Travel Blog - 0123 Lufkin, TX

By Mary Owens Little on

I would like to start off saying that I had to delay this blog because I received a CD with a wealth of information from Dr. Peter Bungard, who has done extensive research on the Hicks family. I’m very thankful to Janis Rae Hicks Richter for putting me in contact with Dr. Bundgard.


Since we had just visited southeast Texas, I wanted to look through the information so I could update what I had discovered. This CD has hundreds of pictures, stories and info to share. I’m giddy to say the least. We don’t have any photos from this side of the family. They must be somewhere because a lot of the ones for John’s direct line were submitted by his aunt Jeanne so I’m not sure where all these photos have gone. I strongly encourage anyone reading this to talk to your elders and save all important photos, letters and paperwork for future generations.


Lufkin


Lufkin, TX is the largest city in Angelina County and the county seat. The city is situated in Deep East Texas and about 60 miles west of the Texas-Louisiana border.


To try to make this less confusing when I’m referring to my John, John Little, I’m going to bold his name. There are many John’s in this family.


John’s 2nd great-grandparents, John Thomas “Tom” and Elizabeth “Eliza” Abigail Ratcliff Hicks lived here. 



Here is their story from the Hicks Reunion Booklet from June of 1950.




John Thomas’s obituary listed the address of the home below that is still there.



We went to downtown Lufkin and did a walking tour of the history there. A relative of John’s, Mark Hicks, is actually the mayor at the moment.


Here are a few pictures of the downtown area.



I found it interesting that there was a Hicks Antique Store. They were closed so we couldn’t visit but I wonder if they are relatives. The building has Glenn 1924 at the top.



This is where I was standing across the street from Hicks Antiques. John’s grandfather was the Vice President of Beall’s department stores. I wondered if he had been at this location.


Here are some interesting buildings we found.



Take note of the theater.


“In August 2007, the City of Lufkin purchased the historic Pines Theater. The theater first opened its doors in 1925, and credits rolled on the last movie sometime in the 1970s. The building eventually became a church, and then sat vacant for several years. When the city purchased the building, the roof was leaking, the distinctive marquee had been damaged by a truck, and the building was, in a word, a mess.


The city began by stabilizing the building and protecting it from further interior damage, then worked to restore the marquee. The final step was to renovate the interior. In December 2012, the first event was held in the renovated theater. Classic movies are now shown regularly, and a fine arts series is also a big draw. The theater is available for rental and has even been the location of a wedding.”

https://www.thc.texas.gov/blog/main-street-matters-spotlight-lufkin






See the neon Coca Cola sign in the picture? Here is some info I found on it.


“An original neon sign that had been removed years earlier from another downtown location. The sign was reworked and now adds ambience and a little bit of history to the corner of First and Shepherd streets.”


https://www.thc.texas.gov/blog/main-street-matters-spotlight-lufkin



Here is a better shot of the neon Coca Cola sign.



Notice the name!




Pippa as a butterfly.



Dottie as a butterfly.




John’s 2nd cousin 2x removed, is listed on a monument of WWII soldiers. He died in Germany on January 10, 1945 at the age of 21. His parents have a bench at their graves in honor of him.


Lufkin Daily News, February 4, 1945. 

Missing - The War Department has notified Mr. & Mrs. C. L. Hicks that their son, Staff Sgt. Lewis J. Hicks has been reported missing in action over Germany, since January 10.

The young sergeant has been serving in the European Theater of Operation since November of 1944. Hicks was a gunner on a B-17. He received training at Wichita Falls, Colorado, California, Arizona, Illinois and Nebraska.

Sgt. Hicks was graduated from Lufkin High School in 1941 and attended East Texas Baptist College in Marshall and Stephen F. Austin in Nacogdoches.

Before entering the Army Air Corps in December of 1942, he was employed at the Lufkin National Bank.


I know it's hard to read. Something we would like to do is clean up the grave markers when we visit them. Hopefully we’ll be able to get those items together soon.


There are many other neat pictures of downtown that I’ll have to post another time.


I discovered the following information on the CD about John’s 2nd great-granduncle:

Charlie and his eldest son opened the C.C. & W.H. Hicks Grocery on the corner of Lufkin Avenue and Second Street (across from the courthouse).


I guess we’ll have to go back to see this!


Then we visited the Glendale cemetery where John Thomas and Eliza Ratcliff Hicks are buried in along with 12 other family members:


  • Oma Olivia Hicks Hamilton and husband John Hamilton - daughter of John Thomas and Eliza Hicks and John’s great-grandaunt and uncle.

  • Fred Finch Hicks - son of John and Eliza Hicks and John’s great-granduncle. Died from appendicitis at 22.

  • Charles “Charlie” Columbus and Blanche Ratcliff Hicks - John Thomas Hicks brother and John’s 2nd great-granduncle and aunt.

  • Charles Lewis and Ella Bean Hicks - son of Charles Columbus and Blanche Ratcliff Hicks - Their son is who died in WWII. This is John’s 1st cousin 3x removed and his wife.

  • William Hershel and Tennie Albritton Hicks - son of Charles Columbus and Blanche Hicks.  John’s 1st cousin 3x removed.

  • Jesse “Jack” Edward and Robbie Williams Hicks - son of Charles Columbus and Blanche Hicks.  John’s 1st cousin 3x removed.

  • Jack Edward Hicks Jr. - son of Jesse “Jack” Edward and Robbie Williams Hicks. Was a PVT in the US Army in World World II. John’s 2nd cousin 2x removed.


There is also a Maurice Herschell and Evelyn Smith Hicks but I haven’t figured out who they are related to.


I would really like to go back here to explore a little more.


For more history on Lufkin, you can visit the following website:

https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/lufkin-tx


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