Caddo- My Home Town

A Plan from 1940

I was going through some of Mother’s things and found a newspaper she had saved that contained her young brother’s obituary. (He died when he was only nine.) This interesting article about progress in Bryan County is from the front page of that paper.

The Caddo Herald, February 9, 1940

Agents are Working on Land Use Plan in Bryan County

“All government agencies relating to Land Use are working out a unified plan for the county, says W. F. Lott, county farm agent. Monthly farm educational meetings have already been held, the whole purpose being for a better Bryan county all the time.

The Planning committee has nearly completed the task of listing the problems and of the recommendations to improve conditions. Bryan county has several distinct farming areas. No.1 is the large area of open prairie which grows peanuts, small grain and cotton. It is southeast of Durant, surrounding Calera and Roberta.

Another area is the black land around Caddo and Kenefic, and toward Nida. It grows cotton, oats and corn. Area 3 is the mixed blackland belt to the southeast of Caddo. It is good pasture and cotton land.

Others comprise the richer bottom lands of the rivers, and the fruit and vegetable soils.

Each farm should have at least a small orchard, 100 hens, a few milk cows; all land ought to be terraced, contour farming practiced, no burning pastures or organic matter.

Each farm should have $2,000 to $3,00 worth of buildings.

From $500 to $1000 worth of machinery per farm is also very much needed.

Three-fourths of the farm houses are unliveable. Tenancy ranges from 60 per cent to 85 per cent. Taxes are another problem to be solved."

Community News

The Town Restoration Association of Caddo is proud to announce the addition of a new convenience for the citizens of Caddo. Thanks to the ideas, donations, and hard work of several volunteers, Caddo now has a community bulletin board! It is located next to the post office so lots of people will see it. It has an open, public side where anyone and everyone may post notices and signs, and it has a locked side where TRAC will post news and photos. The bulletin board is protected from the weather by an attractive awning. The idea for the bulletin board was suggested by Ken Behrens and Mary Maurer. It was designed and built by Bill Boydstun, and painted by Kenneth Whorton. Materials, labor, and donations were furnished by Gary and Belinda Davison, Hal Nesbitt, Rick Bagby, Cecile Sparkman, and Vesta Baker. This is just one of many projects and plans being developed by TRAC. Look for more improvements in the future.

Trash Off Success

Over fifty volunteers turned out Saturday, April 8,  to join with the Town Restoration Association of Caddo (TRAC) in the Bryan County “Trash Off”. Individuals, civic organizations, sports teams, and church groups worked together to clean up Caddo and collected nearly 400 trash bags filled with roadside litter. The First Baptist Church youth team volunteered their time, as well as teams from Craighead’s, and the REX II Theater. There were also some volunteers who worked on Friday because of schedule conflicts. In addition to paper and cans, many larger items such as tires, chairs, refrigerators, and limbs were collected for disposal.

Volunteers met at the downtown pavilion at 8:00am despite strong winds and a definite drop in temperature. Workers fanned out to their assigned blocks and worked until noon. Then they enjoyed free hotdogs, drinks, cookies, and some much deserved rest. Shamrock Bank, The Caddo Masonic Lodge, The Civic and Cemetery Club, The Caddo Community Association, and The First Baptist Church helped with donations, food, and service. The Caddo Fire Department even displayed their new truck for everyone to enjoy. Everyone agreed it was a worthy cause and plans are already underway to make next year’s Trash Off an even bigger success.

Several children worked during the days before the Trash Off and placed flyers on resident's doors. They were rewarded with gift certificates from Craighead's and movie tickets from the REX II.

The winner of the poster contest actually used real trash on the poster. Very creative!

Motion Carries

“And the motion carries.” Those are the sweetest words of the week!! The Caddo City Council has agreed to sponsor the grant application TRAC needs for our new sidewalks and lights. They have agreed to be involved in the application process as well as help with the labor of removing the old sidewalks and several damaged trees. We’re a long way from actual funding, but it just feels good to be working together on a plan. The Caddo Community Association has also offered their support. Say some prayers for our application and I’ll keep you posted. It will be months from now, but if we get the money you’ll be able to hear the shouts of joy!

Saturday TRAC is participating in the Bryan County Trash Off. Volunteers are going to spend the morning cleaning up the streets, alleys, and ditches of Caddo. Then all of the volunteers are going to be treated to a free hot dog and drink. Come join us!