Juanita Gray

Officers

President

Vicki Collins

Vice President

Marty Thomas

Secretary

Doris Maxwell

Treasurer

Marilyn Gerloff

Directors

Brenda Sells

Edna Phillips

Faye Rydell

Advisory Directors

Dee Davey

Darryl Haynes

Mike Leyman

Raymond Meeks, Atty

Museum Manager

Vern Raven

Editors

Marilyn Gerloff

Vern Raven

Inside this issue: Juanita Gray 1

Gary, cont’d 2

Linda Leddy 3

Annual Luncheon 3

Gifts, Donations, Memorials

4

Best Maid Products, Tree of Life, Kroger

5

Friends of the Museum 6

T h i s p r o j e c t w a s m a d e , i n p a r t , b y a g r a n t f r o m t h e C i t y o f M a n s f i e l d

September 2016

NEWSLETTER

Mansfield Historical Society

Juanita Lindsey was born in Rockwall, Texas on Au-

gust 20, 1897. Her parents were John Boyd Lindsey and

Delia Apple Lindsey. The only sibling that we know of is,

brother, James W. Lindsey who lived in Joshua, TX. Her

real name was Johnnie Almeda Monica Lindsey, but

when she started performing, she changed it to Juanita

Lindsey. The family moved to Chickasha, OK when she

was 2 years old. The Lindsey’s were a musical family.

Her father was a carpenter who played the coronet with

John Phillip Sousa’s band. At the age of 3, she sang at

the State Fair of Texas. At some point during this peri-

od, her family moved to the Fort Worth area. At 11 years

old, she became a paid member of the Harley Saddler

Repertoire Company, a traveling tent show that brought

melodramas to small communities. Her petite frame, 5 ft 1 in, was an advantage when she tried out

for the George White Scandals. The producer needed Indian “boys” to walk over a water fall in this

lavish copy of the Ziegfeld Follies. She worked at Woolworths and Kresses department stores in the

music departments, singing from sheet music for sale. In 1926 while in Chicago with this production,

she read that Weaver Gray was performing with the Sparks Circus in Indiana. They married in

Statesboro, Ga in 1926. At age 29, her husband taught her how to ride a horse and trick riding. She

learned a jumping horse act, and a shooting act. They both performed in many circuses and ap-

peared in two John Wayne westerns,at Atlantic City, and in the Hoot Gibson Show in Dallas. When

the depression hit, they were lucky to make $2 a day. Mansfield was their permanent home from

1930 to early 1950s. During the depression years, 1930s, they performed on Smith Street behind

Main Street stores for a loaf of bread or a can of tomatoes, and the merchants might give them a

quarter. They rented the Larkin farm for $6 a month. In 1937, they sent letters to promote their acts

to rodeos, and they received many replies. They had one horse and a Model A Ford, and with help

from friends were able to purchase more horses and a trailer. Juanita went to the Ft Worth city

pound and picked out a dog and named him “Skippy”. In 1974, when the Fort Worth Star Telegram

published an article on her, she still had 2 show dogs with her. Continued page 2

Juanita Gray continued

Page 2

NEWSLETTER

They covered the U.S. from coast to coast and Canada. They appeared with Montie Montana and Tom

Mix. She knew Roy Rogers and Gene Autry before they were famous. While in Vivian, La. working on a

show, Gene Autry and Smiley Burnett were working the next town, then they all traveled to Baton Rouge,

La, for a rodeo at LSU. Rodeo Ben was a tailor who began making western costumes out of gabardine.

In 1933, Juanita bought her western outfit for $45 from Rodeo Ben. Rodeo Ben became famous for mak-

ing fancy western outfits for many stars. She and Weaver had been performing for the Million Dollar Pier

(a big Wild West Show) in Atlantic City, N.J. From 1940 to 1951, Juanita was contracted as the trick rider

for the Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo. At the age of 56, Juanita won the women’s flat race at Chey-

enne Frontier Days Rodeo. She said they finished one rodeo at 9PM and drove on to the next rodeo ar-

riving by the 1PM performance the next day. In 1952, Weaver fell from his horse while working on a new

rope trick. The fall injured his back and ended his roping days. They managed a movie theatre in Broken

Bow, OK for the next 12 years until Weaver was diagnosed with cancer. In 1966, they came back to

Mansfield where Weaver died in 1972. Juanita married Jack McCracken, who was a well-known horse-

man and an inductee in the Cowboy Hall of Fame. He passed 2 years later. Juanita was living at Mans-

field Nursing Home when she passed on November 18, 1989. Juanita and Weaver are buried in the

Mansfield, TX Cemetery.

Several people in town still remember Juanita as a petite, older lady, with a huge car, and she always

had little dogs with her. She was member of First Baptist Church. Juanita was among the first members

of the Rodeo Cowboy Association. She was number 54 and Weaver was number 55. On her 50th birth-

day, RCA gave her a lifetime membership.

James Weaver Gray was born in 1892 in Fort Sill, Okla. Weaver’s brother, Bee Ho Gray, was a World

Champion Trick Roper. Weaver did rope tricks and trained the little dog, Skippy, to jump through loops

with him. Skippy was a very popular act at the rodeos. Weaver and Bee-Ho grew up in Oklahoma Indian

Territory among one of the famous Indian Chiefs, Quanah Parker.

Juanita shared her photos, awards, and other mementos with various museums including: Ponca City, OK, Lawton, OK, Pawnee, OK, Cheyenne, WY, Laramie, WY, Colorado Springs, CO, National Museum of American History, History of American Sports Collection, Smithsonian Institute, Washington DC, and the Mansfield Museum and Heritage Center, TX Some of the companies they worked for were: Fort Worth SW Exposition and Fat Stock Show, State Fair of Texas, Downie Bros. Circus, Miller Brothers 101 Wild West Show, Pawnee Bill’s Wild West Show, Pecos, TX July 4thRodeo (1944), Corsicana, TX Rodeo, Cleburne, TX Rodeo, Shriner’s Circus, Cheyenne, WY - Frontier Days Rodeo, New Orelans La Rodeo (1944), Baton Rouge, La LSU Rodeo, Macon, Ga Circus (1931), Cheyenne, Wy Frontier Days Rodeo (1945-1957), Burwell, Neb Rodeo, Pen-delton, OR - Round-Up, (managed bookings in 1950s), and Atlantic City, NJ - Million Dollar Pier (1940s) If you have information about Juanita Gray, please share it with us to add to our family files at the museum.

MEMBER/VOLUNTEER

Linda Leddy, member and volunteer at the museum, has lived in

Mansfield for 38 years. She never intended on staying. She and hus-

band, David and two children moved here from Abilene in 1978.

David Leddy owned a HVAC business. Through the years Linda has been

very involved in the community, PTA, Women’s Division of the Chamber,

Meals-on-Wheels, and Trinity Presbyterian Church. Following the death of

husband, in 2012 she became a weekly volunteer at the museum and for

the special events. In 1997, the Leddys bought the former residence of

Beryl Gibson. She has many interesting stories to tell about living in the

house, especially the old newspapers that lined the attic. Recently, Linda

sold this house and downsized to a new townhouse, Craftsman style, on Alvarado Street.

_______________________________________________________________________________________

CALENDAR

AUGUST OCTOBER

Tour from Watercrest Yard Sale cancelled till Spring Tour from Karate of Mansfield Annual Luncheon 15th Haunt the Block, ghost

Tours 5 PM—8 PM 20th

SEPTEMBER

Wurstfest 10th NOVEMBER

Third Thursday 15th Hart House ornament goes on sale

Page 3

SAVE THE DATE

Saturday, October 15, 2016

MHS Annual Luncheon and Meeting will be held at the old Mansfield High

School Great Room, formerly known as the “Study Hall”. Entertainment

will be provided by local musicians who will play several favorite country

and western tunes for us. Faye Rydell and her committee will handle all of

the arrangements. Food will be catered by Cotton Patch. Tickets are $25

each. Please make your reservation by Wednesday of that week for food

preparation. To purchase tickets, go by the museum or call 817-473-4250

to make reservations. We accept cash, checks, and credit cards except

American Express.

Page 4

Donations, Gifts, Memorials

~~~From the family of John Paul Ballweg: a pair of beaded Indian gloves that were given to him by local In-dians when he lived in Montana. John Paul Ballweg died August 2016 near Kansas City where he lived for many years. He was an active horseman and died when he fell while breaking a horse at 93 years old. ~~~ From the family of John C. Collier, his personal Bible copyright 1872 and DVD with extensive family ge-nealogy documentation. John Collier was the founder of Mansfield Male and Female College founded in 1870. ~~~From the Hart family, Jim Hart is lending a sketching of the Hart House, sketched by Elna Hall. ~~~ In Memory of Jimmie Stewart by Doris Maxwell In Memory of Don Kindler by Doris Maxwell In Memory of Doris Turner Seeton by Doris Maxwell In Memory of John Paul Ballweg by Greg & Vickie McDonald, Shannon & Theresa Corley, Cathleen & James Osbourne, Candice & John Teagarden, Deborah & Steve DeBusk, Kenneth & Barbara McDonald, Pat Gazewood In Memory of Sonny Wooten by Doris Maxwell ~~~ Donation from Mansfield Women’s Club $250

JIM STEWART

“Mr. Mansfield” was the title the speakers at his funeral gave Jimmie Stewart. He was so

passionate about his community. Jimmie M. Stewart was born in Mansfield in 1942 and passed

after a lengthy illness on August 24, 2016. The speakers were: Tarrant County D.A., Sharen Wil-

son, Roy English, Darrel Rayburn, Mayor David Cook, and Dr. Billy Taylor who officiated his ser-

vice. The music was performed by Wesley King and Joseph Neely Reynolds.

Jim graduated from Mansfield High School in 1960. He attended Paris Junior College and East

Texas State University. He taught and coached for 14 years before he began his career at Tarrant

County. He initially worked in the county department handling Right-of-Way issues and transac-

tions, and worked his way up to become the head of the Tarrant County Transportation Depart-

ment. Jim was a life time member of Mansfield Historical Society. He helped us out many, many

times with building maintenance issues. He knew all of the right people to call to get the job done.

J.T. SPEARS

James Theodore Spears passed on august 25, 2016. Mr. Spears attended our Annual

Luncheon every year, driving from Azle. He was 86 years old. He will be buried in the Mansfield

Cemetery. We will miss seeing him next month at the luncheon.

HARRY D. ARBER

Harry Arber was an active member when I joined the Historical Society. He was so full of

energy and ideas. Born on April 22, 1931, in Mansfield, he passed on May 7, 2016, and is buried

In the Mansfield Cemetery. Don Miller officiated his service. Harry moved back to Mansfield from

Houston after he retired.

Page 5

NEWSLETTER

TREE OF LIFE

$125 Leafs In Memory of

Charlie Milton Farr

By Edna Phillips

$250 Leafs In Memory of

Edgar & Elva Renfro

Otis & Mollie Hall

Roger Dean Hall

Fred H . Hall

Lee & Ysleta Hall

Ron & Gwyn Hall

Donna & Larry Parrish

Nellie Hall Ramsey

By Jerry Hall

New Members

WELCOME!

Melvin and Carol

Cooper

GIFT SHOP - tax included

Book, History of Mansfield $74.69

Book, Historic Resource $10.83

Caps/Visors $10.83

Color Book, History of $3.00

Cookbook, Mansfield $21.65

Throw/afghan $59.54

Best Maid Products, Inc.

Celebrates 90 years!

The Mansfield Historical Society sends “best wishes” to

Best Maid Products, Inc. to commemorate their 90th anniver-

sary. A new label was added to their products marking the

90th Anniversary. As most Mansfield residents know, the Best

Maid pickles and mayonnaise began here in the home of Mil-

dred and Jessie Otis Dalton. It began with pies made in Mil-

dred’s kitchen and sold at the small Dalton grocery store. The

egg yolks left over from the pie dough was used to make may-

onnaise. Soon this product became the best seller in the store.

The sandwich spread was added using pickle relish. But, when

the price of pickle relish increased, Mildred and Jessie planted

their own cucumbers. Of course, next came the famous Best

Maid pickles, dill slices, and other varieties of pickles. In

1926,the company’s production business was established in

east Fort Worth and trucks were delivering small quantities of

their products to grocery stores and selling single jars from

these trucks. Today, their grandchildren and great grandchil-

dren continue to manage and operate the large manufacturing

facility on Riverside Drive in Fort Worth. Dalton family mem-

bers have been very supportive of the Mansfield Historical So-

ciety and are Life Time members. Congratulations! to a local

family –run business, and their product is made in the USA.

**********************************************************

KROGER REWARDS $$

1. Visit

KrogerCom-

muntyRewards.com

2. Sign into your online

account, or create one

3. Find and select our or-

ganization, and click

“Save” Non Profit Organi-

zation # 90181

Mansfield Historical Society

Open Tues—Sat 9:00—5:00

P h o n e : 8 1 7 - 4 7 3 - 4 2 5 0

E m a i l : m a n s f i e l d m u s e u m @ s b c g l o b a l . n e t

F a c e b o o k :

M a n s f i e l d H i s t o r i c a l M u s e u m & H e r i t a g e C e n t e r

w w w .

M a n s f i e l d h i s t o r y . o r g

M a n s f i e l d H i s t o r i c a l S o c i e t y 1 0 2 N . M a i n S t r e e t

M a n s f i e l d , T X

Friends of the Museum

By Julie Crisafulli

October is coming up soon! Last year the museum hosted ghost tours

during Historic Mansfield’s Haunt the Block event. It was hugely pop-

ular mixing history and ghost stories from all around Mansfield. This year the Friends of the Mu-

seum will be hosting the ghost tours as a fundraiser for the museum. We are going to make it

bigger and better! We are looking for volunteer tour guides, help at the check in table, and do-

cents to stay inside the museum during the tours. If you are interested or have a volunteer in

mind, contact Julie Crisafulli at Julie.crisafulli1@gmail.com or Vern Raven at mansfieldmuse-

um@sbcglobal.net or by phone at 817-473-4250 for more information or to join!

MARK YOUR CALENDAR: Annual Meeting & Luncheon October 15th & Haunt the Block October 20th