April 1, 2007

[This article originally appeared in the June 17, 1963, Golden Anniversary issue of the Lamb County Leader, and later in the Bicentennial issue.)

By Willard Street, Jr.

"In the latter part of 1912, while in San Antonio, my father, W. G. Street, consulted Dr. Malone Duggan. Dr. Duggan advised my father to move to a higher elevation and stated that his brother, Arthur P. Duggan, was establishing a new town on the Plains to be known as Littlefield. Dad immediately wrote Mr. Arthur P. Duggan and received some literature on Littlefield. Following this he and his brother, John T. Street, came to Littlefield in January of 1913 to look over the prospects of opening a general merchandise store here.

"Apparently they liked what they saw for they immediately proceeded to purchase the lot where Clint’s Café is now located. (Note: Grandma’s Coffee House is now located in this building.) Then they ordered material for their store building. The first load of (wood for) this building (was delivered on) March 1, 1913, by Clint O. Griffin, who freighted it from the railhead at Abernathy by wagon. Clint had been here about thirty days breaking sod for Mr. John Kling, the father of Mrs. Guy Willis.

"In April, 1913, Dad left Littlefield for Beaumont where he was married to Golah Howard. They returned to Littlefield on April 28 and stayed in the old Littlefield Hotel until a house could be built. Mother was the first bride in Littlefield. She is the sole surviving charter member of the Baptist Church and the only active charter member of the Women’s Club.

"Dad and Uncle John opened a general mercantile store under the name of Street Brothers selling groceries, dry goods, and hardware. They later moved across the street to a location occupied by a part of Anthony’s and Ben Franklin Store and incorporated their business under the name of Lamb County Mercantile Company.

"Dad once told me that when he was in business in Mexia he was accustomed to selling relatively small quantities of groceries for home consumption, and was certainly not prepared for ranch business.

"One of his first customers was the late Tom Arnett, who was then foreman at the old Spade Ranch. Mr. Arnett pulled in with his buckboard and said that he would like to get a few groceries. The first item he asked for was some bacon so Dad picked up the slab and his knife and asked Mr. Arnett how much he wanted. Mr. Arnett told him he guessed about three slabs.

"He then asked for some beans and Dad picked up an ordinary sack and said, "How many?" Mr. Arnett said, "Aw, a hundred pounds." And when he next asked for potatoes, Dad decided that he wouldn’t need a paper sack at all. He didn’t, as Mr. Arnett bought about two hundred pounds. After buying almost the entire stock of groceries, Mr. Arnett had it loaded on his buckboard and said, "Charge it," with a wave of his hand. Dad said this was a new experience because where he came from people arranged for credit in advance.

"Another new experience in store for Dad was the old Western custom of drinking with a man or insulting him. On one occasion a man, who later became a good friend of Dad’s pulled out a bottle and passed it around. When it came to Dad, he declined without thinking any thing about it as he just did not drink. The fellow took his bottle, stormed out of the store, and didn’t get over it until he later learned that Dad did not drink on any occasion and meant no offense.

"Dad was a charter member of the First Presbyterian Church, the local Masonic Lodge, and the Rotary Club. He was elected to the school board in April of 1915 because and as a result of, according to Fred Hoover, my birth the preceding February. Fred said that he and some of the boys decided that since Dad was a family man he ought to serve on the school board and so they elected him.

"He later served on the school board on one or two other occasions and for many years served as secretary and treasurer, writing all the checks at no pay.

"He was the first treasurer of the Littlefield Masonic Lodge and served as Master in the year 1938-1939. For many years he served as secretary of the lodge and was later granted a lifetime membership in it.

"During World War I he served as County Food Administrator, and human nature not having changed, had quite a few problems with people hoarding food. On two or three occasions he had to confiscate the excess food and bring it to town for proper distribution.

The minutes of the City of Littlefield reflect that on May 11, 1926, W. G. Street was appointed City Commissioner by L. R. Crockett, Mayor, and J. M. Stokes, Commissioner, to fill the unexpired term of Commissioner P. W. Walker, who resigned.

"The minutes also state that L. R. Crockett was elected Mayor, C. O. Stone and W. G. Street were elected City Commissioners in April of 1927. Again the minutes state that W. G. Street resigned as commissioner on February 27, 1928.

"Upon the resignation of E. C. Cundiff as City Secretary in August of 1928, Dad agreed to serve as City Secretary on a temporary basis. It was quite temporary as he held that position for 28 years, retiring in 1956. That was the longest temporary job he held.

"In talking to my good friend, Charles D. Jones, our County Clerk, I found out something that I didn’t even know, or had forgotten. Charlie found in the Commissioner’s Court Records that on September 9^th, 1918 W. G. Street was appointed Commissioner for Precinct 4, which then included the town of Littlefield, succeeding Arthur P. Duggan who resigned to enter the army.

"Dad served as Commissioner for Precinct 4 for a little over a year or until September 18, 1919, when he was appointed County Judge. He served as County Judge until February 9, 1920, when he resigned and was succeeded by Judge R. C. Hopping, who was the grandfather of our present District Judge, Pat Boone, Jr.

"In January of 1935, Dad was instrumental in securing the local Corps of the Salvation Army here. Littlefield was then and is now one of, if not the smallest town in the United States to have a Salvation Army Corp. Dad served on the first advisory board of the local Corp, and, if memory serves me correctly, was chairman of the building committee that helped erect the present Salvation Army building.

"As City Secretary Dad came in contact and got acquainted with the indigent people of the City of Littlefield which convinced him of the need and value of the Salvation Army. He served on the local advisory board for several years, and helped it to become firmly established as one of our religious-welfare organizations.

"When Dad and Mother first came to Littlefield, there was literally a ‘sea of grass’ in every direction. Antelope could be killed in the present city limits and coyotes and skunks raided Mother’s chicken pen located on the site of the present Education Building of the First Baptist Church. Cattle drives down Main Street were commonplace and fences had to be built around the planted trees to protect them from the livestock. They witnessed the change of Littlefield and Lamb County from ‘Brands of Old to Lands of Gold.’

"I am proud of the part the W. G. Streets had in the development of Lamb County and the City of Littlefield."