Bob and Blanche Hunt lived in a white frame house that once stood on the NE corner of the intersection Highway 37 and FM 900 in Purley, Texas, immediately behind the county barn, which once faced Highway 37, but this barn has also been demolished, relocated on the site of the old Purley schoolhouse just West of Purley Baptist Church on FM 900.
As a young girl, Blanche sat on her grandfather Marion Malone's lap and listened to his stories about being a soldier in the Civil War. He talked not of allegiances and battles, but of hunger and privation as bands of men tried to live off the land and endure exposure to the elements.
Blanche had vivid memories of the first automobile seen in Franklin County, and also the first airplane, a biplane, ever seen as it landed in a cow pasture across from her house in the same location where the eastern extension of FM 900 was built either in the last years of her life, or after her death.
Bob and Blanche had four sons: Cecil, Bruce, Marion, and Robbie. Blanche's older sons pursued work in the oilfield when it came to East Texas. Cecil and Bruce returned to live out their lives in Purley, and Robbie stayed nearby dairy farming. Marion remained in the oil field, beginning as a teenager while still living at home by hiring on as exploration wells were drilled in Franklin County. Blanche would pack his lunch and put snacks in his overall pockets every day. The older roughnecks quickly renamed the boy, "Tea Cake." A boss misunderstood the teasing, and one day called out for "T-bone" -- and Marion was never called anything else by anyone, wife, mother, family or business, the remainder of his long life. T-bone was industrious, advanced rapidly with the oil company, and eventually ran drilling operations in several states on the western front of the Rocky Mountains. He hired his brothers Cecil and Bruce for a period, and Blanch visited them in oilfields near Vernal, Utah and Grand Junction, Colorado. T-bone lived out his life in Palisade, Colorado, near Grand Junction.
Blanche's home in Purley was old, the floor unlevel, and everything was out of square at the time of her death. But it was spotlessly clean. It was built before running water and indoor plumbing, but a bathroom and back porch utility room had been built by enclosing shed extensions to the rear of the house. But when Bob first built the house for Blanche, it was the showcase of Franklin County. She told me, "Women from all over the county came to see my house because it was the first home in Franklin County that had screen windows. It was a miracle to be free of bugs and mosquitoes inside the house!"
During the dust bowl years, the drought caused all the wells in Purley to go dry. Every day, Blanche walked miles down Highway 37 towards Winnsboro where a small spring still exists today. There, she filled bottles with water for drinking and cooking. She carried water back to her house for her family.
The dust bowl coincided with the Great Depression. T-bone told me that his father Bob was an excellent farmer, and the Hunt family always had plenty even during lean years. But Blanche made it clear that this was a time of suffering in Franklin County, perhaps more than her young son T-bone would remember later. In Washington, the Hoover Administration judged the problem to be supply and demand, and misdiagnosed oversupply as the cause of low commodity prices. So the government determined to reduce supply by purchasing and destroying the surplus. Blanche related to me how this played out in Franklin County. At a time when hunger was prevalent - consider the Charlie Chaplin "Little Tramp" character boiling his leather shoes to eat, agents of the Hoover Administration came to Franklin county and compelled people to sell their cattle to the government. All the cattle were gathered next to a railroad track in the county seat Mt. Vernon (if my recollection serves) where the cattle were slaughtered. The dead animals were heaped into a pile, covered in kerosene, and burned right before the eyes of a starving populace.
Because of this experience, Blanche along with most other Texans of her generation, voted a straight Democratic ticket for the remainder of her life. She resisted any consideration of any Republican candidate, even as the Ronald Reagan era emerged in the late 1970's.
Blanche loved fishing, and spent time daily at one of the "pools" on the Hunt land, either her place, or her son Cecil, who lived a short walk of a few hundred yards east down a rough oil top lane with embedded rocks of red East Texas ore stone.
Blanche was an excellent cook, and her contributions to the pot luck dinners at annual family reunions were always popular. She made many pies and cakes, but her specialty (in my opinion) was cornbread dressing.
At the back of the driveway of the Hunt home in Purley, with an outward appearance very much like a garage, was a white frame smoke house, used for curing meat in the era before refrigeration. I was never allowed in this building.
Bruce was the first of Blanche's children to die. Bruce lived in Purley in a red brick house. His wife Sally sold out and left the country. Cecil also died before his mother. Cecil's widow Dorothy had Blanche's house demolished once Blanche died. It was too old to continued to be occupied.
My own grandmother, Iva Veasey Grizzle Chambers, died when I was a young child. Her sister, Blanche Hunt, was always like a grandmother to me. I frequently stayed a week in her home helping with repairs. At some point, I became interested in oral genealogy, and Aunt Blanche was my first interview using an expensive high-fidelity Pioneer cassette deck. The stories related in this biography were recorded during interviews, but the tapes have since been lost. I have hopes they may yet surface - I left them in my mother Carol Grizzle's house. Aunt Blanche died while I was away attending Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. I was not told of her passing because it was believed the news would interfere with my studies.
Blanche was faithful in her religious beliefs. She was a member of the Church of God in Mt. Vernon, Texas. I attended revival services with her once while staying a week with her. These Pentecostal Revival services were very different from my own church upbringing. Very different!
These notes made from the personal recollections of Danny Grizzle, grandson of Blanche's younger sister, Iva Veazey Grizzle.
As a young girl, Blanche sat on her grandfather Marion Malone's lap and listened to his stories about being a soldier in the Civil War. He talked not of allegiances and battles, but of hunger and privation as bands of men tried to live off the land and endure exposure to the elements.
Blanche had vivid memories of the first automobile seen in Franklin County, and also the first airplane, a biplane, ever seen as it landed in a cow pasture across from her house in the same location where the eastern extension of FM 900 was built either in the last years of her life, or after her death.
Bob and Blanche had four sons: Cecil, Bruce, Marion, and Robbie. Blanche's older sons pursued work in the oilfield when it came to East Texas. Cecil and Bruce returned to live out their lives in Purley, and Robbie stayed nearby dairy farming. Marion remained in the oil field, beginning as a teenager while still living at home by hiring on as exploration wells were drilled in Franklin County. Blanche would pack his lunch and put snacks in his overall pockets every day. The older roughnecks quickly renamed the boy, "Tea Cake." A boss misunderstood the teasing, and one day called out for "T-bone" -- and Marion was never called anything else by anyone, wife, mother, family or business, the remainder of his long life. T-bone was industrious, advanced rapidly with the oil company, and eventually ran drilling operations in several states on the western front of the Rocky Mountains. He hired his brothers Cecil and Bruce for a period, and Blanch visited them in oilfields near Vernal, Utah and Grand Junction, Colorado. T-bone lived out his life in Palisade, Colorado, near Grand Junction.
Blanche's home in Purley was old, the floor unlevel, and everything was out of square at the time of her death. But it was spotlessly clean. It was built before running water and indoor plumbing, but a bathroom and back porch utility room had been built by enclosing shed extensions to the rear of the house. But when Bob first built the house for Blanche, it was the showcase of Franklin County. She told me, "Women from all over the county came to see my house because it was the first home in Franklin County that had screen windows. It was a miracle to be free of bugs and mosquitoes inside the house!"
During the dust bowl years, the drought caused all the wells in Purley to go dry. Every day, Blanche walked miles down Highway 37 towards Winnsboro where a small spring still exists today. There, she filled bottles with water for drinking and cooking. She carried water back to her house for her family.
The dust bowl coincided with the Great Depression. T-bone told me that his father Bob was an excellent farmer, and the Hunt family always had plenty even during lean years. But Blanche made it clear that this was a time of suffering in Franklin County, perhaps more than her young son T-bone would remember later. In Washington, the Hoover Administration judged the problem to be supply and demand, and misdiagnosed oversupply as the cause of low commodity prices. So the government determined to reduce supply by purchasing and destroying the surplus. Blanche related to me how this played out in Franklin County. At a time when hunger was prevalent - consider the Charlie Chaplin "Little Tramp" character boiling his leather shoes to eat, agents of the Hoover Administration came to Franklin county and compelled people to sell their cattle to the government. All the cattle were gathered next to a railroad track in the county seat Mt. Vernon (if my recollection serves) where the cattle were slaughtered. The dead animals were heaped into a pile, covered in kerosene, and burned right before the eyes of a starving populace.
Because of this experience, Blanche along with most other Texans of her generation, voted a straight Democratic ticket for the remainder of her life. She resisted any consideration of any Republican candidate, even as the Ronald Reagan era emerged in the late 1970's.
Blanche loved fishing, and spent time daily at one of the "pools" on the Hunt land, either her place, or her son Cecil, who lived a short walk of a few hundred yards east down a rough oil top lane with embedded rocks of red East Texas ore stone.
Blanche was an excellent cook, and her contributions to the pot luck dinners at annual family reunions were always popular. She made many pies and cakes, but her specialty (in my opinion) was cornbread dressing.
At the back of the driveway of the Hunt home in Purley, with an outward appearance very much like a garage, was a white frame smoke house, used for curing meat in the era before refrigeration. I was never allowed in this building.
Bruce was the first of Blanche's children to die. Bruce lived in Purley in a red brick house. His wife Sally sold out and left the country. Cecil also died before his mother. Cecil's widow Dorothy had Blanche's house demolished once Blanche died. It was too old to continued to be occupied.
My own grandmother, Iva Veasey Grizzle Chambers, died when I was a young child. Her sister, Blanche Hunt, was always like a grandmother to me. I frequently stayed a week in her home helping with repairs. At some point, I became interested in oral genealogy, and Aunt Blanche was my first interview using an expensive high-fidelity Pioneer cassette deck. The stories related in this biography were recorded during interviews, but the tapes have since been lost. I have hopes they may yet surface - I left them in my mother Carol Grizzle's house. Aunt Blanche died while I was away attending Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. I was not told of her passing because it was believed the news would interfere with my studies.
Blanche was faithful in her religious beliefs. She was a member of the Church of God in Mt. Vernon, Texas. I attended revival services with her once while staying a week with her. These Pentecostal Revival services were very different from my own church upbringing. Very different!
These notes made from the personal recollections of Danny Grizzle, grandson of Blanche's younger sister, Iva Veazey Grizzle.
Bob and Blanche Hunt lived in a white frame house that once stood on the NE corner of the intersection Highway 37 and FM 900 in Purley, Texas, immediately behind the county barn, which once faced Highway 37, but this barn has also been demolished, relocated on the site of the old Purley schoolhouse just West of Purley Baptist Church on FM 900.
As a young girl, Blanche sat on her grandfather Marion Malone's lap and listened to his stories about being a soldier in the Civil War. He talked not of allegiances and battles, but of hunger and privation as bands of men tried to live off the land and endure exposure to the elements.
Blanche had vivid memories of the first automobile seen in Franklin County, and also the first airplane, a biplane, ever seen as it landed in a cow pasture across from her house in the same location where the eastern extension of FM 900 was built either in the last years of her life, or after her death.
Bob and Blanche had four sons: Cecil, Bruce, Marion, and Robbie. Blanche's older sons pursued work in the oilfield when it came to East Texas. Cecil and Bruce returned to live out their lives in Purley, and Robbie stayed nearby dairy farming. Marion remained in the oil field, beginning as a teenager while still living at home by hiring on as exploration wells were drilled in Franklin County. Blanche would pack his lunch and put snacks in his overall pockets every day. The older roughnecks quickly renamed the boy, "Tea Cake." A boss misunderstood the teasing, and one day called out for "T-bone" -- and Marion was never called anything else by anyone, wife, mother, family or business, the remainder of his long life. T-bone was industrious, advanced rapidly with the oil company, and eventually ran drilling operations in several states on the western front of the Rocky Mountains. He hired his brothers Cecil and Bruce for a period, and Blanch visited them in oilfields near Vernal, Utah and Grand Junction, Colorado. T-bone lived out his life in Palisade, Colorado, near Grand Junction.
Blanche's home in Purley was old, the floor unlevel, and everything was out of square at the time of her death. But it was spotlessly clean. It was built before running water and indoor plumbing, but a bathroom and back porch utility room had been built by enclosing shed extensions to the rear of the house. But when Bob first built the house for Blanche, it was the showcase of Franklin County. She told me, "Women from all over the county came to see my house because it was the first home in Franklin County that had screen windows. It was a miracle to be free of bugs and mosquitoes inside the house!"
During the dust bowl years, the drought caused all the wells in Purley to go dry. Every day, Blanche walked miles down Highway 37 towards Winnsboro where a small spring still exists today. There, she filled bottles with water for drinking and cooking. She carried water back to her house for her family.
The dust bowl coincided with the Great Depression. T-bone told me that his father Bob was an excellent farmer, and the Hunt family always had plenty even during lean years. But Blanche made it clear that this was a time of suffering in Franklin County, perhaps more than her young son T-bone would remember later. In Washington, the Hoover Administration judged the problem to be supply and demand, and misdiagnosed oversupply as the cause of low commodity prices. So the government determined to reduce supply by purchasing and destroying the surplus. Blanche related to me how this played out in Franklin County. At a time when hunger was prevalent - consider the Charlie Chaplin "Little Tramp" character boiling his leather shoes to eat, agents of the Hoover Administration came to Franklin county and compelled people to sell their cattle to the government. All the cattle were gathered next to a railroad track in the county seat Mt. Vernon (if my recollection serves) where the cattle were slaughtered. The dead animals were heaped into a pile, covered in kerosene, and burned right before the eyes of a starving populace.
Because of this experience, Blanche along with most other Texans of her generation, voted a straight Democratic ticket for the remainder of her life. She resisted any consideration of any Republican candidate, even as the Ronald Reagan era emerged in the late 1970's.
Blanche loved fishing, and spent time daily at one of the "pools" on the Hunt land, either her place, or her son Cecil, who lived a short walk of a few hundred yards east down a rough oil top lane with embedded rocks of red East Texas ore stone.
Blanche was an excellent cook, and her contributions to the pot luck dinners at annual family reunions were always popular. She made many pies and cakes, but her specialty (in my opinion) was cornbread dressing.
At the back of the driveway of the Hunt home in Purley, with an outward appearance very much like a garage, was a white frame smoke house, used for curing meat in the era before refrigeration. I was never allowed in this building.
Bruce was the first of Blanche's children to die. Bruce lived in Purley in a red brick house. His wife Sally sold out and left the country. Cecil also died before his mother. Cecil's widow Dorothy had Blanche's house demolished once Blanche died. It was too old to continued to be occupied.
My own grandmother, Iva Veasey Grizzle Chambers, died when I was a young child. Her sister, Blanche Hunt, was always like a grandmother to me. I frequently stayed a week in her home helping with repairs. At some point, I became interested in oral genealogy, and Aunt Blanche was my first interview using an expensive high-fidelity Pioneer cassette deck. The stories related in this biography were recorded during interviews, but the tapes have since been lost. I have hopes they may yet surface - I left them in my mother Carol Grizzle's house. Aunt Blanche died while I was away attending Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. I was not told of her passing because it was believed the news would interfere with my studies.
Blanche was faithful in her religious beliefs. She was a member of the Church of God in Mt. Vernon, Texas. I attended revival services with her once while staying a week with her. These Pentecostal Revival services were very different from my own church upbringing. Very different!
These notes made from the personal recollections of Danny Grizzle, grandson of Blanche's younger sister, Iva Veazey Grizzle.
As a young girl, Blanche sat on her grandfather Marion Malone's lap and listened to his stories about being a soldier in the Civil War. He talked not of allegiances and battles, but of hunger and privation as bands of men tried to live off the land and endure exposure to the elements.
Blanche had vivid memories of the first automobile seen in Franklin County, and also the first airplane, a biplane, ever seen as it landed in a cow pasture across from her house in the same location where the eastern extension of FM 900 was built either in the last years of her life, or after her death.
Bob and Blanche had four sons: Cecil, Bruce, Marion, and Robbie. Blanche's older sons pursued work in the oilfield when it came to East Texas. Cecil and Bruce returned to live out their lives in Purley, and Robbie stayed nearby dairy farming. Marion remained in the oil field, beginning as a teenager while still living at home by hiring on as exploration wells were drilled in Franklin County. Blanche would pack his lunch and put snacks in his overall pockets every day. The older roughnecks quickly renamed the boy, "Tea Cake." A boss misunderstood the teasing, and one day called out for "T-bone" -- and Marion was never called anything else by anyone, wife, mother, family or business, the remainder of his long life. T-bone was industrious, advanced rapidly with the oil company, and eventually ran drilling operations in several states on the western front of the Rocky Mountains. He hired his brothers Cecil and Bruce for a period, and Blanch visited them in oilfields near Vernal, Utah and Grand Junction, Colorado. T-bone lived out his life in Palisade, Colorado, near Grand Junction.
Blanche's home in Purley was old, the floor unlevel, and everything was out of square at the time of her death. But it was spotlessly clean. It was built before running water and indoor plumbing, but a bathroom and back porch utility room had been built by enclosing shed extensions to the rear of the house. But when Bob first built the house for Blanche, it was the showcase of Franklin County. She told me, "Women from all over the county came to see my house because it was the first home in Franklin County that had screen windows. It was a miracle to be free of bugs and mosquitoes inside the house!"
During the dust bowl years, the drought caused all the wells in Purley to go dry. Every day, Blanche walked miles down Highway 37 towards Winnsboro where a small spring still exists today. There, she filled bottles with water for drinking and cooking. She carried water back to her house for her family.
The dust bowl coincided with the Great Depression. T-bone told me that his father Bob was an excellent farmer, and the Hunt family always had plenty even during lean years. But Blanche made it clear that this was a time of suffering in Franklin County, perhaps more than her young son T-bone would remember later. In Washington, the Hoover Administration judged the problem to be supply and demand, and misdiagnosed oversupply as the cause of low commodity prices. So the government determined to reduce supply by purchasing and destroying the surplus. Blanche related to me how this played out in Franklin County. At a time when hunger was prevalent - consider the Charlie Chaplin "Little Tramp" character boiling his leather shoes to eat, agents of the Hoover Administration came to Franklin county and compelled people to sell their cattle to the government. All the cattle were gathered next to a railroad track in the county seat Mt. Vernon (if my recollection serves) where the cattle were slaughtered. The dead animals were heaped into a pile, covered in kerosene, and burned right before the eyes of a starving populace.
Because of this experience, Blanche along with most other Texans of her generation, voted a straight Democratic ticket for the remainder of her life. She resisted any consideration of any Republican candidate, even as the Ronald Reagan era emerged in the late 1970's.
Blanche loved fishing, and spent time daily at one of the "pools" on the Hunt land, either her place, or her son Cecil, who lived a short walk of a few hundred yards east down a rough oil top lane with embedded rocks of red East Texas ore stone.
Blanche was an excellent cook, and her contributions to the pot luck dinners at annual family reunions were always popular. She made many pies and cakes, but her specialty (in my opinion) was cornbread dressing.
At the back of the driveway of the Hunt home in Purley, with an outward appearance very much like a garage, was a white frame smoke house, used for curing meat in the era before refrigeration. I was never allowed in this building.
Bruce was the first of Blanche's children to die. Bruce lived in Purley in a red brick house. His wife Sally sold out and left the country. Cecil also died before his mother. Cecil's widow Dorothy had Blanche's house demolished once Blanche died. It was too old to continued to be occupied.
My own grandmother, Iva Veasey Grizzle Chambers, died when I was a young child. Her sister, Blanche Hunt, was always like a grandmother to me. I frequently stayed a week in her home helping with repairs. At some point, I became interested in oral genealogy, and Aunt Blanche was my first interview using an expensive high-fidelity Pioneer cassette deck. The stories related in this biography were recorded during interviews, but the tapes have since been lost. I have hopes they may yet surface - I left them in my mother Carol Grizzle's house. Aunt Blanche died while I was away attending Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. I was not told of her passing because it was believed the news would interfere with my studies.
Blanche was faithful in her religious beliefs. She was a member of the Church of God in Mt. Vernon, Texas. I attended revival services with her once while staying a week with her. These Pentecostal Revival services were very different from my own church upbringing. Very different!
These notes made from the personal recollections of Danny Grizzle, grandson of Blanche's younger sister, Iva Veazey Grizzle.
Gravesite Details
Wife of R. B.
Family Members
Siblings
