ON THE WING (I remember many of the people mentioned in this article from my childhood. J.W. Combest was my great great grandfather, his homeplace is about 100 yards behind our house and the other Combests are related to me in various ways. This little community is precious to me and I am proud to call it my home.) July 25, 1912 Valdasta. A. D. Patterson the clever and skillful blacksmith doctored our buggy made sick by coming in close contact with one of Uncle Sams motorcycles. Can doctor buggies, talk politics and boost the Democrat-Gazette. Moral: The stork and Democrat-Gazette are as inseparable as Damon and Pythias, the former invariably follows the latter. Altoga. A. H. Braswell who has more pretty girls than one can shake a stick at, says his crops are too good to be true; the Democrat-Gazette the very best of county papers, and that boys will meet with a cold reception (on his part) who persist in hanging around his premises. Ardath. Mrs. T. A. Williams said their crops were all good and the Democrat-Gazette better than ever. NORTHEAST COLLIN VILLAGE OF VALDASTA IMPORTANT SCHOOL AND CHURCH CENTER McKinney Daily Courier Gazette, May 6, 1938 Postoffice Established In 1886 - Lewis Combest, Postmaster, Has Been Member County School Board For Eight Years - Rambling Representative Daily Courier-Gazette And Weekly Democrat-Gazette Gathers Interesting Facts About People And Enterprises. By Mrs. O. S. Scott. As most of our readers know, Valdasta is located about twelve miles northeast of McKinney, our county seat town, on the Melissa and Blue Ridge pike road. It nestles seven miles northeast of Melissa and about four miles southwest of Blue Ridge. It is a modest little rural village that has a population of around 150 souls. It is one of the old established farming centers of the east half of Collin county. Valdasta has an excellent moral and religious atmosphere in which to live and read children. It has three churches - Baptist, Nazarene and the Church of Christ, also a large shed or arbor used by all of the churches, more or less, for their summer meetings. The people of the different faiths are fraternal with each other in spirit, which bespeaks a tolerance becoming to professed Christians. In a business way Valdasta has a couple of grocery stores, filling stations, a blacksmith shop and a Post Office. The latter was established fifty-two years ago. Its first Postmaster was Tandy W. Smith. The second was William G. Airhart; the third L. H. Fagala; the fourth the late Dr. A. H. Bridgefarmer and the fifth the present Postmaster to represent Uncle Sam here, is Lewis Combest. His daughter, Miss Beatrice Combest, is his assistant. She was in charge on the day of our recent visit, while her father was absent in McKinney, attending a meeting of the County School Board. He has served in this latter Board member capacity for the past eight years, which bespeaks his interest in public school matters and also indicates that his services are most acceptable to the people of our entire county. Valdasta has an excellent four-room brick schoolhouse, located on the highway at a high and commanding prominence. It has one of the best and most spacious concrete underground storm-houses that we know of in the county. Lewis Combest is one of the most widely known citizens of Valdasta. He was born in the State of Kentucky, but came to Texas with his parents when quite young and settled in this vicinity. He was married to Miss Mollie Edlen. To his happy union were born nine children, as follows: John W. Combest, now with Company E, First United States Infantry, Fort Francis E. Warren, Cheyenne, Wyoming; Mrs. Thelma Osburn of Valdasta; Mrs. Bessie Strickland, Route One, Blue Ridge; Mrs. Bobby Cantrell, Mrs. Essie Myrick, both of Valdasta, these two latter sisters being twins; Paul Combest of Valdasta; Miss Novia Combest of Melissa; Miss Beatrice Combest and Shettleworth Combest both at home. The husband and father is the owner of 387 acres of choice blackland, on which are located several tenants. In addition to good work teams, Mr. Combests tenants use an Allis-Chalmers tractor to help cultivate their land. Mr. Combest is a useful high-type citizen, who is worthy of the confidence of his neighbors and fellow citizens of the entire county. The Combest gin was owned and operated by J. W. Combest and son, Brown Combest, for about forty years. However, it is now being dismantled and torn down. Valdasta is served by a Star Route, operating between Melissa and Blue Ridge. For the past three years, R. R. Tilton has been carrying Uncle Sams Mail with dependable regularity in and out of Valdasta. The Valdasta School, mentioned above, is located in the center of the village on the spacious campus. It has an enrollment of fifty-four pupils with Prof. Mally Alexander as Principal, and Mrs. Nell Karnaghan as Assistant Teacher. The public-spirited School Board is composed of Charley Cantrell, George McGuffey and Bailey Hendricks. The pastor of the Baptist Church at the present time is Rev. Mr. Kelton of McKinney. The Sunday School Superintendent of this church is A. D. Patterson, a veteran blacksmith and worthy citizen. A fairly good average attendance of Sunday School scholars is present, every Lords Day to study the International Lesson and learn more about the previous Book of all books. Eld. Houston Rush of McKinney is pastor of the Church of Christ. His preaching appointments are each second Sunday, in every month. The Bible School of this church is in charge of Deacons Ralph Gray and Leslie Ramsey. This Sunday School has an average attendance every Lords Day, of around thirty-five. They are doing a good work in the study of the Scriptures. The Nazarene Church pastor at this place is Rev. David A. Farnsworth, who preaches on the Fourth Sundays of each month. L. W. Wilder is the Sunday School Superintendent. Miss Gladys Wilder is pianist. Misses Susie May and Sarah Fay, twin daughters of Mr. and Mrs. Brown Combest, act as Secretaries of this Sunday School. This field representative of the Daily Courier-Gazette and Weekly Democrat-Gazette has been acquainted with Rev. Mr. Farnsworth for several years. His is the eldest son of Mrs. Lenora Farnsworth, who still lives on her farm, a short distance west of Chambersville, where he was born and reared. His youngest sister, Dr. Jewell Farnsworth, is a Chiropractor, having graduated from the Oklahoma City School of that profession about three years ago. We had the pleasure while in Valdasta Post Office, of meeting up with Mr. Levi Stroup, a well-known farmer of that section of the county. He was bereft of his dear wife, who died some years ago. His two children, Miss Jemima and Jerome, reside in the home with their father. Mr. Stroup informed us that his aged mother, Mrs. Mary Stroup of the New Life community has been confined to her bed ever since the twenty-eighth of last December. The dear old mother was seventy-seven years old on March 19 this year. Her daughter, Mrs. Hattie Dorn of Emory, Rains County, Texas, is staying in the old family homestead, tenderly nursing their mother in her old age and feebleness. J. M. Moore is the owner of a grocery store here, and A. D. Patterson has had a blacksmith shop, at this point, for a half-century. Mrs. Pattersons maiden name was Minnie Frizzle of Princeton. Her father, J. A. Frizzell, is now in his eighty-eighth year and quite well and hearty for a man of his advanced age. He resides in the home with Mr. and Mrs. Patterson. Manford Cate and wife recently moved into the Valdasta community from Altoga where he was born and reared. They are living in a well improved home, which has a good-sized home orchard on the premises. Mr. Cate is the youngest son of the late Mr. and Mrs. G. O. Cate of Altoga. His wife is the former Miss Lillie Conger, daughter of Mr. And Mrs. W. H. Conger, formerly of the Viney Grove community, but in recent years, living at Lorenzo, West Texas. Mr. and Mrs. Manford Cate have a large family of children, all still at home. Their names are Hulen, Edna Earle, Helen Marie, Warren (Sonny Man), E. M. Jr., Billy Jo, Wayne Douglas, James Floyd, Georgia and Don Eugene. Mr. Cate is a brother of Mrs. Dr. John T. Mantooth of Melissa and also of Mrs. John H. Ferguson and Mrs. John M. Thompson, both of McKinney. Upon our visit to the store of George McGuffey, we found in his absence, his good mother, Mrs. Hettie McGuffey, in charge of the business. Mr. McGuffey sells oil and gasoline, also has a barbershop in connection with these and his grocery store. This store is a great convenience to the people of the community as are the other business establishments of Valdasta. Mr. McGuffeys mother lives on her farm in the Dixon Schoolhouse community, but at the time, was visiting her son and family at Valdasta. She gladly took the opportunity of enrolling as a regular subscriber and reader of the Democrat-Gazette in the future. However, she had read our paper in former years and praised its excellence as a county-wide newspaper. It was our pleasure to briefly visit in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Walter Emerson. The good lady of the house was busily engaged in looking after a big bunch of baby chicks, which she is starting off in a fine way and from which she expects to make a neat profit. Mr. and Mrs. Emerson are the parents of two manly little sons - J. D. and R. J. This good wife and mother was formerly Miss Dovie Airhart, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Tom Airhart. Her father is an extensive, successful farmer, and one of the most widely known citizens of our entire county. We made a brief call at the D. L. Ramsey home, but found both Mr. and Mrs. Ramsey absent in McKinney, shopping and trading. Their young daughter, Miss Jean Ramsey, and their brother , James Dennis, were both at home, however, from school and proved to be genial host and hostess to ye newspaper scribe. Miss Yvonne Ramsey is our efficient correspondent, but is in Dallas attending the Metropolitan Business College. Her sister, Miss Jean, is substituting for her during her absence at business college. The other Ramsey children are; W. O. Ramsey of McKinney, Route 3 and Mrs. H. W. Farley, who also receives her mail on Route 3, McKinney. Mr. and Mrs. John Airhart are a worthy Valdasta couple, who have been married for fifty-one years. They live alone in their comfortable home and rent out their farm. Mrs. Airhart was a daughter of the late Asa and Katie Beldon. She was born in Casey County, Kentucky, and came to Texas when only six years old. She will be seventy-one, if she lives to July 27th next. She is of a very jovial, friendly disposition and spreads sunshine among all who come within her presence. Mrs. Airhart is a sister of J. O. Beldren, veteran McKinney citizen and also of Mrs. Willie Montgomery of Blue Ridge. Mr. Airhart is a native of Tennessee but when a young man came to Texas. They have been residents on their farm for thirty-two years. While their home has not been blessed by children of their own, their kindly, sweet dispositions have surrounded them with the friendship of everybody, both young and old, in their home community. This was manifested recently when Mrs. Airhart was surprised with a what not shower by her friends and neighbors. We were interested to learn that Valdasta was originally called Vandersville. However, there was another Post Office of that same name in Texas and so it was given the French name of Valdasta. This re-naming took place fifty-two years ago. VALDASTA WAS NAMED BY POST OFFICE DEPARTMENT McKinney Daily Courier Gazette, June 10, 1954 In case youre one of those who believes that its only a recent thing that the government began telling everyone how to run their own private business it may be a shock to learn that this sort of thing has been going on for a long, long time. Because, way back in the neighborhood of 1886 Uncle Sam told the people of Valdasta what to call their newly established town. If the settlement had a name before the post office was first established no one seems to remember what it was. But, when the government decided to put a post office there the people got together and settled on several names they thought theyd like to and sent them to Washington. Among the names suggested was Valdosta (spelled with an o.) but, since there was another Valdosta someplace or other, the official simply changed the o to a and thats been the name every since. Its been a good while now since Valdasta had a post office. The last one was in the store operated by Oscar Stapp. Mr. Stapp took over the business from George McGuffey about four years ago and the office was there when he got it. Mr. McGuffey built a nice home on the west side of the Sister Grove Creek Valley, right up on the side of the hill, and is engaged in farming. The other store in Valdasta is owned and operated by Mr. and Mrs. K. Combest, a name long familiar to folks in that area. It was Mr. Combests grandfather, J. W.Combest, who bought out a business from Tandy Smith in 1891 and there has been a Combest in business in Valdasta ever since. Tandy Smith and Beecher Airhart were the first merchants in the community so far as can be learned. The elder Combest, at the same time, purchased a gin, a grist mill and about 199 acres of land in the vicinity. Until a few years ago, K. Combest owned a real antique automobile-a 1903 Mason-which created quite a stir whenever he drove it out. For years he paraded it on the opening day of the ex-Confederate reunion in McKinney and drove it to the State Fair in Dallas only a few years ago. He sold it not long ago to a man in Dallas. Mr. and Mrs. Combest are natives of the community but lived for a while in Grand Prairie. They came home about nine years ago and opened their present store where they have installed a television set for the entertainment of customers who make their place their headquarters. Like other small communities in the county, Valdasta has no school now. Their children go to Blue Ridge each day in buses to receive their education. There are two churches in Valdasta, the Baptist and the Church of Christ. Cotton and corn are the principal crops in the area. Many farmers are going in for Grade A Dairying in the section. Among those who have lived in the section for some years are: Aunt Maggie Bloomer, DeWitt Emerson, Mrs. Mack Alexander, Rosen Greer, Mrs. L. D. Fleming, Mrs. Lou Combest, Mrs. and Mrs. Elmer Hartley and others. Prominent among citizens living in and around Valdasta now are Charlie Cantrell, Princeton banker; Mr,. And Mrs. E. L. Sellers, Mr. and Mrs. Jack Alexander, Mr. and Mrs. Ronald Humphries, Mr. and Mrs. Don Cantrell, Mr. and Mrs. Lester Greer, Mr. and Mrs. J. E. Gower, Mr. and Mrs. Tolbert Combest, Tom Airhart and others. The post office was discontinued February 28, 1954. CREATE A FREE WEBSITEPOWERED BY
Posted on: Thu, 04 Dec 2014 21:18:07 +0000
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