My father was William Bruce Harper. He was called Bruce by the family and was born February 22, 1907 in Jacksonville, Texas. He was the last of four Harper men named "William B." going back to the first one I know of, who was born in South Carolina in 1783. Bruce died on January 1, 1945 at the age of 37. Visit the Harper Geneology by clicking here.

Mother was Hattie Frances Compton. Her family moved to Texas from Alabama in 1903. She was born in the rural community of Blair, Texas (of Teneha, Timpson, Bobo and Blair fame) on September 10, 1906. She died September 17, 1999 at the age of 93. She was named Hattie after a family friend in the community. Her middle name, Frances, with its masculine spelling was the maiden name of her maternal grandmother Rachel (Frances) Bright. Visit the Compton Geneology and the Bright Geneology by clicking here.

My parents met teaching school at the Wedgeworth school in the rural community of Corinth a few miles outside the town of Timpson. Mother had returned from two years of teaching in Alabama and was looking for a teaching job. She had earned a freshman teaching certificate at Stephen F. Austin College in Nacogdoches at the age of 18, but was not able to teach in Texas without experience. She went to Alabama, which would hire inexperienced teachers, to stay with relatives until she had enough experience to return to Texas.

A former "beau," who had been relegated to friend by mother’s current young man, told her that the Wedgeworth school was looking for a teacher, but they wanted one that could sing. Before the age of radio, movies, television and other canned entertainment, communities had to provide their own diversions, and school teachers were expected to be part of the show. Mother's former beau and his family were well known singers in the area and after coaching mother in a few songs and dance steps, they went with her to be interviewed at Corinth. They must have put on quite a show and, expecting Mother to bring her former beau and his family along with her, they hired her to teach the three lower grades.

My father, who had some singing and acting credentials of his own had already been hired as the principal of the school and teacher of the upper two grades, 7, and 8. He had two years of college at Lon Morris, a Methodist school in Jacksonville, Texas. He entered Lon Morris at 16 in order to accompany his cousin, his mother's nephew, Robert Pierce Johnson, Jr., who suffered from a heart defect and needed physical help in order to go to college. My father too earned his teaching certificate at 18. Click here for the Johnson geneology.

The contracts the two of them signed with the Wedgeworth school board stipulated that they could not date each other, and at the time neither cared. Both were involved with someone else, but that changed before long.