Comments on: Color is for Kids

By: Ann

Ann — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 03:25:41 +0000

Oh, and something else the Zollner Ranch reminds me of is John Irving’s The Cider House Rules, which was actually a pretty good book despite being inordinately preachy.

By: Ann

Ann — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 03:19:54 +0000

I’ll have to do that. Come November, you should plan to write that novel yourself, see what you can come up with.
http://www.nanowrimo.org/

By: Nell

Nell — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 23:47:57 +0000

I used the Hobo Ranch for the outline of my romance novel that I wanted D.H. to write. There’s more to this story. One of my best friends, Ben, lives there. He thought Gene was next to God. Ask Dan to share about Ben.

By: Ann

Ann — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 23:16:06 +0000

Thanks for sharing that, Nell. I read almost every word on their site. I’m not quite done with the topic of migrant farm work. It’s definitely part of the road trip journey. The Hobo Ranch seems like something straight out of another Steinbeck tale, Of Mice and Men.

By: Nell

Nell — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 20:42:04 +0000

Speaking of the Joads, I’m reminded of the Hobo Ranch in Rockwall County. This was a haven for the many men “riding the rails” during the depression–just looking for work, or food, or a place to stay. The Zollner family employed between 100 and 200 men. Word of mouth all over the country sent them to the Ranch where they could work for a wage, eat in the mess hall, sleep in the barracks, buy in the commissary, and worship in the little chapel. The men had to write their name and nearest kin for the records. However, some died there and were buried by the creek. When I first went there during the 80’s, it was a place frozen in time. The old 20s and 30s trucks were parked under the shed. Another was for the old farm equipment. The mess hall was eerily like it was with the pots and pans and tables and chairs. I remember the sun shining through the high windows to give the whole place a ghostly look. I could hear the sounds that must been heard during the 30’s. Alas, when I went back a few months ago, not much was left except the little white chapel all lopsided and needing new white paint.
For more information see http://www.zollnerranch.com
Many small farm families “picked cotton” during the depression years. Gene’s Superintendent in Santa Rosa was from Commerce and spoke of travelling in Texas to pick cotton and sleeping in barns or whereever they could. My grandpa, “Dadan”, said he went from Gilmer to Rockwall to pick cotton during the 20s and 30s. He showed us the place - that fertile land down the hill from Ridge Road which is now Lake Ray Hubbard. I wonder if he had heard of the Hobo Ranch.