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| | Toyah
High School Alumni Reunion"Three
ladies who live in California and were members of the Toyah High Class of 194l
organized a school reunion held in October, 1991 (it was their 50th reunion).
This is a picture of the alumni who attended from all over the United States.
I am wearing my white letterman sweater with large T (in the first row). We were
the Toyah Buffaloes." - Courtesy Jesse L. Moore, Jr. |
Letters and Photos
from Jesse L. Moore, Jr.
March 12, 2002
I was born in Woodlawn, Texas (just north of Marshall)
on February 29, 1928. My Dad, Mother, Sister & I moved to Toyah in 1932. My brother
Watson was born in Pecos. I see that he sent you an e-mail last year after I told
him about your web-site. Watson retired last year as Controller at Hardin-Simmons
University in Abilene and he and his wife live on a ranch near Roby, Texas.
Our mother played third base on the Toyah Women's PTA baseball team. She
is kneeling to the very right in the first row. They played teams from Big
Springs to Sierra
Blanca and at towns in between.
This is a quote from "Toyah Taproots."
"On September 14, 1896, the Reeves County Grand Jury indicted J. B.
Miller, charging him with the murder of Sheriff G. A. Frazer, that he, with malice
aforethought, did kill G. A. Frazer with two shots from a shotgun."
The story goes on for almost two pages and includes this "at any rate, a lynch
party took over, and Jim Miller was hanged." This is found on pages 46-47 of Toyah
Taproots.
On page 49 is a picture of Miss Ella Frazer, sister to Sheriff
Bud Frazer. "It was said that when her brother was killed by Jim Miller, Ella
Frazer rode with the posse that went after Miller." - Jesse L. Moore, Jr.
Centennial, Colorado
March 12, 2002
In October,
1991, my letter sweater was 47 years old and a little tight. I have recently passed
my 74th birthday. - Jesse L. Moore, Jr. Centennial, Colorado
I love your web-site
for Toyah, Texas. I spent most of my summers growing up in Toyah.. By the time
I came around, the school had already closed, and the town would already be considered
a ghost town. My father grew up and graduated from Toyah in the late 60's. My
grandfather ranched and farmed just south of town up until his death a few years
ago.
I have many great boyhood memories of exploring the old buildings
around town after the chores were done. I still have many of the cool artifacts
I found while searching old home sites. I believe the building which sits south
of the interstate and has "Bar and Grill" on the front is a remnant prop building
for an old movie that was filmed in the area. The movie is called "Fandango" and
I was told the Toyah gym was used as the setting for the scene of a dance in the
movie. I would appreciate confirmation, but that seems to be born out in watching
the movie.
One thing that troubles me about Toyah is that for the whole
town, there is only one historical marker with just the most general information
concerning the town. Each of the sites photographed and mentioned deserves recognition,
and that is something that I'd like to help change. - Brad Gibson,
Midland, Texas, May 07, 2002
I
would love to get more information on Toyah, Texas from the late 1800's to mid
1900's. My grandmother Margie Lee Holmes(Brady) was born there in 1904 to J.F.
and Josephine Holmes. Any information would be much appreciated! - Alison
Sargent, Email : ajsargent@aol.com 20/Apr/2002
.....
I was born in Toyah on Feb. 29,1928. I grew up there and went to school there,
my father was a car inspector for the T&P railroad. When I was 14 years old I
got my first job as a dishwasher at the Toyah cafe, working the night shift from
11:00 p.m. untill 7:00 a.m. for one dollar a day. Then at the age of 16 I went
to work for the T&P railroad on the section gang working for J.B. Tolson track
forman. When I turned 17 I left school and went into the Air Force. where I spent
the next 3 years. when I was discharged I went back to school and got my high
school deploma. ..... I will keep looking for things that might help you with
this web pages. Keep up the good work. I hope more people from my period in Toyah
get involved and we can get some e-mail addresses of people we have lost contact
with over the years. You may put my e-mail on your web page if you like. maby
i will hear from some of my old friends from home. Yours Truly George Hawthorne,
May 06, 2001
E-mail address: grhaw@lakenet.com
I
RECIEVED YOUR WEB PAGE TODAY FROM A FRIEND OF MINE IN COLORADO WHO WAS BORN AND
RAISED IN TOYAH. ALSO WE WERE BORN ON THE SAME DAY. FEB. 29, 1928 AND BOTH
LIVED THERE UNTIL WE WENT IN THE SERVICE ABOUT 1946. IF YOU WOULD LIKE SOME HISTORY
ABOUT TOYAH PLEASE LET ME KNOW. I WOULD LIKE TO GIVE YOU ALL THE HELP I CAN. -
THANK YOU. GEORGE HAWTHORNE. April 07, 2001
I'm the other half of the "Leap Year" guys. You have already heard from George
Hawthorne. I lived in Toyah from 1932 through 1945 and went all through
elementary and high school there. My father was District Roadmaster with the Texas
& Pacific Railway. TOYAH TAPROOTS was copyrighted and published in 1984 by Nortex
Press, a Division of Eakin Publications, Inc., in Austin, Texas. This book was
compiled by The Toyah Historical & Centennial Committee. I found your Web site
and sent to George. Really appreciate what you are doing. More later! - Jesse
L, Moore, Jr. April 08, 2001
The
picture of the building as "school" is actually an old hotel on the top and a
mercantile store below. The picture of the "High School" is an El-Hi school. I
attended grades 1-4 here and my brother 1-12. I lived in Toyah from 1936 to
1946. My father was J.L. Moore the District Roadmaster for the Texas & Pacific
RR.
(Texas Escapes) is a great idea. Keep up the good work. - W.
Moore, April 10, 2001
I
graduated from Toyah High School, class of 1952. John Billieter and I were
the only two seniors that year. My Dad (L.E. Adams) had a grocery store and a
dry goods store on the east end of the building that is shown on main st., the
rest of the building was hotel rooms. I think that is correct! This building on
main st. is not the school. - Alvin R. Adams, April 21, 2001
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Growing
up in Toyah
Letters from John A. Taylor, Class of 1967 Saturday,
February 03, 2001
I found the site of Toyah today and it was a little
sad to see the state of the places where I once worked, played and went to school.
The picture you identified as a school was actually our community center
and Mr. Thompson's barber shop.
The old school that
was two story was built in 1912 but in the 60's it was our gym, because the second
story floor was torn out and the basketball court was put in. I went to school
there from 1961-1967.
One time there were 7 saloons and an Air Force
base located there. While I was growing up The old hotel was in use by the railroad
people because Toyah was used as a roundhouse for the passenger trains in those
days.
The old town is about gone but my fond memories of this great town
will never die. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for putting this site
on the net. - John A. Taylor Class of 1967
Sunday,
February 04, 2001
I would like to share some information about a picture
that Mr. Thompson, our town barber had in his shop. The story about this
picture was told to me and the other young boys who would go to the barber shop.
Mr. Thompson had a very old picture of three men that where hanged in a barn by
the neck and there was a small boy and his dog looking in. This was a real picture
of a hanging and Mr. Thompson told us that these men were in a poker game
with the local sheriff in Toyah at the old hotel and they were cheating and there
was gunplay and the sheriff was killed. The three men were caught in New Mexico
and were hanged for murder.
When
I lived there the Scott Hotel was still operating with the owners Kenneth
Scott and his mother, she was in her 90's at the time in 1961. The old hotel was
still the same as it was in the 1880's and the railroad conductors would stay
there until the train returned to change personnel. Toyah was the Roundhouse,
as they called it, because those conductors from Big
Spring, Texas would get off at Toyah and the conductors from El Paso would
take the train from Toyah to El Paso and on the return the Big Spring conductors
would take the train from Toyah to Big Spring.
I attended school there
from my 7th to 12th grade and we had 4 people in our senior class. We played 6
man football, basketball, tennis and track for the Toyah Buffaloes and
our school colors were black and white. There were 8 classrooms in the whole school
for grades 1-12. Our classes had one teacher which had two grade levels in it
and they would teach one level and then the next.
I am a school teacher/coach
and owe alot to the education that I received at Toyah I.S.D. Somewhere
around 1970 the Supreme Court of Texas ruled in favor of Pecos I.S.D
for taking over Toyah school. Toyah School Board and citizens fought for 7 years
to keep their school but lost in the court ruling. Now that the school was no
longer in Toyah, the lifeblood of this once great western town died because the
youth was taken away to another town. I will find some pictures and send them.
- John A. Taylor
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Letters
from Toyah visitors
Saturday,
January 12, 2002
I stumbled across your excellent web site, which includes
a section of several pages on Toyah. I am from Ohio, but I first visited Toyah
back in 1974 while traveling down interstate 20/10 from Cleveland to Tucson. I
discovered the Fina truck stop at the freeway exit. It was a wonderful place,
albeit rustic. They had the best chili on the entire length of I-20 and I-10 across
West Texas. The proprietor often was seated right in the restaurant, wearing a
white cowboy hat. Little wooden games where you were supposed to remove the pegs
were installed at every table. I think that they cleaned the bathrooms at least
once a year, but the food was wonderful.
Once I started stopping in
Toyah, I returned every year for another bowl of chili. One year I took a little
drive around town and discovered all of the old abandoned buildings that are on
your web site. There is no publicity at all that Toyah is pretty much a ghost
town, but it was clear to see that is is when you wandered around. One year the
front door was open at the school, and so I wandered in. One of the letter writers
on your web site pointed out that the school was mainly a gym, and he was right.
I have a picture around someplace of the Toyah basketball arena, which was the
"school." In subsequent years somebody boarded up the front door, as is shown
on your web site, and thus you can't see the Toyah basketball floor anymore.
In 1998 or 1999 I stopped in Toyah as usual on the way to Tucson, and I was
very sad to find that the truck stop had gone out of business. I stopped at a
tavern/restaurant next door, that seemed to be the only business in Toyah. They
also had chili, but it was a highly inferior version compared to the old truck
stop. It even had beans. Ugh. It seemed clear to me that a new modern expanded
truck stop in Pecos had run the Toyah truck stop out of business. I have eaten
at the Pecos truck stop, and they should be ashamed of their chili. But, I guess
truck drivers are looking for something other than chili nowadays. They should
also be ashamed of themselves.
The Toyah truck stop sold a book about
the history of Toyah in a maroon binding that looked like a high school yearbook.
It apparently was produced on the occasion of some local historical date. It was
called Toyah Taproots, and I still have my copy of this book.
I haven't
been to Toyah since 1999, but I was extremely happy to see your web site memorial.
I always thought that Toyah was the most entertaining town west of the Pecos in
Texas, although that may not be saying much, and John Madden may disagree, given
his fascination with Van Horn.
Toyah has the additional distinction as
the first place where you get a decent view of the mountains while driving westbound
on I-20. This is a welcome site after about 1,000 miles of flat desert east of
Toyah. The main other place of distinction on this route between Texarkana and
El Paso is Thurber, another town that has fortunately made your web site. Thurber
still has two restaurants, including the New York Hill one that you discuss on
the site. There is a second restaurant in a much more historic brick building
right in the center of the old town. This restaurant used to occupy another historic
building right at the freeway exit with a gas station, but one year I found that
it had unfortunately burned down, leading to the relocation. There are historical
pictures in both restaurants. Quite a bit of the ruins of Thurber can still be
seen.
Maybe a perspective like mine from somebody who never lived in
Thurber or Toyah might be of some interest to you. - George Zeller,
Cleveland, Ohio
Saturday,
February 02, 2002
Subject: Oh Boy!!!! Loved this !!!!!!
Hello,
What a welcome site this was!!!!! Being an over the road truckdriver with my husband--I
have the opportunity to travel through several of the towns ( or used to be towns)
in West Texas. Being from Indiana--these places have been a source of fascination
and stimulation to my imagination while driving thru Texas from Texarkana to El
Paso. Without these places on the way--I am afraid I would end up with the rattlesnakes
out of sheer boredom!!
I just read the site on Toyah, Texas--Fascinating--now
I want to know more and will surely be a regular to this site to see if anyone
has added anything. It broke my heart when Rose's Desert Cafe closed--best hamburgers
and her homemade potato salad was wonderful--sorry i never tried the chili--but
I did have the pleasure of eating the chili at the old truckstop!!
At
the present time--the highlight of my trip west is to watch for the 3 wild baby
pigs at the milemarker 23 --they are hanging out between the picnic area and town.
My next quest, is to find out the story of the old building on I-20 that stands
alone on the south side of the interstate--It has a sign that says "Bar and Grill"
on the front and one old out building sitting to the southwest of it. The mile
marker escapes me at this time but I will get it on my return to El Paso this
week and post it to see if anyone can enlighten me. Until the next time--take
care and keep up the great work. Sincerely, Kathy Price, Ossian, Indiana
Back to Toyah, Texas
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