Billy Nations 

The following bio was taken from page 325- 326 of the book entitled “Rusk County History” compiled and edited and used with permission of the Rusk County Historical Commission.

Transcribed by Gloria Riley

Submitted by Gloria Briley Mayfield, Rusk County TX Coordinator

Billy Joe Nations and his twin brother, Bailey Joe, were born at Nacogdoches, Texas in 1930. Their parents are Willis and Grace (Bailey) Nations. As a child Billy was taught to appreciate the "great out- doors" because more of his spare time was spent hunting and fishing with his father and twin brother. He was taught to call ducks and became very good at it. It was common knowledge that' 'those Nations boys are the best duck callers in the county." When they were young, their father started them a business of selling minnows for fish bait. Most of their spending money came from their sales. 

Since the Nations lived within a block of Stephen F. Austin University, the twins attended the "demonstration school" on the campus. Billy went on after high school to receive his master's degree from the university. 

Billy also enjoyed playing the guitar while he was in high school and college. Several of his friends and his twin brother got a group together and played for shows. 

When the Korean War started, Billy volunteered for the Air Force. He was stationed four years at San Antonio.

 I, Miriam, am also a twin. My twin sister, McXie, and I were born in 1932 at San Augustine, Texas. Our parents were William New and Ethel (Waley) Whit ton. We were named for the first lady governor of Texas, Miriam Amanda Ferguson, because we were born on the day she was elected governor. Our grandfather, James Benjamin Whit ton, was a good friend of the Fergusons, so he insisted that we girls should have her name. Being the first born, I was named "Miriam," and my twin was given "Amanda" for her middle name. When we were four years old, our mother died and we moved into the home of our grandparents, James Benjamin and Ida Baggett Whit ton. 

While growing up, we girls were influenced greatly by Grandma. She read the Bible to us every night, and it seemed to us that she could quote a scripture for every- thing that happened. Grandpa doctored us with home remedies and we grew up very healthy and never had a doctor until we were grown. 

One thing that our father insisted upon was that we receive our college degrees. It was at the university that I met Billy. After I graduated, Billy and I were married in 1952. At this time Billy was in the Air Force, so I taught school at Lackland Air Force Base until he was discharged. 

In 1954, Billy and I moved to Nacogdoches where he bought a marine store and experimented with fiberglass, a new material at that time. He designed and built the first fiberglass boat in East Texas. It was in Nacogdoches that our first son, William Ken, was born in 1954. We moved several times after this to further pursue manufacturing fiberglass boats. These moves were to Henderson, Diboll, and back to Nacogdoches. In 1960, our second son, James Michael, was born in Nacogdoches. 

Our final move in 1960 was back to Henderson to develop a new method of manufacturing fiberglass steeples and baptisteries. Billy built his own plant, Nations' Fiberglass Products, Inc., which is still active today. 

All our family are active members of the South Main Church of Christ. Billy has served in the leadership role of many civic organizations, which include president of the Chamber of Commerce, school board trustee, and a member of the Hospital Board, I am also involved in many community affairs. 

Our son, Ken, graduated from Texas A & M in 1979 with a degree in engineering. He returned to Henderson and is now employed at Texas Utilities. In 1980 he married Celeste Henderson. Presently she is working toward a degree in accounting at the University Texas at Tyler. 

Mike, our younger son, is also attending Texas University at Tyler and is majoring in political science and business. He is an active member of the Rotary Club. 

Submitted by Miriam Whit ton Nations