Freestone County, Texas
Reflections


FREESTONE PAST/PRESENT
J. R. (Sonny) Sessions

AREA AIR TRAGIDIES

Late in the afternoon on a spring day in 1968 James (Plump) Cox came to my home very 
excited and upset saying he had just seen a airplane explode in the sky west of there. 
Plump was easily excited so really didn’t take to seriously until checked and found to be 
correct.  A scheduled Braniff Airline flight enroute from Houston to Dallas had gone 
down, probably struck by lightning in a thunderstorm.  All 85 passengers on board killed 
with the wreckage and bodies scattered over a large area near Dawson in Navarro Co. 
with rain hampering the work.

Friend and Navarro Co. Deputy (and later Sheriff) Harold Pitts lived in Dawson. 
Freestone County Deputy James Gregory and Reserve Deputy Captain Hugh Whitaker 
were dispatched to assist. The old Dawson School Gym was used as a morgue while 
trying to identify the bodies.  The floor in the old gym was replaced after this use.  This 
quite an ordeal, and probably the worst air accident ever in our area.

There a similar one near Buffalo a few years earlier but wasn’t personally involved in 
this. Over the years there several other fatal crashes in Freestone with no survivors. One 
involved a very experienced pilot who as a favor to his daughter to take a young girl from 
school who was spending the night on an airplane ride, taking off in foggy weather, 
became disoriented and fatally crashed near here.  I had flown with this pilot the day 
before searching for a wanted youth.

Another of interest started with the report from a youth working on I45 construction and 
liked to play police. He went to Bi-Stone Fuel Offices where they doing our police 
dispatching at the time to report a plane seen going down in the Board Bottom area.  The 
dispatcher didn’t take him serious until he returned a couple of hours later with part of the 
wreckage.  There several other small plane fatalities including a young spray-crop duster 
pilot.

Pleased to report error made last week regarding the Von Ericks, the youngest son is not 
deceased and doing well along with his son in other sports.

Recently in basement of Courthouse to renew drivers license in office remembered used 
by County School Superintendents Mr. Furney Richardson, then Shelma Carlile and 
Beryl Walker, then Rual Wilson and Elsie Hughes from 1931 thru middle 1960’s. Then 
used by Peace Justices Willis Young, Williams, Orand, Ezell and Ireland, it also had 
others to use it, lots of memories here.

Grandpa’s Report
...
As a child remember myself and others having their mouth washed out with soap and 
water for using some of the common language used today.  Worse than that was being 
given castor oil for bad colds (worked but the cure worse than the sickness).
...
In earlier times before fast food and so much money the common fare for most working 
on farms and day labor was “Hoe Cakes” which easy and fast to fix and nourishing, some 
made with corn meal like cornbread and fried in skillet with bacon grease, others did the 
same with a biscuit mix. Not many today know what you talking about but this didn’t 
require refrigeration as most didn’t have this.
...