This and That

Been a while since I've made a blog post, so I guess it's time to add something. Yesterday was one of those days when I'm reminded of something I observed years ago while working for the Sears catalog store in college. The same or similar idea seems to hit people's minds at the same time. We would sit for long periods without a customer entering the store and then suddenly, three cars would pull up at the same time. On weekdays you expect this during lunch or during the school year just after school dismissed, but the pattern persisted even during the Summer and on Saturdays. Well, yesterday I had one of those historical inquiry "rushes." It had been a couple of weeks since anyone had gotten in touch with me for historical information, then, in the space of a little over 12 hours, I received five different inquiries.

The first came late Monday night from a gentleman in Shreveport interested in having a historical marker erected regarding some Confederate army movements after the Battle of Mansfield. Then yesterday morning I received two e-mail requests --  one trying to find out the first name of a professor at the Minden Female College and is wife, and another from a descendant seeking information about a divorce in her family years ago. Finally, Schelley Brown from the Dorcheat Museum contacted me with two inquires she had received: one seeking information about a couple that operated a boarding house here in Minden from 1903 - 1939 and another from members of the Monzingo family from Texas who were visiting the Dorcheat Museum.  So, it's always interesting how these things seem to come in groups.

I guess the real reason for this post is to promote a book. Thad Andress' When I Was a Little Girl and after, too -- Memoirs of My Life and Family. Now, before some of you are surprised to find that Thad was a little girl, he is actually the editor of these memories written and collected by his mother, Treeby Miller Andress. The book is the story Mrs. Andress wrote down of her memories and the memories of her mother, Treeby Chaffe Miller, of life in Minden from about 1838 on through 1938. The book is available from the Dorcheat Historical Association Museum here in Minden for $15. The proceeds from sales of the book go to the Association.

Now in the sake of full disclosure, I need to explain that my family and the Andress family have had very close ties over the years. My father went to work for Thad's father, Harry Andress, at Andress Motors Company in Minden at age 18 in 1936 and worked for the company for the next 29 years until the dealership was sold. Even more significant was the fact that my mother went to work at Andress in 1941 at age 17 and became, in addition to her bookkeeping duties, sort of a personal secretary for Mr. Andress. Momma had lost her father at age 3, so Mr. Andress in many ways filled the role of a father for her, even giving her away at her wedding to Daddy in 1948. So, over the years, Momma and I were aware of the wonderful memories Mrs. Andress' had preserved. On rare occasions, we were able to pry some of those deeply held memories free from Thad to publish them. The best story I ever used was the "Mayberry moment" when locals celebrating the Armistice at the end of World War I overloaded a Civil War cannon and caused it to explode when fired in honor of peace. But Thad always had plans to publish these stories, so he was really careful that sneaky folks with newspaper columns like Momma and me didn't steal the "good stuff." 

The book is now published -- so I can steal anything I want, so long as I give proper credit -- and is a wonderful read for anyone who wants to learn about "Old Minden." Stories of how life was in those days from the games children played to liveried servants carrying death notices door-to-door, this is a delightful account of how one of the "first families" of Minden lived in those years. For me, as a local historian, it is the personal stories that are priceless. Individuals such as R. H. Miller (Thad's grandfather), Aunt Jack Taylor, Captain Alfred Goodwill (Gov. Mike Foster's grandfather) and others were just names I wrote about. All I had as a basis for my writing were cold newspapers articles. Thad's book fleshes out these people giving glimpses of their personalities I might never had know such as Mr. Miller's scholarly background and his love of learning, Aunt Jack's story telling ability and quick wit, and Captain Goodwill's intimidating presence. All in all, even if this book weren't benefiting the museum, I would recommend it to anyone who wants to gain a glimpse of life in "Old Minden."