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PatchWork by Joyce Whitis |
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PatchWork by Joyce Whitis |
Bosque Means "Brushy", Not "Trashy"
On July 4, 1855, surveyor, George B. Erath and his party, completed the original platte of the city of Stephenville and celebrated a job well done by roasting an ox down by the banks of the Bosque. Unfortunately today those folks might find themselves hard put to find a spot clean enough to roast a squirrel, let alone an ox!
See for yourself! Drive down the short street that is Oxford, where it intersects North Graham just a few blocks from the busy post office parking lot.
As you drive along the narrow curving trail of a street, look at what humanity has done to the banks of the once pretty little river wandering along through the pecan and post oak trees of our town. Litter, discards from a " throw away" society of children brought up to get rid of things, is strewn and heaped up in unspeakable piles. From these growing mounds of trash emerge the remains of plastic bottles, a rusted screen door, filthy, over-used ripped up carpet, tattered rags of bed sheets and blankets, shattered glass from windows and jars, ruptured mattresses, tortured left overs from once living room furniture, even a very sad banged up refrigerator, everything and nothing. It's all there.
Yes, it's all there, spoiling the landscape, turning the friendly little river to whose green banks the residents of Stephenville built and grew, into something resembling the city dump of any town you could name. It is incredibly ugly, extremely disrespectful, and a gaping open wound upon the city of Stephenville and its citizens.
"I remember how it used to be, oh 45 or 50 years ago. As children we liked to walk down to the Bosque River, below the Collins Street Bridge to catch fish." Betty Heath planted her feet in the lush green grass that in early March had already grown tall enough to ripple gently in the afternoon breeze. Hopefully the lush grass pushed aside the rusty tin cans and Styrofoam lunch trays to reach for the sun. Thoughtfully Betty stooped down and picked a small white daisy from the matted nest of wire left over from somebody's do-it-yourself project.
"When I was growing up not far from here, all the area between the Railroad Tracks and the River was considered a neighborhood," she said. "Everybody knew everybody and parents would holler 'Hello Betty, how are you this morning?' as I skipped along the street with my cane pole in search of a perch for my mother to fry for dinner. Fishing in the Bosque was great summer fun and all you needed was a can of worms, a cane pole, a hook and some line." She stuck the daisy in her graying hair just over her right ear. "But that was a long time ago. People have changed, just like the River. " Her brown eyes grew intense. "Some things never change though and one of these is RESPECT. Respect for yourself and your surroundings and respect for the rights of others. The River belongs to us all and should not be used as a dumping ground for any and everything that is unwanted."
Betty Heath was born and grew up in a Stephenville vastly different from the busy city we see today, just as most places have changed, so has her hometown. After marriage, her life in the military took her around the world but in the early '70's, she found herself back at "home" in a place that had in many ways changed.
As an enthusiastic member of the Chamber of Commerce, Betty noted the trashy condition of her childhood friend, the Bosque River, and suggested a general clean-up and policing of the area. To her complete surprise she was appointed as a committee of one to "take care of that". She had no funding and no help. It was further suggested that she go to Ft. Hood and persuade the Corps of Engineers to come and defoliate the Bosque! This was in 1974 before the world saw what this process could do to a place like Viet Nam, but to her everlasting credit, Betty Heath just said, "No!"
At the time that the Historical House Museum was created, the Stephenville Study Club presented a plan to the city to clean up the Bosque. A search for that plan was unsuccessful but it may have been included in the master plan that the city has for the beautification of that area. In any case, the years continue to saunter by with nothing done in the way of cleaning up the trash dumped freely along the quiet little Bosque River, historical site for our town.
Recently, Joanne Ball, secretary of the Historical Museum Board, proposed creating an outdoor classroom along the river where a simple walk would bring up all kinds of questions. "As we walk along a path, already trod by other mammals, turkeys, or reptiles, we look for their tracks beneath our feet. We may see a hole in the ground or in a tree, someone's home? In touching a fallen log, we see decomposition taking place, with termites and ants doing their duty. Looking up are squirrel nests, perhaps a honey tree or a hawk." Mrs. Ball's letter "to whom it may concern", is in reality, a letter to us all.
A proposal to the Norton Company Foundation from members of the museum board describes an outdoor classroom to be situated on the northern perimeter of the museum grounds adjacent to the Bosque River. A winding footpath of some 75 to 100 yards would provide access to this wooded area. The native plants, vines, and trees would be identified for the nature student's information. The proposal also includes feeding stations of weathered wood to encourage wildlife with rock benches providing restful reflection for tourists along the way.
The plan includes bringing lecturers notable in fields related to nature designed to benefit the entire community including schools, clubs, and other groups as well as individuals. The possibilities for learning in a friendly environment are limitless and would be a valuable asset to Stephenville and the entire area.
"Cleaning up the Bosque is a project long overdue," Betty Heath said, turning to leave the River she has known and loved for a lifetime. "How can we expect to have civic pride in our town and attract businesses to Stephenville if we trash out beautiful spots of reflection like this?"
Stephenville has many, many jewels to hold up and be proud of. The Oxford House is surely one such jewel. The County Court House is another. Several buildings on the square have been polished to gleam in the reflected pride in our city. Some areas on back streets, away from passing cars and crowded parades, need a face lift. The Bosque River is one. Imagine the joy of an old fashioned picnic on the banks of the little river where it follows Oxford Street. Sharing life is one of man's utmost pleasures. It's time to share again the beauty of the Bosque.