This week in Canton history...
CANTON HERALD, Jan. 12, 1950
Berry A. Mitchell, pioneer citizen, died at Home Sunday. Final Rites Monday: Berry A. Mitchell, age 73, affectionately known as Uncle Berry died Sunday morning, Jan. 8, 1950 at his home in Canton. (Unreadable) life began in the Mount Pisgah community south of Canton Aug. 28, 1876 as Berry A. Mitchell and grew up with (unreadable) and became the endearment of the plain Uncle Berry death to the thousands of people all over Texas who had loved him and shared in his life. It was announced from the pulpit of the First Baptist Church in Canton where he had been choir director for the past forty five years.
Frail, white haired Mrs. Virgil McWilliams, an arthritic victim for the past 36 years thinks she is “just about the most fortunate woman in Van Zandt County”. Her hands are gnarled and her swollen joints frequently are racked with sharp tabs of pain, but she radiates cheer to the hundreds of visitors who beat a path to her door. “My wealth” she says “is in friendships. Power women are more abundantly blessed.” The McWilliams home, where she and her husband have lived for about a half century, is on a wooded hill a mile east of Canton. Here she has been a shut-in for more than half her life. “My friends who come here to cheer me up,” she says “tell me that I’m the one who provided most of the cheer.” Mrs. McWilliams is 67 and is unable to leave her chair without assistance. A younger woman Miss Lois Knox has been her housekeeper and companion, for 17 years. The elderly woman that has little for idle time, she knits, embroideries, reads or listens to the radio. “My life” she observed “is rather full.” Her prize possession is her guest book which now contains more than 900 names. She has had visitors from more than 75 cities and 10 states and the Panama Canal Zone. She keeps up an active correspondence with more than 100 friends, scattered throughout the country. And despite her affliction she is remarkably adept with knitting and crochet needles. Occasionally she is lifted into a car for a fishing trip to a nearby stream. It is one of her favorite diversions. But she hasn’t been to Canton in years. “My friends, bless their hearts always seem glad to see me,” she explained. “and the first you know they’ve slapped me on my back. They don’t understand of course, but the pain is terrible. That’s why I stay away from crowds.” Newcomers to Canton though generally hear about Mrs. McWilliams before they’ve been in town long and pay her a visit: “Word gets around that friendships are my hobby” she says and there’s scarcely a day I don’t have visitors, “I love it”. Nearly all my old school mates and acquaintances keep in touch with me. They bring others out to see me and I am constantly enlarging my circle of friends. Not long ago a preacher came out to see me “we had a nice long visit’. Later he returned bringing another preacher. They told their congregation about it and as a result. I’ve added many new names to my friendship. Then I get a lot of enjoyment from the birds and the squirrels in the nearby woods who visit me quite often. The birds particularly, seem to know me. They seem to understand when I talk to them. Mr. and Mrs. McWilliams observed their 51st wedding anniversary on Christmas day. She has lived in Van Zandt County since she was 5 years old coming here from Robertson County. The couple had three children who died in infancy. She is a Baptist and never misses a sermon that she can get on her radio. “The Lord has brought me peace of heart and has taken away my worries, she says. “Life is pretty wonderful.”
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