What in the world does a boy from Herman Junction dream about? I mean, does he just intend to spend the rest of his life at Herman Junction picking cotton? I suppose that when I was very young that was about all that I had in mind for myself. Oh, I would stand in the cotton patch and watch the trains and cars go by and wonder where they were going and wish that I could catch one of them some day and find out the answers to those questions. But, until I got in my teens I never thought much about doing anything except living at Herman Junction. I remember My Lady and I were in Bay one time and wanted to just go out and walk around the streets in town. We met Howell Morrison coming down the street and we stopped and visited with him. Howell said, "You know, Hook, everyone always wanted to hurry and get away from Bay. But, I always wanted to just stay here." And, he did and not long after that he died right there where he had always lived and I suppose he was as happy as could be.
When I was out of school in the summer between my Junior and Senior years in high school I went with brother Rayburn and some guys from Harding to work for the Del Monte Canning Company out in the fields harvesting English Peas. We lived in a bunk house and worked long, long, hours every day. We made $1.00 per hour and that was the most money that I had ever made in my life. Sometimes when I would just give completely out, Ray would do my work for me and let me rest awhile. I remember one night that he and some of the other guys went in to Deklab, Illinois to the White Castle Drive-Inn to get hamburgers. I ordered one but when they got back I was sound asleep and I never knew what happened to my burger.
But, it was during this time that I began to dream a little. I dreamed about cars, dating My Lady in my own car, going to Harding in the fall, and a lot of other things. I had begun to learn that there was life outside of Herman Junction.
Then between my graduation from high school and beginning at Harding in the fall, I went to Michigan City, Indiana and C. W. got me a job with him at the Weil-McClain Company for the summer. I liked that job and I really began to dream about the future.
Dreams are good and they help to motivate us to go on to better things. I think that I have gone on to better things but the memories of Herman Junction still live in my heart and they always will.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
TRAINS AND STORM HOUSES: POST #56
My Dad loved trains and I did too. Dad worked on the railroad for Sixteen Years and even though he loved it, he often said that if he had continued working on the railroad he would not have lived as long as he did. It was really hard work. I liked trains too but you know, I have never ridden but one little train and it was not a very long trip. Someday, I want to take a good long ride on a train. Barbara's mother heard that they were not going to continue with passenger trains through Bay so she put My Lady and her little brother and sister on a train to Jonesboro and drove along the highway in the car waving at them just to let them ride a train. She was a great Mom.
Dad would be in the cotton field later or out on a job as a carpenter and he would hear a train coming through. He would always look at his watch to see if 'old 96' or whatever the train was, was on time. Our Son Marty still has a smashed nickel that Dad gave him and took him down to the tracks and put it on the rail and let the train mash it flat. He loved trains to the day that he died.
Another thing that Dad got into was building concrete storm houses. I told you earlier about him building one at our house but part of it was already built. But, I suppose that it was after one of the real bad storms came that Dad built a set of forms and began building concrete storm houses. There are many of them still across the country in Craighead County Arkansas and some of the storm houses are still standing even though the house itself is gone.
Building a concrete storm house is WORK! I helped him build some of them and just thinking about it now makes me tired. All of those forms had to be bolted together and tied with wires in some places so that they would be able to hold all that concrete. Then on the top and down the sides there were steel rods put in there so that storm house would be there when the Lord comes again. But, he wanted them to especially last through any kind of storm.
When the forms were all set he would start the concrete mixer and mix the gravel, sand, and water until it was just right. Then, the fun part would start. He had already built a runway about thirty feet out from the storm house up to the top. He would pour the wheel barrow (wheel Barr) full of that concrete and it was my job to push it to the top and empty it down the sides until we had it all filled up and the top poured. The sides and top were EIGHT inches thick. I tell you right now that was some job! But, I did it all day long and into the night several times, up and down that runway with that load of concrete. I got to be a mighty strong man during those times. Today I couldn't go up that runway with a snuff can full of concrete but I did then. I weighed about 250 pounds when I was doing this and I cannot imagine now what I ate when I got home from one of those days. After the concrete would set a few days we had to go and remove the forms and he would be ready to build another one.
"Hard work never hurt anybody" they say. I have heard that all of my life. Well, if you believe that, just go out and build yourself a concrete storm house and see if it hurts. It won't be long until you call one of these companies that makes these new-fangled storm cellars and have them come put one in for you.
I like to go down to Herman Junction and every time that I do, I look out at that first storm house that Herb built and thank the good Lord that I don't have to do that anymore. That one at our house helped to make Herman Junction alright.
Dad would be in the cotton field later or out on a job as a carpenter and he would hear a train coming through. He would always look at his watch to see if 'old 96' or whatever the train was, was on time. Our Son Marty still has a smashed nickel that Dad gave him and took him down to the tracks and put it on the rail and let the train mash it flat. He loved trains to the day that he died.
Another thing that Dad got into was building concrete storm houses. I told you earlier about him building one at our house but part of it was already built. But, I suppose that it was after one of the real bad storms came that Dad built a set of forms and began building concrete storm houses. There are many of them still across the country in Craighead County Arkansas and some of the storm houses are still standing even though the house itself is gone.
Building a concrete storm house is WORK! I helped him build some of them and just thinking about it now makes me tired. All of those forms had to be bolted together and tied with wires in some places so that they would be able to hold all that concrete. Then on the top and down the sides there were steel rods put in there so that storm house would be there when the Lord comes again. But, he wanted them to especially last through any kind of storm.
When the forms were all set he would start the concrete mixer and mix the gravel, sand, and water until it was just right. Then, the fun part would start. He had already built a runway about thirty feet out from the storm house up to the top. He would pour the wheel barrow (wheel Barr) full of that concrete and it was my job to push it to the top and empty it down the sides until we had it all filled up and the top poured. The sides and top were EIGHT inches thick. I tell you right now that was some job! But, I did it all day long and into the night several times, up and down that runway with that load of concrete. I got to be a mighty strong man during those times. Today I couldn't go up that runway with a snuff can full of concrete but I did then. I weighed about 250 pounds when I was doing this and I cannot imagine now what I ate when I got home from one of those days. After the concrete would set a few days we had to go and remove the forms and he would be ready to build another one.
"Hard work never hurt anybody" they say. I have heard that all of my life. Well, if you believe that, just go out and build yourself a concrete storm house and see if it hurts. It won't be long until you call one of these companies that makes these new-fangled storm cellars and have them come put one in for you.
I like to go down to Herman Junction and every time that I do, I look out at that first storm house that Herb built and thank the good Lord that I don't have to do that anymore. That one at our house helped to make Herman Junction alright.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
