Historical Society member, Garlene Parris, gave a very interesting program July 10 about her early life in the family home at 901 Roberts Cut off. She presented the program as if the house were doing the speaking and telling of the love, intrigue and even violence that occurred within its walls. Look below to read the very interesting story.

IF THESE WALLS COULD TALK!!!

I am the house that still stands at 901 Roberts Cut Off. I hope I can enthrall you with the true essence of love, intrigue and the violence in the end, which happened within my walls.

The land where I am standing was purchased by Velda Tindall in 1929, from Tad Lucas a close friend of hers. I was built in 1931. Back then the white house between Tad's house and I wasn't there, it was a pear orchard. They built a barn out back to house the family's horses. Tad's house had a field out to the side where our two families would practice their trick riding and roping. Back then there wasn't much around. Just Carter's, which is now called Quick Way. A place my family went daily, for one thing or another like milk, bread or gas for the Packard.

I was quite a show place in my time. Velda whom lived within my walls, inherited quite-a-bit of money back then to build me. I had a sunken living room, gorgeous chandeliers, and a man came from California just to paint my walls. On the right side of my yard was a rose garden, with little roses cascading down the fence.

The family that lived within my walls were called the Tindall's. There was Louis the father, Velda the mother, their only daughter Garlene and Gloria their niece. Oh yah, how could I forget Velda's mother Mrs. Callahan, she was so sweet so sweet and tiny.

When I was first built, Tad had a two story house that burned down before I was a year old. It was during the depression, so Buck, Tad's husband, would find hungry carpenters and rock masons and he fed them so they would build their new home. I heard my family talking about how an artist painted flowers in one of Tad's bedrooms. I'm not sure if it was the artist that painted my gorgeous walls, but I doubt it. My walls were beautiful, textone and then swirled with rainbow colors intertwind within the swirls. My floors, were a beautiful light hardwood with dark wood trim with a square of dark wood in the corner. Between the dining and breakfast rooms was a swinging door which the children swung back and forth behind grandmothers back. Those doors caused me numerous headaches. In the kitchen was a closet that led clear through to a back bedroom. Later on, that became an evening home to their pet monkey, Mac, during the hot summer months.

There were very few homes on the one dirt road that ran in front of me. There was the Schieme chicken farm and a few others between me and Crystal Springs.

In the beginning my family was very happy. They would travel all over the world, Louis would jump horses over a yellow Packard convertible. I loved to watch him practice that one. He did horse catches, and trained educated horses. Velda whom had rode since she was 10, would helped Louis with the horse catches and do other tricks. Garlene would ride an educated Shetland pony and do trick riding and roping when she was five years old.

Gloria who was 18 months older than Garlene also trick rode and roped. They worked together as the Tindall sisters. Garlene with her long coal black curls and Gloria with her nearly white blond curly hair.

The family took a trip to Europe, they were gone a short while. It was all the rage in Europe to have tea and cookies at four o'clock. Mrs. Callahan, known as Grandmother Callahan, upheld the new tradition. Everyone showed up for our daily tea party at four.

I was a very happy home for many years. Then in the early forties the sorrow began. You see, Louis was a hemophiliac. He started hemorrhaging one day, he had developed an ulcerated stomach. The doctors told him he had to stop riding or die. For a living he had nothing to fall back on. He was raised on a ranch. But it was in Eastland, TX. During this time he was training Polo Ponies for Benny Binion, a big time Dallas Gambler, that later built the Horseshoe Casino in Las Vegas. Benny told Louis don't worry I will set you up with a numbers racket in Fort Worth. Benny at that time was running a lucrative "Policy Wheel" in Dallas.

This was the downfall of my happy family. Velda begged Louis not to get involved. Her grandfather had been a Judge in Longview. Her father was over the railroad in Longview. She had not married the man he was becoming. Money had become his God. Velda threatened to take the kids and leave him. He proceeded to grab four year old Garlene and run to Mexico. That made the front page news to force her to go back to him. Several battles between them transpired. Sometimes I still see her tears. That's when my living room became a haven for many seedy characters. Velda and Grandmother Callahan would keep the kids in the back bedroom hoping they would not know what was transpiring. But my girls did. I've had the likes of Noble, Tincy Eggleston and etc... crowd within my walls. On my large front porch is a recessed area to the right, where they would stand in the alcove, so as not to be seen by the police and other characters.

The police, sheriff and other city officials would take payoffs in this recessed area of my porch.

One night two men were standing in this alcove to kill Louis. I wished I could have screamed, how I would have liked to warn him for Velda's sake. But everything came out O.K. this time.

Finally Velda could not go on any longer. She gave Louis a choice, either the family for the type of life he had chosen. He chose to continue his life style over his daughter and God. Velda filed for divorce. I listened to her cry for days within my walls. She still loved him, but knew she had an obligation to get the family out.

When he heard the papers had been filed for a divorce, he became enraged. He came to by French door, took the butt of his gun and broke my window to unlock the door. Grandmother Callahan didn't think he would hurt her, so she ushered the family out the back door to run to safety at Carters. He drug Grandmother Callahan to my back door and started shooting at her feet. I could just imagine my familys' fear, thinking he was killing her. He drug her back in and started beating her until he broke her arm. The Carter's called the police. But no one would go in because they were all on his payroll. He did let a doctor in to help Grandmother Callahan. He treated her and helped her escape to Carters. Louis was infuriated over this he took a rake and tore down my chandeliers beat up the furniture and my walls, and tore up Velda's clothes. The divorce went through but the troubles weren't over for my family yet.

Garlene was in a hospital for five months with polio. Then she developed T. B. that kept her bed ridden off and on for six years. Velda and Gloria kept rodeoing. But due to her health, Garlene's rodeo days were over. Velda decided to sell because there were to many memories. I can still hear her crying now.

Louis went on to be gunned down in a gangster war like Velda tried to tell him would happen.

Mrs. Sellers bought me. Because her husband was so unstable she put it in her will that I could not be sold until all her children were grown. I stood in disarray for sometime with no one with in my beautiful walls. It took years before the will was broken. But now I am home to a new owner. I was refurbished, polished, shined and became of all things a dentist office. If you get a chance come see me. I still have the Tindall's "T" on my chimney.

POST SCRIPT from Garlene Tindall Parris: I came back to River Oaks after 40 years to start Freeman's Pet Center which continues to this day.

Velda at the age of 68 won the Dallas State Fair. She has a display of her life in the Pioneer Woman in Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C. She has been in the top ten at one time to be voted into the Cowgirl Hall of Fame. We hope someday to get her there. Velda went from one extreme to the other and married a city detective. She lived to be 82 and very happy in her marriage.