ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS

5. WEATHERFORD, TEXAS

★ Leonard ★

My hometown, Weatherford, is a small town located twenty-five miles west of Fort Worth, Texas, on Interstate 20. It is a sleepy town of 25,000 people in the middle of the Bible Belt.

Our town's heritage is strongly tied to western pioneers and horses. Most of our ancestors arrived here either on horseback or in a wagon pulled by horses. The first settlers arrived around 1845 in this area because there is a record of Native Americans attacking the settlers as early as 1846. Several headstones in Parker County read, 'Killed by Indians.'

The town's official history started in 1855 when Parker County was created by the Texas State Legislature and named Isaac Parker as their State Representative. There is an incredible twist to Isaac Parker's life—a true Texas pioneer legend.

Parker was the uncle of Cynthia Ann Parker. She was kidnapped from Fort Parker in May of 1836 with four others by several hundreds of Caddo, Comanche, and Kiowa Indians. She was probably eleven or twelve years old.

Within six years, Indians returned all the captives to their white families except Cynthia Ann. A Tenowish Comanche couple took her in and raised her as their daughter. The memories of her white life quickly faded away, and she became Comanche in every sense.

John Parker, her brother, asked her to return to their white family, but she refused because she loved her husband and children too much. She married Peta Nocoma, a young Comanche chief. He never took any other wife except Cynthia Ann, a mark of extraordinary devotion and honor. At the same time, it was customary for prominent warriors to take several wives.

In December of 1860, Texas Rangers attacked Nocoma's hunting camp. They encountered a Comanche with blue eyes holding her infant daughter. Colonel Isaac Parker later identified her as his niece, Cynthia Ann. Cynthia accompanied her uncle to Bergville. She was kept in white society after the Texas legislature appointed Isaac and Benjamin Parker as her guardians.

She made several unsuccessful attempts to flee to her Comanche family, as she no longer felt part of the white society. She was shuffled from one family member's care to the next. At last, she died of influenza at the age of forty-three. She never realized her dream of reuniting with her true family.

This town is deep-rooted in Texas pioneer legend. 

When you drive into Weatherford, you will witness quite a striking building. It is the Parker County Courthouse. You can't miss it. It is a large and impressive white limestone building with a red-roofed cupola featuring a giant clock. The three-story structure features bull's-eye windows. The rest of the downtown spreads around this remarkable building.

I remember one incident here right in front of the Parker County Courthouse. One young cow ran away from Beth's ranch when she was taking care of the herd. She got on a horse right away and went chasing after the stray cow. When I saw her taking off with her favorite horse, Starlet, like a thunder in the distance, I got in the farm truck and drove after her to make sure she was all right.

The cow turned left on North Main Street and fled straight into downtown Weatherford. She kept chasing it while her right hand circled the rope and her other hand was on the strap. The cow and Beth on horseback wove in and out of the passing cars.

This sleepy street became chaotic with excitement. Even in Texas, this doesn't happen often. All the passengers in vehicles kept looking at them as if seeing one of the old Cowboy films from Hollywood. Then they passed a police car. I heard the policeman screaming into a hand mic.

"Holy cow! A gorgeous blonde on a horse is chasing a cow up North Main Street! Son of a bitch!"

Then the cop turned on the siren and started to chase after Beth. So I ended up chasing after the cop. Then I heard a loud noise just above me. When I looked up through the windshield to see what it was, I saw a helicopter from a local TV station chasing after Beth and the cow as well.