Spending the night with my grandparents on my dad's side was quite different than spending the night with my maternal grandparents. My grandma was very busy all the time. She was either cooking, doing laundry, sewing, cleaning, taking care of the chickens, or gardening. She rarely watched any TV. She might sit down in the evening and watch the news.
I remember one time wanting to go home with my grandpa and grandma. I got all my clothes packed, got in the car, and then got about 1/4 mile down the road. At this point I suddenly got very homesick and asked to go home. They did take me back. I have no idea of how old I was when this happened.
There was a huge tree just outside the back door of their house. There was a swing made of an old board that had notches in the sides so that it would fit on a big chain. The chain was wrapped around a large limb in the tree and secured. You could really swing high, and it was a favorite past time while there. They had what was called a glider. It was a faded red----I think. My grandpa would sit in that glider and whittle a stick with his pocket knife. He never made anything, he just whittled on the stick until it was just a sliver and then toss that on the ground as well. He would say to me, "Come sit down here and visit with me". I've no idea of what we talked about. I think he would talk and tell me things, and I would just listen.
One time while there for an overnight stay, it was very hot. The windows had just had all the trim painted, and the windows were stuck and would not raise. As a solution to the problem, my grandma took a knife and begin to cut around the window to loosen the paint. My grandpa and I were standing outside the bedroom window where she was working on the inside. My grandpa begin to tell my grandma she was cutting the weather stripping and was ruining the window. They kind of got into it for a bit. Then my grandpa whispered to me, "She doesn't know it, but she just ruined the weather stripping." I don't know why, but I thought that was very funny. I guess I thought I would get into trouble if I laughed. I tried very hard to keep from laughing, but finally I kind of snickered. My grandpa let out a big belly laugh. He thought it was very funny that I was trying not to laugh. He teased me about that for years. Grandpa always would say, "If you'll come home with us, we'll fix some windows for you."
I would go to the chicken house with my grandma to gather the eggs and feed them. Sometimes in the summer I would go to the garden and help gather vegetables.
There were no toys at my Embry grandparent's house. So you had to think of things to do. I looked at photo albums, old school year books, went outside to swing, or go look around in the barn, or explore old outbuildings that were used long ago. There was a building where there was an anvil, old plow parts, tools, and just junk in general. It seems all the buildings had dirt floors.
There was a bedroom that I loved to go in and look around. It was my Aunt Lula Maye's bedroom when she was growing up. I loved the dressing table, mirror, and the set of brushes that was on the dressing table. I felt like that room was the room of a princess.
Sometimes my grandparents would go visit some of my uncles and aunts. So I went with them.
Once in a while my cousin Rhonda would come and stay while I was there. She was three years older than I was. She was the same age as my cousin Debbie who came to my Engelking grandparents to spend the night. Even those these two cousins were the same age, Rhonda did not want to play like my cousin Debbie. Rhonda was just interested in boys. I did not give a lick about boys at that age. So we never really had that much fun together.
My cousin Jeep lived about a quarter mile away. He would come down and play while I was there. Sometimes I went to his house to play with some of his toys. Once or twice I spent the night at his house. He never spent the night with my grandparents. I don't know why.
Saturday was "going to town" day. My grandma always made me take a bath before going to Muleshoe. That was their custom and had been for all their lives. We would drop my grandpa off at the sale barn. Then we would go on in to town. My grandma always went to the beauty shop to get her hair done on Saturday. After she did that, we would go to several stores on main street. My grandma was always looking for patterns and material. She sewed a lot of clothes. She sewed several things for me when I was younger. She made all her dresses and most of my aunt Lula Maye's clothes. After looking around in several stores, she would sometimes take me to the drug store fountain. We would get a coke. Then she went to the grocery store to shop. After that it was time to go get my grandpa at the sale barn and go home. I usually did not stay the night on a Saturday. Often times my mom and dad would come to Muleshoe and pick me up there.
Even though it was very different to being with my maternal grandparents, I have a lot of fun and precious memories of being with my paternal grandparents. Time spent with both sets of grandparents was a treat, and I feel blessed to have had those opportunities.
Thursday, March 15, 2018
Tuesday, April 25, 2017
Spending the Night with Grandparents
One of my favorite
summer-time activities was to spend the night with my grandparents. Usually I got to go a couple of times each
summer and usually spent two nights. We
did not live far from my grandparents, but it was like going on a trip when I
got to go.
Spending the night with my
grandparents on my mom’s side was quite different than with my grandparents on
my dad’s side. As is the case with all
people, each had their own types of activities and ways of doing things. Even though they were different, I enjoyed
each place and being with each set of grandparents.
When I spent the night with
my Grandpa and Grandma Ike,** my cousin Debbie would also come and stay. That made it twice as fun. She was an adventurous, daring sort of girl,
so we did a lot of things I would never have done by myself.
One of the things we would do
is play around the farm yard. We might
go to the chicken house and gather eggs, go see the turkeys, watch the peacocks,
play in the barn, or climb the haystacks. We might go looking for nests of eggs
that were not in the chicken house. Once
when all 5 of us cousins were there, we found such a stash of eggs. Knowing they were no good, we threw them all
against an old building. Talk about a stench!!!
If you’ve never smelled a rotten egg, then you’ve no idea of how awful
that smell was. There was one time when
we were gathering peacock feathers that the peacocks began to run after and
chase us. I suppose they thought we had captured a live peacock, and they were
going to rescue their friend. Once when
we had a tape recorder and were playing like we were doing some sort of farm
show, my cousin said, “Listen, while the chickens talk to me”. At that precise moment, the dog licked her
sucker (one of our purchases at the grocery store). She screamed.
Then we began to laugh and laugh.
Debbie then explained to our listeners, “Lobo licked my
sucker!”
Often my grandma would have
the TV turned on and tuned in to old western shows. She would make us popcorn and give us a
“coke”. A “coke” was any type of
soda. So our “coke” might be a Dr.
Pepper, Coca Cola, Sprite, Big Red, Mountain Dew, or whatever else she happened
to have in the frig.
There were times we would go
to watch my uncles play softball in the evenings. Then there was always the trip into Muleshoe
to the grocery store. My grandma would
give us $.25- $.50 and we could go spend it in the candy section. We would get M & M’s,
maybe a candy bar, suckers, bubble gum, and sometimes candy cigarettes. I remember on one occasion we pretended the M
& M’s were the remedy for the lung cancer that resulted from “smoking” our candy
cigarettes.
My cousin was a big weather
fan. She would watch the weather on TV, listen
to the radio forecasts, and watch the clouds.
It seemed that, more often than not, we would have a thunderstorm come up during the night. There was one storm when
the wind was bad, the rain was pouring, and the lightning and thunder were cracking
and booming. Debbie decided that we
might be having a tornado. So we got up
and tip-toed into the living room where there was a barometer. We had a flashlight so could check the
readings. Of course, there was no danger
of a tornado, but it was exciting.
My grandmother had a
piano. Sometimes we would go play on the
piano and have music shows. Debbie could
actually play the piano, so we would pretend to be playing for an audience. We often would sing as well. I can just
imagine that what we thought was great, was actually cacophony, but it was
fun!!
There were many knick-knacks
on shelves at my grandma’s house. My
grandma would buy things at the souvenir shops when they would travel. She had quite a collection. These provided a lot of entertainment as
well. I can’t recall any specific things
we did with these items, but I do remember loving to look at each one.
My grandpa was usually out
working on the farm or was gone to the gin, stores in town, etc. Sometimes he would take us to eat at a
restaurant in Muleshoe. I rarely got to
eat at a restaurant, so this was a huge treat. One of the things my grandpa did every day after lunch was to lay down on the couch, cover his face with the newspaper, and take a nap.
I know there were many other
things that we probably did when I spent time with my grandparents, but these
are some of the things I remember the best.
**We could not say Engelking when we were young, so said* Ike since that was my grandpa's nickname.
Saturday, January 7, 2017
JULY 4TH
July 4th. It is a holiday marking our independence from the British. I doubt that entered my mind as a kid. July 4th was all about fireworks, a day off---maybe, watermelon, and homemade ice cream.
Most of the time, July was a month we were right in the middle of hoeing cotton. When July 4th arrived, it was business as usual. Unless we had had rain, and it was too wet, we went to the field to hoe weeds. We might get to stop early that day, which we would definitely consider a treat.
Usually my mom would cook out hamburgers and fix homemade ice cream. There were a few times that July 4 was cold and rainy, so the cookout and ice cream were not as welcomed.
When we were really young, my dad would go to the firework stand and get us fireworks. I can remember him coming home with a package of fire crackers, some Texas Screamers (they were known by another more racist name back in that day), a Roman candle, and sparklers. That pretty well summed up what we got. We thought that we were the most blessed children in the world. It was great. I think shooting off our fireworks probably lasted an entire 10 minutes, but it was fun. I remember my dad purchasing a cigar so that he could light the fireworks. That was a very long time ago. After the firework stands came out with those sticks that were used as lighters, my dad never got another cigar.
As we got older we began to use our own money (earned by hoeing cotton) to buy our own fireworks. We usually purchased pretty much the same types of fireworks, but added a few that were for older kids. Bottle rockets were great! We generally tried not to shoot up all our fireworks in one evening so we could continue to play with matches and gun powder.
There was one story my dad told about when he was a kid that we never wanted to happen to us. He said that he got a string of firecrackers and asked his dad to light them for him. My grandpa lit the entire string at once and they all popped in a matter of minutes. My dad said he was so upset and never asked his dad to light his firecrackers again.
Warnings of not holding on to the firecracker too long were given each year, multiple times. My dad was pretty good at telling stories of how some kid got his finger blown off by a firecracker. I can tell you that was not done by one of those little Black Cat firecrackers, but was the result of a much larger, more dangerous type. It did make us be more careful though.
Often we would get a can and put the lighted firecracker under an old vegetable can and watch the can lift off the ground when the firecracker exploded. Our goal for bottle rockets was to place the rocket in a can or bottle in such a manner that it would fly farther than the other person's. We did have to be careful if it was a dry year. We did not want the bottle rocket to land in dry grass and start a fire.
Watermelon was sometimes a treat, but usually it was not one that we had grown in our garden. Our watermelons would not be ripe until late August or early September. Nevertheless, it was a treat if we got to eat one.
One year we went to our cousin's house. They were lighting firecrackers and throwing them. One of the firecrackers went off just as it passed my ear. My ear rang for the rest of the night and it really did hurt. This was a case of us not being very careful.
After the 4th of July, I would always get the feeling that there was not much of the summer holiday left. It was a rather sad feeling.
When I look back, it is so nice to remember that it did not take a lot to make life fun for us. Just a few fireworks, a treat of watermelon, grilled hamburgers, and home made ice cream---these were special and made life good.
Most of the time, July was a month we were right in the middle of hoeing cotton. When July 4th arrived, it was business as usual. Unless we had had rain, and it was too wet, we went to the field to hoe weeds. We might get to stop early that day, which we would definitely consider a treat.
Usually my mom would cook out hamburgers and fix homemade ice cream. There were a few times that July 4 was cold and rainy, so the cookout and ice cream were not as welcomed.
When we were really young, my dad would go to the firework stand and get us fireworks. I can remember him coming home with a package of fire crackers, some Texas Screamers (they were known by another more racist name back in that day), a Roman candle, and sparklers. That pretty well summed up what we got. We thought that we were the most blessed children in the world. It was great. I think shooting off our fireworks probably lasted an entire 10 minutes, but it was fun. I remember my dad purchasing a cigar so that he could light the fireworks. That was a very long time ago. After the firework stands came out with those sticks that were used as lighters, my dad never got another cigar.
As we got older we began to use our own money (earned by hoeing cotton) to buy our own fireworks. We usually purchased pretty much the same types of fireworks, but added a few that were for older kids. Bottle rockets were great! We generally tried not to shoot up all our fireworks in one evening so we could continue to play with matches and gun powder.
There was one story my dad told about when he was a kid that we never wanted to happen to us. He said that he got a string of firecrackers and asked his dad to light them for him. My grandpa lit the entire string at once and they all popped in a matter of minutes. My dad said he was so upset and never asked his dad to light his firecrackers again.
Warnings of not holding on to the firecracker too long were given each year, multiple times. My dad was pretty good at telling stories of how some kid got his finger blown off by a firecracker. I can tell you that was not done by one of those little Black Cat firecrackers, but was the result of a much larger, more dangerous type. It did make us be more careful though.
Often we would get a can and put the lighted firecracker under an old vegetable can and watch the can lift off the ground when the firecracker exploded. Our goal for bottle rockets was to place the rocket in a can or bottle in such a manner that it would fly farther than the other person's. We did have to be careful if it was a dry year. We did not want the bottle rocket to land in dry grass and start a fire.
Watermelon was sometimes a treat, but usually it was not one that we had grown in our garden. Our watermelons would not be ripe until late August or early September. Nevertheless, it was a treat if we got to eat one.
One year we went to our cousin's house. They were lighting firecrackers and throwing them. One of the firecrackers went off just as it passed my ear. My ear rang for the rest of the night and it really did hurt. This was a case of us not being very careful.
After the 4th of July, I would always get the feeling that there was not much of the summer holiday left. It was a rather sad feeling.
When I look back, it is so nice to remember that it did not take a lot to make life fun for us. Just a few fireworks, a treat of watermelon, grilled hamburgers, and home made ice cream---these were special and made life good.
Thursday, December 8, 2016
HALLOWEEN
Halloween was a great holiday when growing up. We looked forward to dressing up and going trick or treating.
Most of our costumes consisted of wearing a store bought mask. We did not have any other type of dress up. It often was cold, so the costume would have been covered by our coats anyway. One year I did get to buy an entire costume. That was a special year. I don't have a clue how old I was, but it had to be in the 7-10 year old age group. I don't think we went for trick or treating beyond those ages.
I got a Cinderella costume. I had a mask that was a girl who had "yellow" hair. The mask had a crown painted on it, and the costume was of some sort of pink slick material. It was similar to the one shown here. I thought it the most beautiful costume ever. I played with it often after Halloween and probably wore it out totally.
We would take a brown paper grocery bag as our container to receive candy, cookies, popcorn balls, gum, and an occasional orange or apple (which we hated by the way).
My mom would take my brothers and me into Farwell. We would try to get her to take to the "rich" side of town. Those people usually gave out great candy--- full size candy bars. We would go up and down a few streets then go home. We looked at our stash and would trade with each other if we had something we didn't like.
Our school would always have a class Halloween party as well. If we wore costumes, I don't remember. Halloween was a party in which we would play several games and have cupcakes, popcorn balls, cookies or other snacks. One year one of the kid's moms came dressed as a witch.
Times were simple. It didn't take much for us to feel that the occasion was special and fun. Truly good memories.
Most of our costumes consisted of wearing a store bought mask. We did not have any other type of dress up. It often was cold, so the costume would have been covered by our coats anyway. One year I did get to buy an entire costume. That was a special year. I don't have a clue how old I was, but it had to be in the 7-10 year old age group. I don't think we went for trick or treating beyond those ages.
I got a Cinderella costume. I had a mask that was a girl who had "yellow" hair. The mask had a crown painted on it, and the costume was of some sort of pink slick material. It was similar to the one shown here. I thought it the most beautiful costume ever. I played with it often after Halloween and probably wore it out totally.
We would take a brown paper grocery bag as our container to receive candy, cookies, popcorn balls, gum, and an occasional orange or apple (which we hated by the way).
My mom would take my brothers and me into Farwell. We would try to get her to take to the "rich" side of town. Those people usually gave out great candy--- full size candy bars. We would go up and down a few streets then go home. We looked at our stash and would trade with each other if we had something we didn't like.
Our school would always have a class Halloween party as well. If we wore costumes, I don't remember. Halloween was a party in which we would play several games and have cupcakes, popcorn balls, cookies or other snacks. One year one of the kid's moms came dressed as a witch.
Times were simple. It didn't take much for us to feel that the occasion was special and fun. Truly good memories.
Tuesday, November 15, 2016
THE CELLAR
The cellar was a place that served several functions. It was a place to go in case of tornadoes, a place to store potatoes, canned vegetables, and junk in general.
Our cellar was a dirt cellar. It had cinder block steps and a dirt floor. The walls were of concrete. If you have ever been to the Embry farm, you would spot the cellar right away. The structure is located on the east side of the house. It has a tall part which is made of stucco, and this is where the door is located. On the ground is a large area that is concrete, which looks like the top of a roof buried in the dirt. The steps down into the cellar are cinder blocks, and the floor and walls are concrete.
Inside the cellar there were many shelves on one wall. This was the area where we stored all the canned vegetables. We had shelves filled with green beans, pinto beans, pickles, relish, corn, blackeyed peas, jellies, beets, tomatoes, tomato juice, grape juice, peaches, cherries, and other types of fruits and vegetables. The types of vegetables and fruits varied from year to year. Corn and blackeyed peas were vegetables that were frozen instead of canned after we got a large freezer.
Some shelves served as storage space for things that we did not have room for in the house. I remember my mom had a stenographer's typewriter in the cellar. I was always fascinated by that machine. We stored the Christmas tree in the cellar and old baby toys and things my mom did not want to give away. We had a toy rocking horse in the cellar for years. We always kept candles and matches there as well. The cellar had electricity, but there was always a chance the electricity would go out during a storm, so we were prepared for that situation. The matches were wrapped in foil to keep the dry.
I both liked and hated going to the cellar. I did not like the damp musty odor, or the hot, humid feeling of the air. There were always wasps nests built in the top part. As soon as the outside door was opened, the wasps would swarm out. I remember my mom getting stung once in a while. My mom would often tell me to go to the cellar and get a jar of vegetables or fruit. I dreaded this if it were during the summer months. I hated those wasps.
I can remember going to the cellar maybe on two different occasions during a storm. This was usually after dark when one could not see the storms coming in. We would head to the cellar when the weather stations would warn of an impending storm with possible tornadoes. One time my dad went down with us, and the other time he would not go. He could not get down the steps very well, so he said he would just take his chances. We usually had a transistor radio with us during these storms so that we could listen for updates on storms.
Some of the things we did as kids was to play in the cellar. Even though I was not a big fan of it, I would go down with my brothers. We would light the candles and make black marks on the walls with the smoke from the candles. Some of these play times turned into torturous experiences for me.
On one occasion, my brothers got me to go down in the cellar, and then they raced up the steps and shut and locked the door. They turned off the electricity in the brooder house which was a building next to the cellar. I was in complete darkness. I was so scared I could not even go back down the steps and find a candle to light. I pounded on the door and yelled, but they would not let me out. After a while they unlocked the door, but never told me. I probably could have gotten out much sooner if I had only checked the door again.
Once in a while, our cousins would be at our house and we would go down and play. It was a lot more fun when they were there and not nearly as scary. They could make playing in the cellar a ghostly experience if they wished, but it was fun being scared when it was just a game.
As far as the outer structure, we loved running up the slanted part of the tallest part of the cellar. I do not know what we found so fascinating or fun about doing that, but it was a challenge. Once we got down the technique, it was easy to run up that slant and get to the top. Once there, it was just fun to sit. I suppose it was the fact that we thought we were high off the ground that made it fun.
A more recent story about the cellar is when Brian took Daniel and Mikali down to see what was in the cellar. Mikali and Daniel were fairly young and so were already scared. Somehow Daniel got bumped and tumbled down the steps. Fortunately, Daniel was fine. They did not want to go down into the cellar with "Uncle Brian" again. Daniel's story was always, "Uncle Brian pushed me down the steps."
Thursday, October 27, 2016
MAKING YEAST DONUTS
Yeast donuts are a bit different and more involved to make than cake donuts. It takes quite a bit more time as the dough has to rise, then rise again after cutting out the donuts. I loved helping cut out donuts. I loved taking out the little holes that would come from each cut. Some of those we put back into the dough to roll again for more donuts, but we got to save some to fry and make donut holes.
It seems that donut making came on a Saturday. I guess my mom had more time on Saturdays to bake or make special treats. One of the funny things I remember is that it seemed a certain song would be on the radio each time we made donuts. My mom listened to a radio station out of Muleshoe, TX, called KMUL ( pronounced K MULE). She listened to that station so that she could get updates on local news and people. Anyway, the song that would come on while making donuts was a song called "Big Bad John".
After cutting out the donuts and letting them rise, we would fry them in a deep fryer. Then after they were fried and cooled a bit, we would glaze them. We made a glaze from powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk. We took a fork, put it through the hole, dipped the donut in the glaze, then placed the fork on the edge of the bowl so that the handle of the fork was on the table. This let the glaze drip from the donut back into the bowl. Then came the fun part of eating them. SOOOOO Delicious!
One time when we made donuts, I got heartburn, but I didn't know what was my problem. I would get this hurting/burning sensation in my chest. I thought I was just hungry. So I would fix my problem by eating another donut. That did the trick, but only temporarily. So back to the donut stash to eat another, with the same results. Finally, my mom began to question me. I was probably eating way too many donuts, and my intake had to be curtailed. My mom figured out I was experiencing heartburn. She gave me some Tums, which stopped my heartburn. That was the beginning of my heartburn woes. I have had heartburn issues ever since that day. Sad to say that such a delicious treat started my ailment. Oh well. I still eat yeast donuts and love them.
Wednesday, October 19, 2016
DOGS ON THE EMBRY FARM
What is a farm without a dog, right? Growing up, I do not remember a time that we did not have a dog and several cats. Dogs were not only pets, but they helped keep the mice under control, killed snakes, ran off skunks and other pests, and were a fantastic warning system. They barked to let us know if there were visitors or strangers coming onto the property. As a kid, I doubt if I ever thought of the "usefulness" of our dogs. They were simply pets that I enjoyed having around. They were good companions and an ear for when things went wrong. They never tired or complained about listening to one's problems.
I had to evoke the memory of my oldest brother, Eldon, to help me remember some of the dogs we had. I remember most of them, but some I do not recall having at all. In fact, I will just copy over what he wrote to me. If we happen to have the same memories, I will not repeat those stories.
Queenie. I thought my mom and dad had a dog by this name. Eldon said the name sounded familiar. He did not remember consciously, but his subconscious remembered. This dog would have been one they had before I was born.
Spot-- I do not remember this dog at all.
From Eldon's memories Spot was a dog that mama and daddy had when they first moved here in 1954. He was white with black spots. I just barely remember this dog. He was probably a little over knee high. I do not know what kind of dog he was. I do not know what happened to him.
Ringie - a rat terrier. Ringie was a tan color with a white ring around his neck. This is why we called him Ringie. He was a good watch dog. When Ringie ate his food, we all knew to leave him alone. He would bite if you bothered him while he was eating. One time a little Mexican boy came down to our house. He was teasing Ringie and was bitten on the face.
From Eldon's memories This dog was shot one Sunday afternoon. We took him to the vet. He could not be saved. He was put to sleep. We had him 2 or 3 years. Daddy got him at the gin. He really liked catching mice..
Whiskers - mutt Whiskers was the dog I remember the best as a kid. We had him for 10 years. He was black with a white chin. That is why we called him Whiskers. He was one of the best dogs we ever had. He was smart and went with us kids everywhere. He was an excellent guard dog. I do not recall him ever trying to bite us or anyone else. In fact, my dad would often tell others that drove into our yard, "Don't worry. He won't bite you." I know most did not believe my dad because Whiskers sounded very vicious.
Whiskers did not like fireworks. On the 4th of July, we had to put him in the garage or he would run off and not come back for a day or two. I can remember Whiskers shaking when the fireworks went off.
He was a great mouser. He would chase rabbits and kill those as well.
Whiskers went with us everywhere. He would jump into the back of our pick up truck and go to the field with us when we hoed crops or changed water. Sometimes if we took off before he jumped in the pick up truck bed, he would run the entire way, up to 2 miles. He would never follow us when we went into town. I do not know how he knew whether we were going to the field or to town.
Whiskers learned to get into the garage by himself. We did not have a garage door opener back then. You had to manually get out and go lift up the door. We had a rope on the handle of the door. Whiskers learned to grab the rope by his teeth and pull and get the door up enough that he could get inside.
One time Whiskers went to the field and the renter of our farm was plowing the crops with a plow called a rotary hoe. Somehow Whiskers got in the way and was run over by the plow. He ran all the way home which was 2 miles. I went out in the garage and started to pet him. I was patting him on the back, and he began to yelp loudly. Later on we found out what happened. He was sore for quite a while but fully recovered.
I remember one time when we were hoeing cotton, Whiskers was with us; and he went down a turn row where we had hauled off a dead pig. Whiskers wallowed all over that dead carcass and smelled just awful for days and days. I totally stayed away from Whiskers until that smell was completely gone.
Eldon's memories: Daddy got this dog at the gin probably in 1963 or 1964. Weldon named him whiskers. He got in a coyote trap and nearly lost one of his hind legs. He walked on 3 legs afterward. Billy Sides ran over him in the fall of 1974. Whiskers was almost blind and deaf, which is the reason he was run over. Billy Sides felt bad about running over him.
Bear - We got this dog when he was a puppy. I have no idea what kind of dog he was. We did not keep him long. He was not a very smart dog. One Sunday while we were gone to church, he killed several chickens. You cannot generally cure a dog who kills chickens. So we got rid of him.
Eldon's memories - I think we had this dog for a very brief time when I was in High School. He was very dumb.
King - German Shepherd This dog was white. I know he had been close to a fire at some point in his life. He was afraid of any type of fire. When we would burn trash, he would run to the opposite side of the house.
From Eldon: Daddy and I got this dog at the animal shelter in Clovis. I cannot remember what happened to him. We did not have this dog long.
Cinnamon - Chow I don't remember much about this dog. The dogs listed from this point on, are dogs that were on the Embry Farm, but after I left home. I do think Eldon is correct in that he did run over this dog accidentally.
From Eldon: I do not remember much about this dog. I think he was run over by me.
Rusty - Chow - No memories other than the name. Similar dog to Cinnamon.
Eldon: This is another chow dog we had. I backed over him and killed him going to the watermelon patch in September 1994..
Herman - Blue Heeler Very vague memory of this dog. Obviously I was still at home since Eldon has him as being there in 1977.
Eldon: Daddy and I got this dog in Clovis in May 1977. He was dumb. I ran over him in August 1977 a few months after we got him.
Teddy Bear - German Shepherd. Absolutely no memory of this dog.
Eldon: Daddy and I got this dog in May of 1980 at a man’s house over on West Grand Street in Clovis. We was a fraidy cat. He was scared of the thunder. He ran off a few times but came back. I think we took him to the animal shelter in Clovis because he was dumb and scared of everything.
Ruby - mutt This was the dog that my kids probably remember well and liked. He seemed to be a good dog and was especially good with kids.
Eldon: Weldon brought us this dog from Vashti Fowler. She lived by herself over by Oklahoma Lane crossroads. The dog came to Vashti’s house. She thought he was a girl dog and called him Ruby. Vashti did not want to keep Ruby so Weldon brought the dog to us. The time was probably 1985- 1987. I always called him Ruby. In November 1995 when daddy was in the rest home in Clovis, one of the Mexicans ,Chino, driving the tractor cotton stripper ran over him when leaving in his car. He denied running over him, but I could tell by looking at him that he was the one who ran over him. He had a guilty look on his face. Frank Galvan lied for him.
Schnauzer - a schnauzer I always liked this dog. He was smart and Mema was able to train him to do several tricks.
From Eldon: Mama got this dog I think in Clovis. The woman who had him probably had been mean to him by beating him with newspapers. One could not raise his hand without him cowing to the ground bracing to be hit. He got much better later, but never fully recovered from his ill treatment. Mama got his dog in April 1997. In March of 2008 when daddy was in the rest home in Farwell he got sick, and started vomiting and would not eat. Mama took him to the vet in Muleshoe. It was too late for him. I think the disease was something called Porvo. The vet put him to sleep. Mama felt bad that she had not taken schnauzer to the vet when she first noticed him feeling bad. Schnauzer was terrified by lightning and thunder. He would often yelp loudly when the thunder cracked. I think he could tell a few seconds before lightning struck close by. He could feel a sensation in his body just before lightning would strike.
Tuffy - Schnauzer This dog is the present dog on the Embry Farm. He is a dog that all my grandkids love. When they have been at Mema's house all want to go see and pet Tuffy. He is the only dog that I have ever seen be let in the house. This is because Tuffy has become Eldon's dog. He was a great comfort and companion to Eldon after Papa passed away. He goes everywhere with Eldon. He has a different bark for everything he wants---to go for a drive, to let you know someone is there in the yard or coming down the road, to get in, to get something to eat, etc. I remember when Tuffy was a puppy you could barely walk because he was always trying to chew the toes on your feet.
Eldon: Mama and daddy got Tuffy in Lubbock in June 2008 when daddy went to the VA. Mama picked him out of the litter because he was the only one that was moving around. The other puppies were sleeping, but not Tuffy. He was a very hyper puppy which has been very characteristic of him all of his life. He is not as hyper as he used to be. Tuffy is on his 3rd life. On May 8th 2010 which was on a Saturday I was putting new chemical allocators in my chemical boxes on my planter. I threw the old ones on the ground. Tuffy ate the rubber off of them. There was Temik residue in the rubber. I took him to the vet late Saturday afternoon located on MLK and West 7th St. in Clovis. He survived the weekend. Daddy and I drove from BSA in Amarillo Monday afternoon May 10th to get him. I think what really saved him was mama gave Tuffy some milk to drink which made him vomit and purge out some of the poison or he would have died. May 10th was when Mama had her back surgery in Amarillo at BSA hospital. In just 4 months almost to the day Daddy died. The vet’s office on West 7th is only about a mile and half from the cemetery. The pet care where Tuffy gets his haircut is located almost across the street from the vet’s office. I take Tuffy from Pet Care and go to the cemetery where Tuffy can use the bathroom. He usually needs to go badly when we go to the cemetery. In February 2013 Tuffy had FCE hit him. I took him to the vet in Muelshoe after 10:30pm. He was x-rayed- no scratches or broken bones. He was treated for poisoning and antifreeze poisoning. He was paralyzed on his left side. He stayed at the vet in Muleshoe for a week. We took him to a vetinary hospital in LBB. In 2 weeks he could barely walk and had no bladder or bowel control. In 2 days after he came home he could walk and had full bladder and bowel control. About 3 weeks ago he had an allergy shot. He has been doing good since.
I have never had a dog since I left home and got married. There are those who prefer to not to have pets, and that is fine. I am just glad I had the opportunity to have dogs as pets growing up. There is nothing so fun and neat as having a good dog.
I had to evoke the memory of my oldest brother, Eldon, to help me remember some of the dogs we had. I remember most of them, but some I do not recall having at all. In fact, I will just copy over what he wrote to me. If we happen to have the same memories, I will not repeat those stories.
Queenie. I thought my mom and dad had a dog by this name. Eldon said the name sounded familiar. He did not remember consciously, but his subconscious remembered. This dog would have been one they had before I was born.
Spot-- I do not remember this dog at all.
From Eldon's memories Spot was a dog that mama and daddy had when they first moved here in 1954. He was white with black spots. I just barely remember this dog. He was probably a little over knee high. I do not know what kind of dog he was. I do not know what happened to him.
Ringie - a rat terrier. Ringie was a tan color with a white ring around his neck. This is why we called him Ringie. He was a good watch dog. When Ringie ate his food, we all knew to leave him alone. He would bite if you bothered him while he was eating. One time a little Mexican boy came down to our house. He was teasing Ringie and was bitten on the face.
From Eldon's memories This dog was shot one Sunday afternoon. We took him to the vet. He could not be saved. He was put to sleep. We had him 2 or 3 years. Daddy got him at the gin. He really liked catching mice..
Whiskers - mutt Whiskers was the dog I remember the best as a kid. We had him for 10 years. He was black with a white chin. That is why we called him Whiskers. He was one of the best dogs we ever had. He was smart and went with us kids everywhere. He was an excellent guard dog. I do not recall him ever trying to bite us or anyone else. In fact, my dad would often tell others that drove into our yard, "Don't worry. He won't bite you." I know most did not believe my dad because Whiskers sounded very vicious.
Whiskers did not like fireworks. On the 4th of July, we had to put him in the garage or he would run off and not come back for a day or two. I can remember Whiskers shaking when the fireworks went off.
He was a great mouser. He would chase rabbits and kill those as well.
Whiskers went with us everywhere. He would jump into the back of our pick up truck and go to the field with us when we hoed crops or changed water. Sometimes if we took off before he jumped in the pick up truck bed, he would run the entire way, up to 2 miles. He would never follow us when we went into town. I do not know how he knew whether we were going to the field or to town.
Whiskers learned to get into the garage by himself. We did not have a garage door opener back then. You had to manually get out and go lift up the door. We had a rope on the handle of the door. Whiskers learned to grab the rope by his teeth and pull and get the door up enough that he could get inside.
One time Whiskers went to the field and the renter of our farm was plowing the crops with a plow called a rotary hoe. Somehow Whiskers got in the way and was run over by the plow. He ran all the way home which was 2 miles. I went out in the garage and started to pet him. I was patting him on the back, and he began to yelp loudly. Later on we found out what happened. He was sore for quite a while but fully recovered.
I remember one time when we were hoeing cotton, Whiskers was with us; and he went down a turn row where we had hauled off a dead pig. Whiskers wallowed all over that dead carcass and smelled just awful for days and days. I totally stayed away from Whiskers until that smell was completely gone.
Eldon's memories: Daddy got this dog at the gin probably in 1963 or 1964. Weldon named him whiskers. He got in a coyote trap and nearly lost one of his hind legs. He walked on 3 legs afterward. Billy Sides ran over him in the fall of 1974. Whiskers was almost blind and deaf, which is the reason he was run over. Billy Sides felt bad about running over him.
Bear - We got this dog when he was a puppy. I have no idea what kind of dog he was. We did not keep him long. He was not a very smart dog. One Sunday while we were gone to church, he killed several chickens. You cannot generally cure a dog who kills chickens. So we got rid of him.
Eldon's memories - I think we had this dog for a very brief time when I was in High School. He was very dumb.
King - German Shepherd This dog was white. I know he had been close to a fire at some point in his life. He was afraid of any type of fire. When we would burn trash, he would run to the opposite side of the house.
From Eldon: Daddy and I got this dog at the animal shelter in Clovis. I cannot remember what happened to him. We did not have this dog long.
Cinnamon - Chow I don't remember much about this dog. The dogs listed from this point on, are dogs that were on the Embry Farm, but after I left home. I do think Eldon is correct in that he did run over this dog accidentally.
From Eldon: I do not remember much about this dog. I think he was run over by me.
Rusty - Chow - No memories other than the name. Similar dog to Cinnamon.
Eldon: This is another chow dog we had. I backed over him and killed him going to the watermelon patch in September 1994..
Herman - Blue Heeler Very vague memory of this dog. Obviously I was still at home since Eldon has him as being there in 1977.
Eldon: Daddy and I got this dog in Clovis in May 1977. He was dumb. I ran over him in August 1977 a few months after we got him.
Teddy Bear - German Shepherd. Absolutely no memory of this dog.
Eldon: Daddy and I got this dog in May of 1980 at a man’s house over on West Grand Street in Clovis. We was a fraidy cat. He was scared of the thunder. He ran off a few times but came back. I think we took him to the animal shelter in Clovis because he was dumb and scared of everything.
Ruby - mutt This was the dog that my kids probably remember well and liked. He seemed to be a good dog and was especially good with kids.
Eldon: Weldon brought us this dog from Vashti Fowler. She lived by herself over by Oklahoma Lane crossroads. The dog came to Vashti’s house. She thought he was a girl dog and called him Ruby. Vashti did not want to keep Ruby so Weldon brought the dog to us. The time was probably 1985- 1987. I always called him Ruby. In November 1995 when daddy was in the rest home in Clovis, one of the Mexicans ,Chino, driving the tractor cotton stripper ran over him when leaving in his car. He denied running over him, but I could tell by looking at him that he was the one who ran over him. He had a guilty look on his face. Frank Galvan lied for him.
Schnauzer - a schnauzer I always liked this dog. He was smart and Mema was able to train him to do several tricks.
From Eldon: Mama got this dog I think in Clovis. The woman who had him probably had been mean to him by beating him with newspapers. One could not raise his hand without him cowing to the ground bracing to be hit. He got much better later, but never fully recovered from his ill treatment. Mama got his dog in April 1997. In March of 2008 when daddy was in the rest home in Farwell he got sick, and started vomiting and would not eat. Mama took him to the vet in Muleshoe. It was too late for him. I think the disease was something called Porvo. The vet put him to sleep. Mama felt bad that she had not taken schnauzer to the vet when she first noticed him feeling bad. Schnauzer was terrified by lightning and thunder. He would often yelp loudly when the thunder cracked. I think he could tell a few seconds before lightning struck close by. He could feel a sensation in his body just before lightning would strike.
Tuffy - Schnauzer This dog is the present dog on the Embry Farm. He is a dog that all my grandkids love. When they have been at Mema's house all want to go see and pet Tuffy. He is the only dog that I have ever seen be let in the house. This is because Tuffy has become Eldon's dog. He was a great comfort and companion to Eldon after Papa passed away. He goes everywhere with Eldon. He has a different bark for everything he wants---to go for a drive, to let you know someone is there in the yard or coming down the road, to get in, to get something to eat, etc. I remember when Tuffy was a puppy you could barely walk because he was always trying to chew the toes on your feet.
Eldon: Mama and daddy got Tuffy in Lubbock in June 2008 when daddy went to the VA. Mama picked him out of the litter because he was the only one that was moving around. The other puppies were sleeping, but not Tuffy. He was a very hyper puppy which has been very characteristic of him all of his life. He is not as hyper as he used to be. Tuffy is on his 3rd life. On May 8th 2010 which was on a Saturday I was putting new chemical allocators in my chemical boxes on my planter. I threw the old ones on the ground. Tuffy ate the rubber off of them. There was Temik residue in the rubber. I took him to the vet late Saturday afternoon located on MLK and West 7th St. in Clovis. He survived the weekend. Daddy and I drove from BSA in Amarillo Monday afternoon May 10th to get him. I think what really saved him was mama gave Tuffy some milk to drink which made him vomit and purge out some of the poison or he would have died. May 10th was when Mama had her back surgery in Amarillo at BSA hospital. In just 4 months almost to the day Daddy died. The vet’s office on West 7th is only about a mile and half from the cemetery. The pet care where Tuffy gets his haircut is located almost across the street from the vet’s office. I take Tuffy from Pet Care and go to the cemetery where Tuffy can use the bathroom. He usually needs to go badly when we go to the cemetery. In February 2013 Tuffy had FCE hit him. I took him to the vet in Muelshoe after 10:30pm. He was x-rayed- no scratches or broken bones. He was treated for poisoning and antifreeze poisoning. He was paralyzed on his left side. He stayed at the vet in Muleshoe for a week. We took him to a vetinary hospital in LBB. In 2 weeks he could barely walk and had no bladder or bowel control. In 2 days after he came home he could walk and had full bladder and bowel control. About 3 weeks ago he had an allergy shot. He has been doing good since.
I have never had a dog since I left home and got married. There are those who prefer to not to have pets, and that is fine. I am just glad I had the opportunity to have dogs as pets growing up. There is nothing so fun and neat as having a good dog.
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