By Jan Spann
Every family has one. The one who nurtures family traditions, who personifies love, the touchstone for what makes relatives more than just people you are related. They may also be the people who make sure that families stay connected, no matter how far the distance, no matter how tough the circumstances.

Attending a family reunion when you’re not kinfolk might be dull or even uncomfortable in some situations, but the Trawick family of central Arkansas and east Texas won’t evoke those feelings in a stranger. The pulse centers around Tincy Trawick Ward Brown, one of three girls and four brothers born to Elmer and Ester Trawick and one of two survivors of those siblings. Today, the children and grandchildren of her brothers and sisters credit her with being the glue that keeps the family connected, the one who makes time on a regular basis to stay in touch, to remind each one that they are loved, that they are important to her.
The second girl after two older brothers, Tincy was the self-proclaimed runt of the litter, and her brothers adored and protected her. Of the seven children, only Tincy and the youngest sister Macie are still living.
This family’s bedrock springs from three facets that would hone their family values: the Great Depression, the military and music. The Trawick kids were raised during the Depression, with dad Elmer cutting hair before he served his country in World War I. He returned as a disabled veteran and was one of the few people in the Fairfield Bay area to have a regular paycheck. His veteran’s benefit check also allowed him to own a car, and he generously offered free rides to neighbors since most couldn’t afford gas, much less a car. He continued to barber in the community, never accepting payment.
While the harsh realities of the Depression era were evident, the Trawicks found solace in music most evenings after dinner. Tincy played second guitar and mandolin while older brothers Ray and Fred played those instruments and harmonica. Elmer often joined in on harmonica while brother Kay sawed the fiddle (Kay would later become the 1979 Old Time Fiddle Champion of Arkansas).
Like most rural Arkansas communities in that era, the children attended a one-room school house in the Davis Special community, which also served as the church on Sunday. Circuit preachers would come occasionally and Sunday night singings were the place for teenagers to court. The family’s annual extravagance was a trip to Heber Springs for the Old Soldiers’ Reunion, which included carnival games, food booths, and singing. The family would save coins for months so that all could enjoy a hamburger and games during the weekend. 
Not long after Tincy’s 16th birthday, two big events would change her life and the family’s history. She married Hubert Ward just before the start of World War II, and her oldest brother Ray joined the Army and shipped out for France. After a two-week Atlantic crossing via ship, Ray’s Infantry unit hit the ground. Ray was killed almost immediately.
The second brother, Fred, had also joined the Infantry but didn’t learn of his brother’s death for months, and back in Arkansas, his family prayed for his safety. During his tour of duty, he marched from France to Italy and back with the 324th Infantry, a unit that had the longest continuous contact with the enemy during that siege. At one point on patrol in Germany, he found himself alone, a dark spot on the snow and surrounded by Nazis. He lay still for hours, freezing, listening to the Germans talk, until darkness fell. When he finished that tour, he was home on furlough awaiting deployment to the Pacific when the good news came that Japan had surrendered.
Who knows if it was a sister’s love for her older brother or just that family bond, but the Trawick family now has seven children and/or grandchildren that bear Ray’s name. A man who died much too young, a man who never married or had children of his own has left his impression on kinfolk who proudly provide an oral history and testament of his life and legacy.
During the hard times, some of the family moved to east Texas where work was better, and soon more families followed.
After returning to the Choctaw area, brother Kay initiated the first family reunion in 1986. He later moved to Tennessee to delve further into the family’s genealogy. Kay’s son, Steve, is now the predominant family historian, able to recite birth and death dates and to retell tender and affectionate stories about family members, many of whom he never met.
It’s much the same way the family’s music history has been passed along. Steve’s brother, Tim, is the 2008 Old Time Fiddle Champion of Arkansas, the same title his dad earned 30 years earlier.
Looks can fool you. These rough-hewn Trawick men will tear up while talking about family and heritage, feelings for some, like Ray, they never knew except from the stories told between songs and cousins’ visits.
In-laws say that once you marry into this family, you are tip to toe Trawick, and Tincy is the one that can make every one feel that they are the most special, the most loved.