W.A. George and The Doddridge Gin Company, Part Two

At the height of the ginning season, the gin would run on a twenty-four-hour basis. Farmers would sleep on their wagon loads of cotton during the night, each waiting his turn for his cotton to be weighed, unloaded, and ginned.

Breakdowns were an unavoidable aspect of gin operation. Broken belts, jamming, bearing problems and numerous other possibilities were not uncommon. Such delays could last from a few minutes to several hours, and on rare occasion even days. Possibly the most serious breakdown occurred one afternoon in the fall of about 1927, when the cylinder head of the engine blew off. It was most fortunate that no one was standing behind or near the engine at the instant it happened, because the head shot forth from the cylinder like a cannon ball. Workmen probably took a full two days to repair this situation. First, a cylinder head had to be located, then brought from Texarkana or Shreveport and installed.

The merchants of Doddridge benefited greatly from the business brought by the gin. George Brown, the son of Joe E. Brown in the general merchandise business, was the cotton buyer, and therefore shipped cotton by boxcar load. The farmers could sell their cotton and seed immediately for cash, and nearly always did. The farmers then bought their necessities from whichever merchants they desired.

Observing a gin in operation was always an intriguing pastime, especially for boys and men who had mechanical curiosity. Mr. George did not seem to mind people coming in and watching. He would, however, tell them of the places where it was not safe to stand. Specifically, these places were anywhere around the engine and its drive wheel, and near any of the drive belts. The sudden breakage of a drive belt could seriously injure a person in a second.

Unloading cotton from a wagon was accomplished with a powerful suction pipe about twelve inches in diameter, and which was flexible enough to be moved to all parts of the wagon. Each wagon was unloaded quickly so that the next wagon could enter. The gin stands normally ginned the cotton at a slower rate than the rate in which it was coming in from a wagon. Consequently, the overload of cotton was automatically kicked out onto a concrete floor provided for the purpose. After a wagon was emptied, the overflow of cotton on the floor was then vacuumed by another suction pipe. Mr. George would allow boys to operate this suction pipe because handling it was fun for them, and the activity was something they could do safely. The boys were eager for the opportunity to struggle with the pipe in spite of the fact that the work was very strenuous. They would take turns vacuuming the cotton off the floor until they were in a state of exhaustion; nonetheless, the struggle was great fun, and it also made them feel they were doing something important.

At the end of the first ginning season in 1924, Wiliam A. George and Vera E. Kellett were united in marriage. The date: December 20, 1924. Vera was the daughter of Dr. Alfred and Johnnie Elizabeth Kellett of Doddridge. Of this union there was one son, William Alfred.

Vera George was an accomplished lady in her own right. Teaching was her first love, and she was known for her creativity in the classroom. She wrote plays for children which she utilized in the teaching process. Apart from teaching, she did some writing and even film making. The latter was an enormous challenge for the time, given the complexity and ponderous nature of movie making equipment and of getting a story onto the screen. There is the likelihood that the Georges tried the theatre business in Doddridge at Vera’s suggestion. Across the street from the gin Mr. George owned a large warehouse from which he sold fertilizer and livestock feed. According to their son, W. A., Mr. George and his wife, Vera, transformed the warehouse into a theatre in the late 1930s. W. A. says he remembers several movies being shown, and also some country music bands coming to play. One of the bands was the popular Bob and Joe Shelton and the Sunshine Boys which played regularly on radio station KWKH in Shreveport. Since Doddridge didn’t have electricity, a gasoline powered generator inside the gin supplied the current for the theatre. Due to improved roads to Texarkana and Shreveport, and also due to a decrease in the population of young people, this theatre enterprise was short-lived. Mr. and Mrs. George closed the operation and returned to the feed and fertilizer business. Up to this time, this was the first attempt by anyone to establish a theatre in Doddridge.

By the late 1930s, cotton farming in Sulphur township was in a rapid and irreversible decline. There were several reasons. First, the land had become severely depleted and the cost of growing with fertilizer had become prohibitive. Secondly, hand labor necessary for growing and harvesting had become scarce and more expensive. Finally, people were moving away from hill farming because of lowered production, and because they were finding more attractive occupations elsewhere. Cotton was best raised in the rich bottom lands of Red River where it continued to be produced. Also, by now, farmers had access to new gins built in these areas. By 1942, the business of the Doddridge Gin Company had become a trickle compared to the 1920s. According to W. A. “They only ginned 269 bales for the entire 1942 season.”

Compare this with the 3,000 bales ginned one year in the late 1920s. The coup de grace came, however, when the state boiler inspector, upon making his annual inspection, had to impose a lower pressure limit due to the boiler’s age and condition. Mr. George then ascertained that this lower pressure limit could not run the gin effectively. The situation left only three options: (1) get another boiler, (2) install a diesel power plant, (3) close the gin. The enormous expense of doing either of the first two options was out of the question in view of the fact that in the foreseeable future there would be no cotton in the area to gin. The decision that had to be made was obvious: close the gin. On November 7, 1942, the big steam whistle blew for the last time, thereby bringing to a close a great and colorful era for Doddridge.

Following the closing, Mr. George retired to his garden and continued living at his home on Highway 71. He passed away on January 1, 1957 and was buried in the Good Exchange Cemetery at Mcleod, Texas, the general area of his formative years.

Vera George continued with her teaching activities for a few years and then retired. She passed away on January 19, 1972, and was buried in Mt. Zion Cemetery at Doddridge.