Born 14 miles south west of Memphes, Tex. Hall County and 2 miles East of Lodge, Tex. which is now called Plaska, Tex.Our house was built back in a hill with rock walls above the ground. The front door came out level with the ground. There was a small kitchen south east of the other room. Later on another room was built south west of the other rooms.My father had rented the place and worked it, and on ranches and other odd jobs. The place belonged to a widow woman her name was Mrs. Stokes, she lived at Memphes, Tex. I don't know how long my father rented the place, but before he passed away April,13 - 1900.

He and Mother had made plans to buy a place across Indian Creek. So after Father died, Mother worked the place untill she was abelto buy the place across the creek. I don't know how long she worked the place before we moved but made several crops. The place where we moved had a dugout on it seamed big to me, but I wasn't very old, 5 of us girls and Mother lived in it several years."

"My oldest sister had married before we moved, and when Mother got abel she built another room,(we always called it upstairs). The country wasn't very thickley populated.

Then several Ranches and a one room school house west of us, and a one room east of us, where Fannie, Flora, and Mary went to school.

Later on Elsie and I went to the same school. I remember we use to visit friends west of us, go in the wagon and stay all day Sunday. It was about 5 miles and no house in between. The winters were bad then or it seamed to me. As the girls and Mother would shovel a trail out of the snow to the barn as it drifted pretty bad. We burned wood in the summer in the stove and used coal in the Winter. When the crops were ready together we all helped picked cotton and cut maize heads,get her corn."

"Some was cut with a binder (Elbert, Florence husband) ran the binder and I rode one of the horses. I sure did get tired and was ready to quit. I use to run the harrow a lot. Rode on horse and drove the other three. Elsie was to heavey to do any of it.She got the job of hoeing cotton.I wonder sometimes when we got home at night how we could sing and play the old organ like we did, but them days we didn't have a radio, t.v. or phone. Mother and Fannie done the field work or most of it. The other girls did the house work and chores. Later when Mother got abel, she built 2 more rooms on and moved the one room back for a kitchen. The two front rooms faced the East. I went to my first school in a one room school house. They had grades from the primmer to the 12/th grade. The school was about 1/2 mile from home. Later they moved the school north about 2 miles from where it was at. Was larger but still a one room school, but had a curtain to draw to seperate the first three grades from the other classes. I walked to school it was about 2 miles, and had my work to do after school. I fed the chickens,and water them, gathered eggs and drowed water from a well for the stock.

Elsie and I would strip mazie heads for the horses and shuck corn for the hogs and have it all ready for feed time."

"The other girls had there work to do milking the cows. And then Mary married, Flora done the cooking untill she married. Then Fannie done the cooking when she got in from the field. Then Later on Fannie got married, and Elsie done the cooking and helped with the chores. I guess we were lucky to have a Mother to provide for us."

"When she layed the crops by, she would piece quilts late at night by a coal oil lamp. I was 6 or 7 when she got the old organ from Sears and Roebuck. A cousin was staying with us and knew music. He taught us to card on the organ. So as time went on Elsie and I would sing and play the organ at night,and sometimes Mother would come to the door and join us, she sang tenor.

She had gone to singing school when her and Father first married and they knew shape notes. We spent many happy hours after work was done. Father and Mother sang together before he died. Mother told me to not stop singing with Dad. I was about 18 mo. old when father died so I don't remember him. We had a happy home. Then all have passed on. I'm still here, but think of the home I grew up in. Times were hard after I got old enough to realize what a struggel it was for Mother to raise 6 girls to be grown. She sang at her work, and used to send us to church and when we got home she had our dinner all ready done. So I married young and left home. Mother and Elsie went thru the deppression alone. So this is my story of home down in Hall County."

Eva Langlitz