Ed and Lettie had three children, Myrtle, Talbot and Clarence. They schooled in small community classrooms like the Morriss Ranch and elsewhere, but once grown, went to high school in Rocksprings. “They had a house they lived in and Myrtle did the cooking.” In 1932, Ed built Garven’s Store on his ranch along Hwy. 41 for his son, Billy said, while he continued his ranching interests. Hwy. 41 was built after it was proposed in 1919 as a route from Del Rio to Rocksprings, Kerrville and Boerne. By 1933, it was shortened, originating in Del Rio and ending at Mountain Home (near I-10). In 1951, the western end was incorporated into U.S. 377, and it now boasts only 50.5 miles.

Ed’s dreams for his son operating the store vanished when Clarence left in 1933. Lettie took over and ran it with Gene Roberts, a ranch hand. Ed died nine years later. Clarence moved the old Garven house onto his own property and lived there. It is located down Hwy. 41 heading to Rocksprings. That home was rebuilt from material taken in Rocksprings, where it was first built. “Around 1925, when they had that big tornado that killed a lot of people, the only thing left there was lots of lumber laying around,” Billy said. “The house is made up of lots of different types of wood, and I think they used some of it to build this house.” Myrtle married George “Bill” Dowdy, whose father, also named George, was one of the children who survived the massacre in 1878.