Grace Cullender was Historian, Promoter, and Collector
Emigrant trains were an important part of settling the Panhandle. One family who came to the Panhandle in 1904 on one of these trains was Albert Cullender, his wife, Grace A. Shaw Cullender, and two small children.
Albert was born November 13, 1879, in Grayson County, Texas. grace was born August 16, 1884, in Oil City, Venango County, Pennsylvania, one of ten children.
Albert was born November 13, 1879, in Grayson County, Texas. grace was born August 16, 1884, in Oil City, Venango County, Pennsylvania, one of ten children.
The family made their home in Hartley where Albert served as county clerk for ten year, beginning in 1914. Nine more children were born to the couple. The youngest daughter was named Grace after her mother. The last child, Joseph Raymond, was two years old when his father died on February 18, 1927. Grace was five. There were seven sons and four daughters in the family. The oldest of the eleven children was 24 at the time of Albert's death.
One of Grace's jobs when she became an adult was postmistress for Hartley, a job she held for 25 years. She was the town historian and promoter of the small town. At one time, she wrote a weekly column about Hartley news for the Moore County News.
She enjoyed her job as postmistress and became interested in stamp collecting. The post office was in a small 8' x 15' room, so her duties as post mistress did not keep her busy. She began whittling and creating many wooden images.
When the post office was moved a few feet away to a larger building, Grace used her interest in stamps to decorate the walls of the building. Some of the pictures of stamps she received were made into posters to decorate the walls.
The new post office was now in a modern building, but part of the past remained. A scale used to weigh packages was still being used. The scale, probably from the 1920s, was verified for accuracy in yearly inspections done by the Texas Department of Agriculture, weights and measures division. According to the postmistress, "It is as good as any new scale." The boxes in the new post office came from an Amarillo pot office that was closed.
At the beginning of the 1970s, a first-class stamp was six cents. In May of 1978, rates were increased to fifteen cents. Always a booster of the postal system, Grace was quoted in a newspaper article as saying, "I think people should realize that fifteen cents postage is a bargain. Other countries charge more than we do."
Grace found that it was good public relations to know her customers. "I know who likes to have commemorative stamps and who would just as soon have the usual flag stamp."
Grace was interviewed by Michael Hughes of the Amarillo Globe News a few days before her death. She said her job was filled with all sorts of history. She was considered the town historian. "One of the times we like to laugh about at our house was when our Uncle Bill knocked the post office porch down around his ears."
"It seems that, although Bill Cullender was famous for reckless driving, he was extra dangerous after a trip to Dalhart."
"Uncle Bill and his dog, Bounce, would pick up their best friend, Dillard Miller, in Bill's Model A Ford, and drive to Dalhart for some liquid refreshments that were not available locally."
"In the late 1920s, Hartley's post office had a roof that projected out over the porch in front, much like in Western movies on television."
"Uncle was not always the most coordinated person in town, especially after he had 'partaken of refreshments'.
"As he jounced over the railroad tracks, he heaved back on the steering wheel in anticipation of the Model A doing its thing. The nut came off the steering wheel and the steering wheel came off the column."
"Uncle Bill tried frantically to put it back on, but his foot kept pressing down on the gas feed instead of on the brake."
"When it finally registered with Bill that his foot was on the wrong pedal and that he was not going to get the steering wheel back onto the car, time had run out."
"He went crashing right into the post office porch corner. The dog went flying over his head and hit the wall with a loud yelp. The whole thing came crashing down around him and Dillard."
"Lillie McKinney, postmaster at the time, came outside, scared that the world had ended without her and found Uncle Bill and Dillard Miller."
"He heaved himself out of the wreckage, with the steering wheel in one hand and tipping his hat with the other and said, 'I just thought I'd stop by and see if you had any mail for me this morning.'
"Cullender said it was not known if Uncle Bill had mail or not. She did know that the postmaster advised Dillard not to ride with Uncle Bill again."
One of Grace's jobs when she became an adult was postmistress for Hartley, a job she held for 25 years. She was the town historian and promoter of the small town. At one time, she wrote a weekly column about Hartley news for the Moore County News.
She enjoyed her job as postmistress and became interested in stamp collecting. The post office was in a small 8' x 15' room, so her duties as post mistress did not keep her busy. She began whittling and creating many wooden images.
When the post office was moved a few feet away to a larger building, Grace used her interest in stamps to decorate the walls of the building. Some of the pictures of stamps she received were made into posters to decorate the walls.
The new post office was now in a modern building, but part of the past remained. A scale used to weigh packages was still being used. The scale, probably from the 1920s, was verified for accuracy in yearly inspections done by the Texas Department of Agriculture, weights and measures division. According to the postmistress, "It is as good as any new scale." The boxes in the new post office came from an Amarillo pot office that was closed.
At the beginning of the 1970s, a first-class stamp was six cents. In May of 1978, rates were increased to fifteen cents. Always a booster of the postal system, Grace was quoted in a newspaper article as saying, "I think people should realize that fifteen cents postage is a bargain. Other countries charge more than we do."
Grace found that it was good public relations to know her customers. "I know who likes to have commemorative stamps and who would just as soon have the usual flag stamp."
Grace was interviewed by Michael Hughes of the Amarillo Globe News a few days before her death. She said her job was filled with all sorts of history. She was considered the town historian. "One of the times we like to laugh about at our house was when our Uncle Bill knocked the post office porch down around his ears."
"It seems that, although Bill Cullender was famous for reckless driving, he was extra dangerous after a trip to Dalhart."
"Uncle Bill and his dog, Bounce, would pick up their best friend, Dillard Miller, in Bill's Model A Ford, and drive to Dalhart for some liquid refreshments that were not available locally."
"In the late 1920s, Hartley's post office had a roof that projected out over the porch in front, much like in Western movies on television."
"Uncle was not always the most coordinated person in town, especially after he had 'partaken of refreshments'.
"As he jounced over the railroad tracks, he heaved back on the steering wheel in anticipation of the Model A doing its thing. The nut came off the steering wheel and the steering wheel came off the column."
"Uncle Bill tried frantically to put it back on, but his foot kept pressing down on the gas feed instead of on the brake."
"When it finally registered with Bill that his foot was on the wrong pedal and that he was not going to get the steering wheel back onto the car, time had run out."
"He went crashing right into the post office porch corner. The dog went flying over his head and hit the wall with a loud yelp. The whole thing came crashing down around him and Dillard."
"Lillie McKinney, postmaster at the time, came outside, scared that the world had ended without her and found Uncle Bill and Dillard Miller."
"He heaved himself out of the wreckage, with the steering wheel in one hand and tipping his hat with the other and said, 'I just thought I'd stop by and see if you had any mail for me this morning.'
"Cullender said it was not known if Uncle Bill had mail or not. She did know that the postmaster advised Dillard not to ride with Uncle Bill again."