Horns Soaring

By Dale McMillan

In the fourth and last book of The Living Off the Land series, you'll follow the excitement as the six Horn kids from the Foggy Bottom community grow up and choose career paths. Intelligence, persistence, and dogged determination are the keys to success as the Horns move out into the broader world, leaving behind their frontier style home with dog trot and delightful old kitchen.

In the process, the Foggy Bottom kids encounter a few rough edges and clashes -- sometimes humorous, sometimes serious -- with the good people of the adjacent town of Pine Hill. These folks harbor much jealousy of those they call Fog Heads, who are quickly leaving the town kids behind by pursuing their dreams with hard work and strong spirits.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Feb 6, 2015
• ISBN: 9781503540910

Dale McMillan

Dale McMillan retired from a long career in the petrochemical industry. After building a home, shop, three barns, and restoring a log cabin built originally in 1854, he tried his hand at writing fiction at age 67. He has written 17 other books since that first release. He lives on a small sand hill farm just outside Henderson, Texas with his invalid wife, Janell and two dogs, Marcie and Sherlock.

Book preview

Horns Soaring

Dale McMillan

Copyright © 2015 by Dale McMillan.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Scripture quotations marked KJV are from the Holy Bible, King James Version (Authorized Version). First published in 1611. Quoted from the KJV Classic Reference Bible, Copyright © 1983 by The Zondervan Corporation.

Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture is taken from GOD’S WORD®, © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations. Used by permission of Baker Publishing Group.

Scripture quotations marked RSV are taken from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1946, 1952, 1971 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. Used by permission.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Rev. date: 02/05/2015

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CONTENTS

Horns Soaring: An Essay By Lonnie Horn

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Dedicated to two wonderful people, my friends

Gene and Jackie Legg

Career Missionaries who devoted many years of sacrificial service to the people of Nigeria.

Horns Soaring

An Essay

By Lonnie Horn

Foggy Bottom has been the home for the Horn clan for four generations. My grandfather, Richard Horn became embroiled in an argument with a prominent citizen in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1870. The man was very hot headed; he pulled a gun and shot my grandfather, but the bullet simply creased his rib cage. The two men struggled with the weapon, and while trying to take the weapon away from the man, it discharged again and the bullet struck the assailant under his chin and came out the top of his head, killing him instantly. Although my grandfather was from a prominent family and witnesses would testify to self-defense, the assailant had a brother in Philadelphia who was a very charismatic and popular judge. This being the case, Grandfather took his family, along with what he could carry on horseback and a pack horse, and fled to Texas. The nation was still recovering from the Civil War at this time. The courts were not overtly corrupt, but justice was still administered rather loosely. Grandfather feared that he would not receive fairness in the court system because of the judge’s influence. His father gave him his inheritance when he left, which was a small fortune at that time, so he was well funded for his flight.

After traveling for eight weeks, Grandfather and his small family made it to the Red River. They crossed the river on a ferry and slowly made their way to the big thicket. As a young lieutenant, fresh out of the academy, Grandfather had been assigned to a Calvary regiment which had patrolled this area of Texas, trying to make it a safe place to live and free of hostile Indian attacks. He had a place in mind where he thought they would be safe from anyone who might come looking for him.

Grandfather had never farmed. He had been a soldier, but he left the Army after the Civil War, having seen too many horrors of war. At the time of his flight to Texas he was employed in an iron working facility in Philadelphia as a design engineer. He was a college graduate with a degree in engineering from West Point. Engineering degrees at that time entailed much shop time. True science would come later. Near the end of the Civil War, while recovering from a gunshot wound, he met and married a socialite, Mary Grace Wilson. Mary Grace, my grandmother, was a young widow whose husband was killed early in the Civil War. She was 10 years younger than my grandfather. When the War Between the States ended, Grandfather retired from the Army. Shortly thereafter, they had a son, George, who was my father. Grandfather was 45 when his son was born. My Father was five years old at the time of their flight. With both my grandfather and grandmother acquiring inheritances, they would have no trouble financially in their new environment after departing Philadelphia.

The flight was excruciating for grandmother. She was an accomplished horsewoman, but one not familiar with long journeys living in the wilds. Although they carried a tent on the pack animal, they seldom used it unless it was raining. Grandmother soon became proficient at camp cooking and learned to prepare tasty meals from the wildlife that grandfather and father were able to kill.

Father turned six just after they departed Philadelphia. Grandfather found and traded for a little single shot .22 caliber rifle for his son for his sixth birthday. He soon became an expert marksman with the little rifle and kept the family supplied with rabbit, squirrel, and once even a turkey, which he shot through the head.

The family was able to ferry across most large rivers, but they simply had to ford or swim their horses across the smaller rivers and streams. The last river they crossed was the Neches.

Grandfather had to hack his way back into the forest, which later became the Horn farm. They set up their camp in a small clearing, deep in the woods. There was an abandoned log home on the property, but Grandfather chose not to stop there. The house was in a poor state of repair at the moment, but it appeared to still be sound. Part of the house, a detached kitchen had burned, and not been replaced. Since the house was near a well-traveled trail, Grandfather avoided it until he was comfortable that the law was not following him. After their camp was established, Grandfather went into the little settlement of Pine Hill to determine who laid claim to the property he wished to settle on. In Pine Hill he learned that a group of carpet baggers had grabbed the property away from several small settlers who could not pay the taxes on the property. Grandfather offered them $3.00 per acre for the property. They claimed it was 800 acres. He engaged the services of a surveyor and he, along with the survey crew surveyed the plot. It turned out to be 472 acres. The property owners argued that the plot was larger, but the surveyor Grandfather had engaged was honest and would not budge from his figures. Grandfather finally offered to pay $1,500.00 for the property and they took it.

After the transfer of title was made, the surveyor warned Grandfather, "You better watch your back, Mr. Horn. Them guys are as crooked as a dog’s hind leg and dangerous." Grandfather smiled and thanked him, but he had already figured that out. There was no doubt in his mind that they would be vulnerable, living alone with his family in the forest

His first goal was to build a cabin. He purchased tools, a wagon, and a team of mules. Since he spoke with a Yankee accent, he was not well received by most folks in the settlement, but since he seemed to be able to pay cash, they warmed quickly. He sought information from an old gentleman, Gregory Hall at the general merchandise store about engaging help with construction of a cabin.

Mr. Hall suggested Artis Pope, a freed slave, as a good candidate for this chore. Grandfather sought out Artis and he agreed to help. Artis was living in a self-constructed shanty at the edge of the settlement, picking up odd jobs when he could and barely surviving. Artis would agree to go with Grandfather only if he would allow his old dog to go with him. Grandfather readily agreed, commenting, Sure your dog can go. What is his name, Artis?

He name Bo.

With a wagon loaded with supplies and tools, Grandfather and Artis began their trek to Foggy Bottom. It was late August and the level in the Neches was down, but they still had to ford the river. Artis drove the team pulling the wagon with Grandmother and Father riding on the seat beside him. Grandfather led Grandmother’s and Father’s horses. Since he had served as a Calvary officer, he knew how to ford streams with supplies. He unloaded all of the heavy tools and supplies and ferried them across on horseback. He had purchased a coil of rope from the general merchandise store, so he hooked that to the wagon and used the three extra horses to help pull the wagon across and up out of the river.

With a crosscut saw, Grandfather and Artis immediately began felling trees to begin the log cabin. It was to be a one room cabin with a stick and mud chimney and fireplace at one end. It was in the middle of a pine thicket. The pines were tall and straight. Artis turned out to be an expert with a broad axe and he was masterful at cutting dove tail joints to join the logs at the corners. Mr. Hall’s suggestion had been a good one.

The three carpet baggers who had sold the property to Grandfather planned to murder him and his family and blame Artis for the crime. They sneaked back into the woods late in the evening and watched the camp, avoiding the location where the horses were picketed.

Grandfather had fought Indians. He kept his teams picketed close to their camp, and he had built the campsite such that it was not readily visible until you were very close in. Just after dark one evening, he noticed that the hackles came up on Bo’s neck, and he saw that his teams became restless. He quickly made up four makeshift bedrolls around the fire and carefully eased his family and Artis away from the camp. He had three bedrolls close together and one away to the side. The family stayed sequestered among the horses and mules and waited. About 10:00 p.m. three men rushed the campsite and began firing into the three bedrolls close to the fire. Grandfather had two Colt .45 revolvers and he opened fire with both guns. He did not miss.

Poor Artis was terrified, but Richard pointed out to him that the carpet baggers did not shoot into his bedroll, and that they had intended to blame the crime on him. He instructed, They figured that you would run off and they would rob the camp and blame the crime on you. Artis went limp with fear. He knew very well that the hangman’s noose would have been his fate had these men been successful with their plot.

Everyone spent a reckless night that night and then the daunting task of what to do with the bodies had to be faced. There were many pine branches and much debris to be burned. Grandfather simply decided to destroy the evidence of what happened to remove all traces of the encounter. Reconstruction law was still in effect and very corrupt. Since these guys were in the middle of all of this, Grandfather did not trust the law. They moved their camp and after clearing a fire break, they started piling the branches on top of the bodies and set the brush on fire. Grandfather searched the woods the next day, and found where the ruffians had picketed their horses. He went through their saddle bags where he found most of the $1,500.00 he paid them for the property. He simply figured that was the price for their attempt on him and his family’s lives. He simply turned the horses loose and let them wander off.

Grandfather and Artis continued to cut down trees for the cabin and burn the branches. By the time the cabin was finished, all traces of the ‘would be’ assassins had gone up in smoke. Even the medal in their belt buckles and shoe eyelets had melted down. Artis was sworn to secrecy and his lips were sealed. He knew that he had been saved from hanging.

Back in the settlement, when the three did not return after a few days, their cronies became suspicious. The three men had hinted their plans to a couple of their friends. These men went to the local law and told the authorities that their friends had gone to talk to that Horn fellow, because they thought he had cheated them. The local law contacted the nearby Calvary post and asked them to investigate. The post commander sent a squad out to look for the Horn’s camp. The troop found the three carpetbagger’s horses wandering around grazing by the river, but still saddled. The troop sent one man back to town leading the horses, while the sergeant in charge and the rest of the troop continued on to the Horn’s camp.

Grandfather and Artis were working away just finishing up erecting the walls of the cabin when the troop arrived. As they rode up to camp, Grandmother greeted the troop graciously and asked them to step down. They dismounted and she offered coffee to all. Grandfather came around the corner of the building and greeted, Good afternoon, Sergeant Hull.

Sergeant Hull was stunned momentarily, but he soon recovered and smiled, snapped to attention, saluted, and greeted, Captain Horn, what in the world are you doing out here?

Returning the Sergeant’s salute, Grandfather stated, I am building a house, Sergeant,

Grandmother offered each of the troops a slice of the sweet potato pies she had just baked in a Dutch oven. They each got a small slice, plus coffee. Grandfather brought Sergeant Hull up to date as to why he was in the big thicket. Sergeant Hull had served under my Grandfather during the Civil War. He knew he was a West Point graduate, and he had great respect for him as a leader. He also knew that he was a good, compassionate, and honest man. In their service just after the Civil War he had seen Captain Horn stand up for and defend the rights of Southerners who were being cheated out of what was rightfully theirs. As a young trooper that had left a lasting impression on him.

Sergeant Hull finally got around to discussing his mission and said, Captain Horn, the three men you purchased this property from set out from town to talk to you about the purchase. They are accusing you of cheating them on the number of acres. Have you seen those men, Captain?

Grandfather, looking directly into the Sergeant’s eyes, answered, Not lately, but I have a duly certified survey of the property. If they have a problem, they should take it up with the surveyor. We came to an agreement, which they accepted.

An understanding passed between these two men. Sergeant Hull knew the reputation of the three men. There were other accounts of men purchasing property from these three men and then the seller was mysteriously robbed and killed. He understood very well that they had made an attempt on Richard Horn’s life and that he had taken care of that.

He smiled and replied, I did not expect that you had seen them lately, but we found their horses grazing a ways back from your camp, down by the river.

Is that right? I wonder why they did not hail the camp and come in and talk with me, if they had a concern.

Sergeant Hull smiled at Grandfather and he returned his smile. Both men respected the other and Sergeant Hull understood that Not lately could mean, ‘Not in the last few minutes.’ He also knew that Grandfather would not deliberately lie to him.

After a few pleasantries, Sergeant Hull stated, Well, I guess we had better keep looking.

Grandfather commented, Sergeant Hull, why don’t you and your men camp here tonight? You cannot make it back to the post before dark. Fishing is pretty good in that little branch over there. George has been keeping us well supplied with Perch. Your men might like to give that a try.

Artis overheard this comment and he almost turned white. The fact that this troop would be camping here, close by, petrified him with fear. He could still feel the hangman’s noose around his neck.

Learning that they would be camping here and not having to make the six mile journey back to the post suited the entire troop fine. Several got out their fish hooks and were preparing to try their hand at fishing until warned, That creek is full of water moccasins. George has shot sixteen in the short time we have been here.

That discouraged all but two. Sergeant Hull was amused at the timidity of his men where snakes were concerned. The two troopers who were fishing began to bring in large hand sized sun perch and goggle eye. Father was ferrying them to the camp as they caught them. Artis was cleaning and Grandmother started frying the fish for the troops. She had biscuits baking in the large Dutch oven, and she always kept a large pot of beans hanging over hot coals. It was not an elegant meal, but the troops were well nourished. She quickly stirred up a pot of chocolate pudding, which was a rare treat for the five troopers.

After dinner, Grandfather began to reveal why he had chosen this place to settle, and I will now begin that story so that all of my family will know why we, The Horns settled here and where the house we live in came from. As my dad, George Horn related the story as a firsthand observer I will now relate to you. Your great grandfather gave the following account to Sergeant Hull and my father passed it on to me, just as he overheard Grandfather tell it to Sargent Hull.

"I was a young officer just graduated from The Point when I was assigned to an outpost here in Southeast Texas to quell some uprising among the Indians who had been confined to reservations. A bunch of young renegades had bolted from the reservations and they had attacked several remote farms, killing the inhabitants and pillaging the homes. Word was received at the post that they were in this area, so I was sent in charge of a regiment of Calvary to apprehend them. Before we crossed the river, we saw the smoke rising from the home that you passed coming back to our camp site. We charged ahead to find the detached kitchen engulfed in flames. Some of my troops quickly attached ropes to the walkway and pulled it down and away from the house to keep the house from catching on fire.

"When we were able to investigate the ruin, we found that the family had all been slaughtered in the kitchen. Apparently the father and sons had gathered this family in the kitchen so they would have a good field of fire. They must have run out of ammunition and could not defend themselves. Five people were slaughtered in that kitchen. We tracked the renegades all the way to the Brazos river bottom where we caught up with them. They made a stand and we wiped them out, with only one escaping my men. We figured it would be a good idea if one went back to the reservation and reported what happened to those who tried this sort of thing.

"When I decided to come back to Texas, I thought of this place. I intend to make my home here. This location is a temporary home. My intentions are to refurbish the old house and build a new detached kitchen.

Mary Grace is not enamored with the fact that her kitchen will stand where five people have been killed. However, she has been through the Civil War and death and pillage are not unfamiliar to her. She is rapidly becoming a pioneer woman and she simply accepts this as the norm on the frontier. She has observed an attempt on our lives and she decided then and there that I am going to teach her how to shoot and defend herself.

Grandfather did teach her and she became proficient with both rifle and handgun. The troop left after a breakfast of fatback, biscuits and gravy. Chickens to provide eggs would come later. Sergeant Hull graciously thanked the family for their hospitality. He took his troop back to the post where he reported finding the horses, but no trace of the three men. He also reported finding his former Captain, with whom he had fought with during the Civil War. He informed, Colonel Bradley, Sir, one thing I know for sure is that Captain Horn did not cheat anyone out of anything. He is about the fairest man I have ever known. He graduated from the Point.

When Colonel Bradley learned that Richard Horn had graduated from West Point, his investigation was closed. He did ask,

Sergeant Hull, strictly off the record, what do you think happened to the three men who went to talk to Captain Horn? Sergeant Hull looked at the colonel and asked, This is off the record?

It is just between you and me.

I suspect they found him. The man has fought Indians. They would not have been able to slip up on him. Those three men were thugs, Colonel. They were using reconstruction to take advantage of these people here and we have been helping them do it. I don’t like it one damn bit.

Colonel Bradley smiled, I’m on your side, Sergeant Hull. You are dismissed, and a job well done, Sergeant.

This conversation had been related to Richard at a later visit from Sergeant Hull who spent most of his leave time at the Horn farm after this encounter. He and your great grandfather became very close friends and Grandfather Horn finally told him exactly what happened on the night of the attempt on their lives. It did not come as a surprise to Sergeant Hull.

Artis became attached to Richard and Mary Grace. They built him a ‘lean to’ on the back of their cabin and he decided to live here on the farm with them. The cabin they built became his home after the original home was restored. Richard and Artis began work on the old home place soon after the cabin was finished. Richard engaged Mr. Hall, who ran the first General Merchandise store in Pine Hill to order enough galvanized sheet iron to replace the old shake roof on the old log house. That was the only real problem with the house except for the floor which was rotted from the leaky roof. Back then, galvanized roofing was just that, sheet iron. Galvanized steel would come later, but what is on our home is the old galvanized iron. It was installed in 1871 and it is still on today in 1954, eighty three years later.

By Christmas time the Horns were ready to move into the refurbished home. This home had a real fireplace made from bricks. Mary Grace cooked on the fireplace until the kitchen was built. The kitchen was finished by the time it was time to start spring plowing. Atris proved to be a Godsend. He taught Richard how to plow and how to put in a crop. Richard shared the fruits of their labor with Artis. Artis kept his money in a fruit jar with a good galvanized lid and rubber seal buried under his steps. He informed Richard where it was just in case something happened to him. Richard tried to get him to put it in the bank, but he would have none of that.

A piece of property across the river on the Pine Hill side of the river came available after a few years and Richard helped Artis purchase it. It was only 35 acres, but that was a lot for a black man during this period of time. Crossing the river at this point became a real downer, so Artis and Richard constructed a ferry. It was little more than an oversized raft, but it served the purpose. Using a gin block on each side of the river between two large trees, a rope was affixed to one end of the ferry and fed around the pulley of one gin block; the rope was then carried across the river and fed through the pulley of the second block. That end of the rope was affixed to the other end of the ferry. A stationary rope was attached between the two trees. It had enough slack which would allow the ferry passenger to reach it even during very low levels in the river. One could step up on the ferry, grab the rope and pull one’s self across on the ferry. If the ferry was on the opposite side of the river, one could pull it across with the rope between the two gin blocks.

After Artis bought his farm, he found himself a wife. He was almost 50 by that time, but they had one son who became Matt Pope’s father. During their friendship, Mary Grace taught Artis how to read and write, and she also taught him enough arithmetic, such that he could handle money without being cheated. The Horns were not well liked because of their treatment of Artis, but the rumors spread quickly that Richard Horn was not one to be trifled with.

On one occasion, after John Wesley Hardin was released from prison, he came through the area and stopped at the Horn Home. A Horn tradition was that if you visited their home you were fed and treated graciously. This was Mary Grace’s aristocratic background shinning in this very primitive environment. John Hardin was intrigued by this and very gracious, but the word that John Wesley Hardin, the notorious outlaw, and one rumored to have killed 49 men, had visited the Horn’s spread. After that the Horns were even more feared. The rumors were already flying that Richard had killed the men who supposedly came to talk to him. Now people latched on to the rumor that the Horns were related to John Wesley Hardin. Hardin was known to hide out with relatives. When he came back through and stopped again at the Horn’s, the rumor was intensified.

There were no schools in Foggy Bottom, so Mary Grace and Richard taught George at home for the first five years. At that time, several families with small children had moved into the area and it was becoming a small community. Richard called a community meeting and suggested that they needed to build a school building and hire a teacher. Since he agreed to purchase all of the materials, the rest of the community came aboard. Soon after the school building was constructed, Mary Grace and Richard started holding Sunday school for the children in the community. Foggy Bottom became populated with families who had fled other areas to avoid prosecution and rapidly the little settlement took on the reputation to the people in Pine Hill of being made up of a community of riff raff. The merchants liked their trade and were always happy to see a wagon load of people coming in, just as long as they got back across the river before dark.

Richard set Artis up in a transportation business. He purchased two wagons and teams for Artis. On Saturday, Foggy Bottom residents would drive their wagons to the ferry. At the crossing, Richard built a holding pen for horses and mules. The Foggy Bottom folks would unhitch their teams, leave them in the pen and ferry across the river. Artis and his wife would transport them to Pine hill where they would shop, and then Artis and his wife transported them and their goods back to the ferry. Chicken feed was a very big item on the list. They operated this business for 7 years and then three miles down the road, a new bridge was constructed across the river on Old Pine Hill Road. The first North’s General Merchandise Store was built just down the road from the bridge shortly thereafter. This cut into Artis business considerably, but his service was still offered until 1907 when the first ‘scary’ bridge was built.

Foggy Bottom became a haven for families who were in trouble with reconstruction law. It rapidly became known as the place to go if you were crossways with the law. The rumor was that you would have to deal with the Horns if you went to Foggy Bottom and no one wished to confront Richard Horn. Fortunately the rumors reached all the way to Baylor University and this area became targeted as a mission field. A circuit riding preacher came to Foggy Bottom to try and organize a church there. At every house he heard, You better see Mr. Horn. By the time he got to the Horn farm, he was terrified. What he found when he arrived was Mary Grace and sophistication. She had built the home into one where culture could be seen in every corner. The first thing he noticed when offered refreshments was the starched linin napkin and dainty teacup and saucer; not at all what he was expecting. By this time, Richard had built his blacksmith shop. He did not like farming at all and he was hiring most of that done. George liked to farm, but his dad did not and he spent most of his time in the blacksmith shop. He also had a grist mill and cane press for making sorghum syrup. Much of his income came from these two businesses. Most of his purchases were through barter.

When Richard learned that they had a guest in their home, he came in from the blacksmith shop. The young preacher was surprised when he found that Richard did not have ‘horns’ as he was expecting. He quickly learned that Richard was a man of faith and was very excited about starting a church in Foggy Bottom. This was fortunate for the Horns, because soon after the church was started, the minister aided the community in convincing a young 17 year old school teacher from Mary Hardin Baylor College to come to Foggy Bottom to teach school. She was to lodge with the Horns. George was 18 at this time and a budding romance flourished between the two almost immediately. Mary Beth Martin had more formal education than George, but she quickly learned that he was well read and had been educated far beyond what she had expected. One year after she came to Foggy Bottom to teach she and George were married.

The young couple moved into the old log cabin briefly, but one year after they married, Richard Horn died from influenza. At that time, they moved into the house with Mary Grace. Mary Grace and Mary Beth blended well. Both women were well bred and their aristocratic bent was not dampened here in this rugged environment. They brought grace and charm to the Foggy Bottom community.

Mary Beth and George had two stillborn children and then in 1913, Lonnie Horn was born. Lonnie grew up under the influence of both Mary Grace and Mary Beth, being taught social graces as well as being exposed to good literature, which instilled in him a quest for learning. Lonnie attended school in Foggy Bottom until he was ready for high school. The Pine Hill school system using political clout forced the closing of the Foggy Bottom school the year Lonnie finished grade school, but this was only after George Horn forced the two counties on each side of the Neches to construct a bridge across the river and improve the road into Pine Hill. Improving the road simply meant making it suitable for Model T traffic. The bridge left a lot to be desired. It shook each time one crossed it giving the impression that it could fall in at any moment.

The year Lonnie entered high school; he met Martha Johnson for the first time. When he stepped off the crude Model T Bus, Martha was stepping off the bus that picked up he Mossy Oaks kids. Their eyes met and Martha smiled at Lonnie. He returned her smile. That was all it took for each.

A group of Pine Hill boys were watching the Foggy Bottom and Mossy Oaks kids exit the bus. One of the Pine Hill boys made a lewd comment about Martha that Lonnie overheard. Lonnie turned around and the next thing the boy knew was that he was flat of his back looking at the sky with Lonnie Horn standing over him daring him to get up. The young man was a senior and Lonnie was a freshman, but that did not bother Lonnie in the least. The young man eventually became the district attorney.

The principle was about to try to whip Lonnie when he discovered that he was Lonnie Horn, George Horn’s son. He decided to overlook this infraction if Lonnie would apologize. Lonnie refused to apologize until the young man apologized to Martha. Looking at the intensity in Lonnie’s face, the young rascal decided it might be a good idea to apologize.

This became almost the norm, but Lonnie learned to wait until school was out and then he would wait until the perpetrators were off school grounds and then he would whip them. He then had to walk the six miles home after missing the bus. Boys soon learned that Martha Johnson was off limits.

Mary Grace died when Lonnie was 12 years old. Both George and Mary Beth died of a flu epidemic early in Lonnie’s senior in high school. Lonnie lived alone most of his senior year, and then when they graduated high school, Lonnie and Martha married. Martha brought her own style and grace to ‘Horn Mansion’.

I have written this brief history with hope that it will give my family a better understanding of the Horns from Foggy Bottom. Although your great Grandfather killed four men, please remember that it was during a different time and life was different on the frontier. He killed in self-defense. I have waited to pass this information on to you until all of you were all old enough to understand. Because of our past and the reputation of the Foggy Bottom community as a sanctuary for those who were fleeing from the law, the people in Pine Hill have had a difficult time accepting us as civilized. Loss of our bridge is going to further isolate us and slow that acceptance. I intend to work diligently with both counties to get that bridge replaced. Just be patient. The world is getting smaller as transportation improves.

Lonnie Horn

Chapter 1

Lonnie went to a printer and had his brief history printed and bound and several copies made. He presented this to his children for Christmas in 1954. It became a cherished possession. Jim Hartley, the Pine Hill Daily newspaper editor learned of the document and went to Lonnie and asked for permission to break the document into segments and print it as a series in the paper. Lonnie discussed this with the family and all agreed that it might help to remove some of the Foggy Bottom stigma, so they were all in agreement.

The serial was well received by Pine Hill residents and gave the newspaper a boost. The Horns were a paradox to most in Pine Hill. The view of the Horn family with the good people of this small, backward town, ranged from crude barbarians to sophisticated aristocrats. The series of articles in the newspaper quelled the crude barbarian view. Beth Horn Hall’s wedding reception had eliminated most of that view. She had made the Pine Hill socialites look very silly at the reception. Myrtle Tillison and Silvia Simmons were still smarting over the fact that Beth had made fools of them. Beth Ann Holmes and her mother could not hold their heads up because of Grandmother Owens, Charlotte Owens Holms’ mother knitting a baby sweater for Beth indicating she was pregnant. It took a while for Pine Hill to recover from the wedding reception, but by the next Christmas, that had faded into the sunset.

The old scary bridge washed out in September of 1954. By Christmas of that year, neither county on each side of the river had made a move to rebuild the bridge. Lonnie had already started writing letters to county commissioners, congressmen, even his US representative and the governor; all with no success. Having to go the long way around added almost seven miles to Lonnie’s commute, since the shop was on his side of Pine Hill and new Pine Hill road (as it was called although it had been there since 1907) came into town on the opposite side.

After Lonnie gave the family their family history, Rex suggested that they build another ferry across the river. He, Lonnie and Merle got busy and copied Rex’s great grandfather’s idea. It was a pedestrian only ferry, but Lonnie simply parked his truck in Matt Pope’s yard and walked home from there, after taking the ferry across the river. With the bridge washed out, Rex and Mary Ann were isolated from the old home place by an extra five miles. They had to take an old road back toward Pine Hill, out to Pine Hill Road, cross the river near North’s store and then take the back road back to Foggy Bottom. They had been using a leaky old homemade boat to cross the river to visit Martha and Lonnie.

Most of the people from Foggy Bottom who worked in Pine Hill worked at jobs on the Foggy Bottom side of town. The school was also on that side, so the washed out bridge affected many people. Most people began to follow Lonnie’s lead and took the ferry across the river. Some drove their tractors to the river, ferried across and then took their work vehicles into town. They began to improvise and car pool to work, but most simply became livid that the counties seemed to be making no progress toward rebuilding the bridge. Lonnie decided to write one letter per week to the Governor. After about five letters, a Governor’s aide decided to show the letters to Governor Shivers. He immediately called both county commissioners of the respective counties and asked why no progress had been made in replacing the bridge. Neither commissioner had an acceptable answer for him. The State Representatives for both counties each got into the fray and both visited with Lonnie Horn.

When the State Representatives came to Lonnie’s business, they quickly learned that they were not dealing with a backwoods hick as they had expected. Lonnie’s business was growing and expanding by leaps and bounds. The machine shop was only a part of the business now. He had the franchise for Detroit and Cummins engines; he was slowly expanding into a thriving automobile parts dealer. This started out as simply building a stock of engine parts, but a franchise auto parts dealer from Beaumont offered to put in a stock of parts if Lonnie would build the building to house the parts. Martha encouraged him to do this, and that was all it took. He arranged a loan with John Hall at the bank and proceeded full speed ahead. Bert Holmes Construction Company put the building up in 10 weeks. The franchise agency had the stock in six weeks later and Lonnie hired personnel away from other parts dealers by offering a profit sharing arrangement. Using this incentive, Lonnie stripped the other two parts houses of their best parts men. This did not improve his popularity in Pine Hill, but that mattered little to Lonnie Horn, because he did not care too much for the good folks of Pine Hill to begin with.

Lonnie had little time to work in the shop. All of his time was beginning to be required to manage the business and personnel. He became an excellent manager, hiring good people and giving them job ownership. The isolation from Pine Hill by the loss of the bridge affected Martha more than most. Lonnie could not run home in the afternoon to be there with the kids for their afternoon snacks. The change of bus route added 25 minutes to their ride home from school. Lonnie was taking them in with him in the morning.

After meeting with Lonnie and him showing the representatives his ferry, the Representatives went back to the governor and insisted that he pressure the county commissioners to begin construction of the bridge. Governor Shivers called both commissioners which almost scared the life out of them. He threatened, If you ever want any more State money, you had best get a bridge back across that river.

The commissioners came to Lonnie to discuss reconstruction of the bridge. Lonnie admonished, We need a two lane bridge. That thing you had across that river was a disgrace. It was not safe for that school bus, and both of you know that. If you don’t build a decent bridge, I am going back to Governor Shivers and Representative Sam Rayburn.

Lonnie was bluffing. He had no inroads to Governor Shivers or to Sam Rayburn, but he also knew that these two men did not know that. For all they knew, both men could be personal friends. Sam Rayburn was not the representative for Lonnie’s district, but he was speaker of the house and well known. The commissioners asked for help from the state highway department and were told that the State Highway Department had no jurisdiction in the matter of county roads. The commissioners countered, Well, Governor Shivers is interested in this bridge being built.

This was shocking news to the director of the local Highway Department office and he sent an engineer out to look at the site. The engineer was a young graduate fresh out of Texas A&M. He came back and reported that the bridge was going to be difficult to build because of the location. The commissioners passed this on to Lonnie stating, Mr. Horn, we just don’t think we can afford to build that bridge.

Lonnie looked at the commissioners for a long moment and then asked, Are you telling me that you are over or under equipped?

They asked in unison, What do you mean?

Well, a bridge was built across that river in 1923 in that location. It washed out in 1933 and was rebuilt at that time. It is now almost 1955 and you are telling me that the job is too difficult for you. Can you explain to me why the commissioners in 1923 and 1933 could build a bridge and you can’t?

One of the commissioners blustered, Well building techniques have changed.

Lonnie just stared at him for a long moment. You mean we have gone backward?

Well, no, but we just don’t build bridges like that anymore. I don’t think we could drive pilings in the middle of that river with that old equipment we have.

Lonnie was fighting hard to control his anger. Looking at the two commissioners he stated rather forcefully, You are two wimps. If you can’t drive pilings, you could build a suspension bridge.

A what?

A suspension bridge. The span will have to be 38 feet at this location.

Both men scratched their heads at this suggestion. It was obvious that Lonnie Horn had thought about this problem. The washed out bridge was a huge problem for Lonnie and the rest of the folks in Foggy Bottom. Most could not afford two vehicles; one to leave at the ferry and one to leave at home as the family car.

Lonnie suggested that they go to the site and look it over. The two commissioners got in Lonnie’s truck and they drove to the river. The river was at flood stage and very swift through the small cut that was the old bridge location. It was an ominous sight. Lonnie enticed both men to climb on the ferry and he pulled them across the river. The swift water tried to pull the ferry downstream, but Lonnie had mastered the crossing technique. Both men were hanging on for dear life. Lonnie faked terror out in the middle of the river and screamed, Looks like we are gonna lose her, boys.

Both of the commissioners panicked, but Lonnie started laughing and they began to realize that he was toying with them. Once across the river, Lonnie began to explain how concrete pillars could be poured on each side of the river and a suspension bridge built to sit on those pillars for support. Lonnie explained, You can go to a fabricator and have the bridge constructed in such a manner that it can be taken apart and set in place across the river.

Both men began to grasp the concept and decided that what Lonnie was suggesting could work. Since they were across the river, Lonnie suggested that they walk up to his house, which was only about a quarter mile away. Both men had heard of the old detached kitchen and they were anxious to see it. Martha was surprised to see Lonnie at home in the middle of the morning, but the place was spotless and Martha had just finished baking cookies for the kid’s afternoon snack. The odor in the kitchen was tantalizing. She plugged in the percolator, after she had graciously greeted the two commissioners and hugged Lonnie.

Martha sat out four Currier and Ives saucers along with small desert plates and a starched linen napkin. She was gracious and vivacious. She stacked compliments on the commissioners for their interest in rebuilding the bridge, which was so desperately needed by the Foggy Bottom community. Lonnie simply sat back and let Martha work her magic. By the time Martha finished with them, these two guys were ready to swim that river and get back to town so they could start work on this bridge. The observation party arrived about 11:00 a.m. Martha had constantly been moving about the kitchen and she started setting out plates and it became obvious that she had been putting a meal together all the time she was visiting with them. All at once, it seemed that ham, mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans and hot biscuits were on the table. By 12:00 noon, the table was set and Lonnie was saying grace over the food.

The commissioners were not openly invited to dine with the Horns; it just seemed that all at once they were expected to do this. They were somewhat disconcerted by this turn of events, but Martha’s fantastic hot biscuits and her charisma soon dispelled their anxiety. Actually, the lunch was a very pleasant experience for these two men, once they finally decided that Lonnie was not their adversary and had a genuine desire to help. They begin to question him and soon learned that he was a wealth of knowledge. Having done blacksmithing work most of his life, Lonnie had learned much about working with metal.

As they left the Horn’s, after both men very graciously thanked Martha for a delicious meal, it was evident to Lonnie that Martha had cast her spell. One of the commissioners asked, "Mr. Horn, may I ask you something?

Sure, what’s on your mind?

Where did that meal come from? It was delicious.

Before Lonnie could answer, the other spoke up, Well, I was wondering the same thing.

Lonnie laughed a boisterous laugh, Martha used her magic. She has a marvelous talent for that. Have you gentlemen read Proverb 31? My wife was described in that Proverb.

Neither man was familiar with the passage, but decided that they would read it that evening, which each did in the quietness of their own home and each decided that Lonnie was right. Lonnie had gone on to expound that Martha was the one who had caught the vision for the machine shop and had encouraged each addition to the business. They were overwhelmed.

*     *     *

On the way back to town, the two began to discuss how they could go about constructing the suspension bridge. Lonnie suggested that they go back to the State Highway Department and see if they could engage their engineer to design the bridge. They agreed to do this.

Three weeks later the young engineer had the plans complete and ready to submit for bids to fabricate the superstructure of the bridge. The young man had done a good job with his design. The new bridge would have a 50 ton weight limit, and be a two lane bridge. This was several orders of magnitude higher than the old bridge. The young engineer also designed the support structure for the bridge.

The commissioners for the respective counties took the plans for the support piers and each began work to set the foundation for the bridge. Three 38 foot I beams were to serve as the main supports. The commissioners worried that they could not hold tolerance on bolt spacing for the beams to bolt to the piers.

Lonnie cautioned, You had better not bolt those beams rigidly to the piers. You have to leave room for the beams to expand and contract with temperature changes. Set your bolts outside the I beams and install keepers on top of the bottom flange of the beam. You can have your rest plates and keepers made before you start to pour your piers and use those as the template for your bolt patterns. Just leave them in place until you get ready to set the beams. Make sure that the keepers have a stop on one end to keep the beams from walking off the piers.

The fact that the I beams could walk off the piers amused the commissioners, but they could see Lonnie’s reasoning. He sat down and on a paper bag, he drew a sketch of how the I beam rest plate should be constructed. It was to be a 5/8 inch steel plate with a keeper to be secured with two bolts on each side. It would simply be installed on top of the piers and left in place until the beams were ready to set. In six weeks after the commissioners selected a company to fabricate the structure, I beams were ready for delivery. Jim Donovan’s trucking company was engaged to transport the structure from the fabricator to the bridge location. Each county had an old dragline, which was moved into place to start construction of the new bridge. The I beams were to be set in place across the river first.

Lonnie Horn could not stay away from the bridge site. He showed up once when the craftsmen were fretting over how to hold tolerance on the spacing of the keepers for the I beams. He suggested, Get a couple of 2 X 12 planks and make a template. Cut spacers the same width as the I beams and nail them to the 2 X 12 planks at the correct spacing for the I beams on the piers. Drill holes in the template to hold your anchor bolts in place while the concrete cures.

One of the craftsman looked at the other and asked, Why didn’t we think of that?

Lonnie laughed, Oh, you guys are just too close to the problem. Sometimes you simply have to get away from it to see the bigger picture.

These two men had just received two lessons. One in how to do their job; the second in diplomacy. Lonnie had meddled into their affairs, yet he had given each a balm to heal their wounds for not seeing an obvious solution to their problem. The template worked well and what they had feared was going to be a huge problem turned out to be very easy.

*     *     *

Construction of the Foggy Bottom Bridge was a big event. It was the first suspension bridge many had seen and most knew it was Lonnie Horn’s idea. A constant stream of cars from Pine Hill came to watch various stages of the superstructure erection. After the I beams were in place, the outer arches were erected. They were minimally supported. As soon as the arches were up to give the structure strength, the metal grating used for the bridge itself was installed next and then the truss members were added last.

The bridge was nearing completion in early April. The day had been one of those miserable April days, temperatures in the mid 50’s, a fine misty day, almost too misty to work, but the erection crew had kept working. Lonnie got an urge to check progress of the bridge, so he left work about 20 minutes early and headed home. He knew the bridge was nearing completion and thought perhaps this just might be the day that he would be allowed to drive across it. He arrived just before the crew quit work at 5:00 for the day. A young man was working at the top of the arch bolting the end of one of the strut members and since he had an audience from Pine Hill he got a little careless and cocky. He braced himself against an adjacent support member and reached over to install a bolt on the support he was working on to attach it to the top arch. He had not given consideration to the fact that the beam supporting him was very slick from the constant mist which had been present all day. His foot slipped and before he knew what was happening, he was headed for the river.

In the river, he began struggling to stay afloat, but with his heavy clothing and boots, he was fighting a losing battle. Lonnie knew the river was going to claim another victim, so he shucked his shoes, jacket, tossed his billfold on the ground and dove into the river after him. Lonnie got his head above water, but knew that he would lose him at the bend of the river unless he could steer him away from a whirlpool, which Lonnie knew was at the bend.

Fortunately the crew foreman had a rope on his truck. He rushed to the truck, grabbed the rope and rushed to the water’s edge and screamed for Lonnie to work his way over so he could toss him the rope. Lonnie had been trying to work the young man away from the whirlpool, but when he saw the rope he changed directions. Before the foreman could get the rope to him, they were in the whirlpool.

The foreman finally got the rope to Lonnie, but he was not strong enough to pull the two out. Two other people finally recovered from their shock and came to his aide. They drug Lonnie and the young man up the river bank. After considerable coughing, sputtering, and finally vomiting, the young man began to recover, but he was chilled to the bone.

Lonnie asked, Isn’t that bridge strong enough for me to drive my pickup across?

The foreman didn’t bat an eye, H*     *     * yes. Boys, move them barricades and let Mr. Horn drive across that bridge.

Lonnie got the young man in his truck and drove across the bridge to take him to his house to dry off and warm up. Martha heard Lonnie’s truck drive up. She rushed out to find out what was going on. When she saw Lonnie and the young man drenched, she didn’t even have to ask.

She simply asked, Where did he fall in?

Top of the structure, middle of the river.

Oh, my goodness. That river just had to get in one more lick. You both get out of those wet clothes. I will light the heater in the bathroom. Lonnie, you can change in the bedroom.

I’ll change in the shop. He can change in the bathroom.

Martha rushed in and lit the heater, laid out a clean towel and soap. She instructed, You need to shower and wash that river off you.

He sheepishly replied, Yes ma’am.

Martha found dry clothes for the young man and sent Merle to deliver them. Lonnie pulled off his wet clothes and came to the kitchen where the foreman already had his first cup of coffee. He was giving Martha, Merle and Mary a play by play description of what happened and he was praising Lonnie to the highest degree. He ended, Johnny would have drowned if Mr. Horn hadn’t gone in that river. I had no idea that whirlpool was that strong. That river is swift coming through that cut.

Merle added, It is swift and it is deep. That river is over 100 feet wide up river. You neck that down to 35 feet and all of that water has to hurry to get through that cut.

The thought of the water hurrying tickled the old foreman and he burst into laughter. He would repeat that many times in days to come.

Mary Ann and Rex came to check progress at the bridge. Several people were still there. One of the crew rode with the foreman, so he was waiting. He told Rex and Mary Ann what had happened, heaping praise on Lonnie.

They rushed across the river on the ferry and almost ran to the Horn’s. Mary Ann rushed to Lonnie and hugged him. She asked, How did you stay out of the whirlpool? I didn’t. Mr. Jones threw me a rope. Hadn’t been for that, we would not have made it.

Mary Ann became clingy, holding on to Lonnie’s sleeve like he was going to get away. Rex looked at his dad and stated, Dad, I see your truck out front. Does that mean that you got to drive across that new bridge?

Lonnie smiled, Mr. Jones was gracious enough to let me drive across.

Bob Jones exploded, Gracious, h*     *     *! You saved my nephew’s life. He would be alligator bait now if you hadn’t gone in that river after him.

Bob didn’t even realize he was using bad language in front of Martha, Mary Ann and Mary. He was still hyper. Johnny spoke up, I thought sure I was going to drown, I am not a very good swimmer. I was just about gone when Mr. Horn got to me. Thank you, Mr. Horn.

Martha, ever the evangelist stated rather firmly, Johnny, God put Lonnie there to save your life. He normally would not have been there that early. I do not know why he was there, other than the fact that God wanted him there for that purpose. You have a great responsibility now. You were saved for a purpose. You had better find that purpose or you are going to spend a miserable life.

Johnny Jones was not a religious person, yet. But Martha’s words chilled him. He saw very clearly that it was more than accident that Lonnie Horn was there at that time to save his life. There were not many people who knew that river well enough to have done this. Any of the Horns,