Mada Peacock

Source: Vertical File, Herman Brown Free Library

I was born in 1898. My full name is Mada Alma Stewart Peacock and I went most of my school at Cow Creek. My mother, Mary Watson Stewart taught there for several years. We had one room and about 30 students, and she taught all 7 grades. Sometimes she had the older ones help teach the younger ones. The boys played ball and the girls either played ball or made a playhouse out of rocks and sticks and such. We had to carry water from the creek. We had about a 6 months term with a program and picnic at the end of the term. The program was singing and some other things. Stella Parker went to school there. The Bradshaws and the Heines lived in that area too, and the Wilks. One winter I stayed with my Grandma Stewart in Liberty Hill and went to school there. My father was Enid Stewart and he farmed, raised corn, cotton, wheat. He was from Cedar Mills. His parents were James and Iva Stewart; I think it was Ivarilla. I think her mother was a Brooks. Mother was born on the Colorado River and lived there several years after she married, then moved here. Mother's parents lived at Round Rock, and they aren't kin to these other Watsons here.

Our place was about 3 miles south of the place where they had school at Oatmeal. Cow Creek had a school. Cedar Mills had a store run by Dr. Vaughn's father, and there was a mill, too. Doeskin is the same as Cow Creek. Edna Wilkes, Lou Wilkes, and Fay Wilkes went to school to Mama.

There wasn't a train or stage stop or anything at Cow Creek. The nearest store besides Cedar Mills was Bertram. Potts & Ater had a store here, and Marvin Webb, Bennie Warden. Webb had groceries and dry goods and Potts and Ater was general merchandise. They didn't sell much clothes, just material and we made our own things. When I went to school I just had one dress. All the girls wore dresses then. We rode in a buggy, about 2 1/2 miles to school. When we were hyounger, Mama taught at Oatmeal. I think she got paid about $50 a month and it was from the county. We had to buy tablets and pencils, but no extra supplies. Our books were spelling, arithmetic, geography.

I had one brother, Melvin Stewart. I married Lincoln Peacock in 1926. We met at a picnic on the river and it was love at first sight. We got married at my brother's house in Bertram. For our courting he came to see me on Sundays and we rode different places.

I remember the movie here when it was silent. We used to go there. I don't remember when Cow Creek stopped being a school, but two or three taught there after Mama, then the children went to Oatmeal, and then Bertram.

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