Pyote Community Improvement Program
contributed by Buster Yarbrough, July 2, 2006[the accompanying photos might be lost - I haven't found them in the multitude of images that were contained in the original website.]
In 1970 Pyote had another grand adventure at improving itself. In association with Texas A and M and the Texas Electric Service Company, Pyote set out on a course of city improvement. This consisted essentially of a clean up drive in Pyote, which saw many old and abandoned houses that remained from the "boom" or Air Base days, either torn down or burned to clear the area of unsightly mess and unhealthy conditions. Many old abandoned cars were also removed.
The Community Improvement sponsored a homecoming at which all old Pyote residents were asked to return for a reunion. It met with great success and brought much enjoyment.
Some of the things that are taken for granted today were planned and discussed at the Community Improvement meetings. Accomplishments were: long distance dial phones, possibility of a new post office (now built), extension of Hwy. 2355 to the west and concern expressed to the school board about the condition of the abandoned and deteriorating Pyote school house along with cemetery improvements. All of these things have been completed and taken care of since then.
Though a lot of the results of the cleanup effort have long since disappeared, on reflection, there are many lasting improvements. The accompanying pictures illustrate the effort and good cooperation of the citizens toward this Program. In 1973 the Program was dropped for want of sustaining enthusiasm. While Pyote was involved in the Community Development Program from April 1, 1970 and on for three consecutive years, the city won first place in District Six. On each occasion Pyote won a prize of $100 which was presented by Texas Electric Co. and Texas A and M. Pyote's involvement ended April 1, 1973. (Information taken from the Minutes of the Pyote Improvement Program.)
Pyote Museums
Rattlesnake Bomber Base Museum: On April 22, 1978 the Rattlesnake Bomber Base Museum at Pyote was formally opened and dedicated in honor of all the men and women who served at the Pyote Army Air Base. The museum is located in the back of the Pyote Community Center, a building that was a mess hall on the Base during World War II. On display in the museum is World War II memorabilia which includes a complete collection of shoulder sleeve insignia, decoration, medals, uniforms, photographs of the Air Base and a featured exhibit of the famous Norden Bombsight. There is also a special exhibit to honor Lt. John Jamison from Fredonia, Pennsylvania who had flown 45 combat missions and was highly decorated, having received the Distinguished Flying Cross. He lost his life at Pyote Air Force Base when he accidentally stepped into a moving propeller. Another exhibit features Sgt. Carl Anderson of Turlock, California who was shot down over Europe twice and returned each time.
Confederate Air Force plane "Sentimental Journey" that landed on old Pyote Air Force Base strip, during dedication ceremony of Pyote Museum, April 22,1978
The dedication ceremony for the museum was an area event, with local people and others attending. Congressman White cut the ribbon marking the official opening. Planes from the Confederate Air Force, a body dedicated to the preservation of old planes, especially those of World War II vintage, flew over the site of the ceremonies and landed on a portion of the old Pyote Air Force Base strip.Pioneer Section
In the making, as this book goes to press, is the addition to the Bomber Base Museum which will feature the covered wagon era of the area. Donations of clothing, pictures and objects have already been received. Of interest will be a copy of Olive Eiband's wedding dress which she wore in 1928 for her marriage to Ted Thomas owner of the Thomas Hotel. The grand opening of the hotel was held following the wedding ceremony. The Sitton Mercantile safe, the old Pyote post office "cages", the City Minute books, Pyote school trophies and numerous pictures will be of great interest. Located here, too, will be a display of arrowheads and artifacts which were found in the vicinity by Darral Shirey, an enthusiastic archeology buff. Writing about his knowledge of this area and his findings he says:"In Ward county the sands, grasses, plains and small hills of a grassland desert transition hide many centuries. Patches of sand found in Ward county also hide many mysteries about the lives of people who have come, lived and gone. Their presence is known by the things which they left behind, notably artifacts of stone. Although wood, bones, shells and fibers were used by them also, it is the stones which tell their story. From the type or general shape of these stones, a history can be rewritten by the correlation of excavations throughout the state. It is found that particular ages produce similarities in stone. Often such stone is used by early man for many centuries, thus dating him. In Ward county no evidence of stones has been found that precedes the last period of glaciation in North America. People at that time used stone but the fine workmanship in artifacts was found later."
"The real age of stonework possibly began fifteen or twenty thousand years ago. A drastic change in stone history occurred in about 10,000 B.C. A new age came into being which lasted a thousand years. In Ward county as in other regions, Folsom Man became the inheritor of the land. Many artifacts of this age are to be found in Ward county. Because of the thinness, many remain only as fragments, but there is enough evidence to show that many different kinds of stonework developed. Near Pyote, sites reveal a mixture of these varieties. Some of the finest workmanship is found here. It seems that the Eden and Scotts-bluff, two different people, hunted and rested in the same camp. How long this period lasted cannot be determined. Other artifacts that have been found are Midland points, Milnesand points and leaf shaped Paleo points."
"The Archaic Age, a span of time from 1200 to 5,000 years ago, shows the greatest diversity in stone points. Pottery, too makes its appearance and reveals early man. In the Monahans sandhills are many fragments of colorful pottery; other locations in the county reveal a rusty brown type which sometimes shows finger prints and dart points. The most spectacular find in the county during this period is the remains of paints on the faces of rocks, cliffs or overhangs. In the western part of Ward county such paintings exist on sandstone found in the upper part of the Pecos River Plain. Their purpose, use or meaning, baffle those who are awed by their uniqueness. These people also left their "signature" in the burial sites that are still evident. In Ward county they can be traced on locations overlooking the river plains or in the piled stones buried in the sand until the wind blows away the sand, leaving them uncovered. Many a cowboy has ridden over the spot where burial stones now lie scattered.
The advent of the bow and arrow was a superior weapon that appeared during the last 1200 years of . the Archaic Age. Arrowheads are found throughout the county but are most numerous in the Monahans sandhills. In very recent times it was the Co-manche and Apache Indians who seemed to inhabit the sandhills. For us, they and earliest man are reborn as we discover their history in stone, artifacts, pictographs and burial cairns. Their heritage remains so long as the sands reveal the past."