Funeral Notice of Annie Barry 1917

For some time I have been meaning to post this funeral notice from 1917.  It is about the passing of my great-grandmother, Annie Barthel Barry.  I wrote about her to some extent at the beginning of this blog in January.

Annie was taken by "blood-poisoning" from a scratch on the back of  one of her legs.  It could have been tetanus, or an infection from the black stockings worn at that time.  She only lived three days after she fell ill, according to my mother, who was living in the Barry home at that time.

The funeral service was held in the American Presbyterian Church in Clarksville, where the Barry family stained-glass window still exists.  This is the site of the marriage of my grandparents as well.

These funeral notices were edged in black and printed on cards which were left in the post office and other establishments around town so that friends could attend the funeral.  These were still being used when I was a child in the 1940's and 50's. I remember seeing them at the post office in Comanche.

snow in the pasture

This was about 1943 I think.  We had a terrific snow and the grownups made this huge snowman.  Daddy built a sled out of lumber, tied it to the back of our car and towed us around (slowly, of course) in Uncle Ed's pasture.  I can still remember that day.  The snow made everything so quiet, and we screamed with laughter, and everybody was really happy that day.

There is another great photo and paragraph about this at

http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3801104567582240677#editor/target=post;postID=7509114308771295114

Patsy's school pictures

The picture on the right was made for my first year of school when I was in second grade. (Because I already know how to read, I was moved from first grade to second grade on my third day of school.)

My mother had insisted on getting me a permanent wave and this is how my hair turned out.  This was the first and only perm I got with one of those old-fashioned machines with all the curlers on wires hanging down.  I was petrified.

Somehow it looks like I always wound up wearing checks.  I never noticed it till now.

High top shoes and missing teeth

These studio pictures of me and Bill were made by a photographer in Dublin, Texas when I was 6 and Bill was 2.

Please notice that I finally got to wear low-top shoes.  Bill, however, is still in high-tops.  We had to wear them till our sixth year, both of us. Looks like I might have lost a tooth or two.

Christmas 1939 and 1940 in Comanche

The first picture shows me on the left and my cousin Frances Evelyn on the right of the little tree.  I think we might have been at our house in Comanche.  The second picture was made the following year when I was a little older.  

little Patsy in the snow

 It was January 1939.  I am not sure where we were living when these pictures were made, but it was somewhere in south Texas where Daddy was a salesman for Texas Power and Light Company.


 I can see that I had to wear big person's gloves instead of mittens.  Snow was and is so rare in Texas that most people never buy snow gear.

Patsy at age 15 months

Today is my dad Thurston's birthday!!!  He was born 98 years ago.

 I started walking on my first birthday.  I am pretty sure these snapshots were all made the same day when I was about 15 months old.  We lived in a little town in south Texas while Daddy sold washing machines and kitchen ranges.  We lived in a garage apartment.

                                                                                                       Daddy used to tell this story to me:

When we walked down the stairs from the apartment I would always hold on to Daddy's index finger for support.

One day I stopped and said, "Wait, Daddy. I can do this." And I took hold of my own finger with the other hand, and went down the steps by myself.

Bill and me, 1949

Uncle Ed made this picture of Bill and me in his back yard at the Atwood Hatchery when we were almost 8 and 12 years old.  We sure had lots of good times there.  Often my dad and Uncle Ed and their  brothers-in-law went fishing together.  They brought back fish, usually bass and stripers, for the whole clan. We would eat supper out in the yard and then make home made ice cream. What good times we had! 

Devil's Den revisited (earlier post from 2/14)

Another photo I found from the Devil's Den excursion by the Ricketts family and friends.  Anna Louise is on the far right, next to her is her sister, Elna Ricketts.

A 1920's general store bill

Grocery bill for Mama Atwood from Higginbotham's, a general store in Comanche.

Higginbotham's is a store on the southwest corner of the square in Comanche.  It is still there today.

Mentioned at the bottom of the bill is a "Delineator" which was a magazine for home sewing enthusiasts.

Mama Atwood was definitely one of those.  She made clothes, quilts, and all manner of useful things for her family. She made the dress she is wearing in this picture in 1928.

Aunt Mamie taught school 1914

Mamie Frances King, my father's oldest sister, graduated Comanche High School in 1913.  Right away she got a job teaching school somewhere remote in Comanche County.

 She stayed with a nearby family during the week, and on weekends Papa Atwood would go on horseback and bring her back to Comanche.

Here are some photos from that time.

My dad as a band director

 Here are two pictures of my father, Thurston Atwood, at the beginning and at the end of his career
as a high school band director.  He started this work in 1947 and finally retired around 1965. For the first five years of his career as a band teacher, we were in Eastland, Texas.  His band won a first division at the annual IUL contest every year he was in Eastland. 

In 1952 we moved to Comanche, where he took up directing their high school band.  He was very popular in both towns, and became a member of the Texas Music Educators, and always had students in the All-State band or orchestra every year.

Aunt Mamie at Yosemite

 

There is another, earlier post on this blog about my Aunt Mamie and her trip to Yosemite.

Here are two more photos from that trip.  It was about 1928 or so, and I am pretty sure

Aunt Mamie and her husband Cecil Bellah were on their honeymoon.

Uncle Hip and Aunt Ernestine

I took these snapshots in 1945.  The man standing on the right is Hilburn Arthur.  I never knew him as anything except Uncle Hip.

Below is Aunt Ernestine.  She was one of Daddy's older sisters. She always had a smile on her face.  And she kept chewing gum in her purse and always offered me some.

Aunt Ernestine taught me to knit.  And one time she made a whole wardrobe of beautiful doll dresses with hats for one of my dolls.

She had the most comfortable lap I ever slept in.  And late in life she gave me a real down comforter which I still have to this day.

Bill Atwood and his trumpet

This is my little brother.  He started playing the trumpet even earlier than I started playing the flute. (He was five, I was eleven.)  The first time he was supposed to play in public was in a skit at school where he was Little Boy Blue.

Well the night before Daddy taught him how to take his horn apart and clean it.  And somehow when he put it back together something was in the wrong place.  So when his cue came up, and he started to blow his horn, nothing came out.

My Junior Year in High School

 The picture on the right was made in 1954.  I was in 11th grade and enjoying myself tremendously.  It was a little difficult to be a teacher's daughter, but I still had a good time.

Below is another shot of my color guard uniform.  These uniforms were hand made by the mother of one of the girls.

The blouse with the sawtooth neckline was made by me in Home Economics class.  I am pretty sure the fabric was black
but I don't remember if it was from a pattern or just one of my bright ideas.  The little points were hard to sew and turn and press but I liked the effect.

Tarleton Summer Band School

Every summer there would be a Summer Band School at Tarleton College in Stephenville.  The leader would be a wonderful musician and teacher from UCLA named Clarence E. Sawhill.  He is seated on the right at the center of the picture.
The little shrimp at the end of the first row...on the right....is me.  I was either 11 years old or 12 years old when this picture was made.  I went to this summer band school every year until I graduated high school.  On the last summer Mr. Sawhill asked me to play a solo with band accompaniment at the final concert.  

Comanche High School Band

In 1952 our family moved back to Comanche, where my dad was born.  He became the Comanche High School Band director. Of course I continued in the band playing flute.

But in the marching band I wore a uniform with a short pleated skirt and carried a white fake rifle, in what was called the "Color Guard."

The three girls in the picture below are showing off their band letter jackets.  Left to right:  Patsy Atwood, Quay Williams, and Becky Baxter.

Cousins of my Mother and her sister

These two darling little girls are Ona Mae and Marian Ricketts. They were the daughters of Sam and Ruby Ricketts, cousins to my mother, Anna Louise Ricketts.  They were very close in age to Mother (Anna Louise Ricketts) and to Elna, Mother's sister.

According to Mother, the four cousins were almost inseparable growing up.  Often one cousin would "choose up" and so Anna and Marian might spend the weekend at Sam and Ruby's house in Howe and Elna (mother's sister) and Ona Mae would stay at Donald and Ruth's (my grandparents.)

 In 1951 WBAP TV invited the Eastland Band to appear on a
Saturday Sept. 29 half hour performance.  I was seated in center just next to Daddy's right hand. On my left in the same row is Don Smith.

Eastland was very proud of its band.  We played for Christmas parades, rodeos, and football games of course.  We had great uniforms that the good people of Eastland paid for with bake sales, bingo games, and other kinds of fund-raising events.

more Eastland band

 This goes with an earlier post showing the Eastland Band at the State Fair. It was 1950.  On the left is the invitation Daddy received to participate in the Music festival day.  Below is the marching band half time show at the Cotton Bowl the same day.

The message is "Howdy Folks, (Texas) Greets You."  Eastland band is the second letter E in the word "Greets."