stillisstillmoving.com

The Hill County Courthouse burned down in 1993, but devastated townspeople had a friend in Willie Nelson, who did his part to ensure the building’s restoration.

www.cleburnetimesreview.com
by John Watson

Willie Nelson has authored of generations worth of country’s best-known songs and melodies, including ‘Funny How Time Slips Away’ (recorded by Billy Walker), ‘Hello Walls’ (recorded Faron Young), ‘Pretty Paper’ (recorded by Roy Orbison) and “Crazy” (a Patsy Cline hit).

He is internationally known, admired and loved.

Any tale about this genuine American legend has to start (and maybe end) in the Texas Hill Country.

Willie Nelson was born April 30, 1933, in Cleburne. His mother left when he was 6 months old and his dad left a few years later. Willie and his sister, Bobbie, were raised by their paternal grandparents William Alfred and Nancy Elizabeth Nelson in Abbott. Abbott is a half mile east of Interstate 35 and 10 miles south of Hillsboro.  

Willie’s grandparents gave him mail-order music lessons starting when he was 6, and he wrote his first song when he was 7. Willie played the guitar and Bobbie played the piano.

Willie graduated from Abbott High School in 1951 and joined the Air Force the same year but was discharged nine months later because of back problems. He then went to Baylor and studied agriculture for a year in 1954.

Some claim that it is against the law in Texas to mention Abbott without also mentioning that it is Willie Nelson’s hometown.

In the 50-plus years since graduation Willie has spent much of his time traveling around the United States and several foreign countries with his music. However, his roots have always remained in Hill County.

On the night of Jan. 1, 1993, the Hill County Courthouse caught fire, and firefighters from more than 15 companies could not save it. The grand clock tower, the roof, and the third floor collapsed as onlookers cried. An important part of Hill County history went up in smoke. Only a shell of a building remained.

Shortly after the fire Willie came to town and held an impromptu fundraising concert.

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In July 2006, Willie and Bobbie Nelson performed at the Abbott Methodist Church to celebrate its reopening. Willie purchased the church and a general store in the small town north of Waco on Interstate 35, where he and sister Bobbie grew up. (Photo courtesy of Janis Tillerson)

by:  Fred Afflerbach

www.tdtnews.com

ABBOTT – Almost four years ago, country music legend Willie Nelson and sister Bobbie returned to their childhood church to perform at Sunday services.  With Bobbie seated at the grand piano and Willie on vocals, the brother and sister duo asked the enduring question, “Will the circle be unbroken?” 

The Nelsons were celebrating the reopening of their beloved Abbott Methodist Church.

Just a few months before this service, the small congregation at the 100-year-old wood frame building where the Nelsons sang and worshipped as kids held a closing ceremony called “End of an Era.”

Church attendance had dwindled to just a handful. The few remaining members planned to close the congregation and sell the church to an entrepreneur, who would haul it away, leaving an empty lot where so many special memories were born.

But when Nelson’s boyhood friend, Donald Reed, learned the church was up for sale he immediately telephoned Willie.

To read the rest of the article, you can pick up a copy of the Temple Daily Times, or for info on how you can read the entire article online:
http://www.tdtnews.com/story/2010/4/5/65310