What Was Spring Weather Like 100 years ago?

Springtime in East Texas typically means East Texas can experience every possible kind of weather. Snow, ice, tornadoes, hail, floods, and droughts seem to cycle through in unpredictable but expected regularity. A look at newspapers in March of 1925 provides some insight into that pattern.

In 1925 weather patterns directly impacted road conditions since many of the roads of the time were still unpaved. The Houston Chronicle noted how fair weather had made road maintenance easier despite the heavier traffic. “Rough stretches of unimproved road sections have all been dragged smooth,” they said. The Champion, published in Center, noted that what was good for highway maintenance was not a benefit to gardeners and farmers. In commenting on the distress of those unable to plant due to dry weather early in March noted that “East Texans have so little dry weather that, when it fails to rain for a few weeks, they are inclined to think ‘It Ain’t Gonna to Rain No Mo.’”

The February 20, 1925 edition of the Marshall News Messenger noted a common occurrence with spring weather . . . a cold snap after the buds on fruit trees have already been set. They appear to have avoided a drop below the freezing point and hoped for a good year for plums and peaches.

There is never a shortage of opinions about the weather, and one front-page article in the Panola Watchman by “Op” waxed poetic about our view of the weather.

“Some folks kick when the sun shines, some folks kick when it rains. If the weather is dry you will hear some cry, if it’s wet they will cry again. It don’t make any difference to some folks when it rains or when it is clear, they just smile all they while as they journey along, they are happy because they are here.”

The weather will be what it will be and this writer’s opinion may be the best way to weather the storms.