TOUR PIKE'S PEAK, MOVED TO ARKANSAS, WENT TO COLLEGE
As you know, Frank was the oldest in our family, and when I was
growing up, he was away from home a lot. I had long since become
accustomed to his being away from home. He even went to college
awhile, I believe it was Denton State. But he didn't go very
long. I didn't know whether he quit because of a lack of
finances or because of a lack of interest and drive. I was the
only other one of us who ever left home to work or run around--
except Joel. He went as far as Stamford and worked there for
years in a drygoods store. And later, of course, he had his
portable skating rink and he took it from here to there. Then he
settled down with it in Brownwood.
My working away from home never amounted to much. However, I
wouldn't take a pretty penny for the educational benefits I
gained from my traveling around. It increased my desire for more
learning, and it gave me confidence in my ability to do more
things. It made me more mobile and took away my fear of strange
places.
In fact, I thought so much of my education gained through travel
that I wanted us to travel a lot with our children. But we were
poor and couldn't travel first class, which would have pleased
some members of my family. As for me, I would have been glad to
travel second class or third class rather than not travel at all.
As is evident, I have roughed it much of my life. Later, when I
wanted to travel with our kids, I would have gotten a lot of
pleasure from roughing it again, going places and seeing things,
camping out, and visiting the wild. Some of our traveling proved
to be a big failure because some of the family didn't especially
care to put up with some of the roughing they had to go through
with at times.
For instance, we drove up Pike's Peak once in our Dodge Command
car. There was nothing wrong with the car. It was built capable
of traveling across the Sahara Desert trouble-free. It was Army
surplus, four-wheel drive and as solid as they come. Many cars
get too hot climbing the Peak, but this one didn't, although it
was in the heat of summer. It had an army canvas top and
curtains to match. But since it was beautiful weather, we had
the curtains packed away under the back seat. And although it
was summertime at the foot of the mountain, it was not summer on
top.
The weather on Pike's Peak can change from sunshine to snow and
from snow to sleet quicker than perhaps anywhere else in these
United States. And the sky can pour out the abundance of her
elements faster than is sometimes enjoyable to those upon whom
she so recently spread her sunshine. And that is just what she
did to us that day. Her elements were in the form of rain, snow,
and large sleet. The sleet was sort of a cross between pure
white sleet and large, soft hail.
Now, the road up Pike's Peak is, for the most part, void of
suitable parking places, even for emergencies. And all this
sleet and ice falling suddenly out of the sky did create an
emergency. However, before we arrived at an emergency parking
place, Ima was very unhappily sitting in a puddle of snow and
sleet and ice that had fallen into the front seat and had worked
its way down to the back side of her lap.
When we found a little place to pull over and stop, we put up the
curtains. But Ima's unhappiness remained with her much longer
than I had hoped it would. The truth is, she carried a large
portion of it, as well as a little bit of dampness, all the way
back down the mountain to Colorado Springs. And there, we found
the same type of slush curb to curb four inches deep.
I never quite forgave the weather for that little stunt it pulled
on us. It was a long time before I could get the family to go
with me again anywhere outside our home county.
Time not only "waits for no man," it seems to go faster and
faster. We were getting older and our kids were growing up.
Dennis finished high school in Hamlin in June of 1949. In the
fall of that same year he began to hear advertisements on radio
about cheap farm land in Arkansas, and he sent for a catalog of
listings. When it arrived, I had to admit there were some
interesting bargains offered in it. The more Dennis read the
catalog and listened to the radio, the more he was convinced that
out there somewhere in this big country of ours, there was
something we had been missing. Then one day he said to me,
"Daddy, let's go look at some of these places. All we are doing
here is working ourselves to death and getting nowhere."
We talked it over and I agreed that, if it suited the rest of the
family, we would go look. Dennis and I went first, not to buy,
but only to shop around. We went to Ft. Smith, Arkansas, and
looked all the way from 60 miles north of there to 60 miles south
of there. We liked what we saw and the prices were right. Then
we returned home, and Ima and I went to Arkansas, this time not
just looking; we were buying. After looking a few days, we found
and bought a small farm three miles south of Mansfield.
We moved onto the place in the early spring of 1950. Anita
stayed with the Tarlington Willingham family to finish out her
Sophomore year in Hamlin High School. She joined us that summer
and spent her Junior year in Mansfield High School. Then she did
some special work during the next summer and, in the fall of
1951, instead of entering Mansfield High as a Senior, she entered
the University of Arkansas as a Freshman.
Three years later Dennis also entered the University as a
Freshman. Then three years after that, Dennis and Anita both
came to me and told me it was my time next. They promised to see
me through. They would handle the finances; it would be up to me
to make my grades.
One of my dreams when I was 20 years old, was to finish high
school, go to college, and become a school teacher. It was 31
years later that my three children decided it was time for me to
realize that dream. At first I argued against the idea, half-
heartedly, but was pleased when they insisted. And I must admit
that I have thoroughly enjoyed the good life which they have
afforded me, beginning with those first days of college in 1957.
By that time Dennis was a college Senior, Anita was teaching in
college, and Larry was a high school Freshman.
Oh yes, I even enjoyed the struggle during those early college
days, even when it became doubtful that I would make passing
grades in one or two subjects. The challenges encountered there
and afterward have renewed within me the will to work for
something better, and a desire to better understand why I work at
all.
Early in my college days I realized that I must make some changes
in my way of thinking toward others, and my attitude toward some
of my ideals, which I had cultivated since early childhood. I
saw a need for conformity in certain cases, rather than
uncompromising individualism, so long as it didn't interfere with
my integrity. Such a change didn't come easily; I am still
trying, but old habits from the past keep causing me to backslide
at times.
However, I think my greatest change is one that can not be seen
by others--an inner feeling of well-being that tells me, "Don't
worry about your past mistakes. You can not go back and correct
them. And you will make other mistakes tomorrow. Mistakes are a
part of the natural order of human living. Have a good day today
and be content with whatever tomorrow may bring."
I spent three regular school years and three summers in college,
and enjoyed every minute of it. I was on the honor roll half the
time. I also did a little teaching in General Shop in Junior
High Training School. One day when the Professor had to be away,
I even took it upon myself to break one of his rules and allow
the boys to make knives. I told him about it when he returned,
and I told him why I did it. He agreed that it was a good idea.
Then I served one semester as student teacher in a college
machine shop course, ranked highest in my class in economics,
first in woodshop class, second in machine shop, and made "C" in
United States History without having to study it. After all, I
remembered most of it from having lived through so much of it. I
cheated on two exams, just a little, not even enough for my
conscience to bother me, caught two professors cheating on my
exams--cheating in my favor, to help me make passing grades.
During my first two semesters, it seemed that I got very little
help from my teachers. There I was, an old man sitting in class
with a group of 20-year-old boys and girls. It seemed that the
teachers had the idea that I would drop out as soon as the going
got tough, so why should they waste time on me?
Then when they saw I was there to stay, they seemed to want to
help me get on through. From then on, things got easier.
Finally I graduated and went out to face the same world that I
had been facing for 55 years, only this time I had the diploma
which caused adults to look up to me and kids to look down on me.
My first year of teaching was in a 21-teacher school in
Farmington, Arkansas. Enough interesting things took place there
that year to fill a good size book.
In September of 1961 I began teaching 6th grade in an Indian
School on the Navaho Indian Reservation near Winslow, Arizona. I
taught there at Leupp just six weeks. Then I resigned my
position and moved to San Angelo, Texas, because of Ima's health.
There I spent my first year teaching Wood Shop at Lee Junior High
School. And I taught nine years in Special Education.
At age 65 San Angelo Schools retired me. I could have gone on
and taught in some other town, but who wants to teach when he can
retire and loaf? Not me. So, I retired and loafed. Ima and I
bought a travel trailer and did more than our share of traveling
the next two-and-a-half years. In fact, we traveled so much that
the nation began to run short of gasoline. It doubled in price
and we thought we ought to slow down and let some others do some
traveling also. Now, all I have to do is sit around and write
and let you know what I have been doing these past 72 years.
Since I have retired, I have a lot of time to loaf and sit and
think. At first it hurt my conscience to loaf; I had to force
myself to sit down, and I still find it difficult to think. But
I am having a wonderful time since I have learned to look at life
from a different angle.
When I was young my parents took me to Sunday School and Church.
They taught me that it was good to keep the Sabbath, respect the
preacher, honor my father and my mother, and be kind to others.
I knew I was good because I did all those things.
But, as I became older, I began to feel that something was wrong.
Life was passing me by. Church had lost its charm. When the
preacher preached hellfire and brimstone to sinners, I felt left
out. I knew he wasn't preaching to me because I was good, and
had been all my life. I put my dollar in the collection plate
only to feel that I had been cheated--not getting my money's
worth, always listening to sermons preached to bad people.
But now I'm happy again. I have changed my entire life style--
what I do, what I think, and what I say. Now I make it a point
to insult someone, cheat someone, lie to someone, be mean to
someone at least once each week. Now the preacher is back on
speaking terms with me. He preaches directly to me every Sunday.
I give my dollar to the church and come away with the feeling
that I have gotten more than my money's worth. It's a good
feeling.
EPILOGUE
Clarence Johnson -- January 11, 1906 -- November 9, 1994
Clarence Johnson died quietly in his sleep at daybreak on
November 9, 1994. He had been ill for about three months. He
was 88 years old.
This book was scanned and edited by David Larry Johnson in loving
memory of his Dad.
Index
Abbie, from Wichita Falls to Abbie.................. 94
Abbie, from Abbie to Lamesa in wagons............... 99
Abbie, moved there from Lamesa...................... 93
Account books, we boys kept.........................117
Age 4, CJ plant in field............................ 18
Airplane, At Lamesa, World War One..................111
Albert, Dodge car ran over him......................136
Alternator, CJ invented it, 39 years early..........134
Anita fell in water.................................200
Anita wanted to drive without a license.............233
Anita fell off horse................................229
Anita went to college...............................240
April Fool's day at Wise Chapel, age 8 or 9.........145
April Fool's day at Hamlin School...........146-147-148
Apartment, in California, we hunted one.............218
Arkansas, Dennis & CJ went to look for farm.........240
Arkansas, we moved to from Royston..................240
As a man thinketh...................................151
Auto, Dennis drive at age 4 or 5....................189
Auto, WFJ's first car............................... 74
Auction sale, odds and ends, saddle horse...........228
Availability slip, to get into War-Work.............209
Baby, big baby, wore dresses for years.............. 35
Babies, CJ learned about, & calves & colts..........114
Ballard School, near Lamesa farm....................106
Barn blew part way down............................. 15
Bank went broke, had road building money in.........124
Batteries, old, from phone company..................129
Beer, CJ tried to drink some........................191
Bible and Sears Roebuck Catalog..................... 57
Bicycle tires not in big box........................ 61
Bicycle, Dennis rode his into Death Valley..........216
Big Box from Sears & Roebuck........................ 57
Big Spring Mail car, to Lamesa......................101
Binder, pulled it and tractor behind car............235
Bed, Larry's in travel trailer......................215
Blasting powder, CJ play with.......................121
Blow-up in Mama's kitchen...........................132
Bob cat, Royston farm...............................224
Bones, we gathered and sold at Lamesa............... 83
Boot Jack at Grandma's house........................ 51
Boxing gloves in our family......................... 30
Brag on self........................................170
Bruner boy, prickly pear............................ 26
Brag on what cars would do.......................... 75
Bridge, Papa drive truck off of.....................174
Broken fender era...................................201
Bull called Surley.................................. 45
Burglar in filling station..........................172
Butter, Annie churn it in jar on saddle............. 54
Bushes and culverts, we stopped for many of them.... 95
California, we went into War-Work...................210
California, we went again in August 1943............217
Car, old Chevrolet, WFJ wanted to give to Dennis....231
Cattle round-up at CJ's Royston farm................234
Cattle drive to Kent County.........................192
Calomel tablets, hole in porch floor................ 64
Calves, nursing, sucking............................ 45
Calves, can it be mine?............................. 70
Cap Rock, Reo had to be helped up it................ 74
Catalog, Sears...................................... 57
Catclaws and whirlwind..............................108
Candy, sugar stick in Papa's trunk.................. 30
Car trouble, ring gear on way to Oklahoma........... 96
Caddie, Earl did....................................119
Candy, CJ sold it in Hamlin School..................141
Car, model "T", Ed Lewis & CJ repaired motor........200
Car, CJ bought Buick for $30........................204
Central, telephone operator......................... 47
Cellar at Exum farm, bananas hung in it............. 23
Chivaree............................................ 70
Churn, Annie tied milk jar to saddle................ 54
Character reading at sight..........................134
CJ plant in field at age 3 or 4..................... 18
CJ liked to watch parents and learn................. 38
CJ slow reader...................................... 57
CJ went to college..................................240
CJ frank whipped.................................... 47
CJ woman chased with hoe............................105
CJ gambled, didn't know it was gambling.............115
CJ in 7th grade in Hamlin School....................137
CJ hole in pants in school..........................143
CJ got 110 volt shock...............................131
CJ kept Larry while Ima worked at Lockheed......214-215
Clark, Clarence, ice box and at gin.............226-227
Clean out plates and eat out of them next time...... 91
Cows, milk them and sell cream......................207
Cows, drove them to R R stock pens at Lamesa........ 93
Cow, Papa shot cow.................................. 55
Cow, give-down milk, English in college............. 12
Cook stove, ration board at Stamford................236
College, CJ started at age 51 ......................240
Colt, can it be mine?............................... 70
Command, rule of, or line of, in our family......... 30
Cottonseed, we play in............................52-53
Cottonseed, haul and set fires......................163
Cottonseed, CJ haul after school, had to stay in....143
Cotton picking in Oklahoma.......................... 97
Cotton, Papa took to gin from farm.................. 72
Cotton, good in 1919, until worms hit it............116
Coin purse, (pocketbook) CJ wanted to buy one....... 88
Count, bolls of cotton while picking them........... 37
Conflict, between Earl and CJ...............182-183-184
Coach Hinton, came early & didn't get paid..........142
Coyotes, more of them, chase dog back home..........100
Cream, sold during World War II.....................207
Crazy sayings,...................................... 62
Cripple Creek, vacation trip to.....................187
Cows, froze to death at Lamesa...................... 86
Cycle, Frank, motorcycle............................ 86
Dancing, parents didn't approve of.................. 41
Death Valley, we went through.......................216
Dennis, finished High School in 1949................239
Dennis went to college..............................240
Dennis drove car at age 4 or 5......................189
Dennis ate dirt from under car fender...............190
Dennis, 3-years-old, walked mile and half for cows..188
Dirty words not used in our family.................. 46
Dog plow in field................................... 19
Dog, Old Scotch, tricks he did..............31,32,33,34
Dog, Old Scotch, sick & died at road camp...........124
Dog, Old Scotch, fight other dogs...................126
Dog, Old Scotch, paid his way on Lamesa farm........126
Dogs, Robert's greyhounds........................... 49
Dogs, Wes Kennedy's, chase cars.....................198
Dodge car, had magneto, I used Ford coils...........166
Debnam, big, big horse.............................. 87
Desert, Death Valley, we went to it.................216
Denver, CJ went & worked in lumber camp.............158
Drain your car every night era......................201
Drain car, CJ did one cold night at midnight........202
Dreams, CJ had..................................66 & 67
Drinks, Johnsons, water, sweetmilk, buttermilk...... 7
Dry, Roby, during World Flood....................... 3
Driving Old Sow, kid's game......................... 69
Drop out, CJ dropped out of high school.............139
Duck hunting, on plains, duck soup..................113
Dug-out, CJ's parents lived in one.................. 4
Earl shot peaches off trees .......it was told......101
Earl, powder monkey, road work at Gorman............121
Earl, boss of truck lines, CJ objected at time......181
Eggs, CJ gathered them at early age................. 12
Electric lights, we got them in Hamlin..............119
Electric train, CJ got his first one................133
Electrical Engineering Course, CJ took by mail......134
Employment office in California.....................210
Emma and Will got married........................... 2
Engine, gasoline, made it run washing machine.......133
Erector set, CJ made things with it.................129
Exum Farm, bought it in fall 1910, moved to it...... 23
Exum Farm, six good years........................... 78
Exum Farm, sold it & moved to Lamesa................ 79
Farm, Mama & Papa bought their first one............ 4
Farm in shinnery south of Hamlin....................164
Farm, Johnsongrass hay farm.........................164
Farm, CJ & Ima moved to in 1932.....................185
Farm, Royston, we bought from Jim Johnson...........215
Farm, Royston, Jim wouldn't fix up papers, no deal..221
F.B.I. Came for one mule driver at road camp........123
Fender, broken fender era...........................201
Feed stacks, don't climb on......................... 52
Fence building, WFJ, Old Scotch helped him..........126
Fight, Earl and CJ..................................182
Fight, CJ & kid at Lamesa........................... 89
Fight, Old Scotch, CJ sic him on other dog..........126
Fight, Hob Reed and CJ, almost but not quite........230
Fire, we kids set fence row afire...................163
FIRE IN THE HOLE....................................123
Firecrackers, at Lamesa, 9 for half dollar.......... 90
Fire in bucket under dining table................... 78
Fizzlums, book in Bible.............................171
Fly chaser, CJ invented.............................131
Flash light, CJ made his first one..................120
Fleas under man's house............................. 66
Forecast, weather, on telephone..................... 46
Frank whipped CJ in cotton patch.................... 47
Frank carried U.S. Mail in buggy.................... 74
Frank bought Grant automobile....................... 75
Frank away from home at Lamesa...................... 82
Freshman, CJ, high school, at age 18................139
Funny papers, at Wichita Falls...................... 93
Gamble, CJ, didn't realize it was gambling..........115
Gamble, CJ shoot dice...............................190
Games we played..................................... 69
Games, party games,................................. 41
Garage, CJ had at Royston...........................204
Gaddies, we visited them in Oklahoma................ 8
Gaddie, Grandpa came to live with us, and died...9 & 10
Garden at Exum farm................................. 24
Gasoline, World War One, up to 29 cents gallon......103
Gay, Mr. Gay hired CJ in grocery store..............169
Gin at Royston, CJ worked there.....................225
Gladys Flint, sweetheart............................ 40
Getting ready to go to California, War Work.........209
Good-looking, my family............................. 27
Good years, 6 at Exum Farm.......................... 78
Gorman, Texas, we went to build road................120
Goats, Larry needed goat's milk, we bought goats....206
Grant auto, Frank bought one........................ 75
Grandma's house, CJ played with matches............. 63
Grub trees, WFJ clearing land at Flint farm......... 13
Gun, CJ found one in old house......................112
Gun, Frank's pistol, CJ & Joe shoot it..............167
Gun, Joel shoot hole in wall........................173
Guns, we boys muzzle-loading ours...................112
Gulf of Mexico, CJ went there.......................149
Gypmill, CJ got job there, August 1943..............217
Hammer, boy found one on road to Lamesa.............106
Hack, our new one................................... 17
Haul cottonseed cake, WFJ, to ranchers, Lamesa...... 82
Heat in Royston home, used old lube oil.............207
High prices, World-War-one, gasoline 29C gallon.....103
Hinton, Mr., coach at Hamlin High School............143
High School, CJ took 7 subjects.....................139
Hole in pants, CJ in high school....................143
Hot water, Papa put hot coals in pan of water....... 78
Hoeing cotton, woman chased CJ with hoe.............106
Horn, auto horn in Joel's bed.......................130
Horn-tooting Scripture..............................171
Horse, Old Ribbon, buggy horse...................... 72
Horse, sick at party,............................... 44
Horse, lost, Old Nancy, saddle mare.................195
Horse, Old Pony Boy, Carriker's saddle horse........230
Horse, Old Keno, at Flint farm...................... 16
Horse, Mr. Debnam, huge stallion.................... 87
Horse, rolled over on Joel..........................114
Horse, Old Nig, at saw mill in Rocky Mountains......160
Horses, Mr. Hamilton's, tired in field.............. 82
Horses, we kids roped and rode......................105
Hudson, Sox & Red, CJ worked for them...............169
Ice, CJ made ice at West Texas Utilities, Hamlin....139
Ice box, Clarence Clark, and cotton gin.............226
Ideas, CJ at Lockheed in California.................219
Ima's kinfolks, death in Gordon, light, match.......188
Ima's kinfolks, Wouldn't have made it anyway........188
Ima worked at Lockheed..............................215
Jesse James, CJ's 3rd cousin........................ 11
Joel, with rattlesnake in field.....................104
Joel, horse fell on him.............................115
Joel, shot hole in wall.............................173
Joel was smart too, made windmill and submarine.....101
Joel, Earl's gun, "Now it's not loaded."............173
Joel, turn truck over...............................173
Job for CJ at McCamey, Texas........................155
Johnsongrass hay farm...............................164
Jump seats in car...................................102
Kerosene lamps, we quit using them in Hamlin........119
Kerosene, quality poor, mixed gasoline with it......207
Kerosene, we heated house with it & old lube oil....207
Kicked by mule, kid................................. 25
Kitchen, how Mama saved time........................ 91
Kennedy girl, slipped away from her dad.............198
Knife, CJ found one................................. 66
Knife, large, for cutting heads off bundles......... 77
Lake, by yard at Exum farm.......................... 73
Lamesa, we moved to, first time, from Hamlin........ 79
Lamesa, we drove to from Oklahoma................... 97
Lamesa, WFJ bought 2 farms.......................... 79
Lamesa, we moved to, from Abbie, in 2 wagons........ 99
Larry, CJ kept him nights, in California............214
Larry, born 1942....................................206
Larry was spoiled, rocked him to sleep..............213
Land rush, Gaddies nor Johnsons were in it.......... 9
Leather from Sears, in big box...................... 59
Lick plates clean, at Lamesa farm................... 91
Little sister, look the other way................... 28
Light fire in wood stove with alarm clock...........129
Lost, Old Nancy, saddle mare................195-196-197
Log, butane, for fireplace, Carriker................232
Mail car, Lamesa to Big Spring, Passengers......101-102
Maize, we haul......................................167
Match, gets light when strike one...................188
Matches, CJ play with at Grandma's.................. 63
Mama rode in back seat of hack...................... 17
Mama had love for baby and for me too............... 14
Married, CJ got.....................................181
Machine shop, CJ taught in college..................241
McCamey, CJ left and went back to Hamlin............156
McCamey, CJ went to on motorcycle...................152
Medicine, calomel tablets, hole in porch floor...... 64
Merry-go-round, we had at Exum farm................. 69
Miss Fortune, Ford car..............................165
Milk, saved to make bread...........................106
Mice, CJ shoot in house with 22-rifle...............187
Motorcycle, CJ repair, couldn't stop it.............151
Motorcycle, Frank got one........................... 62
Motorcycle, CJ got one..............................152
Motor, sewing machine, Albert found, sold to CJ.....131
Moved into house on small Lamesa farm............... 80
Moved to Lamesa by rail............................. 81
Moved to Lamesa in two wagons....................... 99
Moved back to Hamlin after selling Lamesa farm......117
Moved to Royston farm, Ima, Dennis & CJ, 1933.......186
Moved, Johnsons, back to Texas from Oklahoma........ 3
Moving picture machine, talking, CJ invented........133
Mule kicked kid in head............................. 25
Mule colt, jumped out & wanted back in pen..........105
Nursing calves, Sucking calves...................... 45
Neighbors, had reputation for stealing..............105
Night lights in house from old batteries............129
Nig, Old, black horse at lumber camp................160
Oklahoma, from Wichita Falls, pick cotton........... 95
Oklahoma, Reo car trouble........................... 96
Oklahoma, Grandpa Johnson moved to for grazing...... 1
Old Scotch, our family dog.......................... 31
Old Scotch returned to Exum farm.................... 84
Old Scotch, fight...............................126-127
Old Ribbon, buggy horse and kids ride............... 71
Old Ribbon take Papa's dinner....................... 72
Old Nig, horse at lumber camp in mountains..........160
Operator, telephone................................. 47
Orange, Texas, CJ went to...........................211
Overtime, work in California........................212
Owed me $2, Hob Reed, at Royston....................230
Pants, hole in CJ's in school.......................143
Packwood, Miss, teacher in Hamlin school............142
Parents & CJ doing things together.................. 38
Party games......................................... 41
Paralysis, CJ....................................... 27
Parents taught us many things....................... 34
Parents, ours, leaders in the community............. 35
Parties preferred over dances because............... 43
Papa & coals of fire for heating water.............. 78
Peddlers came to farms.............................. 75
Peanuts in barn loft at Exum farm................... 24
Phantom Canyon, on vacation trip....................187
Phonograph, Frank and Susie got one................. 60
Pick cotton, count bolls............................ 37
Pig, Uncle John's, hot weather, pig out of pen...... 51
Pig at Ballard School,..............................107
Pigs ran wild at our Royston farm...................224
Pikes Peak, our trip to.............................238
Picaroons, tools at lumber camp.....................160
Pistol, Frank's, Joe and CJ shoot it................166
Plant, CJ plant in field at early age............... 18
Play, school play, take posters to other towns......141
Poem, to my father, WFJ.............................162
Pocketbook, coin purse, CJ wanted to buy one........ 88
Preacher and the bear, song on phonograph record.... 60
Prickly pear, boy sat down in one................... 26
Quirts, WFJ made them for us kids, taught us how....111
Rabbits, Government bought at Lamesa................ 81
Rabbits, twist them out of holes.................... 83
Rabbits, froze to death on plains................... 86
Race, to cotton gin................................. 73
Races, motorcycles at Hamlin Fair................... 73
Rawhides on plains.................................. 83
Rats, at Royston farm...............................187
Ration coupons, gasoline, to go back to Calif.......218
Ration coupons, gasoline for cookstove..............221
Rankin, Texas, CJ slept there one night.............157
Record, Preacher & the bear......................... 60
Reed, Hob, owed me $2...............................230
Reo, our first car.................................. 74
Reo, ring gear broke tooth on way to Oklahoma....... 96
Rest room in garage, CJ and Joel used it............ 95
Retired and traveled................................242
Red River, we forded it in Reo...................... 98
Repair truck, CJ repaired rotor arm.................170
Repair car lights for cotton pickers & others.......171
Repair cars in garage at Royston....................204
Ribbon, Old, one of our horses...................... 72
Road work, WFJ do work to pay taxes................. 77
Robert, Uncle, paid us cash for work we did......... 50
Roundup time at CJ's farm...........................234
Rowbinder, Ima & CJ cut feed with...................204
Royston, Ima & CJ moved there in 1933...............186
Road work at Gorman, Texas..........................120
Rocky Mountains, we made trip there in 1934.........187
Rule of command in our family....................... 30
Santa Claus, CJ didn't know about him...............114
Sand storms, the worst one.......................... 85
Sayings, crazy...................................... 62
Sand & dust in air in kitchen....................... 86
Sand colic, our horses died with it................. 93
Saw mill in Rocky Mountains, west of Denver.........158
Saw mill, CJ left there and went to Hamlin..........161
Scotch, Old, our dog................................ 31
School, Ballard, on plains, teacher lived in........106
School, we drove from Hamlin to Wise Chapel.........137
School at Hamlin, CJ in 7th grade at age 16.........138
School, CJ started at age 7, Wise Chapel............ 25
Sears Roebuck and Bible............................. 57
Sears, order, big box............................... 57
Seventh grade, CJ in Hamlin School..................137
Sex, male and female................................ 46
Shipyards at Orange, Texas..........................211
Shot, WFJ shot cow.................................. 55
Shot, man got shot in Hamlin........................ 76
Shoe last, from Sears, in big box................... 60
Sister, little, look the other way.................. 28
Simpson Johnson, went to Melvin's ranch............. 1
Slow reader, CJ didn't like books................... 57
Snake in girl's toilet, at Ballard..................107
Snakes, hunt rattlesnakes near Roby.................233
Snakes, rattle, at Royston farm.....................186
Snuff, Susie tried it, got sick..................... 21
Sop plates clean at Lamesa farm..................... 91
Song book, WFJ's, Henry Gaddie kept it years........ 8
Sookie, Susie's nick name........................... 76
Sold big farm at Lamesa.............................116
Stove, gasoline, CJ borrowed in California..........221
Stovepipe Wells, in Death Valley, California........216
Steam engine, toy, heat water on cookstove..........132
Surley, another name for bull....................... 45
Susie got married................................... 76
Suitcase, lost off Reo fender....................... 95
Sunday work, we began to do it......................119
Sweetheart, CJ's, Gladys Flint...................... 40
Syrup Mill, at Flint farm........................... 15
Syrup, molasses, Earl and CJ haul it, sleep out.....179
Talking picture show, CJ invented it................133
Target practice, with our 22 rifles.................100
Telegrams, Ima & CJ sent to each other..............213
Teacher's pet, CJ................................... 27
Telephone, we got our first one..................... 46
Temptation, CJ tempted to steal money in store...... 90
Telephone company, old dry cells....................129
Teacher, Miss Packwood, boys gave her trouble.......142
Texas, CJ took Ima and kids back to from Calif......211
Texas, we went back to in August 1943...............215
Teach, CJ, general and machine shops, in college....241
Teach, CJ, one year public school in Arkansas.......242
Texas, a state of mind.............................. 20
Tires, bicycle, cotton in tires,.................... 61
Tire about to blow out, bridle rein around it.......103
Toddy, man sick in bed,............................. 7
Tobacco, Frank and Ruth liked it.................... 20
Rest rooms dirty, we used bushes & culverts......... 95
Toll road in Oklahoma over sand dunes in pasture.... 97
Trucking business, WFJ got into.....................129
Truck line to Abilene, CJ drove.....................181
Truck turnovers, Joel 173, Albert, Dode, & WFJ......176
Truck run off bridge, WFJ & CJ......................174
Truck, Joel drove between car and wagon, hit both...177
Truck in mountains west of Denver, CJ drove it......158
Truck, Earl, bumblebee in cab, apples on road.......178
Tractor, CJ built one at Royston farm...............203
Tractor, "Pull-Ford" at Lamesa farm................. 87
Train, Ima and kids rode to California..............213
Travel, CJ and family, to Pikes Peak................238
Traveled after retirement...........................242
Trail drive, near San Angelo, whiskey for free...... 53
Tumbleweeds and sand bury fences on Texas plains....112
Wash dishes or lick plates clean.................... 91
Water fight, we boys and Mama.......................165
Weather forecast, daily on telephone................ 46
Wen, beside CJ's nose............................... 28
Weather, cold, rabbits and cows froze to death...... 86
Whip, Frank whipped CJ in field..................... 47
Whirlwind and catclaw bushes........................108
Whiskey free, cowboys camped near San Angelo........ 53
Whiskey as a medicine, Gaddie's home................ 7
Wichita Falls, we went in 1918, WFJ carpenter....... 93
Wichita Falls, we kids picked cotton................ 94
Wind, stories about strong wind on plains...........109
Windmill and garden at Exum farm.................... 24
Women's' wear, CJ consulted Sears catalog pictures.. 59
Windmills, many on plains & courthouse lawn.........103
Work on Sundays, we began to........................119
Windcharger, CJ built one before farmers got them...130
Work hard, sleep hard, worry none................... 36
End of Project Gutenberg's The Life of Me, by Clarence Edgar Johnson