Louis Cooper’s Memories of Thee

As for why "Thee" meant so much - he was just a great person. He told us (grandchildren) a little about the Civil War, about going to Texas and becoming a ranch hand after the war, about lightening playing off the horns of the long horn cattle, about having to remove the saddle from his horse and get under it to prevent hail from hurting him, about placing a hemp rope on the ground in a circle and sleeping inside the circle to prevent rattlesnakes from getting too close (snakes will not crawl over a rope - per Grandpa), about crossing the Red River in a covered wagon. And, gosh, I can't remember all the good stories - but he was interesting and good to us. When he finished his stories he would give each one a nickel with which to buy ice cream.

I remember riding on the wagon twice with him: once when we moved from a tent in their back yard to a house about 3 miles away then another time on the wagon when he and Grandma moved from Cox City to Rush Springs. (Oklahoma)

According to Mom/Dad, Grandpa was a Mediator for the Territory before the US Justice system was established in Oklahoma. He apparently settled disputes over land, livestock and all sorts of things that judges normally take care of.  That's about all I can tell you right now. (Have to get my mind warmed up on the subject to come up with more).

I'm glad you, your Mom and Charlie got to see the "countryside" where we grew up. Orval, Clara and I did the same and I can assure you that it is not the same as we knew it in our early years. There are no farms, barns, houses, cotton patches, broomcorn fields, peanut and watermelon patches, milk cows, hogs, chickens and all that made up our lives when we were young. But, it was good to see the countryside in grass. Farming, lack of rain and uncontrolled watershed are the mankind things that created the massive dust bowl in the thirties.

Yes, it was a sweaty, dusty and hard life - but it put grit in our guts that little else could have.  And, you are correct in that friends and particularly families were precious commodities. Knowing your Grandma Ira, my Mom and their sisters and brother, the "togetherness" and "glue" of "family" originated from Thee and Nancy.

Things have changed so now.  Rush Creek is now very deep as the result of an extensive Corp of Engineers effort to prevent flooding in the bottoms from west of Slaton to many miles to the east. It was straightened and deepened to carry the water fed from its extensive watershed.  This is a great improvement for the area in which we lived.

Your Mom mentioned her horse, “Daisy”. Several of us in the area had our own horses. Mine was named “King”, a steed of massive strength and durability. We boys, in particular, often got together on Sunday afternoon and roamed the countryside just "hanging out" and having fun being with each other, feeling free to enjoy the "brotherhood", horseflesh and countryside. My High School girl friend lived west of Highway 81 south of Rush Springs - some 8 or 9 miles away. On more than one occasion I rode King to her house, spent a few hours and rode home on the same afternoon. We had a car but I was not permitted to use it. But, what a joy to remember how much fun it was to be on King instead of in a car.

The farm due east of where your Grandma Ira lived and up on the hill is where we lived when Uncle Sam decided to change my address and that is where Mom and Dad lived when Velda went to school at Slaton. Orval, Lavern and Irma Jean and I went to Pea Ridge, some four or five miles east of Slaton.

Of significance concerning the countryside you saw where your Mom and I grew up are the roads. There was not one hard-surfaced road East of Rush Springs until well into the 70's, long after we left. All roads were either sand or clay or both and rocks on the hillsides. Rain made the roads nearly impassable on many of the hills. You may remember the dam near your Mom's old home. That dam replaces a very rickety wooden bridge without banisters or side rails and a steep, deep rutted hillside to the west toward Slaton schoolhouse. The creek that ran under the bridge was often dry but now the dam holds the water from the many miles of watershed and forms the lake - what a blessing.

Thanks for sending Orval the material he missed at the reunion. I know he will enjoy every bit of it. He might have some good stories to tell since he lived with Grandpa and Grandma considerably during his high school years. They were very close.

So many of us, my brother, Orval, your Mom and others, are so enriched to be able to remember Grandpa "Thee" Davidson and know that he helped to mold the generations that have come since his time here with us.  Thee possessed an excellent character and disposition. He had a strong belief in "family". He was a very pleasant man. His honesty was never questioned. Loyalty was foremost in his life, as I so well recall. He expected is fellow man to complete the task assigned. He loved children and dared anyone to meddle with his. He never left a poor man wanting for shelter and food. And, to his grandchildren he was the greatest story teller of all.  I appreciate the opportunity to bring all this information about a great "life" to everyone from those of us who care.

 

Note from Debbie: 

 

Louis Cooper’s mother, Ila Davidson Cooper, and my Grandmother Ira Davidson Burton, were twins.  The places Louis mentions in this document are located in Oklahoma near Rush Springs where Thee lived for many years.  When asked if he minded my sharing the information about having to live for a short time in a tent behind Thee’s house, he said, “By-the-way, you are most welcome to use any and all things I have sent to you concerning my memories of Grandpa Thee. I've no problems with the fact that we had to live in a tent. Might have been a part what put the ‘salt in the craw’ - as Mom used to say.”

 

The amazing part of growing up during the dust bowl and depression on farms in Oklahoma, is the wonderful lives these hard-working youth grew up to enjoy.  After his years in service during WWII and the Korean Conflict, Louis enjoyed a successful career and raised his family in the Washington, D. C. area.  He is now (2006) enjoying retirement with his wife, Clara, in a wonderful community near Charlottesville, Virginia, playing golf and enjoying life to the max.