HELEN MARIE BATTLE
October 29, 1896
December 7, 1948

One hundred fifteen years ago on the 29th of October, Helen Marie Battle was born in Collingsworth County, Texas. (2011) Family tradition indicates the family was living in a dugout so I suppose it can be said she was not born "with a silver spoon in her mouth". During her life's span she was always recognized as a lady.
The Federal Census of 1900 shows this family in Collingsworth County, Texas. This same year an older sister, Naomi Lee Battle married Joe Easmond McDowell in Collingsworth County. At some time prior to the 1910 Federal Census the family, for a mysterious reason, moved to Sulphur, Oklahoma. Two sisters, Lucy and Emma, and one brother, James (Jim) married in Oklahoma in 1911.

At some point prior to 21 April 1912, the family moved from Sulphur, Oklahoma to Kingsville, Kleberg County, Texas. Mother's sister, Anna Amanda Battle, was married in Kingsville, Texas to James Ford Ivey on the 21st of April. The reason for this move has not been revealed in any record found.

I have figured that my Mother graduated from Kingsville High School in 1914. She used to laugh as she told me that she was Valedictorian of her Class. Then, she would pause and explain that it is true; but this fact made a bigger impression if you don't also say that there were only two girls in the class.

The 1920 Federal Census finds Helen Marie Battle in Dallas in the household of her Father and Mother. Her wedding to Sam Houston Slaughter, II., was held on February 14, 1920 at the Cliff Temple Baptist Church in Oak Cliff, Texas.

The newlyweds made their first home in Greenville, Texas where my father had a dealership for Texaco Oil. Evidently, Helen returned to Dallas at the time of the birth of my brother, Sam, because his birth certificate indicates he was born in Dallas, Texas.

At some point the family moved to Waco, McClellan County, Texas.

The Waco City Directory, found in the Waco Public Library (call # R/T/917.64284) for the years 1923/1924 indicates that Laura Slaughter (my grandmother) lived at 1122 Flint. I assume that is the only person the directory person found at home.

At any rate it is a matter of record [actually, the Record reads: "s-a-r-a-l-o-n" was born] that SARALU SLAUGHTER was born to Helen Marie Battle and Sam Houston Slaughter on March 4, 1925.

The Waco News Tribune had an ad in the March 4, 1925 issue for: Royal Typewriter Company, phone 909, 409 Amicable Building, Waco, Texas. (My father's business ad).

The Waco City Directory for 1926/1927 indicates that Sam H. (Helen M.) mgr., Royal Typewriter Co., lived at 2005 Avondale Avenue.

The Waco City Directory for 1928/1929: Laura L. (widow S. H.) res. 2301 Homan Ave. Sam H. (Helen M) Mgr. Underwood Typewriter Co, lived at the same address.

The Directory shows in 1930/1931, Jack R. Slaughter, prop, Waco Typewriter Service Co. lived at 708 N. 15th. (This person is my Uncle Jack.) Laura L. (*widow S. H.) lived at this same address. Saml. H. (Helen) salesman, lived 2604 Ethel Avenue. We moved to San Marcos. I was supposed to enter the High First Grade, but they didn't have one in San Marcos. I really do not know why we moved to San Marcos. Now, I know that this was at about the time of the Depression—around 1930—1931 and perhaps my father did not have a job? I really don't remember, if I ever knew.

We lived in a grey stucco house on E. Hutchinson Street facing toward the (then) fish hatchery. This house was about two blocks from Uncle Ford's creamery. My father opened a fish and vegetable store in the old creamery building. While we lived here, Mother intended to serve broiled flounder for supper but she burned it. What I remember most is her crying….

There is a picture of Sue Ann Ivey, my first cousin, which was taken by a little fish pond in the center of a small lawn between the "old" creamery building, where my father opened a fish and fresh vegetable business, and the new building on the corner used as a creamery by my Uncle Ford Ivey. The tables were used to serve slices of watermelon to customers in the evening, shaded hours in the summer.

(This location on the present-day scene (2010) is in the middle of the drive-through for Broadway Bank across from the Fish Hatchery-college campus, on Colorado Street, San Marcos, Texas.) I have a copy of an ad my father had placed in the San Marcos Record.
"Sam Slaughter Fish Market. Freshest fish," etc.

Guess people in San Marcos didn't like fish, or didn't have any money, anyway, the fish market went "belly-up" and we moved to Dallas, Texas. Now, (2010) I realize it was because there were no jobs available in San Marcos (the Depression, you know) and their thought was that there might be a job available in Dallas—I don't know. People do what they have to do.

We moved to Dallas.

My father had a brother, Charles, in Dallas who was a dentist. Mother had a sister (Aunt Lucy) and my Grandmother Battle. Of course, from time-to-time we had Grandmother Slaughter living with us. Anyway, we had an apartment in Dallas in February of 1932. I had not yet begun school up there but I think Sam had. Anyway. On February 16, 1932 my father had a fatal stroke. He is buried in Restland Memorial Cemetery, on the Northwest Highway, or off Greenville Road, in Dallas, Dallas County, Texas. Things are kind of jumbled in my mind as to the sequence of events after his death but we (the three of us, my mother, my brother Sam, and I) landed back in San Marcos, Texas.

I suppose my mother felt she needed a brush-up course in bookkeeping because she enrolled at Southwest Texas Teachers College and we lived in one room at Mrs. Ward's boarding house on the hill near Southwest Texas Teachers College.

Someway, we acquired a car. I remember it was a coupe and had a rumble seat. I was the only one brave enough (or stupid enough) to ride with my mother while she was practicing driving. We would drive out the old Highway 81 (then) toward Kyle to the five-mile bridge. Mother would turn around and go back to San Marcos. We never did cross the bridge. At that time, it was a high bridge, not the low water crossing that is there now (2010) and I'll bet Mother was scared to attempt to cross that high metal bridge. (It has been said of her driving skills that she "took her half out of the middle") Seriously, she was never a good driver but she had other skills.

I guess she felt she was good enough to keep books at Uncle Ford Ivey's Creamery because she began to work there as a bookkeeper. I could eat all the ice cream that I wanted.

We moved to a room at Mrs. McNulty's home, which is still standing on North Street across from what used to be the First Baptist Church, now college apartments (2010). We still had only one room for the three of us. Mother then purchased the bedroom suite, the secretary, and the two chairs that I now have. That was all our worldly goods.

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Sometime, when you feel you have a heavy burden to bear--consider my Mother's circumstance at THIS point in her life story: "You are a 36-year-old single mother with two growing children, a boy and a younger girl. You are recently widowed, no money, a job with your sister's husband's business (because they had to let someone else go to give you the job).There is a depression in the nation's economy, and not much future to look forward to." What would you do?
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It was at Mrs. McNulty's home that I decided to join the Baptist Church. I wasn't very old (about seven) and Mother had everyone talking to me to see if I really did know what I was doing. I told them all that I knew what I was doing and the preacher let me join the Church.

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Helen Marie BATTLE Slaughter married Charles Milton Decker on 16 September 1934, and that fall or just before Christmas, Mother and Bill Decker arrived at the Masonic Home to transport me back to the Ranch, and my future life in Kyle. Well, let me tell you this was a real experience. I had never been exposed to living in a household where there were more than two children. Here, at the ranch, there were FIVE Boys and another Girl, younger than and just as spoiled as I was.

Not long after Charley Decker and Helen Slaughter were married, they applied to the Farm & Ranch loan people for a loan to re-build fences, and make some remodeling changes to the old ranch house using the acreage of the entire ranch as collateral. With this money they added the cement porches in the front, on the back, and on the North sides of the house. Some of this money also built several miles of fence with 4-foot goat-proof wire at the bottom and three strands of barbed wire at the top. A lot of little things were fixed, etc. The Living Room and Dining Room (then) were wallpapered and the linoleum applied to the floors.

The decision was made to put linoleum on the floors in the living room and dining area. The floors were natural hardwood prior to this time. At any rate, after the linoleum was installed we had a set of circumstances occur that I shall always remember.

The LCRA was approved to furnish electric power to this area of Texas in November of 1934. I do not know what year that they came to the Ranch to install wiring in the Ranch House.

When my Mother (Helen Marie Battle Slaughter Decker) came to this ranch house the kitchen contained a large wood-cook stove. That stove was still in the kitchen and in daily use when the family moved into San Marcos, Texas after Charley Decker was elected County Judge and was sworn in January 1, 1941.

I never gave it much thought at the time I was growing up but my Mother must have been a very smart, adaptable woman. Her up-bringing had been in towns, mostly. Guess you would say she was a city girl; and then after her marriage to Charley Decker her whole world changed. Whereas she had been cooking on gas or electric cook-stoves, she had to adapt to learning to build a fire in the firebox of the wood cook stove and adapt her cooking methods to that of a wood stove. Let me tell you that there is a big difference.

Not to mention the additional time to be spent in just keeping everybody running smoothly, etc. Imagine, being used to a family with only two children and then overnight, there are four sons and a young daughter; a new husband and new friends to meet, and a huge house to keep going. Well, it is mind boggling to me. Even so, I never heard her complain about anything. She always had a smile for everyone and those who had known her for a long time called her, "Sweet Little Helen".

The laundry was enough to make you want to run and hide. Imagine, wash water was drawn from the cistern, heated in the wash pot, and hand-carried to the back porch for washing the clothes. Before they bought the old square Maytag washing machine (electric) the usual wash tubs were used with wash boards. Think of this: at least 12 double bed sheets and 12 pillow cases each week; 15 pair of men's wash pants; at least 6 - 10 girl's wash dresses (no one wore blue jeans to school in those days); underwear all around; and whatever Mother and Daddy wore; not to mention table linen if we had the Sunday table dressed. Each day we used fabric napkins. [In looking back-- paper napkins were not in wide use - or for sale.] Whatever, the laundry each week was a chore.

No wonder, the rule of the house was: "When you get in from school put on some play clothes, and hang up your school clothes for another wearing...."

At the beginning of the school year, the boys would go in to the Bon Ton and be measured for school clothes. Each boy got three pair of khaki pants and three khaki shirts, and a Sunday Shirt each and one pair Sunday pants. [I found out in later years that Mr. Lex Word let Daddy and Mother have credit for the outfitting of the school clothes and groceries, etc. Otherwise, I don't know what they would have done.] Marylyn and I had whatever clothes that my Mother made on the sewing machine. Sometimes Mother would get used clothing from some of her sisters, rip it up and re-cut it by patterns for Marylyn and Me.

Each school morning my mother made lunches for each of us. The boys got two meat sandwiches and a jelly sandwich, cake, and a piece of fruit. Marylyn and I received one meat sandwich, one jelly sandwich, cake, and a piece of fruit. You could depend on it this was your lunch. This was great, but some of my friends had homemade bread in their lunches, and stuff like stuffed eggs, and beautiful huge dill pickles. {Grass is always greener…} We used to spread our lunches, and sometimes I could trade for a dill pickle, or a stuffed egg, or a homemade bread sandwich….NOW, when I visit with these girls whose lunches I envied, I find that they thought my lunch was better, and they wanted some things that I had, Ha.

Dad was elected County Judge of Hays County in the election of 1940 and took office in January 1941. They moved into San Marcos living first in the old Kinney House at 708 N. Comanche; and then in a little house on N. Cedar, across the street from Aunt Anna. In May 1946 they moved back to the Ranch because Daddy didn't like living in town, and the Ranch house was deteriorating pretty fast. Marylyn and Dad went in to San Marcos during the week for work and her schooling. Mother became very sick and was taken to the hospital in Austin. She died December 7, 1948 and is buried in the Decker Plot in the Kyle Cemetery. Mother was the first of us to be buried in this plot.