COUNTY LIFE
Delayed military rites bring happiness to sailor’s family
By BARBARA GREEN
Navy Seaman Leslie L. Wood went into the service in 1944 at the tender age of 17 after getting approval from his parents.
Two years into World War II, like many young men this small-town boy wanted to be part of the war. His older brother, Ausey Pruitt Wood Jr. was serving in the U.S. Army in the European theater as a combat infantryman who would be part of the Battle of the Bulge.
Wood returned home from his military service to graduate college, becoming a teacher and later an attorney. He died at the age of 68 and was buried in Montague Cemetery, within view of his childhood home.
On June 6, 1996 a full military funeral rite was planned for the U.S. Navy veteran, but had to be cancelled due to bad weather when the team was unable to travel to the rural cemetery.
As the 20th anniversary of his father’s death drew near one of his sons, Allen Wood, began talking with local American Legion posts in his area about getting an honor guard to recreate the scene that would have taken place 20 years earlier. Local veterans said yes and helped their father’s final rest be recognized with the military honors.
Read the full feature in the mid-week Bowie News.
Top Picture: Members of the Nocona VFW Post unfurl the American flag during ceremonies for Leslie Wood at Montague Cemetery. (Photo by Barbara Green)
Nocona is preparing for the 74th annual Chisholm Trail Rodeo May 8 and 9 at the Chisholm Trail Arena.
The rodeo will take place at 7:30 p.m. Nightly with the Ryan Ready Band playing for the rodeo dance afterward on Saturday night. Tickets in advance are $12 and $15 at the gate.
All the traditional rodeo events are planned along with non-sanctioned events of junior barrels for 16 and under. There is $250 added each night, a jackpot nightly and contestants have a $50 entry fee. Entries open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on May 4-5.
The new Chisholm Trail Rodeo Queen and Princess will be crowned during Saturday night’s performance. Read about these young ladies in your Thursday Bowie New.
Clara Anderson
TxDOT is hosting a virtual meeting to review projects included in the 2027-2030 Rural TIP.
The program is at 4 p.m. on May 6 and 11:59 p.m. on May 19, all online at https://bit.ly/4uhDwMG
The Rural TIP is a list of local projects to be funded during the next four years in the Wichita Falls District of the Texas Department of Transportation.
The counties included are Archer, Baylor, Clay, Cooke, Montague, Throckmorton, Wichita, Wilbarger, and Young. Transportation projects cannot receive federal funding unless they are included in the Rural TIP. This includes projects for private vehicles, bicycles, pedestrians, public transport, and commercial vehicles.
A section of Roach Street has been closed for the last few weeks as a new sewer line was installed replacing old clay tile line. It is phase two of multi-phase sewer line project across the city funded through a Texas Water Development Board loan of more than $9.7 million. The project will replace nearly10 miles of aging lines. (News photo by Barbara Green)
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