Twenty-one members of the Cauble-Rotan family met in Woodville on Friday July and attended the tour of the Heritage Village. The Village is a living museum of pioneer history. Most of the buildings (Blacksmith shop, church, Post Office, General Store) had been relocated from other parts of Tyler County. At one time they considered moving the Cauble House to the Village but decided against it due to the weight and difficulty in moving such a structure.
After viewing a demonstration of yarn making and weaving, the group was treated to a family style dinner at the adjoining Pickett House Restaurant. Everyone enjoyed the fried chicken, chicken and dumplings, fresh vegetables, peach cobbler, visiting and musical entertainment by a local couple.
Saturday morning 46 family members joined us at Peach Tree Village for more visiting, viewing scrapbooks and visiting the Cauble House and family cemetery. Shelly Baize and her family stayed in the Cauble House and were happy to report the Pebble Thrower did not appear, but there were a couple of unexplained things that happened inside the house.
The group picture was taken on the front steps and porch of the Cauble House followed with the Pledge of Allegiance. We then gathered at Camp TaKuLa’s cafeteria for lunch.
Our business meeting followed with the following items being approved.
- Minutes of last year’s meeting and Financial Report.
- Boards recommendation to contribute $150 each to the Prairie Grove, Old Woodbury, Roby and Bold Spring cemeteries.
- Increase support to the Cauble House to $600/year.
- Award $1000 scholarships to Kailee Carr Chick, Sydnie Long and Colton Hughes.
- Next year’s reunion will be in Albany, TX and hosted by Kelly Herms.
Following the scholarship presentations, Brad Christmas announced that his uncle Leo Lewis who had passed away just a few days prior to the reunion, had left a $10,000 endowment to the scholarship fund. Not only will Todd’s legacy live on but so will Leo’s.
Brother Steve Hays talked about the history of the area and the restoration process and all the hard work involved in the Cauble House. It was determined at the time that Camp TAKuLa would be responsible for maintaining the exterior of the Cauble House and the Tyler County Historical Commission would maintain the interior. The Historical Commission has been limited on what they could do due to a lack of funds and we discussed the possibility of working with them to replace existing furnishings with period items. Huntley Kenesson, Chairman of the Tyler County Historical Society, talked to the group briefly about forming a committee to oversee the process. Dee Bitner and Phyllis Hance volunteered to represent the family and work with the commission. The Commission has a Historical Tours event scheduled for next spring and would like to make the Cauble House part of that tour. More information will be posted on our website as the committee decides on the process.
The formal meeting was adjourned and members visited both the Kirby House and Museum and the Peach Tree Chapel. Those spending the night in Woodville enjoyed more good food and visiting. Another successful fun filled reunion ended with goodbyes Sunday morning as everyone departed for home.
By James S. Cauble, President