Growing Up As A Davidson

Transcribed and edited from:
Friday 11:00 AM, November 27, 2015 Livestream Broadcast

Hello, I’m Doyle Davidson, servant and apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ ministering locally to the Body of Christ in Dallas and Fort Worth Texas, sent by God to your house to declare unto the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 15:3 and 4 tell us what the gospel is, how that Jesus Christ died for our sins, according to the scripture, he was buried, he rose again the third day according to the scripture.

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor, sent me to heal the brokenhearted, preach deliverance to the captive, set at liberty them that are bruised, open the eyes of the blind.

The word is nigh thee, even in your heart and in your mouth, that is the word of faith, which I preach, if you will confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead you shall be saved for with the heart man believeth unto righteousness and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

I’m not ashamed of the gospel of Christ for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith, as it is written the just shall live by his faith.

I want to welcome everyone to this broadcast on Livestream, ROKU, YouTube and other devices. Paul Peters co-host is present.
Well, I’m going to share about years before I was born, when I was born, and up to 1950.

In 1867 my great-grandfather moved to southwest Missouri from Macoupin County, Illinois, the son of Joshua Davidson. James Madison Davidson came to Jasper County and was a homebuilder, a fruit grower, a cattleman and a landowner and he head 100 acres of strawberries at one time. My uncle, James Davidson, his grandson, told me all about that. My Dad never told me that.

In 1949 (I believe) at Hoberg, Missouri, just west and south of Mt Vernon, Missouri, on the railroad track, there was a house that my great-grandfather built sometime in the 1870s or 1880s.  A lawyer had bought it in Mt. Vernon and contracted my Dad to move it. My Dad was a builder, house mover, what have you, All  The Davidsons were builders, house movers, movers of heavy equipment, road builders, bridge builders, they were involved in that kind of work. I went with my dad to see that house; it was a two story house with an upper deck and a lower deck. The upper deck was built with the roof, so the roof went out to the northeast and that upper deck was attached to that roof and there were doors from the upstairs that opened out on that upper deck—beautiful place to set on that upper deck, especially in southwest Missouri on a late afternoon looking to the northeast. This lawyer bought it and dad moved it to Mt. Vernon. Today I couldn’t find it if I wanted to.

Luther Albert Davidson, road overseer
From the Sarcoxie Record, Sarcoxie, MO

In 1911 James Madison died of tetanus.  September 1912 Luther Albert my granddad, received a steel shipment on Frisco railroad to build two steel bridges over Motley Branch. I’ve been on both of them, and they are steel bridges with banisters six feet high, maybe more, with a concrete deck. I used to go swimming under one of them in cold water. We used to swim in clear spring water. And had a lot of fun doing that, (but I didn’t do that in 1912).

In 1921, Luther Albert Davidson took a group,  family and other employees and a bunch of horses and went to Rolla, Missouri and worked on what became U.S 66. Two years I believe, after they finished their contract, that highway received its name in Springfield, Missouri in 1926. But during the ‘teens and the twenties the Davidsons, contractors, they all did very well.

 My dad and mother were married December 22, 1927 by a man named Jack Crane, a preacher from southeast Kansas. On January 18, 1929, Dorothy, my oldest sister was born in a house on Jones Creek, (Boone’s Farm) not very far from where my mother’s parents, Frank and Minnie Miller lived. We lived in rural areas, on farms all my life until I went into the Navy.

House Doyle was born in.

Mom and Dad then moved to a house on forty acres that belonged to the Campbells that joined James Madison Davidson’s 240 acres on the northwest, that’s where I was born. A picture of that house is on my website, today it is still there. I don’t remember anything about that house, we moved from it to the house where Betty was born. I’m not sure when we moved to that place, but in all these houses, we had outdoor toilets; we had well-water with pumps—you had to pump the water in all of them; we had no electricity; we had kerosene lamps. Those of you that know about them, they had a globe, they had a bottom reservoir that your kerosene went in and it had a wick that you rolled up and you would light it with a match or something and then put the globe back on and that was the light. If you got three feet from it you weren’t too well lit.  We lived in that house where Betty was born on November 25, 1935; I was 3½ years old when Betty was born. It sat on eighty acres, on a hill, really beautiful place, white framed house, and there are some nice, funny stories about me and a goat and a red-rider wagon, I think that’s what it was. I could set in that wagon and put my feet against the front and hold on to the sides; I was four years old when I took the goat ride. By the grace of God I’m alive. I didn’t even fall out.

Street view of house where Betty was born.

In January or February of 1938 we moved to Aunt Vines’ farm, just north of Banner School where Dad attended school for eight years and I started in 1938, went to 1st grade there, Dorothy would have been in 4th grade that year. We lived on that Vines farm, no electricity, no outdoor toilets, a pump, a well. What was interesting, the farm joined U.S. 14, at that time, on the north and there was electricity all up and down U.S. 14 and we didn’t have it. And by the way, I’m not sure of this; we either warmed with wood stoves or coal stoves in the three previous houses. Aunt Vines’ farmhouse I remember, warm morning, coal, dusty, dirty, no fun; but we went up from there.

Banner School. Doyle is on the bottom row, 2nd from the left.

We went From Kerosene lamps to Aladdin lamps, and if I remember, they had some type of gasoline for fuel, (don’t hold me to that) they had mantels on them, and they had a taller globe. I’m pretty sure they were gas, it seemed we pumped that up, I’m pretty sure of it, but the Aladdin lamp had two mantles—I  know it was gas—boy when they lit up, wow! I’m in the 1st or 2nd grade, I’m pretty sure, I know as early as the 2nd. Oh and by the way, we all bathed in a #2 washtub; heated the water on wood cook stove or kerosene cook stove. I don’t remember us every having a wood cook stove. My grandmother Miller did, I remember it well. I don’t recall Lute and Georgia Anna Davidson’s having a wood cook stove, but kerosene, I believe. They lived rural just like we did, the houses, everything, was the same. Schools, churches all had wells, pumps, farms where we lived and outdoor toilets and no electricity. I don’t’ know if Redwood had electricity or not, it may have, I think it did. But I’m not sure.

In 1941 we lived on U.S. 14, on the north. Ft Crowder, Camp Crowder, Neosho, Missouri, actually the front gate at was at Goodland. They started building Camp Crowder, was called fort they didn’t like it so they changed it to Camp.  WWII broke out December 7, 1941, but Camp Crowder started building early, 1941. 4 AM cars on U.S. 14, two miles west of Sarcoxie, was bumper to bumper; they went about nine miles west on 14 and they got on U.S. 71, may have been alternate 71 that went from Carthage to Neosho, they went south, bumper to bumper, they did that all through 1941 and in 1942, in the summer, the work at Camp Crowder was almost completed, Dad was a carpenter. When it was finished,  I believe I was told earlier, that Camp had 46,000 acres, thereabouts, huge.

In the summer of 1942, Dad was thirty-something, and they told him, you either go to Sunflower Ordinance or join the army. Dad had 3 children, Dorothy, Doyle and Betty Joyce. Dad decided with three children, he had three nephews in the army, that he would go to Sunflower Ordinance just south of De Soto, they call it Olathe. De Soto’s just a smaller town.  Something I might tell you, I’m not sure when, but the great depression was not any fun, not one bit of fun. I think before I finish the Kansas, trip, our arrival there I want to talk about the Great Depression. You know I said, mom and dad were married in 1927, Dorothy was born January 18, 1929, I was born April 1 1932, Betty, April 1, 1935 and the stock market crashed October 1929. Up to that time, the Davidson's were not affected in any way. They had enough wealth they all go along well.

Lyle and Alba Davidson (Doyle's parents)

1932, President Roosevelt was elected and took office January 1933. 1933 started getting more difficult, 1934, 1935, it was hard, really tough; the Davidsons all did fine. Oh, it got tough, but they had faith. They had faith. Lute, my grandfather, Lyle my dad, Floyd, oldest uncle, Neva, oldest aunt, they had some love for the Lord. I remember when Carl, youngest boy was born again, amen, thank God. I saw people that brought lunch buckets to school, they had little in them. Amen.

 I guess this is a good time to tell this. At Banner school, a man and his wife taught the children. It was a two room school.  His wife Mary taught grade 1 through 4, and the husband taught grades 5 through 8. We had county races down, just north of U.S. 14, north side of Sarcoxie in a thirty or forty acre pasture. They would line the lanes, it was a County wide [event]. I wanted a 3-cell flashlight, but I knew Mother and Dad—Dad was using all the faith he had, we never got cold, we never missed a meal, but Dad’s faith was tried. So has Doyle’s been. I didn’t understand, like you don’t understand, but God dealt with my Dad’s heart in a powerful way. Dad’s faith was tried more than any Davidson. It’s pretty easy for me to see now why. Me, Doyle, God was showing me some things that I was going to experience. Dad would tell me “You’re going to preach the gospel”. I didn’t want that. He never would shut up. He’d take me with him to work, get me in the pickup or a truck, and tell me “You’re going to preach the gospel.” I didn’t want to hear it.

Lyle standing next to his 1950 Mercury.

I think the winter of 1938 when I started 1st grade, Banner School, I might be wrong but you can prove it. In 1938 the Mississippi River froze over and they drove a truck across it. I think you can find the picture with the truck on it. That’s the Mississippi, that’s a big one.  Was it cold! It was cold!
We walked to school ½ mile, Dorothy and I, and Dad when the snow wasn’t too deep (I’m talking about  a foot deep, no snow plows, you couldn’t drive for a day or two) they would take horses, sleds, get the snow out, then dad would pick us up in the car. When I started to school Dad had a ‘28 Buick, 4 door, very nice car. It was amazing how God would furnish dad with a good car, but not new A ’28 Buick, I think following that, a ’34 Chevrolet, following that a Studebaker, a ‘47 ford in ‘50 he bought a new Mercury. Thank God, amen.

My mother and Dad, dressed us, Dorothy and me equal to the best and better than the most. Amen. Thank God. When I was in the 4th grade, that would be 1941, look folks, I’m glad that I went through; a young man with a good memory, with a soft heart, that it bothered me to see people suffer, people I played with, climbed trees with.

 In 1941, Sunflower Ordinance plant just south of De Soto, we went to De Soto, Dad went there to work. Dorothy, myself and Betty went with them, of course—it was bumper to bumper cars, it was like a refugee camp. Now we’re not in our own home; we are not in friendly territory; we were invaders, employed of the government. I’m not sure where that road was, it was south of De Soto, and it was a wide gravel road, very nice community, nice farms, dairy farms, a lot of them, but there were no houses to rent, to lease.

We left my Aunt Vines’ farmhouse sometime after midnight and drove to south of De Soto Kansas, and I’m pretty sure I remember, we had a ‘34 Chevrolet. I can remember the sound of it. I think that was the first ride I ever took in a car at night for a distance of 125-150 miles. Amen. We got there, Dad had been there, looking for somewhere for us to live and he couldn’t find anything but an old farmhouse and we didn’t have any furniture that we could take with us. And we got to that farmhouse, I don’t know, empty, I don’t think it even had a chair in it; on a farm sitting out by itself—the house, we couldn’t see houses anywhere. And Dad had to go to work; it was like being in the military. He left mother, Dorothy, Betty and I in that house. I m quite sure Dad slept an hour or two, probably had blankets laid on the floor and slept, wooden floors. That evening Dad came home, he worked eight hours I’m sure, as a carpenter, he ended up as a millwright carpenter, if you want to look that one up.  He came home and he and Mother said, "We’re moving from this place." We went, I’m not sure which direction, but got on that gravel road, a really good maintained, wide gravel road, I’m sure it’s asphalt now, it might be concrete, and we got to that road and drove south. There was a big white 2 story house, big white barn and out in front there was a little sign that said house for rent. Mother saw it, we stopped.

None of us were very brave, everywhere you looked there was a car. There were people. We drove into their  driveway, and Dad got out and there was a woman that came out, name was Bowlin, and Dad started talking and Mother got out, and the three kids were asked to get out. They had a three room guest house right out just slightly to the south of the two-story beautiful home, set back maybe 20 feet from the west line of that home, the two-story house. Mrs. Bowlin said, we’ll rent you that house you can sleep in it, you can set in it , but we’ve got a huge upstairs on the southeast corner of the upstairs, big room. They had a daughter Dorothy’s age; they had a son my age; each of them had a pony. Marjorie and Roy Bowlin and they said, Mrs. Bowlin said, you and the kids, all of you can be in that big room up there. You can ride the children’s ponies – we’ll rent it to you, you have the whole farm, you can walk on it , go where you want to. It was furnished, didn’t take long to pay the rent. We lived there a year.

One day it was time to quit, (I’m overlooking quite a bit.). We are going back to Sarcoxie. Mom and Dad bought a forty-acre farm, one mile east of Redwood School. It had a four-way roof, flat top,  10 foot ceilings, setting on a corner, had a barn, that house had beautiful ornate moldings, baseboard, and in that house there was a dining room and a living room and there was a wide opening between the 2 and on one side the wall would come down and come out about eighteen inches, and a big post would set there and the same on the other side, and it wasn’t long we went from a coal stove to a floor furnace. I’m not sure, I think it was a kerosene floor furnace we put in that opening and of a morning when we would get up, five Davidson's were close.

We lived there like the rest, could have been 1945 or no later than  1946 REA came through with electricity. It didn’t take, long running water, hot, cold, indoor bathrooms, electricity in the ceiling, floor lamps, and oh yes, electric fans.

Now we were a much happier bunch, no, I wouldn’t say that—Mom and Dad wouldn’t let us be unhappy; Dad would make sure he kept everyone pumped up, “Don’t you feel sorry for yourself once; we know Jesus.”

Thank God. We knew the man Jesus. No other name under heaven but Jesus. Jesus, faith in that name, mixed with that name, will save you, born again, heal you , deliver you, one Spirit with the Lord, Jesus in your heart, my friend that is the name that took us all through the Great Depression and WWII. Thank God.

The name is Jesus. The name is Jesus, say it with me, after me, you’ll be born again, Jesus!

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