13th Annual Moody Cotton Harvest Festival

18. Sep, 2012 0 Comments

Date: Saturday Sept. 22, 2012
Location: Downtown Moody, TX on Ave. E.

Festival Parade:10:00 AM
Hours 10:00 AM. to 11:00 PM
Admission and Parking FREE, Includes parade, presentations to the Grand Marshall, pie contest and auction, on stage musical entertainment until 11:00 pm, Water Wars, Carnival Rides and games, a lot of activities for all ages, arts, crafts and food vendors.

Bands performing: Red Dirt Ramblers, Michael Carabelli, Wes Perryman Band, Lone Star Gypsy, Wally West and Them Lost Bound Souls.

Catfish Dinner dinner Sponsored by The Moody Chamber of Commerce,
will be held at Moody Elementary School cafeteria, on N. Ave E.
Hours 5:00PM – 7:00 PM.
Advance Ticket sales price $8.00 adult and $5.00 for the kids..
at the gate adults will be $9.00. ..so buy early
Phone: 254-366-8603 or 254/853-9476. info@moodycottonharvestfestival.org
The annual noon meal will be served to our Military who performs in the Moody Cotton Harvest Festival Parade.
Parade /vendors forms: Moody Chamber of Commerce: http://www.moodytexas.com click on Cotton Festival link. Expected attendance: 5,000 more or less.
Location: Intersection of State Highway 317 and Farm Road 107. Or located 6.8 miles west of exit 315 IH-35.
The city of Moody was founded in 1881.

Joyce Elaine Woods Cox, daughter of Omer C. and Angero Susan Lee Woods was born near Mother Neff State Park. Joyce comes from a long line of Texas ancestors and is considered an Original Texan through her Knowles line that arrived in Texas in 1830. Her great grandparents on the maternal & paternal sides were all in the Moody area from the 1800’s. The Lee family settled on the Leon River which is known as Lee Bottom and/or Horseshoe Bend. The Lee’s are all buried at Buckhorn and Eagle Springs Cemeteries, the Woods are buried at Post Oak Cemetery close to Oglesby, TX, and Comanche Springs Cemetery which is between Moody and McGregor. Joyce graduated from Moody High School in 1949. She picked cotton in her younger years around Moody. According to history there were 5 cotton gins in and around Moody. Her grandfather, Cleveland Woods, operated the Whitson Gin west of Moody in the 30′s which was owned by Dr. E. R. McCauley. The Jones Gin was established in the 1890’s. It was later sold and known as Vandiver Gin. It was the last and only operating gin in McLennan County for many years. According to Hazel Alexander Potter, who was her historian mentor, the oldest gin in Moody was known as “Old Teaser”. She married Charles R. Cox in 1949 at the family home in Moody. They raised all 4 of their children, Charles D., Gayla, Susan, and Dennis in Temple, Bell Co., TX. Joyce is a proud grandmother of 4 grandchildren and 5 great grandchildren. She also attended Temple Junior College in Temple, TX. Joyce and Charles loved the Moody area, it was always “home” and, because of that, they purchased a farm west of Moody on the historic Stampede Creek. Historians also talked about a gin located on this property. Joyce’s husband Charles, and son Dudley, have found remnants of the old gin. They lived on this property for over 28 years. Charles passed away in 1995 and Joyce chose to stay on in Moody where she was very active in the community. In 1999, she was one of the volunteers who developed a Cotton Harvest Festival Committee to promote the town of Moody. She served on the Moody Community Library board for several years, which was instrumental in facilitating many improvements and restorations to the library during this time. For instance, she was excited to see the first computers installed with fiber optic cable and internet. With her computer and internet experience she taught basic computing. They found much needed shelf space with the many new donated bookshelves. New central air/heat and security were installed. During this time the adjacent building was bought and remodeled to become a wonderful addition to the library. A new space was added for a museum that showcases the old printing press and has many other interesting parts of Moody history. The library also sold “Memorial” bricks that now line the sidewalk at the front of the building. It was exciting to see the old building restored back to its natural setting. This building dates back to the days of its early settlers. The Cormany Hotel was built in 1907 which was a part of these original buildings. The old Moody Depot was donated and moved to Temple in 1976 where it became the Railroad and Pioneer Museum. Shortly afterwards, The Moody Courier printing press and artifacts were donated to the museum. Brought back home on August 18, 1999, the printing press and related artifacts were returned to the building from which they came. Joyce was delighted to be a part of the history when she covered the story with photographs of The Moody Courier Printing Press. The building that held the Moody Courier from 1938 to 1968 is now part of the Moody Community Library.
She worked tirelessly promoting the Festival and the town of Moody utilizing their web sites, writing articles for the newspapers and other media coverage. She always had her camera with her and provided many photographs for the festival and Moody happenings. Some historical stories:The History of Moody, Moody Depot, Mother Neff State Park, Stampede Creek History and Historical Marker Dedication, Paul Alexander “Real Son”, Baugh Mansion, Haunted Hill, Eagle Springs and Eagle Springs Historic Baptist Church, Perry Cemetery, Masonic Lodge #568, Naler Cemetery, Moody Drug (which was the Oldest Drug Store in Texas), Tick Hill School, Lee Bottom-Horse Shoe Bend and the high swinging suspension foot bridge across the Leon River, The Old Chisholm Trail, Horse Creek, Cornhill Road, Wagon Trails, Buckhorn, Moody Leon, Willow Grove, The Grove and Museum plus many more. Joyce worked for WacoTribune-Herald for 22 years until retiring. After her husband’s death and with printing experience, her interests grew bringing forth the history of Moody communities. One was a story of the Moody Courier; founded in 1882 by Squire Hundley. During her research an interesting fact was uncovered of an owner that had never shown up in the history of the Courier by the name of M. J. “Mary Jane” Cox. Joyce worked at the old historical paper and Hometown News. She received a Texas Press Association Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Journalism in Photography for her picture of the tornado that passed through Moody which was classified an F-5 tornado when it destroyed much of Jarrell, Texas and killed 27 people on May 27, 1997. Joyce has compiled several books about Moody. The first one was titled, “Moody, Texas 1881 – 2002 Editors, Proprietors of Newspapers and Moody Web Site, News – Events.” She also compiled a book in 1999, “1949ers Celebrate 50th Reunion at Moody High School”. The most recent is her compilation of the history of the Cotton Harvest Festival presented during the Grand Opening of Cotton Harvest Festival and Moody Chamber of Commerce Community Building on May 26, 2012. This was dedicated to the Cotton Harvest Festival Committee, Moody Chamber of Commerce, City of Moody and the Moody Community. Joyce was honored to cut the ribbon of the new facility. Joyce has such love and pride in her hometown. This is a community that strives to make itself better. She loves the town history, especially the coming of the railroad that was instrumental in establishing the town of Moody in 1881 and boosted the successful cotton industry. Joyce enjoys being historian of Moody, Texas and continues getting information, old photos, and learning more about Moody history. The history is updated periodically through Moody Chamber of Commerce web site (our town link): www.moodytexas.com She is a member of the Moody Cotton Harvest Festival Committee, Moody Beautification Committee, Waco Tribune-Herald Alumni, Buckhorn Cemetery Association, past member of Mother Neff State Park Association, and Historic Eagle Springs Baptist Church Association. She is a member of Over Sixty Years Moody Bearcat Alumni who meets annually. One of their projects is to award several scholarships to Moody High School Seniors. Class of ’49 hosts this event each year. Additionally, she is a longtime member of Christ Episcopal Church in Temple, Texas.
Joyce is so honored to have been selected the 2012 Grand Marshall of the Moody Cotton Harvest Festival and the people of Moody, Texas.