The Waxahachie daily light. [volume] (Waxahachie, Tex.) 1894-current, 1909-08-21
tnit riiIRD REUNION


trrtaininuly ~ Recent Reunion
I spent the llth day Of August
with the Ellis County Pioneer Assoc
citation. at the ChautauQua park in
Waxahachle II was the third an
nual reunion. and to me it was
joyful occasion Peace and good
wifi and the delightful renewal OF
old acauaintances, reminiscive talks
of the pleasures and privations in
the days of Aud Lang Sine made
the pleasant hours pass too quickly
l"Uncle Bob" Mayfield, our esteemed
president was there, much enfeebled
with the weight of his many years
soiourn among us, yet his smile
frightened and his eye enkindled
with the handshake of each loving
grasp. Father Nat G.. Wise, too,
greeted us as in days of yore. He
now is nearing the end of his journey
with firm bent sail, but looks back
4
over life well spent. Uncle Ra-
leigh Simms and Mr.. Forbes, from
the valley, gave us the pleasure OF
their presence, and bid fair so be
with us in future reunions. Mr..
John Phillips and wife, and Mrs.
Lou Phillips contributed much to
/ the pleasures of the day, and Mrs.
b F. Hawkins, the grand old>pion-
eer mother in Israel, whose Chris
tan influence has nodded the lives
of many of the sons and daughters
of Ellis county, into characters that
adorn the walks of life, spent the day
with us at the park. She is calmly
pressing on to the goal that lies be-
fore, but her presence was blessing
at the reunion. The day seemed one
of unalloyed pleasure to all in at
tendance
In that masterpiece of the great
American poet, "A Psalm of Life, y
! (Which, after the Lords Prayer,
SEoulu De Tue iliSl ltS9oH itdl hcd w
every boy) he babe us trust no flu
ture" and to bury the past,
But the recollections of the past and
the sacred memories of childhood,
KEEP the footprints of the pioneer
youth and young manhood, and the
"Gckings" We used to get, make us
better men, in the present, and in
spires within us hope of the reali-
cation of brighter future Trust
the past fond memories bring, and
with a combination of sentiment and
sense we can shapen our lives to
meet the appreciation of our Creator,
and make the Ellis County Pioneer
Association a pleasurable, if not a
profitable relic of the early days
The remembrance of two pleasant
reunions in the past made this one
seem more pleasu"able to me and
lends q hope of s.'ll better reunions
in tie future.
The grand achievements of the
pioneers OF Ellis county in bringing
to light her possibilities, and adver-
Using them to the world, brought
within her borders the best citizens
from all chimes English, Irish and
Germans were among her earliest
settlers, and the first sixteen years
of her organized existence was but
one grand epoch of brotherly love
and fellowship, and belongs only to
her prairie schooner pioneers
Hospitality in their day was without
money and without price The latch
string hung on the outside of every
door and the humblest citizen was
welcome in every home. Honesty
of purpose and a Christian spirit
bore a premium over the glitter of
gold. This heritage left by the pion-
GERS belongs to the Sons and Daugh-
ters of Pioneers and they should
keep the footprints of the pioneer
fathers fresh ION the sands" of
Ellis county, and guard them as a
memento of their glories, and a
guide to their posterity We fully
appreciate and accord full credit to
the noble men and women who came
later, to help the pathfinder" de-
velop the varied resources of old
Ellis county, and 10 assist in beauti-
flying and magnifying the splendors
of the grandest county in the grand
est state of the greatest government
that the sun shines on The Old
Settlers are entitled to all the honors
and privileges that the more pro-
gressive Ellis county can bestow up
on her pioneers de luxe" and the
Ellis County Pioneer association ex-
tends to them the right hand of fell
lowship and bids them go on in fur
ther identifying our common terri
tory, but the traditions and hal
lowed memories of the pioneer pc
riod is ours