DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker says about Maggie and Herod 'Pap' Simpson, out of Archer County. Now, 1890 was a busy year in that corner of Texas. The town of Holliday was officially organized near Holliday Creek — platted out, proper.
The Wichita Valley Railway came through, a post office opened up, and civilization, such as it is, set down roots. That same year, Maggie Elizabeth Holt and a man known as H.W. Simpson got married in Archer County.
And before long they had a son — Herod Michael Simpson, born August 1, 1892. Now here's where the story takes a turn. In 1894, H.W.
Simpson rode out with a crew to drive cattle all the way up to Dodge City, Kansas. And he was never heard from again. Just... gone.
No word. No letter. Nothing.
The plains are wide and history keeps its secrets, and that's all the marker tells us. What the marker does tell us is what Maggie did next. She stayed.
She stayed in Holliday, and she worked, and she waited on nobody. In 1907 — thirteen years after H.W. rode north and vanished — Maggie Simpson purchased a hotel. She owned it.
She managed it. And she kept right on doing both until the day she died, June 18, 1946. Her son, Herod M.
Simpson — the boy folks would come to call Pap — died on January 23, 1963. Both of them are interred at Holliday Cemetery, right there in the town his mother refused to leave. Some people disappear from a story.
Maggie Simpson became one.
What the marker says
The town of Holliday was officially organized near Holliday Creek in 1890, when the city was platted. The Wichita Valley Railway was built through the area, and a post office was established. In that same year, Maggie Elizabeth Holt and H.W. Simpson were married in Archer County. Herod Michael Simpson was born to the couple on August 1, 1892. In 1894, H.W. Simpson left with a crew to drive cattle to Dodge City, Kansas, and was never heard from again. Maggie Simpson remained in Holliday, where in 1907 she purchased a hotel, which she owned and managed until her death on June 18, 1946. Herod M. Simpson died on January 23, 1963. Both were interred at Holliday Cemetery. (2009)