By Karen Hall

Editor

A chance purchase in a Houston antique shop in 2010 led to a strange quest for a woman who visited Lewisburg earlier this spring, looking for more information.

Cathy Handford bought three little books in the antique shop, and they turned out to be journals for the years 1936, 1937, and 1960.

Of course Handford started reading. She was immediately fascinated with what the author called "the comings and goings of an ordinary woman," who lived in Corsicana, Texas.

The journals end Thursday, June 23, 1960, when another person writes, "Hospital advising Hettie May had just passed away."

"The next day, upon returning to the antique store," writes Handford, 'I learned that approximately 25 journals were purchased at an estate sale. Mine were the last three of a large group. Understanding their historical importance, I decided to try to find the missing journals and to my surprise, I had some success."

Handford now has 15 of the identical black books, starting with 1936.

A few she had to buy, but many were given to her when the owners found out how interested and dedicated she was. "It was a journey" just finding the books, Handford says.

She intends to publish them, and then donate them to the library at the University of Texas.

"It's a very important project," Handford said.

She's already had two good offers from publishers, but said, "It was never about making money; it's about finding a lost piece of history. I'm proving a point there's a lot of history out there, stored in shoeboxes. You just have to do the hard work."

Research began to reveal Hettie May's identity and her personality to Handford, as well as the larger significance of the journals.

"Mrs. Loggins loved Corsicana and devoted much of her life to giving something back to her community," wrote Handford. "The descriptions of the civilian war effort during WW II and the ways in which the community organized are noteworthy. Her travels through the Ozarks back to Tennessee recall routes and landmarks long gone. Many of the entries during these years are truly remarkable .... Emerging from this collection is the portrait of a woman who was dedicated to her community, her family, and her journals."

"Corsicana and Lewisburg can be very proud of her," Handford said. "All her life was positive and productive, and she did the best she could do."

Why was Hettie May Loggins traveling back and forth to Tennessee?

Because she was born Hettie May Leonard, in Lewisburg, in 1882. Hettie May and her sister Laila moved to Corsicana in 1897 to live with their aunt and uncle, after they were orphaned. Many relatives remained in Marshall County.

A lot of people moved west to Texas from Tennessee in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

"We owe a lot to the strong frontier spirit from Tennessee," Handford said. "The journals are a glimpse of someone who migrated."

Handford came to Lewisburg this spring to look for relatives of Hettie May's -- Bullocks, Kerchevals, Leonards, and Polks -- as well as letters, postcards and group pictures.

The trip was a resounding success, Handford said after returning home.

People opened their homes to her and helped her every way they could, revealing the identities of many of the Lewisburg people mentioned in Hettie May's journals. Handford made new friends, including some who showed her the cemetery where Hettie May's mother is buried. She found pictures and documents, and even talked to a man who, as a small boy, was mentioned in Hettie May's journals.

Handford closes her own trip journal with a quote from Hettie May:

"8:30 a.m. on our way home. Hated to leave them all especially Aunt Anna, she is so dear and sweet. They all make us feel so welcome and seem to enjoy having us." (Friday, Oct. 22. 1937)

"My feelings, exactly, Mrs. Loggins," added Handford.

She plans to be back this fall for more research, and to help reclaim the Ewing family cemetery, where many of Hettie May's family are buried, including her mother.