SURRATT, KENNETH AND SYLVIA (STARR)

by Sylvia Starr Surratt

Entry F411 from the History of Hooker County Nebraska
with permission of the Hooker County Historical Society

    Sylvia remembers Mullen days

My parents, Ara and Lillian Starr lived
seven miles north of Mullen. I, Sylvia, was
born October 5, 1910.

My Dad bought his first Model T Ford in
1920. He was driving it home from Mullen
north to the ranch, he had to cross the Loup
River and on up the big hill. He had to stop
and open a cattle gate, but could not remem-
ber how to stop his new car, so hollering
"Whoo a" - well it did not stop and went
right on through the gate.

We moved into Mullen when I was in about
the 2nd or 3rd grade in school. I remember
Dad bringing us to school in the wagon, and
he had bricks hot and wrapped to put at our
feet to keep warm. In school I remember
going down the fire escape and landing on my
bottom. May 1st, at school they always has
a May Day Festival and would wind the May
Pole. I was May Queen and Earl Walker was
May King. My Mother and sister May were
gone to Omaha with my brother Thomas, so
my cousin Clara James curled my hair in rag
curls for the Maypole Festival. I had to stay
at home to do the cooking while Mother and
sister were taking Tom to a specialist at
Omaha, as his food was not agreeing with
him.

We lived in a white house on the hill in
northwest Mullen. I remember when the first
airplane landed at noon in Mullen, and I was
running to see it. The family was delivering
milk around town. Dad had pneumonia then,
and May and I stayed at Uncle Fay James and
brother Glee stayed outside the home and
delivered the milk around town.

We later lived in a white house north of the
Grade School, and southeast of where Milton
Starr lives now. Glee Starr, Leonard Starr,
Ray Sexton and Lee Cooley all boarded at our
house and went to High School. Dad ran the
creamery when Thomas was about 6 months
old. We lived in a yellow house in southeast
part of Mullen.

We moved to Morrill in 1925. We loaded
2 Model T Fords to move. Glee drove one and
Dad the other one. It took us three days from
Mullen to arrive at Morrill, Nebraska. One
night on the road we slept in a school house.
Our first job was to block and thin beets at
Morrill.

I started 9th grade in Morrill and graduat-
ed in 1929.

I married Kenneth Charles Surratt, De-
cember 2, 1935.