The Bloodworth-Garcia House

In 1925, J.M. Bloodworth (1871-1947) sold the lot for this house to his son Bert C. (1895- 1981) Bloodworth and his wife Burch (Mann) (1895-1981), who married in 1915 in Decatur. The Bloodworths may not have lived in Olney all this time because Burch seemed to have a fixation on West Texas—especially Abilene. They were the parents of a daughter, Kathryn Jean, who evidently graduated from OHS and married Frederic Higginbotham at First Baptist Church here in 1941. Fred was born in DeLeon, reared in Graham and attended Texas A&M when they married. Unfortunately, he had to go off to war soon after the wedding. He enrolled in Hardin Simmons in Abilene and majored in hospital administration on his return from the service. After graduation, he worked in hospital administration in Abilene, San Antonio and Atlanta. The penultimate of his career was in Atlanta, where he became an executive for Blue Cross Blue Shield. Bert’s house was next to Gilbert’s Grocery on Oak Street, owned by his brother-in-law, Earl Gilbert, whose wife was Velma Bloodworth.

In 1949, the Bloodworth’s conveyed the property to Carl F. (1917-2007) and Lillian (Bankhead) (1917-2002) Pulliam. Carl’s mother died when he was young, and his Aunt Evie and George Smith raised him. Carl grew up working with tools and wrenches because he repaired cars when he was a young boy. He could fix almost anything, and this was an innate gift. Carl and Lillian met in the mid-1930s and were married in 1937. They had one son, Eddie Carl Pulliam, and his father taught him all he knew about auto repair. Carl joined the Navy in World War II and became a machinist mate aboard the USS Enterprise in the South Pacific. In 1958, Carl and Eddie opened Pulliam Motors. They ran it until 1991 when Eddie Carl, who had joined the business, left to work for OISD as the automotive mechanic’s program instructor. Carl developed a large clientele, and they trusted him with the repair of their vehicles.

In 1999, Carl and Lillian executed a deed to the property to their son, Eddie Carl, but retained a life estate, and it was 2007 before both had passed.

In 2009, Eddie Carl conveyed the property to Kathleen Heath.

In 2018, Kathleen (now Kathleen Fields) transferred the property to the current owners, Jose Garcia and his wife, Racquel.