Legends Worth Remembering
Mary Ann Hadley
Keene Star Reporter, October 8, 1998
Keene's old-timers remember the Mattison family, whose patriarch,
Jim Mattison, was a legend in his own fight. He was the subject of many
interesting
stories, one of which, new to me, appears in the new book by Dan and
Billie
Leach: Johnson County Texas, A Pictorial History, Volume 1.1 have Dan
and
Billie's permission to share this story with readers of the KEENE STAR
REPORTER.
Fast Food
The gardener from Keene comes to Cleburne about six'
clock
driving his
peddling hack loaded with tomatoes, beans, okra, black-eyed peas, field
roasting
ears, peaches, plums, cantaloupes, watermelons, and a good variety of
bunched
root vegetables. He arrives at the Santa Fe Railroad station and drops
off a
load of twelve dozen cantaloupes with the cooks at the kitchen door of
Fred
Harvey's eating place. With him under the shadow of a Coca-Cola
umbrella sits
his almost ten-year-old son shaking the reins of the harnessed mules.
They drive
by boardinghouses and restaurants and leave them all they want.
By that time the dwellings were stirring, so they transfer to North
Main and
take the street, house to house, all the way up to the twelve hundred
block and
then transfer to North Anglin and head back towards town. He gives his
old brass
bell a ding-a-ling as the boy pulls the mules to a stop in front of a
house. The
house-wives and maids call to the family, "Mr. Mattison is here," as
the
screen door slams shut. The ladies and children walk out to the street
as Mr. Mattison throws a tarpaulin back to display the work of many cool
mornings and
many hot days in the sun, gathered the afternoon before just about
sunset -
everything in order, and the finest looking and tasting garden goods
that can be
found. Their kitchen aprons cradled everything that appealed to them
always
getting a Biblical measurement of packed full and running over.
Some impolite new neighbors had run to get there first and being
unfamiliar,
believed the best articles were always placed on top, so they had been
inspecting down through the baskets, then at last looked up with a
glance. The
ones at the bottom were as good or better than the ones at the top.
Mr. Mattison
was a man of integrity. The whole neighborhood looked forward to his
arrival
each day, except Saturday, when he did not come to town. Often on
Mondays male
shoppers came out and got advice on gardening and might ask him about
his
religious convictions and beliefs. He would not discuss his beliefs,
but would
refer them to what God says in the Bible.
Many seasons and years
the old man
and his son drove the route, the boy grew up and left one day, but
the old man kept coming. Then after
twenty-three years
the old man came no more. The ladies of Silk Stocking Row were disturbed
by the
poor quality and high prices of those who tried to take his place. Some
of them
had to walk, take their buggy or tin lizzie to town to purchase needed
groceries
at one of the high priced markets. Soon the news came
Mr. Mattison was
asleep in
the Lord; they knew no one would ever take his place.
Many years later,
Mattison's boy came back to Texas for the
funeral of a
friend and was recognized by
one of the old customers who said "many
of us . .
still miss his visits." She informed him about another peddler who
attempted
to take his father's place and sold her a basket of beautiful peaches.
The
ones on the top were beautiful, but the ones on the bottom were small
and no
good. When confronted, the man remarked: "I don't propose to be a
Christian
like Mr. Mattison professed to be." Mattison's old customer gave
the new
peddler a reprimand saying, "I would have you know that
Mr. Mattison
did not
profess to be a Christian. He was a Christian."
Legends Worth
Remembering
Mary Ann Hadley
Keene Star Reporter, October 22, 1998
A The Oct 8 edition of the KEENE STAR-REPORTER ran a story about
Jim Mattison, the Christian from Keene who delivered fresh produce to
patrons in
Cleburne. Another portion of the story of the Legendary
Jim
Mattison
appears in
the 1984 Lest We Forget, a book of stories about the people of Keene and
Southwestern. For readers who wonder what experiences in
Mattison's
background
caused him to become known as a "Christian" at a time when
denominational
lines were much more prominent than they are today, we offer the
following
story:
The Conversion of
Jim Mattison - Part I
With a heavy heart,
Jim Mattison
came home from his
wife's
funeral. With
four children to raise and no Eugenia, thoughts of the future left him
with a
hallow ache inside. He walked into the house, then into the room were
she had
died. There, amazed, he saw "Eugenia" sitting upright in the bed -
her
outstretched arms inviting him to come to her. He wanted to take her with
his
callused farm hands, and pull her to him. But why did he resist? What
inner
strength gave him the power to withstand the almost overpowering urge to
take
her in his arms?
James (Jim) Mattison was born Feb.26, 1863 at Jewitt in east
central
Texas. In this farming community he grew up as a typical farm boy,
married a
neighbor girl, Eugenia Findley, and began farming for himself. He wasn't
a
church member but did believe in being honest and living up to the
Golden Rule.
When his oldest son, Milton, began walking in his father's footsteps,
Jim
started thinking seriously about religious matter. . .
Jim, who believed in doing everything well, started studying his
Bible
in depth in all his spare time. One Biblical topic, the wicked burning
in the
eternal hellfire, had always mystified him. He had once shocked his
parents by
the blunt words, "I hate God." He wondered why a God of love would
be so
harsh on those who disobeyed him....
About this time
Elder D.U. Hale preached a series of
evangelistic
sermons in a schoolhouse at Jewitt. As
Jim and his family attended the
meetings,
he was delighted to find the messages harmonizing so well with what he
had
learned by independent study Many people find the Sabbath doctrine to be
a
spiritual roadblock, but
Jim accepted it easily He wanted nothing to
prevent him
from being in full harmony with God.
Relatives did their utmost to keep him from accepting this
heretical,
new-fangled religion, but
Jim had a mind of his own and he prepared to
keep his
first Sabbath. It turned out to be a wonderful day for him and his
family never
had they felt so close to God.
One Monday morning
Jim hitched his mules to a wagon and off they
went to the
woods for a load of poles. As they trotted along something spooked the
mules.
They started running, jostled
Jim out, under the wheels, and his foot
was
caught. Faced with death
Jim managed to grab the coupling pole below the
wagon
bed and lift himself off the ground. The frightened team ran back toward
the
barn. They got themselves loose from the wagon. When
Jim tried to get
up, the
pain told him that he had a broken hip.
The accident occurred in the spring when he needed to be in the
field
planting and cultivating his crops, but he was unable to walk for six
weeks and
it was even more before he could work. He had alienated his relative by
working
on Sunday and turning his back on their religion, so they weren't
about to
help him. He just had to bear his "God-sent" punishment. However,
Eugenia's mother-Aunt Artie, people called her-became an Adventist
when Jim
did, so Eugenia's relatives put in
Jim's crops.... Some people
seemed to
enjoy hurling into his teeth the accusation that his accident came as a
punishment from God. But to
Jim it didn't make sense that God was
punishing
him for what the Bible taught him to do....
Just about the time
Jim was strong enough to walk, a more terrible
disaster
struck. Eugenia died in childbirth, leaving Him with four children to
care for.
The burial sermon offended all his relatives. They wanted
Eugenia's
soul
preached into heaven, and the idea that she would merely rest in the
grave until
resurrection was obnoxious to them.
Jim went into his house after the funeral only to face the
spiritualistic
impersonation of Eugenia. He had a strong, almost overwhelming urge to
respond
but didn't dare yield. Summoning all his courage and faith he pointed
at the
mystic figure and said, "That's a lie! For the dead know not anything." He
went to his knees in earnest prayer and asked for confidence in "thus
saith
the Lord."
He asked for the deception to be taken away then and forever after. The
specter
did go and never tempted him again.
Soon after Eugenia's death
Jim heard some of the relatives
devising a plan
to care for his four children. Each family would take a child until all
had a
home. Jim walked to the door and, speaking of himself said, "And who
will take
Jim?" This unexpected question surprised them and stopped their
scheming,
but they thought that circumstances would force
Jim to accept their
plan.
Feeling alone and burdened with problems,
Jim sought help through an
all-night prayer session with God. Ad he prayed with deep, sincere
conviction,
there kept coming to his mind the message God gave Abraham thousands of
years
earlier. "Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from
thy
father's house, unto a land that I will show thee." When morning
came Jim
loaded his wagon with his household goods, supplies, and children, and
started
out. His father and brothers tried to persuade him not to leave. They
even tried
to bribe him, but his conviction remained true and unyielding. When
asked where
he was going he gave a simple reply, "I don't know."
Nightfall found the forlorn little company camped by the side of the
road.
After he had the children stashed away in makeshift beds in the wagon,
Jim again
spent the night in prayer. Although the future looked bleak he had
confidence
that God was directing him.
The next afternoon the pilgrim band stopped at a large farmhouse for
water.
The man needed someone to help with work, so
Jim stayed and worked for
wages
during the remainder of that year, and the farmer's wife helped care
for the children. The next year
Jim farmed for himself and also got Blanche,
Eugenia's
sister, to come look after the children. In time his sister-in-law
became his
new wife.
To become an Adventist,
Jim had to overcome extraordinarily fierce
opposition from relatives and neighbors. He also had to break the iron
grip of
tobacco, which he had chewed in copious quantities. Prayer for Divine
help to
overcome gave him instantaneous deliverance with practically no
difficulty.
Later, a friend was battling the habit and
Jim explained how easy it had
been
for him. The friend challenged him, "Jim, I'll bet you can't take
another
chew and remain a nonuser."
Jim didn't realize how weak he was and
how much
the Lord helped him, so he foolishly accepted the dare. The moment the
quid of
tobacco touched his tongue, the old craving returned with more power
than he had
ever known. He confessed his unwise act and prayed for deliverance but
victory
did not come in a moment. The consuming urge held him with an
iron-like grasp
and the skies above seemed to be brass that kept his prayers
earthbound. For
two years he prayed and struggled. At times he almost gave up hope, but
slowly
victory came, full and complete. Never again did
Jim act so
presumptuously.
James heard of a good church school conducted by W.A. McCutchen,
with
Catherine Henderson as teacher in Peoria, so he decided to move his
family there
and farm whatever land he could acquire when the children were through
with
school, James heard about the academy at Keene. He figured that if he
moved
there the boys could stay home and go to school several more years. So
he bought
ten acres of land one mile west of Keene.
There, for 27 years
James grew cotton, peanuts, and vegetables.
During the growing season he had a route of 50 customers in Cleburne who
bought his produce.
By then there were seven children. Just when things seemed to be going
well for
them, Blanche died, leaving three-and-one-half-year-old Howard to be
cared for
by Irene, his 15-year old sister.
Each child had duties to perform, but being
fun loving, they enjoyed life at home and at school. When Irene decided
to go to Boulder, Colorado, to take nurses' training, Edith took charge
of caring for the home. Howard was 14 years old when Edith
married.
Jim never remarried, but all seven children finished academy. The
younger
children stayed at home to finish junior college as well, and then went
on to
become Keene's greatest missionary family
In later years the Mattison siblings remembered those teenage
years and
the strict rules the school enforced. During vacation no one in the
Keene area
was supposed to have a party who did not have permission from the
faculty.
Howard went with his best friend, Noel Kinzer, to one such unauthorized
party.
They were both suspended for two weeks. Being daring youths, they would
come to
the turnstile at the entrance of the campus and put one foot on school
property.
When students on campus asked them why they were out of school, their
story was,
"We got ahead of our classes and are waiting for the rest of you to
catch
up." Father Mattison was very tolerant of his boys' escapades. In
fact their
home became a haven for other suspended boys.
Ole's eyes twinkled as he recalled that Sabbath morning when
he and
some others discovered some dormitory boys having a swim in a nearby
creek. Ole
and his friends hid the "skinny dippers'" clothing and only
returned it
after sundown! They were punished, of course, but they figured the prank
was
worth it.
The Mattison name is synonymous with mission service. In 1984,
the
Mattison family added up their years of mission service. They had
invested a
total 115 years in mission work in India, South America, and China. They
spoke
many languages and dialects. Milton (M.M.), the oldest son, Ole (0.0.),
and
Howard (H.H) served in India as well as in the United States, while
Reginald
(R.R.) worked in the Inter-American Division. A daughter, Irene
Mattison Butka,
served with her husband in China. Clarence (C.C.) became a conference
treasurer,
and Edith Mattison Weeks passed her dedication on to her children. One
of her
sons, Howard Weeks, worked in public relations at the General Conference
of
Seventh-day Adventists. Reginald's son, Reggie Jr, returned from his
work on
many years in South America and became an officer in the temperance
department
of the General Conference.
A granddaughter of Milton Mattison, Dee Hart, served in Nairobi,
Africa.
Other grandchildren of
James Mattison having served in missions are:
Weldon Mattison, son of
Ole Mattison, president of the South India Union; two
daughters
of Milton Mattison, Norma Mackett and Lois Nelson, who served in India;
Reginald
Mattison, Jr, son of Reginald Mattison, who served in South America; and
Mrs.
Millie (Charles) Case who served in South America.
