Remarks of Prim Rose or Eskridge D. Smith

In Memory of Childress, Texas

I remember when I was a small boy, I noticed my father and mother would often sit around and away from us kids and would be in conference about something. Then I began to listen in and I caught enough to know that they were wanting to move so one day I heard my father tell mother that he was going to Jacksborough, Texas and sell some of that land. Then it was not long until he left for Jack County when he got back home he told mother that he had sold 300 acres of it for $1.00 per acre. That was a lot of money in those days. We had lost my only little brother and my parents decided to go west. It was not long before we got a letter to come on to Childress, Texas. He had a place for us to live. I remember very vividly all that happened on the way to Childress. It took three days to make the trip. Trains did not run on schedule. We had to change trains three times and had to lay over in Dallas, Texas, one night. It was then that I saw my first electric light. It was in our room in the hotel where we spent the night. It burned all night because mother would not turn it off neither would she let me or my sister Opal, which was three year older than myself. She said that she had read all about how dangerous electricity was, and we dared not touch that bulb. It was in the late summer of 1906 when we arrived in Chrildress. There is just one boy in childress that has made more bare foot tracks in Childress than I have, and that is Pete Kenny. He never wore shoes winter or summer. I remember the first electric lights that came to Childress. I remember the First Pipes that were laid for the city water. I remember the first fire wagon. Lee Crones drove the two big buck skin horses that pulled the fire wagon. I remember when the Fort Worth and Denver shops burned down. I was in the Y.M.C.A. the sunday eve that the cyclone hit the car department. I was there when they built old lake Kooler west of town. I remember when there were no houses between the city park and court house. I was there when they built the ice house. My sister Opal and I rode the first automobile that came to Childress. Dr. Cooper lived across the alley from us. He owned the car. It was a thrill to ride with him. Did you know that I have seen the cows roaming up and down the streets of Childress. I have helped Harry Keck round up their milk cows off the streets to milk them.

The first money I made was in Childress was when Russell Gross and I picked up brick bats and cleaned up around what we called the West Ward School. Mr. B.T. Williams was building it. He is the one that gave us the job. There was no side walks in Childress only board walks. The second job I had in Childress was water boy on the Chrysler Building. I was not strong enough to push them heavy loaded wheel barrows up the gang plank, so the boss put me to carrying water to the hands. I made .75¢ per day. I spent a lot of happy days in Childress. I also saw a lot of tragedies there. One morning Russell Gross and I was playing and we heard a shot gun fire but we did not think much about it. In about an hour we wondered off up in town. Out in front of the bank there was a wagon standing there with two donkeys hitched to it. A lot of men looking over in the wagon, so we had to take a look and when I looked over in the wagon I saw a sight that I will never forget. A man lay there that I knew with one side of his head blown completely off. The next tragedy, I was walking along by the underwood building, a lot of loud talking was going on the stairway then a volley of shots fired. A man rolled down the stairs. It would be a long story to tell all the bad things that happened there when I was a kid. Our home place was the third house from the school house going toward town. We lived up the street from Judge Gross. Another one of our close neighbors was the Akisson family, also the Keck family and Gallagar family. Mr. Russell drove a water wagon. Mother bought water from him. He had a fine family, Clark, Clarence and four beautiful girls, Elizebeth, Willie, Rena, and Madgie.

My dady worked at the Fort Worth and Denver railroad shops, his name was Sam Smith. He was in the car department. He got me a job in the back shops. I was a helper. My grandfather lived in Alba, Texas. He was Doctor Edward Smith. He was a soldier in the civil war. He came from Mississippi. He was captured by the yankees. They walked him to Chicago with other prisoners. Then he was in an exchange of prisoners and walked back to Texas. He told me a lot of stories about the war. I am writing a book on my life. Entitled, “I awoke one morning and found a 16 year old girl in my bed.” I hope that you will see my book later. My mother’s name was Elba Scott. She was borned at Scottville, Texas. You will see my picture standing in front of my Great, Great, Grandfather’s Historical marker.

Home