Owens, J. W.

      Owens, J.W.

By: Jewell Owens

     J.W. (Jim) Owens was born October 25, 1871 in Alabama. He told his parents while growing up when he became 21 years old he was going to Texas so he could plow horses and mules instead of oxen, and that is what he did. In 1892 he cam to Comanche County, Texas and went to work for an uncle at $15.00 a month.

     Around the turn of the century, he married Early Vanda Baze in Mason, Texas. The had three children, all boys, James Wesley, the oldest was born June 20, 1901, passed away October 10, 1950. Horace Burl, was born November 6, 1906, passed away Feb 27, 1954. Jewell Truman, I, the youngest, was born May 10, 1913. Vanda Owens, Mother, passed away March 16, 1934 at the age of 56. J.W., Dad, passed away December 29, 1956.

     In 1908, my dad, Jim and a neighbor of his in Mason County, Texas by the name of E.H. (Chunk) Norton, came to New Mexico prospecting. They made this trip in a coverfed wagon. They came through ome sandy country just before getting into New Mexico. The sand had ripples on it. The two men decided that water had caused the ripples, but a couple of sandstorms later, they found out that wind, and not water had caused the ripples. In later years, they had a lot of fun telling this on themselves.

     My dad said that he had heard of Monument ever since he had heard of New Mexico. The first town they came to in New Mexico was Monument, though they did not know it. A horse they had been working had lost a shoe, so they drove up to the blacksmith shop. A man came out and wanted to know what he could do to help them. He was the blacksmith and his name was Dora Burk. Dad said, "How far to Monument?" and Mr. Burk replied "Monument Hell" your are right in tjhe middle of it now.

     Owens and Norton looked around for a few days, going to Lovington, Knowles, and Eunice. The two men liked the country around Eunice and in time both filed on 320 acres each. Mr. Norton filled in Eunice and built a house not far from where the First Baptist Church now stands. My dad filed 4 and 1/4 miles north of Eunice. Then they went back to Texas to get their families.

     In December 1908 the Owens and the Norton's loaded their covered wagons and headed for New Mexico. The pulled into Stanton, Texas around Christmas. It came a big snow, so they rented a house and pasture for the horses, put the school aged kids in school; and stayed there six weeks. In February they started west again and on February 14, 1909, crossed the line from Texas into New Mexico. The Norton family went to Eunice but the Owens family went on to Knowles and stayed on a place they leased.. In 1910 they moved to the homestead north of Eunice and lived in a tent until Dad could get the house built. The house was built of adobe, but what lumber was needed, my Dad hauled from Pecos, Texas.

     Mr. Frank Turner drilled a well for us. The windmill pumped into a 55 gallon barrel and ran over in a hole dug with a shovel. Of course when Dad left to get the lumber, mother and the two small children had to stay in the tent by themselves. Mother said she could hear the lobo wolves lapping water from the hole at night. One day while Dad was gone, Mother was washing clothes by the windmill. Their pet English bulldog was with Mother, and Horace was in the tent asleep. She heard him scream and the dog ran in the tent. There was a big rattlesnake. The dog killed the snake but was bitten by the snake and died the next day. That left them with no protection at all until Dad got home.

     All three of us boys attended school at Eunice. Horace and I finished our last year in Lovington. For the eleven years I attended Eunice school, I rode horseback 8 and 1/2 miles each day. I figured this up one time and it came to over 10,000 on horseback. Eunice at that time had only one teacher. People starved out and left until there was only ten kids left in school. There had to be eight in regular attendance to hold the school open. When we got to high school, two others kids and I stayed to hold the school open. Then as I said before, I went to Lovington and finished my last year there, graduating in 1931. My Dad raised horses, and I broke a lot of them riding them to school. There were two years in a row that I was neither absent or tardy. The year I went o Lovington, they started a school bus route that ran near our place. The next year I help build a new school in Eunice and got paid 40 cents an hour.

     Times were really hard when I was growing up. I remember one time around Christmas I lost a fifty cent piece out of my pocket and I hunted for it for two days on horseback. We had lots of ups and downs and more downs than ups. I enjoyed most of it, but I wouldn't say it was "the good old days." We never went hungry. I have had a lot of saddle soars and a few broken bones, but I have outlived a lot of people.