4/26/07
Star Ranch descendant...Lazbuddie, Texas
By Darla Bracken fridarla19@yahoo.com
In one of the larger (50,000 acres or more) sales of XIT Ranch lands by the Capitol Freehold Land and Investment Company, Thomas Kelly of Kansas City, Kansas purchased 55,136 acres in 1902. The Syndicate deeded Mr. Kelly 16 leagues of land [4,428.4 acres in a square league]. An additional 10,240 acres were added to the tract by Andy L. Laird when he sold his land to Mr. Kelly. This land, 65,376 acres, then became the Star Ranch in 1902 and Andy L. Laird became the first foreman of the ranch.
Mr. Kelly built the Star Ranch Headquarters, an imposing structure, other outbuildings, corrals and windmills. Eventually the ranch would run thousands of cattle and have 30 windmills. In this area of the Llano Estacado, the windmills became landmarks that helped residents identify different areas and also supplied water for everyone. The cattle were driven on the hoof to market in Kansas City although prairie grass was supplemented with a railroad car of grain per day; and the ranch still made a profit!
One such windmill was called Red Tower, which also included a camp and a dugout. Residents gathered near these camps for both information and water. Eventually they built a school here in 1907 and the ‘traveling school’ was born. They would move the school nearest the families with young school age children so that they would not have to walk so far and then move it again when new families with children came. It was moved at least 4 times.
The headquarters became a community gathering place and many dances and picnics were held there. The Star Ranch was in operation until 1908 when Mr. Kelly then began to sell it off in smaller tracts of land.
In 1924, when D. Luther “Laz” Green of Vernon, Texas and Andrew “Buddie” Sherley purchased land in Parmer County and established a commissary in the area, Wayne Sherley suggested that they call it Lazbuddie. It soon became a general store and by May 4, 1926 Lazbuddie had a Post Office also located in the commissary; John H. Hennington was the first postmaster. Before rural electrification came in, it also had the only telephone in the community!
By 1930, three churches and another store had been added to Lazbuddie. The Lazbuddie Ladies Club organized in May 1926 and provided many recreational activities and improvements for the community. Some of their friendship quilts still survive today.
At the Cracker Box School they held quartet singing along with the preaching. Box suppers and quilting, horseshoes, games, 4th of July sack and relay races plus a community Christmas Tree with gifts for every child rounded out the fun for early citizens of Lazbuddie.
During the Depression, tent shows and medicine wagons came through with their special liniments and salves including Cloverleaf & Miss Poody’s. The tents and wagons would set up just across the street from the commissary in town. For 10 cents you could skate at the skating rink when it came to town or for 25 cents there was a silent picture show. By the 40s and 50s it was dominoes and Texas 42. Hunting area game: rabbits, coyotes, antelope has always been popular also.
The Lazbuddie Longhorns and the Lady Horns still provide much of the local excitement with the six-man football team and the basketball teams still attracting lots of attention. Today, Treider Electric and Hardware Store carries on in the tradition of the commissary and is well worth a trip to Lazbuddie according to Gladys Spring, chairman of the Parmer County Historical Commission. The Post Office is still housed in the original commissary store and the Longhorn Café is now on the web. Lazbuddie’s population in 1990 was 248.