Marble Falls’ Euda Raley, 102, has the story of the century

DANIEL CLIFTON • PICAYUNE EDITOR

MARBLE FALLS — Euda Raley’s grin and laugh show a person who loves life and looks forward to every day. And, why not? On March 29, she celebrated her 37,230th day on Earth (give or take a few Leap Days).

“Yeah, sometimes, I’m not sure why I’m still here, but I just guess the good Lord still has plans for me,” she said, sitting in her Marble Falls home just off Lake Marble Falls. Though she’s lived in this home since the 1990s, one would have to follow a path back through West Texas, San Francisco, a remote Alberta, Canada, town and Oklahoma to get to the start of her life and the heart of her story.

At 102 years, Raley has seen and experienced a lot. And, she did most of it before anybody had a clue what texting or Facebook was or would be.

She even watched her aunt stare down a group of Ku Klux Klan members and send them running.

Born March 29, 1912, in a small Oklahoma town of Loco, Raley found herself growing up during some of the country’s most challenging and tumultuous times. Her parents held off the impacts to the Dust Bowl, but also managed to feed the family. Her dad even kept peanut butter and other staples in a food cellar “just in case of a tornado.”

The family raised most of their own food.

“We always had a garden,” Raley said. “We even had one in the winter.”

She explained how her dad would make the garden and cover it with a glass structure so he could raise vegetables during the winter.

“It was like an early greenhouse,” said Carolyn Edwards, Euda’s daughter.

“Yeah, I guess so,” Eula responded.

Euda’s story could go in hundreds, if not thousands, of directions. But there are definitely some things that stand out. She recalled how her family attended a church that wasn’t much more than an outdoor arbor. But, for some reason, local members of the Ku Klux Klan didn’t like them worshipping either how or where they did. So they’d come around every now and then wearing their white robes and scare off parishioners.

But, one day, her aunt had just about enough of those men.

“My aunt, well, she was a pretty strong woman, and they didn’t like that,” Euda said. “One day, they came around, and she met them with a gun. And, she took a shot at them. I don’t think she hit any of them, but you talk about white robes running.”

Euda laughs as she recalled seeing her aunt standing up to those Ku Klux Klan members.

Maybe that’s part of where Euda learned to handle just about anything life could throw at her and keep smiling and laughing.

After marrying Frank Raley and having two children, Carolyn and Bud, the family found themselves heading north for Canada during World War II. Well, Frank headed north first to a small frontier town in the northern reaches of Alberta. He worked for an oil company, and they needed him in Canada.

The family joined him later. Now, this was well before modern airlines, or just about any airlines. So the trip from Oklahoma was more of an adventure than a move.

“She took a train with two kids from Oklahoma to Canada,” Carolyn said. “Can you imagine?”

Life in Canada was, well, rustic. At one point, they lived in a community with no roads connecting to nearby towns. And trappers still rolled in from the wilderness, with their sled dogs, looking to sell and trade their furs. And what an entrance they made.

“When they came in, usually around Christmas, they would get a bottle and then go knock on every door in town,” Euda said. “They would expect everybody to take a drink, even the kids. Of course, we would just tip it back.”

Eventually, the family found themselves in the San Francisco area after Frank landed a job working on submarines. As a child herself, Carolyn played in the very same patch of land that would come to be known as Candlestick Park. The family stayed in the area until the end of World War II and looked as if they were going to remain Californians. But when Euda’s brother Richard returned from the service, he thought he could get a job in Oklahoma. So, instead of sending Richard back to Oklahoma on his own, the family loaded up with him and delivered him to the Sooner State.

But along with finding Richard a job, Euda’s father told her husband he could probably get on with one of the oil companies. And he did, but in the West Texas town of Kermit.

That’s where the family lived for many years. But Euda’s adventures weren’t over. In fact, the family’s love for the outdoors was growing. The Raleys became regular campers, often heading for Colorado or the Highland Lakes.

And Euda developed a reputation as a camper who could and would help others in a pinch. If somebody needed a tool, Eula probably had one to offer. She could fix things and find things.

Places such as Beaver Creek and Lake City in Colorado remain some of her favorite spots. But during their early years, it wasn’t hard to find a campsite. You often just pulled over and pitched a tent along the side of the road.

Frank and Euda eventually bought a recreational vehicle that they drove all around — with her driving and Frank directing with the map in his hands.

On a family trip to the Highland Lakes, it was common to stop at Pinky’s, a grocery store in Llano (it has since closed) for supplies. During one stop, the couple put their name on a piece of paper, dropped it in a box for a chance at a piece of property in the Blue Lake area (it was just beginning to be developed). And who’s name got drawn? The Raleys.

For several years, they managed to make the drive from West Texas to their Blue Lake property, but, after Frank retired, he and Euda settled in the Highland Lakes. And they remained until Frank’s death. Euda did eventually move, from her and Frank’s house to her current one.

Despite her 102 years, Euda stays active and busy.

“She still does a lot of things, and she’s good at so many things,” Carolyn said. “She still does have some skills.”

Euda laughs at the compliment.

“Oh, they’re not as good as they used to be,” she said.

“But you still have them,” Carolyn added.

Euda hasn’t camped much, especially since Frank’s passing (she tried driving the RV, but, without her husband sitting next to her with the map, it just wasn’t the same thing), but she still recalls those days. Besides, most of her family, from great-great-grandchildren to her daughter and son-in-law, is right here in the Highland Lakes. A few have scattered to places such as Florida and Washington, D.C., but most call the Highland Lakes home.

Even in her own neighborhood, she’s surrounded by friends.

“I think I’m settled in here,” Euda said with a grin. “Yeah, I think I’ll stay.”

daniel@thepicayune.com