ROBERTSON, JAMES "ARCHIE" & FAYE

Across the Fence 



By Arvord Abernethy 



 

I dropped by James (Archie) and Faye Robertson’s back in the fall while their new house was under construction and they asked me to come back later when it was finished. Last week Mrs. Melvin Franks called and told me that the house was finished and that a group from their church had given the Robertson’s a house warming the Sunday afternoon before. 

I drove out one afternoon and had a most enjoyable visit with them in their new home which is about six miles out south just off 281. I found them snugly situated in their fine new home and a most friendly couple to visit with. 

James, or Archie as he is best known by, grew up near Grosvenor in Brown County, and Faye Pettijohn grew up in the Hazeldell community north of Gustine. They met and were married there in Brown County just before Archie was sent overseas during World War II. As Archie says, he spent his honeymoon alone in Europe. 

After his discharge, he took up metal work and one of his first jobs was in Wyoming. The Boysen Dam and Power Plant on the Wind River was under construction and this was his first work, The train tracks had to be relocated to make room for the lake, so this called for the digging of a tunnel over 7,000 feet long. Archie’s work in the tunnel was putting the steel lining in it. Much of this work was done in the winter when it was too cold to work on the dam and power plant. They lived in Thermopolis while on this job, which took about three years. 

Mary and I went by that project and on down through the Wind River Canyon to Thermopolis where we stayed all night. That canyon is a sight within itself. It is several miles long with straight up rock walls that are several hundred feet high on each side. There is just room at the base for the highway on one side, then the river and the railroad on the other side. Thermopolis is a neat little city and if you are ever there, you must go by and see the mammoth hot mineral springs. The springs flow millions of gallons of water each day and as the minerals solidify they form terraces of different colors. The overflow spills over into the river which becomes the Bighorn River at this point. 

After the completion of the Boysen Dam work, the Robertsons found work at various places, one of them being on the construction of buildings at the Atomic Energy Center at Los Alamos, New Mexico. As the children began to enter school ages they realized that they needed to locate in a permanent place, so they came to Abilene where they have lived for the last 25 years. 

The Robertsons have three children. The oldest daughter, Sonja Mast lives in Comanche and they have two boys. Their son, James, has an arts and crafts business in Lockhart and they have two children. The other daughter, Shela Renee Whitley, also lives in Lockhart. This gives the Robertsons four grandchildren to enjoy in these days. 

When I got to inquiring as to their reason for settling in Hamilton County, other than being near where they were reared, I found that Archie is pastor of the Hamilton Primitive Baptist Church on South Pecan and has been for 19 years; driving back and forth from Abilene. He is also pastor of a church in Gatesville, one in Cisco and of the Mt. Olive Baptist Church in Mills County. Each church has services once a month. 

The members of the different churches surprised the Robertsons on a recent Sunday afternoon with a house warming. The members knew that they were planning on an orchard; so they got a potted peach tree that can be set out and used it for a money tree. It was already bearing fruit of greenbacks tied on with yellow ribbons. 

The Robertsons have a lovely home for their “retirement” years. It has three bedrooms and three baths, and the living room and the den have vaulted ceilings supported by large beams. They have a large fireplace which is located between the living room and den and it can heat the entire house. There is a heat collector located above the fireplace and heat from it can be sent through the central heating system ducts. They seldom use the central heat. The bay windows add much to the attractiveness of the home. 

One should use the word retirement very loosely to describe the Robertsons life style. They have done quite a bit of the work on the house themselves, such as wallpapering, etc., but outside is where Archie has done a lot. The house is located in a grove of live oak trees that had to be cleared out and trimmed up. There were a lot of other trees and brush around that had to be cleared out. 

There is a little draw down in front of the house that has water in it from some seep springs, and they are preparing to plant Bermuda grass along each side. They will probably build a lake there in the draw. This, along with the grass meadow and the tall trees will make a beautiful view from the house. 

In case this is not enough to keep Archie busy, he has set up a wood working room in his new all-steel outbuildings. He does the initial sawing of articles that their son James makes in his arts and crafts center. They were showing me an end table and a coffee table that James had made and they were beautiful. The tops were covered with real pretty six inch ceramic tile. Very professional looking. 

Time ran out and I had to come back to town before I got to see some cattle that he has to keep him busy during those “retirement” years.

Shared by Roy Ables

ACROSS THE FENCE