Clarence Patterson Family
Mckinley Patterson Sr
Verlie Mae Patterson
The Life of Clarence Patterson
Born: April 12, 1904
Died: May 9, 1980
Buried at Union Hope Memorial Cemetery
Elkhart, Texas
Family Life:
He was married to Audrey Lee Clewis (Dec. 15, 1923) Anderson County, TX
He had two children:
One son - Mckinley Patterson, Sr.
One daughter – Verlie Mae Patterson
Adult Life:
Nickname – “Pat” and/or “Patrick”
He and his family lived off the land...he was a real farmer!
He loved to plow his mules. He grew watermelons, peanuts, cotton, peas, corn, tomatoes, potatoes, sugar cane, etc.
He was an expert at reading nature and was a big fan of the Farmers Almanac.
He raised pigs, cows, and chickens.
He sometimes worked to help make ribbon cane syrup at the sugar mill near the Alderbranch community.
Things he enjoyed:
He liked to go hunting for squirrels, rabbits and quail. It was said that he could “whistle up” a quail.
He liked to fish... but he fished non-traditionally.
1) He would set wire traps in the water at night and use cow liver or rabbit as bait.
2) He would often catch fish by muddying the water – he would get in the creek with a hoe and muddy the water. As the water got muddier and muddier, the fish would stick their heads up out of the water... he would then catch the fish with his hands. He had been told and truly believed that he would never get bitten by a snake while he was in the water. Unfortunately one time while he was in the water muddying he did get bitten by a water moccasin– this was the first and only time he ever had to go to the hospital and this was the last time he went muddying!
He loved to play dominoes.
He enjoyed hanging out with his friends on the weekend.
Favorite Foods:
Breakfast – Ribbon cane syrup, hot biscuits, salt bacon, and hot coffee.
Snacks - parched peanuts (peanuts he cooked in the wood stove)
- Hominy (corn boiled in ashes from the stove)
Favorite Sayings:
“I got to make it”
“Once a man, twice a child.”
While hunting he would say - “Crack of the gun...down he come!”
Memories of Papa:
All the grandkids called him “Papa.”
He and Mama loved to sit out on the front porch and watch the cars go by.
Papa was a hard working man. When he’d come home from the fields, he would be wringing wet with sweat!
He always went to bed early and got up early.
Mama always pulled back the covers and fluffed his pillow before he went to bed.
He had two mules, Kit and Rody. Kit was his favorite. At certain times during the winter season, Kit and Rody would act erratically. They would snort and run round and round and appear to be very agitated. When we asked Papa why they seemed so nervous and fidgety, he told us that the mules were just letting us know that a cold front was coming. Bad weather was on its way!
From the peanuts he grew, Papa would always save a big sack of peanuts for the family to snack on throughout the winter.
Don’t mention the watermelons! He grew so many watermelons that he would sometimes haul them to the house and pile them under a tree for the hogs to eat. We would burst the watermelons open and just eat the “heart” out of them and then throw the rest into the hog pen.
We never saw Papa drink coffee out of a cup...he always sipped his coffee from a saucer.
He owned a 30/30 rifle and a 410 double barrel shotgun.
He loved to wear his overalls.
Papa could never keep a secret! J
Stories he told:
“The Shackalaka” – This was a scary story about a creature that lived in the forest. The creature had the skeleton of a man, and the head of a pumpkin that lit up at night!
Born: April 12, 1904
Died: May 9, 1980
Buried at Union Hope Memorial Cemetery
Elkhart, Texas
Family Life:
He was married to Audrey Lee Clewis (Dec. 15, 1923) Anderson County, TX
He had two children:
One son - Mckinley Patterson, Sr.
One daughter – Verlie Mae Patterson
Adult Life:
Nickname – “Pat” and/or “Patrick”
He and his family lived off the land...he was a real farmer!
He loved to plow his mules. He grew watermelons, peanuts, cotton, peas, corn, tomatoes, potatoes, sugar cane, etc.
He was an expert at reading nature and was a big fan of the Farmers Almanac.
He raised pigs, cows, and chickens.
He sometimes worked to help make ribbon cane syrup at the sugar mill near the Alderbranch community.
Things he enjoyed:
He liked to go hunting for squirrels, rabbits and quail. It was said that he could “whistle up” a quail.
He liked to fish... but he fished non-traditionally.
1) He would set wire traps in the water at night and use cow liver or rabbit as bait.
2) He would often catch fish by muddying the water – he would get in the creek with a hoe and muddy the water. As the water got muddier and muddier, the fish would stick their heads up out of the water... he would then catch the fish with his hands. He had been told and truly believed that he would never get bitten by a snake while he was in the water. Unfortunately one time while he was in the water muddying he did get bitten by a water moccasin– this was the first and only time he ever had to go to the hospital and this was the last time he went muddying!
He loved to play dominoes.
He enjoyed hanging out with his friends on the weekend.
Favorite Foods:
Breakfast – Ribbon cane syrup, hot biscuits, salt bacon, and hot coffee.
Snacks - parched peanuts (peanuts he cooked in the wood stove)
- Hominy (corn boiled in ashes from the stove)
Favorite Sayings:
“I got to make it”
“Once a man, twice a child.”
While hunting he would say - “Crack of the gun...down he come!”
Memories of Papa:
All the grandkids called him “Papa.”
He and Mama loved to sit out on the front porch and watch the cars go by.
Papa was a hard working man. When he’d come home from the fields, he would be wringing wet with sweat!
He always went to bed early and got up early.
Mama always pulled back the covers and fluffed his pillow before he went to bed.
He had two mules, Kit and Rody. Kit was his favorite. At certain times during the winter season, Kit and Rody would act erratically. They would snort and run round and round and appear to be very agitated. When we asked Papa why they seemed so nervous and fidgety, he told us that the mules were just letting us know that a cold front was coming. Bad weather was on its way!
From the peanuts he grew, Papa would always save a big sack of peanuts for the family to snack on throughout the winter.
Don’t mention the watermelons! He grew so many watermelons that he would sometimes haul them to the house and pile them under a tree for the hogs to eat. We would burst the watermelons open and just eat the “heart” out of them and then throw the rest into the hog pen.
We never saw Papa drink coffee out of a cup...he always sipped his coffee from a saucer.
He owned a 30/30 rifle and a 410 double barrel shotgun.
He loved to wear his overalls.
Papa could never keep a secret! J
Stories he told:
“The Shackalaka” – This was a scary story about a creature that lived in the forest. The creature had the skeleton of a man, and the head of a pumpkin that lit up at night!
