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Moody
1881-2006
by
Joyce Woods Cox
Year
2005, downtown Moody Furniture, owned by Bill and Jean
Culpepper on Hi-317 and FM 107 closed for good. This old
building was built in 1882 by Charles Howard. It first opened
as a general merchandise business. Later, Staton and Howard
partnership was formed. Through the years the block long
building housed many businesses, some were Vandiver Furniture,
Howard Carnes, Buckner Drug, Denny and Witt, Roberts Drug and
Moody Post Office. Pittman's Hardware is the only business
left at this time on this block.
Cotton Harvest Festival was rescheduled for Saturday, Oct. 8,
2006 instead of the 4th Saturday in September this year.
Highways were filled with fleeing evacuees from hurricane
Katrina. The costliest and deadliest hurricane in US history
to hit Louisiana and Mississippi. Shortly thereafter, Rita
another deadly hurricane followed. Many of the evacuees were
routed to Moody, all over Texas and the United States.
Thanks to the media for outstanding publicity to reschedule
our 7th Annual Festival.
A
Moody native with direct ties to the only operating cotton gin
in McLennan County served as Grand Marshal for the Cotton
Harvest Festival.
Cora Lee Hatter Jones led the festival parade at 10 a.m. in
downtown Moody on Avenue E. Cora Lee's deceased husband Mike,
grandfather
also named Mike Jones, brought his family to Moody in 1895
from Middleberg, Ky. He built the cotton gin at its present
location. Later years Cora Lee's husband Mike became a partner
and continued to operate the gin with his dad until his dad's
death in 1961. Mike and his mother operated Jones Gin
until it was sold to Bert and Beans Vandiver in October, 1973.
Cora Lee worked in the gin office whenever she was needed
before it was sold. She was always interested in cotton
farming and the ginning business.
The Festival was a successful one, even with the delay. The
day started with a pie contest and a huge parade. Because of
the war going on in Iraq, the soldiers from Ft. Hood could not
participate. Pray this war will soon be over and our soldiers
can come home. At noon a barbecue meal at Moody Elementary
cafeteria was catered by Mikeska's of Temple. Downtown streets
were filled with arts, crafts, quilt show, pie auction, food,
raffles and a lot of entertainment under the big tent.
Year 2006,
Moody's 125th Birthday.
The festival committee will celebrate Moody's 125th Birthday
and the 8th Annual Cotton Harvest Festival on Saturday,
September 23, 2006. The festivities will include parade,
tributes, contests, vendors, food, raffles, skits, wagon
races, a lot of music and entertainment for all ages. Below is
a short history of Moody. For more, click the
History Link
on our web site.
The
Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway brought new prosperity to
this region. Donated land was laid off by E. F. Batte
Engineer on April 25, 1881. This new city was named after Lt.
Colonel William Louis Moody, Sr., of the 7th TX. Infantry
during the Civil War. Moody, built by the Santa Fe tracks
became a booming town with homes, churches, schools,
cemeteries, ice plants, blacksmith shops, post office, general
stores, newspapers, drug stores and five cotton gins. First
owners of Palace Theater were Jim McAuley and Tom Payne. First
talkie at the Palace was, "So Long Letty."
Newly formed Moody Chamber of Commerce, is maintaining Moody,
TX web site. Moody Cotton Harvest Festival Committee, a
nonprofit organizations continues to pay for the web site to
benefit Moody. Check out the new web site format. Click on all
the interesting links during this exciting year . . . 2006 at
http://www.moodytexas.com/
Celebrating
Moody's 125th Birthday
Saturday, September 23, 2006
by
joyce woods cox
Moody Cotton Harvest Festival Committee will be celebrating
Moody's 125th Birthday on Saturday, September 23, 2006. The
public is invited to this FREE event in downtown Moody on Ave.
E. Parade will start at 10 a. m. Forms
and more information is on our web site.
Moody was established in 1881, when the Gulf, Colorado and
Santa Fe Railway laid track. Fuel, water and crew stops were
built along its route. William Naler a native of Tennessee and
Georgia met with railroad officials and offered to donate land
for the railroad if they would come through the area where
Moody is located today. McLennan County deed of records states
a town called Moody, 120 acres of land laid off by E. F. Batte
Engineer, April 25, 1881, William and Martha Jane Naler
conveyed for $10 to George Sealy blocks for Railway purposes
and uses for the city of Moody. Dedication and set apart to
and for the founding and building a town thereon to be called
Moody and to be laid off and divided into blocks, lots,
streets and alleys. James Clements settler from Walker County,
Georgia also conveyed part of his land to help build Moody. Dan
McClain was the first to move to Moody. Joseph Naylor built
the first home. Moody’s first child born was Ross Ogden.
Polly Naylor was first to be buried in Naler Cemetery.
Settlers from nearby Perry was by-passed by the railroad. They
picked up their belongings and moved their homes and
businesses down a dirt road using horses, ox wagons, and
wooden sleds to the new settlement called Moody. Perry
Cemetery
is only thing left from the small city today.
Moody was named after Lt. Colonel William Louis Moody, Sr.,
the 7th Texas Infantry during the Civil War. He was born May
19, 1828. After the war, he, prospered and became a rich
entrepreneur. Moody was a director of the Gulf, Colorado and
Santa Fe Railway.
Check out more history on Moody at: http://www.moodytexas.com/history.html
Moody
Depot located in downtown Moody before moved to Temple.
Photos
by joyce woods cox
Moody Depot moved to Temple and became Temple Railroad
Museum
Moody Depot today, located on Temple, Santa
Fe Depot/Museum land, used as Central, TX. Area Model
Railroaders Organization.
Passenger Steam Locomotive 3423 came
through Moody many times after it was built in 1921. Presently
located in downtown Temple on Santa Fe tracks by Depot and
Museum.
Moody
1881-2004
by
Joyce Woods Cox
Moody
a growing modern city is 123 years old. It is located in
Central Texas in southwest McLennan County on St. Hwy. 317 and
FM 107. The neighborhood encompasses the areas of
Stampede, Elm, Cow Bayou Creeks, Bosque and Leon Rivers. A
major portion of the population lives in bordering Bell and
Coryell Counties. Moody was built near the headwaters of
Stampede Creek overlooking Stampede Valley, Chisholm Trail,
Leon Valley and cedar hills of Coryell County.
Moody
was established in 1881, when the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe
Railway laid track. Fuel, water and crew stops were built
along its route. This was how cities like Moody, Sealy,
Somerville, Rosenberg, Kempner, Temple and others were founded
and named after prominent Galvestonians. Moody was named after
Lt. Colonel William Louis Moody, Sr., the 7th Texas Infantry
during the Civil War. He was born May 19, 1828. After the war,
Moody, prospered and became a rich entrepreneur. He became a
director of the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway. A Curator
of Collections at the Moody Museum stated it is the
understanding Moody was named for Colonel Moody in his role of
railroad director. In 1880-81 Colonel Moody age 52 was running
banking and cotton factoring businesses, was president of the
Cotton Exchange and was involved in, the Deep Water Committee
which was also founded in 1881. Some historians wrote he
established the railroad route, which is doubtful the Moody
Curator said.
William
Naler a native of Tennessee and Georgia heard the railroad was
coming through Central Texas. He met with railroad officials
and offered to donate land for the railroad if they would come
through the area where Moody is located today. McLennan County
deed of records states a town called Moody, 120 acres of land
laid off by E. F. Batte Engineer, April 25, 1881, William and
Martha Jane Naler conveyed for $10 to George Sealy blocks for
Railway purposes and uses for the city of Moody. Dedication
and set apart to and for the founding and building a town
thereon to be called Moody and to be laid off and divided into
blocks, lots, streets and alleys. James Clements settler from
Walker County, Georgia also conveyed part of his land to help
build the city of Moody.
Dan
McClain was the first to move to Moody. Joseph Naylor built
the first home, later sold it to his nephew William Naler. A
replica of the old homestead was built by J.D. Naylor. He
donated it to Moody Depot Museum in Temple. Today the depot is
located in downtown Temple next to Santa Fe depot. Santa Fe
Depot is presently the museum.
Moody’s first child born was Ross Ogden. Polly Naylor
was first to be buried in Naler Cemetery. (Names Naylor and
Naler came from the same family.) Some other early land owners
and settlers were, Bird Clements, Elijah S. Knowles, Dan
McClain, M.L. Carmony, William McClain, Edwin McClain, William
Hancock, B. H. Prewitt, B.M. Nichols, John Connally, James
Connally, H.C, Connally, B. B. Naler, W.H. and Texie Naler
Neely, J. C. Dutton. James Timothy Lee, Silas Baggett, S.W.
Rice, Etta Frances Lee, Susan Tennessee McMellan Lee, Charles
Howard, Capt. L. L. Fuller, William Ned C. and Angero Knowles
Lawrence, E. S. and James H. Knowles, B. H. Prewitt, B.M.
Nichols, W. R. Johnston, W. Meyer, Mike Jones, Martha Ann
Combs, Jim Rutherford, Adolphus and Lizzie Cole Hill, Daniel
Jones, Louis M. and Mary Aerl Hatter, M.H. Brumbelow, J.N.
Alexander, Adella Hatter Buckner, John McCauley, John Naler,
Susan Jones, E.G.L. Wiebusch. R.V. Mitchell, Dr. E. R. Cline,
J. C. Miller, S.H Pollard, Festus Johnson, J.K. Purifoy, J.F.
Gordon, Fred Acree, Shelton and Annie Neeley Sims, Commodore
and Laura Garman Strange, Silas and Susan Witt, T.M. Lindsey,
Baldwin Pearce Lee, Caleb and Elizabeth Marrs, and S. W. Rice.
Many
changes took place in the lives of settlers in the 1850’s.
In the era from 1865 to the time of Moody’s founding,
Chisholm Trail was the highway to move Longhorns through the
state. Dreams of prosperity and rumors of a railroad, wagon
trains formed Texas bound. In 1851 Joseph Naylor a leading
settler of Moody from Georgia found a stopping point called
Perry Hills. Another caravan with Edmund and Chaucy Moffet and
William Hancock from Perry, Illinois made their way to the
same site. Immigrants who arrived on this site built a village
called Perry two miles north of Moody. Perry now a defunct
town was by passed by the railroad. Settlers picked up their
belongings and moved their homes and businesses down a dirt
road using horses, ox wagons, and wooden sleds to the new
settlement later called Moody. Well, maintained Perry Cemetery
where many of our first pioneers rest, still exists today.
The railroad brought new prosperity to the region. The
new city of Moody by the Santa Fe tracks became a booming town
with homes, churches, schools, cemeteries, ice plants,
blacksmith shops, post office, general stores, newspapers,
drug stores and five cotton gins. First owners of Palace
Theater were Jim McAuley and Tom Payne. First talkie at the
Palace was, "So Long Letty."
1881, E. W. Billings was first to publish a newspaper, called
The Monitor. After several years of squabbling Billings sold
The Monitor to Squire Hundley who published The Moody Courier.
Hundley combined the papers into one name, The Moody Courier.
Hundley also published Moody News, a daily newspaper. 1895,
The Review, publisher unknown; Other publisher-owners of The
Moody Courier through the years were,1900 M. Phelan; 1904 Mary
Jane Cox; 1907 James Hartfield; 1908 Gus Moore, (the
grandfather of Jo Barsh); 1908 The Daily Courier, Sam Braswell
owner publisher; 1910 R. L. Fox; 1938 Florene Fox; 1938 J. W.
and Effie Gay; 1968 Mr. and Mrs. John Sellman in partnership
with Bonnie Buro McNiel Sekerak, 1974, Larry Ingram, 1977, Ken
and Jane Gates; 1985 Cody and Marleea Crittenden; 1988 Bill
and Camelia Foster, Ellen Foster, second wife; July, 2003
Betty Zuspan; January, 2004 Bill Foster. The Magpie was a
second paper in 1994. September 1997, Moody Community News and
Hometown News was published. Hometown News a community paper
continues to publish Moody news today. Moody Community News
went out of business in Dec. 1997. The Moody Courier office
moved to Waco to be with its sister paper, The Waco Citizen.
Today, most news and photos are sent to the paper over the
internet. Mike D. Stanley Sr., production manager designs the
pages on computer with a good output quality. He then sends to
the printer via the internet. This progress in the newspaper
industry has become the most economical and much easier than
the old hot type and paste up days. The final edition of The
Moody Courier was April 29, 2004. Sadly, Bill Foster owner
publisher of The Moody Courier, changed the paper's
name to The Courier. The Courier now serves, Moody, Bruceville-Eddy,
Lorena and Robinson area. For the first time since Moody was
born in 1881, we do not have a personal newspaper. In 2003
Waco Tribune-Herald Neighbor, started coverage of Moody in
their weekly newspaper. Ken Sury is editor of the Neighbor.
In
1882 Charles Howard entered the general merchandise business
across from the present bank building. Staton and Howard
partnership was formed. They built a stone business, today is
Moody Furniture, owners are Bill and Jean Culpepper. Through
the years the old buildings housed many businesses, some are
Howard Carnes, Buckner Drug, Denny and Witt, Roberts Drug,
and, Moody Post Office. A lumber yard was built by J. L.
Fuller in 1882. M.L. Cormany built “Old Teaser” the first
cotton gin where the nursing home is today. Cormany also built
the first ice, water plant and a magnificent native stone
Cormany hotel. A replica was built of the old hotel, but its
whereabouts is unknown today. Inside the hotel was the Alamo
theater. It was located north of the Post Office parking lot
on TX 317. Cormany was historian,
Hazel Potter's
grandfather. She passed away July 14, 2000, at age 92. In 1883
other hotels were built by B. B. Naler, and Capt. Cook. Tom
Payne built a drug store of native stone in 1882. It was known
as the oldest drug store in central Texas and one of the
oldest in the state. After approximately 115 years, Moody lost
their drug store. Paul Kitchens was the last practicing Moody
pharmacist. Half of the drug store was sold to Harvey Pittman.
In earlier years it was called David Haggard Variety Store and
Irvin’s Variety Store, owners Jack and Janice
Smith Irvin. Danny Williamson bought the other half of the
drug store from Paul and Pat Kitchens, and later was known as
OLE’ Moody Drug and Gift Co. Nikky Munz managed it for about
6 years. Today it is called Moody Gift Co. Partners are, Nikky
Munz, Virginia Sells, Nancy Britton and Staci Stone. The
second story through the years housed Dr.'s offices, Odd
Fellows Lodge, Telephone operators to name a few. Dr. C. R.
Clay, Dr. P.M. Kuykendall, Dr. C. K. Haggard, Dr. J. B. Young
and Dr. J. C. Crow were the five Dr.'s in the late 1800s and
early 1900’s, E. R. Cline was the dentist. Dr. E. R.
McCauley was Moody’s country Dr. in the 30’s, 40’s and
50’s. Minnie Barbay was his nurse. Today Moody has a Scott
& White Satellite Clinic. In early years Dr. W. U. Tosh
was the towns veterinarian.
In 1884 John McCauley built a two story stone building on Ave.
E. He housed hardware, harness and saddle business and lived
upstairs. Later it became the Farmers State Bank Building.
The Z. S. Teague Moody Lodge #568 sold their historic
Masonic building in downtown Moody to Danny Williamson, a
Moody building contractor. The Lodge and the new owner
exchanged ownership during the last week of December 1997. A
nameplate on the building was mounted July 1899. Portraits
lined the wall of many of Moody’s most distinguished
citizens. Organized in 1882 the lodge meeting room was on the
2nd floor of the building. Captain J. L. Fuller was the first
Worshipful Master. Previously, housed on the first floor of
the building was Flowers & Things owned by Ken and Jane
Gates. Presently Glenn Thurman is Master of the lodge. Forty
and twenty year awards were presented August 12, 2000, in the
new lodge located on south St. Hwy. 317. They were Henry
Bostick, Otis Elkin, Dr. Joseph Ford, McKay Rice, Jr., Bobby
E. Donaldson, Rev. Marion Ford, Neville Allison and Bobby Gene
Welch. Twenty year awards were presented to Weldon Floyd
Smith, Clarence O. Adams, Hal Kent Donaldson and Donald Alman.
City
of Moody voted to incorporate in 1901, choosing a
mayor-council form of city government with S. Hundley as
mayor. Mayor today is Mike Alton. Moody is protected against
fires by an excellent volunteer fire department.
Moody Independent School District has one of the best
public school systems in Texas. At present they have
kindergarten, grammar, middle school and a separate high
school plus a new football bowl stadium. Marc Anderson retired
at beginning of the new 2004 school year after 18 years with
the Moody Independent School District. Allen Law, was named by
the school board to become MHS new superintendent.
Moody
has a substantial business district, eight churches and
several residential areas. Mother Neff State Park, TX first
State Park is seven miles west of the city on the Leon River.
Vandiver Gin is the only operating gin in McLennan County. It
is owned by Beans Vandiver, run by Bennie Hargrove. Downs
brothers of Temple, established the Citizens Bank with a
capital of $300 and 4 bales of cotton. In 1901 the bank was
nationalized under the name of First National Bank of Moody.
F. F. Downs was president. The bank still continues to be in
operation. History shows it has been robbed once. Today, Glen
Thurman is president.
Moody
post office was established in Nov. 1881. J. H. Morrison was
postmaster. Debra Dowell retired June 27, 2003. She served
as postmaster for 21 years with 30 years of service. Rick
Richard is postmaster today.
Growing Moody Community Library is a wonderful asset to
the community. It is supported by volunteers, grants and
donations. Board members: Cora Lee Jones, Librarian, Debra
Dowell, president, Lulu Jo Beerwinkle, secretary Debbie
Schmidt and, Joyce Woods Cox. It is located downtown in our
country Drs. office, and the old Moody Courier office. The
Chamber of Commerce gave the first building to the library.
The library purchased the adjoining building. The building has
been modernized with shelves, all the latest books and several
computers with Internet access for the community to enjoy. It
is home for the Old Moody Courier Printing Press. First
patented on May 20, 1885, Old Moody Courier Printing Press was
in Moody, 1938 - 1968. 1968-1999 the Press and 1,000 artifacts
was donated to Moody Depot Railroad and Pioneer Museum in
Temple, by Bonnie Buro Sekerak. August, 18, 1999 it was
returned to its original home.
Famous
people grew up, lived and or visited in Perry and Moody
communities.
Frank Elmer Simmons, (1880-1966) journalist and
historian, was born near Friend, Nebraska, on January 15,
1880. His parents moved their family to Texas in 1883, first
to Walker County and then to McLennan County. Simmons attended
Walker School until 1892, then Haunted Hill School, and in
1900 Salado College. In 1901 he taught school at Horn, south
of McGregor. He married Laura Alice Stapp on August 25, 1901.
They had two sons and one daughter. Around 1910 they moved to
Oglesby in Coryell County, where they lived for fifty-one
years. Simmons began a journalistic career in 1895 as the
Moody correspondent for the McGregor News. He edited the
Oglesby Outlook for two years and worked as a staff writer for
other country newspapers. He wrote History of Coryell County
(1936), Coryell County History Stories (1948), The Legend of
Haunted Hill, and Other Poems (1948), and History of Mother
Neff Memorial State Park. He died in Oglesby on January 9,
1966. source Handbook of TX.
Lt. Gov., James P. Alexander, Chief Justice of the
Supreme Court, grew up in Moody and held the office for seven
years.
Macum Phelan, (1874-1950) minister and writer.
Beginning in 1917 he researched and wrote a two-volume history
of the Methodist Church in Texas-History of Methodism in
Texas: He was also the editor of A Handbook of All
Denominations, first published in 1915, revised and expanded
in the sixth and seventh editions (1930 and 1933) into A New
Handbook of All Denominations. Phelan bought the Moody Courier
in 1900 and spent two years as editor of the weekly newspaper,
thinking he had settled into a career as a small-town
publisher. However, as he later recounted, the "call to
preach" became so insistent that he sold the newspaper
and returned to the University of Texas, this time to study
for the ministry. source Handbook of TX.
Jay A. Phillips, (1892-1977) a leader in public
accounting, was born in Holland, Texas, and graduated from
high school in Moody. The son of a tenant farmer, he also
farmed briefly before completing a course in bookkeeping at
Draughon's Business College in Waco, His most notable
charitable and civic activities included two decades on the
board of managers of Jefferson Davis City-County Hospital in
Houston, followed in 1958 by his tenure as chairman of the
Scott and White Memorial Hospital board in Temple at a time of
major expansion in that facility. source Handbook of TX.
Frank Grimes, (1891-1961) editor of the Abilene
Reporter-Newsqv for over forty years, son of Lewis Gantt and
Xantha Rosalie (Wootton) Grimes, was born at Pendleton, Texas,
on October 13, 1891. Governor Coke R. Stevensonqv appointed
him one of thirty-one members of the Post-War Economic
Planning Commission for Texas. Grimes was a member of the 1947
American Press Institute editorial writers' seminar at
Columbia University. He was a Methodist and a Democrat. He
worked for papers in Moody and Belton before going in 1913 to
the Temple Daily Telegram as cub reporter; he later became
city editor. In 1951 a Pulitzer Prize jury nominated Grimes
and six others for the prize in editorial writing. source
Handbook of TX.
Joseph Abner Hill (1877-1973), college president, the
sixth of eleven children of Francis Patterson and Rachel
(Witt) Hill, was born on October 29, 1877, on a cotton farm
five miles south of Moody, in Bell County, Texas. His father,
a tenant farmer who had come to Texas from Oxford, Alabama,
was a former Confederate cavalryman. Joseph grew up picking
cotton and doing other menial labor. He began his formal
education at Stampede School, near Moody, in 1882 and later
attended Thomas Arnold High School in Salado, where he boarded
at the home of his mother's cousin, Professor T. J. Witt.
After graduating in 1897, Hill chose as a gift from his father
$100 instead of a horse, so he could go to college at the
University of Texas in Austin. After working his way through a
year of school, he taught in rural schools for two years to
earn more money to complete his B.A. degree in history, which
he received in 1902. Later that year he and Witt took over the
administration of Central Texas Institute, which they
purchased and reorganized under the name Jefferson Academy at
Salado. Hill published American History for Schools, written
in collaboration with R. B. Cousins, in 1913. In 1944 he and
Hattie M. Anderson published My Country and Yours, which was
widely used as a textbook in Texas public schools and
subsequently appeared in two revisions. His other books
include One Man's Faith (1954), a compilation of his speeches;
The Panhandle-Plains Historical Society and Its Museum (1955);
More than Brick and Mortar (1959), the first published history
of WTA&M, to which he added a supplement in 1963; and I
Hold the Key, or My Success Depends on Me (1962), a
compilation of famous inspirational quotations. source
Handbook of TX.
Pat Neff (1871-1952), governor of Texas and president
of Baylor University, was born in Coryell County, Texas, on
November 26, 1871, the son of Noah and Isabella (Shepherd)
Neff. President of Baylor University and Gov. of Texas, Neff
entered office in January 1921 with an extensive agenda.
Van Cliburn world famous pianist parents lived at
Moody. Van Cliburn was born in Shreveport, Louisiana on July
12, 1934, the son of Harvey Lavan Cliburn and Rildia (Ril-da)
Bee O'Bryan Cliburn. His family moved to Texas when he was 8
year old. Van Cliburn is Classical Pianist of Our Time. Van
Cliburn International Music Competition, begun in 1962. This
competition is held in Fort Worth every four years and draws
worldwide attention as pianists from many countries come here
to compete for prizes which will advance their careers as
musicians. This competition draws international attention to
young musicians, bringing interest and support to classical
music. Mr. Cliburn has generously devoted his time and talent
to promote classical music in our time, and for generations to
come.
William Evander Penn (1832-1895). Visited Perry and
Moody communities on several occasion. He baptized many early
day settlers. He was known as “Texas Evangelist.” He was
born to George Douglas and Telitha (Patterson) Penn in
Rutherford County, Tennessee, on August 11, 1832. He married
Corrilla Frances Sayle on April 30, 1856. On December 4, 1880,
at Broadway Baptist Church, Galveston, reverends W. W. Keep,
J. M. C. Breaker, C. C. Pope, and W. O. Bailey ordained him.
He wrote some hymns and published Harvest Bells, a hymnal with
J. M. Hunt in 1881. A second edition was published in 1886,
and H. M. Lincoln and Penn published a third in 1887. After
leaving Texas, the Penns moved to Eureka Springs, Arkansas,
about 1887. He wrote the autobiographical part of The Life and
Labors of Major W. E. Penn in 1892, but the book was not
published until 1896, after his death. He died at his home on
April 29, 1895, and was buried in Eureka Springs Cemetery,
Eureka Springs, Arkansas. source Carol Kerley
Frank “Tiger” Price inducted into the first
International Aerobatics Hall of Fame in 1987 in Oshkosh, Wis.
In 1992, he was inducted into the Hall of Honor in
Bartlesville, Okla. He represented America in the first World
Aerobatic Contest in Bratis Lava Czechoslovakia. He played the
flying role in the movie, The Great Waldo Pepper. Price passed
away Sept. 9, 1999. His wife Celesta Pack Price lives in one
of Moody’s oldest homes, built by the Kuykendall family.
Beauford Halbert Jester (1893-1949), governor, was born
in Corsicana, Texas, on January 12, 1893, to Frances (Gordon)
and George Taylor Jester. History shows Gov. Jester was in
Moody in 1946 as a guest speaker for American Legion. In 1946
Jester ran for governor as a middle-of-the-road Democratic and
easily won a second term in 1948.
W. Lee O’Daniel (1890-1969) and his Lightcrust Dough
Boys attended a rally in the late 30’s at Mother Neff State
Park. He was probably the first candidate anywhere in the
nation to use a fiddle band (or perhaps any kind of a band) as
a principal part of a political campaign. He toured the state
with his Hillbilly Boys, who began his rallies by playing
"Beautiful Texas" (which O'Daniel strategically
recorded the year before). In 1939 he became governor.
O'Daniel made the world aware that there was a distinctive
Texas sound and that music was important enough to help a
flour salesman attain the highest office in the state. source
Handbook of TX.
Astronaut Mission Specialist, James Reilly, spoke on
Oct. 4, 1998 at the Commodore Patience Strange reunion at
Moody High School Commons. He has traveled a total of 8.9
million miles in 338 orbits of the earth on two flights.
Gov. George Bush, Jr., of Texas bought ranch land in
year 2000 in nearby Crawford and has build a home. Today he is
the President of the United States. The president and his wife
Laura retreat to the Western White House several times a year.
When the president is at his ranch, the air is patrolled with
fighter jets. They circle over Moody communities about every
15-20 minutes. If the jets are flying low, they are usually
escorting strayed aircraft in the restricted flight area to a
nearby airfield. Air traffic within a 30-nautical-mile radius
is grounded during his stay.
Bearcats
of MHS developed many enterprising graduates and put their
skills to work. Others stayed to work for the betterment and
stability of the community. Many moved away, only to return.
The Moody Cotton Harvest Festival was
organized by twelve members in 1999. The committee is made up
by volunteers. The committee sponsored a very successful
festival on Sept. 25, 1999. The sixth annual festival will be
Sept. 25, 2004. It is always held on the fourth Saturday in
September. Committee members are: Charlene Dowell secretary,
Nikky Munz vice president, Jane Gates secretary, Jo Harrison
parade chairman, Joyce Woods Cox publicity, Gladys Burton,
Cora Lee Jones, Nancy Haas Witt, Helen Caperton, Mary Glass,
Juliette Pinkston, Rev. C.C. Schulz, Carol Ann Hass,
Howard Hill, Marla Knutson, Margaret Scranton, Rev. Calvin
Washington, Louise Allman, Wilson Brumbelow, Kurt Hall and
Bobby Donaldson. Jacqueline Gates is Moody News and Events
webmistress. The committee's ultimate goal is to build a
community center for Moody. We are now proud owners of
approximately 5 acres of land, donated to build the center.
Jimmy and Laura Ward gave us this land in loving memory of
Laura’s grandmother, Mary Coulter Hatter. Kirk Hall a
committee member, has submitted layout proposals on the land
and the community center. The land is located east of town on
FM 107. This year the Festival Committee has set up a schedule
for Corporate sponsors to enable us to reach our goal of
building a community center sooner. We also will
accept tax deductible sponsorships from citizens in the
area. The festival has a full day of activities. They
include, pie contest, auction, parade, all types of activities
for all ages and fifty plus vendors. “Feed the Soldiers
color guard and band,” campaign has been very successful. It
will remain a yearly event to honor our soldiers. The soldiers
eat with us at our barbecue meal with all the trimmings in
Moody Elementary cafeteria. 2004, Grand Marshal is Otis
Elkin. Previous years Grand Marshal of 1999 was McLennan
County Sheriff Jack Harwell and Frankie Lunch; 2000 Grand
Marshal was Paul Alexander; 2001 Grand Marshal was B.R.
Parham; 2002 Grand Marshal was D.C. Perryman; 2003 Grand
Marshal was J.P. Ross. Raffles of a Modified Cathedral window
hand sewn quilt by the loving hands of Moody women and donated
framed Western Scene Art by Jean Horton will go to the lucky
winners. Entertainment will be the Brazos Valley
Cow’ographers. They are men and women of the old west
re-enactors during the 1800s. Also, TAMA (Temple Area Music
Association) with an Open Mic Concert under a big tent. The
tent is sponsored by Cole Funeral Home. First Baptist Church
Activities Center on Ave. E is the location for the annual
Quilt Show. Moody Cotton Harvest Festival Committee is a non
profit Corp. The Corp. is not associated with the City of
Moody.
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