.....Every once in awhile someone will forward an email with old things listed to see if folks can remember them. I thought that I would delve into my memory and make my own list. Since I was able to spend some time on a farm before the age of rural electrification (is that a real word?), I have a little advantage. But, I believe that I will go beyond just thimgs and list nonmaterial things as well. I will say this, "Looking back across the years is like looking across a great devide." You can still see with your memory, but you cannot go back. Perhaps I can use my memory as a light to illuminate the past for others whose recorder was out of commission. And to be a light for young folks who never knew of the world that was.
Old Farm Things
.....In Rural West Virginia, the 19th Century did not end until about 1948. It was only then that the 20th Century came riding in on the electric lines. The things listed below are probably only things that most folks' great grandparents can remember...if they lived in rural America.
The wood or coal cookstove:
.....This required wood cut and split to size because the wood had to fit into the round holes on top of the stove. These holes were covered with round covers. Many a man, boy, girl or woman spent time splitting stove wood.
Flat Irons:
.....Clothes were ironed with heavy iron flatirons. To iron effeciently, at least two irons were needed. One would be on the stove heating while the other would be in use. Therefore, ironing needed to be done near the stove. This meant that ironing was a hard, time consuming, hot job. I watched my mother do this.
The Churn:
.....Although my Mother-in-law used a churn as recently as about fourteen years ago, the churn was a feature of the old farmhouse. My grandmother Iantha would carry a bucket of milk from the creamery to the pantry where she kept her churn. After a long time of making the "plunger" go up and down, the butterfat would finally "come to the top." The milk that was left was called "bluejohn." This was not much different than the skimmilk that folks try to get you to drink today.
.....There is a misconception about these farm families. Many folks look back and think how lucky the farm kids were to be able to have fresh milk, butter, and eggs to eat. This was only true of the "better off" farm families. Too many children went to bed with only a glass of bluejohn and a piece of cornbread for supper. Why? It was because most of the eggs, the butter, and the good milk was sold at the local store for the only cash the farm women could get. Often the household was ran on "egg money." I remember that, even at our home in Dunbar, my mother would use egg money for things that she needed. Life on a "hardscrabble farm" was hard on everyone. But, unlike today, no one expected a "handout." You made it on your own or you didn't make it.
The oil lamp:
.....Without electricity, the oil lamp was the standard means of lighting. There were usually three kinds. There was the sturdy metal lamp for outside use. There was the plane glass lamp for use in the kitchen and dining area. Forget about the bathroom, there wasn't any. Back in the livingroom, parlor, and bedrooms, grandma had some fancy lamps. These had shades with tassels and the had fancy bases. I could look at them, but I dared not to touch.
The Dinner Bell:
.....For the old folks, and for me still, we ate dinner in the middle of the day and supper in the evening. Almost every farm had a dinner bell. This bell was rang to let those who were working in the field know that dinner was almost ready. The workers would come to the house, wash up, and file to the dinner table. Sometimes a large table would be in an outside building. They never ate lunch. Lunch is an urban creation. Dinner in the country was a large meal.
.....In the evening, after most work and chores were done, we ate supper. People who worked hard needed good meals. Most of the fatty foods that we ate were burned off through hard work. The men might relax after supper, but the women and the girls had to wash dishes and tidy up the kitchen. Then, they could relax. With the hours my wife works, we don't get to have many meals. But, when she is not working, we always have Sunday Dinner.
The Pantry:
.....The thing that keeps the old-time pantry in my mind is its smell. I didn't say "was" because, as long as it is still in my mind, it still exists. When I die, then it will be was. In the pantry there was stored the flour, the sugar, a number of spices and what few canned goods that were bought at the store. As I mentioned before, the churn was kept there. There was also kept there what fresh milk and butter that had been was brought from the celler house (also called the creamerey). Of course, the eggs were also there. Besides the regular eggs, grandma usually kept eggs she collected to "put under the setting hen." All of these things produced a fantastic smell.
The bedding:
.....At Grandma's most of the bedding was made up of homemaide quilts and fetherbeds. I know that we had sheets. But, in some of the poorer communities, sheets were reserved for "dressing out the dead." In the upstairs bedrooms of the old Stone Family house, which had not been used for years, I remember seeing "ticks" still filled with cornshucks. There had been a lot of rustling in those bedrooms. When I was young, my grandmother gave me a featherbed to use at home. That was almost like heaven. I also slept in a bed like that in Germany.
Washday:
.....You might say, "Now what would a boy know about washday." And I would say, "Plenty!" This dosen't just refer to the old 1940's days, but it was true until I was at least 14 years-old at Dunbar. The only difference was that we had gas and didn't use wood.
.....Washday meant carrying water. In those days, every drop of water had to be pumped or carried from a spring. Someimes that spring was not very close to the house and perhaps it was down over a hill. At Dunbar, we had a cistern on the back porch. Of course every drop of water that was used in the house also had to be pumped and carried. Now you know why a "Saturday Night Bath" waa a luxary. After I had grown big enough, it was always my job to pump and carry the water.
Personal Hygene:
.....Probably the biggist change in life from old times to modern times can be seen in personal hygene. Modern personal hygene was just not practical back on the farm. On most farms, there was a washbasin and a water pitcher on the back porch. When you came to the house after working outside, you washed your hands, arms, and face in the washbasin. It was always someone's job to keep the water pictcher full of water.
.....You may or may not have taken a bath on Saturday. But, if you did, you had to take that bath in a round washtub. That water had to be carried from the well or spring and heated on the stove. Deodorants for daily use was a distant invention. Some men wore their long underwear all winter. But, if you were a child and you were going somewhere, your mom always made sure you were clean behind the ears. My mother had an annoying habit of spitting on a hanky and washing my ears. Mother's had a fear that their children might be in an accident and have dirty ears.
How the Old Folks Drank Coffee:
.....At my Grandmother's, you did not drink your coffee from your cup. That was considered to be bad manners. You first poured your coffee into you saucer. They you drank it from the saucer. I think my Grandmother continued this custom until the day she died. This old custom has disappeared...as far as I know.
.....The mail:
Rural Free Delivery:
....."RFD" was the lifeline to the outside world. In the earlier years, mail was delivered on horseback, by buggy or wagon, and then by Model T Ford. But, in the days following World War II, the surplus army jeep came on the scene. I remember watching and listening for Mr. Shinn to come up the hill in his old red jeep. Grandpa Tom Pullins did not like for me to get the mail. Sometimes he would yell at me or pull m y hair. Mom didn't like that one bit. But, in his defence, he had advanced cancer and was often not in a good mood. He died in 1947 and that put an end to my farm days.
.....Everything came by mail including the mail-order catalogs. Until the catalog companies begin to use glossy paper, pages from these catalogs were used in the little out building as a stand in for tolit paper. I remember seeing these catalogs in my Aunt Dorie Thornton's outhouse. She was very frugal. Corncobs were also soaked to soften and then used in the outhouse.
..... Rare treasures were ordered from the catalogs as well as new farm equipment. Sometimes even baby chicks were ordered. Sometimes a young boy or man would save up and order a new pair of levi work-jeans. But, most house dresses were made from pretty material from feedsacks. I remember dad buying chicken feed in these sacks from Red Rose Feed Company. Mom always put these to good use.
.....In those days, letter writing was an art and often the only connection to loved ones who lived miles and miles away. If you could not read or write, you had someone else write for you. And, when you recieved a return, you had someone else read if for you. Often that person was the local one-room school teacher. Sometimes these letters are the only true window we have into the past of someones life.
.....The mailcarrier was also the bearer of local news. If someone was sick, had just died, or was getting married, the mail carrier carried that news. Sometimes he was the even the carrier of local gossip or the announcer of a upcomming revival meeting. What ever the news, the mail cxarrier had it. If there ws a local telephone company, then it was the person who ran the switchboard who dispatched the news. Grandma had a crank elephone, but it just went as far as the neighbors.
The Old Time Songmaster: .....Tom Pullins was an old time songmaster. He went around to varius churches and groups of people and taught folks how to sing. In those days, many of the old hymn books had shaped notes. I am not an authority on this, but I believe that each shape had a value or represented a tone in the scale. I remember at home at Dunbar that my mother had a number of his songbooks.
Social Events:
A Belling:
.....On the page shown below I write about the belling I attended when I was six years-old. The story won me honorable mention in the Beckley Newspapers Golden Pen Award. I won with the story "Yesterday." The Belling was at the Austin Livingston Farm.
The Old Fashioned Belling
Yesterday
Descendants of James Austin Thomas "Aus" Livingston 1 James Austin Thomas "Aus" Livingston b: December 02, 1881 in Mason County, WV d: April 22, 1957 in Mason County, WV Burial: Spruce Cemetery Cemetery: 1900 Union Mason, 1910 Ripley, 1930 Union Mason . +Nancy Raines b: May 06, 1886 in Jackson County d: July 13, 1969 in Scott Depot, WV Burial: Spruce Cemetery m: May 06, 1900 in Jackson County, WV Father: George Washington Raines Mother: Rebecca Louisa Parsons Source: Debbie Holoway 2 Okey A. Livingston b: August 15, 1906 d: July 01, 1951 Burial: Creston Cemetery Census: 1930 Mason Union Census: 1930 Mason Union ... +Lula Agnes Keefer b: July 09, 1908 in Leon, WV d: September 13, 1999 in Columbus, OH Burial: Creston Cemetery Father: Ephraim Francis Keefer Mother: Samantha Margaret Absten Education: Attended Grant School Census: 1930 Mason Census: 1930 Mason 2 Leonard Otho Livingston b: March 02, 1909 d: October 18, 1993 in Leon, WV Individual Note: Living at Home in 1930 Census: 1930 Mason Census: 1930 Mason ... +Berdie Marie Thornton b: July 26, 1911 d: March 06, 1987 Burial: Leon Cemetery Father: Jesse Otmer Thornton Mother: Mary Ruth Gillispie 2 Minnie Mae Belle Livingston b: July 11, 1912 in Evans, WV d: September 27, 1992 in Springfield, OH Burial: Obetz Cemetry Individual Note: living at Home in 1930 Census: 1930 Mason Census: 1930 Mason ... +Harold Lee *2nd Husband of Minnie Mae Belle Livingston: ... +Luther Lee Smith b: August 16, 1914 d: June 27, 1969 in Columbus, OH Burial: Obetz Cemetery, Columbus m: July 14, 1934 Father: Isaac "Ike" Judson Smith Mother: Pricy Smith 2 Esther Sarah Livingston b: May 14, 1915 in Mason County, WV d: August 27, 2008 in Charleston Hospice House Burial: Creston Census: 1830 Mason Census: 1830 Mason ... +Henry Thomas Beattie b: August 06, 1916 d: June 22, 1998 in Putnam General Hospital, Putnam County, WV m: June 06, 1936 in Point Pleasant, WV Military service: Navy World War II Father: Thomas Nickolson Beattie Mother: Lula Edna Stover Source: Debbie Holoway Census: 1830 Mason Census: 1830 Mason 2 Mary Ethel Livingston b: December 14, 1918 in Mason County, WV d: August 01, 1974 in Columbus, Ohio Burial: Stone Family Cemetery Cause of death: Cancer Census: 1830 Mason Census: 1830 Mason ... +Vernon Hoyt Stone b: August 20, 1918 in Mason County, WV d: October 14, 1983 in Mason County, WV Burial: Stone Family Cemetery Cause of death: Heart Trouble m: September 02, 1939 in Kentucky Father: Reuben Ranciler Stone Mother: Iantha Dunham Funeral: Creston Church Cemetery: 1920 Union Mason 2 Henry Livingston b: Abt. 1923 Census: 1930 Mason Census: 1930 Mason ... +Thelma Booth *2nd Wife of Henry Livingston: ... +Ida Love Sayre b: 1922 Father: Henry Sayre Mother: Beda Alice Thornton 2 Elzie Dencil Livingston b: March 17, 1927 d: June 03, 1975 Burial: Creston Cemetery Individual Note: The groom in the story, "The Belling." Cemetery: 1830 Mason ... +Pauline Stover b: May 19, 1927 d: June 22, 1995 Burial: Creston Cemetery Individual Note: the bride in the story, "The Belling." Father: Cline Stover Mother: Edna L. Sayre.....Just like today, folks back then liked to be entertained. The difference was that they usually had to leave the house to be entertained. They couldn't just sit in an easy chair in front of the boobtube.
.....The church was the first center of entertainment with its revival meeting. I have talked about that on my page A young Boy on the Pullens Farm in the 1940s.
.....The next social center was the one-room school. Sometimes even church was held there. My Great Grandmother Sara Barr's funeral was held at the Spruce School. There would be pie socials, box dinners, spelling bees and, before my time, debates. If there was ice to be had, there might even be a ice cream social. Many a romance was conceived at one of these social events. These were held up until the 1950s when most one-room schools were closed. I won't say much about the schools here because I have an old schools page.
The Old West Virginia school Page:
.....At a box dinner social, the girls' box lunches would be put up for bid. A boy who like a certain girl would often agonize over whether or not his bid would be higher than his rival's bid. Sometimes these events were rigged.
.....Another popular event was the spelling bee. Country folks prided themselves on how well they could spell. My dad only completed the third grade but he could always "spell me under the table." On one occasion when my mother was in one of these events, she was give the word tired. But, she was in too much of a hurry and blurted out, "T E R D." I don't think she ever got over that. She could laugh but her "funnybone" was either not there or was stunted.
.....In small towns as well as in the country, the front porch was an important social center. On Saturday nights in the summer often the pickers of guitars, banjos, madolins, and fiddle players would gather on someones porch. Often, company would come and set in the warm breeze and socialize. Of course in towns, folks would stroll by and, if invited, would come upon the porch and "sit a spell." I understand that you never just walked upon a porch without being asked. To do so was a breach of etiquette.
Redclay Roads:
.....When I was small, the only two paved roads that I knew of in Mason County were US Old Route 35 and State Route 17 which bordered the Kanawha River on the North and South sides of the river. Route 2 beteen Point Pleaant nad Huntington may have been paved but we never went that way. All of the rest of the roads were etither gravel or dirt.
.....All of the roads that led to the Stone Homeplace and the Pullins farm on on Thirteenmile Creek were dirt. And, this dirt was redclay. When it was dry these roads could be smooth and nice. But, after a thaw in the winter or Spring, or when there was a good rain, the redclay turned to sticky red gumbo that just rolled up on the tires or wheels of a vehicle. It was nearly impassable even for horses. To the West, the nearest gravel road was Rt. 87. On the East, it was Tribble Road. In between, there were infamous mudholes.
.....One of the most infamous of these was the "Alec Stewart" hole. This was located at what was one called Stephens Post Office at the mouth of Baker Run. It was in a large bottom adjacent to the old Stewart (Withrow) home. This was also once the home of the StephensFamily. Many members of this family, as well as some related Pickenses, lie in a cemetery on the hill back of the house.
Descendants of Andrew Jackson Stephens 1 Andrew Jackson Stephens b: October 06, 1831 in Greene County, PA d: 1906 Burial: Stephens Cemetery Census: 1870, 1880 Mason Union Census: 1870, 1880 Mason Union . +Minerva Minor b: July 05, 1831 d: November 29, 1904 m: October 12, 1852 Father: Samuel Minor Mother: Parmelia Lancaster Census: 1880 Mason Union Census: 1880 Mason Union 2 Margaret Parmelia Stephens b: January 20, 1856 2 Elizebeth Adaline Stephens b: December 07, 1857 d: 1929 Burial: Stephens Cemetery Census: 1880 Mason Union 1920 Mason Union Census: 1880 Mason Union 1920 Mason Union ... +Phillip W. Pickens b: July 17, 1855 d: May 10, 1890 Burial: Stephens Cemetery Individual Note: The cemetery book also lists this person as being buried at Wolfe valley. Was he moved? Father: Spencer Pickens Mother: Margaret Ann Knapp Source: Mason County Cemetery Book pp 41 Census: 1880 Mason Union Census: 1880 Mason Union *2nd Husband of Elizebeth Adaline Stephens: ... +Laban Hill Cain b: June 01, 1865 in Mason County, WV d: September 1953 in Mason County, WV Burial: New Smith Cemetery m: July 11, 1897 Father: William M. Cain Mother: Catherine King Census: 1910, 1920, 1930 Mason Union Census: 1910, 1920, 1930 Mason Union 2 Barzilla Minor Stephens b: March 14, 1858 in Green County, PA d: April 16, 1907 in Leon, WV Or Leon Mail Rt. Burial: Smith Church ... +Mary M. McDermitt b: January 28, 1860 d: February 13, 1917 Burial: Smith Church Father: Valentine McDermitt Mother: Martha Jane Smith 2 Annie L. Stephens b: 1862 2 Albert Stephens b: 1866 d: December 1870 Burial: Stephens Cemetery Cause of death: ran over by a sled 2 Mary Caroline Stephens b: 1870 d: 1935 Burial: Stephens Cemetery ... +Alexander Stewart b: 1865 d: 1935 Burial: Stephens Cemetery Individual Note: Listed below William and Ella Florence King in the 1930 Census Residence: Stevens Post Office Father: Charles Stewart Mother: Paulina Catherine Smith Census: 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1930 Mason Union Census: 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1930 Mason Union 2 Andrew Stephens b: Bef. 1880 d: Bef. 1880 Descendants of Alexander Stewart 1 Alexander Stewart b: 1865 d: 1935 Burial: Stephens Cemetery Individual Note: Listed below William and Ella Florence King in the 1930 Census Residence: Stevens Post Office Census: 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1930 Mason Union Census: 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1930 Mason Union . +Mary Caroline Stephens b: 1870 d: 1935 Burial: Stephens Cemetery Father: Andrew Jackson Stephens Mother: Minerva Minor 2 Leo Stewart b: January 27, 1909 d: August 1960 Census: 1930 Mason Union Census: 1930 Mason Union ... +Minnie M. King b: June 07, 1912 in Leon d: December 15, 2009 in Pt. Pleasant Burial: Smith Church m: Aft. 1930 Father: Jephtha King Mother: Clara Margaret Baker Census: 1930 Mason Union Census: 1930 Mason Union 2 Norma Stewart b: Abt. 1903 Census: 1930 Mason Union Census: 1930 Mason Union.....Usually the first question asked by anyone planing a trip "down in the Country" was, "How are the roads?" It the answer was, "Bad." often the trip was postponed until the condition of the roads got better. If you lived there, you just had to deal with it. Uncle Vernon Stone used to leave his car out on the gravel road and ride his tractor for the comute to the farm on Thirteenmile. But, somehow, the trusty little surplus army jeep usually brought the mail through. If you had a horse, you could ride around the roads.
Child Labor and Parental Authority:
.....In rural America, farm children were valuable. Each one, if healthy, waa a unit of free labor. Child abuse was an unknown concept. Whether it was in the house or in the barn or fields, children were expected to obey and perform their assigned tasks. Lazyness was was one of the deadly sins. But, don't think that the children carried the whole load while their parents just gave orders. Good parents set the example and were usually the last to lay down the hoe or broom.
.....A lazy family was considered to be a disgrace by the community. My grand father King was not considered by some to be too ambitious, but my grandmother made up for it. My Dad took after his mother. I think that both he and my mother considered work a recreation. And, my mother carried on the tradition of children working in our family. I never heard of an allowance. My mother told me once, You've got a roof over your head, a place to sleep, and good food. What ese would you want?" As a result, I seldom asked for anything.
.....I began to earn money of my own by mowing my grandmother's grass. The first time, she wanted to give the money to my father. But, mom would have none of that. Back on the farm, often an older boy would be "hired out" to a neighbor to help with seasonal chores such as haying or corn harvesting. When the boy was paid, usually a quarter a day, he came home and turned the money over to his parents to put in the family "kitty." This is how the farm family survived. But, that would be considered child abuse today. Then it was considereed to be the child's duty.
.....If a parent deemed that a hickory stick "switching" or a paddling out behind the woodpile was in order, no one considered it to be wrong. The parent was applauded for trying to bring the child "up right." They belived in the old proverb. "To spare the rod is to spoil the child." Some might say that the decay in family life might be traced to the throwing away of the rod in favor of "Dr. Spocism." They are probably partly right since the sense of higher authority in an individual's life seems to have greatly deminished. In that era, a child who brought disgrace to his family was looked down upon. If you even got a paddling in school, you got a worse one when you got home. The teacher was a person who was respected. Now, heaven help the poor teacher who lays a finger on a child. The parents are at the school board faster than a cat on a rat. Perhaps the biggest change in today's life, is the insistence of governmental agencies that it is their domain to govern the children and not the domain of the parents. If the latter generations are not condsidered capabable of raising their children, there may be a reason for it.
Customs of Death and Dying:
.....It seems like today, in our modern society. that death is viewed as something unnatural and horrible. Most of the time, when a person is dying, they are hid away behind a curtain in a hospital or behind closed doors in a nursing home. But, years ago, that was not the csse in rural society
.....In rural areas, as well as some small towns, death was not only a family affair, it was a community affair. Although it was considered a sad time, the passing of a neighbor or family member was treated with the utmost dignity.
If it wasn't a case of sudden death, neighbors would come from miles around to sit with the family during the passing of their loved-one. Sometimes the yard of the house would be full of people. One day many years ago, I picked up Earl Haught and gave him a ride. I knew that he had been a neighbor of my mother's when her sister Virgie died. So, I asked him about it. He said, "Yes, I was there in the yard that night. It was a very sad thing." A neighbor believed
that it was their duty to be with thier neighbors in times of grief.
.....If it was a sudden death, ther nighbors would be there before the body had cooled. It is amazing at how fast news could travel back then. Usually a kid was dispatched on the run to the neighbors with the news.
Descendants of William H. Haught 1 William H. Haught b: 1863 Census: 1900 Walker, Wood; 1920, 1930 Mason Union Census: 1900 Walker, Wood; 1920, 1930 Mason Union . +Unknown d: Abt. 1890 m: Abt. 1885 2 Charles E. Haught b: Abt. 1884 2 Maud M. Haught b: Abt. 1886 2 Nora Haught b: Abt. 1888 2 Worden Haught b: Abt. 1890 *2nd Wife of William H. Haught: . +Maggie b: Abt. 1873 m: Abt. 1896 2 Earl Haught b: December 30, 1897 in OH d: March 1977 in Dunbar, WV Census: 1900 Walker, Wood; 1930 Ohio Bomont Census: 1900 Walker, Wood; 1930 Ohio Bomont ... +Matilda b: Abt. 1905 2 Winnie M. Haught b: Abt. 1902 2 Daisey M. Haught b: Abt. 1903 2 Nellie Haught b: Abt. 1905 Individual Note: Living with father with children in 1930 Cemetery: 1930 Mason Union ... +Holly Stewart b: 1899 m: Bef. 1924 Individual Note: not at home with wife in 1930 Father: Mason F. Stewart Mother: Ollie Barnett 2 Leland J. Haught b: Abt. 1907 Census: 1930 Akron Census: 1930 Akron ... +Theona M. b: Abt. 1910 2 Delbert Ray Haught b: Abt. 1916 2 James Lester Haught b: Abt. 1909
.....In the country, folks did not go to the funeral home. They laid in state in the home. Because of its closeness to the cemetery, the Stone Family House was the scene of many wakes. I guess that that is the reason that it was thought to be haunted.
.....Usually the neighbor women would come in a wash and "lay out" the body. And, often, simce the body was not embalmed. the person was buried the very next day. Of course, that gave rise to the horror stories of folks being buried alive.
.....It was also the nighbors duty to attend the funeral. All work was stopped when it was time for the funeral. And. a short formal funeral was unheard of. Sometimes a funeral would go on for hours. I didn't think that Mon and Dad would ever get home from Aunt Molly Hill's funeral. We children stayed at Grandma's. Mom siad that the preacher preached for more than two hours.
Descendants of Joel Sayre Hill 1 Joel Sayre Hill b: December 10, 1871 in Stevens, WV d: 1950 in Mason County, WV Burial: Rockcastle Church Cemetery Census: 1880 Mason Union Census: 1880 Mason Union . +Mary Elizabeth "Molly" Dunham b: July 06, 1876 in Mason County d: May 30, 1947 in Thirteenmile Creek, Mason County, WV Burial: Rockcastle Church Cemetery m: December 10, 1891 in by J. Jarvis at brides home Residence: Uncle Joel and Aunt Molly lived on Thirteenmile Creek just upstream from the Rockcastle Church Father: Jessie Bailey Dunham Mother: Sara Francis Barr Funeral: Rockcastle Church Census: 1880 Census Census: 1880 Census 2 John Hill b: October 03, 1891 d: March 1957 .... +Susie Wilcox b: June 02, 1895 in Sandyville, WV Father: Vinton Wheeler Wilcox Mother: Matha Schmid 2 Andrew Lackey Hill b: December 03, 1895 in Rockcastle, WV d: November 24, 1972 in Leon, WV Burial: Mount Olive Cemetery Census: 1930 Mason Union Census: 1930 Mason Union .... +Lucy Margaret Shinn b: September 02, 1895 in Rockcastle, WV d: December 10, 1982 in Charleston, WV Burial: Mount Olive Cemetery m: October 22, 1916 in Rockcastle, WV Father: George Washington Shinn Mother: Eliza Lincoln (Lillie Morton) Little 2 George Raymond Hill b: December 24, 1911 in Evans, WV d: July 01, 1965 in Nitro, WV Burial: Grandview Cemetery .... +Eunice W. Keene b: October 02, 1923 in Allderson, WV Father: John Wallace Keene Mother: Bertie Ophie Unknown *2nd Wife of George Raymond Hill: .... +Sylvia Morgan Battrell b: April 12, 1910 in Ripley, WV d: July 03, 2003 in Bartow, WV m: October 03, 1933 in Racine, OH Father: John Allen Battrell Mother: Rosa Ardella Morgan 2 Ethel Hill b: Unknown .... +Rudolph Johnson
.....Sometimes old men would build their own coffins. I remember Tom Pullins showing my dad his coffin. He was proud of it. Folks then didn't depend on a funeral home. When a grave needed to be dug, nighbors volunteered to dig it. Often, they were also the ones who lowered the coffin into the grave with leather straps. I witnessed this first hand. Then, after the family had dropped their handfulls of dirt on the lid of the coffin, the neighbors filled in the grave.
.....Almost always, there was a dinner back at the house after the bural. This is still the custom here in rural Greenbrier County. Neighbors would bring in food of all kinds. It was actually a kind of celebration of life and the continuation of life. People knew that it was as natural to die as it was to be born. And, they knew that it would soon pass their way.
Livestock:
.....Tom Pullins didn't keep many beef cattle...if any at all. He may have raised a steer to butcher each year. But, he had milk cows. He also had his two work
s who provided the muscle to get the big chores done. All of these required food, and that meant he had to spend a lot of time working "in the hay." It also meant that, in the winter when the grass was gone, he had to "put out hay" twice a day. There had to be a lot of hay "put up" to see the animals through the winter.
.............
.....There were three main large pieces of equipment used in "haying." They were the mowing machine, the hay rake, and the hay wagon. These were all horse drawn. There were no tractors on Tom Pullin's farm.
.....Milking and the gathering of eggs was an everyday chore. My grandmother would milk twice a day. If you had a cow for a long time and she liked you, milking was almost easy. It could be even conforting. But, if you had a contrary cow, milking could be tough. I had one once who had lost her calf and blamed me. I fainally had to quit trying and send her away. Grandma, and my mother-in-law, would sing to the cow. They said that they would "let down" their milk better if you sang to them. The milker and the cow could have a great relationship. Now, if the person was mean, you could not blame the cow if she didn't let down her milk.
.....Someitmes I would be allowed to gather the eggs. The nests were scattered around the boor and sheds. To induce the hens to lay in the nests, a "nest egg" was often placed in the nest. It might be a "store bought" china egg, but often it was just an old whie doorknob. I made the mistake once of carrying inthe nest egg. I had to go put it back. It seemed like there was always an old hen "setting" on a nest. Often there was an old hen with a swaram of chicks around her. Sometimes we would have to out and catch a chicken for Sunday Dinner. I won't talk about that right now.
.....One event related to farm animals was the annual "butchering day." This was always in freezing weather. The hogs that Tom Pullins kept were kept for one purpose. They were soley for eating. There was one exception: the old brood sow. She was usually "meaner than a snake" and "Hell on wheels." Some of the pigglets would be taken away from her and sold. This taking of her children made her so mad that she often had to be locked up in a separate building. She could be very dangerous.
.....Along with the horses, cattle and hogs, there were also sheep. Now, I don't know a lot about sheep. I have to confess that I have never eaten mutton nor lamb. But, Tom Pullins had a flock of these critters. He ketp his flock behind a split-rail fence. Once, when Dad and I were walking with him in the field, his old ram cornered Tom in the outward zag of tha old zig zagg fence. It look like that old ram was going to get the best of Grandpa Pullins for sure. But, somehow, the old man made his escape. He had a few choice words to say to that old ram.
....................
.....This is Rushie Sayre Graham. She is my half 1st cousin twice removed. She is the daughter of Ezekiel and Susan Sophia Barr Sayre. Sophia was my Great Grandmother Sara Barr's half sister. I don't know what she is doning with the sheep.
-----This ink and pen drawing of an old barn was executed and sent to me by my King cousin Virginia Petricelli. Virginia, who was born in Pennslyvania but now lives in Minnisota, drew the old barn from her memories of old barns that she saw on visits to Mason County, West Virginia when she was a child.
Things from the Dunbar Era
New Years Day:
.....My family did not celebrate much on New Year's Eve. But, we always had a New Year's Day Dinner. There would be different kinds of food on the table. But, there had to be cabbage. The eating of cabbage was supposed to bring good fortune throuhout the coming year. There was a special thing for the children. A piece of money was cooked in the cabbage for each child present. Who ever found a piece of money in their cabbage was supposed to be very lucky. But, noone wanted any child to be disappointed. We haven't been having cabbage for New Year's lately. But, I think we will have some tomorrow. Tomorrow is New Years Day, 2010. Actually, I would rather celebrate New Years Day on the first day of Spring like people in America did before we swithched calendors in the 1750's.
Some things found around the King Home at Dunbar:
Everyday things:
The foot-pedal Singer sewing machine: The sewing machine sat in front of the window beside Mom and Dad's bed. Mom could make that machine hum, feed the cloth, and look out of the window. When a child was sick at the King Home, he or she got to sleep in the front bedroom in the big bed. Since I was a sickly child, I watched mom work at that sewimg machine many times. I would like to have that sewing machine, but i think that it was sold at the auction of my step-father's things when he went into the nursing home.
Large wooden crochet needles: My mother had a pair of these. She used them to make large oval rugs. She would save her cloth, tear it into strips, and sit in the rocking chair and crochet these rugs. This was mostly a winter occupation. She would also use small needles and crochet doilies. She would starch and iron these so that they stood up. She then placed different items in the middle of them for decoration.
Washtub: The washtub served many purposes. Since mom did not have a double washing machine. it served to hold the rince water. On the little gas hotplate on the porch, it served as a canner. It served as a place to wash all kinds of fruit that had to be processed. On Saturday Night, or if you had to go to the doctor, it served as a bathtub. Later on we got an oval tub that made taking a bath easier.
Chamberpot: In various areas this was known also as the honey bucket. We called it the "slopjar." This item of necessity sat at the foot of the bed where a modest sister could squat unseen. In the morning, as the only son, it was my duty to carry this thing to the little house outback after my sisters had filled it during the night. Often I would have to fight our old rhode island rooster all the way out there and all the way back. When it finally came his time to be eaten, he was as tough as leather.
The Ironing Board: Almost every home had one of these. There was no such thing as "wash and wear." I aready talked about the old flatiron in the farm section. We had electricity, which came on the hill about the time I was born, so Mom had an electric iron. But, that was before the steam iron. This meant that the clothes had to be dampened by hand. I don't think mom used coke bottles with holes in the lid. She just dipped her fingers in the water and sprinled. Some things were "starched" and ironed to perfection. Starched shirt collars and "creased" pants were the work of a expert ironer. Wash day was on Monday and Ironing Day was usually all day Tuesday.
The Clothesline:
.....I didn't mention the clothesline when I wrote about the ironing board because we still use one. I don't consider the clothesline one of the oldthings. With all of the talk about going green, the clothes line is probably the most green thing that there is because it saves a ton of energy. Therefore, the clothesline is as modern as the cell phone.
Quilts: Although the art of quilt making has been kept alive, Mon didn't think of it as an art. A quilt was just another necessity. Mom saved up her cloth to make quilt "pieces." We did not runour gas furnace at night, so it was special to be able to reach down and pull that quilt up around you on a cold night. Mom quilted by herself, but sometimes she would get together with the women from the Farmwoman's Club to quilt.
The Farm Women's Club
The mowing scythe: Until about 1953, Dad cut all of the grass at the King place with a mowing scythe. He was a master with it. The key to being able to use a mowing scyth effeciently was largely in knowing how to sharpen the blade. If you did not understand that the scythe's blade had tiny teeth that had to be sharpened just right, you might as well have hung it up. Then, if the blade was sharpened right, if you had the handles adjusted, and knew how to hold the scythe, you could mow all day without a whole lot of effort. Dad could mow the yard almost as good as a lawm mower.
The sick at the King House:
.....There were several things that my mother used to combat sickness.
Brandy and rock candy: The only dringing acholol that my mother allowed in the house was the brandy that she kept hidden away. A tiny bit of this was poured over rock candy and given to the ailing person.:
The mustard plaster: My mother took a practical nursing class one time and she considered herself capable of making various remedeys. When you came down with a bad chest ailment such as pneumonia, whe would make a mustard plaster. This was a heated mixture of mustard and hard tell what else spread on a cloth. This was placed on the chest of the victem and you either died from the mustard plaster or you got better.
The enema: The enema was administered with a device that looked like a hot water bottle with a hose on the bottome. When you had a bad stomach ache, or you were just lethargic, this was mom's favorite weapon. She would fill that thing with a warm tea mixture, make you lay on your side on the bed, and stick taht hose up your rearend. The warm tea went in, and everything in your bowels and stomach came out. But, you had to get on the chamberpot real quick. Strangely, it worked. These were mom's main weapons.
Housecalls: If these did not work, Mom would call Dr. Bill Rice. He maid house calls in those days. When I had scarlet fever, he came and gave me my first penicillin shot. That saved my life. But, probably the best thing he did for me happened another time when I was in the third grade. That was the era when all of the kids on the hill traded comic books. When he came into my room, I had comic books scattered all over the bed. He skowled at me and said, "Why don't you read something worth while!" Because I respected him so much, I read just about everything I could get my hands on from then on. That continued until I went back to shool in my old age and earned a degree in English. I had to read so much I think I got burned out. Now, I write more than I read. Dr. Rice lived to deliver both of my childen. Still, he died way too young.
Automobiles:
.....To my father, automobiles were just vehicles of transportation. As far as I know, he never owned more than one car at one time. He bought his first one, a 1926 Star roadster, in Chraleston. He had never driven before, so he had the salesman to drive him around the block to show him how to operate the vehicle. That was before you had to have a driver's licence. By the time I came along, he had owned three Model-A Fords. We had the one in the photos below until about 1947. The great thing about these old Fords was that they were fairly easy to work on. I have seen dad have engine parts scattered all over the yard and still be able to put it back together again. But, it waa a chore to change tires. However, that old Ford could master nearly all of the mudholes. Once, whenhe had a blowout on the way home from work. he drove home the rim.
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.....In about 1947, he bought a 1936 Ford sedan. It had a tiny trunk that opened from the top behind the spare tire. This car had the first radio dad had ever had in a car. My sister Imelda ran the battery down by listening to the radio while Dad was in the State House getting the title changed. When he came back to the car, he was not a happy person. This ford had a V-8 engine. The Highway Patrols had started using the V-8 Fords because they could not keep up with the faster cars with their old six-cylinder patrol cars. But, our 36 Ford was a lemon. He had the motor out of the car at least once.
.....after the 36 Ford, dad bought the first of three Pontiacs he was to own. It was a 1942 sedan. It was the last pontiac that would be made until 1946. No American civilian car was made during that time as far as I know. Automobile factories were given over to the War Effort. The 1946 cars were the same as the 1942s. The 1942 Pontiac had a six cylender engine. I still have the owner's manual to the 42.
Intestinal Fortitude: This is a nonmaterial thing, but it was the main thing that enabled the "Golden Generation" to make it through hard times. This was true on the Hill at Roxalana and across this nation. It was not just individual intestinal fortitude, it was the collective neighborhood "guts" to do what needed to be done.
I Remember Roxalana
Roxalana Christmas
Food at Dunbar:
.....Dad never spent a lot of money although he never squeezed a penny so loud that you could hear it scream a mile like Uncle George. But, when it came to food, he never "skemped." There was never a surplus of food at the table at his boyhood home. In fact, he left home to live with his only sister Ladora. He never forgot that, and was he was always loyal to her. I remember the food at home.
Hot rolls:
.....My mother made big hotrolls that seem to be able to float. She was so good at it that she was the one who was asked to make the rolls to feed the election workers. Back then, members of the community would prepare foed for those working in the election. Her roll maaking was no surprise. She could this bread of paradise by the time she was eight years-old. At harvest time, extra workers were hired. Mom would be sent back to the house to prepare dinner. When the workers came in to eat, they could not believe that the meal had been prepared by a little girl. You did not stay a little girl long on the Stone Farm.
Beef Stew:
.....In the winter time, mom would often make beef stew for supper. With this stew, she would usually have her rolls. There was just nothing like pieces of hotroll in that good beefstew. Now, Dad worked at Fletcher Enaamel in Dunbar. He got off at 3:00 PM. He would come home, lie down for a half an hour, and then mom would have supper ready. After supper, he would go outside and work until dark.
Sunday Dinner: My mother and her children went to Sunday School on Sunday morning at Roxalana E.U.B. Church. Dad did not attend church then. But, he was also a good cook and would have Sunday Dinner nearly ready when the rest of us came home from church. There was always something good. Dad had a speciality of Bar-be-qued roast beef.
Sweet stuff:
.....Since mon had a "sweet tooth" I have always had one too. Cakes, pies, candy...she made it. I haven't had a decent apple pie since she passed away 36 years ago. She made fudge, seafoam candy, homemade doughnuts, 7 minute icing, and everything else she thought she would like to try. All the way up to the day she had her stroke, she didn't feel like she had done anything if she had baked something that day. Everytime the grandkids left to go back home, they alsways had a bag of goodies to take with them.
Boughten sweets:
.....All candy bars, except for Almond Joys and Mound Bars were a nickel. Soft drinks were a nickle. My favorite was the RC Cola in the pyrimid bottle. I remember the Pepsi commercial, "Pepsi Cola hits the spot, 12 full ounces, that's a lot." Down at Branchland, West Virginia, my sister Betty and I would save up our pennies so that I could go around the corner to the store and buy a RC. We would share that RC. Although you could buy a box of 20 candy bars for a dollar, a dollar was hard to come by. Today, a candy bar is one thing that is much more expensive today, when it comes to earning power, than it was back then.
The Bulldog Cafe:
.....When I was a student at Dunbar Junior High School, I could go across the street to the Bulldog Cafe and buy two hotdogs with chilie and slaw and a big RC for 35 cents. Even then, that was something special. And, the atmosphere was special.
.....Sometimes on the way home from gradeschool, we would but those silly wax things that had something like syrup in them. Sometimes we would buy a nickel popsicle.
The Grocery Store:
.....Perhaps nothing has changed as much as the grocery store. The modern supermarket, with its sanitized plactic wrapped foodstuffs, has little in common with the old stores except that it sells food. The only thing not wrapped up tight is produse such as celery.
.....There were several types of old stores. In rural areas, you had the country store which sold just about everything from food, to dry goods, to farm equipment, to clothing. Sometimes, even the post office would be in the store.
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.....In small towns, and out in the neighborhoods of large towns, there were the "Mom and Pop Grocery Stores." At one time in Lewisburg, you could stand on the corner of downtown Washington Street and count at least five of these within sight. I remember a number of these scattered around Dunbar.
.....Out in the country, most folks butchered their own meat, but you could buy "salt fish," that came in a wooden barrel, at the store. Or, you could buy cheese that came in a big wheel. And. you could buy pickles and salt crackers that came in barrels. While the country store, with its variety of goods, smelled of more things than just food, the mom and pop stores and the small supermarkets smelled strongly of all the fresh foods. When you walk into a modern supermarket, there is very little in the way of smells to remind you of the old stores. Everything is so tightly wrapped that the food smell cannot excape the containers. So, these modern markets have a blah smell. In order to sell their items, the stores now have to rely on "eye candy." And, they have the placement of goods down to a science. Noting is placed anywhere by accident.
.....Just about every grocery store had at least one butcher to process the meat and the poultry. You often could have your meat cut to your own specifications. Hamburger was fresh ground. Now, the large chains cut their meat at a central location. The processed meat is then shipped to the individual stores. This has put an end to the local butcher. Of course in large towns there were butcher shops, bakeries, produce markets, and other specialized shops. The new big supermarkents have put most of these out of business. And, another part of Americana has been lost. In fact, today, in downtown Lewisburg, you cannot buy any groceries. You have to drive to the outskirts of town to buy a loaf of bread.
......Long before my time, before there was electricity even in towns, women shopped everyday for food. Perishable food, that was to be prepared for supper, was bought on the morning of the same day. That was because there was no way to keep large amounts of food cooled. Away from large towns, ice was usually not even available. A chicken, a roast, or a fish, just would not keep in warm weather. So, the daily trip to the market, or markets, was a part of everyday life.
.....For a boy, or a man, one of the prized items that was sold at the country store was the Boker Tree Brand pocket knife. This was the everyday work knife that could be used for whittling, carving. It was taken to school to play mumbley peg with at lunch time. A boy without a pocket knife felt almost naked. Now, if a boy is caught at school with a plastic picnic knife, you might as well throw away the key. Madness has replaced sanity.
.....A lucky child, when a hog or the crop was sold in the fall, received a new pair of shoes from the country store. The mama would get a new pair of shoes and material to make her a dress and clothes for the children. Feed sacks from the country store also made dresses for the girls. If there was enough left, then the papa would get what he needed. If not, he made do, because the family came first. It was the fabric that he was made from that made our nation great.
Stringing Beans:
.....For many folks who raise their own food, stringing beans is a thing of the past. Many folks will now only raise bush beans that are stringless. Like many old folks, I raise only half-runner beans.
.....Stinging beans was often a social event. People would sit on the porch or in the kitchen talking and stringing beans. I enjoy string beans. It seems to be therapeutic.
Air Conditioning:
.....While we are talking about dissappearing community social life, you have to point a finger at airconditioning. Alough TV has helped, airconditioning has turned the community into a social wasteland. Nieghborhoods are deserts devoid of people.
Radio:
.....One of the things that I would like to see come back is old time radio. My dad and I would sit in the dark living room and listen toshows liek the Lone Ranger, Cisco Kid, King of the Youkon, and The Silver Eaagle. We also listened to
Our Miss Brooks, Archie Andrews, Dr. and Mrs. North, and Amos and Andy. On Saturdays, there were Let's Pretend, with its scary fairy tails, and Sky King. Every weekday evening, one radio station had a kids program called Big John and Sparkey.
Television:
.....The King Family got its first TV in the late fall of 1951. The shows came through Channel Five in Huntington, West Virgiia. I had dreamed of haiving a TV for awhile. My sister was living in Branchland, West Virginia and she bought one before we did. We had a little G.E. clock radio and I would dream at night that little radion turned into a TV.
.....I saw my first TV Program and Myna and Woody Wolfe's. It was the Loan Ranger. I was awe struck. Before we got our set, Dad used to go over and watch Saturday Night wrestling at another nighbor Bill and Virgie Wolfe's. They always claimed to not be related, but I have found that they were. They were also kin to my brother-in-law Eugene Wolfe.
.....It is strange, when I was a kid, I longed to have a TV. Now, I seldom watch one. If everyone was like me, television companies would go broke.
Home Permanents:
.....One all day happening at hour home was the Toni Home Permanente. My mother's friend Neva Bell Board would come to our house and she and my mother would to wierd things to each others hair. It started with washing and then degenerated into something so smelly that the EPA would probably ban it today. Anyone who had anything like their right mind would stay as far away from the house as possible. When the process was over, the women would have frizzly looking hair in little tight curls. To me it seemed like a case of volunteer insanity. Someimes there are no limits to what a person will do when in the grips of vanity.
Mom's Home Parties:
.....The first home parties that my mother had was the Stanley Party. Of course, this was mostly an excuse for the ladies to get together and socialize. Our house was always full of women on these occasions. The items sold were all practical. These items included brushes of all kinds, food flavorings, hair combs, air wicks, and etc. When the sales pitches were over, there were always games. The most popular was Bingo.
.....The second party was the
.....These parties were a vital part of the community back then. The equivalent today is the Home Interior Party, but the items are much more pricey. And unlike the item sold at the other parties, they are not so practical. The older items were aimed toward the performing of household tasks. The last items are mostly merely eye candy. The decorations in the older home leaned strongly toward family photos. And, nearly every home had a picture of Christ. Mom also had her doilies and embroided items. Oh yes, in the summer we always had flowers.
Seaplanes:
.....In the days before Kanawha Airport, just about the only local aircraft we saw were seaplanes. These would use the Kanawha River as their base. It was a common site to see them flying over the King Home. Sometimes the pilots would perform airobatics doing loops and rolls, When we rode on Kanawha Bulivard, I always watched for them. They would be parked in little houses just like the boats were moored in. With the opening of Kanawha Airport,they became history.
.....When Kanawha Airport opened, it became sort of a local touist attraction. Along with other folks, my family would go to the airport just to watch the airplanes come and go. This recreation practically came to an end when the airport folks began to charge for parking. But, for awhile, it was a fun thing.
The Southern West Virginia Agricultural and Industral Fair:
.....The Fair was held at the Fairgrounds in West Dunbar. Folks came for miles and miles around. It was your normal fair, but it was much better that the State Fair that we have in Greenbrier County today. Everything was enexpensive at the fair at Dunbar. The State Fair of today is purely a momey making venture for stockholders. But, even then, I spent very little money. I would be given a dollar to take to the fair, The dollar was usually still in my pocket when I got home. After I got older, I had enough of that kiddy ride. I think that the state would have been better off to keep that fair and ditch the State Fair. Although I am close enough to hear the fireworks, which they only have once a week now, I have to say that I believe that the State Fair becomes worse every year. I seldom attend the the fair and the same is true for members of my family. The old fair with its social and family essence seems to be gone forever. And that is a shame. Could it be that it is because the "rubes" are gone and with them the "country" flavor. We have folks playing at being a "red neck" but very little true country.
Flowers:
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.....This page would not be complete with a word about mom and dad's floweres. They both had what folks call "green thumbs." They could grow most anything...and just about did. In the spring, the King Place was ablaze with color. When the fruit trees were in bloom, great clouds of white and pink greeted the person who rounded the curve and game into sight of our home. I guess that is why I like flowers so much. I even have a page about the flor that grows here on our hill:
.....Mom and dad are gone, but the flowers they passed on to others still live on.
Jesse David Hughes: Frontier Scout
I am going to let this rest for awhile.
To be continued
.............I believe that these horses belonged to one of the Stone men.
.....The mowing machine had a set of cutting blades that moved back and forth against each other as the mowing machine wheels turned as it was pulled by the horses. These blades were very sharp. I remember one cat who was crouching in the grass waiting for the machine to cause a mouse to run. She didn't move fast enough and it was she who left this world instead of a mouse.
.....The rake was just that. It was a huge rake fitted on iron wheels. The rake could be raised and lowered to make hay rows. Both the mowing machine and the rake had large iron seats where the driver sat. I often played on the rake sitting on its big hard seat. I didn't play around the mowing machine. It was too dangerous.
.....The third machine was just the old farm wagon fitted with a hayrack. This wagon was alos fitted with a "bangboard" when it was time to harvest the dried ears of corn. It was also the "Sunday-go to Meeting" wagon ot the go to he store wagon. It fact, it was the only wheeled transportation on the farm. Grandpa Pullins didn't own a buggy. Now, I am glad that he just had that old wagon.
.....There was one other machine used in haying. It was fitted with a pitchfork. That machine was called "man". Or, sometimes it was called "woman." My mother had her first heart attack while putting up hay. But, she loved to work.
.....Sometimes Tom Pullins would make a haystack. This was made around a pole set in the ground. The hay was placed around the pole in such a way that the water would run off and keep the inside hay dry. I do not know how this was done. It is probably a lost art.
.....Grandma would carry the milk to the creamery and pour it into stone jars. The creamery was under ground and was cool enough that the milk would keep fairly well.
.....It is very true that pigs know when it is butchering day. Long before daylight, that would start to raise a ruckus. You could here them for miles.
.....Butchering was an event that required a lot of expert help. I know because I have helped even though I was far from a expert. First, the pig had to be dispatched from this world to whatever world that pigs go to. I know that a lot of old farmers would hope that they go to the same place as the old sow.
.....Second, the hog had to be hung upside down and have its throat cut so it could "bleed out.". The carcas had to be scalded to take off the hair. Then the carcass had to be opened and the insides brought outside. Nothing was thrown away that could be used. For me, the main thing tome that came out was the liver. This would be carried to the house to be the first fruits of the butchering. Just remembering the smell of that liver in the fring pan covered with onions makes my jaws ache. I never could understand why folks turn there noses up at liver. To me, that is the best part of the hog.
.....Well, that was the best part of the butchering. A lot of hard work remained. The hog had to be quartered and carried to the house. There the men and women processed the meat. The hams and the shoulders were separated as well as the loins. Next in line to the liver in goodness was the tendereloin.
.....The hams and shoulders were prepared for salting and smoking. Some other parts of the hogs were salted as well. Every farm had its smokehouse. This house not only was used for smoking, it was also used for salting. It would have a salt box which was a heavy wooden box with a lid. A layer of salt would be placed in the bottom, then a layer of meat would be laid on top of the meat. Beacon was preserved in this way. This process was repeated until the box was full. Every successful farmer had a smokehouse full of meat.
.....In the meantime at the house, the women were grinding up parts of the hog for sausage. The meat on the head would be cut off to make minceneat or head cheese. The mincemeat that you but in the store today is not mincemeat. In short, that hog's life was not spent in vain. At least to the farmers vierw it wasn't.
.....It was on this walk that Tom Pullins showed us fang marks on an old milk cow's udder where she had been bitten by a copperhead. It was a nasty looking wound. These snakes were some other critters that could be found around the farm. You had to watch being around the woodpile or in the corn crib.
....................This Photo was sent to me by Carl Bush
Descendants of Rushie Merle Sayre
1 Rushie Merle Sayre b: August 27, 1896 d: March 30, 1968
. +Charles Everett Graham b: September 23, 1898 d: June 15, 1976 m: August 26, 1916 Father: Hugh Martin Graham Mother: Sarah Christina Rollins Education: Owl Hollow School
2 Dora Pauline Graham b: November 30, 1920 d: May 15, 1991
... +Charles Holt b: March 07, 1923 d: December 25, 1988
*2nd Husband of Dora Pauline Graham:
... +Millard Wallace McDade b: May 08, 1905 d: August 20, 1976 m: October 18, 1932
. 3 Mary Louise McDade b: September 11, 1935
The Barn:
Descendants of Francis Marion King
1 Francis Marion King b: March 08, 1858 in Mason County d: 1927 in Mason County Burial: Creston Census: 1870 Coalsmouth (St. Albans), 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920i n Union District, Mason County Census: 1870 Coalsmouth (St. Albans), 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920i n Union District, Mason County
. +Catherine "Clemme" Clemmons b: 1859 d: 1916 in Mason County, WV m: July 28, 1880 in Mason County, WV Individual Note: living in the household of Andrew J. Stphens in 1880 Occupation: housekeeper Father: Clemmons Mother: Nancy Elizabeth Stover Fact 1: Creston Cemetery, Mason County, WV Census: 1880 Mason Union Census: 1880 Mason Union
2 Joseph Wylie King b: May 12, 1881 d: June 11, 1928 Burial: New Smith Church Census: 1900, 1910, 1920 Union, Mason Census: 1900, 1910, 1920 Union, Mason
.... +Sarah Ellen Stewart b: September 17, 1880 d: January 02, 1955 Burial: New Smith Church m: Bef. 1910 Individual Note: Living with parents in 1930 Father: Henry Taylor Stewart Mother: America Ann Hill Census: 1930 Mason Union Census: 1930 Mason Union
2 George King b: March 1883 in Mason County d: May 12, 1886 in Mason County Burial: Smith Church
2 Minerva King b: 1885
2 Alzina Jane Janice King b: 1886 in Jackson County d: 1969 Burial: Creston Cemetery
.... +Elmer Henry DeValcore Wheeler b: 1878 in Jackson County d: 1933 Burial: Creston Cemetery m: August 27, 1903 in Jackson County, WV
2 Virginia Louise King b: July 02, 1889 in Ripley, WV d: September 20, 1914 in Jeanette, PA Burial: Creston Cemetery
.... +Harry Andrew McCurdy b: April 25, 1890 in Carnagie, PA d: October 15, 1956 in Greensburg, PA m: August 27, 1912 Father: Robert H. McCurdy Mother: Catherine Elizabeth Dietrich Census: 1920 Penn, 1930 Jeannette, Pa Census: 1920 Penn, 1930 Jeannette, Pa
2 Daniel E. King b: 1891 in Mason County, WV d: 1918 Burial: Creston Cemetery
2 Philmore King b: 1892 in Mason County, WV d: 1944 Burial: Creston Cemetery Individual Note: inmate 1910
2 Benjamin King b: 1894 d: 1944 Burial: Creston Military service: 11 West Virginia Infantry CO K
.... +Mary Alma b: 1890 d: 1963 Burial: Creston
2 Clare King b: 1896 d: 1975
2 Janie King b: 1898 in Jackson County
.... +Wiley Moore b: 1899 in Jackson County m: November 12, 1919 in Jackson County
2 Samuel B. King b: April 04, 1899 d: December 1976 in Evans, WV
.... +Lydia W. Baker b: May 02, 1898 d: June 15, 1972 in Leon, WV Father: George W. Baker Mother: Ellen Emma V. Williams Census: 1920, 1910 Union Mason Census: 1920, 1910 Union Mason
2 Mary King b: 1901 d: 1963 in Mason County, WV Fact 1: Creston Cemetery, Mason County, WV
2 Sarah Margaret King b: 1904
2 George King b: 1908 d: 1928
*2nd Wife of Francis Marion King:
. +Cornelia Agnes Rider b: 1857 d: 1948 Burial: Creston Cemetery m: Aft. 1920 Father: Hezikiah H. Rider Mother: Martha McClure
.....I haven't said much about the barn because the barn is still in use today. But, the barn was, and is, a special place. In Tom Pullin's day, the typical West Virginia barn housed work horses and a few milkcows. It it wasn't the abode of fancy riding horses although some folks might have kept a few for pleasure or business. There may have also been a carriage horse or two.
.....The barn was a special place of wonderful smells and warmth. Scatteered around Tom Pullins' barn there were hen's nests where I help to gather eggs. There were box stalls for the milkcows and horses. There was usually a drive through area where the wagon was parked. During haying, hay was unloaded from the wagon and pitched in to the hayloft that made up the second floor of the barn,
.....Often, pieces of equipent would hang from the inside walls of the barn. There was an old-time cradle hanging from my barn's wall. This was used in harvesting grain.
.....On a working farm, the barn was usually a place of activity. Part of my barn was used for the drying of tobacco. The stalks of tobacco would be spudded on a tobacco stick and hung from poles on one side of our barn. A spud is a sharp tool that is fitted over the end of a wooden tobacco stick that makes it possible to run the stick through the stem of the tobacco stalk. It is not an easy job. After the tobacco had dried, the tobacco would be taken down and taken to the tobacco balk house. There the leaves would be stripped from the stalk and then be placed under heavy weights until it was time to take the tobacco to market. This pretty much has passed, but we once did that forty years ago in Mason County.
.....Then mom got dad to buy her a Kenmore mangle from Sears Roebuck. This was an electric ironing machine. It had a large roller and a heated frame that could be lowered onto the roller. To operate mom's mangle, you sat in a chair and fed the item to be ironed between the roller and the frame. You could operate the roller with a knee pedal or with your elbow useing a lever on the side of the mangle. It becme my job to operate the mangle. Mom ironed everything from shirts and pants to hankies and washcloths. We called them "washrags." My mother saw to it that I became an expert mangle operator.
..... Although my sister Betty still irons, there are not many folks who iron clothes today. Automatic washing machines and wash and wear clothes have done away with Monday washdays and Tuesday ironging days. As a result, two days of intense labor were taken out of a housewife's life.
.....In about 1953 or 1954, one of our neighbors bought a lawn mower. Dad like it. So, he went down to Kanawha Supply and purchased a small Savage push mower. My life was never the same. Now, I had to help with the mowing. If i had a dollar for every square foot of grass I have moved in my lifetime, I would probably be a multi-millionair. But, I enjoy mowing my won grass. Just about every dollar I earned as a boy came from mowing other folk's lawns. I saved that money and bought Christmas presents.
.....The next pontiac was the 1949 sedan Silver Streak Eight. It had a sloping back. Then, the thing that distinguished a pontiac was its stripes. The 1956 Pontiac was the last with stripes. The 1955 was the first with a V-8. The 1955 Chevie was also the first with a V-8. I learned to drive on the 1949 and got my licence with that car. It was hard to parallel park with the 49 because of the sloping roof.
.....The last pontiac, and the last car dad ever owned, was a 1954 Star Chief Sedan. It was a nice car. I was with him when he bought it. Dad died in 1963 with cancer. He drove himself to the hospital in that pontiac where he had surgery. He did not survive theday of the surgery and he never came out of that old hospital in Ronceverte alive. I had to come home from collegem get a ride to Ronceverte, and pick the car up. That was one of the bad days in our lives.
.....In the photo below we see my mother at the door of the two-roomed shack that the Okey King Family moved into in the latter part 1930. The Great Depression was in full swing. This is the same house seen in the photo of the Model-A Ford. I talk about these things on my pages below. Most of the folks on the Hill at Roxalana helped each other. It may be that the decay that we have seen in the American society may be because of the ladk the need for this thing called "intestinal fortitude."
./........Minnie Casto's Store on Gunville Ridge. My Wife and I used to stop here.
.....Even the Kroger Store at Dunbar was small when I was young. Dunbar had a several of these small "supermarkets."
.....Also, for the most part, string beans have a much better flavor. That is why half-runner beans bring such a high price at the farmeers markets. We canned 99 quarts of half-runner beans last year so I did a lot of stringing beans.
.....The thing agbout radion was that it developed the imagination kust like books do. Even today, I often can "see things" better on the radio than I can on the TV. But, before the late 1920's and 1930s, folks didn't even have radio. Now, I can post this page and it can be seen all over the world about as quick as I can post it.
.....The TV programing did not come on until about 9:00 A< and went off the air abaout eleven PM during the week and Midnight on Sunday. It didn't come on until about noon on Sundays. It came on and went off with the playing of the Star Spangled Banner.
.....My favorite shows were Amos and Andy, Our Mrs Brooks, My Little Lucy. King of the Youkon. I also enjoyed Boston Blackie. On weekday evenings there was Howdy Doodie. On Saturdays, there was The Big Top sponsered by "I scream yuu scream for Valley Bell Ice Cream!"
.....It was at this time that I came to hate soap operas. I would come home from school and mom would be watching that horrible "Search For Tomorrow." Some woman would be blubbering over her ironing board because her wicked mother-law was trying to take her daughter away from her. I never could uunderstand why people would enjoy watching someoneelse's misery. I have hated these shows ever since.
..............Photo by Okey L. King
.....But, their favorite was the iris. They had all kinds from small old fashioned ones to the huge ones like the "City of Los Angelas." It was white with blue trim. Dad bought a lot of his iris baulbs from a Mrs. West down in Gunbar. In the summer of 1959, after he had lost his job at Fletcher Enamel Company and we were moving to Caldwell, I looked out of the bedroom window and saw him in the garden. He was walking among his irises like they were his children and he was saying goodby. He never lived to see them again.
.....Other outside flowers were gladiolas, lilies of all sorts, roses, mock ornge, spireas, phloxes, lilacs, petunias, and others. On the inside, Mom had, African violets, rubber plants, wandering jews cactus, Christmas Lilys, and other things.Flora of the Koenigsberg
Late Summer and early Fall at the King Home
The Old Time Neighborhood Halloween