Credit Lake

Jayton, Texas

There is a pond in Jayton, located between downtown and the public school. Strangers hearing the locals talk about Credit Lake often ask how it got its name. Here’s what we were told.

The fifties in West Texas were, as the author, Elmer Kelton, said, “The time it never rained.” Jayton’s banker lived on the other side of the pond and walked to the bank every morning. He went by the pond again on the way home at night.

It is said the farmers named the pond. They learned that the banker looked at the pond every day and if it had water in it, they got a loan to farm that year. If the pond was dry, no credit at the bank.

Thus, to this day, the pond is called Credit Lake.

Almost every boy in Jayton learned to swim in Credit Lake, as there were no swimming pools. It was brown muddy water, but young boys don’t care.

In the winter when Credit Lake froze, that was where the kids skated. Nobody had ice skates, but if you ran and jumped on the ice, you could glide several feet, that is, if you didn’t fall.

One winter there was snow on the ground and ice on Credit Lake. One of the kids found an old hood to a Plymouth car. He tied a rope on it, the boys piled on, and he pulled it with his dad’s old car. When he got to the pond he would turn sharply and release the rope, the hood of the car loaded with boys would go spinning across the ice, usually dumping several. We considered that great fun.

Then the boy decided the ice was thick enough and drove out on it in the car. He could get up speed, turn the wheel, and do circles or slide sideways, that is, until he stopped in the middle. There was a cracking sound and the boys that were in the car jumped out, including the driver, and ran to safety. The boys who were riding on the hood of the car were close behind. They stood on the bank and watched in total dismay as the car started slowly sinking until only the top of the car could be seen.

His daddy pulled the car out of Credit Lake with a tractor as soon as the ice melted. However, the next day at school, the boy grimaced every time he sat down, but he learned a very valuable lesson, never drive on the ice of Credit Lake. In fact, it was several months before he got to drive again.

There have been improvements to Credit Lake now, making it a park area. It has been stocked with fish and at times people bring fish in and turn them loose for the kids to catch. One afternoon, I was driving by Credit Lake and saw a boy about 7 or 8 running down the street toward home. He had a huge fish clutched in his arms holding it across his chest. His Zebco rod and reel were dragging along behind and his dog was chasing the boy barking in excitement. The smile on the kid’s face was a mile wide. I expect that family had fish for supper than night.

Life is not always dull in a rural West Texas town, and it’s a great place to raise kids.