John Hendrick Hodges (31 July 1906-20 July 1986)

 

 

John Hendrick Hodges was born to Mary Elizabeth (Hendrick) Hodges and Jessie Gordon Hodges on July 31 1906 in Waco, Texas. His sister, Gertrude, was born two years later, but died as an infant. A brother, Joseph Gordon, was born in 1910. Shortly after his birth, the family moved back to Sutherland Springs to live with Mary's sisters, Angela and Veronica, in the Tiner Hendrick House. Joseph died at the age of 17 from kidney failure. John Hendrick grew up in Sutherland Springs and grauated from Sutherland Springs High School. After school he joined his father in the oil fields in Three Rivers. He met Edoleen Lavada Riddle in nearby Calliham, Texas, and they were married in Three Rivers. John and Edoleen moved to Forth Worth, where they were both employed by General Dynamics Corporation, building B-24 and B-36 aircraft. When he retired in 1971, they moved back to Sutherland Springs to once again live in his childhood home. They were active in the Baptist Church and had a herd of cattle. They moved to Kerrville, Texas in 1895 to get specialized care for his medical condition. He died in Kerrville 20 July 1986.

from family research collected and written by Edoleen Hodges.

The Sutherland Springs Historical Museum has some mementos of John's chldhood in Sutherland Springs. 

A tie with "H (Hendrick) Hodges" sewn into it.

In fact, there are four ties with the same marking —"H Hodges." This probably refers to John Hendrick Hodges.

This photograph of John Hendrick Hodges is a part of our collection.

Among the items that the Sutherland Springs Historical Museum has from the Tiner-Hendrick house are a few things that may have belonged to John Hendrick Hodges.

 Although we cannot be sure,  John Hendrick Hodges may have played with this hand-whittled toy airplane. As you recall, he went on the work for General Dynamics in Fort Worth, an aeronautics and defense company.

There are also two small notebooks that belonged to John Hendricks.

This is his Fifth Grade school account book for Sutherland Springs School.

 

 

This small Dr Porters Memorandum Book contains several interesting entries. 

 

Dr Porters Antiseptic Healing Oil is advertised as "an antiseptic surgical dressing. Applicable for cuts, burns, bruises, itch, corns, bunions, bites and stings of insects, sunburn, frost bite, chapped hands and lips, wounds, and sores of the mucous membrane and skin."

John Hendrick re-purposes this medical memo pad for his "Report of Books."

On this map of Europe, he indicates that Bulgaria was given to the Allies. Bulgaria requested an armistice with the Allies on 24 September 1918, probably the year John Hendrick was in fifth grade.

 On this map of the United States, he proclaims that he lives in Texas and draws a line to where Sutherland Springs would be on the map. He also counts the states that produce corn, cotton, and wheat.

It looks like he was a pretty good student in Arithmetic, Geography, and Grammar.

On these pages he seems to be practicing his Spanish, although his spelling is a little creative.

I was not able to identify his Spanish words for "bit" ("rado"), "snake" ("beverota"), or "r[attle]snake" ("chingzetura"). Does anyone recognize these words?

Here he lists animals with a price and number beside each one. Perhaps he was getting paid for animal pelts.

These items give us a tiny glimpse into the life of a little boy growing up in Sutherland Springs in the early twentieth century.