JULY, 1985
#1264
by: Eddie Trapp
From my ledger in 1985: Friday, July 19. Joe Rakes is running the Charleston Store now and I stopped in at 8:00 this morning. Visited with Tyree Porter, Jolly Peters, and Bob Kirkpatrick. Huck and Dale Elmore had been fishing and came to the store. Huck told about Tyree Porter's sister being only one of two people that could dive to the bottom of the "Round Hole" at Bonners Point and bring up some mud. A thirty three foot long rope would not reach the bottom. She later got killed on the little narrow bridge on the county road that goes northeast across the highway from Gray's Cafe near North Sulphur.
Monday, July 22. Up at 5:00 and checked net in river at 6:00. Beavers had cut it up. Patched on it for an hour. Attended the Cooper City Council meeting at night and asked for $2500 a year for our volunteer EMS since there is no ambulance service in the county. Back to the river at 9:30 after the meeting. Had my twelve gauge 1100 Remington shotgun and buckshot. Sat quietly waiting for the destructive beaver. At 10:00 I saw water moving then saw the beaver swimming toward me. At twenty yards I let him have it then sat another hour waiting on another but no luck. Home and watched Columbo.
Tuesday, July 23. Tookie and I went to the pasture southeast of Charleston and I helped him spray, ear tag, and vaccinate cattle. Stopped and visited with Cousin Paul Trapp who told about being in the war where he drove a jeep for a captain. Brother Larry came down and we went to the river south of Charleston. Got down in the water looking for arrowheads. People used to throw trash off the steep bank and along with the much older arrowheads, no telling what a person might find feeling around underwater. Larry found a little saucer with a picture of a hamburger joint named "Roosevelt's." Tookie remembered the chain of restaurants and especially the one in Dallas. It was the McDonald's of the day I guess. Another time Jean and I were feeling around in the water and along with a handful of flint I found an earring with a red stone which later was diagnosed as garnet. Right after I found it I told her it sure would be funny if I found the matching earring. Sure 'nuff, in less than five minutes I scooped up the other one. They had apparently got mixed in with someone's trash and were dumped years ago.
Wednesday, July 24. To Charleston to check my net at Longridge and stopped at the store. Visited with Houston Elmore, Jolly Peters, Lane George, Grover Nabors, and Eunice Bates. Houston went with me and we found the net full of holes again where beavers had a good time. Houston told of his family farming the Worden place and raised ribbon cane and corn. His daddy, Al Elmore, bought the land in 1936 for ten dollars an acre.
A few weeks ago Bret was messing with my small .22 semi automatic pistol, found a blank bullet for a starter pistol, and it went off, the wadding going into his finger. In the afternoon I carried him to the doctor in Sulphur Springs for his appointment where the finger was whirl pooled for a while. On the way home we stopped at the roadside park south of Birthright where you can rake around under the leaves and find lots of worms on top of the ground. They are much livelier and softer than the ones you dig. We caught several to fish with.
When we got home I went out on our small barge at "the catfish pool" west of our house. Caught and released several catfish up to six pounds. Jean's mother and daddy came about the time I threw out floating catfish food. They really enjoy watching the fish splashing and feeding. I went to the house and got some bread, rolled some in a small ball, and put it on the hook. I handed it H.N. and he caught several catfish. The biggest was a seven pounder and he fought it for five minutes, laughing all the time.
Saturday, August 3. Huck Elmore and Ray Dean McKay came to my house at 4:30 this morning and we went crappie fishing at Lake Fork. Got on the water at 6:00 and fished until 12:15. Caught fifty or sixty crappie. I slipped a live shiner in Ray Dean's drink two different times while he wasn't looking. Airplane crashed yesterday at DFW airport, killing 133 people.
Monday, August 5. Jerry Lowry, Dale Elmore, and I went to Lake Somerville near Texas A&M to work on a mobile home that was under warranty. A street runs right by the archery range at A&M. Targets are right next to the street and anyone missing the target shoots an arrow out into traffic. From Bryan west to Snook, Lyons, and Lake Somerville. While we tried to work on the mobile home, German shepherd Duke would get our britches leg and shake it. Kinda hard to paint with a dog jerking on your leg. Eight studs in the wall were crooked because green lumber had been used. While Jerry fixed them, Dale and I painted.
Sunday, August 11. After checking my fishing lines I stopped and visited with Cousin Paul. He told about meeting a man in the Paris hospital recently. Named Petrey and used to live at Kensing but left with his folks when he was six years old. There is still a place near the Kensing Church called the Petrey pasture. To be continued.
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