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June 6, 2002 |
| The Ratchford’s Dry Good Store as it appeared in 1916 at the time of the Aubrey Argus editor’s comments. I apologize for the quality of the photo, but it is very old and fitting and should occupy its place in the history of our community. |
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Mr. Fisk, from the Pilot Point Post Signal called the Aubrey Argus editor during the week of August 1916 and complimented Mr. Harrison on the very good paper that he was printing for the citizens and others to read. In addition, to the compliments from Mr. Fisk of the Post Signal was another fine conversation from the Grapevine Sun editor. Mr. Harrison the Aubrey Argus editor was most certainly a very worthy leader in the community to pay attention to and to heed the advice that was so seemingly automatic because all of his papers were of the same fine quality. As we are now almost one hundred years later, we can again say that our community is fortunate to have a very fine quality, editorially correct, and trustworthy local newspaper. The editor of our newspaper is also a leader in the community and we are fortunate to have someone with this intellect guiding our community today. It is with this that I have feelings of unworthiness in bringing the historical information about the local area. I want to thank the many elders that are helping this elder bring you the honest facts or events that have happened in our community’s past. Not a week goes that I just simply sit down before my typewriter and bring more of the past that I am reminded of the others in the past that have gone on and the present folks who are still telling me interesting things to record for you the reader. Mr. Harris printing office back in 1916 was two doors from the present day office of the Town Charter. I think it is very proper for the advice of the editor of 1916 to be reprinted again. It is of significant value to our present day living and therefore I am going to share this column titled "PROVIDENCE." It is as follows: History should be a matter of interest to all men, and in all history we should be able to identify Providence with the past and to speak of the wonder of the days ahead. Here there should be no mystery and no doubt. The wonders of redemption may lie far from our intellectual grasp, but the goodness of Providence should lie quite handy to every man. Every intelligent man should be able to say, Be the mysteries what they may, it is perfectly certain that this life of ours is bound, limited, directed, its ambitions are checked, its blood thirstiness cannot go beyond a certain range; It is watched; at all events that is the best explanation of life which we have found. It is so near being almighty and yet so near being powerless. Here we stand upon some eminence as if we were lord of all, and the next day, or hour, or moment we are overreached and down we come in humiliation. We are watched, barred in, shut up. We go certain lengths as if we would go ten times farther, and lo, in a moment a great wall of darkness asserts the limit, and defines our prison. On the matter of Providence there should be no uncertain sound. Call it fate, or bad luck or what not, there it is. There are sad hearts perplexed souls, to be sure; but there are men who have seen God even in the darkness, and have acknowledged His hand eve n in the chastening of affliction. There are more men that good old Job who have said: "Though He slay me, yet will I trust him." There is nothing so impossible to our imagination as the existence of a man who can deny miracles. Such a one is an enigma in the cause of our reading. How a man can unmake himself, choke the angel in him, suffocate the infant spirit – how he can be guilty of such infanticide we cannot tell. We must leave that to be explained by and by. The miracle of holding a man in the path of duty, loyal to his home and children, where not one word of cheer or praise ever comes, but a perpetual nagging, complaining, never ceasing coldness and criminal neglect is heaped upon him daily, weekly and yearly, and still he tugs on and stands, here is a miracle. It must be the divine seed sown in the cold heart and warming influence of Divine Providence brings up. No amount of human reasoning shall betray us into a doubt of an all wise, all good, overruling and divine Providence. Light will come someday. If not offered by those from whom we have a right to expect it, it will come some other way by some other person and we live and bless the hand who breaks the alabaster box on our body before we die. Deliverance will come in God’s own way. Till then we wait." Last week I mentioned about the Meridian Highway Committee that was being formed to direct the highway through Aubrey. I talked to several historians of the community and they seem to agree that this committee was in fact very helpful in bringing the highway through from the underpass on into and through Aubrey, and is the pathway that generally followed the route to Greenvalley and then on into Denton. It is obvious that this was only a graveled road for many years and I have recollections to when the highway was topped with gravel and was a dirty dusty route to Denton. But this was a far better improvement to Denton I am learning as I study about the Butterfield Mail Overland stage coach which changed its course to Denton and arrived on the northeast side of the square. The stage route was short lived because the Civil war was beginning to occupy everyone’s minds and preparations in defending the state. Politics were thick and heavy at this time as the Northern sympathizers were beginning to make many decisions in the state which was disturbing to the Native American population as they were enlisted to fight in the Civil War. The Cherokee tribe provided many fighting Civil War soldiers as turmoil was constant and had been and not only did they have to go west by orders of the government they were now having to fight their war amongst themselves.
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