The Record Newspapers - Hometown News For Orange County, Texas

Former Orange resident, Carrie Joiner Woliver, will be holding a reception from 4 to 6 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 8, at the Old Orange Café, 914 W. Division, to sign her newly published book, The Train Stopped in Orange.

Born and raised in Orange, Ms Woliver returns home with a non-fiction book based on the 1917-18 diaries of her grandparents, Will and Pearl Joiner, who raised their family on Pine Street from the early 1900’s to the late fifties. Their diaries provided a first-hand account of daily life that included many family visits, wartime stories, fishing forays, and buggy rides.

Says Pearl in her diary, “In the afternoon we took a long walk, took the buggy to Mama and Papa’s and let them have a nice ride.” Life was simpler then, of course, but not without challenges. Will contracted the infamous Spanish influenza in the winter of 1918, when millions died across the globe. Will survived to continue to provide for his young family.

The Joiners lived one block from the Southern Pacific Train Depot in 1917 which was always teeming with activity when the train stopped in Orange – thus the title of the book. Before automobiles, the trains provided transportation between towns.

These four precious diaries that Carrie Woliver uncovered in her mother’s effects provided such a treasure trove of history that she knew she had to write this book. In addition to the diary entries and history of her grandparents, Ms. Woliver shares many photos of old Orange and weathered clippings that local residents will enjoy seeing. Plus, she includes her childhood memories of growing up in Orange as part of the narrative. The 1950s, the time of poodle skirts and petticoats, Johnny Mathis and Elvis Presley, play prominently in the book.

A graduate of Stark High School in 1959, Ms. Woliver hopes to see many of her classmates who reside in Orange as well as local history buffs at the book signing and reception.