THE BATTALION
Page 2 College Station, Texas Thursday, August 18, 1960
Panhandle Soddies
Fading from Scene
AMARILLO, (A*) — Crumbling
foundations and stone piles re
main today as remants of “sod
dies” that once dotted the Texas
Panhandle.
A “soddie” is a house made from
soil — often the only building ma
terial available to pioneers.
Transformation of the country
began about 75 years ago when
pioneers first began to arrive in
great numbers. The period of sod
houses lasted about 25 years.
A vanguard of hunters, cattle
men and nesters already had for
ged into the region when the
state created the 54 Panhandle
counties in 1876.
Solved Problem
Shelter was the first problem
that maced the pioneer and he used
the material at hand—sod, rocks,
adobe and logs. The log houses
were found only along wooded wa
terways.
Sod houses didn’t cost much.
One historian itemized expendi
tures on a two-room sod house and
came up with a total of $2.78, not
Funeral Services
Held for Col. Trail
Funeral services were held Sun
day afternoon at the St. Thomas
Episcopal Church for Col. Charles
D. Trail, ’39.
Col. Trail, who was married to
the former Billie Marburger of
College Station, died Thursday at
Lackland AFB Hospital in San
Antonio.
Born in Kaufman in 1918, Col.
Trail had been stationed at Stra
tegic Air Command Headquarters
at Offutt AFB, Neb.
Besides his widow, Col. Trail
is survived by three children, one
a junior student at A&M, Bei»;
his mother; three sisters; and five
brothers.
Burial was in the College Sta
tion Cemetery.
Veterinary Prof
To Study in Mexico
James R. Dixon, assistant pro
fessor in the Department of Vet
erinary Microbiology, will leave
Friday for a research trip into the
irid western regions of Mexico.
The trip will be conducted to
iomplete final research analysis
of the zoography and taxonomy of
certain vertebrates for Dixon’s
Ph.D. program. He will remain
in Mexico until Sept. 19.
Accompanying Dixon will be his
wife, Mary. They will visit the
Mexican states of Guerrero, Mich-
oacan, Colima, Jalisco, Nayarit,
Sinaloa and Sonora.
including labor. The same sized
structure today would cost an esti
mated $3,000.
Short Life
The soddy’s life was from 7 to
10 years. An exception is in the
museum at Beaver, Okla. Plaster
ed over with concrete to prevent
further erosion, it promises to be
substantial for many years.
A sod plow was used to cut 12-
inch strips of sod from the virgin
soil. The long strips then were
cut into 18-inch lengths and haul
ed to the building site and used
somewhat like bricks.
Roofs varied. Rough lumber or
picket poles overlaid with sod usu
ally were used.
The average size of such a house
was 12 feet by 20.
Used for Towns
Pioneers sometimes built entire
towns of sod. Perhaps the most
famous of these was Sod Town, a
raucous little cowtown along the
south edge of Coon Creek, about 10
miles northeast of Darrouzett.
The town was started in 1886
and gained a notorious reputation
in its three-year history.
The town listed 50 residents, but
multiplied its population many
times on payday when thirsty cow
hands arrived to slake their thirst.
Even today, scattered bits of
glassware remain at the site.
The arrival of the railroads at
the turn of the century marked the
doom of the sod houses. Every
homesteader looked forward to the
day when he could build a frame
house, made easier because the
railroads could transport lumber
to the settlers.
Reserve Officers
Elect Mayfield
Local President
Col. Henry Mayfield, A&M Col
lege System Architect, has been
elected president of the newly or
ganized Brazos County Chapter of
the Reserve Officers Assn.
The election was held last
recently at the Bryan Reserve
Armory.
Lt. Col. James R. Bradley, as
sistant research economist with
the Texas Engineering Experiment
Station, was elected vice president,
and Maj. Edward L. Scott, tactical
officer in the School of Military
Sciences, was named secretary-
treasurer.
Maj. Scott said the next meet
ing of the chapter will be at 7
p.m. Sept. 1 at the Armory. All
Army, Air Force, Navy and Ma
rine reserve officers are invited to
attend.
ANNOUNCING THE OPENING OF
Betty Moore's
School of Dance
SMALL CLASSES • PERSONALIZED ATTENTION
• Toe • Tap • Modern Jazz
• Ballet • Acrebatics • Ballroom
Now Open For Registration—Ph. TA 3-6645
Studio Located in Ridgecrest
THE BATTALION
Opinions expressed in The Battalion are those of the stu-
ient writers only. The Battalion is a non-tax-supported, non
profit, self-supporting educational enterprise edited and op
erated by students as a community newspaper and is under
the supervision of the director of Student Publications at
Texas A&M College.
Members of the Student Publications Board are L. A. Duewail, director of
Student Publications, chairman ; Dr. A. L. Bennett, School of Arts and Sciences ; Dr.
X. J. Koenig, School of Engineering; Otto R. Kunze, School of Agriculture; and Dr.
E D. McMurry School of Veterinary Medicine.
The Battalion, a student newspaper at Texas A.&M. is published in College
Station, Texas, daily except Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, and holiday periods,
September through May, and once a week during summer school.
Entered as second-class
matter at the Post Office
In College Station, Texas,
under the Act of Con-
tress of March 8. 1870.
MEMBER:
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Texas Press Assn.
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ipontaneous origin published herein. Rights of republication of all other matter here
in are also reserved.
News contributions m
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ay be made by telephoning VI 6-6618 or VI 6-4910 or at the
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Mail subscriptions are $3.60 per semester, $6 per school
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4
JOHNNY JOHNSON EDITOR
Russell Brown Sports Writer
CADET SLOUCH by Jim Earle New Students End Session Of Counseling
“I found that I can save money by eliminating minor items like haircuts, razor blades,
pressing and laundry bills and never know th’ difference!”
CALHOUN TOURS ARCTIC AREA
(Continued from Page 1)
were Dr. Jay W. Forrester, pro
fessor of industrial management,
and Dr. Rolf Eliassen, professor
of sanitary engineering, Depart
ment of Civil Engineering, Massa
chusetts Institute of Technology;
Dr. George A. Hawkins, dean of
engineering, Purdue University;
Dr. Howard W. Barlow, dean of
engineering, Washington State
University; Dr. Donald E. Mar
lowe, dean of engineering, Cath
olic University, Washington, D. C.;
Arthur L. Malcarney, executive
vice president for defense electron
ic products, Radio Corporation of
America; Col. Balchen of Chappa-
qua, N. Y.; Air Commodore Rich
ard B. Whiting, chief, construction
engineering for the Royal Canad
ian Air Force; and Col. Clarence
A. Eckert, director of the Civil
Engineering Center (AUIT),
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base,
Dayton, Ohio.
IMPORTANT NEWS ABOUT N-S. SAVINGS BONDS
J
How you can turn your E
Bond savings into
current income while
preserving the principal
Effective now, owners of Series E Savings Bonds can
trade them in for H Bonds without.immediately pay
ing income tax on the interest accumulated.
This new conversion privilege allows you to pay taxes
when your bracket may be lower; permits tax money
to earn interest for you. This means special benefits
for people near retirement, or who for other reasons
. want the cash interest paid twice a year by H Bonds,
FACTS ABOUT H BONDS: * You buy
them at face value. * You receive interest
by check twice a year. * You earn
interest when H Bonds are held the full
10 year maturity term. Get full informs
tion (and order H Bonds) at your Bank.
you SAVE MORE WAN MONEY WITH
U.S. Savings Bonds
Series H and Series E
The U.S. Government does not pay for this
advertising. The Treasury Department thanks,
for their patriotic donation. The Advertising
Council and
The Battalion
A&M has just completed one of
several two-day counseling and
testing clinics this summer for
new students.
The next clinic will be held Aug.
26-27 in the Counseling and Test
ing Center.
S. A. Kerley, director of the
center, said every freshman stu
dent entering A&M is given the
opportunity to participate in the
program.
Purpose of the tests, he said,
is to give students a chance to
intelligently plan a fall study pro
gram with a representative of the
dean in the school in which they
desire to study.
The tests gauge a student’s abil
ity for college work, science, Eng
lish, mathematics, reading and vo
cational interests.
Kerley said A&M is one of very
few colleges and universities to
offer this service to new students.
When there is an income tax, the
just man will pay more and the
unjust less on the same amount
of income.—Plato
QUALITY & VALUE IS...
Coca Cola 12 “ 3 9 c
Sunfarm “S* 45 c
J. W. Coffee ““ 47 c
Salad Oil "" 39c
GREEN BEANS Kl "l 2 N cl 3 29c
GAYLA DRINKS 3 c.„ s 25c
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CROWN ROAST
YOUNG and TENDii
SPRING VEAL . . . . Lb.
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ROUND STEAK
BRISKET
39c
u. 39c
Lb. 79c
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FRANKS -
37c
LUNCH MEAT X s,iccd
Lb. 59c
CEDDAR CHEESE
Lb. 63c
LETTUCE
U. S. NO. 1 FRESH
NICE SIZE FIRM HEAD Ea. 7 C
FRESH PLUMS
THESE PRICES GOOD IN BRYAN ONLY AUG. 1
Lb. 23c
8-20