MARY BETH LENAMON FIFE
Submitted by Frank Butcher, updated
May 11, 2007
Mary Beth was the oldest child of Bart and Kate
Lenamon and was possibly named after her great grandmother, Mary Elizabeth
Clancy Rutherford. Mary Beth always hungered for knowledge and wrote that “I
could hardly wait to read—I would prop myself up in a big chair on days the snow
was deep on the ground and read Bible stories all the way through. I would read
on the front porch until the sun went down, so much until it ruined my eyes.”
Commenting on Mary Beth’s love of reading, her cousin Colleen Clancy said Mary
Beth would beg and plead with her to spend the night. “Then when I came over,
she would get out a book and start to read. I knew then that she was going to
be a teacher. I told her that I wasn’t going to spend the night any more if she
wasn’t going to talk with me.” Mary Beth wrote that she taught herself to read
music and play simple hymns on an organ that looked like an upright piano. Kate
used homegrown produce to barter for 6 months of piano lessons for her daughter,
and according to Mary Beth “with this much help we spent many happy hours
singing and playing hymns.”
Mary Beth attended elementary school at Box Church, Texas, and graduated from
Groesbeck High School near the top of her class at the age of 16. She attended
Southern Methodist University for one semester and Southwest Texas State
Teachers College (now Texas State University) for one semester. Her bags were
packed for a return to TSU, when the Ben Hur school board president showed up at
Mary Beth’s door pleading with her to teach. Because money was tight, she
accepted—and at the age of 18, with one year of college experience, Mary Beth
was teaching sixth graders. While teaching in Ben Hur she met Haskell Fife, a
local farmer and rancher. After a whirlwind courtship of three months they were
married in December 1946. The wedding took place at Haskell’s parents’ home in
Ben Hur so that Haskell’s mom (who was in poor health) could participate in the
wedding. Mary Beth’s dad, Bart Lenamon, did not attend the wedding because he
had reservations about a 19 year-old marrying 32 year-old, and because he did
not think it proper for the wedding to be at the groom’s parents’ house.
Mary Beth worked as a housewife for five years and had two children (Linda and
David). She returned to school at Baylor University, and received a bachelor’s
degree in 1956, and a master’s degree in 1962. Mary Beth resumed teaching at the
fourth grade level in Mart, Texas when the Ben Hur School consolidated with Mart
schools. Mary Beth had a rugged schedule, balancing college studies with full
time teaching duties and the demands of young children and a husband. It is a
testimony to her character and ability that Mary Beth made excellent grades
under these very difficult conditions.
The home that Haskell and his brother James built in 1941 for their parents on
the family farm in Ben Hur became Mary Beth’s and Haskell’s home in 1954, but
burned to the ground on November 12, 1963. Valuable collections of silver
dollars and Fostoria crystal were lost and many irreplaceable photos burned.
The Fife family moved to Mart after this tragedy and thereafter Haskell
commuted to work on the farm. In Mart, Mary Beth’s house was a social hub where
frequent church parties, teas, showers, and family gatherings took place.
Neighbors referred to their spacious home at 203 North Pearl as the “Mart
Hilton” due to the constant influx of visitors. After Kate’s death, Mary Beth’s
house became the site for Lenamon family Christmas reunions.
Like her grandmother, Frances Rutherford Thomason, Mary Beth had a gift for
remembering names and connections of even distant relatives. She spent
considerable time at “Grannies” when she was growing up, and absorbed a lot of
family history. Mary Beth was the unofficial family historian and editor of the
Lenamon-Lenamond family newsletter. Family was everything for Mary Beth and
even as an in-law, she was the driving force behind many Fife family reunions.
Mary Beth also loved to attend theatrical productions, and was an active member
of the American Association of University Women in Waco.
Mary Beth was a very intelligent woman, and as a child had an independent and
boisterous spirit, often invoking the disapproval of her mother. In a
‘self-therapy’ letter written to her daughter Mary Beth lamented “Mother has
made it plain since I was very small that because I didn’t conform to her mold
of a gracious, polite, gentle, soft spoken, good figured person, I wasn’t really
acceptable.” Kate’s disapproval was a heavy burden that affected Mary Beth for
her entire life. In the same letter she wrote “I was reminded constantly of how
large I was – from the dinner table to the sewing machine. I had little
pleasure in that house for the first 16 years of my life except eating and
reading…My burning desire for years and years was to get away from home-and the
sooner the better - and at 16 I did!”
The later years of Mary Beth’s marriage to Haskell were somewhat stormy, mostly
caused by the difference in their educational backgrounds, and aggravated by
Mary Beth’s independent spirit. Nevertheless, they continued to love each other
and persevered in their marriage that lasted for 46 years until Mary Beth’s
death.
As one of the four children of Kate and Bart Lenamon, Mary Beth received a
quarter interest in the natural gas deposits beneath the old family farm near
Box Church when Kate died in 1983. For a long time Mary Beth had wanted to
retire from teaching, and this royalty income enabled her to quit work at the
age of 62. Gas royalties also enabled her to make an inspirational visit to the
Holy Land, and she enjoyed trips to Hawaii and Branson, Missouri with Haskell.
Mary Beth and Haskell used their newfound freedom to take grandchildren to
Disney World in Florida and Mary Beth vacationed with her daughter Linda and
husband Frank and their children, when Frank attended summer programs at
Princeton and Montana State University.
Mary Beth was a devout Christian lady and a pillar of the First Baptist Church
of Mart, taking leadership roles in almost every area of church service. She
sang in the sanctuary choir and had a beautiful voice that was often featured in
solos. Mary Beth was active in the McLennan Association Women’s Missionary
Union and was the Baptist Women’s president at the time of her death. Mary Beth
was generous to a fault, giving money and time to Christian activities and
causes. She sent regular donations and gifts to missionaries, and was
especially supportive of the Hospitality House in Huntsville (a ministry to
people visiting relatives in the state prison), Baylor University, and the
Hawaii Baptist Academy. Mary Beth is also remembered for a very distinctive and
infectious laugh that everyone enjoyed. Rudean Davis wrote about the first time
she met Mary Beth. “She knocked on our door one afternoon after school and
said, ‘I just had to come by and meet you’. You know how her voice had that
happy sound when she spoke.” Rudean’s son was in Mary Beth’s class and that day
had said to his teacher that if she would tell him how old she was, he would
tell her how old his Mama was. After describing the incident, Mary Beth laughed
and said, “I told myself I had to meet the mother of this child—I just know we
are going to be great friends”. “And we were”, Rudean wrote.
Letter writing was a passion with Mary Beth. When her daughter was going
through family files after Mary Beth’s death, she found letters to publishers,
congressmen, and senators, the president, state local officials, as well as
family and friends. The problems she addressed in her correspondence included
an opposition to abortion, fiscal responsibility of government, and opposition
to the New Age movement. Mary Beth was part of the “Dirty Thirty”, a group of
Mart teachers who challenged a decision by the local school board to give only
the football coaches a pay raise. This politically active group also addressed
other educational concerns, and Mary Beth’s active participation was in
character with her desire to translate her convictions into actions. At her
funeral, Pastor Bill Smith made the comment that Mary Beth had strong feelings
about political and religious issues, but unlike most people who are satisfied
to just complain, Mary Beth acted on her concerns.
Mary Beth was 5’, 8” tall and weighed about 150 pounds as a young lady,
increasing to about 220 pounds in middle age. She had dark brown (almost black)
eyes and brown hair. Mary Beth had very painful knee problems that began as
arthritis in her thirties. She eventually had two knee replacement operations
that were moderately successful. She also suffered from hypertension, and
experienced problems with congestive heart disease, but maintained an active
lifestyle. Mary Beth was being given a pedicure in the living room of her home
in the afternoon of April 20, 1993, when she suddenly complained of feeling
faint, and fell forward out of her chair onto the floor, unconscious. Medical
help was summoned from the clinic directly across the street, and was on the
scene within minutes. Nurses managed temporarily to restore her heartbeat, but
Mary Beth died in the ambulance without ever regaining consciousness. She was
65 years old and the cause of her death was listed as congestive heart failure.
In a tribute to Mary Beth, in 2003 Baylor University dedicated the Mary Beth
Lenamon-Fife Boathouse on their campus adjacent to the Brazos River. Mary
Beth’s grandson, Brad Butcher was a founder and first president of the Baylor
Crew, and her granddaughter, Elizabeth Butcher, was also active in the rowing
club.
Mary Beth was an excellent cook, carrying on in the tradition of the many good
cooks in the Lenamon family. Her family kidded Mary Beth that every dish she
cooked started off with two sticks of butter and a cup of sugar. She was
especially renowned for her sourdough bread, making 20+ loaves at Christmas to
give to friends and loved ones.
MARY BETH’S SOURDOUGH BREAD (As she wrote the recipe for the Lenamon Family
Cookbook);
STARTER:
Sprinkle 1 package of yeast in 1 cup of lukewarm water in a small plastic or
glass bowl. (A large Cool Whip container will do nicely). Allow to stand 5
minutes and add 3 heaping tablespoons of sugar, 3 heaping tablespoons of potato
flakes and 1 cup of flour. Beat until smooth. Cover with wax paper (loosely)
and leave at room temperature for 3-4 days. This ferments. Stir down several
times. Put into a large stainless or plastic bowl for step two.
STEP TWO:
Add to the starter 4 level tablespoons of potato flakes, 1/2 cup of sugar, 1 cup
of water and 1 cup of flour. Mix well and cover loosely, leaving it out of the
refrigerator for 10-12 hours (overnight or all day). Divide the mixture into
halves. If you don’t want to use both mixtures, and be through with it, you can
put half (loosely covered) in the refrigerator and continue with step three.
You can leave it in the refrigerator for 4 to 9 days.
STEP THREE:
Add 1/3 cup of sugar, 1 teaspoon of salt, 1/2 cup cooking oil, and 1-1/2 cups of
water. Mix well and add 5 or more cups sifted flour. This makes a stiff dough,
yet it is easy to knead. I don’t like to make cooking a chore, so I just stir
my dough with a spoon and let it rise (covered with wax paper) 8 to 10 hours (or
all day or all night). Turn out on a floured board or pastry sheet. Knead a
short time, then make the dough into loaves, round pones, or rolls. Put them in
well-greased pans (I use oleo). Let them rise uncovered for 3 to 4 hours or
until as desired. Place in a COLD oven. Bake 1 hour at 300 degrees. Turn out
on a rack to cool. Brush tops of hot bread with melted oleo. (I just keep a
stick ready and brush the stick on top).
It is easier to make up just half of the starter, but since I make up so much,
especially around Christmas, I usually make up 2 starters. In fact, I often
make 2 starters up and when I divide them, have 4 makings of bread. That is
almost too much, but then I run out of time as much as I run out of oven space.
The thing I love about this recipe is that you can make your own starter any
time you want.