The sisters loved to travel around the country with the other women in their family, and later in life made it to Europe and Hawaii. If something in the house was broken, they were known to call on the young men in the family for help and catch a plane out of the state or the country until the problem was resolved. We love that the trunk came with its own hangers so as not to wrinkle their nicer clothes.

Ruth loved to garden and was an excellent seamstress. We have one of her sewing machines displayed with a pattern she used to make the dress on the mannequin. She made several dresses for herself and Florence and we have them in our collection.

This is one of several dresses throughout the home that Ruth made herself.

We know the girls loved fashion and we have their subscriptions to Vogue magazine, as well as decades of clothes, shoes, accessories, makeup, and perfume. This is the shell of a flapper dress Ruth wore in the 20s. She was incredibly trendy, stylish, and modern in her youth.

This is Ruth’s Beaumont High School Diploma and cap-and-gown photo from 1919. She later earned a bachelor’s degree in history in 1923 from Randolph Macon Women’s College in Virginia and a lifetime teaching certificate. Ruth was athletic in college - swimming, playing tennis, and she was the center forward on the field hockey team. After graduation, she attended UT Austin and obtained a master's degree in 1924.