Curatorial Comments: Viewpoints, September 1, 2002

While we usually emphasize the activities of the ladies in our exhibits, it has been interesting to discover what the men in the McFaddin-Ward family were doing during America’s involvement in the Great War.

W.P.H. McFaddin was occupied with his businesses during the war. In 1917 he was re-elected a Director and Vice-President of First National Bank. That same year, after extensive litigation, he became sole owner of McFaddin-Wiess-Kyle Rice Milling Company. Wartime rationing of wheat increased the demand for rice, but rice farmers had been suffering from low prices, so W.P.H. supported legislation to allow the government to fix prices. He became concerned about his rice irrigation company when the dry summer of 1917 caused salt water to back up into the river and contaminate the rice canals. He protested the proposed construction of a salt-water barrier upriver because his canals, located farther downstream, would not be protected from salt water, plus fresh water could not flow in. The barrier was built, however, and the McFaddin-Wiess-Kyle Irrigation Company ended soon after.

W.P.H. also had ranching problems, with cases of charbon (anthrax) among his cattle herds. Ida wrote him that July from Winslow, "I do hope it has rained and you are feeling better. I do hope the cattle will quit dying, it is awful but life can't go by like a song it does seem." She also urged him to come to Winslow and try to forget his worries, even for a short time, and eventually he did go.

Perry McFaddin Jr. graduated from Rice Institute in May 1917 and returned to live in Beaumont. He was eligible for the draft and Ida constantly worried about it, writing to W.P.H. that summer from Winslow: "Why couldn't Peb take Wayne Dolan's place [the foreman at the Knox County ranch] he is crazy to and it would give him a chance to try it at least, and if it were possible that he would enlist he would be a producer." "[This summer] may be Peb's last at home...suppose you write to Martin Dies, right away and see if Peb can get an appointment [to Annapolis]." "I want Peb to go some where [to school] this winter for I fear if this miserable war continues it will be his last."

Her fears materialized when Perry Jr. was accepted for the draft in late May 1918. On August 2, 1918, he left for California for basic training in San Francisco for the Navy. He remained there for the duration of the war, writing back about the rigors of camp life. "This place is the strictest place for cleanliness I have ever seen....They have you...get up at 4:00 and wash your clothes and bathe in cold water....This is certainly a healthy life but hard....This place will either make a man of you or kill you...." The war ended before he saw action, and he was released from the Navy in December 1918, arriving home by train on Christmas day.

Caldwell McFaddin graduated from Beaumont High School in May 1917. While many of his classmates joined the service immediately, he was college-bound and enrolled in Rice Institute the following September. When the United States entered the war, Rice, like many other colleges and universities, set up a military-style curriculum, with uniforms for students (male and female), military drills, and curfews. At war's end, the institute returned to its pre-war structure.

In the summer of 1918, Caldwell and other Rice students attended a military-style training camp in Illinois. On his way from Houston, he passed through Beaumont--

Mamie's diary records that she and her parents met the train so they could see him. He came back to Beaumont in time to drive his car back to Rice for the fall semester. When the draft age was lowered in 1918, Peb wrote about his apprehensions for Caldwell, but fortunately the war ended before he could successfully enlist (he was rejected once), or was drafted.

Carroll Ward applied for officer reserve corps training and was accepted in April 1917. In its column, "Rumblings of War," the Enterprise of April 29 reported that "Eighteen young men have had their applications certified in the three days on which the office has been open for business..." Eleven of those recruits were from Beaumont, among them Carroll Ward. They were sent to a military training camp at Leon Springs, near San Antonio, which opened May 8.

On May 7, Carroll left for Leon Springs, where he trained five months. He returned to Beaumont, then left for aviation training in Austin on October 15. He came home on December 4, then returned to Austin a week later, but once there received notice that he had been accepted into army aviation, so came home again on December 14. Mamie, working at the Red Cross, saw the telegram he had sent home saying he had been accepted. During his Christmas leave, she taught him to knit.

On April 10, 1918, Carroll "enlisted in Aviation," as Mamie recorded in her diary, and left for Ellington Field, east of Houston (now Pasadena). He was frequently able to come to Beaumont on weekend leave, often flying with one of his fellow aviator cadets. Sometimes Mamie went to Houston to see him, staying with friends.

On August 16, Mamie wrote in her diary that Carroll "was hurt by propellar [sic] of airoplane [sic]." He returned to Ellington nine days later. After peace was declared November 11, 1918, Carroll remained at Ellington Field until his discharge in March 1919. He arrived home on March 14, and Mamie wrote in her diary, "Carroll put on his civilian clothes for good."

There will be an excellent opportunity coming up soon to learn more about WWI aviator cadets like Carroll Ward--for more information, please see this issue’s article about the McFaddin-Ward House Lecture Series, and the Calendar Section.