HAILE, DON & SYLVIA

                    
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DON & SYLVIA HAILE

 

Across the Fence

 

By Arvord Abernethy

 

 

At various times, I’ve told you of people who have built a new home here in the county and retired. The ones I want to tell you about this week are far from being retired. When you have three young boys like Bradley, Brandon and Bryan Haile, who range in age from 4 to 10 years old, as Don and Silvia Haile have, you are far from being retired.

 

Add to that the operation of a 24 hour drive-in convenience store and the farming of a fine Leon River-bottom farm, you may be wishing for some retirement years. Don also managed to work in a lot of time as carpenter on their new home.

 

The Hailes are far from being people who have recently moved here. Don’s great grandfather, James Noble Haile, came to Hamilton County in 1874 as a young lad of 20 years and began working on ranches. He soon began accumulating orphan calves and lambs that ranchers didn’t want to fool with as a start in the livestock business that became very extensive in the raising of cattle, horses and goats. From a start of 135 acres, he accumulated a large tract of land in the Gum Branch community and much of it is still in the family which is now in the fifth generation.

 

Don is the son of the late Wallace Haile and Mrs. Adena Haile. He went out to Pottsville and picked out Silvia Schoen to be his companion for life.

 

The Hailes recently moved into their new home which is located on the former Ace Jones place northwest of Hamilton . The thing that will impress you as you first drive up is the view from the house. The house is located on a high bluff overlooking their level fields in the Leon River bottom. The fields are trimmed with an edging of pecan trees all along the river. Beyond the river one can see the new rock home of the J. K. Wilhelms, and looking back to the east you can see where Highway 281 comes down to cross the river.

 

Another thing that will impress you is the amount of material in the house that came from right off the place. The wood for the interior finish work was made from their trees. The rock in the walls and the fireplace and chimneys were quarried right there. Floyd Medford of Gatesville was the stonemason who did the work.

 

The beauty of the natural wood can be seen throughout the house. Most of the wood is oak, finished in a clear natural finish. As you enter the house, you are greeted by the warm oak wood in the stair banister leading to the upstairs. The posts, railing and large end post are all of oak.

 

Just off to your left is the large, vaulted-ceiling living rooms which extends completely across the end of the house. Here again native wood is used as large beams are used to support the ceiling. On each side of the fireplace, planks of hackberry, attached horizontally, cover the walls. The door and window facings are all oak that have been given a fine finish and then the corners routed to give them a dressy look.

 

Silvia has a work island in her kitchen that is covered with pecan wood that has been very smoothly sanded and finished. The coordinating wall papers in the kitchen and adjoining dining room make for a pleasing appearance.

 

Don cut the trees for the wood there on the place and took it to a small sawmill that Earl Kavanaugh has and had them sawed into the sizes he needed.

 

They installed a central heating system, but only use it when they first get up on real cold mornings, as they have two of those modern wood stoves for their main heat.

 

If you are out that way, have Bradley show you the butter rock, as he did to me. It puzzled me so Silvia had to explain it. Someone took a large flat stone, about 2 by 3 feet square, and chiseled out most of the inside so it would hold water. The people would set their milk and butter in it and cover the containers with a wet cloth and it would be kept cool.

 

Be sure to have the show you the Fairy road marker sign. Someone neatly carved the word “Fairy” and an arrow pointing in the direction of Fairy. Don had it placed in the rock walls of the house. Fairy is where Don did all his schooling, right on through high school.

 

The Hailes all make excellent hosts, but I found Bradley, the four year old, a great entertainer. He even offered to let me eat raisins out of the box with him.

 

 

Shared by Roy Ables

ACROSS THE FENCE 

 

 
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People and Places: Gazetteer of Hamilton County, TX
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Copyright © March, 1998
by Elreeta Crain Weathers, B.A., M.Ed.,  
(also Mrs.,  Mom, and Ph. T.)

A Work In Progress