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Email from Carol Chambers, 17 Dec 1998:
Your story of the Reades in Arkansas is our story too; my mother-in-law
was Lucille Yonally Chambers who went on the train from Abeline to Arkansas;
her parents were partners in the farm with the Reades. Mom has told us many
stories about that time.
Sincerely,
From Searcy County Arkansas: A History of Search
County Arkansas and its People, Published by: Searcy County Retired Teachers
Association, Marshall, AR, 1987.
Ira M. Reade Famly, pp. 189-90
We were Jeane, Gilbert, Joe, Elizabeth, Lillian and Anna Reade. Our parents
were Ira N. and Grace Reade.
Our family started near Abilene, Kansas. Papa enjoyed raising hay and melons,
but with his growing family knew he had to look to the future and seek greener
pastures. He and a friend, Fred Yonally, had heard about the booming city
of Leslie, Arkansas and the H.D. Williams Cooperage Company (which was a
branch of the largest stave mill in the world).
They visited Leslie and liked what they saw. They bought a farm in partnership
and went back to Kansas to make arrangements to move to Leslie. (The farm
they bought was the Bill Rolen farm in the Elberta/Oxley community six miles
south and east of Leslie.)
They rented a box car and moved furniture, a team of horses and Billie,
the race horse, and farm equipment. The two families travelled by train
and arrived in Leslie February 2, 1914, staying at the old Bransum Hotel
until the box car arrived with furniture and until weather became favorable
to get out to the farm by wagon and foot, six miles of rough wagon trail.
The farm had two houses, one log and one box frame house. Our house had
three rooms.
The original house was torn down and a new one built in about 1921 with
family help, hammer, saw, and square.
We children learned to accept our reponsibilities. We helped with berry
picking, sweet potato planting, milking, gardening, and all other phases
of farm life.
The school house was the central meeting place for school, church, Sunday
School and pie suppers. (The pie or boxes were decorated beautifully and
auctioned off to the highest bidder. At these affairs the prettiest girl
and the ugliest man were selected.) Fun for all.
When obstacles arose, neighbors helped each other. The 1918 flu epidemic
hit with full impact, but thanks to common home remedies and good luck,
no one in our area lost a loved one.
A special time of togetherness (and a lot of hard work) was hog-killing
time; also sorghum making. (Who hasn't broken open a stalk of sorghum and
drunk the nectar?) Families pitched in and helped one another. We cured
our own ham and bacon which was our primary source of meat other than chickens
and an occasional rabbit or squirrel. We had our own milk cows and sold
some cattle from time to time. We always had some land under cultivation.
Much of our land was in timber. Some of the timber still stands today.
Families got together for dances. Card playing was Saturday night entertainment.
Occasionally on Sunday we had all day preaching and singing and dinner on
the ground.
We remember fondly a horn Papa made from a cow's horn which he blew to call
out an SOS to the neighbors on occassion. His hunting dogs responded to
the call of this horn.
A cyclone came through those hills May 1, 1929. It demolished our barn while
Gilbert was in it checking on a baby calf, but he wasn't hurt. Our house
was saved by what we called a Heaven Tree falling on the front of it. Windows
and roof were damaged, but we were blessed that no one was hurt.
One vivid example of community spirit was our neighbor coming in for a barn
raising on Saturday, and we had a new barn by nightfall.
The men and boys in our family greatly enjoyed raccoon hunting. The trained
dogs were always ready for a good chase, and it wasn't always a coon, sometimes
a possum or skunk. The pelts were sold for additional income.
Joe fondly remembers a ball diamond on our farm where men and boys had great
fun playing baseball.
We all remember Papa's Model T truck which was a pleasure and a big help
to him in hauling.
Every year for some 20 years Papa returned to Kansas for the wheat harvest.
His earnings there subsidized our winters.
We have bittersweet memories of the 44 years on the farm. There were joys
and there were sadnesses. The greatest memories were the love and kindness
of our faithful neighbors. To name a few, the John Kuykendalls, the Ray
Williams, the Johnsons, the Sam Gibsons, and many more. To use an old expression,
these good people were the salt of the earth.
Mrs. Ruth Williams stands out in our memory as a lovely lady who loved young
people and gave us many parties. She was a leader in the community who was
very youth oriented. How we all appreciated and loved her.
Papa and Mama often reminisced about how they pulled up stakes in Kansas
and came to Lesllie with Jeane and Gilbert and that Joe was born one month
after their arrival in Arkansas, followed by Elizabeth, Lillian and Anna,
and how, by golly, their life had been pretty good! Rich in the things that
count.
Papa passed away in 1958. Mama moved to Leslie after Papa died. In 1979
at age 93 Leslie honored her by selecting her as Homecoming Queen of their
Annual Celebration. She lived to age 95, and never looker her age and had
beautiul hair and a clear skin always.
Today we are spread out in Arkansas, Illinois and California. We miss Papa
and Mama and Anna greatly and often think back on all the good years we
spent growing up in Searcy County. Our roots and our hearts will always
be there.
We're talking about home.
From Searcy County Arkansas: A History of Search
County Arkansas and its People, Published by: Searcy County Retired Teachers
Association, Marshall, AR, 1987.
Joe and Wilma (Knowles) Reade, p. 190
This is the family history of Joe and Wilma (Knowles) Reade. We were both
born and reaised in Searcy County. Joe grew up in the Elberta community,
and attended school at Oxley. I grew up in the South Mountain Community
and attended school at Kimbrell Creek and Marshall. We met the last part
of 1939, and were married September 6, 1940. We lived with Joe's parents.
Joe worked in the timber with his father for Mr. Pitts. In the spring of
1941 we moved to what is known as the Treece place, but we didn't get to
live there long. The place was sold to Mr. and Mrs. Repasz. We then moved
to the Clyde Sisk place on South Mountain.
Times were hard back then. We decided to go to St. Louis, Missouri. Joe
got a job in a defense plant - the Small Arms Ammunity (sic) Plant. He was
working their when Japan bombed Pearl Harbor. He worked there until January,
1942. He was layed off and we came home.
On January 31, our first child was born, a pretty little girl, but God saw
fit to take her home with Him, but life must go on. We then moved to Rumley,
on the Wallace place and farmed that summer.
We stayed there until December, 1942, then Uncle Sam decided he needed Joe
to help fight the war. He left for Little Rock December 22, 1942.
From there to Camp Roberts, California where he took his basic training.
In February, 1943, our second child was born - another girl - but God wanted
her too for his bouquet. Joe got to come home for a week. After Joe's basic
training, he was shipped to the Pacific in May, 1943 and stayed over there
until January, 1946.
He came home then and we bought 80 acres from his father. We cut timber
and had it sawed and built our house. We farmed and Joe went to GI school.
In March, 1947, our third child was born. We were so happy. We named her
Harriet.
Then in June, 1948, we had another little girl, Joan. We were a happy family.
We had a few cattle and hogs and baled hay and whatever there was to do
on the farm.
Then in August, 1949, we were blessed with a son, Phil. Pretty soon it was
time for Harriet to start to school. We wanted to be on the school bus route,
so in 1951, we bought a farm known as the Perry place on Highway 66. We
had some dry years and cattle were cheap, so we went to Wichita, Kansas
to work to pay for our place.
We stayed there about two years. We came home. Things were better for us.
We had our place paid for.
Then in 1961, we had another son, Chris. He was a joy to us all. Joe was
working on Highway 65 and raising cattle and hogs and baling hay.
In 1963, we had another son. God took him to live with Him and his two sisters.
Then in 1964, I went to work at Flintrock. I've worked there the last 22
years. Our children are all married now and we have eight grandchildren.
We are a big happy family.
This page originally created on July 20, 1996. Last updated February
19, 1999. Maintained by William L. Smith thru vision2a@cadvantage.com