Sanger Area Historical Society and Museum

Johnny Chambers was born in Sanger, Texas, on October 23, 1921, and passed away in July 2015 at the age of 93. His family was an important part of Sanger’s history as his father operated the Sanger Mill and Elevator Company, and his grandfather had been an officer and employee of the First National Bank of Sanger. Johnny’s mother, Alma Lain Chamber, was the daughter of Dr. George D. Lain, one of the early physicians of Sanger.

Johnny Chambers was an important member of the Sanger Area Historical Society until his death in July 2015. He was a wealth of information about Sanger’s history, as his family had been in Sanger since 1895. Johnny presented a program for the Sanger Area Historical Society and the public in 2005, and the following information has been taken from that presentation

Johnny was the son of William Bushrod (aka Willie Bush) Chambers and Nancy Alma (Miss Alma) Lain Chambers. His grandparents were John Thomas (J.T.) Chambers and Anna Griffin Chambers, and Dr George Douglas Lain and Martha Louvenia McCutchen Lain

The Chamber family moved to Texas in 1877. They were first located in McKinney and later relocated to Denton in 1894 after Johnny’s great-grandfather had married in 1881 They relocated to Sanger in 1895, where he became head of the Sanger School There were 99 students, and he taught all the high school subjects. Mamie Jones, later wife of Sam Sullivan and mother of Eunice Sullivan Gray, taught all the elementary grades.

In 1897, A.D. Miller, a flour miller, organized a stock company to establish and build the Sanger Mill and Elevator Company. A.J. (Squire) Nance, rancher, and entrepreneur, was a substantial investor and was the mill’s first president. Nance persuaded J.T. Chambers to leave 29 years of teaching to become the manager of the mill. It was financially rewarding, and he gradually acquired stock until he had a controlling interest The mill’s capacity increased from 75 barrels (14,400 pounds) of flour per day to 125 barrels, and later Johnny’s father, Willie Bush, increased the capacity to 200 barrels per day.

In 1920, the mill officials were E.L. Berry, President; J.T. Chambers, Manager, and Treasurer; W.B. Chambers, Secretary; and J.H. Hughes, Vice President. During this time, the First National Bank of Sanger’s officials were J T Chambers, President; B L Spencer and J H Hughes, Vice Presidents; E L Berry, Cashier; and E B Brown, Assistant Cashier

SANGER MILL AND ELEVATOR COMPANY, HOME OF SILK FINISH FLOUR WAS LOCATED ON 2ND STREET JUST NORTH OF THE OLD LUMBER YARD.

SOME OF THE TOWERING STORAGE TANKS WERE STILL IN PLACE UNTIL UNTIL RECENTLY

J.T. Chambers, Johnny’s grandfather, was a source for personal and farm loans and was proud of the fact that during the terrible 1930s depression, he never foreclosed on a loan When the State of Texas ran out of money during the Depression, J T cashed vouchers for school teachers and held the vouchers until the State could redeem them.

Willie Bush Chambers graduated in the second graduating class in Sanger in 1907, along with Alma Lain and four others He taught school in Sanger for one year after graduating from Polytechnic College in Fort Worth His father, J T , needed him at the mill Willie Bush gradually took over the managership of the mill. He eventually told his father to get Berry out of the milling business as he thought he interfered with the business.There was an exchange of stock, and Berry was out of the milling operation, and J.T. was no longer in banking.

Willie Bush was mayor of Sanger in 1932 He was president of the Texas Grain Dealers Association in 1938.Alma Lain and Willie Bush were married in 1914. They had two sons, John Douglas (Johnny) in 1921 and Robert William in 1918. Rob married Olive Watt in 1941. Johnny joined the U.S. Naval Reserve in 1942 but was allowed to finish his college at North Texas College. He reported for active duty in September 1943 at Notre Dame for Officer’s Training He joined his ship, Landing Craft Infantry (LCI) 805, and went south through Panama Canal to California for extensive modifications This ship participated in the invasion of Okinawa to give close-up bombardment support. Johnny received his degree in Electrical Engineering and worked for General Dynamics in Fort Worth for 33 years. Johnny married Ruby Lee Herd in 1944, and she died in 1999. J.T. Chambers, the father of Johnny, died at age 90 in 1940.

Willie Bush sold Sanger Mill and Elevator Company to Kay Kimbell, owner of Kimbell Mills of Fort Worth, in 1941. He worked in the defense industry during WWII. He later worked as manager of a milling facility in Gainesville. He died at age 80 in 1970. Alma passed away at age 92 in 1983.

Miss Alma’s family had settled in Bolivar Sam Lain, the grandfather of Alma, bought a farm in Bolivar and donated an acre of land for the Bolivar School Johnny’s grandfather, George Lain, attended one year at St. Louis Medical College in 1885 but had to withdraw for lack of funds. Dr. Haywood Lain offered to pay George’s way through two more years of medical school. In March 1892, George Lain became Dr. G.D. Lain and started his practice in Bolivar.

Dr Lain began delivering babies at $10 each, and could be paid in a check, cash, or hay, oats, and corn. Later the “top-out” price of $20 for the delivery of the babies. Dr. Lain and his family moved to Sanger in 1900 after the railroad had been built through Sanger in 1886, and the community had begun to grow. Dr. John C. Rice also was a physician in the area, and Doctors Lain and Rice had a gentlemen’s agreement that Lain would cover west of Sanger and Rice east of the town

Dr. Lain and his wife were driving to Sanger, and the Model T gently left the road just south of the Duck Creek bridge and stopped in the bar ditch Bud Gentle was driving by and stopped to render aid and heard Dr Lain’s last heartbeat Dr George Douglas Lain was dead at the age of 64.

Dr. Lain’s daughter, Nancy Alma (Miss Alma), was the only one of the doctor’s children to live their life in Sanger. She graduated from Sanger High School in 1907 and attended North Texas Normal College She received her teacher’s certificate and taught in country schools until she and Willie Bush married in 1914 Miss Alma was always involved in Sanger’s civic and school affairs. She organized a group of friends for the Sanger Improvement Club. This club evolved into the Sanger Wednesday Study Club, which is still in Sanger.Miss Alma was the first woman elected to the Sanger School Board and was named Senior Citizen of Denton County by the Chamber of Commerce in 1958. She compiled the history of the Sanger Methodist Church It was her lifelong dream for, Sanger to have a library, but she did not live to see its fruition

Johnny told a cute story of being a young boy in 1928 when he was in second grade. He was 7 years old and madly in love with Billie Dean Sullivan, age 6. Several of the mothers decided to put on the production “Wedding of the Painted Doll.” Johnny was cast as the preacher, and Billie Dean was to be the bride George Burks was the groom because he was the only boy who had a suit with long pants Sonny Wheeler was the father, Dorothy Hall was the mother, and Isla Ruth Pate was Little Red Riding Hood. Johnny was devastated as he knew he should be the groom and kept telling his mother he had been mis-casted. All the time, she kept working on Johnny’s costume, and all she would say was, “Johnny, you will make a fine preacher.” Johnny didn’t give up, and she didn’t change her mind The fateful day finally came, and the students were on stage in the assembly hall The whole school was there, and no one knew how pained Johnny was to see his love being married off, but he had to carry on. The outcome was that Johnny had to stand before 400 students and was forced to marry the woman he loved to another man.

Johnny Chambers and his family were civic-minded, and Johnny was a favorite member of the Sanger Area Historical Society His diligence in recording Sanger’s history was so important to the group, and he has been tremendously missed in the organization.