Owens, Wesley and Meda

Lea County Families and History, Then and Now, Vol II, 1984

 Owens, Wesley and Meda

By: Meda Owens

     With my family, the W.F.Turners, I moved to New Mexico at the age of nine, in the year 1910 and attended the Eunice schools until 1919. In he year 1920 we moved back to Texas, but in 1926 I married Wesley Owens, and returned to Eunice where we made our home.

     Our first job in those Depression days was with James Parker, a rancher near Andrews, Texas. Together we received $50.00 a month, and I cooked for the five men every day.

     From there we moved to a seventy-two section ranch near Orla, Texas on the Pecos river, which was owned by C.H. Collier. We received $175.00 per month from Mr. Colliers. Another newly wed couple, Pete and Mary Ann Stephens, whom we had known for many years, worked for the same man at that time. They lived on the Screwbean ranch, which derived it name from the growth of screwbean bushes growing all over the ranch. This bush is smaller in size than a mesquite bush. Wesley and I lived on the adjoining ranch across the Pecos river. Wesley and Pete worked together most of the time; therefore we practically lived together at one ranch or the other on all occasions of working cattle. We enjoyed this job with our friends more than any other time in our young married life. Mary Ann and I rode horseback, took pictures and and enjoyed the beautiful scenery by the day, and the four of us visited for hours at night. To cross the Pecos river we had to ride horseback or in a wagon while picking our way around the quicksand spots in the riverbed.

     Before we left this job, Mary Ann became ill and had to enter a Pecos Hospital. I was afraid to stay alone at night, so I saddled my pony and joined the men on their two or three days jobs of moving cattle from one ranch to the other. We would camp out at night and cook on an open camp fire, then slept on skimpy bed rolls between tarpaulins, which kept out the cold night air, snakes, skunks and other pests.

     Our next job was on a ranch near Mentone, Texas which was owned by Jim Cooksey of Midland, Texas. This rancher brought his whole family, and then some friends out to the ranch to spend the weekend each week. I managed to prepare meals for them, as well as far my husband and a regular ranch hand. However, this was a bright spot in the week for, since we had no neighbors or any kind of recreation, this was a welcome diversion.

     After a number of years working on ranches for other men, Wes decided to lease some land and start ranching himself. He started with a small heard of cattle, and to help with finances he obtained a job with his teams, working on the Lea County roadway, which was to become part of the highway from the north to the south of the county. I did my bit by cooking for the other men who were working at the same job.

     For a few years Wesley, job worked on neighboring ranches. In 1938 he inherited some some oil property which enabled him to start buying and selling cattle, along with his ranching business. We also bought a small home in Eunice in 1942. Then in 1949 we bought a new home, which we enjoyed, in Eunice, until his death on October 10, 1950. I continued living in Eunice for 16 years then moved to Big Springs, Texas.