TX BIOS:  Mrs. Mary Snider
   Selected and converted.American Memory, Library of Congress.
   
   Washington, 1994.
   
   Preceding element provides place and date of transcription only.
   
   This transcription intended to be 99.95% accurate.
   
   For more information about this text and this American Memory
   collection, refer to accompanying matter.
   
   U.S. Work Projects Administration, Federal Writers' Project (Folklore
   Project, Life Histories, 1936-39); Manuscript Division, Library of
   Congress.Copyright status not determined.
   
   0001
   
   [???]
   
   Mrs. C. M. Cohea
   
   Amarillo, Texas
   
   District #16 PANHANDLE PIONEERS
   
   Mrs. Mary Snider
   
   709 Johnson
   
   Amarillo, Texas
   
   Mrs. Snider came to the Panhandle in June, 1886, 52 years ago. During
   this time she has seen many changes take place on the plains, both for
   better and worse. Mrs. Snider lived at Old Tascosa during the less
   colorful years of that famous old cowtown's hectic career. There was
   shooting, but no scenes like those depicted in screen versions of the
   wild and woolly West. Shot gun law was still in effect. Careless
   gunmen died with their boots on and were buried in Boot Hill
   graveyard.
   
   Mac Armstrong, brother of Mrs. Snider, was the first person to carry
   the mail on the Star route established in 1878 between Fort Elliott
   and Mobeetie and Fort Bascoms and Las Vegas. He carried the mail on
   horseback once a week. Mr. Armstrong had been in Tascosa nine years
   before his sister came. His third child was the first white child born
   in the Panhandle.
   
   Mr. Armstrong, who died in 1937, was writing a book of frontier life,
   which was begun by him at the age of nine years. Relatives plan to
   have the book completed and published.
   
   Mrs. Snider and all Tascosa knew Frenchy McCormick, the much written
   about belle of Mickey McCormick's gambling and dance hall. Mrs. Snider
   recalls that the respectable element of the town had nothing to do
   with Frenchy and the other girls of her class. Frenchy married Mickey
   McCormick after they had lived together a long time at Tascosa. Mrs.
   Snide often sewed for the girls of the red light district, but had no
   further intercourse with them, knew nothing of their lives. They did
   not come on the streets except during the day to buy the necessary
   things of life for themselves. Styles which she made for them were
   conservative for daytime wear. She did not make the clothes they wore
   in the dance halls. Dresses had long sleeves, high necklines, bustle
   effects, and voluminous skirts. Petticoats had numerous ruffles and
   were worn several at a time.
   
   Mrs. Snider remembers Sunday school and church being held in the
   Tascosa school-[house?], 0002which has been in constant use in recent
   years. Social affairs were also held in the building. Another old
   building was a fort on the Mexican side of the river.
   
   Mrs. Snider, herself a competent nurse for years , later, in Amarillo,
   knew Dr. [?], the first doctor in the Panhandle, and also Dr. Shelton,
   another pioneer physician. There was not sufficient practice to keep
   them in funds, so both became cowboys at one time or another.
   
   Mexican plaza to the south of the river had a crude sort of irrigation
   system, [?] ditches dug from a nearby creek to water the gardens of
   the plaza.
   
   Some white folks lived in this plaza. Mac Armstrong assisted at the
   birth of a baby to Mrs. Dobbs, a resident of this section of Old
   Tascosa. Mr. Armstrong help [?] childbirth several times, since he had
   a knowledge of medical proceedure. Many of the women helped one
   another at such times, one helping another at her child's arrival, and
   that one later returning the favor.
   
   Tascosa had no [DEL: owman's :DEL] woman's clubs. Women were too busy,
   keeping their families and helping with the living. Many women were
   wives of ranchers who were away from home a great part of the time.
   Wives of merchants were busy, too. Some women had hotels and
   restaurants.
   
   No canning was done by the women, nothing was [DEL: ther :DEL] there
   to can. Canned goods were bought at the stores. Gardens could be
   raised around Tascosa because of the creek and river waters and
   sub-irrigated land, better than on the dry plains.
   
   Mrs. Snider planted the first sweat potatoes in Tascosa. People had
   not seen them there before.

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