Tom, read your Thurber History again. TP Coal and Oil had recruited short men all over Europe for digging the coal from veins in some mines, that a 6 foot man would have to lay on his side and kneel or crawl. The Company had separate Catholic Churches for the Irish in one group and Czechs and Italians in the other, and they were assigned as groups to some jobs.They had some differences in holidays and famil;y life. The word Mingus is Italian. I have talked to elderly Czech men in West, Texas , McLennan County who said they were born in either Mingus or Newcastle Mine town near Graham. Oklahoma Coal Miners in Yukon, Okla, and in another town east of OKC towards Tahlequah also had similar history of European Coal miners- but only 2 restaurants in Okla, still make good Kolaches and Koblisneik and Strudle . Some in the edge of Eastland and Erath County who now own land had Italian roots. They have posted to this site a few years ago. Should be in Archives of Txerath or Southern Trails. Wendell Montgomery of West Pharmacy and Bakery died last month. he was Catholic and had some Erath County connections- and knew the history of the Dr. Wylie of Bosque County, as Wendell 's dad had bought Dr. Wylie's home and clinic- 2 story frame, on hill behind West Dairy Queen.Wendell's 35 women and Co-op school kids supplied Czech food for Ennis Polka Festival every year. When I was in the West Kiwanis Club and teaching there, Vince Incardona , deputy, and later County Commisioner was also a member. He was born in Marlin. One of the Wet Lumber Tuckers was kidding hoim just before Westfest as to why he spoke Czech and Gince laughed and said speaking Czech was desireable for an Italian in Falls County. One black man I taught with said he had bought land from a white farmer who carried his own note and he preferred to sell to him than one of the Italians who wanted it. 2 blocks towards the railroad in West is the Aderholdt Funeral Home- and was run by Al Payne for many years- a kin. Dr. Aderholdt had practiced medicine in Erath County before moving to West. Could he have been Czech or Italian? His granddaughter in 1998 was Chief Administrator of Ridgecrest Retirement Village on south side of Lake Waco- on Hwy 6 in Woodway, near Hwy 6 and Bosque Blvd I suppose you know about the Mexican group in Falls county who were Charcoal burners with a big pit- and sold the charcoal to some Wholesaler. Also, the village around the Falls County gravel works. I would have had to recruit Adult Ed students from there had I taken the job, after retirement, with headquarters in old Elm Mott School for several countiues. Sounded like too much time for the pay. For a starter,check Google for the San Francisco Library daily newspapers of japanese and Italians who were relocated from the West Coast when WW2 started. Same happened on the East Coast- notsure about Gulf of Mexico. Some went toi kansas on a 2 week notice. My present neighbor - Hoshhazaki, was first generation American born and left San Francisco area for Louisville , Ky resetlement area- old Barracks and cottages. he attended Baptist Seminary in Louisbille and becamea Japanese Missionary to Japan. His son is now involved in English- Japqnese Computer programs and spends muv=ch of his time there. He is a Baylor Grad. Those in present Mexia State School buildings in WW2, and those in Cleburne were German Prisoners of War, not relocated civilians. Take care, Charles A. Wyly t, 10 May 2003 08:30:40 +0000 "Tom Rogers" <[email protected]> writes: > Hi, Charles, > I just now read your interesting letter of Apr. 6 about > Italians in > Marlin and Erath Co. I am not on the Erath mailing list any more > because my > inbox filled up and too many messages bounced. > I had no family in Marlin after 1902, and my father never > mentioned any > Italians there. In fact, the only Marlin family names I recall are > Falconer > (Bolivar and Theodore), Barton (Harry), and King (Conway). > I think one of the Bartons originated Barton's Dyanshine. Another > started an > oil company in SW Arkansas. > I never knew any Italians in Erath County. I knew one Mexican > family > (Lozano), one Jewish family (Novit, Siegel, Hoffman), and one Irish > family > (D.W. Sheehan). > Tom Rogers > > _________________________________________________________________ > The new MSN 8: smart spam protection and 2 months FREE* > http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail > >