Trimble's Move From Texas to Arizona

as told by Rosa Mae Trimble (Pert)

Circa 1910

To us in Arizona , she was known as Mama or Grandma Pert. She loved God, had the faith of Abraham in the Bible, loved her husband, children and grandchildren and was greatly loved by them. Life was hard for her, for she lived a life with asthma and that is what brought her and her family to Arizona . Pert walked and talked with the Lord moment by moment, and was always happy, loved to laugh, never complained, thoroughly enjoyed life.

            Pert was the first child of Mama and Papa Edwards. She was born May 3, 1883 in Bexar County , Texas . She was raised on the Elm Creek farm on Black Hill between Somerset and Lytle. It was a large farm with a lot of chickens and fruit trees, etc. Don’t know about her education, but to this grand-daughter, she was brilliant. She would ride on the cultivator with Papa and read the Bible to him. She would later teach school in Del Rio , where Papa would take her in his wagon with horses or mules. Papa was hoping that she wouldn’t have asthma there, if she hadn’t this story could have been very different. While teaching in Del Rio , Pert met Wesley Walker Trimble. He would become known later as Daddy or Grandpa Walker. The parents of Walker lived in Del Rio . They thought he had gone to school, but found out he was working on the railroad in Mexico where he learned to speak fluent Spanish. They insisted that he come home and when he did so he went to work with the railroad in Del Rio .

            Walker and Pert were married in Bexar County , Texas on December 26, 1906 . They were living in Del Rio when Lucille and Sadie were born, neither child lived beyond a  year. One died with whooping cough and the other with pneumonia. Ira Walker (Happy) was born October 3, 1908 , three years later Jeffie Elizabeth was born and two years later Julia Francis was born, all in Del Rio . David Oliver was born two years later and then Garner about a year after that in San Antonio . Jack was the baby. They had eight children but only raised five. Papa Edwards would worry about Pert with all the children and her having asthma so periodically he would come after her and take her home with him. Walker would work for the railroad two days and then would be off two days. He would take care of Pert and the children when he wasn’t working. Pert’s asthma was so bad that he would have to carry her to the bathroom. When he was working, Walker had an old man with grey hair and beard named Sam that would come and take care of the children.

            Pert was at Aunt Carrie’s house with a bad attack of asthma. Jeffie had gone to the store to get groceries when Estelle ran up and said your mother is dying. Jeffie threw down the groceries and ran to the house. Aunt Oma Dell or Aunt Bess was there with Carrie and took Pert to the doctor. The doctor prescribed something hoping it would help. They left Pert sitting on a bench in a beautiful plaza that covered a whole block with beautiful trees and flowers while they were having the prescription filled. An old man came up behind Pert tapped her on the shoulder and said she didn’t need to say anything, but if she would go to Phoenix, Arizona she would be all right and he left. When her sisters returned, she told them what he said, they went back to the house got clothes and food ready, bought train tickets and sent word to Walker if he wanted to go with his family to be at the train station at 7:00 . So in the fall of 1918 the Trimble family was on their way to Arizona . Happy was nine, Jeffie six, Julia four, David two and Garner less than a year

Walker , being fluent in Spanish, was hired the next day by a rich farmer named Tway to weigh cotton for many were workers from Mexico . Pert was feeling some better the next morning. They lived in the tent during the cotton picking season. Garner was taken to the doctor and they were told that he was very sick. He died very soon after they came to Arizona , it is possible that he had pneumonia during the trip. Happy told Jeffie that he saw an angel come and take Garner away during the night. Jeffie was heart broken for she had cared for Garner since Pert was unable to do so. Walker went to get a casket and a preacher heard that they had lost a child and came to conduct the service. After the service, Pert went to the casket, laid her hands on top and sang, “The toils of the road will be nothing when I get to the end of the way.”

            Pert’s health improved so much in a few weeks that she got a bag and went out to pick cotton. She brought in 100 pounds that first time and enjoyed being in the sunshine. Any time she picked cotton she had 100 pounds. Walker said she picked more than anyone else. A typhoid fever epidemic broke out and Walker , Pert, and David ended up in the hospital. Many people were dying and they weren’t expected to live. People in the tent camp were taking care of the other children and a family came and told Pert that if they died they would raise the children. Pert thanked them, but knew in her heart that they would survive. During the time they were in the hospital, someone came and took their good clothes, beautiful china, silverware, an alligator skin satin lined glove box from Walker ’s brother Ira and other things. Pert was able to trace the things to a woman who said she thought they were going to die so she had taken them. She was able to get some of the things back but not all of them. During the time they lived in the tent camp the Tways took Happy and Jeffie to church every Sunday. After cotton season, Walker was hired by a hay farmer, a house was provided and since there was no place for the truckers to eat, they started having Pert cook breakfast and dinner for them. They thought she was an excellent cook. Mr. Tway still wanted Walker to work for him during cotton picking time. Walker went to work helping build a railroad from Mesa to Superior , during this time they lived in Tempe and Jack Tracy was born on December 13, 1921 , the last of the children.

            They were living in Laveen when Jeffie was 12. Pert walked many miles into Phoenix to buy material to make a white organdy dress for her birthday.

            Pert hadn’t had asthma in a long time and wanted to go back to Texas thinking she could live there again. Happy was sixteen, Jeffie thirteen, Julia eleven, David nine, and Jack was three. Pert was having asthma attacks again and the children went to live with different aunts. Jeffie lived with Aunt Nora for a long time, she and Estelle were very close. Julia and Happy were with Aunt Carrie, Happy helped Uncle Tyra in his gas station, David lived on the farm with Aunt Hazel and Uncle Bobby. Jack was always with Pert. Jeffie later lived with Aunt Carrie and took care of Lorraine while Aunt Carrie worked for Joske’s and made alterations for customers. Pert was never able to take care of her family while she was in Texas due to her asthma.

            Jeffie says Papa always wore a black suit, beautiful shirt with a hard type collar and a good tie when he went to preach at Black Hill Church . It was within walking distance of the house and Papa would carry his socks and shoes in his hands until he reached the church. When the fruit was ready to be picked, Papa would have all the grandchildren around San Antonio come out for a week. Papa would get all of them up real early to go out and pick fruit which they did until noon . They would be barefooted and the sand was as hot as fire. Estelle, Jeffie, Julia and Happy were a part of this group. Heard that Papa also prayed the longest prayers before a meal and the food was always cold before they could eat.

the telephone company. Graves was living at home and tried to talk Walker into leaving her in Texas . Jeffie and Julia took Pert to Mama and Papa’s Golden Wedding Anniversary. She was only there an hour when she started having asthma real bad and they brought her back to Arizona the next day. Years later she was taken to Aunt Carrie’s celebration and made the trip without too much trouble.

            Walker developed a heart problem and emphysema and was in poor health for several years. Walker had a bunch of cows and Happy took over their care, milking them and getting the cream separated to be picked up by the creamery. Walker died at their home called Shady Shanty in Lehi Valley , Arizona on July 26, 1944 . Jack was in the army at that time and was able to come home for the funeral. He was also able to see his first son Dick, who was four months old, for the first time. David was working for a Construction Company in Iran and unable to come back for the funeral. Happy sold off the cows and went to work for the railroad. Pert would stay a period of time with each of her children but spent most of her time with Julia and her family in Yuma .

            She was a charter member of First Southern Baptist Church in Yuma . She was there from the beginning when a store front was rented to have Vacation Bible School, she had Yvonne go door to door to hand out flyers and surely the sand of Yuma is hotter to bare feet than the sand of Texas. The church met there until they could afford to start a building. They built a beautiful large building and Pert, Julia and her girls, Jeffie L., Julie and Jene were all members there. Winterhaven, a small settlement just across the river into California was trying to start a church. Pert would get a ride over to help in anyway she could. Many times she was the only person there besides the preacher. He was ready to give up and she said, “We are going to sing, pray, and you are going to preach.” 

             Pert lost another beloved child, her youngest son Jack died after complications of surgery on October 10, 1949 . His wife June was left to raise Dick five, Marilyn three, and Douglas two.

            Pert went to be with the Lord on October 30, 1961 . Russell, Jeffie, and Jeffie L. were taking her to Yuma when halfway there she wanted to sit under a tree. She died in Jeffie’s arms and she held her mother all the way back to Phoenix to the Baptist Hospital in Maryvale.

            Pert was always aware if her children were in trouble. Jeffie was riding in a car going to Del Rio from Langtry when the car was struck by a train. Pert was helping a woman in Langtry and told her something terrible had happened to Jeffie long before anyone came to tell her what had happened. Jeffie’s back was badly hurt which has given her trouble all of her life. Another time, Happy had gone to Hemet , California with some people to pick apricots. A couple talked Pert and Walker into taking their family to California . Jeffie was to fix lunch while the others picked apricots. They couldn’t locate Happy and someone said he had gone with the people to Oregon . Pert walked and prayed most of the night for she was afraid he would never know how to find them. Walker, Julia, and Jack went in the car the next day to get groceries and Walker thought he saw Happy standing on a corner. He turned around and Happy ran to them crying. The people had left Oregon and were on their way back to Arizona . He couldn’t understand why he didn’t go with them and they thought he was making a big mistake. Three other times Pert had Jeffie check on Happy. One time he was walking at night on the railroad track to see Leta, who was teaching children on a ranch, he stepped out of the track and fell in a canyon and had torn one of his kidneys loose. Another time he had been stung by a centipede and the last time was when he was alone and sick and if Jeffie hadn’t found him he would have died.