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September 6, 2009
WOLF CREEK HERITAGE MUSEUM NOTES by Virginia Scott MUSEUM HAPPENINGS Labor Day weekend was beautiful and lots of activity throughout the county. Happy Birthday to Booker was the biggest item on everyone's schedule and I hope everyone joined the citizens of Booker celebrate their 90th birthday. We look forward to all the photos that will be shown of the various celebrations. Wednesday was busy for the group as we reviewed our book collection and removed some from the stacks. Ann Wright is cataloging the collection and documenting the condition of each book and inspecting them for mold,etc. Thanks, Ann for performing this not too clean job. When Ann is through we will be able to establish a criteria for our collection. Lovella received another collection of newspapers and Dorothy and Fern assisted her in preparing them for the Binder. Two more volumes were shipped by Dorothy . We are getting alot of papers from needed years to increase our chronicle of the county newspapers. We thank all of you who have brought papers to us. The following are our reminders for the MONTH:
Since it is Booker's birthday, I have been searching our files, newspapers, and two volumes of Booker histories for an appropriate story about Booker and its citizens. What I discovered was an article written by Amarillo Globe News reporter Fritz Thompson about a WWII memorial erected by John Teare. The article was written in June of 1965. Entitled "Salute in Memory of War Dead: Concrete Pillar Near Booker One Man's Patriotic Gesture". The article states that the monument is located beside Texas Hwy 15 3 1/2 miles east of Booker in a weed covered pasture. The monument is described as 18 feet tall , the tapered pillar that looks like a minature Washington Monument without the pointed pinnacle. There is no sign, no inscription, or date. The monument was built and erected by John Teare, a longtime resident and hardworking farmer. He tried to join the army when the war started but he was too old. Harry Teare, the younger brother and the only surviving member of the Teare family in 1965 was interviewed by Thompson and when asked "What's the monument for?", he replied "John wanted to go to war, but he was too old, That's why he built it." John's idea for satisfying his conscience came one day during the war while pouring concrete for a new house. If he could not help the United States fight the war, he would build a monument to those who could. Harry remembered that the monument was poured in one day, and that John obtained a flag which had flown over Washington, D.C. Each morning he would raise it on a pole near the monument, and each afternoon he would lower it down. John fenced in a small plot around the monument and planted $40 worth of tulips. Harry recalled that a lot of cars would stopped when passing due to the flowering tulips, the flag , and the monument. John would also picked the tulips and take them to Booker to show his friends. He watered the flowers by hauling barrels of water from his house. The article stated that the tulips were gone in 1965 but the monument and flagpole were still intact. QUESTION: Is the Teare monument still there? If so, it would probably qualify for the Texas Historical Commission WWII program and we could get a Historical Marker for it. I will be looking along Hwy 15 for signs, If you know its location, please call. This is a piece of our history well worth preserving. |
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