04/11/2026
We are truly honored to have the Spray family staying with us this weekend here at the hotel. It feels like a quiet kind of blessing to learn their people first shared a meal in this very place when they arrived here around 1917. There is something special about a circle coming back around like that.
Their granddaughter, Leesa (“Spray-Rosser”) Ruderman, has spent the past two years tending to the history of her family’s resting place, the Whiteflat Cemetery with care and devotion. Along the way, she saw the importance of preserving it for those who will come after us. With the steady support and hard work of many, including Marisue Potts Etheridge and her husband Rusty, and the Motley County Historical Museum, that labor of love has led to a Texas Historical Designation. Today, that work becomes something you can stand and see, and we are grateful to witness it.
They have shown us just how many hands in Motley County have helped along the way. From those at the Whiteflat Cemetery Association, to the folks at the courthouse who helped uncover the land’s donation, to the people who gave their time and care to build a monument for those resting without headstones, and those who raised a new sign beside the historic marker. Others have cleared brush, placed flags on veterans’ graves, mowed the grass, and filled the low places. It truly takes a whole community to tend a place like that, and you can see the love in every part of it.
As she wrote in her book about those early souls laid to rest between 1913 and 1932, we all stand on the shoulders of those who came before us. That truth feels especially strong here. We understand that for those who would like to support this work, any donation made to the museum on behalf of the cemetery will be gifted one of Leesa's books as a small token of thanks. *And if you enjoy Motley County history, we think you may want one! Learning about the lives of those living in Motley County has become part of our journey.
It would mean a lot to them, and to us, if you joined in. The dedication will be at 10:30 at the Whiteflat Cemetery (From Matador, Tx. Go north on Tx. 70 far about 6 miles turn west on FM # 2999 for about 1 miles then north ½ mile on CO Rd #105) with an open house at the Motley County Historical Museum at 1:30 p.m. There will even be a pizza truck out front come lunchtime.
We are proud to be here, proud of this West Texas community, and thankful for every person who lends a hand and a heart. We hope to see you in town this morning.
God bless you all. The Heims at Hotel Matador Bed and Breakfast