At this time of year, October 14, 1967, always comes to mind. It is a time when our dear loved ones were in a bad car wreck. I had began my teaching in August at Sam Houston High school on the north-side of Houston. Sam was the largest high school in Houston at the time and I was adjusting to the classroom after a year spent at Texas A&M working on my master’s. My cousin, John Farrell, and I were living in an apartment near my new school. When the accident occurred, John was notified and he came and got me to report that my sister, Vivien, had been killed in a car accident and my friend and brother in-law, Billy Mac, was in critical condition, while my Mother was in serious condition in a Corsicana hospital. John drove me to Malakoff because I was in no condition to drive. We first stopped at my grandparent’s home in Malakoff and they had heard the news and were very upset, as we all were. I saw my grandfather crying for the first time. As best I can remember, John drove me to the Corsicana hospital to see about Mother. The sequence of events because of time elapsed, is rather sketchy. As I walked into the lobby of the hospital, I met Bill Ingram and Joyce coming toward me and crying. Later I saw Uncle Durwood and wife also in the lobby. They were there to check on Mother. Soon we learned that Billy Mac had been taken to a special brain trauma center. This was Saturday, Oct. 14, 1967 and by Monday, we learned that Billy Mac had died. In the meantime, Bubba (Paul Jr. Powers) arrived to help. Memory of things are foggy after this. Bubba and I were greeted in the hospital by the Hills. They had learned that the persons in the wreck were Church of Christ members and the Hills were there to lend support because they were members of the local Church of Christ congregation. They owned a small cafe near the hospital and their home was nearby. They offered Bubba and I beds at their home so we could be near the hospital and could visit Mother. I know God was there for us. I think Minnesota is where Bubba was living at the time and he was a tremendous help. In the meantime, Mother remained in serious condition. When the time came for the funeral, to be held at the Methodist Church in Malakoff, Mother was unable to attend and so my dear Aunt Martha Henderson Farrell, stayed with her while the funeral service went on. The funeral was attended by many of the town and was full of friends an relatives. Again, I do not remember much. I do remember a good friend of Viv, Bennie Walker Rienstra was there and we talked at the cemetery. Benny and Viv were twirlers together both at Port Neches/Groves high school and at Lamar tech college. I had introduced Bennie to Roger and they were later married. I was so thankful that they were there for Vivien.
I have decided to add some links that will explain more. After viewing the link go to the back arrow to return to the post.
https://blakehart.com/files/10VivLastLetterOct9.pdf This letter was the last one Vivien would ever write and in it you can see where they were heading on October 14, 1967
Another way God’s hand was present, Viv and Mac knew they would be in Malakoff on that weekend and they wanted Mother to come so they could visit. Mother told her it was Paul and her anniversary on October 12 and she didn’t think she would be able to be there, but she changed her mind and decided to come. Because she came, she was also in the wreck, but reflecting on it, maybe God wanted her there. It was reported that Mother signed them (Viv and Mac) into the hospital. We also should remember that Viv was carrying a child, due soon.
https://blakehart.com/BillyMackinForney.html
The above link shows Mac’s accomplishments while at Forney.
At the time of the wreck, both Viv and Mac were working at Richardson.
https://blakehart.com/MacIngramSalute.html
The above link is a salute to Billy Mac.
https://blakehart.com/VivLinks.html
Look at the above links to see Viv’s accomplishments
I don’t remember when Mother got out of the hospital, but when she was released from Corsicana, she was transferred to Pr. Arthur. After she was well enough, the DWI man who caused the wreck was required to meet with Mother and Paul face to face. I went with them and it was not a pleasant time for any party.
I found it ironic that when Mac swerved to miss the pickup that pulled out onto hwy 31 (which was Not a 2 lane back then) Billy Mac ran into the on coming car and some of the passengers were “Henderson”. His coach at Forney was “Henderson”. My Dad, Albert Henderson, was killed in a car accident in 1939 and 28 years later, 1967, Viv and Mac were killed. Mother survived both wrecks, but 28 years later, in 1995, Mother was diagnosed with liver cancer. When mother was in the hospital in Corsicana, she was given blood transfusions. Speculation was that the blood contained something that triggered her liver cancer. The doctor suggested that she had contracted Hepatitis C, which they did not test the blood for in ’67. Mother died of liver cancer in November of 1995.
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