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BRACEWELL - DOOLEY MEMORIES by Hazel Dooley
Ruby Estella, our mother, was the first child born to Barto and Fannie Bracewell (Oct. 1883) and the first grandchild of Joseph Marion and Emiline Bracewell. She married Will Dooley, our father, at her parents' home on November 17, 1901. Our parents lived with our grandparents, David and Caroline Dooley at Sand Hill, 4 miles east of Bedias, for several years. Here Pat, Ruth and Ross (twins), and I were born.
I have many treasured memories of our birthplace and happenings there. I remember Mama working in the vegetable garden across the road from our house. Soon after breakfast, while it was cool, she put the twins into the red wagon, with pillows around them for safety, and pulled it while Pat and I walked alongside. She put us on a pallet spread under a tree with a tin of teacakes and a jug of water to keep us satisfied until time to return to the house. Then she cleaned house and put things in order before preparing a tasty lunch of veggies, fried chicken and a fruit cobbler for dessert.
Our move to Walker County in fall 1911 was a memorable journey by wagon train. Several relatives drove wagons loaded with household goods, corn and hay and farming implements. The milk cows and other livestock followed along behind the wagon that was carrying the coops of chickens. A stop at mid-day for rest and lunch was most welcome. Mama had prepared and packed food the night before--water jars were filled and placed in each wagon. Aunt Anna and Mr. Peavy (her husband) rode in one wagon and Pat and I took turns riding with them. She stayed for awhile to help Mama get things in order. We adored her!
In Walker County we saw our Dad and a friend take pounds of honey from a "bee" tree. We saw ribbon cane from our farm made into syrup at the mill just below the barn--poured into gallon buckets, sealed and stored for future use. The woods around us furnished firewood as well as persimmons and hickory nuts for the picking. That was fun! We learned to fish when our Dad and Mom took us to Manning Lakes during the spring and summer for day long picnics. Once our Dad showed us an alligator nest that he had found at the edge of the lake. It was filled with large, white eggs.
Pat and I started our formal schooling at the one-room one-teacher school there.
We walked the one and a half miles daily with our grandfather Dooley as chaperone.
He taught us to love the wonders of nature and its beauty as the seasons changed.
In 1916, when my brother W. D. was not yet one year old, we returned to Sand Hill to live. The heavy snowfall that winter sifted through the roof and by morning the bed covers and floors were covered with the fluffy white stuff! It stood in banks several feet deep. Many of our chickens froze and jars of fruit and vegetables froze and burst. It was then we learned to make snow ice cream! A spring flowed nearby at the foot of the sandhill. From it we had drinking water and went there to do the weekly washing during the summer months. Uncle Byron (second child born to Barto and Fannie) was our postman and we enjoyed seeing him and our other relatives. My brother, James Carlton, was born there Oct. 9, 1918.
Another move was made in late 1919 and early 1920 to a farm near Iola. We went to Concord School for a year and a half before transferring to Iola School where we five graduated: Pat, Hazel, Ruth, W. D., and Jim. (Ross, Ruth's twin, and another child died in childhood.) We spent happy growing-up years in our country home two miles north of Iola. In summer we attended singing schools where we learned the "shape" note method. Our first car was bought while we lived here...a Model T Ford. (editor's note: Will Dooley died in 1926, leaving Ruby a widow before her 43rd birthday, with a debt on the farm which she later repaid.)
When Dub (W.D.) and Jim finished high school Mama wanted them in college and this was the reason for leaving our Iola home of 17 years, which wasn't easy. A small herd of dairy cows was purchased and a business established near Bryan as the Dooley Brothers Dairy. A friend from Iola "lived in" and helped--he, along with my brothers, was also attending Texas A. & M. University. Work began before dawn and lasted until after dark--it was no place for the faint-hearted fellow. All work was done by hand, as a small dairy could not afford the luxury of milking machines.
Ail five young Dooleys graduated from college. Pat, Ruth, Dub and Jim married and soon had little ones of their own. The three boys served in World War II, which caused great anxiety for our dear Mother. At this time I came to live with her as I had a teaching position in the Bryan Public Schools. Mother was an inspiration to all those who knew her. Her love, courage, and determination were without parallel. Widowed before her 43rd birthday, she shouldered heavy responsibility without complaint and kept us together as a close-knit family throughout the years. The following quotation by Emily Dickinson expresses her philosophy of life:
"Count that day lost - Whose low descending sun
Views from thy hand - No worthy action done."
To me this is an accurate portrayal for she was always busy.
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Family Records 
