Coryell Co. TX - Leonard D. Meeks Submitted by Bobbie Ross ************************************************************************ 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/ *********************************************************************** LEONARD D. MEEKS Leonard D. Meeks was born 10 April 1912 in Gatesville, Texas, some four days before the Titanic struck an iceberg in the North Atlantic and sunk. He joined sibs Sudie, Manson, Raymond, and Mary as the last member of a prominent Coryell County family, the R. E. Meeks Family. Leonard lived and played on East Leon Street until he was eight years old, then moved to the country when his dad, Robert E. Lee Meeks, founded Meeks Dairy. Leonard attended school in Gatesville and graduated from high school in 1930 where, as a basketball player, was referred to as a star. He attempted to further his education by enrolling in John Tarlton Agriculture College in Stephenville, Texas, in September of 1930. Because it was during the "Depression Years", his advanced schooling lasted only one year. It was during this time that a blond hair, blue-eyed Norwegian beauty from Bosque County moved to Gatesville to work as a domestic in the home of Joe Hanna. Her name was Inga Christene Bakke and it was love at first sight. As the months rolled by, there was talk of marriage and they faced their first big problem. They both wanted a big church wedding, but were so poor they could barely afford a $5.00 wedding. They confided in their Pastor of the First Baptist Church in Gatesville of their desires and problems. The Pastor's name was Clarence A. Morton, and he had a suggestion that they followed. At the end of the regular Church service on Sunday, 14 July 1931, Pastor Morton asked the congregation to be seated. That was the signal for organist, Ola Mae Parks, to start playing the wedding march. Inga then walked down the aisle, met Leonard at the altar and they were married in a big church wedding, without cost. After Leonard and Inga were married, they took up residence at Meeks Dairy, where Leonard became one of the workers. The dairy hand-milked a minimum of 50 cows, twice a day every day starting around 3:00 a.m. Leonard quickly decided that being a milk hand wasn't to his liking. His Dad had opened a café a couple of years earlier and Leonard bought it from him and it was in August of 1931 that the Meeks Café we all know and remember opened for business. Located on the south east corner of the square, it served Gatesvilles need for over 4 decades. Meeks Café could be considered Gatesvilles first ice cream parlor. Leonard told a Waco newspaper reporter in 1974 "It was ice cream that made the café. I just thought of it one day, made a freezer of it and it sold like hot cakes, no, better than hot cakes. We had so many coming back that we sometimes had employees turning a handle 24 hours a day. After a while they started coming back to eat." Leonard and Inga lived at the rear of the café, but moved to South 6th Street just before the birth of their first child. Robert Earl "Bob" was born there 2 November 1932. Another son, Dewey, was born 26 January 1934, and Carol Ann was born 5 September 1943. Leonard and Inga made the operation of the café a profession, not just a job, and people responded by continued support. It met the needs of early risers, late workers, was an ideal place for lunch for business people and courthouse workers, hosted Saturday shoppers and was the place to meet after Church for Sunday dinner. After the kids were in school, Inga worked with Leonard daily. After the kids were married and gone, she still worked daily with her husband. This companionship went on over 40 years, but came to an end that dark day in a Waco Hospital when Inga died on 30 April 1971. Leonard continued to run the café, but without his lifelong companion, it just wasn't the same. After much thought, Leonard decided to close the doors and retire. It was on 12 March 1974 that Leonard locked the doors for the last time and after 43 years of service to Gatesville, Meeks Café was no more. Leonard enjoyed hunting, fishing and just visiting friends for a few years, but finally decided to marry again and settle down. The one he chose to be his wife was his first wife's younger sister, Clara. They were married 30 July 1977. They fished together, played 84 dominos twice a week together and attended all services together at the First Baptist Church. Leonard was honored by his Church in 1992 where he was a member for 74 years, a Deacon 52 years, and sang in the Choir over 50 years. They were also together that hot August night when Leonard had a heart attack. All efforts failed and Leonard died 22 August 1994. He is buried by his first wife, Inga, in Gatesville. Clara died 9 January 1996 and is buried by her first husband, Helmer Anderson, in Bosque County. By Robert E. (Bob) Meeks copyrighted by Bob Meeks and Bobbie Ross Oct 2000