THE LONG JOURNEY



Papa's health had failed, so he sold the farm and we moved to Johnson County in the fall of 1901. Papa had bought a farm north of Godly, Texas. We made the move in covered wagons and the men drove the cows along behind the wagons.

At night we would sleep in the wagons and cook our meals on a camp fire. I do not remember the number of days we were on the trek to our new home, but Sunday was one of them.

Early Sunday morning Papa said, "There will be no traveling today."

So we all had a day of rest and the stock needed the rest, too.

We arrived at our new home at last. It was only from McKinney, Texas, in Collin County to Godley, Texas in Johnson County, but a long tiresome trip in a covered wagon. The house we moved to was small. So in a short time Papa had carpenters at work building on two rooms with an entrance hall, making it a five-room house.

Katie and I were soon in school, and it was all a new experience to me, as it was my first school. We moved to our new home in the 1901, and in 1904, on November 29th, Papa passed away. I was ten years old and Katie fifteen. Mama and we girls continued to live on alone. She rented the land out to be worked, and Katie and I were transferred from Bruce School to Godley, Texas; a high school and grade school combined.

We had been walking to school at Bruce,but Godley was about four miles from our house, and we went to school in a buggy. But later when she was out of school, I went horseback, using a ladies side saddle, which had a pocket on the right side that I could put my books and lunch in. But at this time of writing all this, about sixty-five years later, side saddles are never seen, and are considered antiques.




Hard Times Old Dolly and the Train