Maud History, Cindy Porter talks about Floyd Foster Jr.

The editor of Maud Matters recently asked if I would contribute a series of articles on the history of Maud and its people.  In the few years that I have been in the area, I have come to love Maud and have adopted it as my own.   Many of you have been here for generations and know each other, are related to each other, and indeed together form the very pulse of Maud.  Some of us are relative newcomers and have been greeted with warmth and friendship at every turn.  I have felt at home in the community and many of you are now dear friends.

In some ways Maud may be your standard small town with its quirks and squabbles and shortcomings and gossip and good old boys and fish tales; it has its share of heroes and pride and accomplishment.  But Maud is also interesting.

A few years ago we were in a state park and ran into a man who was visiting.  It turns out he was originally from Maud.  He told stories of when he was a little boy and how he would steal vegetables from a farmer’s field.  He talked about the White Squirrel Café and told story after story, laughing and reminiscing, and it was clear he had happy memories of Maud.  His stories were so intriguing I wrote them down as fast as I could.  I have misplaced the notes but when I make contact with him again I will ask permission to use his name and try to get those stories down again to share with you.

In the coming months, I hope to interview many of you, get to know you, and learn of your history in Maud and why the community is important to you.  I want to know your personal stories—your joys and triumphs, your sorrows and losses, and how your stories, your histories, are woven together to create the story of Maud.  The story of Maud is your story.  I invite you to contact me or the editor with any stories you would like to share.  We can’t guarantee to run every single story, but we anticipate there will be enthusiasm for this project.  And we aren’t limiting it to the distant past or to the early days.  If you have a great story that is from Maud’s recent past, it will someday be a joy to be read by your grandchildren or great grandchildren.  Do you walk your children in the park?  Do you get donuts on Saturday as a family on your way to the lake?  Do you have lunch every day at the Community Center?  Are you a regular patron of the library?  Do you listen to the noon whistle blow every day and the church bells peal and hear the whine of the trains going straight through the middle of town?  Do you grab a gallon of milk and a burger from DeLaughters?   Did you propose to your wife here in Maud?  Is the home you live in a part of your family’s history?  Do you have family buried in the Center Ridge cemetery?  What kind of flowers have you grown here?  These are part of our Maud story.  

Robin 

March 1, 2014    Cindy Porter talks about Floyd Kenneth Foster, Jr.

We met at the Maud Library where Cindy arrived with her arms full to the brim with documents.  She was enthusiastic about sharing memories of her father and Maud.  Cindy is the daughter of Floyd Kenneth Foster, Jr. and Ollie Drew Holt Foster.  She wanted to focus on her dad and talk about his contribution to Maud.  She wants him to be remembered as “Maud’s historian.” 

This will be a brief introduction to a man who was well-known locally as the man who owned the old Mobil station. Later we will continue with more information about him.

Born June 1, 1925, in Maud, Texas.  Death June 20, 2011, in Maud, Texas.

Mr. Foster has not even been gone three years yet so the memories of her dad were still fresh in Cindy’s mind and her emotions of having lost him are still raw, but perhaps that made it all the more meaningful to her to share with us how proud she was of her father and how much she loved him.  With the advent of construction on the new tire shop in the same location where the “old Mobile station” was, there has been alot of reminiscing about the old Mobile station and Mr. Foster. 

Floyd Foster Jr. in his later years

Floyd Foster Jr. in younger years

Cindy says her father kept journals and ledgers throughout most of his life recording notable events and even daily weather.  She claims to have stacks of these journals at home.  The photos here are from a collection of Maud memorabilia Floyd put in scrapbook he labeled “Memoirs of Maud, TX”.

Excerpt from his records, in his own handwriting

We will be looking at this book in greater detail later.  It includes a hand drawn map (undated) of Maud showing locations of many local business establishments.

Many thanks to Cindy Porter for sharing her documentation and her memories.  We look forward to many more excerpts from this treasure.  We appreciate the efforts her father made to preserve memories of Maud and of his legacy.

--Robin 

Used by permission from Cindy Porter from the journals and ledgers of Floyd Foster Jr.

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