A June, 1932 article by D.N. Ellis in the Stephenville Empire-Tribune, written in response to an earlier story about a 3-foot alligator in the Bosque River, noted that heavy rains probably brought the alligator upstream. The article noted that alligators were more common in the early days of Erath settlement and that in the 1870s a 9-foot alligator was killed in the Bosque. [There are earlier stories about alligators killed in the river, which included an 11-foot creature at the junction of Green Creek and the Bosque. Early immigrants noted that the alligators were eating their dogs as they drank from the river. The series of dams built on the Bosque at Waco finally stopped the upriver migrations].

June, 1924: “A horseless farm is in operation just north of the Bosque east of town. Records are being kept so that at the end of the year the Ford people can show the advantages of the tractor over the horse. In connection with the demonstration, ammonium sulfate, a fertilizer made by Henry Ford, will also be tested.” Stephenville Tribune What was not mentioned in this article was that, according to oral tradition, teams of horses were taken in trade for a tractor – and then shot – to keep horses out of the market.

Tarleton students organized the first annual homecoming in June, 1922. “The idea of getting the old students together for a day originated in the minds of several of the old students, among them Sherman White, who took an active part in the organization.” 150 attended the banquet . Stephenville Tribune

1895, May – A farmer from the Lingleville area allowed his wife to accompany him to Stephenville – it was the first time she was allowed to go to town in four years. Stephenville Empire

A destructive storm struck Erath County this month in 1892 that washed out 500 feet of the Rio Grande railroad west of Dublin. Trees and houses were blown down and hail blew into six-foot drifts. Crops were destroyed all over the county. Cleburne Enterprise

Larkspur (Delphinium ranunculaceae) was grown by early Erath County settlers as a May-blooming flower and for the seeds, which were boiled in water to produce a lice-killing treatment.

Michael Moore, Medicinal Plants of the Mountain West, Santa Fe: The Museum of New Mexico Press, 1979.

These poppies covered the sides of the railroad tracks until they were over-picked during the 1980s, I saw only a small cluster today. “In the early part of May the red Corn Poppies, first planted by the railroad in the 1890s, complete their annual show along the tracks near the Tarleton Avenue crossing. Bar ditches are lined with Pink Evening Primroses. Field flowers include the showy Wild-Foxglove (Penstemon cobaea). The dominant yellow flower this month is False Golden Wave (Thelesperma filifolium), Winecups (Callirhoe sp.) and Meadow Pinks (Sabatia campestris) are low-growing beauties. Sure to be seen this month and next are the red-tipped-with-yellow Firewheels (Gaillardia pulchella).”

Charleen Murray, “Wildflower Field Notes, 1969-1981,” Stephenville, Texas

When corn reached knee high, it was customary among the agricultural Indians to hoe soil toward the corn stalk, forming a mound at the base of the plant. This process, called “putting the boots on the corn,” would support the plant, prevent wind damage, promote the production of buttress roots, and bury small weeds growing near the corn.

Paul Weatherwax, Indian Corn in Old America, New York: The Macmillan Co., 1954.

1932: Tarleton coeds voted this month to continue to wear blue chambray uniforms: “The chambray – so practical for wearing in chemistry and food labs, and so convenient for getting to an 8:00 class – has won a place in the girl’s affections from which it will not be ousted.” Stephenville Empire-Tribune

“The Bosque here is, during the greater part of the time, a small stream, much of its bed is dry in summer, cattle depending on the numerous stagnant holes for drinking water. At times it is a dangerous, rushing, roaring torrent. In this time of terrible danger and devastation most of the unprecedented rainfall has been below Stephenville. Here, though tremendous rains have fallen, the river glides peacefully along, up to this time hardly filling its banks. From the Waco correspondent of the Dallas News of the [July] 2nd is copied this account of the Bosque in the recent terrific overflow: ‘The Bosque, which is a fork of the Brazos, emptying into the latter three miles above Waco, drains the western portion of McLennan, all of Bosque and all of Erath counties and has a large system of tributaries, is largely responsible for today’s rampage in the Brazos. . . . In the district the Bosque system waters the rain today beat anything recorded in the history of the country. There were several cloud-burst and the water in the main Bosque went up about forty feet in a few hours. . . . The wreckage swept into Brazos with the Bosque flood consisted of trees, fences, parts of houses and drowned stock. The main Bosque descends from a mountainous region [Huckabay] and possesses many cascades along its course. . . when it struck costly steel bridges it knocked them winding and bent them double with its gigantic force.'” Erath Appeal, July 6, 1899