Age 7 years, 1 day.
May 20, 1949.
Birthday party.
Back row - unknown girl, Brawley boy, Mary Jane Doll, Mike Wheeler, Dephane Wilkerson, Nancy Wagoner, Patsy Tipton?, Decker boy, Johnny Hodge, Sie Ellis, Po Ellis(below), Gayla Miller, Jimmy Decker, Unknown girl.
Front row - unknown kid, Kenneth Hudson, unknown kid(between heads), Sam Short, Harvey Low(kneeling), Donald Kothman(kneeling), Max Surber, Patrick Higgins, Sandra Sue Smith
Aged 7 years, 1 month, 3 days.
June 22, 1949.
Do not know the name of the calf. I am the one in the hat. Calf appears to be nonplussed by situation. 'nonplussed' is rarely used in photo captions
Aged 7 years, 2 months, 5 days.
July 24, 1949.
Pig is Frank. I am the one in the hat. Frank was the runt of a litter or Frank Walston's pigs who lived at the next farm to the West. Frank knew what to do with a hub cap full of milk. Appears to have a foot in the hub cap also. Frank did not have good table manners.
Age 7 years, 3 months
August 19, 1949.
Me and dad working sheep in the back pen at the Johnson place. The main barn is to the left. A medicine shed is just out of the picture to the right. This is looking north.
Aged 7 years 3 months 17 days
September 5,1949.
First day of school in second grade. Appear to be missing 2 front teeth. Happily so. Johnson place North end of house.
Age 7 years, 4 Months, 1 day
September 20, 1949.
Pig's name is Frank. Our neighbor to the west, Frank Walston gave us the pig as it was the runt of the litter. Don't think he fully appreciated the honor of having the pig named after him. And there was a certain resemblance also. Frank is my all time favorite pet. Had a lot of personality. And attitude.
Aged 7 years 5 months
October 19, 1949.
I appear to be on the way to school. There appears to be the back of a truck in the upper right. The background looks like the trap behind the house at the Johnson place.
Age 7 years, 6 months, 1 day.
Me and the pig Frank. I am the one in the hat. We had had Frank 4 months. Here Frank is eating off the lid of a 5 gallon can.
Age 7 years, 7 months 3 days
Date Dec ember 22 1949
I have chicken pox.
We are living at the Johnson place. The door in the background is into the living room. Note the ash scoop and poker hanging on the window frame. The stove, the only non-cooking stove was in the living room. All heat was by means of wood.
Age 7 Years, 8 months, 2 days.
January 21, 1950.
Pig is Frank. We had had him 6 months and 1 day. Frank was doing just fine. Frank liked to have his neck rubbed.
Aged 7 years.
Probably April 1950
Second Grade Class
Mrs. Slaughter teacher.
Front Row - Donald Roberts, Mike Wheeler, Carlton Pearl, Patrick Higgins, Sally Gainer, Sunda Callan?, Sam Short, William Menzies, J. R. Sparks, Melinda Mears.
Second Row - Alan Amos, Billy Castleberry, Scott Waddell, Mary Jane Doll,, Unknown boy, Orville Wright (between heads), Harvey Ray Low, Unknown girl in back, Nelly Wright, unknown girl in back , Unknown girl, Mary Jane Chapman, unknown girl, Margie Davis, Namcy Frazier, unknown, unknown, unknown, unknown, Cecil Collier.
Aged 8 years.
May 19, 1950.
Eighth Birthday. This is at the Johnson Place.
Aged 8 years, 1 month
June 19, 1950.
Lamb is Roy. Calfs name is unknown. This is at the Johnson Place in the pen east of the barn. The shed is the medicine/paint shed. Lots of interesting chemicals stored here which I did play with.
Aged, 8 years, 1 month, 26 days.
Lady is Mrs. Parham from church. Probably my Sunday School teacher at the time.
Age 8 years, 2 months, 19 days.
August 8, 1950.
Lamb is Roy. Note bell on Roy. This is taken at the back door to the Ellis Place.
Aged 8 years 3 months, 17 days.
September 5, 1950.
FIrst day of school in the third grade.
Aged 8 yeaqrs, 6 months.
November 19, 1950.
Thken at the north side of the house at the Ellis Place.
Mom and Dad at the Ellis Place
November 19, 1950
Aged 8 years, 6 months, 6 days
November 25, 1950.
With all due apologies to our native American friends, this is the outfit I wore for the armistice day parade that year. (Two weeks before)
Aged 8 years, 8 months.
January 19, 1951.
Ellis place, north side of house.
South side of lambs.
Age 8 years, 10 months, 21 days.
April 9, 1951.
Front row - Carlton Pearl, Billie Stockton, Donald Roberts, unknown, unknown, Sam Short, Patrick Higgins, Max Surber, Melinda Mears, Sandra Sue Smith.
Second Row - Ben Ray Lovelace, Cecil Collier, Karen Brace, Sie Rhea Ellis, Mary Jane Chapman, unknown, Donald Kothman, Mike Wheeler, Duck Menzies, unknown.
Third Row - unknown, unknown, unknown, unknown, unknown, unknown, unknown, Orville Wright, Brian Davis, Curtis Leggett.
Teacher - Old Lady Murchinson.
Aged 8 years 11 months 1 day.
April 20, 1951.
Dad and I feed orphan lambs at the Ellis place. I always enjoyed this. I am not sure the lambs were orphans. Sometimes we just supplimented their moms.
Aged 9 years.
May 19, 1951.
Same animal candle holders. Excellent crocheted doily. Mom made it. Mom taught me to crochet as a kid. Helped me to learn to count, focus, remember.
Aged 9 years, 2 months, 1 day.
July 20, 1951.
Lamb is Roy, named for Roy Spinks who gave it to me. Roy is also the one that gave me the nickname 'Uncle Wiggily'. Dog in the background is Suppie. Still have the iron in front of the porch. This is at the Ellis Place. The porch is now gone from the front of the house which is used as a barn.
Aged 9 years, 2 months, 3 days.
July 22, 1951.
At Fort McKavett
Aged 9 years, 3 months, 16 days.
September 4, 1951.
First day of school in 4th grade. Can you feel the enthusiasm? Neither can I.
Aged 9 yeard, 4 months, 5 days.
September 24, 1951.
At the Ellis Place. We always had an abundance of cats. These seem to be indifferent to me holding them. The barns were full of mice and we feed them milk. Life was good.
Aged 9 years, 5 months, 24 days.
November 12, 1951.
We actually won first prize in the parade. I am the kid on the front fender with the feathers on his head.
From the back - Setting on truck bed is George Bean, Standing with gun is Brian Davis, in back of wagon is unknown boy, Donald Kothmann and Ramior Sanchez, on side of truck looking is Duck Menzies. Note that the chickens in the coop are real and the guns - those babies are every one real guns. Probably not loaded.
Aged 9 years, 6 months, 15 days.
December 4, 1951.
Just after I got home from school. Dog is Suppie. But notice the cat in the background. What mischief is it up to??
And is it just me or have I seen that shirt before??
Aged 9 years, 7 months, 13 days.
January 1, 1952.
On Los Moras creek on the Ellis Place with BB gun I got for Christmas.
Mom and Dad aged 50 and 43 respectively.
January 13, 1952.
Agerd 9 years, 8 months, 22 days.
February 10, 1952.
On the Colorado river bridge sourheast of San Saba.
Aged 9 years, 9 months, 1day.
February 20, 1952.
In the evening after school.
Aged 9 years, 9 months, 5 days.
February 24, 1952.
After Church.
Mom and dad at Ellis Place just before church.
February, 24, 1952
Aged 9 years, 10 months, 7 days.
March 26, 1952.
fourth grade class - teacher Mrs Tomlinson.
Front row - Nellie Wright, Margie Davis, Melinda Mears, Scott Waddell, Mike Wheeler, George Bean, Patrick Higgins, Karen Brace, Sally Gainer.
Back row - Joe Brawley, unknown bow, Possibly Sunda Callan, Two unknowns in back, Donna Jean Smith, Joy Speck, Jetty Sutton, Mary Ellen Chapman, Ben Ray Lovelace, Carlton Pearl, Joe Speck, Possibly Donald Kothman in back, Jim BOb Hodges, George Tomlinson, Billy Castleberry, Sie Rhea Ellis, Olivia Sifuentes, Unknown Girl.
Aged 10 years.
May 19, 1942.
Somebody got a bicycle for their birthday. Interestingly neither mor nor dad knew how to ride a bicycle and their advise was exactly the wrong thing. Fortunately a friend, Mr. Hendricks(not the teacher) from east of town came by to see dad and got me straightened out. I took this bicycle to college.
Aged 10 years, 1 day.
May 20, 1952.
Apparently we had the birthday celebration a day late.
Aged 10 years, 2 months, 3 days.
July 22, 1952.
Rode the bicycle a lot. West Texas is tough on bicycle tires. This baby was single speed. But it had a light and horn. This is at the Ellis Place. The mesquite tree is still there.
Aged 10 years, 3 months.
August 19, 1952.
With Fan Palms west of Mission Texas about 2 miles. My parents didn't have much but they tried to expose me to a wider world. They did what little travel they could afford and subscribed to Life and Saturday Evening Post magazines. This at least opened me up to the wider world to some extent.
Aged 10 years, 3 months, 1 day.
August 20, 1952.
On Padre Island about 1 mile West of Port Isabel on the Texas Gulf Coast.
That swoup across the bottom of the picture is an artifact of a crease in the negative. It even screwed up the original photograph.
Aged 10 years, 3 months, 1 day.
August 20, 1952. We went across the border into 'Old Mexico'. This is in a better section of Matamoros. Some fellow came up to dad and ask if he would like to visit his sister. Didn't appreciate this at the time.
August 22, 1952.
With my uncle Morgan and his wife Winnifred and their son also named Patrick. And my dad. Patrick was adopted and estranged from uncle Morgan for a long time but finally reconsiled. Uncle Morgan lived to 92 and died when he was burned in a kitchen fire while cooking. He was a veteran of WW II where he was in the Navy doing ship repairs. He had a limp from an adhision in his knee. It happened when he was young and working as a cedar cutter south of Menard. The axe sliced into the knee joint and back then they didn't have the skills to manage that sort of injury.
Aged 10 years, 3 months, 4 days.
August 23, 1952.
In the mouth of Longhorn Caverns in Burnet Texas
Aged 10 years, 3 months, 4 days.
August 23, 1952.
Inside Longhorn Caverns near Austin.
Aged 10 years, 3 months, 4 days.
August 23, 1952.
At state capital in Austin Texas.
Aged 10 years, 3 months, 14 days.
September 2, 1952. First day of school in the fifth grade. Picture is taken in Brady. That is the fine Brady grain elevator over my left shoulder. Note the child's enthusiasm.
Aged 10 years, 4 months, 8 days.
September 27, 1952.
With the trombone. Let it be known that I was and still the worst trombone player in the long and storied history of the instrument. At no time did I produce any sound that could be considered musical with this poor tortured instrument. Sounds I produced on that poor unfortunate instrument were only suitable for B horror movies. Someplace in musical instrument heaven there is a special place for martyrs to the cause of trombone music such as my little trombone. May it rest in peace.
Aged 10 years, 4 months, 8 days.
September 27, 1952.
With the trombone. Let it be known that I was and still the worst trombone player in the long and storied history of the instrument. At no time did I produce any sound that could be considered musical with this poor tortured instrument. Sounds I produced on that poor unfortunate instrument were only suitable for B horror movies. Someplace in musical instrument heaven there is a special place for martyrs to the cause of trombone music such as my little trombone. May it rest in peace.
Aged 10 years, 8 months, 5 days.
January 24, 1953.
With ranch ond town sets I probably got for Christmas. Signs of simpler times. I compare this to what kids play with today including my grandkids. They are compeled to grow up so much faster.
