Freestone County, Texas
Reflections



Freestone Past/ Present
J.R. “Sonny” Sessions

Mrs. Andersons Ledger #9

“A Bit of Romance and a Marriage”

  Suppose I was reared as most of girls in l850-60.
Went to school generally to the Fairfield College during the War. Most 
of our worries were about our men at the front. Had musical concerts, 
picnics, horseback riding, enjoyed life to some extent.
  Then Gen. Lee surrendered and our men came home, there was 
rejoicing and thankful praise. In the spring of 67 Prof. Sam Williams 
and son Lud taught two sessions in dancing at the Courthouse. Brother 
Wood who enjoyed dancing himself went with sister and I, but the 
young men soon found out if he went there with us, we went home with 
him, then we had beaus.
  During this time Mr. Lud and some of the boys would come an 
serenade us, oh how we did love the music of the violin and guitars 
floating out on the still evening breeze. One r moon light night, I was 
sleeping right by the wide open window, awoke suddenly and there they 
were lined up some distance from my room window, thought they could 
see me, now some girls would have been embarrassed, no me, I just 
raised up and pulled the curtains together, lay back on my pillow and 
enjoyed their music.
  Now my favorite and the youngest was Sam N. he was nineteen, I was
sixteen, we went to the dances and just enjoyed life. He and his married 
brother published a newspaper in Fairfield, at that time we had two 
papers published here. The Southern Pacific was then being built across 
Texas. Then John R. decided to move to the railroad one evening about 
dusk. Being near an open window I heard some one singing, Sam was 
riding slowly by singing low distinctly the one verse of that almost 
forgotten song “Tis sad to say Goodbye”. He finished the chorus and 
put his horse to a cantor, then I knew that was his goodbye. The family 
left the next day and I lost a boy friend.

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               Whisky Days
  Greatly appreciate the stories furnished nearly weekly by readers on 
these days gone by. Some are sad, most remembered are the humorous.
  In the early days all whisky was cooked with wood fires, usually but 
not always at night, you could smell the smoke at night and see it many  
times during the day. Been told it not unusual to see the smoke from 40 
to 50 fires at one time in some areas. With the introduction of butane 
and propane this became a major source of heat as not as easily 
detected. Some of the operations were buried and very well concealed, 
know of at least one with cooker in middle of big hog pen, which hid the 
smell. Some operations were very ingenious, one big operator I have 
been told had big still underground that was never found.

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