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GROVER TATE NEELY born November 1, 1893; died October 21, 1976; 82 years old
By Rosemary Neely Marmon
Childhood:
Very poor. Some of the little ones were malnourished (Grover?) because when they first lived in Texas about all they had that first year was an abundance of turnips. On asking Grover how his mom managed to feed them all he said, “A little bit of meat and a lot of gravy.” Many people called him “Gravy Grover” because he liked it so much. His mother made cookies (tea cakes) by the little wooden barrel full. He was a grown man before he ever saw or tasted frosting on a cake. Consequently he didn’t care for frosting the rest of his life. On Saturdays his parents went to town in the wagon for supplies. There wasn’t room for all to go so on the way home, his mother would buy a block of ice and then make ice cream when they got home. A big treat! He said he learned his first lesson on “forgiveness” at an early age when his mom sent him down the road to buy some milk from neighbors. She cautioned him not to lose the dime she had put in the bucket. Nevertheless he did lose it and came home with an empty bucket - no dime or milk!
One of Grover’s first jobs “for pay” was driving a wagon and team of mules hauling freight. He was about 12 or 14.
He told how all the brothers were astute business men at an early age when they would deliberately stage a sure enough “prize fight” between brothers and charge admission from neighbor kids.
Being one of the older brothers, he told the story about hiding in the barn loft in the dried peanuts. They knew that one of the farm hands regularly visited to get some “goobers”. One night when he came, they hid and rustled the plants, making weird sounds. The man left and never returned!
According to Grover, he left home at age 17 because there were too many mouths to feed; he got his first job in a cotton gin and later in a general store. In 1917 (at age 23 1/2) during the first world war, he was inducted into the army at Barstow, Texas, as a sergeant. He was in the 90th Division and trained in Camp Bowie at Fort Worth, Texas. His job was listed as “stockman”. Later he regretted telling them he knew anything about stock because he was a “mule skinner” all the way across France and Germany. He told his grandson the reason he had a “big crooked nose” was he had a “big mouth” on the troop ship and was forever in a scuffle. He was seasick all the way over and back. The only injury he sustained in the army was a broken fist, the result of a fight with another soldier. While he was in France he bought Magabel’s engagement ring and carried it in his shirt pocket for six weeks with no bath while in the trenches. He was discharged in June 1919.
Grover and Magabel met in Barstow and were married February 8, 1922 in Sierra Blanca, Texas, each having gone there by train. They left immediately after the ceremony and journeyed on to El Paso, again by train. Shortly they moved to Mesa, Arizona, where Bettie was born on June 24, 1925. They moved back to El Paso soon thereafter.
Grover was involved in various aspects of the cotton industry all through the years in the West Texas area. Rosemary was born February 27, 1928.
Stories I Remember:
Just before Grandma's death in 1932, she was returning to Arizona on the train after visiting relatives and friends in Texas. Grover, Bettie, and Rosemary got on the train with her at Fabens and had a 30 mile visit before arriving at El Paso, where Magabel picked us up to return home. I remember Daddy was very sad. He must have known that she was very ill, although I did not. It was my last time to see her.
It must have been in the late 1930’s that we drove through Roscoe, Texas, and we stopped to visit a cousin of Daddy’s named Sallie Duncan. She was born Sallie Louise Neely, having married Arthur Duncan. (They are both buried in the Roscoe cemetery). She was a very attractive and outgoing lady.
Being in Fabens on the way to East Texas, we were always a stopping point for families traveling who needed a night’s lodging. I loved seeing all my aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents. There were pallets on the floor and how I wish I could remember all those stories. Love abounded.
In 1936 after Bettie’s death, Mother, Daddy, and I rode the train to Dallas for the Texas Centennial. We stayed With Aunt Reedye and Uncle U.R. and kiddies in Grand Prairie. I fell off the little day bed in the night and cried. Wanda consoled me.
A happy experience. Going to Kerrville to visit the Roy Neelys. Cold cereal and bananas never tasted so good! All that water in the creeks was a paradise for a West Texan. Buddy rode the rapids in a one-half barrel. Those adorable little red haired girls, Kate and Barbara.
Family roots and get togethers were (and still are!) so important! I would either ride the bus or train to Arizona as a teenager and make the rounds with the relatives. I felt so loved and still do.
Uncle Otto tried to buy me a leather belt with silver buckle but I wouldn’t let him because I was afraid he didn’t have enough money. The first ironing mangle I ever saw was Aunt Edna’s --- uptown!
Uncle S.T. would always store my “love letters” in the freezer because they were so sticky sweet!
Going dancing at Mezona in Mesa with Rex - Wow!
Dick scaring me to pieces by speeding and sliding the car around in the dried wheat field!
June and Marvin’s wedding in Aunt Mae’s yard was so very romantic!
I carried Joe Bob’s prize bull picture around for years but I stopped when years later he asked me why I couldn’t have selected a husband with more hair!
About Grover’s Family Church Life
I really don’t know other than the standards Dad set in his own home which probably stemmed from his own rearing. If I’m correct, his parents were Baptist. Sunday was always a holy day, to worship and to rest from work. Prayer was a part of every day. We did not patronize movies, etc., on Sunday. Dad knew from memory all the verses of many old hymns such as “The Old Rugged Cross”, and “I come To The Garden Alone.” He loved to sing and harmonize which he did well. Other evidence of religious influence was his love for attending all “camp meetings” in the area such as “Piasano” at Fort Davis, and “Camp Bloyce” near Alpine.
About Grover’s Family
Just a few comments and memories about Daddy’s family after his youth. His working years included cotton buying and cotton farming, with a few cattle and horses thrown in along the way. He was always a trader and loved to bargain. He had a heart of gold and was always trying to help the down and out. Every day was a picnic for him. In his later years, he made a few bad deals and nearly lost it all, but he never gave up and never lost his “go” spirit.
My dear mother, Magabel, outlived Daddy by 21 years and died peacefully at age 101. We moved her nine times in those years to different care homes. It was a family joke when the boys would stroll in and ask, “So when and where are we moving Grandmother next?” She did end up here in San Antonio close to us.
My sister, Bettie (older by two and a half years), was only with us for eleven years. I don’t recall a single cross word from this gorgeous little mahogany-haired blue-eyed beauty. And knowing me, I’ll bet I tried to provoke her. Her years were filled with talent, achievement, beauty, and love from all her classmates and friends. She played the piano for Sunday School. One of my favorite happy times with her involved a tall, lanky, freckle faced hobo in a straw hat who appeared at our door for a handout. We proceeded to invite him in and make him a sandwich after which we went down the street with him to help him beg. When Mother came home, she was horrified!
Soon after, Bettie developed a staph infection from a bug bite on her leg. She was gone in about a week in those days before penicillin (1936).
When I was a senior at the University of Texas getting my degree in dietetics, I met Marion Bowers who was getting his masters degree in petroleum engineering following his Navy stint in WW II. I went on to teach some, doing a dietetic internship at Stanford and worked in San Francisco. After Marion came home from another Navy stint in Korea, it took us five years to get around to marrying in between the Navy, working, etc.
During our 43 years together, we lived in Brownfield, Seminole, and San Antonio, all in Texas. Though Marion only worked in the oil industry prior to our marriage, he continued his interest and involvement in the business. His main efforts and business connections were in a butane distributorship and a tractor dealership, but for many years he was mainly a cotton and peanut farmer in West Texas.
We had three sons. Rob Bowers is a cotton and peanut farmer at Seminole, Texas, and his wife, Sherry, is an elementary school principal. They have two sons; Michael, 23 and David L., 21. Our second son, David Clark Bowers is a lawyer. Our third son, Ric Bowers, is an environmental engineer, and his wife Tina is a microbiologist; they have two young sons, Sam, now four, and Eric, one.
Marion died in San Antonio in March of 1997 suddenly with acute respiratory disease.
Five years later, I married a widower, a wonderful gentleman, Harvey V. Marmon, a retired architect who had been Marion’s golfing friend for seven years. Along with Harvey, I inherited five more children and ten more grandchildren.
I cannot believe how very blessed I have been to have had such a complete and joyous life. Though I was virtually raised as an only child, I always felt the love and support from my extended family. Of course, I’m talking about so many of you Neelys. Thank you with so much love. ~Rosemary