
care of my child and this, that and the other. And so - one
of his buddy friends came in the bank where he was working
and he said, "Well, I see you've put your wife to work!"
(laughter)
He had read the paper and Miss .•• had put it in- had
got it in time for a news item, you know. That I was
teaching the rest of the term. And so my husband was kind
of like that. He was a fine person, but he, you know,
things bothered him when they came like that. So he had 40
fits when he came in that afternoon. And found I was
teaching the next morning. Well, we got along fine, but we
sure did have a hard time for a week or two. (laughter)
For that was really one of those wretched times. Well,
I always had plenty of help . Then, you know, we got help,
in your kitchen 7 days a week and paid three and a half or
four dollars a week for them, you know.
Now, I wasn't imposing on the help. That was normal.
Imagine, not even five dollars a week - sure it wasn't a
week. Might have been. Might have been. But anyhow, we
got along fine and finally we were real happy again.
(laughter)
But anyhow, he admitted it, he did not believe in women
working. They needed to stay at home, take care of the
ROBINSON 40
R: children and see that they were well fed and taken care
of. The kids would rebel if we did that now. I don't know.
But we wouldn't have enough food to put on the table a lot
of times.
B: In a lot of places.
R: That's true. That's true.
JB: Were there ever any trips that you used to take iri your
car?
R: Oh, definitely, I'd forgotten about that. I guess I
must have been 12 or 13 when we got our first car. In fact,
when everybody got first cars, in the early teens. And my
Dad was the kind of person, as I've said before, he always
paid up in the fall. That was the custom then, you know.
If you can pay up, you were well off. And he was fortunate
enough to be able to borrow the money and then pay up and
then borrow some more for the next year.
But all that year he was ? a little place that he
economized and saved his money for a summer trip. It was a
nice, big summer trip in the buggy - the big buggy, you
know. We had a little shorter family buggy, but we also had
a big one. And this first trip I remember we didn't go very
far, but we went to Galveston. That was pretty far, you
know. And took the nurse with us for all of our children
and had a wonderful time. But after that we had gotten a
car. And then - that was a 7-passenger Reo. Do you
remember the 7-passenger Reo?
SB: 7-passenger Reo.
ROBINSON 41
R: And we had room - it was ?-passenger for the whole
family and the nurse to take care of the children while we
galavanted in
SB: Probably a touring car.
R: Yeah, it was a touring car. When it rained we had to
put up side curtains, you know.
JB: No glass to roll up.
R: No glass to roll up, just the curtains. It was an open
car, of course. You didn't go very fast, so it didn't
matter if it was open and breezy. But, anyhow , we usually
went to Arkansas and for some r eason my father figured we
all needed the hot springs and the hot springs in Little
Rock or Hot Springs?
JB: Hot Springs.
R: And we had to do that every summer. We could have a
little short trip now around maybe, of course, New Orleans,
but not often. We went to New Orleans about twice in that
7-passenger Reo.
JB: How long did it take you to get there, do you
remember?
R: Well, it was a pretty good car. It was a new Reo .
They must not have made them too long.
SB: They made them later on. They got where they would do
a hundred miles an hour.
R: We ll, we didn't have that kind of - b u t it was good, i t
would go 40 miles an hour.
SB: Once later on we ••• called the Reo a speed wagon, I
believe.
ROBINSON 42
JB: Of course, you didn't have roads back then. Highways
R: That's right. The mud in the roads - well, we could go
to Dallas pretty well. But they weren't pave~~ell like
they are now, of course.
Sometimes we went to Dallas, but it was a pretty good
trip though.
JB: Did you count it by how many flat tires you had?
R: Well, we were fortunate. We didn't have just too, too
many. I really don't remember. After all, I remember how
particular the boys and my father were about seeing that
everything was taken care of in that car before we left.
And we would - were pretty lucky.
JB: You didn't have .••
SB: We took it to st. Louis. It took 20 days and 20 tires.
That's what you call going on a safari.
JB: When you went to Galveston in the big buggy and you
have to camp out overnight, where did you stay - just in the
woods?
R: No, they had - they didn't call them motels. But they
had one place on the way we stopped.
JB: You could make that to Galveston in 2 days time?
R: Well, about 3.
JB: About 3? Probably a stagecoach inn •••
R: Yes - that's right. In fact, our farm, which is now 10
miles on the Tyler Highway. There was a great big barn. My
father always had big things and at one time it was a
ROBINSON 43
R: stagecoach stop at my father's barn. At the horne,
really.
And they spent the night and we had - that was early
though, of course, in 1905 or something like that.
JB: Where was the stagecoach corning from and going to?
R: Well, I don't know where they were going from, but they
were going to Tyler.
JB: Going to Tyler. And your family would feed them and
bed them for the night. Sort of what we call now a bed and
breakfast?
R: Yes, uh-huh, that's right. And they'd take care of
them to see that they were taken care of, for a fee, of
course. But , it was - I remember that slightly because we
didn't have stagecoaches real long, did we after then -
after 1900. I don't think so. I think that was early
days.
JB: The - can you think of anything else?
R: Well, you can say that again about the streets being
muddy. They were real muddy. Even the streets in Palestine,
of course. Oh, they were just terrible. And - but they
finally got them. We ' ve got pretty good streets now, you
know.
JB: They're nice now. When they were muddy like that and
you had to go to town, did you lose your shoes in them, or
could you go around them , or how did .••
R: Oh,_ we stayed home mainly. I tell you there was a real
bad road between Palestine and just before you got to my
ROBINSON 44
R: father's house - maybe 3 miles before we got there.
But, anyhow, when we'd call the doctor - we had a
doctor in Neches, Dr. Seal, who was Mrs. Henry L1. n k' s
brother, and Mrs. Henry Link's husband was a doctor here;
Dr. Henry Link. And so when anybody was real sick in the
family, why my father would call Dr. Henry Link here. But,
as a rule, the Neches doctor was real good himself. As a
rule the Neches doctor took care of us, for illness, for the
babies and things like that.
But I was only about nearly 2 years old when the first
baby carne after me; I was the first child. And my father
had come home at that time with measles. He had never had
the measles and from Palestine. He had contracted them
here. And, of course, my mother being pregnant - the baby
was due in a month. She took measles from him. And, of
course, I took the measles from her. But the little baby
carne premature and, of course, naturally, she had phlebitis
and other complications like we do now and so Dr. Henry
tried his best to save the baby. He's the one who carne from
Palestine. But the baby died and Marna was real sick; just
very sick. So they survived. Of course, my mother did and
they came - Dr. Henry called Papa and said, "Mr. Davis,
you'll have to get the wagon and team and come down and pull
me up Newsbull Hill." The ruts were this deep, you kn~w.
And he was in the car- no, he wasn't either. He was in his
buggy, that's what he was in. Because that was early, you
see - early 1900.
ROBINSON 45
R: So anyhow, that ~as what happened everytime anybody
would come out that direction. When the roads were real wet
and real, real muddy and my Daddy always had a team and
mules and he would send down and pull them up the hill.
That's the only way they could get up.
And, so anyhow, that was Dr. Henry, that came and
that's what happened, he had to go down - had to send down.
Of course, he never did do those things himself because he
had plenty of black help to do it. And so, anyhow, they
made it but then he had to keep that team to take the doctor ·
back down the hill. He couldn't even go down the hill it
was so bad. But thank goodness, you don't have to do that
now.
JB: But since you were talking about the doctor, do you
remember any home remedies, or any medications that they
used then?
R: Oh, yes. They always had a book - a medical book, like,
you know. And they did a lot o f home remedies, and you know
they were good, too. The only thing it seems to me that I
remember distinctly you had to have camomile - that was
typhoid fever or, you know, the mosquitoes were pretty
terrible.
However, I don't remember our house never having
screens. We always had screems. That was about the first
things that my Dad had put up, I think, was the screens to
the windows and doors.
But anyow, what did mosquitoes cause? Malaria. There
ROBINSON
R: was a lot of malaria then. And camomile, black
draught, what else was the oldtime remedy? Quinine.
SB: Castor oil.
46
R: Castor oil. But we almost - we kids almost rebelled at
castor oil.
SB: Put a little turpentine in the castor oil.
R: Just a little tiny bit. Just to make it a little more
palatable maybe. (laughter) But, anyhow, I don't believe
we had that at all. we had to take it.
JB: Did the blacks go with the doctors, or did they have
some of their own home remedies, or can you remember?
R: Well, my father took care of the black people. He had
the doctors for them and everything else, just like he would
for us. Well, of course, he had home remedies, too, that he
tried himself first. But when they got real sick he always
had the doctor.
JB: I know sometimes they might rebel and want their own
remedy.
R: No, I think they always did what "Cap'n" said to do.
Yeah, they did, they were crazy about him. And they were
real honest, as I say. They didn't often steal things.
But my Dad was sick one time and here was the kitchen
and came through a hall that had a wainscoating on it, a
ledge like that, don't you know? And I had for a change, I
think one of the maids were not there, and I'd washed the
dishes that morning so I wanted to take care of my engagment
ring. So when I went in to see my dad, he was sick in the
ROBINSON 47
R: bedroom over here. When I went by that ledge I wanted
to lay this ring down somewhere, so I put it down on this
little ledge. Well, when one of our, not too honest men
carne in to see "Cap'n" that morning, he saw it as he walked
through here to the bedroom. So he picked it up. And I
knew I had left it there. But he had gone out into the farm
and my Dad had to get up and dressed, take his six-shooter
with him, I guess, because he did like to be prepared when
he went out because you never knew what would happen. But
nothing ever did happen. They all respected him a lot.
But, anyhow, he discovered the ring the man had given to his
wife, after spending the night in jail. So we finally found
it. That was fortunate.
JB: That was, because he could have done away with it.
R: Oh, yeah. He had given it to his wife, and she had it
under her tongue when Dad called the officers and said they
knew he got it because he walked right by.
So the officer- deputy - carne out and she had it
wrapped up in a little rag under her tongue when they
searched her. They brought a woman with them and searched
her. We finally got it and why we did is that when they
went to town to take him to jail because it was too evident
they almost knew she had it. And she took it out from
underneath her tongue, wrapped up in this little rag. And
on the way to jail, my father was with the deputy and the
woman and the other. So anyhow, she had thrown it out,
wrapped up in this little rag, in a sandy spot on the road,
ROBINSON 48
R: 10 miles out, now - no, it was just about 5 miles from
Dad's. And so she had to spend the night in jail. So that
night she says, "Now, Cap'n, if you'll take me back out
there" (that's the next day), "I'll show you where that ring
is. " So he took her, said , "That's fine. Corne on, let's
go. " So they went out and she says, "Now, it's right along
here. Let's get out and walk around here. II And sure
enough, he saw the little blue rag that the ring was tied up
in, right there in that little sand spot by the road. Isn't
that something? So anyhow, they found it , just because it
was wrapped up in that little rag, I'm sure.
JB: Yes, if it had been free
R: It would have been gone. So I said to Guy, I said, I
phoned him, of course, right after it happened , say this day
Tuesday. He said, "Oh, don't grieve, I'll get you another
one." I thought, gosh, he had a hard time getting that one.
So I said, "Don't worry. Just don't worry. We'll do
something about it." But the next day I sure was glad to
have it because I would ••• die if he wasn't able to get
that one much less two.
JB: Much less getting another one.
R: Well, anyhow, a lot of things happen as you tread the
path along.
R:I think those things are interesting, as you say. I
really don't •.. I was just telling Nadine that, too, could
be interesting. I said I don't remember having much trouble.
Everything was kind of fun. Isn't it kind of nice when you
ROBINSON 49
R: look back, that everything is fun? And I believe that
that's true with life. You might as well remember the good
things, not the bad. Everybody has good and bad as for
that. But anyhow ••• we tread along and do pretty good,
don't we?
JB: Yes, you're doing marvelous. I hope I do that good.
R: When you get 2 months from 90.
JB: Right.
L: Sept. 4.
R: Sept. 4. Oh, you remembered it.
July 4 it will be 2 months from July 4th. And it looks
like that Jane and Charles, my children, are determined they
are going to have a birthday party for me on my 90th
birthday.
JB: They should!
R: I fought it. I didn't want it to begin with, but now
I'm getting right excited about it. I've already invited at
least one guest - Lavene is coming.
SB: She gave me one on my 75th. The first birthday party I
ever had.
END OF TAPE I, SIDE 2, ABOUT 40 MINUTES.