Original Drawings & Model Commentaries:

AIA Drawing # 9
(17 inches X 23 inches)






Charlie Hurd:  1892-                                                            Mexia,  Texas
 

Copyright  © 1992-2006  Jim Branscum Art Studio
All Rights Reserved

Charles Hurd waited in his room at The Manor,  a Marwitz Bro.  nursing facility in Mexia (Ma-hey-ya),  Texas.  He was waiting for a visit with an artist seeking models for a series on older Americans.  He wore a suit that befit the occasion.   On his lapel was his Good Conduct Medal received for service before and during the first World War.   His handshake instantly told me why he has spent a lifetime making friends of strangers;  grasp- ing,  with both hands covering my own,  his grip was warm and firm.  His smile and the sound of his voice belied his age.   After introductions were made and brief explanations of the drawing project were given,  "Charlie," as he preferred to be addressed,  became the ninth model for the Aging in America series.

In addition to to being a handsome man at 101 years old,  Charlie is a historical figure in Mexia.  His father was a janitor at the school Charlie and his sisters attended.   He was taught the values of hard work,  honesty and charity.  They were lessons well learned which earned him respect among the citizens the oil rich town.  At 18 years of age,  he was given his first job as the chauffeur for the town's most prominent banker,  Mr. Murphy.  Charlie was the first man in Mexia to drive an automobile.  He was given the honor and responsibility of driving Texas Governor Neff when the Governor visited Mexia.  Charlie's proudest accomplishments,  however,   were brought about by his talents in the kitchen and a secret recipe for Bar-B-Q sauce that he promised never to reveal-- a promise he has kept to this day.

The recipe gave Charlie contact with the younger generation of the times.  Mexia was a bustling city of 50,000 oil-men,  rough-necks,  farmers,   bankers and their families.  "The young people had nowhere to go,   nothing to do,"  Charlie remembers out loud,  "so I opened a small Bar-B-Q restaurant named The White Swan."  It catered to the youth of Mexia giving them a place where they were always welcomed by the handshake and smile that had touched my heart some fifty years later.  "That sauce,"  he told me with a laugh from deep inside his chest,  "was so good it made you want to chew your fingers when you got it on them."  The White Swan remains a monument of Charles Hurd's contribution to the community.  Today it houses the Mexia offices of the NAACP.

His eyesight has been dimmed by time,  but the changes and sights they have seen make a visit with Charles Hurd entertaining and memorable.  He witnessed the birth of manned flight,  the invention of the automobile,  and watched man first step onto the surface of the moon.  He also witnessed the anguish of battle.  Prior to World War I,  his Army unit skirmished with Pancho Villa in southern Arizona.  He wears his medal with pride of service to his country,  carries his head high and keeps his heart open for artists and other strangers who stop to share a moment of his time.

When I arrived at The Manor,  I was impressed by the friendliness of the staff and the overall appearance of the facility.  Charles had been a resident for the past eight years.  His high opinion of his life at the Manor is a testament to the high standards of care he has received.  The staff and residents alike share a mutual respect for one another and all strive to give The Manor a true feeling of home.