Interviewer: Your name ma’am?


Mrs. Parker: Susy Parker.


Interviewer: How old are you?


Mrs. Parker: I’m 80.


Interviewer: How long have you lived here?


Mrs. Parker: In Smiley, 60 years. I was 20.


Interviewer: What year was the town established? Do you know?


Mrs. Parker: It on that piece of paper there, I don’t know.


Interviewer: Can you out of your own experience tell me something about this town?


Mrs. Parker: Well it, or they used to have like a hotel, motel all that, but Smiley is known for its chickens. This is the chicken business town, we raised lots and lots of chickens that’s how they make their money here, and cattle business too though, its chicken and cattle business, but Smiley is known for their chickens all over the world they were known for their chickens and they raise chickens now for Tyson you’ve heard of Tyson chicken? Everybody that lived here raised for Tyson there was a lot of it here raisin’ for Tyson but use to we raise for ourselves but well that’s when we had small business cause when we married my husband had his own chickens and we sell them to someone but not, we didn’t have to raise them for Tyson, but that’s what Smiley was noted for their chickens.


Interviewer: So, that would be economy wise?


Mrs. Parker: Economy wise, the chicken business and cattle.


Interviewer: Has there ever like as far as back then were there ever any murders you know.


Mrs. Parker: There’s been two in Smiley the last five years.


Interviewer: OK, Ho, OK.


Mrs. Parker: That one that was down there, maybe its been 10 years since he’s shot that man down there at that little cafe, it’s closed now but this man did. He lived in San Antonio but he was from Smiley. This man built him a house, and, I don’t know what happened, something did, but then he came from San Antonio down here and he shot the man that was building his house, and killed him.


Interviewer: Was there like a quarrel between them or something?


Mrs. Parker: Mhmmm, and he just walked in the cafe and killed. And he just now died. He died in prison cause he was a old, he was my age. Three years ago a man over here shot his nephew, three years ago, or four years ago. But there was two murders.


Interviewer: Do you know why, why the man shot his nephew?


Mrs. Parker: Yes because the man that shot his nephew , the nephew’s dad he was taking care of his money and everything the brother you know. He killed his nephew because his nephew hew came back to live here and he handled his dad’s money because the dad had Alzheimer, and the brother didn’t like that.


Interviewer: Oh, OK.


Mrs. Parker: So, he told him not to come to his house and he did. So his uncle is in prison right now, and he’s an old man but that is what happened.


Interviewer: As a history or you know from your experience here living here that long how have you seen that people deal with racism?


Mrs. Parker: I think we don’t.


Interviewer: There was never no racism.


Mrs. Parker: No, I don’t think there was.


Interviewer: Never indifference towards people?


Mrs. Parker: Not that I know of. No I think there is. Obviously there is many Spanish. But there not that many blacks here. Because there was a murder once of a black long years before I came here, and they never no one lived here for maybe fifty years or something because he killed a white lady.


Interviewer: Oh.


Mrs. Parker: And they had a problem, they had a problem.


Mrs. Parker: Maybe I shouldn’t tell that.


Interviewer: Oh no that’s ok. That’s so such good material.


Mrs. Parker: That’s History.


Interviewer: Was there lynching? Can you tell us there was lynching.


Mrs. Parker: Where they killed him you mean?


Interviewer: Yes, was he punished?


Mrs. Parker: Yes they killed him


Interviewer: ok.


Mrs. Parker: But that happen a long time ago before when we were little kids.


Interviewer: Oh, ok.


Mrs. Parker: But that happen you know.


Interviewer: And what year would that be?


Mrs. Parker: 1928, or 30, 1928 or 30, something like that I’m not real sure, but I do know that it was before I was here.


Interviewer: So, lynching weren’t really, so because there wasn’t really racism there wasn’t really a big problem here.


Mrs. Parker: No, I don’t think it was. It was just that he happen to be that he working’ on their farm. I don’t know if he like the lady or what ever he did to her, but he did something to her.


Interviewer: Do you remember what form he was punished by any chance?


Mrs. Parker: They just took him and hung him. That was a long time ago. They did, they just hung him. That’s what I was told. I wasn’t here then. That’s what I was told, but that was because of not really if he’d been white or black or who ever would of done this to this lady I think they would of done it to them, you know, so I don’t think it was that. No I don’t think we have that in our town at all, I think God loves everybody, we all have a heart and a soul, and no matter what.


Interviewer: I agree with that.


Mrs. Parker: Yup, mhmmm.


Interviewer: Since you’ve lived here you, can you describe. Or how has immigration patterns changed?


Mrs. Parker: I don’t know how. Immigration. Is immigration common’ from other places?


Interviewer: When you were growing up did you see a lot of German, a lot of Irish living here then and as the years went did you see Mexican’s move.


Mrs. Parker: I think we have more immigration. Spanish people coming in, now. Along time ago there might have been others, but we have more Spanish people coming in to us.


Interviewer: And a long time ago would it be like mostly Irish?


Mrs. Parker: Maybe German and a few of them that came from way over seas. But that’s maybe so, but I know now that we don’t have that many coming from over there but we do have Spanish people coming over here more then we did. Because it’s closer to Mexico.


Interviewer: Oh yeah.


Mrs. Parker: And so then that’s why we have more people common’ over to work and whatever.


Interviewer: You mentioned that the economy of the town was mainly chickens then and cattle. How would you say it is, now, in present day?


Mrs. Parker: The same way.


Interviewer: The same way.


Mrs. Parker: More so now, than then. We have more chicken business now than they did along time ago. But that since they started in 38, maybe 1938 or 35. Big chicken business.


Interviewer: Was there a hatchery?


Mrs. Parker: Yes, they hatch their own eggs not in the last few years, I’d say I remember my husband and another man had a hatchery close to our house and it was in the fifties.


Interviewer: OK, in the fifties.


Mrs. Parker: In the late fifties in the early sixties, that was when they still had hatcheries here to raise their own, not all of their own chickens but some by hatching them. We had hatcheries here.


Interviewer: Do you have any children that still live here?


Mrs. Parker: Yes I have a daughter who is big in chicken and cattle business, I have a daughter who lives here and her husband and their son raises a big chicken farm too.


Interviewer: Oh, so they all contribute to the family.


Mrs. Parker: Yeah very much. But I had son who did too but I lost my son. He was 34 and he had a heart attack. But he did raise chickens too, he had a big chicken farm. So there is still a lot of chickens here. And other people have them too. My son in law, he has a big operation of chickens, his chicken business.


Interviewer: And what would you call one of the most famous farms here in Smiley that are raising all the chicken and the cattle, or the name of it?


Mrs. Parker: Chicken farm?


Interviewer: Yeah.


Mrs. Parker: Well you see they all raise for Tyson, my son in law he has one of the biggest ones here, chicken farms you know. And his name is, Samples.


Interviewer: So he would be one of the most prominent ones?


Mrs. Parker: One of the most, yes. Chicken farms and cattle too.


Interviewer: So what would his name be maam, first and last?


Mrs. Parker: Samples? Carl Samples. But then again there are also other two, three other Samples that have a lot of chickens, but not related to me. Because he’s my son-in-law. But they do, they have a lot of chickens.


Interviewer: And you moved here in?


Mrs. Parker: In 46. In 1946, that’s when I married. And I had four children.


Interviewer: Your husband worked here?


Mrs. Parker: Yes, he used to work at the feed store, but he also had chickens. He had the feed business and the hatchery, then he quit doing that and just raising chickens, just him and my son just raise chickens.


Interviewer: Mrs. Parker and what year were you born.


Mrs. Parker: In 1925.


Interviewer: And where were you born?


Mrs. Parker: In Westoff. Its 12 miles from here. So I didn’t move very far.


Interviewer: How has technology effected this town?


Mrs. Parker: I guess its helped, computers, and everybody has them.


Interviewer: Was there ever a railroad?


Mrs. Parker: Yes, a railroad came through here that must been in 45 or 46 is when it quite coming through here. It brought all the stuff through here.


Interviewer: Was there ever a museum as well?


Mrs. Parker: No, We never had a museum. This library was donated by a lady, that this was her home and she donated.


Interviewer: Wow.


Interviewer: Mrs. Parker, Thank You for your time.