The Higgins Story by Francis Stanley Higgins in southeastern Lipscomb county, near the Oklahoma line, on Highway 60 and the Santa Fe Railroad, keeps alive the memory of Will Rogers who once worked in the area, and often visited the town to shop and to chat. The annual Will Rogers Day is one of the Red Letter days of the town, and people come in for miles to celebrate. Higgins was also well known to the late beloved "Hoss" of the T.V. Bonanza series for his wife grew up there. Although he is buried in ODonnell, he is looked upon as an adopted son of Higgins. The pre-settlement story of the area is much the same for most of the Panhandle. Buffalo, Plains Indians, Houston Tap & Brazoria Railroad Land, surveyors, drifting cowboys, comancheros in isolated instances, the railroad, townsite company, settlers. W. J. Hutchins acquired the land from its railroad owners, and he in turn sold to others, mostly from the East. Other railroads receiving grants in the vicinity of Higgins were Houston & Texas Central, Houston & Great Northern, Southern Pacific. Oddly enough the railroad that did so much for Higgins and Lipscomb county-the Santa Fe-received no grant. By that time the state had come to re-evaluate the Panhandle. Besides, it had given away more land than it owned. The early day cattleman was not too interested in who owned the land, for his herds seemed to roam at will before fencing became necessary, and before school lands were parceled out and rented for grazing purposes. The Box T cattle roamed the range around the site of Higgins before the land was opened for settlement. There were other large outfits like the 7K, P 0, but they were more to the north and west and south. Many of these had dugouts for cowboys, but there doesn't seem to have been any on the site of Higgins. It was grass country for cattle. There were some line camps in the area and cowboys enjoyed visiting whenever they had the opportunity. It was a lonesome life. Now and then they might get something to read, but most of the time was spent with the herd. While it has been portrayed as the romantic life it didn't seem so to them especially during the round-up season and branding time. When a blue norther struck it made life pretty miserable for cowboy and steer alike. It was one time that the cowboy felt that there must be better ways to make a living. Most of the early settlers came from Kiowa, Kansas although that was not their place of origin. The Hoovers, Johnsons, Winsetts and a number more were actually from Tennessee. Judging by the number that shifted from Higgins and Lipscomb to Oklahoma it is not likely that many of those seeking homes were certain they wanted to live in the Texas Panhandle. Timms City was of short duration. A number of other towns like Dominion likewise vanished. It was a day in which people had a variety of choices because of numerous townsite companies, railroads, homestead laws, and the rise of the Indian Reservation. Lands vacated by various tribes were thrown open for settlement. People thought nothing of making three or four moves in less than two years, so great were the choices. Besides, land script was available from old soldiers or their widows who sold it for a nominal fee. Men like Gunther, Munson, Summerfield, Spiller could acquire vast tracts in addition to land received from railroads by purchasing script land. People came to Higgins because the railroad pointed this way. Kansas real estate men kept pace with the surveyors hired by the Santa Fe Railroad. C. P. Walker and John Holzapfel of Colony, Kansas, decided on a location they thought would prove interesting to the settlers brought in by the railroad so they started the town of Dominion, built a pretentious hotel for the time and place, and C. P. Walker, president of the Texas & Kansas Land Company, recorded the plat. Confident that they had a sure thing they bought up twenty-four sections. E. C. Gray and George Patton also bought land they thought the railroad would need for locating settlers. Gray sold his land, Section 263, Block 43, to E. B. Purcell, president of the Southern Kansas & Texas Railroad, which became the Panhandle Branch of the Santa Fe. In addition Gray received forty-three percent of the town that was to be built on the land. He sold his claim to Purcell for three thousand dollars. The town of Lipscomb was started in one place and on the other section acquired by Purcell, he opened the town of Higgins. This was an "end of track" town although surprisingly quiet for one. It was not a rowdy place for a railroad terminal but was a busy place, and readily recognized as a possible boom town. There is a lot to be said for Nelson and his staff for promoting the townsite work at Higgins, Canadian, Miami and several other places along the Santa Fe route. While many people were "end of track" settlers for business reasons, quite a few were actually looking for permanent homes. It does seem strange that people thought nothing of moving from place to place before finally taking root. Tennessee, Kiowa, Higgins, Canadian, Miami, Oklahoma. That seemed to be the itinerary of many of the early settlers of Higgins. H. E. Hoover. born at Murfreesboro, Tennessee, November 16, 1863, son of H. N., a farmer-merchant, and Amanda Rankin. His father was a captain in the Civil War and gave his life for the Cause, being but twenty-four years of age at the time. H. E. went to school during the spring, winter and fall months but during the summer months he worked on his mother's plantation. He married L. V. Winset in 1884 and went to Kiowa, Kansas, then Higgins and Lipscomb. One of his five children, Thomas L., was born at Lipscomb. He went back to Tennessee and enrolled at Cumberland University for his law degree. He made his home at Canadian and interested himself in many civic affairs as well as the Panhandle Plains Museum at Canyon. The little community of Hoover near the town of Panhandle, on the Santa Fe, honors him. He was one of the founders of the Oddfellows Lodge at Canadian, and one of the first settlers to come to Higgins. It is said that his son, Thomas L., a famous sprinter at the University of Texas, inspired the song - "The Eyes of Texas Are Upon You." The railroad came to Higgins in the spring of 1886. Even before the arrival of the railroad the "end of track" construction crew held a dance for St. Patrick's Day, the first dance ever held in Higgins. The men must have danced with each other for there were very few women folk around other than those who worked in the camp kitchen and laundry. Mrs. J. E. Johnson left Tennessee in 1885 for Kiowa, and then Higgins. Years later she said, "I was certainly glad when we arrived at Higgins. There were just two or three homes there, and a large tent hotel. There wasn't a tree to be seen, only space. Lots of space. The tent hotel had a large dining room, a kitchen, and some bed rooms. The man who ran it was the proprietor, cook, bell boy, and table waiter. When he had a meal ready he came to the door, beat a tin pan with a spoon as loud as he could saying at the same time: 'Come and get it, or Ill throw it out.' Shortly after we arrived two young men built a hotel next to the depot. The dining room in this hotel was quite large and often used for dances. The cattlemen and cowboys on one occasion decided to have a grand costume ball. The musicians were brought in all the way from Wichita, Kansas. Mr. Johnson and Dr. Thomas Hoover (who practised medicine at Lipscomb, the county seat) sent to Kansas City, Missouri, for the most elegant suits, and rented them to the cowboys to wear at the ball. Some of them paid as high as twenty-five and thirty dollars to wear the suit just that one evening. They sure had a time. The cowboys were real gentlemen in the presence of the ladies." J. F. Johnson was born on May 23, 1858 at Rover, Tennessee. He was related to Stonewall Jackson. His wife, Elizabeth Winsett (also seen as Winset) was born on March 29, 1859, near Cedar Grove, Bedford county, Tennessee. They were married at Grove Center, June 25, 1878, and lived at Bell Buckle where he opened a mercantile store. William Amon, the oldest child, was born on August 15, 1880; Alma was born on November 13, 1883. The Winsetts, Hoovers, Johnsons, and others moved to Kiowa, Kansas, in 1885. There they opened the Hoover & Johnson grocery store. When the railroad crossed the Kansas line into the Panhandle, Hoover came down to open a small box-car store mostly for the use of the railroad workers. Later he built a store and his own residence although he was not a carpenter. He managed pretty well despite the ribbing he took for leaving out the cornice. The store in Higgins was known as the Hoover & Johnson. When Hoover went back to Tennessee to study law it became Johnson's store. Johnson also set up a small branch at Lipscomb and one at Miami. He later moved to Canadian where he opened a large store, then went on to Pampa for another store. Canadian became his permanent residence. Mrs. Johnson became a well known artist, and the walls of her home were decorated with large oil paintings. This home later became the McQuiddy home because Alma Johnson married A. V. McQuiddy on December 24, 1901. The Johnsons left Higgins for Canadian in 1897. They also had a bank at Canadian. Mrs. Johnson founded the W.C.T.U. at Canadian. Now and then Higgin 's items appeared in the Canadian Free Press: 'Our new $2,000 hotel will soon be completed. E. C. Gray says the railroads shall never see the color of his gold. He went to Kansas Monday on a mule. There was a pleasant social dance at the M. J. Rainey home Monday evening. Freighters who have come here say that Canadian will come in for more than her share of the trade as soon as the river is bridged, on account of the prices being so much lower at that place. Hiram Black of this county and C. W. Sherwood, of Higgins, have matched to run a foot race at Lipscomb, March 3, for one hundred dollars a side. Through the efforts of our representative of the press at this place an effort will be made to secure the next meeting of the editors at Higgins. Our new editor, Mr. R. Q. Blakeney is a bright and experienced young journalist. He is, we believe, one of the most ardent workers of the cause it has ever been our extremely good fortune to meet, having gradually arose from the position of 'devil' on a country paper in Arkansas to the occupancy of the highest seat in the sanctum, in less than four months time, and at the tender age of sweet sixteen. Where is the man to compete with him?" (o.c. Feb. 22, 1888) One of the first organizations to come into being at Higgins was the Literary Society which met every Thursday. Nor was the town very long without its boot and saddle shop. A. Q. Blakeney, the youthful editor, founded the Higgins Courier. George B. Berry opened the White Elephant saloon. Later he moved to Canadian, and still later to Kansas City. When the Burnett Hotel opened the proprietor gave a grand ball honoring the occasion. Gray sold out his interest in the townsite to the Santa Fe Town Company. He was also editor of the Higgins Courier. A public school was opened with Miss Ida Loop of Kiowa, Kansas, hired as the first teacher. Some think that possibly Hoover was the first teacher in Higgins but with all his activities as a merchant, his political interests and his zest for organizing the Oddfellows, Masons and other organizations, besides his frequent trips to Lipscomb, Timms City, Canadian, Kiowa, Dodge it is hard to conceive of his sitting down long enough to teach. One of the first shootouts in Higgins was between Pushey and Gilbert. It was an old feud they brought with them from Kansas. The shooting occurred on the main street of the town in front of the White Elephant. Pushey was shot in the hip but Gilbert was more seriously injured. They both survived however and no doubt continued their private battle elsewhere as no more is heard of them in Higgins. Perhaps they moved on to what is now Oklahoma, then known as Indian Territory or Nations Territory. By March 2, 1887, the editor of the Courier felt that Higgins would become a ghost town: It is reported that the people of Higgins are so afflicted with Oklahoma fever that the town will be deserted after the 22nd of this month." (o.c.) The town didn't die and for a time it seemed as if the residents wouldn't either. It is amazing how many of the early settlers of Higgins almost reached the century mark. Mrs. Hiram Black, a Eubank from Ochiltree county before her marriage, lived many years in the Higgins area. She planted trees and flowers to break the monotony of the treeless plains. Married in 1887, the Blacks became prominent in Higgin's affairs. J. A. Miller also came in 1887 and in 1952 celebrated his 100th birthday. He made his home in Higgins with his daughter, Mrs. J. K. Mugg. Mrs. Mary McClure, noted school teacher of Lipscomb, spent the autumn of her life in Higgins. Even as she approached the century mark her mind was keen and she spread joy to those around her. The story of her life is more captivating than a novel, and reads like one. The people of Higgins seem to grow old more gracefully than the people of most towns. There also seems to be less of the infirmities of old age. Whether there is a medical explanation for this probably only a medical man would know. Mrs. Black was actually in the area years before the town of Higgins came into being, traveling with her family when she was ten years of age, sleeping in a covered wagon at night, hoping that Indians escaping from reservations wouldn't swoop down on the family and annihilate them. They stayed with the Polly family one night, near the creek where he had a store, and his wife served them supper and breakfast the next day. E. E. Polly later moved to Canadian and became the first Hemphill county judge, a real estate man, and a man active in civic affairs. Mrs. Black was just past sixteen when she married. In those pioneer days a girl sixteen was considered a grown woman. Higgins was officially recognized by the postal authorities on August 13, 1887 when James J. Patton was named postmaster. Two weeks later, August 29, H. E. Hoover was named to replace him. Other early day postmasters were Eli C. Gray, G. A. Biglow, H. S. Mugg. T. S. Williams was notified that he was named postmaster but he refused the office, and although he never served in that capacity his name was kept on the list. L. A. Wilhite took over in his place. Others to follow were B. S. Mitchell, J. W. Winsett, F. Winsett, Mrs. S. E. St. Jacque, A. M. Winsett, Mrs. L. G. Sherrieb, K. L. McAdoo. Higgins experienced a boom shortly before World War I and people came to stay. No longer did the new home makers consider Higgins as a temporary home until they moved to Oklahoma, the land opened for settlement by the government. The Higgins Independent School District kept adding rooms and high school grades until it was faced with the necessity of a new separate high school. Early in July of 1928, Higgins voted $40,000 worth of bonds for a new high school. The Higgins Independent School District voted $40,000 bonds here Saturday for the construction of a new modern high school building in order to keep pace with the city's rapidly increasing scholastic population as well as to meet state requirements for a fully accredited high school. The bonds carried by an overwhelming majority. According to J. E. Latimer, president of the Board of Trustees, plans will be rapidly formulated for the erection of the building, and construction will be rushed to completion as soon as the contract is awarded. The Board of Trustees will confer with J. C. Berry, Amarillo architect, today concerning plans for the building. The contract will be open to builders in the near future, it was said. Although plans are yet indefinite, the building will probably consist of an auditorium, classrooms, lecture rooms and laboratory rooms, it was announced. The present high school was erected in 1911 at the cost of $20,000 including equipment, and was considered for several years one of the finest and one of the most up-to-date school buildings in the northeast Panhandle." (Amarillo Daily News July 10, 1928) It was in 1911 that Higgins waged a campaign to raze all shacks and old buildings and concentrated on making the town one of the most modern and liveable in this section of the Panhandle. The streets were wide and the buildings solid. The new school built in 1911 was indeed the pride of the town. One landmark did remain-Hotel Higgins. It was originally built by J. F. Johnson about a year after the railroad came through. A frame structure then, it satisfied the need for the time since most of the people built their own homes and only drummers, prospective home owners, some school teachers, railroad people, and travelers needed hotel accommodations. When Johnson branched out to Canadian, Miami, Pampa, making his home in Canadian, the hotel was sold to Isaac Giggers. In 1902 he sold it to A. K. Gottard, who in turn subleased it to F. S. Gunn, Walter Owens and J. F. Harlan. A few years later the hotel was acquired by Mrs. Francis Donegan. As railroad trade boomed the hotel often hung out a 'No Vacancy" sign. Mrs. Dora Wheat Wathen bought an interest in the hotel in 1915, later inheriting the rest from her sister, Mrs. Donegan. Like many people of Higgins, Mrs. Wathen operated the hotel long after what people would consider retirement age. Even past her 85th birthday she was at the desk of the hotel lobby daily checking in new arrivals and checking out those leaving. The brick veneer, an addition to the building, came with the 1911 cleanup that went on all over town. Mrs. Ada Hide, a few years younger than her sister, Mrs. Wathen, also helps to run the establishment. Geraldine Wheat, daughter of Mrs. Hyde, also helps maintain the thirty-seven unit hotel. Frances Wathen, a brave soul, courageous in her illness, lived in the hotel until her death. It was the privilege of the author to be inspired by her cheerfulness, her calm and her goodness despite her illness. She never had a word of complaint. Higgins as a town never met a stranger. Will Rogers learned this when he worked for the Ewings near Higgins. If he never met a person he didn't like he probably learned to do so in Higgins, a town that knew how to make a stranger feel at home. Mrs. Laura Garnet Ewing spent most of her life in and around Higgins and even past her 90th birthday there was no place she would rather live than Higgins. She came to Higgins in 1901 after having lived in several other places. One of the most remarkable things one can say about Higgins is that so many of its citizens live to a ripe old age. The proportion is high in relation to the number of residents. Although the owners of the Higgins Hotel thought of converting the building into a residence for old folks the idea never materialized because the building was too close to the railroad. It is interesting to note that there were only three schools in Lipscomb county in 1900-one at Second Creek, Higgins and Lipscomb. Three years later there were five schools and all of them together added to one hundred and seventy-seven pupils. By 1905 there were ten schools and five years later there were eighteen schools in the county. The First Baptist church was organized in Higgins in 1896 with J. W. Whatley as pastor. Higgins never had a Catholic church since few Catholics lived there and they went to Canadian to church, which they continue to do to this day. The Church of Christ, Methodist and Nazarine churches were the other churches that organized at Higgins. Rev. W. H. Strong was pastor of the Methodist church for a few years as was Rev. A. W. Gordon. Rev. Luke Preba served as pastor of the Church of Christ. L. D. and Moilie Shaw published the Higgins News; E. C. Beaun had the City Barber shop; E. C. Gray was a lawyer of long standing in Higgins; J. B. Sias was a painter and paper hanger; W. F. Peugh had a store at Timms City for a time until that town broke up and he came to Higgins. These were some of the early day business places in Higgins: Lipscomb, York, Key Lumber; Muggs Grocery; Word's Drug; Bon Ton Barber Shop; Graggs Meat Market; Madson's Blacksmith Shop; E. C. Gray, attorney; Daily & Landers Dray; Kitch Drug; Douglas & Orr, Real Estate; C. E. Sharp, Lumber Yard; Claud Boone, Livery Barn; Higgins Gin Company; B. F. Wayland, contractor; Ranch Saloon; Dr. R. Goettsche, dentist; Dr. J. J. Davis; Manhattan Hotel; J. M. Prichett, shoemaker; E. A. Rubottom, general store; Higgins Hardware; W. F. Peugh, Undertaker. In addition to being a good business man, Peugh was elected the first mayor of Higgins. He was also one of the organizers of the Higgins Methodist Church. His daughter married J. R. Irion. Peugh died on May 30, 1933. He dedicated his life to helping Higgins in church, school and civic affairs. He was behind every major improvement that was for the betterment of the town. Scotty Rickards had the saloon at Higgins. Cowboys would come in from the surrounding ranches and congregate there. At one time there were five Texas Rangers stationed in Higgins, much to the dissatisfaction of the cowboys who now and then engaged the Rangers in a shootout. Nobody was really serious about these affairs since no one is known to have been injured in these shootouts. The editor of the Higgins paper campaigned for the removal of the Rangers mostly because he thought they could be used effectively elsewhere chasing Indians and bringing them back to the reservations. E. E. Dale, later to become famous as a professor at the University of Oklahoma, and as an author of books on the Southwest, taught in the Higgins school during the year 1907-1908 for the then tremendous salary of eighty dollars a month. There were 132 pupils in school the year he taught. H. L. Daily, a pioneer settler of Higgins, lived in a one room log cabin. Dr. Geottoche was another beloved citizen of Higgins. He was born in Chicago, November 6, 1868, and it was from that city that he obtained his degree in dentistry. He came to Canadian on February 3, 1890, making trips to serve the dental needs of the people of Miami, Lipscomb and Higgins. He married Sarah Eller in 1893. He later moved to Higgins to make his home there. J. A. Miller celebrated his 100th birthday in 1952. He came to Higgins in 1887. During his declining years he made his home with his daughter, Mrs. J. K. Mugg. Mrs. Mary McClure who taught in the first school in Lipscomb, died in Higgins in 1941, lacking one year of hitting the century mark. Logan A. Wilson edited and published the Higgins News on May 10, 1897. The following year he sold the paper to Captain Mitchell who traded him his paper in Excelsior Springs, Missouri. Mitchell also served as postmaster in Higgins. He was not a newcomer to Lipscomb county having been a ranch hand at Wailer's when he was twenty-two years old. He was once owner and publisher of the Shattuck Monitor in Oklahoma. W. C. Ratliff, first sheriff of Hemphill County, born on April 12, 1856, married Sarah E. George on November 25, 1877. Although he lived in Canadian for a long time and was one of the founders of the town, he later moved to Higgins where he died on September 30, 1941. W. S. Spangle was born in Walcott, Indiana, May 19, 1864. He married Emma Bell Harder in 1882. Six children were born of this union. Mrs. Spangle died February 3, 1909. On November 23, 1938, Spangle married Bertha Gray. He was severely injured in the tornado that struck Higgins and almost wiped it out. He never really recovered from the blow and died some weeks later. Vincent Lockhart organized the Higgins Publishing Company and edited the Higgins News, a paper he bought from Ed Coulson on May 1, 1946. In February, 1948, he sold the paper to Carl Broadly of Gage, Oklahoma. Broadly had been former editor of the Bisbee, Arizona Daily Review. He was a veteran newspaper man having worked on papers in Iowa, Ohio and West Virginia. Miss Floy Wynn, a newspaper woman with experience on the LeFors paper and the Tucumcari, New Mexico, paper, was editor of the Higgins News before moving to Canadian to edit the paper there. C. H. Hyde was manager of the First National Bank of Higgins for thirty-five years before selling it to H. S. Wilbur, Earl L. Wilbur and F. C. McQuiddy of Canadian. It was a two-story building but the tornado did some damage to it so Wilbur had it renovated as a one story bank. W. C. Jenkins was mayor of Higgins at the time the tornado played havoc with Glazier, Higgins, Woodward and several other towns in the Texas Panhandle and the Oklahoma territory adjacent to the Panhandle. One never predicts what a tornado will do. It is hard to understand how Canadian got off with so little damage. Yet towns like White Deer, Higgins, on either side of Canadian were devastated. In 1929 Higgins again underwent a re-modeling program. "Old landmarks here are being razed to give place to modern buildings to keep pace with the prosperity in sight for the city as the greatest wheat crop of the section is being harvested and a bumper cotton crop promised for the fall. A new 40-room hotel will replace the old Higgins hostelry which has stood at the head of Main Street since 1888. An up-to-date theatre will stand where Dr. Davis' old drug store has been. Work on the hotel building being erected by C. R. Patton is progressing, with the excavation work nearly completed and preparations are being made for putting in the foundations. The brick work on the new school building is finished, some of the roof trusses are in place, and it will be ready for occupancy by the time the school term opens, it is believed. The new brick residence of Mrs. W. H. Black will be completed in a short time. Work on the paving of Main Street will start soon and a sewerage project is before the people for approval. D. C. Crites has leased the new theatre for five years. The building, composed of tile and stucco, will be 50 by 100 feet. On each side of the front entrance will be located office rooms, and in the rear of these will be the box office and other accommodations of the theatre." (Amarillo Daily News July 17, 1929) Although editors overlooked comments on why all the boom especially from 1911 to 1929 two important factors were involved. There was talk that Higgins might get another railroad or two, and more important still, there was possibility of an oil boom for Higgins. Representatives of every major and minor company in the nation had representatives in Higgins and Canadian buying up leases, and oil prospects seemed mighty promising. A number of business men got together and formed their own company. Some men from Canadian also involved themselves in oil prospects. Wells were drilled and traces of oil found but no oil field developed. Interest slacked off for a time until the oil shortage in the 70's when companies again renewed their interest. More than likely there is oil and gas in the area. The Canadian field has suddenly come to life again. Some of the best gas wells in the Panhandle are being drilled there. It is quite possible that Higgins will take on new life when oil activity gets a solid footing in Lipscomb county. The railroads never materialized but it is most likely that the gas and oil will. Work on the new $45,000 school addition, to be completed about September 1 is under good headway now. It provides for a gymnasium, auditorium, and several new class rooms. The building will be entirely modern. Sylvester Pelton of Amarillo has the contract. C. R. Patton has purchased the old Citizens Bank building and plans a new 40-room hotel on the site. There will be steam heat and running water in every room, and a coffee shop in connection. Higgins has needed a modern hotel for some time to take care of the increasing trade which is being attracted here. Mayor Gray advocates paving for Higgins this summer. An election is called for May 23. The sentiment is highly in favor of paving and will more than likely carry by a large majority. The city has been surveyed for sewers. A franchise has been granted for gas, and will be piped here by September 15. The cotton gin has been completely remodeled to take care of the increased cotton acreage this year. The acreage in the Higgins trade territory has been greatly increased this year by over 6,000 acres. Wheat in this section of the country has never looked better, and with last week's good rains a good crop is almost assured. Several new dwellings are being proposed in our building program for this year." (o.c. May 21, 1929) Apart from several disastrous fires, nothing hit Higgins so hard as the tornado that struck on April 9, 1947. At the time the tragedy took place Higgins was a town of some 750 people. A series of twisters did damage to every building in town. A little more than half of the residences were completely demolished. Here and there a home escaped without too much damage. One home was moved off its foundation completely but otherwise remained intact. It was just a problem getting it back where it was after first cleaning all the debris that fell into the foundation. The series of blasts that shook the town lasted forty-five minutes. Bill Robertson heard the roar. Sounded like freight trains so he didn't pay too much attention until it struck the side of his house. He grabbed his wife and child and made for the storm cellar. No one could tell just which direction the wind was coming from. It would be safe to say it was coming from every direction. He had a welding shop. A four and a half ton lathe of tool steel was lifted from its anchor and torn in two like one would tear a piece of paper. To add to the woes of the town a fire broke out in the business block and destroyed the theatre, newspaper office, pool hall and grocery store. Four persons were killed in the pool hall, their bodies burned beyond recognition. It was a day of woe. Ambulances rushed in from Canadian, Amarillo, Pampa, Perryton, Panhandle. Emergency hospitals were set up in the brick school house, the Methodist church in Canadian. There were crews of volunteer workers who banded together to render first aid, to guard against vandalism, robbery and other such odd things that seem to prop up whenever such tragic things happen. These volunteers took care of the hundreds of persons not seriously hurt enough to hospitalize. Morticians from various towns came in to assist in the sorrowful task of caring for bodies and preparing them for burial. Sometime you wonder if the bodies burned beyond recognition went to the right homes for wake services. Dr. Morris owned the Canadian hospital which could handle no more than seven beds but at this time he was taking care of twenty-one. Damage to Higgins, Glazier and the Santa Fe railroad property came to over one million dollars. Rev. Walter F. Huber, pastor of the Higgins Nazarine church was standing in his home with his wife and two children. There was a roar of wind that left them still standing but the house was gone, carried off somewhere. The list of the dead also included some people in Higgins at the time but not residents of Higgins. Mrs. Vera Magard of Higgins; Howard Broadway of Panhandle; Mrs. Willard Miller of Higgins; Her infant baby; Mrs. Effie Williams of Higgins; Mrs. C. S. Sawyer of Higgins; Joe Riley of Higgins; W. R. Hess of Higgins; Mrs. E. L. Cooley and her baby, both of Higgins; Charles Bernard of Higgins; Jack McCune of Higgins, and his sister Mrs. Phillips; C. E. Akers of Higgins; the baby of Arthur Maggard; Mr. and Mrs. Boyd Wingfield; Michael Wingfield; Charles Barnard; Nathaniel S. Brooks; Mrs. Emma Marie Fiel; Marion Fiel; Mrs. Verne Guy; Samuel Jackson McCune; Elizabeth Jane Phillips; Harold M. Pinegar; Henry M. Pinegar; Doris Lee Rippstein H. J. Chamberlain; Walter Dean; Mrs. Jesse Kernes; Donald Roy Shultz; Mrs. Aldon Brummett; Merlyn Janet Steinle; William Meier; 0. M. Larson; Mrs. Ollie Walton; Mrs. Mae Taylor; Carl Arney Stout; Mrs. Henry Kolander of Shattuck, Oklahoma and Douglas Kolander of Shattuck, Oklahoma. It was a large list for such a small city. This list is not complete since several of the seriously injured died within a few weeks or months as a result of the tornado. Those who were accepted as patients in St. Anthony's hospital, Amarillo, were Mrs. M. McCormick, Mrs. Marie Granadas and her granddaughter Marie. Those in the Pampa hospital were Donnie Lee Maggart, Dorothy Jean Maggart, Lila Maggart and Mrs. Myra Gill. Those in the Worley hospital in Pampa were from Glazier and other towns. Those in the Canadian hospital were Julia Jamison, Mrs. Jim Simmons, and others of Glazier. Zelda Brooks, Mrs. Estrada and Carolyn Laubhan were from Higgins. The Higgins people taken to the Shattuck hospital were Lucile Barr, Icella Brown, Jimmy Brown, Al Hicks, Mrs. C. N. Cannon, Mrs. C. Goode, Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Frances who were in Higgins at the time but were residents of Lincoln, Nebraska; Mary Ellen Cooley, Curtis Haines, Frank Haines, Wesley Haines, Mrs. Lafe Haines, Lafe Haines, Vera Louise Maggard, Charles Sawyer, Mrs. Hugh Word, Don Fiel, Bill Barnard, W. E. Beebe, Mrs. H. F. Rabe, Fred Rabe, Gary Rabe, Betty Barnard, Mrs. 0. M. Larson, Ida Harrell, Frances Ellen Barnard, Max Harrell, Mrs. B. B. Brooks, Carol Miller, Esther Stienle, Aldon Brummett and Willard Miller. Since the storm Wednesday night of last week, the citizens of Higgins have been dazed. All day the next day the stunned residents dug themselves out of debris and looked for loved ones. Many were not found. Thursday night Higgins was a ghost town populated, too numb to think of tomorrow. But Friday hundreds of skilled and unskilled workmen and tools began to arrive-Higgins began to see organized work and its results. They began to see that Higgins was not a lifeless community of debris. Hundreds of volunteer workers arrived to help clear the rubble and board up buildings or parts of buildings left standing. Inspired by the immeasurable volume of aid flooding into town, Higgins business men met Friday night in the school, the only habitable building, to discuss future plans. Many had previously expressed the intentions of leaving as 1-liggins will never be anything again.' Mayor Warren Jenkins modestly challenged the business men to Build a bigger and more beautiful Higgins.' Roy Sansing detailed the aid the offers of aid which kept piling up. Then he said: Without a soul on earth against us and everybody for us, if Higgins isn't rebuilt it will be because we haven't any backbone. The nation's sympathies are with us, and they aren't empty sympathies," he said. 'I feel sure red tape will be cut and we can get the materials for rebuilding.' Sansing said he had not intended building in Higgins, but now he promised to construct one good brick building. The seventy-five business men, professional men, workers and home owners hesitated before promising reconstruction of their buildings. After a few minutes the shock of the shattering wind began to wear off. The realization that life will go on slowly replaced the agony of pain and sorrow. As men began to talk of what they could and would do, the light of tomorrow broke through the darkness of their shocked consciousness. Ray Wilson, Ford car dealer said: 1 have been here forty-three years, and I don't intend to leave.' His son, Ray Carl Wilson said: 'I intend to make a lot in Higgins.' C. H. Hyde, banker, remarked: The bank will be open within the next day or two. You men needn't worry, your checks will be good.' Alex Laubhan, Sr., lumberman, and owner of other business property, promised to stay. Roy Landers, former mayor, engaged in the Sinclair Oil business, said: I've been here since 1898 and I intend to rebuilt and stay in the business. Well have a better town than before.' Cecil Fritzgerald of the White House Lumber Company explained, We're establishing a temporary set-up down the street to take care of immediate needs. As soon as we can, we will rebuilt.' J. B. Woodington of the White House Lumber Company, said that the company in Canadian was going to rush materials to Higgins. Emanuel Schwab and Alex Laubhan, Jr., said they would rebuild the furniture and hardware store. Slack and Wassenmiller, grocery and hardware merchants said they were already open for business again. A. L. Hicks, minister of the Methodist church, asserted with faith, We will rebuild the church.' Boone Tyson, newly elected president of the school board, said they planned to rebuild the school house. Meanwhile it would be used as a community center. Material for a new roof on the school was to arrive Saturday. Wes Collins said he was going to erect a new barber shop (Canadian Record April 10, 1947) Charlie Goettsche, Chevrolet car dealer, planned to rebuild and felt that a new Higgins would rise out of the ruins. Harvey Crowell and his wife, owners and operators of the Eagle Cafe and the National Hotel, said they would rebuild. Bill Robertson said he would have his machine shop back in operation just as soon as electric service was restored. Judge Adolph Bissantz, retired from business, said he was going to rebuild his home because he had lived a long time in Higgins and wouldn't live anywhere else. Lucien Bybee, garage man and well driller, decided he would continue in Higgins. Johnny Weis, dry good merchant, thought Higgins was the only place for him. Fat Dearing, baker, promised fresh bread from a new bakery. Lee Maltzburger said he would rebuild his two service stations. Ray Charmichael of the Community Public Service felt certain his organization would rebuild in Higgins. Joe Slack, manager of the Higgins Frozen Food Locker, was sure he could save thousands of pounds of frozen meat if electricity was restored in time. Ross Zenor of the Champlain Oil Company said his company would rebuild. Mrs. Mary Trublood of Canadian was visiting in the home of her daughter Mrs. Lillie Haines of Higgins when she was killed. One of the trains hurt by the tornado was a freight load of fresh vegetables which the Santa Fe immediately donated to the Salvation Army to be distributed among the stricken people. Laubhan & Laub held an auction on their hardware and furniture. Mrs. Lillian Sherrieb, postmaster at Higgins, set up a temporary postoffice in the Higgins Hotel. A few postal workers from Canadian came by to help her get re-organized. Mrs. Vergie Jackson, postmaster at Glazier, also set up the Glazier postoffice in the Higgins Hotel. Actually the Glazier postoffice was discontinued indefinitely and all the Glazier mail routed out of Canadian. The Amarillo Globe-News sent a check to the amount of $100,000 the first it collected for the stricken area. More followed. If ever the people of the Panhandle took to their hearts a town, that town was Higgins. Glazier was also immensely helped. The Red Cross was also busy and one hundred and twenty-seven housing units were secured from the War Assets Administration for use in Hemphill, Lipscomb and Ellis counties. Most of these hutments came from the former C C C camp at Dumas. A number could still be seen at Glazier several years after the tornado. Higgins made a rapid recovery and was soon looking like a new town. Not forgetting all the good work done by the people of Canadian, Lipscomb, Follett, Booker, Darrouzett, Miami, Pampa, Amarillo, Shattuck and others, the town held a big barbeque and invited the people of all the towns that rushed aid to Higgins to enjoy a feast in thanksgiving for all the help Higgins received. Higgins showed her gratitude in many other ways. The two "green fruit express trains" that were wrecked did not sustain the wreck as the result of a direct hit by the tornado but rather one train plowed into the rear of the other due to poor visibility from sleet, snow, high wind. A. Sophere, engineer, T. L. Murphy, fireman, W. L. Bagwell, brakeman, all of Amarillo, were killed when the trains collided. This was the third major wreck in the area on the Santa Fe system within as many days. Soon all the scars were gone and the new city rose upon the ruins of the tornado devastated town. One would never suspect from looking at the substantial buildings, the wide streets, the friendly faces of the almost seven hundred people that make up the town, the tragedy that visited so swiftly that never-to-be-forgotten night in April. The people of Higgins remember it but they refuse to let it hinder their progress or their town. For a long time it was referred to as the "City that a tornado could not destroy". What was really meant was that a tornado could not kill their spirit. A town that gave so many boys in World War I and World War II certainly would not be side-tracked by a tornado no matter how damaging. So today Higgins continues to move on with its school, its people, its business men, and most of all with its spirit. It does seem strange that people moved from Higgins because of land offered in Oklahoma but people would not move when they lost all they had, in addition to loved members of the family, because a tornado wiped out the town. Burials of the fallen were heart breaking, and the little cemetery received many more people than it normally would have considering the life expectancy of the people of Higgins. These graves are a silent reminder of what can happen while the buildings, wide streets, people are a reminder of how a town can unite in the common cause of survival. Higgins is the last city one comes upon traveling either by train or by car (Highway 60) before leaving the Panhandle of Texas and entering Oklahoma. The people of Higgins are calm, friendly, easy-going but hard workers nonetheless. Under the calmness is drive, determination and a spiritual force that keeps their Christianity alive. It is one of the few cities left that isn't in need of a jail, a police force, a sheriff's deputy. If now and then one hears of a law-breaker the average is far below that of any city of comparable size. It is such a quiet, peaceful place that law breaking would be exceptional news. When a family originally from Higgins was murdered in Oklahoma recently, and the bodies were returned to Higgins for burial, the townspeople were stunned. A tornado could not have hit the town any harder. While such a thing could possibly happen anywhere, it would not likely happen in Higgins. One can't help think of Higgins as a town with one big, happy family. One notes this when the annual Will Rogers Day comes along, or when there is a parade or a rodeo or any church activity. It is the last frontier, the last stronghold of the Texas Panhandle that used to be. If you have a flat in Higgins, one of the residents is more apt to fix it for you without charge than possibly anywhere else. This was the way it used to be before World War II all over the Panhandle. Higgins somehow has managed to retain it. When someone in Higgins says: 'Have a happy day", you can bet your bottom dollar he means it. The only thing different about Higgins from the rest of Texas is that it doesn't brag or advertise its warmth, friendliness, Christianity. After well over a hundred visits we have not changed our minds. On one side of what today is Highway 60 to the right going east was the Higgins Livery Stable, with its false front advertising sale, feed, stables. Behind it was a large windmill. Off from one end of the big barn was a picket fence. Nearby twenty-year old Roy J. Landers opened his petroleum store. He sold axle grease for wagons mostly since there were very few cars in Higgins, for that industry was just getting started. Now and then the church needed a gallon of coal oil for the lantern, and people needed a gallon of gas to use partly for cleaning purposes and partly for external medicinal purposes. A wee drop might be mixed for internal medicine. Landers, a native of Lipan, Texas, came to Higgins with his parents in 1899. Hugh Landers started a dray business. The oil business came in 1909, and dealership came in 1910 when a contract was signed with the Pierce-Fordice Petroleum Company. Higgins incorporated on February 25, 1908. At the time Landers had no idea he would one day serve as mayor. He remarked that when he went into the distributorship business he took a gamble because there were only eleven cars registered in Lipscomb county. His first car was a 1916 model Ford for which he gave $535. Sinclair Oil Company bought out the Pierce-Fordice Company and the oil boom of 1919-1929 helped Landers expand his business. Next Landers and his two sons took over the Phillips 66 distributorship. He also set up the first modern gas station in Higgins. Before that time gas was sold in hardware stores, grocery stores, usually by the back door to keep the odor of gas from the milk and other suck products. Most of the Landers business was damaged in the tornado of 1947 but the family re-built and two of the boys continued the work. Now in his 80's, Roy is retired from the firm but continues to meet and greet people daily. He especially likes to eat at the Golden Spread Cafe on Highway 60 where he can meet his old buddies and discuss the events of the years that made Higgins more than just another town near the Oklahoma border. Like all of the people of Higgins, Will Rogers is dear to him and he looks forward each year to the Annual Will Rogers Celebration. Men with pluck like Roy Landers have kept Higgins abreast of the times, and have kept it from becoming a ghost town. Despite tornado, hail, drought, depression, they refused to let Higgins die.

Posted to the web by Stan Crump