Changes

| death_date=December 27, 1989 (aged 91)

| death_date=December 27, 1989 (aged 91)

| death_place=Claude, Armstrong County, Texas​

| death_place=Claude, Armstrong County, Texas​

|spouse= Eleanor Aloe Morris Blasingame (married 1933-1989 (his death)​

|spouse= Eleanor Aloe Morris Blasingame (married 1933-1989, his death)​<br>

|children=Thomas White Blasingame<br>​

Thomas White Blasingame<br>​

Nancy B. Etheridge​

Nancy B. Etheridge​

|footnotes='''Notes''':<br>

|footnotes='''Notes''':<br>

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==Background==

==Background==

Born in Waxahachie in Ellis County, south of [[Dallas]], Blasingame decided as a child that he would work on a ranch. In 1918, he headed to the [[Texas Panhandle]] and was hired on the large JA spread, which had been jointly established in the Palo Duro Canyon by [[John George Adair]] and [[Charles Goodnight]] (1836–1929), probably the best-known of Texas ranchers.<ref name=PPHM>Exhibit at the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum in Canyon, Texas.</ref>​

Born in Waxahachie in Ellis County, south of [[Dallas]], Blasingame decided as a child that he would work on a ranch. In 1918, he headed to the Texas Panhandle and was hired on the large JA spread, which had been jointly established in the Palo Duro Canyon by [[John George Adair]] and Charles Goodnight (1836–1929), probably the best-known of Texas ranchers.<ref name=PPHM>Exhibit at the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum in Canyon, Texas.</ref>​

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==Ranching experiences==​

==Ranching experiences==​

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Before he settled permanently at the JA, Blasingame worked for a time on ranches in [[California]], [[Arizona]], and [[New Mexico]]. Blasingame said that he moved about during the 1920s so that he could see the country. Working for different ranches was the only way a poor man could travel, he said. He described life on the ranch accordingly:​

Before he settled permanently at the JA, Blasingame worked for a time on ranches in [[California]], [[Arizona]], and [[New Mexico]]. Blasingame said that he moved about during the 1920s so that he could see the country. Working for different ranches was the only way a poor man could travel, he said. He described life on the ranch accordingly:​

<blockquote>

<blockquote>

We lived outside all the time. We had our bedrolls rolled up in a tarp. If it was raining, we'd just cover up with our tarps and sit there.  We'd bathe in the river. It was pretty cold sometimes. We lived on [[beef]] and pinto beans. The meat kept fine outdoors. It was a lot better than this Frigidaire meat, you bet. Down on the desert outfits, they made lots of jerky. I'd eat it with biscuits if they was good, or I'd just eat it straight. You didn't have many good bread cooks out in the camp. In the wintertime, we'd have them steaks for breakfas], and gravy. It was a pack outfit, so you didn't get eggs or anything like that.  It had to be stuff you could pack, but I never got tired of eating the same thing all the time."<ref name=ranches/></blockquote>​

We lived outside all the time. We had our bedrolls rolled up in a tarp. If it was raining, we'd just cover up with our tarps and sit there.  We'd bathe in the river. It was pretty cold sometimes. We lived on [[beef]] and pinto beans. The meat kept fine outdoors. It was a lot better than this Frigidaire meat, you bet. Down on the desert outfits, they made lots of jerky. I'd eat it with biscuits if they was good, or I'd just eat it straight. You didn't have many good bread cooks out in the camp. In the wintertime, we'd have them steaks for breakfas], and gravy. It was a pack outfit, so you didn't get eggs or anything like that.  It had to be stuff you could pack, but I never got tired of eating the same thing all the time."<ref name=ranches/></blockquote>​