William John Bartz

GEDCOM Note

Biography

Sources

<references />* Family sources, including a family personal ancestry collection book, 1910, 1920, 1940 Federal Census, Texas Death Index, City directories, Social Security index; Web Texas Find-a-Grave/
Author: Chris Sprangers This memory is written in the family ancestry Bartz book. Willie started school at 7 years at Granger, Texas; attending schools at San Gabriel, Robstwon, Bishop and Grand Prairie, Texas. When his parents moved to Keller, Texas, he quit school after the fourth grade to help with the farming. In 1923 he started farming for himself in Thrall Texas after his parents moved to South Texas; Albert also helped with the farming. It was on this farm that Willie met Alice for her family moved next door to their farm. They went to parties and dances in a Model T Ford around Thrall and Taylor; dating for about a year. <p>Willie and Alice were married in her parents home at Thrall Texas. While living on his farm Billie Marie was born. It was a dry year, so he sold all of his farming tools and moved to Arkansas and picked cotton on a farm for awhile. He then worked in a saw mill for another few months. Later they moved to Texarkana, Texas, where he worked as a mechanic, but after a few months, they moveved on to Burkburnett, Texas, staying part time with Adolph and Mamie Bartz. One day, Willie went out job hunting with Bill and Eddie Albers. Alice and the baby stayed with Adolph and Mamie. They men went to the little oil field town of Barger, but found no job so went on to Pampa, still not job. The first night they slept in the Model T. The following day, again no job and no place to sleep. They bought two blankets and slept in someone's wheat field, laying one blanket on a bundle of wheat, and the other for cover, getting up before light before anyone would know that they had slept there. The job hunting went on for 3 days, money getting very short with having to buy gas and fix flat tires. Finally Willie found a job in Pampa. Alice and the baby Billie Marie came to live there, but he continued to sleep in wheat fields for one more night, with wife baby and no money. The man Willie worked for gave them money to buy a tent and lumber for a floor in it for a small room after he worked for him for two weeks.It was put on the Weston Oil Company lease. Later in years, the Oil Co., furnished houses for their employees, so they finally got a house to live in on the lease where Norman, Ray Carroll and Carolyn were born. In 1940, Willie and Alice were divorced. He remarried after dating Jewell for almost 2 years on August 7th 1942. Bill retired from the Oil Company in 1960, and worked for about 2 years in a boat shop. Bill later started his own business as a mechanic on Volkswagon cars. He enjoyed fishing in lakes about Pampa Texas, and the Bass Lake in Oklahoma, Green Belt Lake and Lake Meredith. He would go bear hunting in Colorado, and had two bird dogs that he took quail hunting around Pampa and Oklahoma. </p>