Somewhere in time, we met on timeless hills...
and in the evening midst we kissed, and time stood still;
Before the dawn, we found forever...
moments are timeless when I feel your caress;

Love never goes...once it has touched your heart...
just like a scent of wine that's left as two lips part;
A taste of love will linger after...
I'll find the meaning now in all that I see;

You're always here inside of me, and
I know when love is true, it's always with you;
Somewhere in time, I came to realize
"LOVE NEVER GOES"

Roger Williams
Theme From The Movie
"Somewhere In Time"

TEX AND DUDE This is the story of   Tex (Junior) and   Elsie Mae. Junior had a band called Tex Walker and The Rhythm Kings. Junior played the saxophone and he was the oldest of the group and leader of the band. He was 19 years old at the time. He had adopted the name of Tex when he started his first band in Alton, Illinois at the age of 16 or 17 years old. He was expelled from the Alton high school for playing in nightclubs. In the summer of 1943 Tex got the band a job at Shadow Lake. Shadow Lake was a summer nightclub and resort in Noel, Misssouri. He had just been discharged from the U.S. Navy on a medical discharge. I am not sure, but I think the medical reason was a perforated ulcer. He was discharged from the Great Lakes, Illinois, Boot camp. Junior started playing the saxophone when he was in grade school at Exeter, Missouri. He later became first sax in the Atoka school band. In 1937 the Atoka band went to the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas and Junior was there as first sax. Our mother and father got Junior interested in the saxophone at an early age to keep him out of trouble. I am not sure that, they knew at the time, just how much trouble his saxophone playing would be to them. Junior was intelligent but, for some unknown reason hell bent for trouble. He also learned to play the flute, clarinet, and accordian. If he had lived, I am sure he would have been a success in the recording business. It was at Shadow Lake, that Tex met Elsie Mae. Elsie Mae worked at Shadow Lake. Her job as a waitress was to serve meals, beer, and mix for alcholic beverages. Elsie Mae had a baby girl, Judy, from a previous marriage. I suppose Elsie Mae found Tex appealing, since he was the leading attraction of the band. I suppose Tex found Elsie Mae appealing, since she was the prettiest of the waitresses. Elsie Mae's nickname was Dude (given to her by her grandfather York when she was born). They became known as Tex and Dude to me for the rest of their lifes. Dude loved to dance and talk. Tex got me a job as cashier at the club, that summer of 1943. I worked for approximately 2 months. I remember being very proud to be the brother of the saxophone player in the band. THE SUMMER OF 1943 In May of 1943, my Mother, Pat, Jerry, and I took a trip to Missouri to visit our relatives (Cargiles and Walkers). Pat stayed in Cassville with her cousin Sue. After a short visit, my Mother, Jerry, and I visited Tex (Junior), who was playing in his band at the Shadow Lake resort in Noel, Missouri. I ask Tex, if he could get me a job with the resort. He talked to the owner. The owner said, "If he can make change without making mistakes, I will hire him." Good help was hard to find during the war. The resort manager checked me out, after making several transaction without making a mistake, he hired me. I would make $10.00 a week room and board. I would start to work at eight o'clock in the evening and work until the place closed. Closing time would vary from midnight to two o'clock in the morning. When I was not working, I would have a free run of the resort. This meant boating, swimming, fishing, and etc. Noel was close to Camp Crowder, Missouri. Camp Crowder was an army camp used to train soldiers, during World War II. On weekends, the soldiers would come to Noel for their recreation. They would dance, drink, and raise hell. There would be no place for them to spend the night. If they couldn't make it back to the base, they would end up sleeping on the sreets. Every Sunday morning, soldiers would be laying all over the streets. It always look like a big battle had taken place and the soldiers were casualties of that battle. Their life was, "drink and be merry for tomorrow you may die." I am sure, some never returned home from the war. I worked behind the bar selling beer, nuts, and etc. I also handled the ice and mixes for alcohol served in the dance hall. The customers had to bring their own bottle to the dance hall. I ran the only cash register and all the nights take (money) went through my hands. The resort manager would check my register the next morning. The resort management liked me, I made few mistakes and I was honest. They had trouble getting honest people to work the register. I would open the beer bottles, when I made a sale. I would sell so much beer in a night, that my apron and pants would be soaked with it. I would have enough beer on my clothes by quiting time to make a normal person drunk, if it was in their stomach. Tex, Dude, and I quit right before the summer was over. We left and went to Wewoka, Oklahoma. My father had sold his gasoline station in McAlester and bought a Mom & Pop neighborhood grocery store in Wewoka. The Shadow Lake resort owner was really sad to see us leave. He was loosing the band leader, the best waitress, and I would like to think the best employee (me). I will always have pleasant memories of the Shadow Lake resort. I will never forget the World War II servicemen, who passed through on their way to battle or destiny in the war.... Tex and Dude got married and moved to Wewoka, Oklahoma the fall of 1943. He worked in our father's store. Tex adopted Judy and they had a daughter, Frankie Sue, born in Wewoka in 1944. I remember Tex and Dude coming to the Wewoka High school basketball games to watch me play basketball for the Wewoka High team. In 1945 Tex and Dude moved to Muskogee, Oklahoma with our parents. He begin to play his saxophone again. He organized another band and was playing at the American Legion. Tex was having some problems with his stomach. He would not take care of himself like he should. In the spring of 1946 Tex and his band went to Durango, Colorado. Some club had arranged their engagement. Tex, as I understand it, was advised not to go because of his stomach problems. One night, while the band was playing his ulcers begain to bleed. He was taken to the Durango hospital where he bled to death. Our parents made the journey to Durango, Colorado to return his body to Exeter, Missouri. He was buried in the Exeter cemetery. I was in the Navy at the time. I remember being called over the loud speaker to report to the Officer of the Deck. It was there, that I was notified of my brother's death. I was on the U.S.S. San Clemente and in New York City's Brooklyn Naval Yard at the time. I did not attend his funeral. Tex was 22 years old when he died. (Born 10/21/1923 and Died 6/12/46) Dude was pregnant with their third child when Tex died. A son was born and was named Robert. Dude, 21 years old, was now a widow with 3 young children: Judy, Frankie Sue, and Robert. Our mother and father (in their heart) adopted Dude and her children as their own. I was happy for Dude, when she met and married Pete Harmon. She brought Pete home to Muskogee for my parents' approval. This wasn't really necessary, but in Dude's mind it was. Pete was a good husband and helped her raise her family. They lived in Noel for several years. When Robert was around 16 years of age he worked at the Shadow Lake resort in Noel. He and his girlfriend were killed in a car accident. Robert and Tom, my youngest brother, were close to the same age and grew up together. I can remember, my parents, Tom, and Robert, visiting Lois and me when we lived in Midwest City, Oklahoma. We took them all to the Oklahoma State Fair. Tom and Robert were around 10 years of age at the time. Pete and Dude later moved to Wichita, Kansas. Judy and Sue married and had children. Sometime in the 1980's Pete and Dude moved to Branson, Missouri. Dude died of a stroke June 8, 1981. The last time I saw Dude and Judy was at my father's funeral in 1978 and the last time I saw Frankie Sue was at Tom's, my brother, funeral in 1987. I will never forget the summer of 1943 at Shadow Lake with Tex and Dude. The memories of that summer will be in my mind and heart forever. "Moonlght Serenade" Glenn Miller An Old SandScraper Sailing His Ocean Of Memories.. COMRADES Of The 1930s "The Fragile Fiber Of Youth"