HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Divorced House Stories from Long Ago
February 2009
compiled by Bill Page
Did you ever hear of such a thing as a "divorced house "? No? There is one — and it's
right here at College Station. Lately it's been nationally publicized; yet how many of us have
ever seen it or even heard of it? If you go about three- quarters of a mile south of the campus,
south of the project houses, in the College Park addition, you can find this unique structure. It
was all one once, when a Negro couple by the name of Curtis and Rosetta (Rosy) Cheeks lived in
it. But Curtis and Rosetta were separated — as the neighbor woman said, "They just couldn't
agree" — and they separated the house at the same time. They literally sawed the house in two,
and moved the two houses thus made a short distance apart. The two continued separate
existences in their respective dwellings for some time after that, but each has since moved away,
"to parts unknown." The houses remain, one inhabited by a Negro family, the other vacant.
Robert L. Ripley of "Believe It Or Not" fame has lately given the "divorced house" a
considerable amount of publicity. About a month and a half ago it was featured in one of his
syndicated newspaper "Believe It Or Not" columns. About three weeks ago a moving picture
company from Hollywood came and took shots of it for one of the "Believe It Or Not" short
moving picture features. The house, outside of its unique distinction, is rather disappointingly
ordinary. It is of yellow clapboard with a red shingled roof, each part having a small chimney.
But it's the only thing around College Station that ever landed in "Believe It Or Not." Battalion,
17 February 1939, page 1.
Sam Steptoe, colored, was recently honored for 25 years service at A. & M. College. His
actual service for A. & M. and the Entomology Department reaches back as far as 28 years ago.
He has been known and respected by entomologists for many years as handy man about the
entomology department who oftentimes knows more practical entomology than the students. His
knowledge is the kind gleaned from constant labor and loyal endeavor, with men who know bugs
from the antennae back. Just "Sam" to the entomology students, or "Bus" to his colored
acquaintances, he is not an imposing spectacle, as he is only about five feet, four inches tall and
stockily built, with a fringe of gray -white hair around a polished black head. He is strong and
active for his size and age despite a hard and adventurous life. He will work industriously at any
task. Sam was afflicted with deafness a number of years ago which has been a matter of
inconvenience and has caused him to develop a slight lip- reading ability. When he becomes
excited, however, he can not understand anything unless it is written. Most of the entomology
students would give their best Sunday hats for the practical training in the not too technical side
of insect work in which the little Negro has had so much experience. In his many years of
service he has become a veritable storeroom of insignificant facts that count as much in saving
time while carrying on insect experiments and obtaining entomological material. Perhaps the
most interesting thing about Sam is his ability to spiel out long- winded accounts of his
adventures. He does this uninterruptedly and carefully since to ask questions the listener has to
write in his notebook pad. Sam is usually the chief character but not always the hero of his
stories, nor always too innocent. Also very interesting are the stories told about Sam Steptoe by
the members of the entomology department. One particular incident concerned a pair of dice
which dropped from his pocket where his employer found them. When questioned, he replied:
"No suh, mistah Bilsin', them's not my dice. I was out behind the graveya'd t'other night
watching a bunch of niggahs when something goes wrong and one of the niggahs pulls a gun.
All the others run. Since there wasn't nothing else to do I jest gathers up the dice and everything
and goes home." Battalion, 14 January 1941, page 1.
The Texas Aggie nine is not the only team opening their season. The College Station
"Black Aggies ", who go by the official name of Grand Prize Tigers, play their first game Sunday
afternoon at 3:30 at Curry Field in Bryan. The "Black Aggies" meet the Brenham Lyons, also a
colored team, and out of eight meetings of those two teams, the "Aggies" have won three games.
Composed entirely of colored employees of the college, the Grand Prize Tigers are managed by
Charlie Hadley, Chemistry department employee and captained by Joe Foster, hospital janitor.
Battalion, 31 March 1942, page 4
The Grand Prize Tigers, local Negro team, won a 3 -2 game Sunday afternoon at Curry
Field from the Henke & Pilot team of Houston. The Tigers pounded out 16 hits, a number of
them for extra bases. Joseph Foster led with four for four, including a homer, double and two
singles, and Aree Newsom got two doubles and a single. The Houstonians got only six hits off
Emmett Watson and Koppe Ward. The Faust Red Devils will come on June 19 to meet the
Tigers, probably in a doubleheader. Bryan Daily Eagle, 15 June 1942, page 6
The unofficial consultant for the veterinary medicine students is a man who has been with
the school of Veterinary Medicine since its first student received its degree in 1920. The man is
Tom Brown, a gray- haired Negro with a small mustache and an ever - present smile. Called "Dr.
Tom" by the veterinary students, Brown has worked for A.& M. for the last 42 years. He has
been with the veterinary school since 1920 and now is chief kennelman. Although he had to quit
school when he was ten years old, Brown says he has studied veterinary medicine "as hard as if I
were taking the course." Students often ask him for advice on how to treat some of the animals,
too, but he says he especially likes to help with the dogs. "When I was a boy I had a big dog
who walked to work with me each day," he said. "There were plenty of wildcats around there
and that dog was a life saver." Proof of his like for dogs is an oil portrait that hangs in the new
veterinary hospital. The picture shows him holding a small dog in his hands, a familiar pose for
him when he's around the hospital. A man who is by no means embarrassed to to tell his age —
he is 58 — Brown says he has never had any trouble during his life. He said he has gotten along
by "being fair and square with everybody." "It's nice to be nice," is how he sums it up. Brown
has two children, one in Waco and one in Chicago. When asked why his children didn't become
veterinarians, he said, "They just weren't too much interested in dogs." An ardent churchman,
Brown has also been a member of the Masonic lodge for the last 30 years. He was treasurer of a
Bryan church for 10 years. Brown says he has done about everything at the veterinary hospital
that there is to do. He proudly says he often makes the deposits at the bank, some as high as
$700, "without ever misplacing as much as a penny." "I had to quit school and there are a lot of
things I don't know," he said, "but there are a lot of things I do know, too." He was born in
Burleson County, just across the Brazos River from Brazos County. His mother, who died seven
years ago, was born in Texas while it was still Indian country. Both Brown's parents and
grandparents are native Texans. As to his job, all Brown said was, "I like it fine. It's a lot of
fun." And then he broadened his grin, showing how much fun he thinks it is. Battalion, 19
November 1954, page 1