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'''One son''':<br>
'''One son''':<br>
David Lee Potts<br>
David Lee Potts<br>
'''Parents'':<br>
'''Parents''':<br>
Ira Lee and Lillie Bell Holmes Hicks
Ira Lee and Lillie Bell Holmes Hicks
|footnotes='''Notes''':<br>
|footnotes='''Notes''':<br>
}}
}}
'''Myna Gayle Hicks Potts''' (born March 30, 1927) is an historical preservationist from Chillicothe in Hardeman County in west [[Texas]], who is the curator of the Medicine Mound Museum in the nearby ghost town of Medicine Mound. Only two buildings remain in the town. Medicine Mound has received non-profit status and has been placed in the domain of the Downtown Medicine Mound Preservation Group, a 501(c 3) public charity.<ref>Guidestar, Downtown Medicine Mound Preservation Group:http://www.guidestar.org/pqShowGsReport.do?partner=justgivews&ein=11-3788422</ref>
'''Myna Gayle Hicks Potts''' (born March 30, 1927) is an historical preservationist from Chillicothe in Hardeman County in west [[Texas]], who is the curator of the Medicine Mound Museum in the nearby ghost town of Medicine Mound. Only two buildings remain in the town. Medicine Mound has received non-profit status and has been placed in the domain of the Downtown Medicine Mound Preservation Group, a 501(c 3) public charity.<ref>Guidestar, Downtown Medicine Mound Preservation Group:http://www.guidestar.org/pqShowGsReport.do?partner=justgivews&ein=11-3788422</ref>
==Background==
Potts was the only daughter of five children of Ira Lee Hicks (1886–1966) and the former Lillie Bell Holmes (1892–1989), who are interred in Chillicothe. She was born in Bonita, an unincorporated community in Montague County northwest of [[Denton, Texas|Denton]]. The Pottses moved west of [[Wichita Falls]] to Medicine Mound in Hardeman County when Myna was still an [[infant]]. Ira Hicks and his brother-in-law, Lon Cobb (died 1942), operated the Hicks-Cobb General Store, since the museum which Potts oversees as the major focus of her historical preservation efforts.<ref name=statement>Statement of Myna Potts, September 18, 2008.</ref>
Potts attended elementary school in Medicine Mound and graduated from Quanah High School in Quanah named for the Comanche chief, Quanah Parker. She attended [[Texas Tech University]] in [[Lubbock]] for one year. Potts was married to John Luther Potts, Jr. (1922-2011), who retired from the Lykes Shipping Company of [[New Orleans]]. As a skipper in the [[merchant marine]], he was away from home in Chillicothe six months at a time, a situation which led Mrs. Potts to master the ham radio to maintain communication with her husband.<ref name=statement/> The couple had one son, David Lee Potts (born January 12, 1947).<ref>USGENWEB [[Archives]], [[Hardeman County, Texas]], Births 1947:http://files.usgwarchives.org/tx/hardeman/vitals/births/1947/hardeb47.txt</ref>
==Medicine Mounds==
==Medicine Mounds==
Medicine Mound is near four [[dolomite]] hills known as '''Medicine Mounds.''' which are considered sacred by the Comanche and Kiowa Indians who believe that the landmarks contain mystical spirits to improve the quality of their lives. The mounds are on private property and not available for public tours beyond an outer five-mile limit. One can see for approximately fifty miles from the top of the mounds.<ref name=memories>"Memories of the Mounds", website of Downtown Medicine Mound Preservation Group:http://www.medicinemound.com/themounds.htm</ref>
Medicine Mound is near four dolomite hills known as '''Medicine Mounds,''' which are considered sacred by the Comanche and Kiowa Indians who believe that the landmarks contain mystical spirits to improve the quality of their lives. The mounds are on private property and not available for public tours beyond an outer five-mile limit. One can see for approximately fifty miles from the top of the mounds.<ref name=memories>"Memories of the Mounds", website of Downtown Medicine Mound Preservation Group:http://www.medicinemound.com/themounds.htm</ref>
John A. Bates of Ferndale in Oakland County, near [[Detroit]], [[Michigan]], the former executive director of the Downtown Medicine Mound Preservation Group<ref>Texas Association of Museums website:http://www.museumsusa.org/directory/info/2314110</ref> and a cousin of Myna Potts, recalls having visited Medicine Mount when he was a boy: "The Comanche would come to the Medicine Mounds for their healing powers, often trading flint and other goods and racing their ponies around the mound below us. . . . We carefully descended about seventy-five feet or so to an almost imperceptible track that circled the entire mound, which was used by Quanah Parker's braves to test their horsemanship. [In 1966], this 'track' was still quite visible, especially for a young man with a fertile imagination. Sadly, it is slowly disappearing as the young [[cedar]] trees begin to reclaim the ground."<ref name=memories/>
John A. Bates of Ferndale in Oakland County, near [[Detroit]], [[Michigan]], the former executive director of the Downtown Medicine Mound Preservation Group<ref>Texas Association of Museums website:http://www.museumsusa.org/directory/info/2314110</ref> and a cousin of Myna Potts, recalls having visited Medicine Mount when he was a boy: "The Comanche would come to the Medicine Mounds for their healing powers, often trading flint and other goods and racing their ponies around the mound below us. . . . We carefully descended about seventy-five feet or so to an almost imperceptible track that circled the entire mound, which was used by Quanah Parker's braves to test their horsemanship. [In 1966], this 'track' was still quite visible, especially for a young man with a fertile imagination. Sadly, it is slowly disappearing as the young [[cedar]] trees begin to reclaim the ground."<ref name=memories/>
The four mounds, which range in elevation from two hundred to five hundred feet, were Comanche campsites and ceremonial grounds. The mounds had abundant spring water which encouraged [[hunting]], the gathering of medicinal plants, and for worship. The Comanche Nation still considers two of these mounds to be sacred: the tallest, Medicine Mound, and the second tallest, Cedar Mound. The Indians return to these sites to gather plants and [[herbs]] and to seek spiritual guidance.<ref>"The Skipper's Report", U.S. Merchant Marine:http://bhirdo.net/2007_October_Liberty_Log.pdf</ref>
The mounds, which range in elevation from two hundred to five hundred feet, were Comanche campsites and ceremonial grounds. The mounds had abundant spring water which encouraged [[hunting]], the gathering of medicinal plants, and worship. The Comanche Nation still considers two of these mounds to be sacred: the tallest, Medicine Mound, and the second tallest, Cedar Mound. The Indians return to these sites to gather plants and [[herbs]] and to seek spiritual guidance.<ref>"The Skipper's Report," U.S. Merchant Marine:http://bhirdo.net/2007_October_Liberty_Log.pdf</ref>
==Historic preservation==
==Historic preservation==
Phillips narrated his observations as follows: [Potts] is one woman determined to keep this town's history together. . . . We found Medicine Mound on Highway 1167 far from anything but the hills that the native Comanche held sacred, the mounds that give this place its name. Once we were here, we felt close to those who built the community, and the past didn't seem so far away."<ref name=tcr/>
Phillips narrated his observations as follows: [Potts] is one woman determined to keep this town's history together. . . . We found Medicine Mound on Highway 1167 far from anything but the hills that the native Comanche held sacred, the mounds that give this place its name. Once we were here, we felt close to those who built the community, and the past didn't seem so far away."<ref name=tcr/>
==Museum access==
==Access to the museum==
The museum is particularly known for its extensive collection of hundreds of [[photograph]]s of early pioneers as well as old bottles, store fixtures, and a variety of items once sold in the mercantile, such as hats. Potts began assembling the pictures when she worked with western author Bill Neal (not to be confused with [[Bill O'Neal]]), who wrote on a book on the region, ''Our Stories, Legends of the Mounds''.<ref>"Medicine Mound Texas: Population Zero", website of Downtown Medicine Mound Preservation Group:http://www.medicinemound.com/portfolio/content.cfm?imageStart=4&StartRow=1&PageNum=1&cate=1&pageType=3&pageID=1&imageID=259&oneachpage=12</ref>
The museum is particularly known for its extensive collection of hundreds of [[photograph]]s of early pioneers as well as old bottles, store fixtures, and a variety of items once sold in the mercantile, such as hats. Potts began assembling the pictures when she worked with western author Bill Neal (not to be confused with [[Bill O'Neal]]), who wrote on a book on the region, ''Our Stories, Legends of the Mounds''.<ref>"Medicine Mound Texas: Population Zero", website of Downtown Medicine Mound Preservation Group:http://www.medicinemound.com/portfolio/content.cfm?imageStart=4&StartRow=1&PageNum=1&cate=1&pageType=3&pageID=1&imageID=259&oneachpage=12</ref>
Museum hours are usually 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday but also by appointment. In many ways, Medicine Mound Museum is Potts' "personal museum," the story of her own life.<ref>"Quanah," ''Texas State Travel Guide, 2008,'' pp. 129-130.</ref> There is a highway rest stop on U.S. 287 to assist travelers desiring to detour to Medicine Mound to see the four mounds, the historical museum, and the ghost town.<ref>Angela Timmons, "Kiosks make travel touch and go," ''The Amarillo Globe-News,'' June 30, 2003:http://www.amarillo.com/stories/063003/tex_kioskshelpful.shtml</ref>
Museum hours are usually 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday but also by appointment. In many ways, Medicine Mound Museum is Potts' "personal museum," the story of her own life.<ref>"Quanah," ''Texas State Travel Guide, 2008,'' pp. 129-130.</ref> There is a highway rest stop on U.S. 287 to assist travelers desiring to detour to Medicine Mound to see the four mounds, the historical museum, and the ghost town.<ref>Angela Timmons, "Kiosks make travel touch and go," ''The Amarillo Globe-News,'' June 30, 2003:http://www.amarillo.com/stories/063003/tex_kioskshelpful.shtml</ref>
Photographer Joe Miller recommends a visit to Medicine Mound for those who like solitude: "Potts is a gracious hostess and the place is certainly worth a visit. I love places like Medicine Mound because I hate crowds -- especially when I'm trying to do photography. I set up my heavy tripod in the middle of the street knowing that there probably wouldn't be any traffic and, if someone did come along they would most likely pull around me and wave like they do when you meet them on the highway. There's not a lot of [[road rage]] in Medicine Mound."<ref>Joe Miller Fine Art Photography, Photo Log, 2004:http://www.fineart-photography.com/photologS4.html</ref>
==References==
==References==