Hi, Jason The women's organization was the Order of the Eastern Star. Normally a lady in this had a husband or dad who was a Mason. My aunt lived with a widow , Winnie Hill, in Fort Worth, after WW2. Winnie was in the Eastern Star and Aunt Mary used to attend some meetings with her. Some of these still visit my aunt since Winnie died last year at age 94. I never visited the barber shop you mentioned, unless it was adjoining Martin Brothers Parts and Station, opposite side of street and half way between Jake and Dorothy's. There were others in that area a few years at a time. You mentioned Arkansas as a possible first home. If they were there before 1900, they either had Cherokee blood or had kin who did. Check some Cherokee rolls of the Cherokee Nation in Arkansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma. If you could prove that, your kids might be eligible for free college. There is a Blackburn Water wheel grist mill south of Eureka Springs on the War Eagle River, built before 1840, I think It still runs and has a cafe on the top floor. It is beautiful and fertile country east of Simpsonville.- White Water Country is to the north. . These , like some of my ancestors and Will Roger's family and John Jolly, Sam Houston's childhood friend, were ususlly well educated (but not necessarially an abundance of Schoolhousing). The ones who came before the Trail of Tears were intermarried and saw a chance for choice free land in a peaceful frontier and there was some friction between them and the ones on the Trail of Tears, when those on forced marches found some of their best land already occupied by apparent Anglos who were on the Cherokee Rolls. There were several Moores in the Chalk Mountain area. I attended school with some of them. The military bases nearest Stephenville from World 2 would have been Camp Bowie, Brownwood, down U.S.67 from Stephenville (WWi Camp Bowie was a tent camp west of Fort Worth-.) Fort Hood, Texas- down 281 to Hico, Hamilton, and Gatesville,North Fort Hood replaced old Fort Gates. Killeen is the entrance to South Fort Hood and Gray Air Base (Gray is now part of Fort Hood) Fort Hood is the largest Armored training center in the world and has traimed picked groups of leaders from several countries of the workd, and still does. Camp Barkley, Mineral Wells, was about 50 miles north of Stephenville at Mineral Wells, north on 281. Abilene also had an air Base- still does. Men from there have been called several times to go to Iraq. Waco had Rich land Army Air Base in WWi- it's about 100 miles south on hwy 6. (Some say the best thing that ever came out of College Station was Hwy 6- My Aggie son does not agree). Waco High, the fair grounds, and Madison Cooper airport and part of Lake Waco are on old World War I Military base. One old hanger built before 1918 is now a boat storage and repair on the opposite side of the lake from Waco. In WW2 Waco had James Conally Air Force Base, and a touch and go strip at Prairie Hill used by Bergstrom pilot training. Conally runway could handle B-36 bombers- not many could and Chrysler built a factory to modify aircraft and add electronic guidance systems to the President's and other planes, some of which are built in Italy. On the other side of the runway the old hangers and homes and Barracks are the core home campus of Texas State Technical College. The Prairie Hill strip is now an emergency landing strip and home of drag races and a truck driving school. It is on the Mexia hwy. Some of Hitler's soldiers, our prisoners, were kept in the Cleburne , Texas football stadiunm under the bleachers, in Hearne, and outside Mexia, Many farmers from Mexia to Malone spoke German and selected prisoners helpped them with all out. farm production for war needs with all young able bodied men in the service. In West Texas some of them re-did an old German Church- see Texas Hiways magazine on the Internet. The Mexia barracks are the Mexia State School for mild to seriously handicapped citizens. You said the Korean conflict- that would have been Fort Hood, Gray AFB, or the Abilene Air Base- all others had closed. We knew a Blackburn in Walnut Springs, Texas who had kids in school and farmed. His daughter was in my wife's Sunday School class 35 or so years ago. Hope this helps. Charles Wyly ___________________________________________________________________ You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail. Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com/getjuno.html or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866]