House Down on River

House Down on River

When I was about ten years old, my dad bought another farm joining the first one.  It was on down near the river where the little branch emptied into the North Fork River, called the Holston.  We moved into the house that was on this farm. 

It had four large rooms and a small room off from the kitchen, which we called the meal room, for that was where Mommie kept her meal and flour in the big metal bins that probably held a hundred pounds each.  That was where we kept milk and butter in the winter, on a bench under the open window.

Dad Working at Brick Yard

Dad starting working at the brickyard in what is now Kingsport, Tennessee.  He would walk all the way over there, work all day and walk back home at night. 

One night when he was walking in the dark, some large animal was stalking him.  He said it stayed pretty close until he got out of the woods.  He said it sounded like a woman screaming.  They thought it may have been a panther.  They called it a "painter". 

I don't remember how long dad worked there but he needed money to pay for the farm.  When have you seen anyone that would be willing to go all the way to Kingsport to work, walk all the way over there and back?  You're right.  No one.

Nancy Painted Hair

My sister Nancy (image) was little, I don’t remember just how old, when she found some blue house paint that had been stored under the little house near our spring.  She must have thought it was pretty, so she proceeded to paint her hair. 

When she went home, our mommie could not wash it out so she had to take the scissors and cut it all off.  She didn’t have much hair left when the snipping was done.

A Toilet with Holes

Then, it became unlawful to use the wide-open spaces and everyone was supposed to build a toilet.  My dad built a two seater. 

We kids were so proud and happy to have the "little house" that we went even when we didn't have to.  Just to have a nice, clean board to sit on while you talked with whoever went with you.  That was our first time to experience the thing called progress.

Snake Hunting in the Spring

In the early spring was the time when Hick, Nancy and I would go snake hunting along the branch.  We wanted to clear out all the water moccasins so we would have a safe place to play and get in the water.  Hick would take his air rifle, and Nancy and I would get sticks and rocks. 

The snakes would lie out on the lower limbs in the sun.  When we first started, there would be several to be killed in one day.  But as the days wore on, the snakes kept getting scarcer until they were all gone.  Then we could play without getting bitten by one.

The Black Snake in the Rock Pile

There was one time I was really scared by a snake.  They sent me to bring in the cows for milking.  As I was walking along a cow path, I saw a big black snake going into a pile of rocks. 

Since I didn't want it to get away, I hurried and grabbed it by the tail, as it was about to hide.  I started pulling with all my might, but try as I did, the snake didn't budge.  Then all at once, here comes its head out, close to my hand.  That was the fastest turning-loose I ever did.  No more pulling snakes out of rock piles.

Riding Betty without Bridle

Another time, I was sent to get the cows and they were on the back side of the Waterman hill.  As usual, the old mare, Betty and the horse named Frank were close to the cows.  I got hold of Betty’s mane on her head and led her to a place where I could get on her back. 

I thought riding her would be easier, as she was such a gentle old mare.  The cows were heading for home and everything went just fine until we topped the hill.  Then Betty decided to run and there was no way I could stop her, as I didn't have a bridle on her. 

She took off down the hill at a wild pace.  I don't know to this day how I managed to stay on for she was fat and slick.  I just laid down and held to her neck while my toes were clamping under her fore legs.  I must have had a guardian angel with me that time, for I stayed on until we went into the milk gap.  That was another “never again”.

Riding Betty to Mailbox

Our mailbox was in Carter's Valley for a long time because there was no road down on the river from our spring.  It was over a mile from our house.  To get the mail, it was easier to ride the old mare. 

This time, I put a bridle on her and threw a grass sack over her back to sit on.  We made it just fine, but when we started back home, the sack fell off.  I knew my dad would have a fit if I lost his sack so I dismounted to get it and could not find a place to get back on.  I had to walk all the way home leading ole Betty.

Riding Plank on Sage Grass

Just to the left of the log house was a field and on each side was a field sloping up to the top of the hill.  It was fall of the year and the sage grass was thick on the hills. 

My dad found a long plank that had one end raised like a sled runner.  He nailed crosspieces to the plank and we could all get on and ride down the hill.  It was so much fun that lots of our neighbors in Carter's Valley and across the river would come to ride.  The sage grass was so slick that the plank would just fly down to the bottom and up the other side. 

It would hold about ten or twelve people.  The more that could get on, the faster it would go.  This was lots of fun for our whole family.  Dad and Mommie would ride with us.  They were just like us kids when it came to having fun.

Sitting in Pigpen

One summer day while playing, I did something that I was supposed to get a spanking for.  I think it was my mommie that tried to catch me, but I was too quick and made my get-away. 

I ran up the hill for I knew she was not as fast as I was.  At the top of the hill was a big gully that water had cut out of the hillside.  I walked down to the bottom of the gully and ran across the corn patch to the pigpen.  Of course, the pigpen was not in use at that time.  It was dry inside. 

I slipped into the pen and sat down in the feed trough and watched out the spout where the slop was poured in.  For hours I sat there watching the house, getting hungrier and thirstier by the minute. 

When it started getting dark, I was afraid to stay any longer and I went to the house.  I decided it was better to be spanked than to stay out any longer.  What I didn’t know was that they knew where I was all day.  I guess that was the most miserable day of my life.  They didn’t spank me for they knew I had been punished enough.

Little Dog, Pitty Pat

A car pulled into our yard.  There was a man and a woman and a carload of children.  I don’t know where they came from.  They were all very hungry; I don’t know how long they had been without food.  They asked my mommie if she had anything they could eat. 

I don’t know if she cooked or if she had plenty of leftovers, but she fed the whole carload.  When they started to leave, they said they didn’t have any money, but would she take a little dog that was with them?  She was glad to take the little dog for she knew they didn’t have anything to feed it. 

It was a beautiful dog and it wouldn’t have weighed over two pounds.  It was mostly white with a little brown on its head.  We kids were thrilled to death to get it.  We didn’t know what to call it, but we soon figured out a name when it ran across the floor.  It little feet were going pitty-pat and that was the name we gave it.  “Pitty-Pat”

When it was full-grown, it was just about a foot long.  We would take it to bed with us every night and it would go all the way down to our feet where it would curl up and sleep all night.  If it wanted to go to bed before we did, it would jump on the bed and start digging between the pillows until it turned the covers down and then it would go all the way to the foot of the bed. 

Colored Her with Watercolors

I would give her a bath and dry her in the summer.  She would look so pretty and white that I would get my momma’s watercolors out and put all colors of polka dots on her.  She didn’t seem to mind, and I thought she looked great. 

Dad Selling Pitty Pat

My great aunt, my granny’s sister, got married to a man named Charley Hale.  They were going all the way across the country to the state to Oregon.  Charley Hale wanted the little dog so bad he offered Dad ten dollars for her.  Ten dollars, back then, was a lot of money.  So Dad sold out little Pitty-Pat.  It just like to have killed us, especially me.  They would send a card or letter back about every day. 

Then we received the letter that said Pitty-Pat had died on the long trip.  I know she died because she was so homesick for us.  Pitty-Pat, it has been long time, but I still hurt when I think of you.  My dad made a big mistake when he let you go.

The Rooster Called Humpty-Dumpty

We had a big white rooster, which we called Humpty-Dumpty.  The reason we called him that was his toes turned in and he would step on his own toe and fall.  I always liked ole “Hump”, and one day Momma and Dad were gone and I decided to make “Hump’ a different look. 

We had some old red crepe paper, which my mommie had been making paper roses.  “They were pretty, too”.  Well, I found the paper and we had this big stone jar that sat under the drip of the house.  It was about two thirds full of water so I put the red paper in the water, then I went and picked up ole “Hump”.  I lowered him into the water in spite of his squawking to get away.  He soaked up the red color into his feathers, while he was getting wet.  I took my hand and wet his head with the red water. 

After he was thoroughly soaked, I took him out.  It took a little while for him but finally he was dry and fluffy.  He was the only rooster in the flock that had red clothes on. 

I was very proud of him and I believe he was proud of himself, although he didn’t say so.  The hens really took notice of him after that, but it didn’t do them any good for ole “Hump” still could not run.

At Monkey Falls

At the upper end of the Waterman Hill, there was a small stream of water coming down from East Carter’s Valley.  This was a good place to go when it was hot.  I would take Hick and Nancy and there was a place there we could be in the shade and play in the water; it was nice and cool when we went there. 

There was just one problem.  To get down to the lower level, I had to carry Nancy, for she was little. (image)  I would put her on my back and tell her to hold around my neck.  She would do as I told her and I would go down the steep rocks which had formed a waterfall.  It was probably about fifteen feet from top to the bottom.  I had to feel for finger- and toe-holes, for the rocks were slick. 

When we got to the bottom, we would take all of our clothes off and enjoy the cool water and shade.  I found a long piece of bark and made a spout for the water.  We would take time-about getting under the stream.  We really enjoyed this place.  We called this place the “Monkey Falls”.

Finding Still

One time while playing up our branch, we decided to explore up in to the hill.  We were going up what looked like a little gully.  There were all kinds of trees for shade and fun.  We were climbing and talking as we went when we saw a whiskey still. 

We knew what it was for we had been told that the law officers would take anyone to jail if they were caught near a still. We ran like a bunch of wild Indians all the way back home.  We just knew if an officer saw us, he would put us in jail.  We told our mommie and she said for us to not go up the hill again.  I think that was my daddy’s still, but we didn’t know it until some years later.

Trap Door in Middle of Floor

There was a trap door in the living room.  It was about two and one-half feet wide and about three feet long.  All we had to do was lift one end and we could do down into the basement.  They kept a chair sitting on the floor for us to step on, then we could step on down, on the ground. This was where they kept the cans of food where they couldn’t freeze. 

One day, they told me to go down and get something off the shelf.  This was after a hard rain and the dirt basement had filled up to the top with water.  Since it was dark in the hole, I just guessed at where the chair was and jumped down in.  When I hit the chair, it was floating in the water.  The chair went down and I went with it.  I was in the water up to my waist.  If the chair hadn’t caught me, it would have been over my head.  Someone pulled me out.  That was one time I was afraid of water.

Corn Shucking

In the fall, my dad, with help, would gather in the winter corn.  He would haul it in a wagon and put it in the crib shed.  He always had to put planks around the shed to hold the corn. 

When he was done, the corn would be twelve or thirteen feet high.  Then he would invite all his men neighbors in for a corn shucking.  They would all sit around in the pile of corn and while they shucked corn they would tell tales.  You could hear them laughing for half a mile.  Dad was a teller of tall tales.  People would pay money now, for hearing what he told for free back then.

Mommie Killing Black Snake

While playing in the yard one day, we spotted a big black snake under the apple tree.  Dad was gone somewhere so my mommie went in the house and came back with a shotgun.  She took aim and shot the snake.  We were so proud of her, for we didn’t know she could shoot.

Learning to Swim on a Bucket

When we were growing up down on the river, we always wanted to go to the river to swim, but we couldn’t swim.  My mom told us we could go when we learned to swim, for she thought we never would.  The branch got up real big one time and it washed out a big deep hole in what we called the upper branch. 

We took advantage of this and built a dam below and that raised the water until it was about waist deep.  I found a bucket that would be about one half-gallon size.   I would catch air in the bucket and place it under my belly and it would hold me up for a few strokes.  That is how I learned how to swim.  That was probably what the others did. After Mom found that we could swim, she would let us go to the river.

Cat Getting Caught in Trap

Our mommie cat failed to be with her kittens in the hayloft one day.  We kept wondering what had happened to her.  The next day after my dad ran his trap lines, she came hobbling in with her foot about off and starved to death.  She had been out and found the bait in his trap and got her foot caught. 

When he found her, he let her out, but she had a sore foot for a long time.  She always had her kittens in the hayloft for it was always a good, warm place.  We would go to the hayloft and play for hours and play with the kittens.

Dad’s Trap Line - Moles

My dad always had a trap line in the winter, for animal skins would bring some winter money.  He would take planks and cut them in the shape of an ironing board.  He had all sizes for some of the animals were small and some were large.  After he skinned the animal, he would stretch it over the board with the hair side next to the board.  Then it was hung up to dry.  He would have skunk, possum, mink, fox, and muskrat.  The mink was what brought the most money.  The red fox was next in price.

There was lots of mole and he let us hunt for moles and he would make us some little mole boards.  They were about eight to ten inches long.  We usually got ten cents for each moleskin.

Dad would get up way before daylight and run his trap lines for he didn’t want the animals to suffer any longer than they had to.  Most of the time, they would have a leg caught in the steel trap and since they couldn’t get away, they were in lots of pain.  He would kill them as quick as possible to put them out of their misery. 

The muskrats would be caught in the river.  He would fasten the trap chain to something underwater and when a muskrat was caught in the trap, it would drown. Some people would be in the business of buying hides and they would come by and buy the skins.

Hog-Killing Time

Always around Thanksgiving would be hog killing time.  Of course, there was a lot of work for the parents and grandparents.  After the hogs were scalded and the hair scraped off, they would be carried to the smokehouse to be cut up. 

My dad always shot the hogs, for he was such a good shot you could never hear one squeal, for it would just drop over dead.  A big metal barrel was used to scald them in.  It would be partially sunk in the ground and a fire built around it until the water boiled.  Then the hog would be put into the barrel until the hair was loose and easily scraped.  Then the scalding and scraping was done, their skin would be as white as snow. 

They were hung up on scaffolds and then Dad would cut around the dung hole and get it loose until he could tie a cord around it to keep the hog manure from getting into the meat.  Then he would carefully cut down in the center of the belly all the way past its throat.  A big tub would be placed under its head and then he would cut around the intestines and let them fall in the tub. 

Of course, after being shot, they would cut their throat so they would bleed.  All the blood was drained out.  Dad would get the liver and heart, and Mommie and Granny would take the intestines and get all the fat off them, for nothing was to be wasted.

Hog Bladder

My granddad would get the bladders and wash them and when they were clean, he would blow them up for us kids.  They made pretty good balloons after they were painted.  The meat was cut into mid loin, hams, and shoulders.  The big strip of tender loin running along each side of the backbone was the best meat of it all.  Then, the backbone and ribs were cut so they could be canned. 

This was a lot of hard work but people were used to working back then.  After everything else was done, there was the lard to be rendered in a big iron kettle on the outside.  Then, the sausage had to be ground, mixed with seasoning, and fried and canned.  Then there was the head, tongue and feet.  It was a good week’s work for the whole family, but after it was all taken care of, the winter eating was so good.

Cows Mowed the Yard

The yard at the log house was covered in Bermuda grass.  Back then, we had never heard of a lawn mower.  All we had to do was turn the cows into the yard and they would do it for us.  Of course, there would be plenty of cow-piles to step over for a long time, but county folks can always manage.  It was like this when we moved down on the river.  The yard was probably about an acre, all around the house and out to the barn and around the pigpen and the hen house.  The cows were just like big vacuum cleaners, moving along and picking everything in their path.

Our Little Horse Dandy

Our old mare Betty had a baby colt.  It was a golden color with a dark mane.  It sure was a little beauty.  My dad was sick and in the bed and could not get out to go to the barn to see the little fellow, so I picked him up and carried him into the bedroom for Dad to see.  He was just about all I could lift but somehow I managed to get him up the steps.  He was named Dandy for we all thought he was a dandy.  My granddad was so proud of him; he rode him everywhere.

Dad Making Road Down River

Up until I was about twelve years old, the only way out to Gate City was up through Carter’s Valley.  When you got to Carter’s Valley, you turned left for there was no road where West Carter’s Valley is now.  It was just pasture fields.  The school bus had nowhere to go, so Dad starting digging the road that leads down from where our house was on the river.  I think some of the Carter’s Valley people helped him dig. 

He finally got the state or county to help, for there were so many big rocks, he couldn’t do it all by hand. After the road was built, a school bus would come up as far as where the house is now.  There was a family by the name of Fields that lived there in a little four-room house and we had to walk down that far.  It was at least a mile from our house where we had to walk.  We had it better than some kids that lived in Carter’s Valley for they had to walk about three miles either way.

Queenie and the Doodle Bugs

This is about my sister Queenie. Queenie was born in the house on the river.  When she was little, (image) she had a sick spell.  My mommie and dad kept trying to get her to take her medicine and she would not cooperate.  She never would take medicine without being made to do so. 

This time, my dad thought up a way to persuade her.  He told her if she would swallow the medicine that he would take her to hunt doodlebugs.  Down went the medicine and Dad, true to his word, took her out toward our spring.  There had, at one time, been a large tree, which had been cut down years ago.  The old stump had leaned over and sheltered some very fine dirt in the shell of the stump. 

Dad took her to this and showed her the fine dirt and then he started saying, “doodle-doodle” and just a light tap to let the bugs know something was there.  The bugs would make a little sinkhole for whatever may fall in.  If they felt something, they would start moving and getting ready for a meal.  Sure enough, the doodlebugs started moving and Dad reached in and brought one out for Queenie to see.  So that’s one way to get a kid to take medicine.

The Home Comfort Range and Linoleum Rug

The day my dad brought the big Home Comfort Range was the proudest time for us all.  He also bought a linoleum rug.  That was the first rug we ever had in the kitchen.  They put down the rug and placed the stove and I thought it was the prettiest thing I had ever seen.  It was white and gray with a big water tank on the side next to the firebox.  It also had a warming oven up high above the stove eyes. 

This was bought when my sister Queenie was about one year old. (image)  That night, when Mommie and Dad went to milk, my sister Nancy and I put soap and water on the rug.  We stripped Queenie naked and I went to one side of the room and Nancy the other.  We would give Queenie a big push and she would slide all the way cross to the other side on her butt. 

We played a while, for we knew they would be some time getting back.  Then we dressed Queenie and dried the rug.  Had everything looking good.  Queenie had a great time, but she was too little to tell it.

Sticking My Naked Butt Over Rail

Then, there was the time my mommie and I just didn’t agree on something.  I don’t remember what it was, but I do remember the outcome.  I was probably about fourteen years old and stubborn as a mule. My mommie wanted me to do something and I didn’t want to do it. 

Anyway, I knew what to do to make her mad.  I went to the end of the back porch and pulled my underwear down and hung my butt over the railing.  I wasn’t worried about someone seeing me for everyone was gone, or so I thought.  Who would come popping around the house but our neighbor Fred Seward?  I didn’t see him for I was listening to my mommie scold me, when all at once, something just about knocked me off the railing. 

Fred had seen what I was doing and he took his big hand and gave my naked butt a slap, and I mean it was a hard slap too.  I yelled and gave a jump for I didn’t know what had hit me.  He was just dying laughing and when Mommie saw what he had done, she was laughing too.  Fred and Mommie were very happy but my butt hurt so badly, it took a while for it to cool off.  Later on, I could look back and get a laugh about it.

Chinch Bugs

It just came to me about what a rough time my mommie had with the chinch bugs.  Our house was lined in every room, with what was called ceiling planks.  The planks were nailed to the framework and that left a big space between studs.  The chinch bugs had a good place to hide in the daytime.  I guess they were brought in by birds because there were lots of openings in the house. This was the house down on the river.  They were bloodthirsty little devils for they would come out at night and have a feast on whoever was unlucky enough to be in the bed. 

My mommie would strip the bed and scald everything.  She would wash the straw ticks and fill them with new straw.   Then, she would carry scalding water and try to scald the walls.  Of course, the bugs were so far back in the wall that the water did not faze them. 

This was repeated over and over for years until World War II and that was when DDT was discovered.  The DDT spray did away with chinch bugs forever.  For that was the last we saw of them. It also did away with flies too, for there were lots of them at that time.

Salt in River

Several miles up the river form where we lived was a place called Saltville.  I must have been about fourteen or fifteen years old when the river was flooded with salt.  It killed every living thing in the river.  We stood on the bank and watched fish come to the top to breathe.  They were so thick you could see them all over the water.  My dad fashioned some hooks on poles and stood on the bank and pulled fish out by the truckload. 

When we would get all the fish the truck would hold, he would hurry and go to the mining area and sell fish.  He did this as long as there was any fish to be seen.  I know he made several loads before the fish were gone.  There was not even a turtle left in the river.  Everything died.  The river was ruined.

Dad, the Fisherman

Up until this happened, Dad would go and bring in a mess of fish (image) any time we wanted a fish fry. (image)  He was so good at gigging fish; he very seldom ever missed one.  He would get in his big boat that he had made, (image)  which was about fifteen feet long, and standing in the front end, he could see a fish all the way across the river.  The gig handle was probably twelve feet long. 

He would draw back and send it through the air and when it landed, there would be a fish caught in the prongs.  I think my dad would have made the Indians look like amateurs.

Dad, the Hunter

He was a dead shot with a gun. One time, he and his brother Kelly and a friend were hunting rabbits.  When they were ready to come home, dad had ten or twelve and the other two hadn’t killed a one.  My granddad wanted to make pictures of them, so dad divided the rabbits with them to make the picture look better.  I have that picture now. (image) 

Old Rex

Dad had this bird dog called “Rex”. When he wanted to go quail hunting, he would get his gun and Rex (image) and take off. In a little while, he would be back with all we could eat.  He was also a pheasant hunter.

I don’t remember where our old dog Rex came from for it seemed like he had always been there.  He was a white dog with tan markings.  He was a fine bird dog.  My dad would always take him with him when he went hunting for quail or pheasants and if there were any, Rex would find them.  We always had wild game to eat. 

If we were sitting on the front porch, my mommie would say, “Rex, you go around to the back and I’ll feed you.”  She would barely get it said when Rex would go flying around the house.  Dog food was never bought, for Rex ate whatever was on the table.  He was treated like one of the family. 

He lived to be sixteen years old and he had cancer on his behind.  Dad knew he should be put out of his misery, but he just couldn’t do it. One day, while Dad was gone, my granddad had some man to shoot him.  They had him buried when Dad got back home.  Dad was glad someone had done it for him, for I don’t think he could have.  He loved old Rex. (image)

The Night Dad Went to see what was in Chicken Roost

Our chickens roosted in the big apple tree above the house.  One night, Dad heard something in the tree after the chickens.  Dad eased out of the bed and reached for his shotgun, which always stood behind the door.  Now, since the weather was hot, Dad always slept in the nude.  There was always a nice breeze coming up the river. 

On this night, he eased out the back door, and when he started around the house, he could see something in the tree.  He was duck stooping up the little bank with the trigger pulled back for whatever he might see.  Old Rex had never seen him without his clothes on so he slipped up behind him for a closer inspection. 

Just as Dad thought he saw something in the tree, Rex poked his nose in dead center of the crack of his butt.  The gun went off and the best I remember, Dad shot one of his chickens.  He never did find out what was in the tree.  He said old Rex’s nose was cold.

The Day I Wanted to Show How Smart I Was

I don't think I had ever been told that drinking too much was a sin.  Just about every one I knew would drink but very seldom did anyone get drunk.  One time, our usual gang was getting ready to go to Kingsport on Saturday evening.  I thought it would be smart to sip just a little from the jug. 

I guess I sipped more than I realized for I was getting real funny, and my Mommie sat me down and made me stay at home.  Yes, I was mad at her and she was mad at me too.  I didn't try that again.

Possum Grape Wine

One time, us kids made a big jar of wild grape wine.  Dad showed us how to make it.  We were told to let it be, for several days, until it fermented. 

Nancy Riding Hog

It must have been fermented pretty good, for my sister Nancy and our cousin Nina Enix dipped into it one day and found it to be to their liking.  When they decided they had their fill, they went around the hill to the branch.  My dad had two half-grown hogs turned loose in the bottom. 

Well, when Nancy and Nina saw them, they decided to go for a ride.  Each of them straddled a hog and here they went, running down through the field.  Our mail boy was at the spring eating his dinner when he saw them.  He was so tickled at the sight that he sent them a card with someone riding a hog.

Trip to Kingsport to Get Hot Dogs

One Saturday, my dad was trying to get a field of corn plowed and hoed.  Since he didn’t have his workers on Saturday, he told us kids if we would help him finish, he would take us to town and get hotdogs.  That was enough to really get us going for there was only one place at that time to get hot dogs and that was Kingsport. 

We finished the field of corn and cleaned up and took off for Kingsport.  Dad parked behind some building and told us to wait and he would go get the dogs.  He came back with a big bag of “twenty-five” and Cokes.  Since there were five of us we were supposed to have five apiece.  My mommie said she couldn’t eat her fifth one so I got it. 

Now hotdogs were not as big then as they are now, and the wieners were a lot smaller.  All they put on the dogs was mustard and onions.  They didn’t know about chili and mayonnaise.  The old car had running boards so we all had a place to sit down while we ate.  We all really enjoyed the day.

Little Brother Tommy Died

I have not told about my little brother, Tommy Scott. (image)   Tommy was born when I was about ten years old.  He was a beautiful baby.  It was my job to take care of him while my mommie worked in the house and cooked.  My dad always had work hands to help him on the farm.  Sometimes, when it was working in the hay that he would have several men.  Of course, it took a lot of food to feed so many but Mommie was a wonderful cook. 

I would take Tommy everywhere I went.  He loved for me to carry him around the farm to see the cows and pigs.  When Dad would be gone in the truck, we would listen for him to come home.  We could hear the truck for a long ways down the river road.  When Tommy would hear the truck, he would start bouncing with his whole body.  That was a sign for me to pick him up and start running to meet Dad so he could ride in the truck.  I would run with him just as fast as I could and we would meet Dad a good ways down the road. 

Tommy died when he was six months and twenty-two days old.  I didn’t understand death, for I had never had anyone in the family to die.  I know I cried, for I didn’t want him buried.  I thought we could keep him where we could see him.  That was the first time I ever was really hurt, for I loved my little brother so much.  When he was carried to the cemetery in the little white casket, (image) I just about died.  Now that I am older and can understand God’s plan for people after death, I know there’s a little boy in Heaven that I will see some day.

Babies Sammy and Eula

While I am on the sad subject of death, I will tell you about two more little ones that didn’t live.  After little Tommy died, the next one to be born was my sister Queenie. (image)  I was thirteen years old when she was born and of course, I was so glad to have another baby to take care of that I was with her all the time.  She was the only one of the last four children that lived. 

Next came Samuel Schuyler who we were going to call Sammy, but he only lived from October 17, 1932 until November 24, 1932.  The next to be born was Eula Virginia. (image)  She was born August 31, 1935. She died October 5, 1935. 

I took care of them and bathed them when they were just a few days old.  Of course, it was sad to give them up, but I had not been with them like I had Tommy, so it wasn’t quite as bad.  But it was still painful to follow two little white caskets to the cemetery.  It was so sad for my mother and Dad for they loved us kids.  When I think back, I still miss them but I know they are all in a better place than if they were still living.

Swinging On Vines

Up toward Carter’s Valley were a lot of big vines swinging from trees.  We would go and swing on them and have a good time.  I guess it was dangerous but we had not thought about that.  Anyway, it was fun; we were lucky and didn’t fall. 

Tea – The Country Kind

Up on the side of Waterman Hill, almost straight across from where Kermit’s Music Barn is now, there was a lot of Penny Royal, which made very good tea.  It could be pulled up by the roots and hung up to dry and it made good tea all winter.  Also there was mint tea along the branch and Dad would bring in Spicewood and when the limbs were boiled, it made very good tea.  Then there was catnip tea, which I liked.  It was used to make babies sleep when they didn’t want to.  It must have been good for them

Big Cat in Tree

One time, when we were playing in the branch, I just happened to look up and there was the biggest cat-like creature about thirty or forty feet up in a tree hanging over the water.  I yelled at Nancy and Hick to run for dear life, for I was scared, we never did know what it was.

Copperhead in Bean Patch

I was picking beans in the garden, when out from under the hill of beans I was picking, slid a big snake.  It went over my foot and I jumped and screamed and the man that was staying with us at the time, Ray Edwards, came running and killed it.  It was a big copperhead.

Working in Garden and River Bank

I helped to work in the garden.  Setting out things in the spring.  I didn’t mind garden work, but I didn’t like hoeing corn along the riverbank.  The rows were so long; it was so hot.  Then I would help to pick beans and watch out for packsaddles for they could really sting.

We had a large Mulberry tree at the end of the riverbank cornfield.  I would always stop and eat the Mulberries when I was hoeing corn.  They were very good. 

Wild Strawberries

My mommie sent me to get wild strawberries and I had to go by the spring and go down the road for about one fourth mile.  Then, climb the hill until I was up to the woods.  They were the nicest berries, big long stems and berries hanging like teardrops.  I picked stem and all, until I had a full bucket, then I sat down under a shade tree and ate all of them. 

My mommie wasn’t a bit happy when I told her what I had done, but I wasn’t sad about it, for I thought they were the best ones I had ever eaten.

Setting Tobacco – Picking Off Worms

I helped set tobacco, for Dad needed all the help he could get.  Someone had to carry water and pour it into every hill.  It sure was a job.  I would help hoe the tobacco and worm it. 

Back then, you had to pick off the big green monsters.  I would take a clothespin to catch them and drop them in a bucket of water and they would drown.  I was always in school when the tobacco was made ready for sale, so I got out of that. 

Churning Butter, Making Buttermilk

Sometimes Mommie needed me to churn.  I would go to the spring and sit on the lid of the milk box that had been placed in the cold water.  I would always take me something to read while I churned. When the butter started gathering around the dasher, I would know the butter was ready to take out. 

After washing my hands, I would lift the butter out of the buttermilk.  Then it was placed back in the milk box where it was cold.  Then, I poured the buttermilk into crocks.  Everything was kept cold until we needed it.  After the churn was washed and everything was clean, I was ready to go to the house.  In the wintertime, the churning was done in the kitchen.

About Mailman “Moody” – The Crawfish

Our mailman was Herbert Moody and he would always stop to eat his lunch at our spring.  I had caught some big crawfish and just before he got there, I put the crawfish in the mailbox and raised the flag.  Then I hid where I could watch him.  When he was through eating, he opened the lid and stuck his hand in to get the mail and was met by a bunch of big pinchers. 

Black Snake at Mailbox

Another time, we had killed a black snake and just before he arrived, I slipped the dead snake around the rock where he always sat to eat.  There was a little grass around the rock.  I just left the head sticking out where he could see it when he sat down.  Of course, I was there to see the fun.  He got out of his car and went to the rock. 

He was just hitching up his pants to sit down, I guess that makes sitting down a little more comfortable.  When he looked down, he gave a jump that would have made a grasshopper proud.  When he landed, I was well on my way away from the area.  I am sure he was well aware of who did it.

Dad and Mom Almost Drowned

At one time, there was a swimming hole just below the Henderson Bridge.  Little houses were built for hot dogs and Cokes, also a house to change clothes.  They had swings to swing out over the river and a slide to slide in the water.  It was very up-to-date at the time.  Of course, they charged for going in. 

One day, my dad took my mommie up there to go swimming.  She never did learn to swim but Dad was a good swimmer.  They waded out into the water and all of a sudden they both went down.  Dad didn’t know there was a drop-off there.  He said she grabbed him and he had to tear her hands off to be able to help her.  He went down and lifted her by the legs until her head was above water. 

Someone saw what was going on and jumped in and helped him, as they both would have drowned.  They came home telling it and it was several nights before they could sleep.  That was the worst scared I ever saw them.

Dropping Queenie in River

The same day, I took Queenie, Nancy and Hick to the river at the mouth of the branch.  There were big rocks on the bank and the water was not deep.  I took Queenie out a little ways into the water and my hand slipped and she went under.  It just scared me to think of what might have happened.  I grabbed her and as luck would have it, she was not strangled.  That was when I took them all back to the house.  I didn’t tell what had happened until years later, for we had been told to not go to the river.

Boat Riding at Night

We would get with some of our friends and go boat riding (image) at night.  The boys would do the paddling/poling up the river; we would go all the way up to the Henderson Bridge and float back down the river.  Sometimes, we were out until about twelve o’clock at night.  It was lots of fun. 

How I Learned to Ride a Bicycle

My brother Hick (image) and I wanted to ride a bicycle but we didn’t have one.  One of our neighbors from across the river, Kyle Jayne, would put his bicycle in the boat and come over.  We knew he liked watermelons, so we would let him eat if he would let us try to ride his bicycle.  He would let us ride until his belly was full and then he would take the bike and ride off.

Falling in the Spring in Front of the Mailman

My mom sent me to the spring to get cold water for the work hands.  Of course, there sat the mailman, eating his dinner.  I was in a hurry and stepped on the wet plank at the edge of the spring.  My feet slipped and into the spring I fell.  When I managed to get out, my clothes were sticking tight to my skin.  “Har-Har-Har” went the mailman.  Well, I guess he was due the last laugh.

Smoking “Life-Everlasting” and “Smoke Vine”

My granddad told us about “Life Everlasting”.  Its leave’s grow on a weed and it is gray in color.  We would take a brown paper bag and tear off a small piece of paper to roll the leaves in.  We called it “rabbit tobacco”.  Strike a match to it and we thought we were uptown getting to smoke. 

Then he would get what he called smoke vine, cutting it lengths about seven or eight inches long.  Light the end and puff away.  It worked.

Mommie’s Bloomers

We all went to a dance one night at the Newland House, just where the road comes out onto Carter’s Valley.  After playing music, and dancing until a way into the night, everyone was getting their coats to go home, for it was winter and cold.  Someone was helping my mom get her coat on and when it was on, he reached down and grabbed the coattail and the dress tail and held them up. 

My mom had on bright orange bloomers that came below her knees.  I think several people got a big laugh about this.  Mom wasn’t too happy, showing her orange butt.