Person:Mabel Shepard (1)

Mabel was the oldest daughter of Louella Snow and Jack Shepard. She only went as far as the 4th grade in school. She married at 15 years old and her first child, Roy was born when she was 16. She had very curly dark hair and deep blue eyes, but was so near sighted she couldn't even read the big "E" on the eye chart and wore very thick glasses. She crocheted and did "drawn work", but had to hold these right u p next to her face in order to see what she was doing. In order to read she did the same thing. Her material for making doilies, dresser scarves and sheets were feed sacks and the string that came out of the tops. These she starched and ironed and they were beautiful. She churned her own butter, canned all the vegetables that they didn't eat during the summer months. She made bread and butter pickles and always had a crock of dill pickles making. When the family was grown and had families of their own, they came back to the farm where their parents lived every Sunday for a big dinner. Usually there were 2 tables, the first for the children. There were always cookies and multi layered cakes for dessert. She made her own lie soap and saved rainwater in the barrel by the back porch. She dipped snuff, but kept it a "secret" from her husband Jack... Each Christmas she made up a little sack of hard candy for each grandchild. She and her husband never really had much money and until they moved into town never had running water in the house or indoor toilet facilities. She taught her daughters and grand daughters all the practical things like cooking, sewing, mending and crocheting. They raised chickens and had a dairy. She sold eggs and the butter she made and they sold milk to the dairies. The land they farmed was not fertile, but they did raise vegetables and grain for the livestock and delicious watermelons. They always kept a horse and it was the greatest pleasure for the grandchildren to ride on Sundays and in the summer when they came for visits. She always had an available lap to sit on, a shoulder to cry on and was a very loving person. She always said "When your children are little, they step on your toes, but when they are grown, they step on your heart."

1. ↑ Mabel Sheppard, Application for Social Security 12 Juky 1972 PAREN: Y.
2.   State of Texas Callahan County Clerk 1901 W P Cochran, Marriage Licence PAREN: Y
   Calahan County, Texas 24 July 1901.
3.   (October 12, 1976).