My daddy decided one evening to go on one of his sprees, he could always find the money for that, and spree it was, because he turned the four-door limo over and wrecked the car so badly that the body was beyond repair.

My older brothers decided to remove the four-door body and make what was called a strip-down. The strip-down, after it lost its heavy body only consisted of a steering wheel and engine with four wheels. The wheels would spin out when they took off.

One of my favorite places for riding was up Cagle Hill. Cagle Hill is on the west end of Black Jack road. It was such a steep hill that the ordinary cars could not get up the hill when after a heavy rain.

My daddy was a good friend of the Cagles. They were Emmit, Roy, Ninnie, Henry and Reuben. They were always out waiting for my Dad to show up, then a little spree would take place out on Cagle Hill. I remember the close friendship this family had with my family. The favorite liquid product was manufactured in several places nearby. It was never any problem to find, money was not a problem. Being so close to the manufacturing area, it didn’t depend on money, when all was needed was an agreement.

After the accident, my brothers were allowed to use the strip-down any time they wanted – and Cagle Hill here we come. My Dad would waddle over and strike up a lively conversation with the Cagle brothers and Ninnie, while we were trying to get up the wet and slippery hill. The dirt was a rich red clay just as it is today under the present day pavement.

The Cagle family has just about always seemed like kin folks. The family got an early start in Aubrey. One of the Plunk girls, named Nancy (daughter of Jacob and Mattie Plunk), married Thomas Benton Cagle. Mattie Plunk was a Cherokee and her husband recognized the hills in this area as being similar to those in Missouri where he lived before he migrated to Texas some fifteen years before the Civil War broke out.

One of the Plunk boys named David, was in battle during the Civil War. He lost his life for the cause. The family was never told the particulars of his death. All they knew was that he never came back after he entered the army near Red River County. He was stationed for a good while at the Red River County fort.

The rich and fertile valley land just below Cagle Hill was the main attraction to the Pioneer Settlers. They acquired land that had been previously owned by John Williams, another family that shared a Civil War combat soldier, who also lost his life in the terrible conflict between the North and South. Both of these soldiers were half Cherokee, and their enlistment was made here in Denton County, where no Indians were supposedly living after the year of 1840 according to some history books.

One of the Cagle boys named Thomas Benton was father to a large family which included Roy, Emmit, Reuben, John Henry, and Ninnie. This family farmed the fertile valley land of the Trinity River which was to the west and north of Cagle Hill.

John Henry was industrious and business minded and was very much involved with the record keeping of the large spread of valley land that produced hogs, cattle, and horses, as well as grain and alfalfa hay. John was a worthy and wealthy son to Thomas Benton, since he witnessed his father’s name on most of the checks and business matters.

One particular occasion of interest to us today is that J.H. brought a train carload of alfalfa hay to the Aubrey Depot in 1902. He had the train car load of hay shipped from Aubrey to Pilot Point to L.G. Belew. John Henry was wealthy enough to purchase a new 1928 chevy automobile by paying cash for it.

Occasions similar to this were quite often and the Aubrey Stockyards processed cattle to be shipped to the Fort Worth Stockyards during this same period. One time he shipped 25 head of hogs on a cattle car of the train system to the stockyards where the hogs were sold by a livestock commission sales company.

John Henry likewise herded cattle into town to the Aubrey Stockyards where they were loaded on the livestock cars and transported onto Fort Worth. The amazing thing of interest is that others in the region more than likely did the same thing in Aubrey, which is why Aubrey could afford to have its own stockyards. But the oddity, is that the records from the Cagle transactions are still available and a part of the Cagle family heirlooms today.

The photo for this week is of three members of the Cagle family in front of their home in 1972.

Also I am sharing a copy of a tax receipt from May 8, 1858. This copy has also been preserved by the Jacob Plunk descendants. The amount of tax for the farm for the year of 1858, was $1.74. The receipt was numbered 110. Now folks, this is what I call good record keeping, when you can display a historical document such as this. Moreover, I am very privileged to be trusted with studying such an old document.

Shawn Cagle and his wife Traci are descendants of these early day pioneers.

This is a reminder that in the event you find my dates are incorrect, please e-mail me. I received a correction from Perman Smith last week from a previous edition, where I stated that the town burned down in 1947, and the correct date was September 25, 1947. That was Perman and his wife’s wedding date, and he said it was easy for him to remember this date.