1948 :: Henry Family Reunion

Rockdale Reporter, October 7, 1948 -- A family reunion of the Henry's was enjoyed by many in the home of Mrs. J.D. Hamilton Sunday. Dinner, which was furnished by all, was served buffet style.




Those attending from Rockdale were: Mr. and Mrs. Edgar Henry, Roberta and Oscar, Mrs. Will Henry, Mr. and Mrs. G.R. Henry and Weldon Lee, Mr. and Mrs. Edward Backhaus, Ruth and Doris Ann, Mr. and Mrs. S.C. Christian, Mr. and Mrs. Vesper Christian and Donna, Mr. and Mrs. Milford Henry and Dale, Mrs. Howard Avrett and Darwin, Mr. and Mrs. Graham Kyle, Graham Jr. and Linda Sue, Mr. and Mrs. Mark Towery, Bohn, Dana and Sandra, Robert Phillips, Mrs. J.D. Hamilton and Laura.


Out of town guests were: Mr. and Mrs. J.B. Henry, Waco; Mrs. Velma Henry Smith, Waco; Mrs. Ida Halyard, Crockett; Georgia Faye Henry, Freeport; R.B. (Sonny) Rosenkrans, Freeport; Delores Sharp, Palestine; Mr. and Mrs. W.H. Reynolds, Palestine; Mrs. T.A. Newton, Palestine; Mr. and Mrs. T.A. Newton Jr. and Shirley, Palestine; Mrs. W.C. Newton and Luckey, Palestine; Mr. and Mrs Alton Peebles, Mary Jane and Martha Lou, Lexington; Mr. and Mrs. Henry Weldon Kyle, Nanette and Douglas, Houston; Mr. and Mrs. E.E. Fergeson, Houston; Delbert Kyle, Huntsville; Mr. and Mrs. Fred Ceasar, Virginia Hope and Harry Douglas, Thorndale.

1948 :: Death of Robert Lee Yoakum

Robert Lee Yoakum, 16 year old student of Rockdale high school and son of Mr. and Mrs. George Yoakum, was killed Monday afternoon between 2:30 and 3 p.m., when he came in contact with a live wire while moving a house at Caldwell.

Young Yoakum was working with his father and a brother, George Jr., on a house-moving job. The wire across the highway was believed to be dead at the time the house was being moved under it. 

George Yoakum, Jr. was knocked out but not seriously injured and does not remember what happened, he said.

Funeral services for Robert Lee Yoakum were conducted from the Phillips and Luckey Chapel Tuesday at 3:30 p.m., with Rev. Howard Mitchell officiating and burial at Oak Lawn Cemetery. A huge crowd attended, attesting to the popularity of young Yoakum. 

Pallbearers were fellow teammates of the 1948 football team: Walter Heckendorn, James Caffey, Henry Hall, Jack Crane, H.D. Maxwell Jr. and George Haley.

A star athlete and member of the FFA judging team that won second place this year, Robert Lee Yoakum was one of the favorite students of the entire Rockdale high school among both students and teachers. "He was always so willing, so able, and he will be sorely missed," in the words of so many of his friends in school.

He was active in all school activities, lettered in football, and played basketball and tennis. He was named a Lone Star Farmer at the State FFA convention at Houston last week, and during the year served the local chapter as reporter. He had always been very active in chapter work. He was an individual prize winner at the soil conservation contest at Taylor last fall.

Robert Lee Yoakum was born Nov. 2, 1931, near Rockdale, and would have been seventeen years old next November. He would have been a member of the R.H.S. senior class this coming term.

Besides his mother and father he leaves three brothers: Herbert, Vernon and George Yoakum Jr., and two sisters, Mrs. James Burch of Meridian and Mrs. John Yoakum of Rockdale, besides a number of other relatives. Rockdale Reporter, June 24, 1948

1948 :: Death of E.H. Balhorn

Funeral services for E.H. Balhorn, 55, who died Friday night [August 1948] in a Cameron hospital from a heart ailment, were held here [Rockdale] Saturday. Burial was in Oak Lawn Cemetery, with Masons in charge. Balhorn was widely known among grocers, as he had been a representative of large wholesale houses since a young man. At the time of his death he was connected with a St. Louis firm. He leaves his wife, a son, Edward Balhorn of Beaumont; two grandchildren; three sisters, Mrs. Ray Humphrey of Beaumont, Mrs. C. F. Tuberville of Oklahoma City and Mrs. Will Gray of Yoakum, and a brother, William Balhorn, Cameron. Dallas Morning News. August 17, 1948. E. H. Balhorn, Rockdale, Dies of Heart Ailment. Special to The News. Rockdale, Texas, Aug. 16.

1948 :: Ford Showing in Rockdale

The Rockdale Reporter, June 24, 1948. Ford Showing Here Friday and Saturday Draws Record Crowd. More than 3500 attended the Gaither Motor Company showing of the new 1949 Ford here last Friday and Saturday as they saw and rode in the new model. . . . The local firm joined the 6500 Ford dealers throughout the country to play host to the public for the first time since before the war.

The local show was in typical carnival fashion. Pennants and banners decorated the showroom, balloons and favors were given away, and the Salty Swing Band played for the Saturday afternoon showing. . . .

"I have been a Ford dealer for thirty-seven years and I can truly say that the public acceptance of this all new Ford is the biggest thing I have ever seen happen in the Ford Business," Mr. Gaither, one of Texas' oldest dealers, concluded.