The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 50, July 1946 - April, 1947 Page: 338
582 p. : ill. (some col.), maps ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Southwestern Historical Quarterly
too, the agriculture and the industries of the community were
able to take care of a great many of the local needs. The income,
however, was never sufficient to meet all the expenses of the
community. Some subsidization by the church in the North was
always necessary; this support came mainly from Farson's bond
business, the income from which went largely to the support of
the church and its colonies.
After the establishment of the community, everything which
could not be produced there was bought from J. L. Vandever,
credit merchant of Bullard, Texas; from him the settlers pur-
chased their clothing and such food as flour, sugar, lard, coffee,
and tea. He had Farson's personal guarantee for the payment
of all debts of the Metropolitan Institute. This unlimited credit
eventually proved the undoing of the whole project.
Every member of the community was allotted his task, and
nothing else was expected of him. It was originally thought
that with all the members working in the colony no other labor
should be required. This plan soon proved impractical. In 1914,
during a period of hard times in the neighborhood, the Burning
Bush needed help at the sawmill and hired persons to work
there, paying them in groceries. The organization had no ready
cash but could get any amount of groceries from Vandever on
credit. Somewhat later, when finances of the colony became
strained, some of the members were hired out to work in the
neighborhood. Such employment was entirely voluntary, but
all compensation for it went into the common fund.
Among the members of this Burning Bush colony were men
of all degrees of ability and training, from farm laborers to
professional men: surveyors and engineers, schoolteachers, mu-
sicians, and, of course, preachers. Harry L. Harvey and Carson,
the business managers, were both preachers; George W. Ham-
mer and a man named Clark occupied the pulpit from time
to time. There were also a number of artisans: leather and
metal workers (sheet iron stoves for use in the colony were
manufactured), a blacksmith, an electrician, and numerous
carpenters.
The most widespread occupation in the colony was agriculture.
The original settlers, all being from the North and in complete
ignorance of Southern farming methods, reaped poor harvests
from their fields the first year. In the fall of 1913, however,
there came to the farm a preacher named Clark, from Oklahoma,
who knew well the peculiarities of Southern farming. With his338
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 50, July 1946 - April, 1947, periodical, 1947; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101117/m1/413/: accessed April 28, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.