45 Years Ago, Robert Lee Observer, 1984, Coke County, TX ***************************************************************** USGENWEB ARCHIVES NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by any other organization or persons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must obtain the written consent of the contributor, or the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently for free access. http://www.usgwarchives.net/ Submitted by Charles Bridges - charleskbridges@home.com 6 October 2001 ***************************************************************** The Observer/Enterprise, 23 Mar 1984, Robert Lee, TX 45 YEARS AGO Editor's Note--April 21, 1939 edition was devoted to the Observer's Golden Anniversary - 1889-1939. The following is from that issue. J. A. Knight, one of the founders of Coke County, worked at Coke's first gin, on the Snyder Ranch powered by a Steam engine, over 40 years ago. It was called the Yellow Wolf Gin, burned mesquite wood, and turned out 8 bales a day. Knight was engineer and rode horseback from Valley View, drew $1.25 a day, wages for skilled work then. The second gin in the county was operated by his father of Ralph and Frank Harris, at the Harris Ranch. The ranch used the cottonseed for feed, the farmers did not seed them. Harris offered the ginning for the seed, the farmers gladly accepted, and the seed was stacked in great ricks near the gin. The first thrasher here -- "a ground-hog" machine was run by two mules who had to walk in an inclined run-around. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Marvin Stewart landed in Coke County Jan. 8, 1889. His mother, Mrs. C. D. Stewart, now of Robert Lee, has been in the county a long time. Mr. and Mrs. Stewart came from Abilene to the Moro mountain country, then brought sheep to Edith. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- "No, Hayrick wasn't a wide place in the road. There wasn't any road." Uncle Johnnie Vestal referred to the year 1889, the year Hayrick was built and he opened a blacksmith shop there. There was a kind of road or trail that entered the northeastern part of the county and came by the Jim Byrd place on Indian creek, where one of the first settlers had a dugout. Hayrick Mountain gave its name to Hayrick, established at the foot of the mountain. Evidently the first white men named this butte from its shape which resembles a huge haystack. The first trails passed near its foot and many an eye used the mountain as a marker to regain bearings on their journey to the west. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Dan and W. H. Campbell missed being charter citizens by a few months. Their father, the late J. H. Campbell, came to Sanco country to locate before the organization of the county and did buy the place on which he lived until his death a few years ago, but he returned to an eastern county and did not bring his family until after the organization. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- We join others in extending our congratulations and best wishes to the Observer for its 50 Years of faithful service to Coke County. We should have a feeling of gratitude to all our early pioneers. McNeil Wylie, County Judge; H. C. Varnadore, Commissioner Prct. 1, S. A. Kiker, Prcrt. 2, Thomas Harmon, Prct. 3, Sam Gaston, Prct. 4; Mrs. B. M. Grambling, County Treasurer. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- J. N. Buchanan recalls he ran this ad, "Jess Buchanan is still in the Barber business" and it ran 15 years in the Observer without changing.