Sulphur Springs 1

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My Grandfather Frank and Grandmother Lucy first moved back to Sulphur Springs, Arkansas, from Onalaska, Texas, in 1947 when I was four years old. Here’s what I remember of our first trip to see them that summer.

 

 

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Sulphur Springs 1

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My Grandparents Frank and Lucy first moved into a large two story house about three blocks from the smaller house I remember best. They only lived about a year in the large house before they moved in next door to my aunt Edith in the small house.

 

The old two story house was about the grandest house I had ever seen and I loved every minute we were able to stay there with my Grandmother Lucy and Grandfather Frank.

 

 

 

The big two story house was an ornate house that was likely 30 years old when they moved into it. It had one of those huge stone fireplaces on the ground floor in the big room and a fairly old kitchen. Frank and Lucy had a black housekeeper/cook working for them in the big house. As I recall they called her Melvinney. She was a little on the heavy side and she was always as happy as anyone could be. JerrylDine and I just loved her and she loved us just as much. We would often hang out with her in the Kitchen while she cooked and keep her company. She talked all the time and was a lot of fun to be around.

 

This lady fits my recollections of my Grandparent’s Housekeeper/cook that we called Melvinney. She was the happiest lady I had ever seen and JerrylDine and I just loved her.

 

 

 

I remember playing out in the yard of the big house. They had several huge old black walnut trees in the yard to provide shade to play under. I loved the smells that were outside associated with all the trees and vegetation that grew there because they were so different than we were used to around Philview Camp and Phillips.

 

 

 

A passenger train would go by about 200 yards from the house twice a day. I had seen the slow moving tank car trains before but never the fast moving sleek passenger trains. So I was awed by the fast trains and watched them go by every chance I got.

 

The fast streamlined passenger train below was much more exciting to watch than the slow moving tanker train above that I had seen around Phillips and Borger, Texas.

 

 

 

thanks for reading Sulphur Springs 1′

Bill