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From: Kay Haden <>
Subject: [TXFANNIN-L] 30 May 1947 Ladonia News
Date: Fri, 14 May 1999 06:16:33 -0500


[Spelling, punctuation, grammar as in newspaper. This email is dedicated
to any of us that played football, cheered with pep squad, marched with
band - surely you remember Friday nights!]

The Ladonia News
"The Only Newspaper In The United States That Gives a Hoot About Ladonia
And Her People"
Established in March 1880
Friday, May 30, 1947
An American, Fannin County, Institution

"Rattlers"
By Roy Bartley

Checking upon the Rattlers, we go back to the days before they were called
the Rattlers. But they were still a true Ladonia football team. Back in
1915 the Ladonia boys hitched 4 mules to a wagon and went over muddy roads
to Wolfe City to play. The score was 12-0 for Ladonia. Some of the boys
on that team were John Scott, Andy Routt, Carl Weldon, Earl Priestly, Harry
Merrill, Sim Hulsey, Bose McFarland, Will Nunn Graves, Hershal Fowler, Ben
Neilson and Edgar Little. That same year Wolfe City came to Ladonia and
got beat 12-6.

We skip from here to 1921 when football was recognized in Ladonia. Buck
Neilson was the coach. A meeting was held and the name "Rattlers" was
chosen for the team. At this time Mr. Neilson was farming at Ladonia and
took over the team just to help the boys. Coaching free of charge, he was
assisted by Sam and Hendrix Merrill. The first "Rattlers" were Lee Morrow,
Joe Beall, Vache Bartley, Grady Bass, Herman Switzer, Elsin [? hard to make
out] Fowler, Melvin Howse, Maynard Miller, Oscar Bramlett, Alvin Bramlett,
Ebb Bartley, Foute Eagleton, Brandy Womack, Howard Thornton, Lefty Ross,
Jeff Fraley, R. D. Fowler, Jack Morrow, Whatley Little and Tom Stovall.
These boys played some 13 games that year, of the 13, they lost 9, tied 1,
and won 3. But they beat Wolfe City 7-0. Now the 1922 team was just about
the same bunch of boys. They were a little better organized now and did a
little better playing. They won 8 games, lost 1 and beat Wolfe City 36-0.

In '23 Joe Beall was acting as coacher to help the boys. Not much can be
found out about this year. However, in 1924 Allen Moxley was hired to
coach the Rattlers. He became the first hired coach at Ladonia. In '25
and '26 O. P. Smith was the head coach. He was relieved in '27 by Loren
Francis. Crain was coach in '28 and Verde Miles in '29. Then Ladonia
entered Conference play in 1930 under head coach Emmit Wishard. Mr.
Wishard stayed on as head coach here until 1933, when he went to coach
Paris Hi School. It was during Coach Wishard's stay here that Ladonia won
the much talked of game from Honey Grove.

In 1934 Harve Light took over the head coach job with Milton Buchanan as an
assistant. They stayed until Arvil P. Green took over in 1937. Coach
Green had J. E. Fuller for an assistant. Coach Green turned out to be one
of Ladonia's most colorfel coaches. His 1937 team was an average team.
But, with practically the same squad, in 1938, the boys played an
undefeated, untied, and unscored on season. Also this season they beat the
Goodland Indians from Oklahoma. This was the only Ladonia team ever to
defeat the Indians. The standing lineup for 1938, was: Vernon (Dog)
Montgomery and Alvin Pike ends, Jesse Newman and Bud Cathey, tackles,
Cheezy White and John H. Rattan, guards, Freeman Braley, center, Joe Boyd
and Franklin Scott, half backs, R. C. (Sharkey) Shelton, full back and Bob
Bartley quarter back. Others on the team were: James Boucher, Neil
Conine, Bill Bell, Roy Newman, Alf Robardey, J. Middlebrooks, A. Meaders,
Jack Gilbert, David Myrick, J. M. Moody, and Newton Bartley. After having
such a perfect season of play, it all came to a bad end when Ladonia was
ruled out for playing ineligible players, At the same time L.H.S. was
ruled out so was every other team in the Conference except Leonard.
Leonard became District Champs and had not won a game all season.

To satisfy his feelings, Coach Green came back in 1939 to win B. District
from Deport. Mr. Green left us in '40 and went to Arkansas A. & M. at
Magnolia, Ark. Woodrow Henderson coached the '40 team, with just an
average season. Charles Gaulden came to us in 1941 and turned out the'41
District Champs.

In the early part of '42 he left to fight for his country, and was relieved
of his coaching duties by R. B. (Buck) Neilson, the same one who was here
in 1921. With his first year of coaching after this long absence, the boys
won B. District again. They won this title by defeating McLeod, coached by
Lloyd Kerbow, an ex-Rattler. By this time the war was well on and lots of
the schools Ladonia had been playing had stopped having a football team.

In 1944 the boys won district, in '44 and '45 they automatically won
district since they were the only team left in this district.

With the end of the '45 season came the end of a long line of ball players,
the Bartley boys. Ebb and Vache Bartley started off in 1921. Then there
was a skip to '29. From '29 up until '45 there was always from 1 to 4
Bartleys on the team. In 1946, the first postwar Rattlers came back true
to form and won the District Championship. They also picked up, where
others left off back in '41, the rivalry with Wolfe City. The '46 boys won
from W. C. What the boys do in '47 is yet to be seen, but there will be
the true Rattler spirit behind them, just as the past 27 years have shown.
Let 'er go Rattlers -- and watch 'em go!
___________________________________________________________

-
Kay Haden

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