Person Page - 130

During the summer of 1891, the Donnells made a prospecting trip-to the plains.
"That summer had had lots of rain and was a beautiful country. The lakes were full of water and grass was half knee-high. Pa came home with his mind made up to move. In September we arrived in Silverton." Donnell remembers.
"Dad had at that time one wagon, one hack, five just common work stock, two colts, cows and calves. Coming by way of Matador, we pulled up the Caprock east of old Della Plains."
When the Donnell family arrived in Silverton, "Dad ate his lunch, and said he was going into town, then just one store. The town was already plotted out, however. Returning to the wagon, he said, 'I've got us a place."
"The property was located 3-4 miles northwest of where we were camped then."...
"When we arrived at the property, we found a dugout, 10x12, two stacks of hay, and new wire fence."
"We put everything we could in the dugout, using it for a kitchen, dining room and parlor."
"The wagon was bedroom number one, while the hack, with 1x12 boards added to it, made bedroom number two for the boys."
"We wintered just fine, but I remembered there were a few nights when it would be stormy, very dark and snowing, with the wind from the north. We would hold to each other's hands to keep from getting separated going from the dugout to the hay stack," Donnell says.
"We had to have food, fuel, and some kind of social activity. To get a sack of flour, we had to go to Amarillo, a six-day trip. We would leave Monday morning and get back Saturday after noon."³

Mother and Pop Donnell were hard working ranchers. I think I spent a few weeks every summer at their place west of Canyon. Then there were nearly daily excursions into town for shopping or to go to a Saturday movie matinee. The movie theater was the only air conditioning unless we stopped to visit Aunt Kate. Trips to town always had the benefit of a soda pop or ice cream cone. And there was the occasional drive-in movie.
Not much to do for a kid, except to accompany Pop on his daily trip to count cows. The fun part of that was the challenge of jumping out of a rolling car to run ahead and open the barbwire gate, then jumping back in on the other side. He counted his cows every trip just to be sure none were missing.
Pop was pretty quiet but loved his Friday night "wrassling" on TV. He, being a real cowboy, was a very good harmonica player. And told stories about places he never wanted to go again: getting cattle out of the quicksand on the Canadian River or escaping a flash flood in the Palo Duro Canyon.
Mother Donnell was very involved with the Presbyterian Church. She had an upright piano that we kids would bang on but it only got played if Aunt Kate came over.