In the 1920s to 1940s, very few people had wells. They drank water from the the Red River, Cabresto Creek, or the ditches, whichever was closer. They never shut off the water on the ditches so people would have water all year round. Nobody ever got sick from it.
Ladies washed the clothes by hand in a big tub and wash board. If they had a big family it took one day to wash all the laundry. In the summer the water was heated in an outside fire in a big tub.
The first community water system began in the late 1950s. It didn’t serve too many people. The sewer came in 1956. The first fire truck was in 1959. Mr. J.L. Cisneros was the first fire chief. We didn’t have a water system yet so they had to get their water from the Red River.
After the water system came in they were set to fight fires. The first big room in the fire- house is still used by a lot of people of the community for showers, parties, quilting, and meetings. In the fall, the members are assigned areas where they are to go for donations. They are volunteers and they don’t get paid.