Secretly Scarlett

By John Mathew Skeen

A Texas Tale of a Headstrong Southern Bell and Her Life's Ups and Downs. A true account of an extraordinary large Texan family welded together by love and compassion for one another. Overseen by an overly protective mother and a hardworking father who strive to give their seven children an upbringing centered around respect and morals. Sammie Joe, the mother, identifies herself with Scarlett O'Hara. And like Scarlett, she encounters stumbling blocks throughout her life with her handsome Jack by her side.

This is a genuine story that covers many touchy subjects such as child abuse, alcoholism, teenage hormones, and death. Sammie Joe finds herself lastly fighting for the rights of countless chemical plant workers who have lost their lives due to gross negligence from overexposure to dangerous chemicals.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Fulton Books, Inc.
• Release date: Sep 13, 2021
• ISBN: 9781637104828

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Secretly Scarlett

John Mathew Skeen

Copyright © 2021 John Mathew Skeen

All rights reserved

First Edition

Fulton Books, Inc.

Meadville, PA

Published by Fulton Books 2021

ISBN 978-1-63710-481-1 (paperback)

ISBN 978-1-63710-483-5 (hardcover)ISBN 978-1-63710-482-8 (digital)

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Getting to Know You

Oh, Sweet Pea, Won’t You Marry Me?

From a Jack to a King

Alvin Texas

Corpus Christi

Alvin, Texas

My story as I recall. Told by me and only me.

JMS

Disclaimer

It is my decision that certain names will be omitted from my story. Some are to protect the innocent and others because I refuse to acknowledge the undeserving as they will not benefit from my writings in any shape, form, or fashion. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. You know who you are!

John Mathew Skeen

Thinking back, it seems like a familiar dream. A bit hazy and kind of blurry, like an old photograph out of focus. Did it all really happen? Time really has a funny way of weaving together what is real and what should be real.

It is all for you, Sammie Joe.

It always has been!

John Mathew Skeen

Prelude

It all started when she was down on the square in Henderson, Texas. That’s where she’s from. Henderson is most typical of the many small very Baptist towns in this part of East Texas. Laid out in 1843, Henderson was built around a beautiful green square. The Rusk County courthouse is its crown jewel minus its hanging tree, blood rooted on the courthouse lawn. Henderson was named for the Republic of Texas pioneer and statesman, James Pinckney Henderson. He would later become the first governor of the State of Texas. A statue of Thomas Jefferson Rusk, the first secretary of the Republic of Texas, overlooks the square from the downtown crossroads.

The early merchants built fine stores from an endless supply of virgin pine. But this was not to last, for the town of Henderson was deliberately set on fire in 1860. It all started with an illicit affair between a white Northern abolitionist and a local Negro woman. Both were dead set on burning Henderson to the ground. This was a sordid folktale that was told to me. It led to the hanging of all involved. The Negro woman would soon swing from that same hanging tree but only after she gave birth to the abolitionist’s child. Baptized by fire, the town of Henderson, like the phoenix from the ashes, would quickly resurrect itself. This time from bricks made of clay from the many surrounding clay pits, sturdier and much stronger than before.

Henderson’s square has seen horses and buggies give way to Ford’s Model As and Ts. It has seen firsthand the 1930’s Great East Texas Oil Boom. The town’s population went from two thousand to ten thousand within a matter of months. With eggs three dollars a dozen and bread four, matters had really gotten out of hand with this newfound wealth. The National Guard was called in to bring stability among the chaos.

This square has witnessed the dead bodies of teachers and students brought in from the famous 1937 New London School Gas Explosion. Over three hundred dead. This was the worst US school disaster to date. Dead bodies lay out on Henderson’s downtown sidewalks waiting to be identified by their families. A whole generation lost that day. But never again. Natural gas would be given a detectable odor after that tragic day. Adolf Hitler even sent a letter of condolence. So, like the chapters in my story, the downtown square has witnessed more than its share of life’s ups and downs. On this particular spring evening, life was free and easy in America’s early 1950s. Henderson’s square now pays homage to Bobby Soxers who tend to gather together in their big, oversized automobiles. With girls in their poodle skirts and saddle shoes, and the boys with their greasy ducktails slicked back trying to look ever so cool, rockabilly music blares out from their car radios. And the corner drugstore is the only place in town where one can buy a cherry phosphate soda water, which brings me to my main character, and, oh, what a character she is.

Chapter 1

Getting to Know You

Sammie Joe Ashby when she was an infant, three-year-old snow bunny, and fifteen years old.

Sammie Joe Ashby. Friends call her Sam or Joe. Sammie Joe sits parked downtown on the square in her girlfriend’s new convertible, sipping on a Coca-Cola and dishing all the latest gossip. She herself is the topic of much of the rumored conversation. Although Sammie Joe is only in her midteens, she has just recently been divorced from her high school sweetheart, Harold Crisco. Can you imagine Sammie Joe Crisco? Greased lighting? She is a striking creature with her tall, trim figure and bleached blond hair. Sammie Joe even smokes cigarettes. If only her parents knew.

Now it was told to me that Sammie Joe spots this tall, good-looking olive-skinned young man walking out of the JC Penney’s store. She tells her girlfriend that, There goes the best-looking man in this town, and one day, I’m going to marry him.

Sammie Joe, being the type of straightforward person that she is, asks the handsome Jack if he would like to go for a ride and a Coke. Take it however you like, but with formalities and small talk aside, it is not but a couple of months later that Sammie Joe and her handsome Jack find themselves late one night in the little community of Pine Hill searching for justice of the peace. Both were shocked but quickly gave way to laughter when they saw the JP’s wife’s undergarments hung on a line strung across the front porch to dry. Could be a sign of things to come, Sammie Joe tells Jack. So there it happened late one evening over in the little community of Pine Hill. The two young lovers commit to each other. Till death do us part.

Jack and Sammie Joe, newlyweds

Now before I proceed with my story, I feel compelled to share some background information about the two newlyweds. I’ll start with Sammie Joe’s handsome Jack. His full name is Wilbur Jack Skeen, and he finds himself in his twenty-fourth year of life working the rich oil fields of East Texas. A corporal fresh out of the United States Marine Corp.

Wilber Jack Skeen when he was an infant, two years old, three years old, fifteen years old, graduation picture, and him as a young corporal.

Jack Skeen was born and raised in Bellville, Texas, which is in Austin County. It is a beautiful part of Texas steeped in history. This county is overflowing with many Germans, Czechs, and Bohemians. Not to forget the beautiful rolling hills that, in springtime, are covered in a lush carpet of bluebonnets and Indian paintbrushes. It is a peaceful slice of Central Texas. His German heritage is fondly embraced here. Both of Jack’s parents speak German and English. They always speak English in Bellville, but German is reserved for the family, down in the small farming community of Cat Spring. It is here in Cat Spring that Jack had a fraternal grandmother, whom he simply adores (Grossmama). Jack is her sunshine. She loves her grandchild with his jet-black hair that grows down to meet his forehead. Jack is dark complexed, like his father, Hope. Hope never knew his dad. He died when Hope was quite young. He parted from this world, leaving his widowed wife, Mary (Grossmama), and his two sons, whose names were Hope and Milton. Grossmama works as the small community’s telephone operator to support her two sons. The job allows Grossmama to work from her own home while lovingly caring for her two children. Jack’s mother, Hazel Uhlig, comes from a large upstanding German family. Hazel’s family owns the local mill in Cat Spring. Their farm has thrived for many a generation. They are simple people who farm their land and enjoy their beer and dance the polka. Good Lutheran stock, strong and proud. The Skeen side of Jack’s family originated from the Highland Skeen Clan in Scotland, also are said to be Huguenots. A direct descendant was John Skeen, appointed by the Crown of England, to be Governor of Jersey before the Revolutionary War. He is the first Freemason to live in America. A farm once owned by the Skeens in New Amsterdam is where Times Square now stands.

Skeen is a proud name, and Jack carries it well. He is a free soul who lives in the moment. Jack takes life as it comes each day new. He is born under the zodiac sign of Aries. He is an easygoing soul who avoids trouble. Jack’s family consists of Mom (Hazel Lucille Uhlig) and his Pop (Wilbur Hope Parks Skeen) and his younger sister, Mary Lou. Pop is a mechanic, and Mom works as a salesclerk at Lebowski’s on the square in Bellville. Jack is an obedient son who makes good grades in school. So good that he was embarrassed to be valedictorian of his class as he was often teased for having the highest IQ in school. Everything came easy for Wilbur Jack: good looks, personality, intelligence, and a friend to all. There was no conceit in him.

Hope Skeen clowning for flashbulb in Cat Spring.

Sisters, Hazel and Angelle Uhlig.

Jack and Mary Lou at the farm in Cat Spring.

Jack attends Texas A&M, majoring in engineering after graduating high school. Jack’s parents are so very proud of their son. They try hard to understand their son’s life-altering decision. A few semesters before graduation, Jack informs his parents that he has enlisted in the United States Marine Corp. Jack promises that he will complete his education after his service to the country.

This photo was taken at a beer party of the main gate detachment, Pearl Harbor Navy yard 1946.

Jack found himself as a military police officer, a job he stands out in. He was stationed at Pearl Harbor in 1946. His time in the service flies by. He considered reenlisting but decided against it. He longed for the mainland.

This photo was taken just before going on duty at the Main Gate, Pearl Harbor Navy Yard, in February 1946. Jack Skeen is far right, bursting with pride.

After his service in the Marines, Jack’s parents encourage him to return to A&M for his degree. Jack is not quite ready to go back to college, so he and a service friend will find employment in the rich oil fields of East Texas. They are looking forward to the fast money they will make working as a roustabout. Money and the lack of money will always play a large part in Jack’s life.

So here he is in Henderson, Texas. Wilbur Jack Skeen is living in Ms. Ida Mae Bagley’s boarding house, two blocks from the square, where he spends most of his free time. Everything he needs can be found down on the square (and I do mean everything). Jack cashes his weekly paycheck at the J. C. PENNEY’S store. That is where he first saw the tall blond. She was making her grand entry, and he, with cash in hand, was exiting. Right away, this striking Venus caught his brown eyes. She was like no other he had ever encountered. He had seen many in his four years with the service. (Quite a player he is.) This tall blond seems like a racehorse to him, waiting on the starting pistol to set her off, free to run with those long legs of hers. Jack looks forward to weekends down on the square, always keeping his eyes out for her. She was always with a large group of friends. Their eyes meet with each encounter, but words are yet to be spoken.

Sammie Joe’s friends swarm her like flies at the Twelve Oaks BBQ. There is no doubt she is the center of attention everywhere she goes. Most all his encounters with her take place at the J. C. Penny’s store. He once held the door open for her, but his fascination was halted when her attention turned toward the salesman in the shoe department.

Sammie Joe’s mother, Olive, works as a salesclerk at the local J. C. PENNY’S. Olive was quite amused when Jack came in to buy underwear. Jack asked many questions about her daughter. I’d like to buy some underwear. Could you help me?

I’d be happy to help you. Right this way.

Do you know that tall girl over there in the shoe department? I see her in here from time to time.

Yes. What has she done now?

Oh, nothing. I am just curious.

Olive could tell he was more than curious about Sammie Joe. He found out she was quite UNIQUE, to say the least. She considers herself a blond Scarlett O’Hara, whom she idolizes. Of course, she is not Scarlett O’Hara, but she certainly has refined her character over the years. Sammie Joe’s life had changed in 1939. She was just seven years old when she saw Gone with the Wind for the first time. To her, the similarities were undeniable. She saw herself up there on the big screen in Technicolor, right down to her own mammy. When Olive was pregnant, she and Joe were expecting a boy. They had even chosen his name, Samuel Joseph Ashby. What a surprise when the stork delivered to Joe and Olive a long-faced toe-haired baby girl with blue eyes. Boy, were they in for a ride! This bundle of joy came on the sixteenth of August 1932. Right from the beginning, she was set to go. She is born under the zodiac sign of Leo, the lion. The stage is set, and she is the star attraction, the center of the universe, like all Leos tend to be. She is the future lioness, left-handed and all.

Her young mother, Olive, tends to be much harder on her daughter than her father, Joe. She can do no wrong in his eyes. Her loving father is a heavy drinker, often embarrassing as many alcoholics tend to be, but love conquers all. Alcoholism will plague Sammie Joe and bring her much sorrow throughout her entire life. Sammie Joe is headstrong, and with a heart of a lion and warrior spirit, she is truly an old soul. In many aspects, she is ahead of her own time. It is to be her way or the highway. If all else fails, she will throw herself down on the ground and kick her ankles together and muster up a tear or two. This is a common practice for Sammie Joe. It works for everyone. She will come to perfect this act throughout her lifetime. Although she never has to resort to this level of demand with her dad. (He begrudges her nothing when he is sober.) How comforting her dad made her feel that horrible time she was turned away from one of her classmates’ birthday party. Sammie Joe had assumed that since everyone in her second-grade class had been invited that she too would be welcomed. To her dismay, she was told with a gift in hand that she was not welcomed.

Run on home, Sammie Joe, and don’t come back. Sammie Joe, heartbroken, fell into her dad’s arms and cried her eyes out. Her dad promised to make it all better.

Maybe a pony for your birthday, baby. Would that make you feel better, baby?

Oh yes, Daddy, please. Please, it would make me feel better.

Yes, it made her feel better, and she had little to no regrets about slapping the birthday girl just last week at recess (leaving her scarlet handprint behind on the girl’s cheek). Her mother, Olive, tries hard to break this warrior spirit that possesses her child. Around the age of four, Olive resorted to locking Sammie Joe in the hall closet. This is Olive’s form of time-out. Claustrophobia proves to be paralyzing for Sammie Joe. So much so, at times, I have seen her hastily rip her clothes off, just to relieve herself from being so confined. She believes that being locked in that hall closet all those years ago led to this affliction. Laughter holds back the tears. "Hell, that ain’t nothing. I spent the first few years of my life staring