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HomeMy WebLinkAboutLeighton, Willie EugeniaOft-told tales of Texas Willie Eugenia Mills Leighton reads from her book, "Texas: The Way it Was." tagie pnoco oy racer nocna Former CS school teacher retells family stories in new book By Robert C. Borden Eagle opinions editor Willie Eugenia Mills Leighton had a novel idea about how to spend her re- tirement. Unlike some, who retire only to relax and and find a way to make the days go by, Leighton decided to write a book about the history of her ancestors, the James Smith family, who arrived in Texas before the war against Mexico. The book, '"texas: The Way it Was," is the story of the Lone Star State in the human terms of one extended family. The handsome 261-page novel, released on Sept. 1, is avaffable for $19.95 at Hastings Books in Bryan and College Station and from insite Publish- For theme 83-yeaz-old former College Station elementary school teacher, the book is a natural, an extension of the stories passed down in her family from the pioneer days of Texas, mostly 1n the Brazos Valley area. "My family talked about our ances- tors," Leighton, said. "I've heazd my da- ^ Review o[ "Texas: The Way It Was, "8C ddy tell these stories, and Uncle 5heb, too." Sheb was named for Joshua She- 1bySmith, amain character in the book, who was born in 1790 and settled in Texas as ateen-agar. "My mother would have made a won- derful writer, but she was too busy rais- ing a famffy, hers and others," Leighton said. Like the Smith family of `"the Way it Was," Leighton's mother took hi a homeless child to raise as her own. Leighton was born on a farm four miles from Normangee. "Our enter- tainment was the story time. We'd gather azound my mother and she told us the things I remember about my fa- mily .. Over the yeazs, she has done exten- sive research into her family, tracing their movements in large pazt through deeds and records of sales. A niece from Madisonville helped Leighton do some of her research at the Texas A&M library. "I'm just a history bug. I'll read a book on history when there's a good romance next to it," she said. "How do you know where you aze going when you don't know where you've been?" About two and a half years ago, Leighton finally got around to writing down her family's stories. "We have his- tory books, but so often they don't put down the small things, the natty gritty," she said. "Texas is the most exciting piece of property, the sheer excitement of how it came to be, why the people came to Texas, the whole tragic story of the sacrifices made to bring this land to a republic." Leighton carried her famlly's stories with her to the University of Texas at Austin, where she earned two degrees and met the legendary Texas writer J. FYank Dobie. He told her, "Everyone has a style of writing. Dori t take lessons. Just write and let your rejection slips be your guide." She faffed to register for Dobie's course in time, so took it without credit. '"that was the summer of my life," she said. "We seldom met on the campus. His method of teaching was most won- derful. He would wander off thinking and you'd talk to each other. When he came back, the students would hang on his every word. "He made the most lasting impression on my life. He was one of the most force- ful personalities I have ever known," Leighton said. She also taught school in Austin be- fore she and her husband, Chazles K. Leighton, moved to College Station in 1940. Chazles Leighton had two degrees from Texas A&M University and worked for the Texas Highway Department. Leighton taught school 1n College Sta- tion for 30 years before retiring in 1973. When College Hills Elementary School was built -the first school built away from the main College Station campus - Leighton's superintendent told her, "Now is the time for you to try out all of those great ideas you have." She moved to that campus, where she stayed for the rest of her career. "I always liked to teach science and I liked to teach music," Leighton said. And, of course, there were the stories Please see History, eC History From 1 C she shared with her children. '"teaching is so wonderful. The little children hug back and the written line doesn't," she said. To this day, she can remember all of her students. Recently, a former student now living in California, called to congratulate her on the book. "I stlll hear from many of them," she said. After her retirement, Leighton found that she still wanted to share her stories with others. Writing was a way to pass on her family's legacy. "Once I started to write. it be- came acompulsion. I dopp't get around so well anymore a~1d this is something I could do with dome ease. It's my nature. When' I'm supposed to do something, it nags at me until I get it done." Leighton used yellow legal pads to write her book in longhand. She admits she isn't the most dis- ciplinedwriter. "If the day came and it wasn't a writing day, I didn't write," she said. "If it was a writing day, I've been known to write all day long. I've spent many a night writing all night long." After making the rounds of the New York publishing houses, Leighton got a major publisher to accept her book. "The contract frightened me," she said. "The editor kept calling me, telling me she was going to move everything around. She was taming Texas. "It was a rough time and there is no way to smooth it up," Leighton said. "The stories are real. The hard times actually happened. "I told her, 'You don't mess with Texas.' One night, I had it with those people. I told them to send my manuscript back and I got the first good night's sleep I'd had 1n a longtime." The next monning, Leighton be- gan looking in the local phone book for a more amenable pub- lisher. The first one she came to was Insite Publishing and Greg and Angelique Gammon. "I took my manuscript down and from then on we had the finest time," Leighton said. "I have enjoyed this little couple. I feel like they are a part of my famffy. "They left me and my book in the main alone," she said. Since the book was published, Leighton has been on a whirl of publicity. She has had book sig~- ings at both local Hastings stores and has another one scheduled at the Hryan store >n Manor East Mall from 6-8 p.m. on Tuesday, She's atready been asked to do a sequel, carrying the family into the days of the Civll War. "I just might do it," she said. And, she said, "I still take the stories back to the classroom." Last Thursday, she met with the fourth-graders at her old elemen- tary school to give them a chance to meet a real author. "I tell them there is not a lot of difference in writing a book than doing that paper for your teacher. Just stick to it and get it done."