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Willie Mae Helena Braden
Willie Mae Helena Braden 1914-2001
Willie Mae Schwartz was the 16th child born to Joseph and Sophie Schwartz. She was born October 1, 1914 in Moravia, TX. It is said that her parents were past their prime of youth and obviously were very tired after their 16th child, so the rearing of the younger ones fell more or less into the hands of the older children. She remembers little of her older sisters and brothers.
When her sister Martha married in 1921, Willie Mae was very sad and cried most of the day because Martha was so much of a mother to her. She was only 7 years old. Her sister, Annie, was her "guardian" when she started school at Moravia. Willie Mae was shy and scared. Hilda and Willie Mae did the most playing together, but she too scared Willie Mae by playing "dead."
In the summer, the family bathed in the cistern house, which was located by the well. They had an old-time tin tub, shaped like a bathtub, in this house which served two purposes: The family rinsed their clothes in it and also used it for bathing.
Willie Mae attended Moravia School, and from 1932 to 1935 she attended Southwest Texas State Teachers College in San Marcos, Texas.
In 1935, Joe, Joseph, Sophie, and Willie Mae traveled to San Angelo, Texas, for a visit. They went to a Christmas Eve Midnight Mass at Sacred Heart Church in San Angelo. After Mass, Joe introduced Willie Mae to Harvey Braden.
The farm house
In the summer of 1937, Willie Mae trekked back up to San Angelo. She was dissatisfied with her teaching job and started working at Levine’s Department Store. During that time, she stayed with her Aunt Albina and Uncle Dick Loika.
Harvey Braden and Willie Mae started dating that summer. Harvey started farming the following year in 1938 on 80 acres he rented from his father.
Harvey and Willie Mae married at Sacred Heart Church in San Angelo on December 27, 1939. Between the two of them, they had $845 to live on the first year. They lived near Wall, Texas in an old wooden house that was on that farm. Harvey built a trailer for cotton and bought a few items for farming. In 1961, and six children later, they lost the house and all its contents in a tragic fire.
The new home on Hawk Avenue
With the help of good neighbors, relatives, friends and a carpenter, they managed to build another house on the same spot, and they lived in that same location all their married lives.
Willie Mae was an avid recycler, vegan, home remedy specialist, organic gardener, raw milk distributor, essential oils expert and proponent of many other current fads. She was confident in her beliefs regarding the environment and health.
Willie Mae's last act on this earth was tending her poppy seed garden. Harvey recalled that she walked to the end of the row, smiled at him and sat down just before losing consciousness to the massive stroke that took her life three days later. Willie Mae died on May 19, 2001, followed by Harvey on June 5, 2002.
