Strange
name for a community, but then knowing how it became named like that, it isn't
such a mystery. Back in the late 20's and early 30's, a strip coal mine was located
just north of the U S Highway 79 and about a mile west of the "roadside park"
and just west of the current Sandy Creek church. The name "Big
Lump" came about, apparently named after the lumps of coal that was being
mined. In the immediate area around Big
Lump, the Sandy Creek Church, cemetery and Sandy Creek two room schoolhouse
and an old "country store" adjacent to a "open field" baseball playground where
adults and children alike gathered on Sunday afternoon to "visit" and fill time
between morning and evening church services, was the center of the community.
My grandfather, Ira R. Touchstone owned a large house that sat about
half a mile due north of the "roadside park." Actually the "park" consisted of
a single concrete picnic table that has long since gone away. Directly across
the highway was a dirt road that led to our house and to Sipe
Springs.
Just inside the open field behind the picnic table where
the baseball diamond was located, two "covered benches" and a soda pop stand was
in evidence. Every Sunday after church, the young men and older boys met on the
field for an evening of baseball. People in the community came to watch the game
and usually brought a picnic lunch to enjoy before going back to church Sunday
evening. I remember as a child, sitting on our (Touchstone) front porch watching
the games because I was not old enough to play in the games.
My grandfather
worked at the mine and one day when my mother was walking through the small frame
houses near the mine, delivering his bucket lunch to him, she was attacked and
mauled by a bulldog belonging to one of the workers at the mine. She still bares
the scars on her arm and shoulder. All this occurred before my time but I remember
my grandfather telling about how he shot the dog while it was being held by its
owner and had it's head sent to Austin to check for rabies. Fortunately, the tests
were negative, sparing her the dreaded rabies shots. Having gone through a series
of rabies shots later in life due to a cat bite, I am well aware of what she missed.
Coming from a broken home (1931) I alternated between my grandparent's homes (Scott
and Touchstone) when I went to Sandy Creek and Sipe
Springs two room schoolhouses. My teacher at Sandy Creek was Mrs. Lumpkin
and at Sipe Springs
it was Mrs. Dee. Strange as it may seem, those are the only teachers' names I
remember until I got up into Junior High school. The grades were divided by rows
with grade school in one room and high school in the other. We all had chores
to do at school as well. The girls helped sweep the floors and the boys cleaned
chalkboards, erasers and brought in firewood (when needed). During recess and
lunch the girls usually played jump rope and the boys played marbles, spun tops
or chased horned toads.
During summer
months, most all the boys either hunted or trapped animals for their skins when
we were not working in the fields or clearing "new" ground. Living in the country
always provided something for us to do. Mainly we were learning how to be responsible
and dependable. Kids now days marvel at their fine cars, fancy clothes and such
items but I bet none were any more proud than I was when I got my own horse and
saddle - for which I worked to earn money to buy. I rode many "trails with Roy
Rogers, Gene Autry, Hoppy, Tom Mix and Buck Jones" while riding through the countryside.
At night we would crank up the old Super Heterodyne Radio and listen to shows
like The Shadow, Green Hornet, Capt. Midnight, Lone Ranger, and I Love a Mystery
to name a few. Back then a radio ran on an "A" battery and a "B" battery - one
was merely a car battery and the other a small higher voltage battery. Since Dad
was the only one in the family that could drive and he was off to war, we used
the car to recharge the car battery for the radio. I guess I joined every club
that was advertised by these adventure programs by sending in cereal box tops
for which we usually received a "secret coded" badge and membership in their fan
clubs. I have no idea what happened to all the treasures I had back then but know
that they would be priceless in today's world. Oh if I only knew then what I know
now!
Every Saturday morning my grandfather Scott would hitch up a team
to hiswagon, head into the pasture to soak the wheels in the old slough (stock
tank) then he and I would start to Rockdale
with my grandmother's butter and eggs, which were sold, to the local grocery stores.
My grandfather would give me a quarter to see the matinee at Matson's theater,
usually consisting of a comedy or cartoon, a serial and a western movie. There
was also enough money to buy a bag of popcorn and a candy bar or soft drink and
still have a few pennies left over. After the movie was over, I'd head to the
local domino hall, where my grandfather would be waiting after he did his "shopping".
We'd then go to the livery stable back of the hardware store, hitch up the team
and make our way to pick up his purchases, if any. Next we'd go by way of the
ice plant and get a 100 pound block of ice, wrap it in canvas, then sawdust or
cotton seed and more canvas then make one final stop at a small grocery store
which was run by an elderly Black man (I can still remember how nice and friendly
he always was) where he would buy each of us a large peanut patty to eat on the
way home. Of all the trips I made with him, the list of events never changed.
With my Touchstone grandparents, the events were just a little different,
we'd go to town in a Model T pickup but other than that, it would be the same,
except he didn't play dominos as I remember. On Saturday night, we'd all gather
at some house in the community and listen to the Grand Ole Opry from Nashville.
Back in those days, country music was Country Music, not what we call country
today. All the greats were eventually presented on either the Louisiana Hayride
or the Grand Old Opry, and after the Grand Old Opry went off the air about midnight,
the musicians would head across the street to the Ernest Tubb Record shop and
play as long as anyone would care to listen - or at least it seemed that way.
Of course us "youngens" would play out long before that time anyway.
All
too soon, school would come around again. To get to school, we all walked, one
or two rode a horse as I remember at Sipe
Springs. I jokingly tell my grandchildren about having to walk all that way
to school in the snow and ice (usually ice every winter but snow was a novelty).
There does not seem to be as many ice storms now as we had back then. I do remember
how cold the houses were because they were not insulated as they are today - in
fact I don't believe there was any insulation in the walls or ceiling. When I
got up to high school age (after a year or two at Mart, Missouri City, Angleton
and Houston while living with my Mother) all the "country" schools were closed
and combined with either Rockdale
or Milano High School. Therefore, off to the "big school" we all went. I remember
that Rockdale had a
"bad" football team and we at Milano,
were not allowed to play (school policy). Our school played baseball, basketball,
track and boxing. I can only remember one multi school boxing event (Rockdale
and Milano) where I got my ears pinned back real good - oh well one can't expect
to win at everything.
Early in 1942 my dad, Ervin Scott, joined the Army
as a member of the 1st Armored Division and became a half-track driver. He came
home in December 1945 and I joined the Army in January 1946 to retire in 1968.
I then went on to retire from the Security Alarm industry and later, my own Business
and Computer Consultant Company. There is an old saying, "You can take the boy
out of the country but you can never take the country out of the boy." That is
especially true in my case. I have traveled all over the world - seventeen countries,
been to some of the largest cities in the world, including London, Berlin, Tokyo
and nothing can compare to "country living" or "home folks." My wife of 54 years,
coming up on 55, and I finally quit retiring and just quit on a five acre tree
covered piece of land just south of San
Antonio where we enjoy our peace and quiet days with our two small dogs. One
cat, several grandkids and our church family.
Health problems keep me pretty
close to these military hospitals here in San
Antonio but my "home" is still there in Milam County, torn between Rockdale,
Milano and Big
Lump. Times will never be like they were back then, but then I guess we wouldn't
want them back would we - OR WOULD WE? Personally I don't think it was so bad
in that era. We never had much of the finer things in life but then we didn't
want or need much either.
- Dan Scott, "Just South of San Antonio",
June 21, 2006
Forum:
Subject: Dan Scott
I want to
thank Dan Scott for his article about Big
Lump and Sipe Springs.
I'll be watching for any more information on these areas. For me, the best place
in the world was the little farm of my Grandparents. Arthur "Pete" and Urilla
Diver. They lived just down the hill from Sally Scott and the old school house.
- Sincerely, Jeanne Diver Goff, September 25, 2010 |
