Allie Mae Thompson was born August 22, 1901
in Henderson, Texas to Louis Cemore Thompson and Lillian Josie Odom. She
married Sam Houston Smith, also born in Henderson, January 2, 1921, in Mangum,
Oklahoma.
The following biographical information was
provided by Charles H. Smith:
Sam Houston (Pat) Smith was born December 26, 1901 in Henderson, Texas and moved to Oklahoma
with his parents when he was about 7. His father, a farmer, died when Houston
was about 10. He dropped out of school in the 4th grade to assist his family on
the farm. The Smiths rented a farm near Brinkman, Oklahoma. The family moved
to Mangum when Houston was about 18 years old and bought two homes on N. Dakota
Street in Mangum. They were about a block and a half apart. Patsy Virginia
Smith Cox was born in the one that was South of the final home place. This
house has since been demolished. The original home was torn down and a new home
was built which they occupied during Addie Smith's lifetime.
When Houston was a baby, he was called "Fatty" by his family. (All of the Smith
kids had nicknames.) He used to say that a tongue-tied person he knew tried to
call him Fatty and ended up calling him Pat. Most of his associates called him,
Pat, while his family continued to call him Fatty.
At some point in time, he acquired a team of matched mules and became a freight
hauler. He did some work in the oil fields at Burkburnet, Texas, then came back
to Mangum to do local work. He worked on a grader for Greer County for awhile
and then became employed by the Mangum Light Plant, an electric generating
plant, owned and operated by the City of Mangum.
He was a shift operator when Charles was born in a house located on the light
plant property. They lived there until about 1937 when they moved to a house
near the railroad on the East side of town. Later they moved to a rented home
on North Carolina street.
Houston was made Superintendent for the Light Plant in the 1940's and continued
in this position until he retired. He was highly regarded by his peers and his
employees.
His personal hobbies were fishing and gardening and he excelled in both
endeavors.
He died of a stroke at the age of 79.
Allie Mae Thompson was born August 22, 1901, to Louis Cemore Thompson and
Lillian Josie Odom. She grew up on farms and worked both in the fields and in
the barn and the house. She dropped out of school in the eight grade to work
full-time on the farm. She always felt a little embarrassed that she was not
able to finish high school. Her younger sisters, Minnie and Nettie were able to
graduate along with her brother Douglas.
Allie Mae and Houston went to the same school at Brinkman, Oklahoma and walked
to and from school together. She used to eat from his dinner bucket because the
Smith's food was better than the Thompsons - the Smith's had more money. At the
time, the Smiths lived on a farm West of Brinkman, Oklahoma on a farm they
rented from Roy Doyle's father. The Smiths moved to Mangum when Allie Mae was
18. The Thompson family later moved to the North Side of Mangum.
Allie Mae was a good home keeper. Up until the 1940's, we always had a cow, and
she had to milk the cow morning and evening. We had chickens for eggs and each
year bought a new batch of chicks to raise as fryers. When I was in high
school, she used to fry a chicken every day for lunch.
Alllie Mae was the best cook I have ever known. She had a special talent for
seasoning food, and she was never afraid to try something new.
Numerous times in her life, she would go to the cotton fields to pull cotton to
earn extra money. She continued this into her 60's.
Allie Mae was a consistent church member and always attended every service when
she was physically able to do so. She was a member of the Church of Christ.
After Houston died, she continued to live at 408 N. Louis Tittle until she was
almost 90, when she sold the house and moved to a Senior Citizen development
adjacent to the railroad terminal where she first came to Mangum via the train.
During the last few years of her life, she lived in El Paso, Texas near her
daughter, Patsy Cox. She died of a massive stroke at the age of 92.
Houston and Allie Mae had two children:
See the next page
for information on Allie Mae's family.