THE SHEEP SHEARER'S THIRD DAUGHTER IS BORN

Daddy Had a Sheep Shearing Crew

By 1930, or before, Daddy with Papa and Lawton were raising and shearing sheep.  They started with that one old ram.  I don't know how rapidly they increased their interest in the husbandry of sheep or the size of their flock.   A bunch of sheep can also be called: a herd or a mob.  The scientific name of sheep is:  Family ... Bovidae and  Genus ... Ovis.

When the Romans invaded England, they brought sheep.  By 50 AD there was a large wool processing factory in Winchester.  By 1000 AD, both England and Spain were considered twin centers for the production of wool.  The sale of wool was the basis of their wealth.  Spain used this income to send their conquistadors to the new world.  England put wool money into spreading their armys over a worldwide empire.

Daddy was called up by the draft board during World War II.  When they learned he was a sheep shearer they said his work was mandatory for the war effort.  I'm sure he had been shearing all during the 1930's.  Lawton and Uncle Dillon were champion shearers, as well.  They could all shear a sheep in one minute.  I don't know if they could keep that pace up all day long.

I don't know when Daddy started taking his sheep shearing crew on the road.  He had three men who went with him.  Larry Walker was Uncle Eudell's brother.  He was in the crew.  When they left in the spring, they traveled to ranches through the Texas Panhandle, northeast New Mexico, southeast Colorado, southwest Kansas, down across the Oklahoma Panhandle and home.  They were gone four to six weeks every spring for several years.  One old Rancher always had them come to his shearing shed.  He employed five or six other shearing crews in addition to Daddy's crew.  The old fellow had 6,000 sheep to be sheared.

Linda Kay was born August 5, 1944.  One time Daddy got back from a shearing trip about daylight.  He came in the house and woke us all up.  We were in our pajamas and he took us out in the driveway and made a picture.  It always seemed so funny to see these sleepy eyed kids standing out there in their PJ's.  Of course that story or picture had nothing to do with Linda's birthday.  I just wanted to put it in before I forgot about it.  If I find the picture some day, I'll put it in this post.  (But don't hold your breath!)

Daddy took the three of us, Pallie Sue, Donnie and me to see our new baby sister.  We climbed the stairs to Dr. Crow's clinic in Olustee.  There they were!  Mother!  And right on her arm, that new, little baby sister.  And she HAD EARS!  O my, I don't know why I'd never thought of ears before.  I knew we all had them, but those were just so cute.