Jenni book

Raymond Jessie Teague

by Jim Teague (March 2014) Raymond Jessie Teague (R.J.) was born on March 1, 1911; a cold, rainy evening in a log cabin on the banks of Dry Creek in Wise County, Texas. His parents, Oscar and Nora were traveling in a covered wagon from cotton patch to cotton patch, looking for work. Both his parents were born in Wise County. Oscar was born in the year 1884 and Nora was born in 1888.

R.J. was the first born of three sons. George was born in 1913 and Bill was born in 1916. During these early years, there was quite a bit of physical and mental abuse by the father directed primarily toward Nora. The boys endured some abuse also.

Oscar was a drinking man who spent a great amount of time away from his family.

Consequently Nora became ill in 1920, and after a few months, passed away after a severe bout of pneumonia.

At that point, at the age of ten years and 6 months, R.J. assumed the responsibility of watching over George and Bill. It was about this period of time that Oscar packed what belongings they had in his old truck and headed to the cotton patch, even as far away as Snyder, Texas. Even though they were just kids, they would work in the fields all day long chopping weeds or pulling cotton bolls. Oscar would occasionally leave the boys and go into town and return in a day or two. On one occasion, while they were staying in a makeshift shelter with a roof over their heads near Justin, Texas, he went into Fort Worth. By the end of the 2nd day, the boys ran out of anything to eat. R.J. left George and Bill in the structure and walked down the rail road tracks about a mile to a small grocery store where he told the owner that he would like to purchase some groceries for him and his two brothers. He told him he would have to buy them on credit; that his father would be back the next day. The owner loaded him up with food such as bread, crackers, cold drinks, lunch meat, etc. which R.J. carried back to the boys. The next day when Oscar came back and R.J. told him that as soon as he collected money from the land owner for their work, he needed to go to the store owner and pay him.

Oscar told him that they were going to load up and go back to Fort Worth, and that the store owner would never find them. R.J. refused to go and insisted they go by and pay the man for the food. The owner did not want to take the money until R.J. told him he needed to take the money; so at that point in his life as a young teen, he realized what it meant to be a responsible person in all phases of life.

Oscar and the boys came back to Fort Worth and lived in a tent on Greenleaf Street, just south of White Settlement Road. Oscar acquired some work horses which he used to do excavation work. In the same block where they were living in their tent, lived a couple by the name of Claude and Nora Shannon. Mrs. Shannon attempted to enroll the boys in school. George and Bill by that time were both young teens. At that point, they began their life of responsibility, primarily because of an irresponsible father. Mrs. Shannon, who had a son and later twin daughters, one of whom George married 45 years later; became a mother figure to the boys, just as if they were her own.

At that point, R.J. was working different jobs. He worked at Charlie’s Feed Store on W. Belknap by the Court House, owned by Charles Klimist, a Jewish fellow who raised six children – 3 sons and 3 daughters. At this young age, R.J. didn’t realize how his life would be impacted in the years to come by this family. R.J. went to work for J. T. Morrow, who owned Morrow Lumber Company located at 800 W. 2nd Street, just East of Henderson Street, in 1928 at the age of 17 years.

Mr. Morrow had a retail lumber yard and shop for making windows and doors. He also had a demolition company.

At the age of 19, R.J. met a young lady by the name of Opal Bell Smith. They married a year later and in the spring of 1932, a son Raymond Donald Teague was born. A year and a half later a son, Jimmy Olen Teague, was born.

In 1935, R.J. went to work for Chickasaw Lumber Company as a truck driver. The year 1938 was a pivotal year for R.J. and his family. Even though Oscar, George and Bill were heavy drinkers, R.J. would only have an occasional drink. New Year’s weekend, R.J. was doing part time work for Mr. Morrow, doing demolition work. He worked all day Saturday, January 1st and until shortly after noon on Sunday the 2nd. He came home, went into his bedroom and lay on the bed to rest.

He and his coworkers had a few beers while doing their work. About 4 o’clock, he awoke and told Opal to get the boys and herself ready so that they could go to church with him. This was the first time they attended this church, or any other. It was the First Church of the Nazarene in the 1200 Block of E. Allen Street, off Evans Avenue, in Southeast Fort Worth. The pastor was Dr. James McGraw. On the 2nd day of January 1938, R.J. had, what he suggested many times, a life changing experience. He became a born again Christian, and on that day, he and his family became regular church attendees. It became very obvious to his coworkers, as well as his extended family, that he had become a man of faith and values. Some of this group made remarks to him regarding his thoughts about being a Christian and attending

church regularly that were somewhat hurtful. However, he stood his ground and all these came to respect him, and some would seek advice from him on matters about everyday life or their own personal problems. Years later, some of these folks, especially in-laws and family members, realizing by the way he lived his life, came to see him or wrote letters of apology for criticizing him or actually making fun of him for his efforts on living a Christian life. They learned that he was a man of integrity and Christian faith. One was H. F. Sanders, a brother-inlaw, who was about as salty an individual as could be. He was a heavy drinker and an obnoxious and abusive person. He was the father of five sons and one daughter.

Because of the stance that R.J. took regarding life’s values and his Christian faith, H.F., and eventually most of his family changed their way of living. One son even became a minister.

In the same year, 1938, R.J. made a delivery of building materials to an area called Castleberry, which is now known as River Oaks, to a man by the name of Johnny Higgins, as he had done numerous times. While there, Johnny, whom the Teague Family would know for years as a neighbor, told R.J. he should purchase a half acre parcel of land which Johnny was developing. R.J. told him he did not have the money and did not make enough money to purchase anything, especially not land. Johnny said, “Raymond, it is only $2.00 down and $2.00 per week.” R.J. had $2.00 in his pocket which he gave to Johnny. When he got home that evening, Opal said, “Raymond, I need a dollar to buy some groceries.” R.J. responded saying, “I will be back shortly.” He walked three blocks to Homer and Vera Hogg’s house. He told Homer he needed a dollar. Homer asked Raymond why he needed to borrow a dollar. R.J. told him it was not a loan. It was for a down payment on a half-acre he had purchased that day and that he and Homer would own the land and split the half-acre down the middle and each could build a home side by side. Homer gave him the dollar and they became landowners.

Also, in the spring of 1938, Oscar had purchased a car which he had to use a crank to start the engine. It had been raining for three or four days and was very muddy.

Oscar, Bill and George were living on Greenleaf in a small shanty. Oscar had parked his car at the corner of White Settlement and Greenleaf because Greenleaf, at that time, was a dirt road and too muddy to drive to their house. He walked from his house to the corner, which was about three blocks. He began to crank his car’s engine, and when it started, the crank kicked back on him, which was not unusual; thereby, knocking him down underneath the frontend of the vehicle. The car also jumped into gear as it started. His was a very tragic death. His son George found him late that evening. The vehicle had spun its wheels until it ran

out of gas. Unfortunately he was dead when George found him. He was fifty-four years of age.

Before the end of the year 1939, both R.J. and Homer, who were working their regular jobs and after work and weekends for Mr. Morrow, and with his assistance, built two-room houses and an out-house. The first few months, the only light at nighttime was from kerosene lamps and lanterns. Cooking and heat was furnished by wood burning stoves. Shortly thereafter came running water from a well and electricity and construction of a bathroom on the side of the house. Oldest son, Don, enrolled at Castleberry School, where he would walk almost a mile to and from home, which he did thru the 8th grade.

Just prior to the end of year 1939, R.J., who was still driving a delivery truck for Chickasaw Lumber Co., delivered some materials to Sinclair Oil Refinery, just east of Meacham Field off North Main Street; as he had done several times. Mr. Bill Cutter, the plant superintendent, said to him, “Raymond, you ought to come to work for Sinclair. We know you are a dependable and a very capable worker, and I will be happy to talk with your general manager, whom I know from Chamber of Commerce meetings. I will tell him that we will pay you twice the amount that you are earning now.” He did in fact do that the next day and Mr. Copeland said to R.J., “Raymond, we hate to lose you, but this will make it a much better opportunity for you, as well as your family.” R.J. went to work at Sinclair Refinery early in 1940, and became a valuable and dependable employee.

In the year 1940 son Jim enrolled at Castleberry School, which he attended through the 8th grade. And in the fall of 1941 a daughter, Elaine, was born.

R.J. was still doing part time work with Mr. Morrow in buying buildings and demolishing them, and after cleaning up the materials by removing existing nails etc., would sell the materials for construction projects. World War II had begun and new materials were not easy to purchase because of a shortage of production.

R.J. was working the night shift at the oil refinery, where he had become the night shift supervisor. Even though he had no formal education, he was commended for his ability to read the gauges and maintain the proper pressures etc., in the crude oil refining process.

At some point during the year 1943, R.J., along with assistance of Mr. Morrow and the use of one of his trucks, leased a small piece of property on West Belknap. He purchased an existing rip saw setup consisting of a Buick engine with about a 20 foot belt connected to the rip saw. This was used to rip wide timbers, such as 2 x

10’s and 2 x 12’s into 2 x 4 and 2 x6 materials. RJ hired Roy Nealy part time to help keep the old engine running and to assist in the sorting, stacking and delivering of materials. One day in the summer of 1944, while RJ, his son Jim and Roy Nealy were busy preparing some materials for future sales; Mr. Cutter, the refinery plant superintendent, and his assistant came by the location. They proceeded to question R.J. about his activities away from the refinery. He responded by asking the question, “Am I not doing you fellows a good job?” And their answer was, “You’re doing a great job. We are concerned your time spent away from your job might affect your work.” Incidentally; about 2 or 3 months prior to this visit, Sinclair Officials from the Regional Headquarters in Sinclair, Wyoming had visited the Fort Worth plant and suggested they would like to discuss with R.J., a relocation to their facility in Wyoming because of his work ethic and progress he had made in the Fort Worth Facility.

It was at this point that R.J. new it was time to start his own business: R.J. Teague Lumber Company. He leased a piece of property in the 1900 block of White Settlement Road and began the business. It was in the month of September 1944.

He had established a banking relationship with Continental National Bank in 1940, which would eventually be a very beneficial business relationship.

Consolidated Vultee Corporation (now known as Lockheed) had opened a plant in Fort Worth, which at one time during the forties, employed over 30,000 workers.

R.J. worked a deal to purchase their surplus shipping crates which produced a lot of lumber and plywood. The process of tearing the crates apart and preparing the materials for sale produced a good profit, and was very helpful in making the business prosper. He purchased a truck and trailer and began buying and hauling lumber from sawmills in East Texas and Louisiana. In January 1948, a son, Bob, was born.

The business had begun to be profitable to the point that R.J. decided he would purchase his own property and move the office building and relocate and build on his own property. On May 10, 1949, he purchased two lots at 2501 White Settlement Road. The property had a very nice frame structure which was being used as a washateria. R.J. had about a year earlier considered moving his business to White Settlement Village, not far from the Bomber Plant, where he had purchased an acre of land. The purchase on May 10th was completed with a trade of the White Settlement acreage for the current location. Exactly one week later on May 17, 1949, a devastating flood occurred. Not only did the flood waters wash away everything that was not inside a warehouse, but all the material that was not gone, was for the most part not saleable. Also, the flood waters washed the frame

building on the 2 lots where the business now exists, all the way to the levee about a quarter of a mile away. Needless to say, it was time to start anew.

As soon as the floodwaters receded, R.J. along with his brother George and son Jim began to spread some gravel on the two lots so that they could transport what could be salvaged from the previous location to the new location (a span of three blocks). The salvage included the small office building, which is actually part of the current structure, and the parts of the sheds that remained. While the three were spreading the gravel with shovels, rakes and a wheelbarrow, a black Cadillac pulled up. The rear window rolled down and a little lady by the name of Klimist motioned for R.J. to step over to the car. She shook his hand and then handed him an envelope. At first, he refused to take the envelope, explaining to her that he knew it contained cash and knew he would not have anything to repay her anytime soon. Since she was a Jewish immigrant that spoke broken English, she said, “Vaymond, take it and don’t vorry!” This family is the one mentioned earlier in this story that his life would be impacted by years later. Her husband was Charles Klimist, who owned Charles Feed Store, where R.J. had worked at a young age.

R.J. had become friends with some of their 6 children.

The business began to prosper because of hard work and determination. R.J. began to buy property adjoining the business that is now over one half of a block in size.

And R.J. did repay Mrs. Klimist within a couple of years and enjoyed a lasting relationship with the family. Some of her family members became regular customers. In the fifties and sixties, R.J. began a customer relationship with some builders and began buying carloads of lumber and cedar shingles from sawmills in the Northwest United States. He had maintained a good banking relationship so that was helpful in financing these builders. He also continued borrowing funds from Mrs. Klimist until her death in the late fifties.

R.J. had a line of credit with Continental National Bank, so he went to the bank one day and visited with Mr. Thornton and Mr. Stansberry, who were the President and Vice President. He told them he needed a $50,000.00 credit line to buy carloads of cedar shingles and lumber. They told him to come back the next morning at 10 a.m. and they would give him an answer. He went to the bank and sat across from them and they asked, “Raymond, how is it going with you?”

Earlier in this story, it was mentioned that R.J. was a Christian gentleman and a man of faith. He said, “I went home last night and talked to the Lord.” Leigh Thornton asked, “You talked to who?” R.J. said, “I got down on my knees and prayed to the Lord.” Mr. Stanberry’s reply, “It must have done a lot of good, because we are offering you a credit line of $75,000.00!” In the early seventies,

Jeff harp went to work for Continental National Bank and became the Banker of Record for R.J. and Teague Lumber Company, and remains the company banker at present – 42 years later.

In the year 1977, R.J., with the advice of his accountant and with some hesitation, made the decision to become a corporation. R.J. Teague Lumber Company became Teague Lumber Company, a corporation, with R.J. Teague the majority stockholder and son, Jim, becoming a minority stockholder by way of a stock purchase. Jim became a full time employee after finishing high school in the year 1952 and enrolling in TCU evening school.

R.J.’s wife, Opal, died on July 10, 1988. He also lost his brother George in 1992 and brother Bill in 1994. His eldest son, Don, passed away in 2010. R.J. remained very active in the business well into his eighties and early nineties. He could usually be found outside on his forklift, moving materials and giving instructions to the workers in the yard. He relied on Jim to make most of the management decisions. He would frequently be sitting on his forklift and think of something that needed to be discussed with Jim. He would call on his cell phone for Jim to meet in his office and come to “the meeting of the minds.”

The fact that his driver’s license was not renewed at age 92, was really disturbing to him. However, he didn’t just sit at home and mope. He always had a ride to the lumber yard, where he enjoyed being. In his ninety-eighth year Jim was picking him up at his home and bringing him to the lumber yard each day. He would go into his office for a while, but later he would be found on his forklift – honking the horn and giving orders. Jim discovered that R.J. had been using his walker to make his way to the back lot where the workers would assist him on and off the forklift. Finally, Jim and R.J. had a productive meeting and conversation about R.J.’s activities while at the lumber yard. He admitted that it was best he spent more time in his office.

That is when he agreed to stay close to home and sit on his porch and be friendly with all the folks who walked by. The last year and a half was spent mostly at home with two ladies in 12 hour shifts, Emily and Sheila, who cared for him, cooked for him, conversed with him as a family member would. He enjoyed sitting in his recliner and watching John Wayne movies. He appreciated the fact that his neighbor, Markie, and frequently his daughter, Elaine, and son, Jim would spend time with him watching old movies or listening to him reminisce about the past.

In early November 2010, Jim went by as he normally did each weekday, and noticed that R.J. was not very responsive and could not walk, even with his walker.

It was decided that R.J. had suffered a slight stroke. R.J., along with his round-theclock care givers went to a nursing facility. After a couple of days, he told Elaine, Bob, and Jim that he was ready to leave this Earth and go join Momma. From that point on, he refused any food. Having visited with his kids and family members, he passed early in the evening of January 31, 2011 at the age of 99 years, 11 months, 29 days short of 100.