1936 :: Pounder Twins

DRS. SESSIONS & BARKLEY RECEIVE TWIN HONORS

Announcement is made of the birth of twin boys to Mr. and Mrs. Oscar Pounder, of the Tanglewood community, on March 16. These boys have been christened Clyde Sessions and Claude Barkley. The Rockdale Reporter and Messenger (Rockdale, Tex.), Vol. 64, No. 6, Ed. 1 Thursday, March 19, 1936

1952 :: Operators say goodbye

Rockdale Reporter
August 14, 1952

Rockdale telephone operators are pictured (below) as they plugged in the final phone calls under the old hand crank phone system here shortly after noon, August 2. 

As the picture was made, switches were thrown at the dial building, Rockdale was transferred to the dial system, and the telephone girls had written finis to their jobs in Rockdale.

building photo in background by Neal Douglass

Seated at the switchboard reading in reverse order, right to left:

• Mrs. Jean LaRue Alford
• Mrs. Roberta Pounders
• Mrs. Ruth Wooten
• Mrs. Faye Oldham
• Miss Loretta Neeley
• Mrs. Faye Pratt
• Mrs. Ann Summers
• Mrs. R.L. Myrick.

Standing at rear, left to right:

• Miss Vera Sheppard, chief operator
• Mrs. Betty Ashabrenner
• Miss Doris Jean Parker
• Mrs. Pansy Hairston, Evening Chief
• Miss Emogene Hilliard
• Miss Shirley Curlee
• Mrs. Eva Randle
• Mrs. Josie Scott

. . . Around the year of 1914, space was needed in the [former location in the] Quebe building and the operators were pushed out of their quarters, across Cameron street to the space above the Citizens State Bank. Here the office remained until recently when it was stripped of its operating personnel. . . . 

During the span of 55 years since 1897 local operators have instigated calls to England, France, Switzerland, Italy, Hawaii and Japan. The long distance traffic averaged 400 calls per day at the close of the Rockdale office. . . . 

1930 :: Death of Grandma Cain

Rural News. Cole Springs. Grandma Cain passed away last Monday evening. She had been helpless and bed-ridden since last October. She was ready and anxious to take her departure. She knew in whom she believed, and she was not afraid to die. "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints." Mrs. Cain was a native of Alabama. She was 88 years old the 8th of last December. She leaves one daughter, Mrs. J.M. Pounder(s) of Tanglewood, and a host of grandchildren and great grandchildren to mourn her departure. Rockdale Reporter, Thursday, July 10, 1930

1999 :: Looking back at 1949

The Rockdale Reporter, June 10, 1999. Word from the wife by Peggy Cooke. Roberta Pounders was at the office looking through some 50-year-old issues of The Reporter to get some information and ideas for the 50th reunion of the Class of 1949 and this weekend's Homecoming celebration. I had to look over her shoulder — I love looking at the old newspapers — and I was fascinated, not so much by the news items, but by the advertising.

For instance, Stricker's Variety Store sold everything from soup and something to cook it in, to clothing, linens, "things electric" (that's what it said in the ad), hardware items, and on and on. Today's big superstores have nothing on Stricker's. Their slogan was, "Yes, you'll find it at Stricker's!" A few items from their quarter page advertisement were --

• electric irons
• alarm clocks
• toasters
• soldering irons
• electric switches and plates
• fluorescent lamps
• Romex (what's that?)
• wash cloths and bath towels
• can cutters
• rotary egg beaters
• dishes of various kinds
• oil cloth
• coffee pots and dripolators
• double boilers
• tea kettles
• dish pans
• brooms and mops
• window shades

Also . . .

• men's khaki pants
• undershirts and shorts
• socks and gloves
• men's and boy's T-shirts
• dress shirts
• ladies (get this) "new" brassieres
• sweaters
• belts
• panties and gowns
• slips and nylon hose
• handbags
• barrettes

Also . . .

• cabinet hinges
• hasps
• drawer pulls
• Bibb washers
• shoe soles and nails
• wrecking bars
• hack saws
• levels
• glass cutters
• dozens of tools

. . . and that was just a few of the items they offered. 

McLeod & Timmerman Grocery & Market had specials on --

• sugar — 10 pounds for 88¢
• Oxyod, Duz or Super Suds — large size 37¢
• dry salt bacon — pound for 45¢
• pickles — 22 ounce jar 33¢
• Texas oranges — 8 pound bag 25¢
• bread — large loaf 18¢
• sardines — 2 flat cans 25¢

Rockdale Dry Goods and proprietors W.H. (Brit) Hensley and L.C. Mehaffey (the forerunner to Mehaffey's) advertised a special on Women's nylon hosiery — irregulars 95¢ and first quality, $1.10.
In one lead story, there was an urgent call for rooms in town as the La-Tex Pipe Line Co. of Houston would have 125 working men in Rockdale the next week looking for a place to stay. Rockdale was to be headquarters for the entire job from Hearne to San Marcos if living facilities could be found. The story said office space was secured "over the bank" and storage for trucks and tools in "the rear of Salisbury's Garage." They were asking for anyone with a spare room — or even a bed for one, two or more men to call the office. 

The Kay Theatre advertised Courage of Lassie and a Saturday double feature with Fit for a King and Hittin' the Trails with Joe E. Brown and Tex Ritter with a Hop Harrigan serial and a cartoon at no extra charge. On Sunday, Centennial Summer with Linda Darnell, Cornell Wilde and Jeanie Crane. 

Perry Hardware & Furniture advertised . . .

• flour sifters for only 25¢
• five-strand brooms 85¢ each
• white cups and saucers, set of 6, for 95¢

Louis G. Gest Buick Sales & Service advertised the new Buick for 1949 with white sidewall tires available at no extra cost. New Dynaflow Drive -- where there is no gear shifting -- you just step on the gas! And Gaither Motor Co. offered bargains in used cars from $395 to $850.

Every Family Has One :: My Hometown

My Hometown . . . when I return . . .
the main street still is filled with pleasant faces and glad hellos
with an atmosphere of calm . . . with time for neighborly concern
with joy in sharing another's fortune
or heartfelt words to one who mourns.
Hometown is more than just a town
it is a way of life, a place of peace and quiet
and when I return it is as if I have never been gone
and in my heart I have not.
by
Craig E. Sathoff

Old Rockdale postcard . . .
Main St. north from I & G. N. Depot, Rockdale, Texas

The postcard has been reproduced in multiple Rockdale publications . . .
location / ownership / existence of original unknown . . .
According to a newspaper clipping from the files of my cousin, Peggy (Ferguson) Skeeters, a Henry family reunion was held at the old Hamilton homeplace in Rockdale, Milam County, Texas sometime in 1931. That yellowed and crumbling piece of paper recorded the following about the arrival of my 2nd great-grandpa, William Paschal Henry (1836-1912), and his family in the brand-new town of Rockdale, Milam County, Texas . . .

On Oct. 3, 1876, the Henrys arrived in Rockdale to visit a sister and family of Mrs. Henry's, it being Dr. and Mrs. M. F. Anthony, who at that time had the post office and drug store combined on the corner where the Wolf Hotel now stands.

That is the Hotel Wolf in the lower right corner of the above collage, with an arrow pointing to the same building on the old Rockdale postcard. The Hotel had gone out of business before 1935 when Rockdale's American Legion post purchased the building.

During World War II the building's second story was lopped off and its Main Street front was shortened and remodeled. A stage was added and the hall became the place to be for dances and music for almost 20 years. Rockdale Reporter, 06 Aug 1998

When I was in high school (the 60's), we frequently spent a portion of our weekend hours attending teen dances -- with real live bands! -- in the un-airconditioned bottom-half of this building. My parents were regular fixtures as chaperones at these events.


Directly across the street was McVoy's Grocery Store where my parents shopped weekly. Every Friday, my widowed Grandma, who never learned to drive, had her grocery list ready for Mom or Dad to take with them to McVoy's. There was a large wooden magazine rack near the front door where I would sit and read comic books while Mom checked out. Mr. Galbreath kept the produce stocked and freshly washed, and would give us pieces of fresh sugar cane to chew on. The meat market at McVoy's was where Mom bought steak cutlets for making her infamous chicken-fried steak with cream gravy which NONE of us have ever been able to replicate.


I was back on Main Street in June of 2009 while in Rockdale for the 75th Annual Rockdale Homecoming as well as my Mom's 60th RHS Class Reunion, where I was flattered to be told by numerous people (who had known Mom since the 40s) that, "You look just like your Mom!"


At the Homecoming gathering, one lady said to me, "Aren't you the one who found the snake in the bedroom when you were babysitting Delaine?" That was also during high school in the 60s! I was babysitting for the local pharmacist in his home. The baby and I were sitting in the rocker / recliner in her nursery when I saw a snake come crawling in the room! I got out of the room with Delaine and shut the door (which wasn't much of a barrier since it had such a gap at the bottom) and called my trusty Dad at our home (no cell phones in those days). Dad was there immediately, but it took him a while to find and kill the poisonous copperhead -- it had crawled up into the coils under the rocker / recliner!


Before I left town, we (me & Mom & my sister) visited the Dan Kubiak exhibit at the I&GN Depot, and I also took a few photos of Joy Graham's Bit of History building on Cameron Avenue.


The journey back home to Main Street was nostalgic, while somehow filled with the sweet assurance that at Home we are not forgotten. These people knew me as a child. They knew my grandparents. And in some cases, their parents and grandparents knew my ancestors. And many of the families of Rockdale have somehow managed to climb into my family tree!