All Forney Dances as Town at Last is Pulled Out of Mud
Gap Is Made Thing of Past by New Road That Skirts It
Dallas Morning News
Saturday, 26 September 1931
Staff Special to The News
FORNEY, Texas, Sept. 25 – Visitors from west and east came in on a paved highway that skirts around the infamous old Forney gap and joined in a celebration Friday night on the streets of the town.
It was a public rejoicing at the success at the end of a long campaign to “pull Forney out of the mud.” Forney and Terrell arranged the watermelon feast and street dance in the town that has had a black name among automobile travelers all over the country, and there were several carloads of Dallas well-wishers in the lot of several hundred that turned out.
Dozens of frosted melons were sliced on long tables along Forney’s main street, from which travel was roped off, almost before dark fell. Home folks and visitors buried their faces in the red slices at spells for an hour and then there were speeches of thanksgiving before the street dance of celebration was started, to the tune of a negro jazz band.
The road that has been opened is eleven miles of the Dixie Highway, busy as a city street from Dallas east since the oil boom began, and connects as a short cut from Dallas County and Kaufman County ends of previously paved stretches, eliminating the long-dreaded Forney gap, which was rough and choppy at best, almost impassable in wet weather and punctuated along its stretch through the river bottoms with rattling one-way bridges.
It shortens the distance by 1.3 miles and for the Dixie Highway east from Dallas reduces the driving time many minutes.
Appreciation Expressed.
Appreciation of the job, which was completed under the bossing of W.F. Bass, resident engineer, was expressed on the part of the three towns nearest along the route that have worked long for the paved stretch. N.A. Haynes, long in business in Forney, spoke the home town’s thanks; W.H. Barnes, Terrell’s and J. Ben Critz, of the Dallas Chamber of Commerce, that town’s gratification.
Mr. Barnes lived in Forney at the time the movement to call on the Highway Commission for the work was started four years ago at a meeting of the Forney Lions Club, and was one of the leaders of the campaign which Forney has waged to remove from the town the taint of “that place where the road is so bad.”
The East Texas Chamber of Commerce’s gladness at improving the road to and from its area was expressed by Glen D. Davis of Dallas, and Congressman Morgan Sanders, whose home is Canton, county seat of Van Zandt County, told of the continuance of good highway building eastward. He announced the rerouting of travel through the regular Wills Point-Tyler road “and it will not be reopened,” said the Congressman, “until it is paved all the way.”
Ends in Pavement Dancing.
The engineer of the job told of the straightening of the new route, changing from the old road, which was through Mesquite, because construction cost was cut $190,000. A spur from the straightened road now cuts out and connects through Mesquite, overpassing the Texas & Pacific Railroad just east of town.
B.B. Hulsey, chairman of the steering committee of the celebration, acted as toastmaster of ceremonies, and introduced from among the visitors R.A. Thompson, consulting highway engineer for the Dallas Chamber of Commerce; Charles Ashworth, who was Kaufman County Judge when the project was begun; Ben Brooks, now County Judge; Commissioner Sol Eudy, Commissioner Sam Lagow, Mayor Henry Campbell of Forney; Major Joe Davis of Terrell and Dr. P.C. Shands, president of the Forney Lions Club, then called for brief talks from W.W. Gibbard of Dallas; County Tax Collector John H. Cullom; once-Mayor J. Waddy Tate, and Fred Massingale, Terrell editor.
The crowd for the speeches had been assembled as a concert was played by the Terrell Municipal Band. Musical numbers in the program also were given by Mrs. George Taylor and Mrs. Jacob Shrodt of Terrell.
And then they all danced on the new paving until far, far into the night.
Note: More about the Dixie Overland Highway here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dixie_Overland_Highway
