I don’t have a system for logging in the different people and their comments, but I am getting enough responses that I think it would be worthwhile to develop a system of documenting facts that are brought to my attention from so many of the descendants of this local Onega Heritage. I have found myself looking for a way to simplify the facts storage system. The amazing thing is that there is plenty of information out there concerning Aubrey’s past as it is so closely related to the living conditions and conversations and photography that occurred well more than one hundred and fifty years ago.

I have tried to visualize in my mind what the people were thinking when they entered the light colored and near white soil of this area as they came over the black prairie just ten miles to our east. I am content to believe that the Native Americans that were calling themselves Black Dutch were settling on the fact that the white sandy conditions were a good reason for us to call ourselves Onega, which I have mentioned meant the color of white in the Cherokee language. These Black Dutch and what few stayed with their Cherokee identity were also content in calling the area Onega.

I start mentioning families that were in this area and descending from these early day settlers, and I begin to say to myself, "Bouncer, you had better get busy because the metroplex is moving to Onega and time is running short to get facts together, as just about five miles to our south, the area which was once farming and peanut land is now becoming four lane highways (and these highways are 20 years behind in development), and Sandtown which is a part of the original Onega area is now about to be cut up into subdivisions."

The Methodist church was designed to look somewhat like the original Methodist church on Lamar Street in Dallas. The people who were involved in the architecture of this church were from the Dallas church.

The Aubrey Argus, the local newspaper that covered the storm, reported. A mass meeting was called by the Baptist Church on Wednesday night for the purpose of raising finances for the relief of those who were made homeless by the storm on Sunday night.

I was talking with Corrine Adcock (who is 90 years old) this morning and is very attentive and studious when it comes to talking about her grandparents when they lived on the west side of Elm Creek. She said that she remembered the damage of the storm because her family always came into Aubrey to do their shopping. She was only eight years old when she saw the town in its ruins.

Today you can see the photo of the building of the Methodist Church as Uncle Ed saw it. This building in a few minutes of a natural disaster was destroyed into splinters as was told to us by children by my Mother and her sister Mae Caddell who lived just down the street from the church. In the photo, to the north of the ruins is Dr.Bates home which escaped the storm and looks then as it does today.

One of the commenting readers who is a son of an early day preacher came in and said, "You don’t outguess the power of the Almighty."

A descendant of the Hollar family came in to see me and was interested in getting information about his family, Dallas and Ophelia Hollar. I have a little information about this family and will be working to update my filing system on his family.

Alta Pate is also helping me to compile information about her family.

A daughter of Henry Byrom came in and bought six copies of The Town Charter with a story about Oscar Byrom some time last year. I also plan to obtain and share more information about this family. This family dates back to 1828 in this area. That is a remarkable history of a family being in this area that long. J.H. and Ruby Byrom are nearing their nineties and are very alert and in mind. J.H. had been in the hospital and spent about four weeks two different times. When he got out of the hospital, he drove by and his son David asked me to come out to the car to visit with him in the car.

The Cagle descendants are planning to provide a place on the top of Cagle Hill for the Texas and local Cherokee tribe to meet for an annual Heritage Day Celebration. I have asked our Chief Hicks, to contribute a little bit with some valuable history or our area.

So, we can look forward in the coming new year for many adventures that will come our way and we can also take this time to wish everyone mentioned and not mentioned alike to have a very merry Christmas and the best of good health to everyone as we watch for old news that suddenly becomes new news.