SOME I HEARD ABOUT, SOME I REMEMBER
My dictionary says: Shivaree "a noisy mock serenade to a newly married couple." I didn't think of it as a "mock" serenade. But, then Shivarees were all over, a little before I reached my teens. They was supposed to be a surprise on the new couple. Family and friends of the community brought food for a party. They played tricks and games. Then eating together everybody welcomed the newly weds "to life among us."
In earlier days, I heard or read that the Groom was often made to sit astride a fence post or a rail and several guys carried him around, shaking the rail, bouncing the poor fellow up and down. I never saw the joy of doing that kind of "fun."
The first Shivaree I heard about happened when our parents were young. The young couple were living with her parents in a house Uncle Will had built, now the "Teddy Joe Sheehan Place." The family had heard there would be a Shivaree that night. A guy from the neighborhood slipped into their barn and watched through the loft door to see if they left, and which way they went. Indeed, they did. In late afternoon, they came from the house to the barn, climbed the ladder to the loft and sat down on bails of hay. When the folks all began arriving for the Shivaree, the "snick in the barn loft guy" had to reveal himself. So he and the couple came into the house together. It was a great hurrah for everyone.
I'm not sure the order of the next three Shivarees. When Senior Walker and Phyllis got married, the Shivaree was at Aunt Lou and Uncle Lloyd's house. When we arrived, there were a lot of people and the couple were sitting together on the couch. Everyone seemed so happy and there was lots of talking and laughing. I must have been between five and seven years of age. They are still married. We saw them when we were at Eldorado last fall. They look great and are still working the farm. Senior is still in his 80's, but closer to 90.
Aunt Bonnie and Udell Walker were engaged before he went to England for the 2nd World War. When he came home for his grandmother's funeral, they decided to go ahead and get married. They suspected a Shivaree was brewing, so they came to our house. We got the chores done early and all went across the river to the well in Mulkey's pasture. ( People from Oklahoma had helped to dig it and often went there to haul home a couple barrels of good water.) Mother had made a picnic and we cranked a freezer of ice cream. After a while, as it began to get dark, we could see the lights of cars as they turned around in our driveway. It was a lot of fun for us, watching our own house from those four or five miles away. We could laugh and talk and watch and they could not see nor hear us. A week or two later at Shumakers the family and friends came for a fun Shivaree.
After the war, Aunt Nina's sister, Gladys and Eddy Brammer were married and living with her folks at the next farm just north of us. They must have not been expecting the Shivaree crowd when they came. Anyway, Gladys and Eddy ran out the back door into the cotton field. That lets you know it was the fall of the year. Several cars were in Albert and Itha's yard. Head lights were shining every which way. Gladys and Eddy ran together and had to lie down when lights were swinging across the tops of the cotton rows. Then they would crawl or run some more. After a while they got separated. And now they were each on their own trying to stay away from the searching crowd.
I don't remember why or where, but Mother had gone somewhere that evening. Daddy was home with us. We had supper and family prayers. Then Daddy put the girls to bed. About 11:00 there was a knock at the door. It was Gladys. She said, "Gordon, we got separated and I am so cold! Could I just warm up a little?"
He told her the girls were in bed in the northwest bed room. There were two beds in there. He told her to take the empty one. There was plenty of worm covers. She could get warm and be safe. About 11:30 or 11:45 a group of Shivaree chasers came to the door wanting to know, if Gladys had come by. Daddy told them, "Yes, she had. But the last he saw of her, she was headed west." They went on their merry way. Daddy never knew how long she stayed or when she left.
The last Shivaree of the community was that of Johnny and Mary Lou. After they were married, they rented Mr. and Mrs. Jay's house. One night soon after, a happy group in celebration mode came roaring into their back yard. There were shouts of "Go away," from the back door where everybody had parked. And then came some shots of gun fire. As fast as a speeding bullet, the joy makers speed away. A few weeks later the lot of humble, happy friends and neighbors came again with prearranged permission and had a grand and joyful party with the newly weds.
I've never heard of any more attempts to give any body a Shivaree in our neighborhood. It may still be a practice somewhere in the world. But in my experience, I've not heard of it anywhere.
Thursday, February 7, 2013
Monday, February 4, 2013
OLD SILVER
Our Wonderful Little Pony
The years crept slowly by. Gradually 1941 rolled in to 1942. Daddy and Percy Ryan had met in the Altus office of men seeking work on the new Altus Airforce Base. After a few weeks they were assigned to work together as a team of two. As they worked and talked, they become friends. They had many similar interest. They each had 3 or 4 children. During a time of the year that we could be away from the farm, Daddy and Percy found and rented two rooms of a three room house. The land lord was reflooring one of the rooms. So Ryans rented one room and Easleys the other. We all moved to Altus for three months. That must have been the first time Mother and Sylva met.
Ryans belonged to the Church of the Nazarene. We were Methodist. Granny had grown up in Texas during the development of the Holiness Movement. The Church of the Nazarene grew out of that Movement. Granny's brother-in-law, Ab Tucker was a Nazarene Evangelist, who had preached a Revival Meeting at the Mid=Way School. That may have been the meeting where Mother and Daddy were both saved.
I think we may have gone home on Saturdays and attended Sunday morning service. We did go to the Nazarene Church in Altus with Ryans some Sunday evenings. So over time our bonds grew closer and closer with the Ryans. After the men were finished with their work at the Air Base, we made a trip one week-end to visit the Ryan Family at Ryan, Ok. We attended Church with them that Sunday. Their Pastor was Rev. J. E. Ray. His wife, Daris, taught the Children's class. She read the most exciting story. I really enjoyed that class. Ryans, Rays and Easleys all had about the same number of children and all about the same age.
After several months, Daddy bought us a shetland pony from Percy. His name was Silver. We called him "Ole Silver." He was black and white, a wonderful friend and pet for children. I don't know, if someone had trained him to be careful with children, or if that was just in his nature. Often I tried to make him run, all to no avail. Daddy rode on him a time or two, and each time got him galloping. We had a kids size saddle which came with him. I enjoyed currying his coat and braiding his mane. I put on his bridle and saddle to ride him for the milk cows at chore time.
One summer day, I had a new idea. I brought our little red wagon up along side Ole Silver. With a rope tied to the wagon tongue, I then tied it to the saddle horn. As we started on our first safari, the sound of the rattling wagon scared poor Ole Silver, until he shot out the driveway and down the road a quarter mile before he finally stopped. We ran down to lead the pony back and pulled the wagon home by hand. One day when Pallie Sue was 18 months old, Silver was tied to the shade tree in the yard. Someone looked out to discover Pallie sitting behind Ole Silver with her arms and legs wrapped around his back feet.
Cousin Kelly Johnson was Papa's very favorite of all his cousins. One summer he and his wife, Cousin Pallie, came for a visit. They were highly loved by all our clan. Everybody had gathered at our place with dish after dish of food. As the festivities moved along, someone brought Ole Silver to be tied at the shade tree. After a while I noticed that my cousin, Yvonne Shumaker, had climbed into the saddle and was sitting on Ole Silver. I had just walked onto the porch and there noticed a stick laying close at hand. It was a great opportunity to give Yvonne a wonderful scare. I picked up the stick and gave Ole Silver a poke on his rear end. Quicker than an eye can see a flying horse hoof, my upper lip swelled out almost a half inch, and silvers foot was back on the ground. O the pain and the awful embarrassment! You better believe, I've never done it again!
At the auction a few years later, our young friend, Edwin Latham, begged his folks to buy the pony. But Mr. McMines, our shop teacher, bought Ole Silver for his two little daughters.
The years crept slowly by. Gradually 1941 rolled in to 1942. Daddy and Percy Ryan had met in the Altus office of men seeking work on the new Altus Airforce Base. After a few weeks they were assigned to work together as a team of two. As they worked and talked, they become friends. They had many similar interest. They each had 3 or 4 children. During a time of the year that we could be away from the farm, Daddy and Percy found and rented two rooms of a three room house. The land lord was reflooring one of the rooms. So Ryans rented one room and Easleys the other. We all moved to Altus for three months. That must have been the first time Mother and Sylva met.
Ryans belonged to the Church of the Nazarene. We were Methodist. Granny had grown up in Texas during the development of the Holiness Movement. The Church of the Nazarene grew out of that Movement. Granny's brother-in-law, Ab Tucker was a Nazarene Evangelist, who had preached a Revival Meeting at the Mid=Way School. That may have been the meeting where Mother and Daddy were both saved.
I think we may have gone home on Saturdays and attended Sunday morning service. We did go to the Nazarene Church in Altus with Ryans some Sunday evenings. So over time our bonds grew closer and closer with the Ryans. After the men were finished with their work at the Air Base, we made a trip one week-end to visit the Ryan Family at Ryan, Ok. We attended Church with them that Sunday. Their Pastor was Rev. J. E. Ray. His wife, Daris, taught the Children's class. She read the most exciting story. I really enjoyed that class. Ryans, Rays and Easleys all had about the same number of children and all about the same age.
After several months, Daddy bought us a shetland pony from Percy. His name was Silver. We called him "Ole Silver." He was black and white, a wonderful friend and pet for children. I don't know, if someone had trained him to be careful with children, or if that was just in his nature. Often I tried to make him run, all to no avail. Daddy rode on him a time or two, and each time got him galloping. We had a kids size saddle which came with him. I enjoyed currying his coat and braiding his mane. I put on his bridle and saddle to ride him for the milk cows at chore time.
One summer day, I had a new idea. I brought our little red wagon up along side Ole Silver. With a rope tied to the wagon tongue, I then tied it to the saddle horn. As we started on our first safari, the sound of the rattling wagon scared poor Ole Silver, until he shot out the driveway and down the road a quarter mile before he finally stopped. We ran down to lead the pony back and pulled the wagon home by hand. One day when Pallie Sue was 18 months old, Silver was tied to the shade tree in the yard. Someone looked out to discover Pallie sitting behind Ole Silver with her arms and legs wrapped around his back feet.
Cousin Kelly Johnson was Papa's very favorite of all his cousins. One summer he and his wife, Cousin Pallie, came for a visit. They were highly loved by all our clan. Everybody had gathered at our place with dish after dish of food. As the festivities moved along, someone brought Ole Silver to be tied at the shade tree. After a while I noticed that my cousin, Yvonne Shumaker, had climbed into the saddle and was sitting on Ole Silver. I had just walked onto the porch and there noticed a stick laying close at hand. It was a great opportunity to give Yvonne a wonderful scare. I picked up the stick and gave Ole Silver a poke on his rear end. Quicker than an eye can see a flying horse hoof, my upper lip swelled out almost a half inch, and silvers foot was back on the ground. O the pain and the awful embarrassment! You better believe, I've never done it again!
At the auction a few years later, our young friend, Edwin Latham, begged his folks to buy the pony. But Mr. McMines, our shop teacher, bought Ole Silver for his two little daughters.
Sunday, February 3, 2013
RAIN, RAIN, GO AWAY
Little Johnny Wants to Play
When we were stuck inside the house on rainy days, I remember standing, looking out the window. I was whining, complaining that we couldn't go out to play. That's when Mother taught us the song: "Rain, Rain, Go Away. Little Johnny Wants to Play." It was novel for a few minutes. But we soon discovered that singing the song didn't make the rain stop.
But Mother was a woman of many ideas. She brought out her thimble and for a while we played, "Hide the Thimble." After that was, "I Spy." We hid a button: beside the pitcher on the table, hung it on a nail in the wall, or stood it by a vase on a shelf.
On better days, in the evening, after chores we played other games: hiding seek: sheep my pen; kick the can; snd drop the handkerchief.
I always thought the "Halloween Party" was October of our first year in Grandpa's house. But now that I consider all that had happened: the Sweet Corn harvest that September 18, 1941; Pallie's birth at 3am in the morning of Sept. 19; maybe other complications; I don't know, maybe the next year. What I do remember was how wonderfully Mother decorated the house and all the young people of the neighborhood who came for the fun and the games......and their chase after the ghost.
Mother let me stay up. I suppose Donnie and Pallie, regardless which year, were already sleeping soundly in bed. The party was in the long "T" room. Because of the time of year, the heat stove was up. Mother (and probably Daddy helped) had hung a tight wire from one end of the room to the other. It was 6 or 7 feet above the floor. She had hung balloons by foot long strings from the wire. The guests were paired to stand by a balloon and between the two, they were to burst them. The guy on one side, held the balloon under his chin. The girl on the other side might need to stand on a brick or two and hold the other side of the balloon under her chin. They squeezed and tried with might and main to brake their balloon. The first to succeed won a prize.
There was a tub filled with water and apples for dunking. There were treats and every body had a frolicking, roaring good time. And then at some lull in the conversation, one of the guys asked, "Are there any ghost in these old buildings?" Daddy and Lawton's eyes met across the room. I'm not sure of the sequence, but Daddy went through the bed room and got a sheet. Lawton led the crowd of young people out the south door from the living room. He led them east, across the back yard. In the light of the rising moon, the old stone house where Grandma and Grandpa had first lived, lent itself to the developing drama of the evening.
I remember holding Mother's hand as that mob of youth milled about, at the entrance of the Old White Stone building. It was just one room about 12 feet wide and maybe 18 feet long. The wooden roof extended about 8 feet on each side and in the front. They were sure they had seen the ghost inside. One of the guys found an ax and was waving it around. Some how Lawton was able to take control and divert their attention to the other stone house nearer our own house.
Once again a roar went up! Someone had spotted the ghost in that other stone room. It went out the small back window and crossed the yard to the road. Some of the swift guys were on the trail like hounds on a fox. Up the road they went like a strong south wind. The gang was gaining on the ghost. But at Albert and Itha Miller's mail box, the ghost crossed the ditch, jumped a barbed four wire fence and disappeared into the mesquit tree pasture. The crowd of runners came panting back with all kinds of mysterious questions and tails to spin for years to come.
When we were stuck inside the house on rainy days, I remember standing, looking out the window. I was whining, complaining that we couldn't go out to play. That's when Mother taught us the song: "Rain, Rain, Go Away. Little Johnny Wants to Play." It was novel for a few minutes. But we soon discovered that singing the song didn't make the rain stop.
But Mother was a woman of many ideas. She brought out her thimble and for a while we played, "Hide the Thimble." After that was, "I Spy." We hid a button: beside the pitcher on the table, hung it on a nail in the wall, or stood it by a vase on a shelf.
On better days, in the evening, after chores we played other games: hiding seek: sheep my pen; kick the can; snd drop the handkerchief.
I always thought the "Halloween Party" was October of our first year in Grandpa's house. But now that I consider all that had happened: the Sweet Corn harvest that September 18, 1941; Pallie's birth at 3am in the morning of Sept. 19; maybe other complications; I don't know, maybe the next year. What I do remember was how wonderfully Mother decorated the house and all the young people of the neighborhood who came for the fun and the games......and their chase after the ghost.
Mother let me stay up. I suppose Donnie and Pallie, regardless which year, were already sleeping soundly in bed. The party was in the long "T" room. Because of the time of year, the heat stove was up. Mother (and probably Daddy helped) had hung a tight wire from one end of the room to the other. It was 6 or 7 feet above the floor. She had hung balloons by foot long strings from the wire. The guests were paired to stand by a balloon and between the two, they were to burst them. The guy on one side, held the balloon under his chin. The girl on the other side might need to stand on a brick or two and hold the other side of the balloon under her chin. They squeezed and tried with might and main to brake their balloon. The first to succeed won a prize.
There was a tub filled with water and apples for dunking. There were treats and every body had a frolicking, roaring good time. And then at some lull in the conversation, one of the guys asked, "Are there any ghost in these old buildings?" Daddy and Lawton's eyes met across the room. I'm not sure of the sequence, but Daddy went through the bed room and got a sheet. Lawton led the crowd of young people out the south door from the living room. He led them east, across the back yard. In the light of the rising moon, the old stone house where Grandma and Grandpa had first lived, lent itself to the developing drama of the evening.
I remember holding Mother's hand as that mob of youth milled about, at the entrance of the Old White Stone building. It was just one room about 12 feet wide and maybe 18 feet long. The wooden roof extended about 8 feet on each side and in the front. They were sure they had seen the ghost inside. One of the guys found an ax and was waving it around. Some how Lawton was able to take control and divert their attention to the other stone house nearer our own house.
Once again a roar went up! Someone had spotted the ghost in that other stone room. It went out the small back window and crossed the yard to the road. Some of the swift guys were on the trail like hounds on a fox. Up the road they went like a strong south wind. The gang was gaining on the ghost. But at Albert and Itha Miller's mail box, the ghost crossed the ditch, jumped a barbed four wire fence and disappeared into the mesquit tree pasture. The crowd of runners came panting back with all kinds of mysterious questions and tails to spin for years to come.
Thursday, January 31, 2013
THE YEAR ENDS AND WAR STARTS
The Things I Remember Don't Always Have a Date
I'm not really sure why, but several things and events during this period of time don't have dates attached to them.
Sometimes we heard FDR giving one of his weekly Fire Side Chats on the radio. December 7, 1941, Japan bombed Pearl Harbor. Soon rationing of many products began. I remember: rubber, including tires, gas, sugar and tin products. These days it is almost impossible to find anything made of tin. Then, many items were made of tin.
The road from the Little Red House to the river was a two lane path through sand, sage, grass and wild flowers. A hundred feet or so from the river bank was a sand hill that reached out to the road. People had started hauling away sand...I'm not sure why. Maybe they were building something that needed sand and cement. Maybe their kids needed a sand box. We had a sand box table in our school room. After a while folks started using that place as a dump. Once the war got in full swing, the government bought junk iron. I remember when we went to the river for a play day, we'd look to see if there was any iron we could pick up to sell. I remember an old roadster just south of the windmill and cattle tank in our cow lot. I think Daddy said it had belonged to Uncle Zeb. I played in it a few times, and then it was gone...sold "to fight the Japs."
Up in the Sand Hills, east of the Little Red House, just south of the Shelter Belt, in the pasture, there was a thicket of wild Sand Hill Plumb bushes. For many years, Mother would take us there to pick plumbs, She used them to make jam and jelly. O, they were so good! After a few years, the fruit trees of the orchard produced so that we didn't pick the wild ones so often.
Daddy always loved watermelon. When he was planting cotton, he had me ride on the planter with a bunch of watermelon seeds in my cap. I sat there with the cap in my lap. And I'd drop 2 or 3 seeds through one side of the planter in the row of cotton. The seeds dropped about 6 feet apart for the whole half mile. When we turned around to come back. That gave us two rows of cotton between the rows of watermelons. I think we planted 6 rows of melons. When they were ripe, Daddy put out the word in the community. Anybody was welcome to pick as many as they wanted. His only rule was, don't break or eat melons in the field. That would have attracted crows or coyotes. Those would have destroyed the crop for everybody.
Some time during 1942, the Army began to build an Air Base just east of our County Site, Altus, Ok. Daddy got work there and met one of his very best and life long friends, Percy Ryan from Ryan, Ok. They were hired the same day and were sent to work together. They lived about 125 miles down river from us. Over the years our two families had many wonderful times of fun and fellowship together.
I'm not really sure why, but several things and events during this period of time don't have dates attached to them.
Sometimes we heard FDR giving one of his weekly Fire Side Chats on the radio. December 7, 1941, Japan bombed Pearl Harbor. Soon rationing of many products began. I remember: rubber, including tires, gas, sugar and tin products. These days it is almost impossible to find anything made of tin. Then, many items were made of tin.
The road from the Little Red House to the river was a two lane path through sand, sage, grass and wild flowers. A hundred feet or so from the river bank was a sand hill that reached out to the road. People had started hauling away sand...I'm not sure why. Maybe they were building something that needed sand and cement. Maybe their kids needed a sand box. We had a sand box table in our school room. After a while folks started using that place as a dump. Once the war got in full swing, the government bought junk iron. I remember when we went to the river for a play day, we'd look to see if there was any iron we could pick up to sell. I remember an old roadster just south of the windmill and cattle tank in our cow lot. I think Daddy said it had belonged to Uncle Zeb. I played in it a few times, and then it was gone...sold "to fight the Japs."
Up in the Sand Hills, east of the Little Red House, just south of the Shelter Belt, in the pasture, there was a thicket of wild Sand Hill Plumb bushes. For many years, Mother would take us there to pick plumbs, She used them to make jam and jelly. O, they were so good! After a few years, the fruit trees of the orchard produced so that we didn't pick the wild ones so often.
Daddy always loved watermelon. When he was planting cotton, he had me ride on the planter with a bunch of watermelon seeds in my cap. I sat there with the cap in my lap. And I'd drop 2 or 3 seeds through one side of the planter in the row of cotton. The seeds dropped about 6 feet apart for the whole half mile. When we turned around to come back. That gave us two rows of cotton between the rows of watermelons. I think we planted 6 rows of melons. When they were ripe, Daddy put out the word in the community. Anybody was welcome to pick as many as they wanted. His only rule was, don't break or eat melons in the field. That would have attracted crows or coyotes. Those would have destroyed the crop for everybody.
Some time during 1942, the Army began to build an Air Base just east of our County Site, Altus, Ok. Daddy got work there and met one of his very best and life long friends, Percy Ryan from Ryan, Ok. They were hired the same day and were sent to work together. They lived about 125 miles down river from us. Over the years our two families had many wonderful times of fun and fellowship together.
HOW FAR COULD YOU GO: 1847 - 1899
They were called Clemie and France. They were born in Arkansas in 1847.
They lived through the Civil War. She was Margaret Clementine
Brenson. He was Francis Marion Easley. He grew up with his Grand
Parents on the west side of White River.
His Grandpa owned a general store and operated a ferry on the river. She
grew up with her parents on the east side of the river.
After the war they got married. They were eighteen years old. His Grandpa soon died. I don't know about her family at that time. It seems that she and he" soon left for Texas. When Uncle Will, their first born, was a year old they left Texas for California. There they took a train up the coast to the State of Washington. They were in the same area that Aunt Pearl and Uncle Everett move from Grandpa's farm at the beginning of World War II. There they saw a combine cutting wheat which was pulled by 64 horses. For some reason they didn't like it out there. So they came back to the area around Fort Worth, Texas. Grandpa and a partner developed a trade route from there to El Paso. Uncle Lawton has a tin type photograph of Grandpa and his partner on one of their trips.
It seems that he had a farm or an acreage where they raised their family. Papa told me about living there. They had a poor neighbor family living down the hill. Easley's had extra milk from their cow or cows. They offered buttermilk to that family. He said the eleven year old daughter came with a two and a half gallon bucket to get the milk. He remembered watching as she started down the hill toward home. After a little distance she lifted the bucket and took a good long swig. He thought that meant how hungry she must have been.
Grandma and Grandpa had six or seven sons and three daughters. One little boy died, Walter must have been about two years old. He was between Uncle Virgil and Papa. I think most, if not all, their family was born there. Grandpa hired a man to build a good fireplace in their house. The man guaranteed it would have enough draft to pull a twenty penny nail out the top of the chimney. He built it with mud mixed with sticks and straw. After it was well dried, the great test came. He stuck the nail through a sheet of paper, tossed it into the fireplace and those watching outside the house were totally amazed and pleased to see it come flying out the top.
Now Grandma could cook inside during cold and rainy weather. In 1885 Grandpa bought an iron cook stove, so Grandma didn't have to use the fireplace in winter. In summer she had been cooking over a bonfire. Papa told me they dried their meat by slicing it thin, then hanging it over a wire. I asked about the flies? He said they tied the wire above fly line. I was so surprised I didn't think to ask, "how high is fly line?"
Finally in 1899, Grandpa and his sons traveled by horse and covered wagon (s) to Jackson County, Oklahoma Territory to purchase a claim an Old Man had staked in 1895. After the transaction was made, they returned to Texas and brought the family and possessions to their last home, in 1900.
After the war they got married. They were eighteen years old. His Grandpa soon died. I don't know about her family at that time. It seems that she and he" soon left for Texas. When Uncle Will, their first born, was a year old they left Texas for California. There they took a train up the coast to the State of Washington. They were in the same area that Aunt Pearl and Uncle Everett move from Grandpa's farm at the beginning of World War II. There they saw a combine cutting wheat which was pulled by 64 horses. For some reason they didn't like it out there. So they came back to the area around Fort Worth, Texas. Grandpa and a partner developed a trade route from there to El Paso. Uncle Lawton has a tin type photograph of Grandpa and his partner on one of their trips.
It seems that he had a farm or an acreage where they raised their family. Papa told me about living there. They had a poor neighbor family living down the hill. Easley's had extra milk from their cow or cows. They offered buttermilk to that family. He said the eleven year old daughter came with a two and a half gallon bucket to get the milk. He remembered watching as she started down the hill toward home. After a little distance she lifted the bucket and took a good long swig. He thought that meant how hungry she must have been.
Grandma and Grandpa had six or seven sons and three daughters. One little boy died, Walter must have been about two years old. He was between Uncle Virgil and Papa. I think most, if not all, their family was born there. Grandpa hired a man to build a good fireplace in their house. The man guaranteed it would have enough draft to pull a twenty penny nail out the top of the chimney. He built it with mud mixed with sticks and straw. After it was well dried, the great test came. He stuck the nail through a sheet of paper, tossed it into the fireplace and those watching outside the house were totally amazed and pleased to see it come flying out the top.
Now Grandma could cook inside during cold and rainy weather. In 1885 Grandpa bought an iron cook stove, so Grandma didn't have to use the fireplace in winter. In summer she had been cooking over a bonfire. Papa told me they dried their meat by slicing it thin, then hanging it over a wire. I asked about the flies? He said they tied the wire above fly line. I was so surprised I didn't think to ask, "how high is fly line?"
Finally in 1899, Grandpa and his sons traveled by horse and covered wagon (s) to Jackson County, Oklahoma Territory to purchase a claim an Old Man had staked in 1895. After the transaction was made, they returned to Texas and brought the family and possessions to their last home, in 1900.
Thursday, January 24, 2013
THE TELEPHONE AND OTHER ODDITIES
Eight Miles from Town and Eleven Families on the Line
When we moved into Grandpa's house, the phone was where it had been since it was installed. It was screwed to the wall about 5 feet above the floor. It was in a wooden case about 18 inches high and maybe 10 inches wide. The mouth piece was mounted in the middle of the front, which was also a door. The door could be opened to replace the two batteries which stood upright. That didn't happen very often. The ear piece was mounted to the left side about two thirds of the way up. It hung in a U shaped hanger. When one lifted it to make a call or to answer a call it had an attached cord about two and a half feet long. So you stood facing the wall, speaking into the mouth piece and holding the ear piece in your left hand, listening with one's left ear. The ringer was a little crank on the right side about the middle of the box.
When phones became available, eleven families in our neighborhood got together and built a phone line all the way to the phone company in town, Eldorado, Okla. They all had access to the line. Each family had their own ring. There was a general ring which meant that all homes should pick up and listen to an urgent message. Otherwise, each family had their own ring made up of long and or short burst of sound. For instant: long-short-short or long-long-short or 3 shorts or 2 longs, etc. One rather long ring was for calling central or the operator in town to place a call to another line than our own. When you made a call, all other families on the line could hear it. Often one could soon hear other folks picking up to listen in.
Lighting was generally available by means of kerosine lamps. I don't know how many, other families had, I think at least two. One for the main room. In that case, for us, it was the long T room running straight back from the two rooms that faced the road. That was the room where we had the heat stove. Generally there was a full sized bed in the northeast corner of that room. The heat stove was in the middle, left to right, and about two thirds from the west end. Usually the best lamp with the kerosine was in our main living room. When bed time came we carried it to the other bed rooms or there might have been a second lamp to use in another room. When that's all you have, the light is good, better than candles.
Over the years Granny and Papa had different kinds of lighting applications. When I first remember and for several years they had a wind charger. That required a plethora of six volt batteries (the only kind we had for that purpose in those days). They had lights and light switches in all rooms...looked just like today, but all made with the power of wind.
After a while Thelma and Dillon had wind power and they gave us their Aladdin lamp. O, my, the whole room seemed full of light. That was such a joy! I felt so blessed.
While Lawton and Nina lived in the Little Red House, I think I was there pretty often. After they moved to the Drew Place, not so often. Once when Daddy and Lawton were re-roofing the Little Red, Edwin and I were muddling around in the yard. He was about two and I must have been a little past four. I saw a bumble bee lighting on the back of his neck. I reached to pull it away. We both let out a "bloody murder scream" at the same moment. The Daddies came bounding down the ladder to see what was the matter. We had both been stung by that same bee within split seconds of each other.
We had a Rawleigh Man. He came by once or twice a year. He stopped his pick-up beside the road in front of the house. I don't remember, if he honked his horn or hollered. Some how he got Mother's attention. His pick-up bed had wooden doors on the sides, with shelves and many little places for storage. Those were will filled with all kinds of herbs and spices. He had bottles of oils, salves and flavors. Any thing a lady might need to help in cooking, baking and making her food taste and smell wonderfully delicious. Years later, when we moved to northern Illinois, I learned that the huge W. T. Rawleigh plant was just 35 miles northeast of us, in Freeport, Illinois. It is still there, a gigantic, four story building. Lou and Al Schwitzer, members of the Ridott Church which I pastored for 16 years, had worked there almost all their adult working lifes.
William T. Rawleigh was 17 when he began making salves in his mother's kitchen in 1889. He drove a mortgaged buggy and a borrowed horse to sell his four salves door to door. Those four salves: Rawleigh Antiseptic, Rawleigh Internal Liniment, Rawleigh Medicated Ointment, and Rawleigh External AP Oil are all still being made. During World War II, Australian soldiers carried Rawleigh Antiseptic Salve in their first aid kit to treat wounds and ward off infections. On January 27, 2009, The W. T. Rawleigh Company announced their celebration of their 120th Anniversary as a direct sales purveyor of home remedies and fine spices and seasonings. These are all available on line...almost the same as door to door. Eventually he had seven plants world wide, and would have been considered the Bill Gates of his time.
I remember Lou saying that she ground black pepper all day long, sometimes for a whole week. Then they would switch over to another spice or herb. I always liked to run out to the Rawleigh truck with Mother to look at all the products he had for her to consider. It never occurred to me that some day I would see the building and know the people who were there where it was being processed.
When we moved into Grandpa's house, the phone was where it had been since it was installed. It was screwed to the wall about 5 feet above the floor. It was in a wooden case about 18 inches high and maybe 10 inches wide. The mouth piece was mounted in the middle of the front, which was also a door. The door could be opened to replace the two batteries which stood upright. That didn't happen very often. The ear piece was mounted to the left side about two thirds of the way up. It hung in a U shaped hanger. When one lifted it to make a call or to answer a call it had an attached cord about two and a half feet long. So you stood facing the wall, speaking into the mouth piece and holding the ear piece in your left hand, listening with one's left ear. The ringer was a little crank on the right side about the middle of the box.
When phones became available, eleven families in our neighborhood got together and built a phone line all the way to the phone company in town, Eldorado, Okla. They all had access to the line. Each family had their own ring. There was a general ring which meant that all homes should pick up and listen to an urgent message. Otherwise, each family had their own ring made up of long and or short burst of sound. For instant: long-short-short or long-long-short or 3 shorts or 2 longs, etc. One rather long ring was for calling central or the operator in town to place a call to another line than our own. When you made a call, all other families on the line could hear it. Often one could soon hear other folks picking up to listen in.
Lighting was generally available by means of kerosine lamps. I don't know how many, other families had, I think at least two. One for the main room. In that case, for us, it was the long T room running straight back from the two rooms that faced the road. That was the room where we had the heat stove. Generally there was a full sized bed in the northeast corner of that room. The heat stove was in the middle, left to right, and about two thirds from the west end. Usually the best lamp with the kerosine was in our main living room. When bed time came we carried it to the other bed rooms or there might have been a second lamp to use in another room. When that's all you have, the light is good, better than candles.
Over the years Granny and Papa had different kinds of lighting applications. When I first remember and for several years they had a wind charger. That required a plethora of six volt batteries (the only kind we had for that purpose in those days). They had lights and light switches in all rooms...looked just like today, but all made with the power of wind.
After a while Thelma and Dillon had wind power and they gave us their Aladdin lamp. O, my, the whole room seemed full of light. That was such a joy! I felt so blessed.
While Lawton and Nina lived in the Little Red House, I think I was there pretty often. After they moved to the Drew Place, not so often. Once when Daddy and Lawton were re-roofing the Little Red, Edwin and I were muddling around in the yard. He was about two and I must have been a little past four. I saw a bumble bee lighting on the back of his neck. I reached to pull it away. We both let out a "bloody murder scream" at the same moment. The Daddies came bounding down the ladder to see what was the matter. We had both been stung by that same bee within split seconds of each other.
We had a Rawleigh Man. He came by once or twice a year. He stopped his pick-up beside the road in front of the house. I don't remember, if he honked his horn or hollered. Some how he got Mother's attention. His pick-up bed had wooden doors on the sides, with shelves and many little places for storage. Those were will filled with all kinds of herbs and spices. He had bottles of oils, salves and flavors. Any thing a lady might need to help in cooking, baking and making her food taste and smell wonderfully delicious. Years later, when we moved to northern Illinois, I learned that the huge W. T. Rawleigh plant was just 35 miles northeast of us, in Freeport, Illinois. It is still there, a gigantic, four story building. Lou and Al Schwitzer, members of the Ridott Church which I pastored for 16 years, had worked there almost all their adult working lifes.
William T. Rawleigh was 17 when he began making salves in his mother's kitchen in 1889. He drove a mortgaged buggy and a borrowed horse to sell his four salves door to door. Those four salves: Rawleigh Antiseptic, Rawleigh Internal Liniment, Rawleigh Medicated Ointment, and Rawleigh External AP Oil are all still being made. During World War II, Australian soldiers carried Rawleigh Antiseptic Salve in their first aid kit to treat wounds and ward off infections. On January 27, 2009, The W. T. Rawleigh Company announced their celebration of their 120th Anniversary as a direct sales purveyor of home remedies and fine spices and seasonings. These are all available on line...almost the same as door to door. Eventually he had seven plants world wide, and would have been considered the Bill Gates of his time.
I remember Lou saying that she ground black pepper all day long, sometimes for a whole week. Then they would switch over to another spice or herb. I always liked to run out to the Rawleigh truck with Mother to look at all the products he had for her to consider. It never occurred to me that some day I would see the building and know the people who were there where it was being processed.
Saturday, January 19, 2013
CARNIVEROUS BEES
It Actually Happened in Spiro, Oklahoma
One winter day in Spiro, Ok, Daddy knew his hive of bees were probably in stress for enough food to make it through the rest of the winter. He told me this story.
He went into the chicken house and selected a nice fat hen. He killed and dressed her. (well, I don't remember if he removed her insides. It probably wouldn't matter, considering the circumstances.) He put her in the oven and baked her.
When she was ready, the secured her in front of the hive in such a way that coons or other animals could not eat or carry her away. The outside tempertures were such that bees gathered outside their hive in the heat of the day.
Being busy with other activities, he forgot about the hen and the hive, for several days. After a week or two, he went to check......! All flesh was removed from the bones. All gristle had been removed. The bones were laying just were they had fallen. And the bones were pitted as if the bees had sucked out all the juice and fluid they could get.
It did save the hive until spring. He never explained how he knew to do it, or why he thought of it. I mentioned it to Keith a year or two ago and he didn't know anything about it.
I told the story to one of my good friends, "a man who knows all things," and he refuted the possibility. That same week I had seen a picture in the news paper of an eagle eating a road kill opossum. He denied that as well, saying "eagles eat only fish."
Below is an article I found (along with others) on the internet:
Bees that eat meat?
The Trigona hypogea is a type of bee found in South American. It not only collects meat from animal carcasses, but has more recently been discovered to have a taste for live prey as well.
Scientists have seen the bees swiftly raid recently abandoned wasp nests, carrying off wasp eggs, larvae, and pupae until the nest is empty. They’ve observed the bees collecting toad eggs too.
All developing, young bees need protein. Pollen is actually very rich in protein. The adults of most bee species feed predominantly on nectar and save the pollen for their younger colony members. These South American bees simply require a different source of protein. Their anatomy reflects their different eating habits.
The leg modifications that enable most bee species to transport pollen are largely diminished on these bees. Their mouthparts are sharper, sort of tooth-like.
The bees prepare the meat for later consumption by the younger members of the colony by chewing it and then mixing it with sugary liquids, perhaps collected from fruit. Microbes break the mixture down into a viscous goo, which delivers important nutrients to the young bees.
I do recall that Samson found a nest of honey bees inside a Lion carcass. Jud. 14:8. (might not apply)
One winter day in Spiro, Ok, Daddy knew his hive of bees were probably in stress for enough food to make it through the rest of the winter. He told me this story.
He went into the chicken house and selected a nice fat hen. He killed and dressed her. (well, I don't remember if he removed her insides. It probably wouldn't matter, considering the circumstances.) He put her in the oven and baked her.
When she was ready, the secured her in front of the hive in such a way that coons or other animals could not eat or carry her away. The outside tempertures were such that bees gathered outside their hive in the heat of the day.
Being busy with other activities, he forgot about the hen and the hive, for several days. After a week or two, he went to check......! All flesh was removed from the bones. All gristle had been removed. The bones were laying just were they had fallen. And the bones were pitted as if the bees had sucked out all the juice and fluid they could get.
It did save the hive until spring. He never explained how he knew to do it, or why he thought of it. I mentioned it to Keith a year or two ago and he didn't know anything about it.
I told the story to one of my good friends, "a man who knows all things," and he refuted the possibility. That same week I had seen a picture in the news paper of an eagle eating a road kill opossum. He denied that as well, saying "eagles eat only fish."
Below is an article I found (along with others) on the internet:
Moment of Science Carnivorous Bees
By Don Glass
Posted September 2, 2004
Where in the world are there bees that couldn't care less about flowers, but sure love to sink their mouths into dead animal carcasses?Bees that eat meat?
The Trigona hypogea is a type of bee found in South American. It not only collects meat from animal carcasses, but has more recently been discovered to have a taste for live prey as well.
Scientists have seen the bees swiftly raid recently abandoned wasp nests, carrying off wasp eggs, larvae, and pupae until the nest is empty. They’ve observed the bees collecting toad eggs too.
All developing, young bees need protein. Pollen is actually very rich in protein. The adults of most bee species feed predominantly on nectar and save the pollen for their younger colony members. These South American bees simply require a different source of protein. Their anatomy reflects their different eating habits.
The leg modifications that enable most bee species to transport pollen are largely diminished on these bees. Their mouthparts are sharper, sort of tooth-like.
The bees prepare the meat for later consumption by the younger members of the colony by chewing it and then mixing it with sugary liquids, perhaps collected from fruit. Microbes break the mixture down into a viscous goo, which delivers important nutrients to the young bees.
I do recall that Samson found a nest of honey bees inside a Lion carcass. Jud. 14:8. (might not apply)
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