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Big
Bend MemoriesPainting
the Desert:
Life on a West Texas Paint Train in the 1940s
Vintage photos courtesy of Lola Hall Norton and Laura Jean Hall |
| Editor's Note:
While we usually publish memoirs that pertain to a specific town, we were delighted
to receive a letter and photos from Lola and Jean Hall, sisters who will be introduced
below. Their letter of May 2007 was transcribed for inclusion here by their cousin,
Dee Welborn. While the photos are few and the stories short, the descriptions
and memories are as colorful as a freshly-painted section house. This glimpse
at a rather unusual childhood provides perhaps the only memory of the ghost town
of Tinaja and a look at an era that few West Texans can remember. - Editor |
| "From
left to right: Lola Hall, Maria, Tina, Laura Jean Hall. Behind is our boxcar.
Maria and Tina were the daughters of Gus. He and his wife had nineteen children.
Don't we all look alike?" - Jean Hall |
An
Introduction
My father, J.C. Hall, was the paint foreman for
the Santa Fe Railroad Slaton Division. Mother's name was Billie Delma Lindley
Hall.
Our living quarters were literally on the railroad track. Our family
occupied the foreman’s car. I remember that my sister and I had bunk beds to sleep
on. For the support of the working crew there was a cook’s car, a car for sleeping
quarters, a coal and water car, a paint car, and a materials car. That string
of six railroad cars was our home for eight years.
Our journey began at
San Angelo,
Texas and stopped at Presidio. Our crew painted
depots, crossing signs, and all railroad structures, including outhouses. Daddy’s
territory was 1,400 miles from Altus, Oklahoma to Presidio,
Texas and all the Santa Fe lines running crossways. We moved every few weeks
and saw much of the State of Texas. Of our travels, we carry the Big Bend area
fondly in our hearts.
My cousin, Dorothy Hall Dodd was married to the
Fort Stockton depot agent, Herring Dodd. She was recently widowed and currently
resides in May, Texas. My sister Lola and I are still influenced by the remote
places. She lives in Arkansas and I live out in the wilds of Arizona. We are both
in our 70s now and were so afraid our Papa's love for the steam engine days would
disappear.
We have enjoyed some good laughter plus some sweet memories
in writing this letter. Our pictures are few as this was a long time ago.
We
are Hall girls and love you Big Bend! - Jean Hall |
Memories of the
Big Bend
A
great drought was on and the longhorn cattle were dying everywhere. We crossed
ranch land in an old Model A Ford—my father, John Chester Hall, my mother, Billie
Della Lindley Hall, my sister, Laura Hall and myself, Lola Hall. |
Hall
Family and Friends:
Woman in hat is Billie Della Lindley Hall with Lola
Hall Norton in front of her. To her right is Laura Jean Hall and friend. The tall
woman came to take over cooking for the crew. Prior to her arrival Billie Hall
cooked for the crew. |
| Laura
Jean Hall wearing her constant knee bandage, and Nathaniel Melton |
| Lola
Hall Norton (l) and Laura Jean Hall with un-named friends |
Memories of Tinaja
Tinaja,
Texas had a railroad water tank, many shade trees and very special, natural
spring-fed swimming pool. The bottom of the pool was a rock bottom. It even had
a diving board. Our good Daddy had made it long ago for his daughters. It had
quite a few trees in it, so our Daddy cleaned it out some and we got to enjoy
it. What a wonderful treat! The Santa Fe Railroad built a water tower there for
the train engine to water up to make the trip on down to Presidio. |
John
Chester Hall with daughters Laura Jean and Lola far left
"The pool at
Tinaja was fed by a natural spring." |
Memories of
Casa
Piedra
Peanut
Butter and Tortillas
We went to school where one
very sweet teacher taught all the grades. I don’t recall her name. The children
were supplied cans of peanut butter to spread on tortillas they brought from home.
Evaporated can milk was mixed and passed around to all, at lunchtime.
My sister and I carried sack lunches and traded our sandwiches and fresh fruit
for some of their peanut butter and milk.
We played school yard games, “Tag” and “Red Rover Come Over” during recess. We
learned some Spanish and they learned some English. They were the best mannered
children and made us welcomed there. We were sad to leave.
I can’t recall
any buildings but the school. We rode in a pickup truck with two little girls
from Plata. Their father,
named Gus, was a section hand for the Santa Fe Railroad. Our father knew him and
his family. We, four girls, were the only children there and so glad to be friends.
All told, Gus and his wife were the parents of nineteen children, some already
grown.
We spent a good Christmas there. We shared Mother baked cake to
trade for squash and vegetables from Gus and his family. Daddy was a hunter and
fisherman. He always shared his bounty with his neighbors. We were monetarily
poor, but so rich in the things that count. |
Memories of Plata
Very
remote—just a railroad section house. An old couple named Fannie and Mac McKinley
lived there with their dog, who had his own plate set at their dining table. They
were truly wonderful, warm people to know. Fannie tried to teach us girls how
to play the piano. They raised turkeys, which often felled prey to coyotes, mountain
lions, and bobcats. Mac McKinley was a section foreman, for the Santa Fe RR. They
lived in the section house on one side of the tracks and there was a ranch house
on the other side of the tracks. J.C. Hall painted the section house every other
year.
Sometimes our father would put the motor car on the tracks and send
Lola and I (all by ourselves) down to visit with the McKinleys. When we got there,
Mr. McKinley would take the motor car off the tracks and when we were ready to
head back, he would put the motorcar back on the tracks towards our boxcars. I
am sure that the Santa Fe Railroad would have had a fit if they knew that. |
Memories of Presidio,
Texas
A
large school with lots of children. I was thirteen, and my sister was 11-12 years
old. The town had a drugstore, with a pharmacist, a large café and several businesses.
We took picnics to the Rio Grande River on Saturdays to swim, play and have good
time.
A family named Fenny raised pigs. They kept them in adobe ruins,
fed and water them. For their living, the Fenny family would sell the pigs fattened
up after they fattened them up. One December day, snow fell on Presidio, Texas.
It was very unusual. Everyone came outside to touch it. It seemed no one owned
a coat and I thought it was strange. But, when the snow melted quickly, I understood
better. Who needs a coat in the “Big Bend”?
Also, I remember the pharmacist
who sent penicillin out to my mother for a serious burn. It was new then. He said,
“I hope this medicine helps her.” It healed her and she went in person to thank
him for his help. Good folks lived in the Big Bend area.
July
6 2007 | |
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