Cook Wanted - 1921

It doesn‘t pay much, but...

When the La Harmonia Company was in operation in the Castolon area from 1919 into the 1950’s, the company operated a small café, or “mess” as they called it, for the salaried employees and their families. Finding and retaining cooks for the café was a constant struggle—they had at least five different ones during the first 18 months of operations.

In October 1921, Wayne Cartledge, general manager of La Harmonia Company, wrote the following letter to Mr. Alex Ebner in El Paso. Mr. Ebner apparently had placed a “cook position wanted” ad in the El Paso Times.

Dear Sir;

We note your add in Times for work as cook. We run an irrigated farm and store and are situated on the river fifteen miles south of Terlingua. Want plant farm cooking for six white people and pay $35.00 per month and board. The salary does not sound high but when you consider the class of work and also the fact that there is nothing to spend your money for except an occasional bottle of beer or cognac, it is not bad. You can save practically all of it. If interested please write us by return mail or hand our letter to some one who might be interested.

As far as can be determined, Mr. Ebner did not apply for the job.

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Letter from Wayne Cartledge Collection, Archives of the Big Bend at Sul Ross University. Researched and compiled by park volunteer Bob Wirt.