William L. Cude
5.5 linear feet
A2005-025
1890-1945 (unknown)
William Leslie Cude, 1917-2004, was the son of William Cude and Anna Williamson and lived in the Viggo Community near Beeville, Texas. He was involved in vocational agriculture and quickly became known for his activities in Bee County. In 1933, he won election to the American Farmers degree, which is the highest award in Future Farmers of America (FFA). In 1934, he became the president of the Texas chapter of FFA and then in 1936 became the president of the Texas Gold Key Group, an affiliate of FFA. He married Mary Nancy Chestnutt in 1941. They had two children, Kay who was born in 1945 and Catherine born in 1952. Cude owned a farm in Bee County during the second half of the 20th Century. During this time, he was instrumental in getting the Bee County government to repair rural roads and establish a unified county road system. This ultimately took the responsibility away from the individual precinct commissioners and pooled the county's resources under the direction of a professional road administrator. He never sought public office, and he rarely involved himself in politics, but he worked hard at the projects he undertook. Many people in the county considered him "a humble sort" and selected him as the "1984 Newsmaker of the Year" for his efforts on fixing the rural roads. In 1978, The Bee County Junior Livestock and Homemakers Show dedicated their catalogue to him. He was also a charter member of the Texas Association of Future Farmers of America and strongly advocated for continued education. He was an exhibitor at the first Future farmers of America calf show held in Beeville. He also served as an officer of the organization locally and at the state level. He served as president of the Bee County Farm Bureau and was a strong supporter of the Bee County Junior Livestock and Homemakers Show.
Materials include financial and bank records from the family farm. Also included is a rough draft of "Bill Cude: We Remember," book which includes obituary and biographical information, a scrapbook entitled "Learning by Doing: National Defense Training Project, Beeville High School, Farm Mechanics and Elementary Electricity", and a second scrapbook of ephemera for William Cude which was digitized, then returned to the donor at her request.
The collection consists two series: Series I: Book/Scrapbooks Sub-Series A: Photos - "Bill Cude: We Remember ..." Sub-Series B: Photos - “National Defense Training Project“ Sub-Series C: Photos – Scrapbook Series II: Business Records Sub-Series A: Financial Records Sub-Series B: Bank Statements Sub-Series C: Anna/Mary Nancy Finance/Bank Materials Sub-Series D: Income Tax Materials Sub-Series E: Family Farm Materials
South Texas Archives, James C. Jernigan Library, Texas A&M University-Kingsville
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William L. Cude Family Collection, A2005-025.XXXX - South Texas Archives, James C. Jernigan Library, Texas A&M University-Kingsville
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A2005-025 – Gift of Kay Past
A1995-015 is currently being processed by the entire department of the South Texas Archives; Finding Aid was created and EAD document encoded by Daniel Thacker in January of 2019.