How in the world would a person be able to describe seven years of his life on just one blog? It isn't possible, so I don't know when I will quit writing about Levy.
How we loved that church! We were just kids and I didn't have sense enough to know that I had no business being their preacher. I remember one day riding down the road to a funeral at Beebe, Ark. for Lindy Beaver's Father. I had a car full of people. One of the fellows in the back seat asked, "Ted, how old are you?" "Twenty-Six", I said. Brother Mel Landers was in the front seat with me and he said in sort of a startled way, "You told us that you were Thirty!" I replied, "No, I didn't. You guys asked me if I was thirty and I said NO." Barbara was Twenty-Three and we had two babies and here we were with a congregation of 400 people to work with. They were so patient and loving to us, especially the elders...Harry McCorkle, L.T. Blevins, Mel Landers, Guy Stewart, and Ted Sorrells.
One day about two weeks after moving to Levy my office phone rang and the voice at the other end said, "This is Al Jolly", who was the preacher at Sylvan Hills. We had a good visit and a few days later Al called and asked me to go visit the Green's with him and I agreed to go. I thought that we were going to visit a family named Green and when he picked me up and drove to the Golf course I learned for the first time about greens. I had never been on a golf course, used a golf club, and never dreamed that I would be crazy enough to go out there and hit a ball and then walk to it and hit it again, over and over again. I am a left handed swinger and they rented me a set of clubs and off we went to the greens. I like it pretty well and Al and I played often for several years. I remember one day that he had hit a ball out of the fairway and was over there trying to hit it and was not having much success. Suddenly I heard him say to himself, "Well, Arnold Palmer can't preach either!" One time Al and I were asked to help with a funeral service for a man that neither or us knew. The only special request that the family had was for us to sing, "The Great Speckled Bird." I told Al that I could Roy Acuff's part if he could get Brother Oswald's." But, we didn't do it of course. Al became a great influence in my life and I learned so many things from him and still love him even if he did move to Texas many years ago.
Our work at Levy prospered. We had a lot of good things that happened there through the years. We had some of the greatest gospel meetings that I have ever been associated with. In 1967 there was a State wide television program called, "Journey To Eternity" presented by churches of Christ all over the State. The campaign on TV was followed by a one night meeting in Barton Coliseum and thousands attended the service to hear brother Mid McKnight preach. We had scheduled a city wide campaign for the same dates so we moved our campaign to one week following the television presentation. Brother Harvey Starling was our speaker. A couple of nights before our campaign started we had 153 of our own members who assembled and went from door to door inviting people to come to our building for the campaign. We had workers every day out in the field studying the bible with people. At the end of the campaign we had baptized 22 folk and 73 others came to be restored to their first love or asking for prayers of the church. The attendance averaged 496 per service which probably still stands as the highest average attendance for a gospel campaign in Pulaski County.
We had other great campaigns with men like E.R. Harper, Jack Gray, Glen McDoniel, Cleon Lyles, V.E. Howard, Alan Bryan, Charles Lemons, Ira North, and others. No one was there to tell us that gospel meetings do not work. I wish that we could have so many more of those meetings today and we could if brethren would work as hard as our brethren did then to help them succeed.
The need for additional men in the leadership of the church was very great. In October 1966 we added several men to serve as Deacons in the Levy church. Then, in 1969 J.J. Pace, Jack McGee, and Roy Brown were added to the eldership.
Brother Mel Landers had a serious heart attack shortly after retiring. One Sunday the other elders and I went to visit him in a hospital in Pine Bluff, Ark. It was during that time that I mentioned to the elders that I would like to someday go into full time evangelism and mission work and them get someone else to fill the pulpit. We talked about it several times. But, in the beginning of 1973 I decided to resign my work with Levy and did so the first Sunday in February. I had no idea where my family and I would go but we knew that God would take care of us. We had no idea how it would be done or when it would begin, but here is what happened.
Following the service when my resignation was read, L.T. and Dorothea Blevins took us out to eat at Bowen's restaurant in Conway. During our lunch Brother Henry Jones, an elder in the Robinson & Center Street congregation in Conway came over to our table to visit. I must have told him that I was making a change in our work. About two hours later I got a phone call from Brother Arless Murray, one of the elders of the Hillcrest church of Christ in Oklahoma City, Ok. He told me that he had just had a call from someone recommending me as a preacher for the Hillcrest church. My resignation had not been made known more than four hours earlier. I told Brother Murray that we would come and discuss the work with them, then I turned to Barbara and told her about the call and laughed and said, "I will go and talk with them, but there is no way that I am moving to Oklahoma City!" My ignorance and arrogance all came out at the same time. I'll tell you where the Herman Junction boy moved in the next post.
Monday, January 10, 2011
Thursday, April 1, 2010
TED'S RULES FOR FLYING: POST #75 APRIL 1, 2010
1. Old people cannot fly. They can't find their row and seat assignments nor put their luggage up in the overhead bins, and they have to go to the toilet every three minutes. Kids, take them wherever they need to go or keep them at home
2. Anyone with a neck brace on or an arm in a cast cannot fly unless it is on an Air France plane everywhere they go.
3. All parents with crying babies must be put on the back row behind some kind of sound barrier unless it is one of my Great-Grandchildren, then they can sit with me and Great-Grandma.
4. If I am in an aisle seat and someone just parks right in the aisle with his back to me and his rear end right in my face, they will be thrown out the window.
5. If there is not an exit row or bulk head seat available, I will be automatically upgraded to business class.
6. Those bing-bong sounds that keep going off, especially when I am trying to take a nap, will be disengaged forever!
7. Anyone who even resembles a terrorist will not be on a plane that I am on and I will be the judge of who looks like a terrorist.
8. Old women, ugly girls, and gay guys cannot be flight attendants except on Air France.
9. All meals will be made from recipes from Herman Junction chefs. Cheeseburgers and fries (not FRENCH fries) for lunch; Corn bread and fried potatoes for supper, and Mexico Chiquito cheese dip and chips for a snack.
10. All pilots will be trained by that 'Sully' pilot that landed that plane safely in the Hudson River.
11. Anyone who asks me if the Clinton's are from Arkansas one more time will ride the entire flight on the toilet seat.
12. No alcoholic beverages will be served, especially to Texas Rednecks who keep yelling, "Don't mess with Texas."
13. If I have to sit on a plane more than thirty minutes my money will be refunded.
14, The next gate agent from Paris, France who lies to me will have to move to Red Onion, Arkansas and pick cotton for the rest of their life.
15. Delta Airlines must sever all relations with Air France. Come to think of it, Air France should not be allowed to fly anywhere but in France
16. I will not be served my Sprite anymore in a little cup that is empty after one gulp. Mayonaise jars will replace them immediately!
17. Every plane will have a 'Razorback' emblem on it somewhere and everyone will call the hogs while those attendants make all those safety announcements that you cannot hear and understand anyway.
18. When I am flying home to Arkansas, I am not to be flown OVER Arkansas and then brought back four hours later.
19. Great, Great, big fat people who are eating Cheetos and Reese's peanut butter cups cannot fly at all unless it is on Air France and with their food they will surely lose some weight.
20. Trips to the toilet will be limited to one trip per flight and after that you can use that mayonaise jar that you had left over from drinking your Sprite.
21. Waking me up to crawl over me and get out will result in your being super-glued to your seat the rest of the flight.
22. Any complaints about these rules will be dealt with according to age and size of the complainer.
2. Anyone with a neck brace on or an arm in a cast cannot fly unless it is on an Air France plane everywhere they go.
3. All parents with crying babies must be put on the back row behind some kind of sound barrier unless it is one of my Great-Grandchildren, then they can sit with me and Great-Grandma.
4. If I am in an aisle seat and someone just parks right in the aisle with his back to me and his rear end right in my face, they will be thrown out the window.
5. If there is not an exit row or bulk head seat available, I will be automatically upgraded to business class.
6. Those bing-bong sounds that keep going off, especially when I am trying to take a nap, will be disengaged forever!
7. Anyone who even resembles a terrorist will not be on a plane that I am on and I will be the judge of who looks like a terrorist.
8. Old women, ugly girls, and gay guys cannot be flight attendants except on Air France.
9. All meals will be made from recipes from Herman Junction chefs. Cheeseburgers and fries (not FRENCH fries) for lunch; Corn bread and fried potatoes for supper, and Mexico Chiquito cheese dip and chips for a snack.
10. All pilots will be trained by that 'Sully' pilot that landed that plane safely in the Hudson River.
11. Anyone who asks me if the Clinton's are from Arkansas one more time will ride the entire flight on the toilet seat.
12. No alcoholic beverages will be served, especially to Texas Rednecks who keep yelling, "Don't mess with Texas."
13. If I have to sit on a plane more than thirty minutes my money will be refunded.
14, The next gate agent from Paris, France who lies to me will have to move to Red Onion, Arkansas and pick cotton for the rest of their life.
15. Delta Airlines must sever all relations with Air France. Come to think of it, Air France should not be allowed to fly anywhere but in France
16. I will not be served my Sprite anymore in a little cup that is empty after one gulp. Mayonaise jars will replace them immediately!
17. Every plane will have a 'Razorback' emblem on it somewhere and everyone will call the hogs while those attendants make all those safety announcements that you cannot hear and understand anyway.
18. When I am flying home to Arkansas, I am not to be flown OVER Arkansas and then brought back four hours later.
19. Great, Great, big fat people who are eating Cheetos and Reese's peanut butter cups cannot fly at all unless it is on Air France and with their food they will surely lose some weight.
20. Trips to the toilet will be limited to one trip per flight and after that you can use that mayonaise jar that you had left over from drinking your Sprite.
21. Waking me up to crawl over me and get out will result in your being super-glued to your seat the rest of the flight.
22. Any complaints about these rules will be dealt with according to age and size of the complainer.
HERMAN JUNCTION BOY GOES FLYING: POST #74, APRIL 1, 2010
I never flew much out of Herman Junction as I was growing up there, at least by airplane. Now, when Harvel got behind the wheel of a car you could almost feel it lifting off the ground at times. We had a pretty good air strip with Old, Old, Highway 63 running right through Herman Junction.
But, since I left Herman Junction I have done my share of flying and I still don't like it one bit. A friend told me once, "The Lord said, "LOW I'll be with you always." I think that is right too. However, I have accepted the fact that if I am going to go some of the places that I want to go, I must fly.
I recently made a trip to Romania for about the 50th time. I had some experiences that I must tell you about. Of course, it was on an Air France plane and that is about as bad as it gets for me. I had rather fly on one of the crop dusters in the Herman Junction area as to ride one of their planes. Here is one reason why....
The main meal of the day on that 5,000 plus mile, one way trip was a choice between these two things:
Mixed vegetable salad and poached egg; Lamb meatballs and Semolina, OR, Neapolitan style Cheese tortellini. Then, they added a tiny piece of Camembert Cheese, a Pineapple stick, a tiny piece of what they called Raspberry cake but it wasn't, and rolls hard enough to knock the depot over if you threw one at it.
Most of you know what I thought about that poached egg salad deal. I did eat the pineapple stick, the raspberry supposed to be cake, and one bite of the strange cheese. It was awful. To my surprise I did try the Lamb meatballs. I just closed my eyes, plopped one in my mouth and it really wasn't all that bad so I ate another one or two. But, all that I could think while I was eating it was: "Mary had a little Lamb, it's fleece was white as snow. Now it's all chewed up in a boy from Herman Junction, and it's off to Arkansas he go."
I asked what "Semolina" was and when that French flight attendant answered it sounded to me like she said something about "Goose" and that closed that deal. I would have liked to ask for a baloney sandwich but I knew that would have been talking in tongues to her as much as she was to me.
All of these flying experiences have moved to to do something about it. So, I have submitted my set of rules for flying to the FAA, certain that they will be approved. If you don't like them you can just take the bus or train. They will be in the next blog post.
But, since I left Herman Junction I have done my share of flying and I still don't like it one bit. A friend told me once, "The Lord said, "LOW I'll be with you always." I think that is right too. However, I have accepted the fact that if I am going to go some of the places that I want to go, I must fly.
I recently made a trip to Romania for about the 50th time. I had some experiences that I must tell you about. Of course, it was on an Air France plane and that is about as bad as it gets for me. I had rather fly on one of the crop dusters in the Herman Junction area as to ride one of their planes. Here is one reason why....
The main meal of the day on that 5,000 plus mile, one way trip was a choice between these two things:
Mixed vegetable salad and poached egg; Lamb meatballs and Semolina, OR, Neapolitan style Cheese tortellini. Then, they added a tiny piece of Camembert Cheese, a Pineapple stick, a tiny piece of what they called Raspberry cake but it wasn't, and rolls hard enough to knock the depot over if you threw one at it.
Most of you know what I thought about that poached egg salad deal. I did eat the pineapple stick, the raspberry supposed to be cake, and one bite of the strange cheese. It was awful. To my surprise I did try the Lamb meatballs. I just closed my eyes, plopped one in my mouth and it really wasn't all that bad so I ate another one or two. But, all that I could think while I was eating it was: "Mary had a little Lamb, it's fleece was white as snow. Now it's all chewed up in a boy from Herman Junction, and it's off to Arkansas he go."
I asked what "Semolina" was and when that French flight attendant answered it sounded to me like she said something about "Goose" and that closed that deal. I would have liked to ask for a baloney sandwich but I knew that would have been talking in tongues to her as much as she was to me.
All of these flying experiences have moved to to do something about it. So, I have submitted my set of rules for flying to the FAA, certain that they will be approved. If you don't like them you can just take the bus or train. They will be in the next blog post.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
HERMAN JUNCTION ECONOMICS LESSON:POST #73 FEB. 25, 2010
I never knew a rich family or person monetarily that lived at Herman Junction. Sometimes when we would be working in the fields the land owner might come driving down the road real slow just looking over the crops and I would look at that bright, shiny, new car and the driver with a big cigar in his mouth and think about how lucky he was and how rich he must have been. But, I didn't know any rich people. We were richer than we realized, just not in money.
But, my Dad and a lot of other people in Herman Junction knew a lot more about handling finances than a lot of rich and powerful people do today, especially those in Washington who are supposed to know about such things. I never heard of anyone going bankrupt. I didn't even know what that meant until years later. I believe that I learned something from the Herman Junction folks about the economy that I wish our 'guvment' leaders today would learn. And, the American people would be much better off if they would learn this lesson to. Want to know what it is? Here it comes....
But, my Dad and a lot of other people in Herman Junction knew a lot more about handling finances than a lot of rich and powerful people do today, especially those in Washington who are supposed to know about such things. I never heard of anyone going bankrupt. I didn't even know what that meant until years later. I believe that I learned something from the Herman Junction folks about the economy that I wish our 'guvment' leaders today would learn. And, the American people would be much better off if they would learn this lesson to. Want to know what it is? Here it comes....
"IF YOU DON'T HAVE MONEY TO SPEND, DON'T SPEND!"
If my Dad didn't have the money for something that we wanted or thought that we needed, he didn't hesitate to say, "We don't have the money." We made other arrangements without an argument because we knew that was the end of that conversation. If Mom wanted new curtains, a washing machine, running water in the house and a bathroom, that was fine but it didn't come until there was money to pay for it. If we kids wanted skates, a bicycle, new basketball, or whatever, we didn't get it until there was money to pay for it. I needed some Converse athletic shoes for basketball one time but Dad didn't have the money so older brother Harvel bought me some. He just didn't spend money when he didn't have money to spend. A few months before Dad died he told me, "I want to leave this earth not owing anyone a dime" and he did it. That is quite an accomplishment for a guy with a fourth grade education who was just yanked up by the hair of the head, and the seat of his britches but worked really, really, hard and didn't spend money that he didn't have.
Is there anything in there that you cannot understand? Isn't it simple? Today our leaders continue to spend, spend, spend, and the hole just gets deeper, deeper, and deeper because they don't have the money to spend but they keep on spending. Some families are doing the same thing. Why are there so many mortgage foreclosures, cars repossessed, and savings depleted? People are spending what they don't have to spend! Government is spending what it doesn't have to spend! Yes, I know that some people have unexpectedly lost their jobs or medical expenses or some other catastrophe has wiped them out, but in MOST cases spending what we didn't have to spend has led us down a path to heartache.
If I could give some families some economic advice today it would be simply this: "If you don't have the money to go out and eat, EAT AT HOME! If you don't have the money to go to the movies, STAY HOME and play with the kids or read a book! If you don't have the money to trade cars, DRIVE THE OLD ONE! If you don't have the money for a new suit or dress, PATCH up your old ones for awhile! If you don't have the money to pay for that dumb cell phone with all the text message system, GPS system, TV, Camera, Music, go to Wal-Mart and buy a 'Go Phone' for $19.95 and just settle for a CELL PHONE! If you can't pay for a new TV, listen to the radio until you can buy a new one and pay for it. Throw out the credit cards, burn up the ATM cards and debit cards, and don't even think about charging something! If you don't have money to spend, DON'T SPEND!
After all, look at the expert who is writing this!! Well, I know that I don't have enough money to pay attention, but I have a 1973 Monte Carlo and a 1996 Grand Marquis, both paid for and I ain't spending money that I don't have to keep up with people that I don't even like. So, hear it one more time....
"IF YOU DON'T HAVE MONEY TO SPEND, DON'T SPEND!!
Monday, February 22, 2010
THE HOLY GUM SLOUGH DITCH: POST #72: FEB. 22, 2010
Every year there was at least one evangelistic gospel meeting ( some call them revivals) held at the church of Christ in Bay, Arkansas where we attended church services. These gospel meetings sometimes lasted two weeks and if the weather got too hot they would move the pews outside and string up some lights and conduct services under the stars. Herbert and Dessie Knight never missed one service of these meetings unless there was some very serious conflict like sickness or something. We walked to the meeting many nights after Dad had worked on the railroad all day and the others worked in the fields. However, the meeting usually was scheduled after the crops were 'laid by', so it was a little easier. After services we would walk back home until Dad got a car and then of course we would ride and that was much better. I remember the gospel meetings so well and remember many of the preachers who came to preach.
When gospel meetings were conducted it was not unusual to have several people respond to the invitation to be baptized. There was no baptistery in the early days. So, many times it would be several days before the baptisms were done. Then, everyone would meet at the Gum Slough Ditch and all be baptized at the same time. I remember when 46 people were baptized there in one meeting in which the preachers name was V.E. Howard. Until the church had a baptistery installed, the Gum Slough Ditch was the official baptizing place for the church of Christ.
I got to thinking about that one day. I thought that the Gum Slough must have been either the most righteous ditch in the country or the dirtiest ditch one could find. If all those sins were washed off right there in the ditch it would surely muddy it up bad. But, I don't think that was the case. I think that those sins were washed away in the blood of Jesus and that Gum Slough ditch must have been the most holy body of water in the entire county. I guess that is why the old swimming hole on down the ditch a little ways was so suitable for a swim. The swimming hole was called, "The Forks".
We got a baptistery later and then baptisms took place in the building. I think that I mentioned this earlier but when it was put in someone must have misplaced the drain stopper and it was replaced by a Dr. Pepper. Sometimes some ugly-minded guy would get in there and grab the Dr. Pepper and the next service the baptistery was dry. All of that is fixed now and I'm glad.
But, I still wonder about the condition of the old Gum Slough Ditch? A Herman Junction Boy Can figure for some time on a deal like that.
When gospel meetings were conducted it was not unusual to have several people respond to the invitation to be baptized. There was no baptistery in the early days. So, many times it would be several days before the baptisms were done. Then, everyone would meet at the Gum Slough Ditch and all be baptized at the same time. I remember when 46 people were baptized there in one meeting in which the preachers name was V.E. Howard. Until the church had a baptistery installed, the Gum Slough Ditch was the official baptizing place for the church of Christ.
I got to thinking about that one day. I thought that the Gum Slough must have been either the most righteous ditch in the country or the dirtiest ditch one could find. If all those sins were washed off right there in the ditch it would surely muddy it up bad. But, I don't think that was the case. I think that those sins were washed away in the blood of Jesus and that Gum Slough ditch must have been the most holy body of water in the entire county. I guess that is why the old swimming hole on down the ditch a little ways was so suitable for a swim. The swimming hole was called, "The Forks".
We got a baptistery later and then baptisms took place in the building. I think that I mentioned this earlier but when it was put in someone must have misplaced the drain stopper and it was replaced by a Dr. Pepper. Sometimes some ugly-minded guy would get in there and grab the Dr. Pepper and the next service the baptistery was dry. All of that is fixed now and I'm glad.
But, I still wonder about the condition of the old Gum Slough Ditch? A Herman Junction Boy Can figure for some time on a deal like that.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
SPORTSMANSHIP AT HERMAN JUNCTION: POST #71, FEB. 21, 2010
Growing up at Herman Junction was exciting and we never found ourselves with nothing to do. I don't remember anyone talking about being bored or complaining because there wasn't anything to do. We made things to do. We had more games than you can imagine that youngsters today would think were stupid, but they weren't stupid to us.
Most of the things that we did involved competition. We wanted to see who could win. Every one that I knew would expend every effort to win whatever we were competing in. Second place finishers were losers. When one would climb up on the concrete storm cellar and proclaim himself 'King Of The Hill' he gave everything that he had to keep from being knocked off there by the others. When roller skating on the old highway, every person was determined to be the fastest, most stable, and creative skater there was. If you lost in any event it broke your heart and drove you to do better the next time.
When I observe some of the things today in sports I am surprised at how people feel about winning and losing and their attitudes toward their opponents. At high school basketball games when the players are introduced they run to the other end and shake hands with the opposing coach. After the game they all line up and shake hands or give hugs to each other and extend congratulations to one another. Can you imagine me running up to one of those Herman Junction boys and wishing him luck in opposing me in some contest? Or, can you imagine one of them coming to me after the contest is over and congratulating me for beating him? It ain't never gonna happen!
No, Sir that would not have happened at Herman Junction among the Knight boys or any of the others who came to our house. If an opposing player came over to shake hands before the game and say, "Good Luck", he would have been considered to be out of his mind. If I were a Coach today and some opposing kids came running down to shake my hand I think that I would tell him to get back to the other end because my team was about to whip his team from end to end. And, when that game was over and I had lost, don't come running down there to tell me how good a game we played and offer congratulations! We just got beat! Get out of here before I melt and pour all over you! I see these Tennis players work for several matches and then when the game is over they meet at the net and hug each other, etc. Not me! If I met him at the net I would hit him in the head with my racket! He just beat me and that is not acceptable to me. Old Peyton Manning walked off the field after losing the 2010 Super Bowl and people got all over him for not being a good sport. Phooey! He just lost the biggest game of the year. Let him go off and work it out in his own mind and then maybe later he can tell the victors how good they played.
Sportsmanship. Well, it is good but only to a degree. Give me time because the Herman Junction in me isn't all gone yet so leave me alone before the game because I am going to try to beat you as much as I can. And, when that game is over, stay away from me. I ain't going to congratulate nobody for whupping me!!
Most of the things that we did involved competition. We wanted to see who could win. Every one that I knew would expend every effort to win whatever we were competing in. Second place finishers were losers. When one would climb up on the concrete storm cellar and proclaim himself 'King Of The Hill' he gave everything that he had to keep from being knocked off there by the others. When roller skating on the old highway, every person was determined to be the fastest, most stable, and creative skater there was. If you lost in any event it broke your heart and drove you to do better the next time.
When I observe some of the things today in sports I am surprised at how people feel about winning and losing and their attitudes toward their opponents. At high school basketball games when the players are introduced they run to the other end and shake hands with the opposing coach. After the game they all line up and shake hands or give hugs to each other and extend congratulations to one another. Can you imagine me running up to one of those Herman Junction boys and wishing him luck in opposing me in some contest? Or, can you imagine one of them coming to me after the contest is over and congratulating me for beating him? It ain't never gonna happen!
No, Sir that would not have happened at Herman Junction among the Knight boys or any of the others who came to our house. If an opposing player came over to shake hands before the game and say, "Good Luck", he would have been considered to be out of his mind. If I were a Coach today and some opposing kids came running down to shake my hand I think that I would tell him to get back to the other end because my team was about to whip his team from end to end. And, when that game was over and I had lost, don't come running down there to tell me how good a game we played and offer congratulations! We just got beat! Get out of here before I melt and pour all over you! I see these Tennis players work for several matches and then when the game is over they meet at the net and hug each other, etc. Not me! If I met him at the net I would hit him in the head with my racket! He just beat me and that is not acceptable to me. Old Peyton Manning walked off the field after losing the 2010 Super Bowl and people got all over him for not being a good sport. Phooey! He just lost the biggest game of the year. Let him go off and work it out in his own mind and then maybe later he can tell the victors how good they played.
Sportsmanship. Well, it is good but only to a degree. Give me time because the Herman Junction in me isn't all gone yet so leave me alone before the game because I am going to try to beat you as much as I can. And, when that game is over, stay away from me. I ain't going to congratulate nobody for whupping me!!
Sunday, February 7, 2010
LEVY CALLS: POST #70 FEB. 7, 2010
We were so happy at Swifton and Barbara thought that we would stay there until we retired or died. The new house that we had just moved into was such a beautiful house, especially for that time. It was so big that we could not even afford to furnish it completely and had conveniences that we had never had before. The church was strong and they loved us and showed that love in so many, many, ways. No preacher had things better than I did. I had landed in a tub of butter for sure.
One night Barbara was ironing and I was sitting watching her iron and we were just making conversation. The phone rang. I said, "I will get this in the bedroom, it's some big church calling for me to come preach for them." I picked up the receiver and said, "Hello", and on the other end I heard these words: "Brother Knight, this is Ted Sorrells from the Levy church of Christ in North Little Rock, Arkansas." We exchanged our greetings and then he continued, "Our preacher is moving and we are looking for a preacher. We wondered if you might be interested in talking with us about this."
I was almost completely speechless! I had never heard of the Levy church of Christ and had only been to Little Rock two or three times in my life. I was stunned. I simply asked if I could have a little time and talk to My Lady and if he could call later that would be good for me. He said that he would. You cannot imagine how big a lie My Lady thought that I was making up when I went back in the other room and told her about that call. It took some time before she really believed what I was telling her. We were both just completely overwhelmed at this moment in our life together.
On May 15, 1966 three of the elders at Levy came to visit our Sunday evening services and we met at our house after services. The news was out at Swifton because one of the elders at Levy had a nephew who worshipped at Swifton and that nephew knew immediately why they were there. We agreed to come to Levy and 'try out' which I hated, so we went there on June 4th and spent the night at the Holiday Inn. Marty wanted a Holiday Inn in his back yard at Swifton because he really thought that we were walking in high cotton. On June 5, 1966 I preached my first sermon at Levy and fell in love with that church. We ate lunch with Ted & Edith Sorrells and had a great time. The next day we ate with L.T. & Dorothea Blevins, one of the elders and he told me that in the elders meeting later that evening they were going to invite us to move there and work with the church. Again, I was completely floored.
I went back home and told the elders at Swifton that we were going to move in three months. They were shocked too and began to encourage us to change our mind. In fact, they were so persuasive that I told them that I would stay at Swifton. On July 20th I went back to Levy to tell the elders that we would not be moving there. It was Wednesday night and they asked me to give the devotional and extend the invitation. When I got up there I knew that I could not back out, so we went back to Swifton and backed out on them.
On August 29th they packed our meager belongings and moved us to 112 Farmere Circle, North Little Rock, Arkansas. I preached my first sermon as the regular preacher with the Levy church of Christ on September 4, 1966. What an exciting life we were beginning and I was in such a whirlwind that I didn't even notice it.
I knew one thing for sure though...I was a long way from Herman Junction and I just had a hard time understanding all this.
One night Barbara was ironing and I was sitting watching her iron and we were just making conversation. The phone rang. I said, "I will get this in the bedroom, it's some big church calling for me to come preach for them." I picked up the receiver and said, "Hello", and on the other end I heard these words: "Brother Knight, this is Ted Sorrells from the Levy church of Christ in North Little Rock, Arkansas." We exchanged our greetings and then he continued, "Our preacher is moving and we are looking for a preacher. We wondered if you might be interested in talking with us about this."
I was almost completely speechless! I had never heard of the Levy church of Christ and had only been to Little Rock two or three times in my life. I was stunned. I simply asked if I could have a little time and talk to My Lady and if he could call later that would be good for me. He said that he would. You cannot imagine how big a lie My Lady thought that I was making up when I went back in the other room and told her about that call. It took some time before she really believed what I was telling her. We were both just completely overwhelmed at this moment in our life together.
On May 15, 1966 three of the elders at Levy came to visit our Sunday evening services and we met at our house after services. The news was out at Swifton because one of the elders at Levy had a nephew who worshipped at Swifton and that nephew knew immediately why they were there. We agreed to come to Levy and 'try out' which I hated, so we went there on June 4th and spent the night at the Holiday Inn. Marty wanted a Holiday Inn in his back yard at Swifton because he really thought that we were walking in high cotton. On June 5, 1966 I preached my first sermon at Levy and fell in love with that church. We ate lunch with Ted & Edith Sorrells and had a great time. The next day we ate with L.T. & Dorothea Blevins, one of the elders and he told me that in the elders meeting later that evening they were going to invite us to move there and work with the church. Again, I was completely floored.
I went back home and told the elders at Swifton that we were going to move in three months. They were shocked too and began to encourage us to change our mind. In fact, they were so persuasive that I told them that I would stay at Swifton. On July 20th I went back to Levy to tell the elders that we would not be moving there. It was Wednesday night and they asked me to give the devotional and extend the invitation. When I got up there I knew that I could not back out, so we went back to Swifton and backed out on them.
On August 29th they packed our meager belongings and moved us to 112 Farmere Circle, North Little Rock, Arkansas. I preached my first sermon as the regular preacher with the Levy church of Christ on September 4, 1966. What an exciting life we were beginning and I was in such a whirlwind that I didn't even notice it.
I knew one thing for sure though...I was a long way from Herman Junction and I just had a hard time understanding all this.
Friday, January 15, 2010
SWIFTON, ARK.# TWO: POST #69: JAN. 15, 2010
We arrived in Swifton on June 10, 1963, tired, hot, hungry, and about as ragged as three people can be. When we got there the folks from church had unloaded our meager amount of household belongings and put them in the place that they thought we might want them. Loyd Hulett and Henry Webb had brought a big truck to Manila to get our things. We had a small 5,000 BTU air conditioner and they had put it in our bedroom and that was just great. We could make it alright in the rest of the house but at night we really needed that AC in our room so we could sleep better. Every time someone would come to visit when it was really hot, we took off to the bedroom and just piled up to visit because that was the only cool place. Later, we were able to buy an 18,000 BTU unit and installed it in the living room and we thought that we had really moved up town.
The wonderful people of the whole town of Swifton could not have been better to us. I am going to mention some names and I will miss someone for sure, but I certainly do not mean to slight anyone. From the very beginning, the elders of the church were so supportive and encouraging. Ira Hulen, Henry Webb. W.O. Hulett, Sr., Homer Smith, and C.G. Holt were the elders and we loved them and their wives so very much. I just cannot adequately describe how they shepherded us and were so patient and kind. I could write a book about each one of those couples.
There were a lot of people that I admired who did not attend the services of the church of Christ in Swifton. I am not just 'name dropping' when I say that we loved and admired George and Charlene Kell. George was a great professional baseball player who had just retired and began his career as broadcaster for the Detroit Tigers. We watched him play one time in an Old-Timers game at Yankee stadium in New York on a Saturday and on Monday morning he woke us up to sell us a new car. When My Lady was expecting our baby girl, Charlene Kell hosted a baby shower for her and every person in Swifton was invited. What a shower that was! We bought two new cars from George and just paid him each month whatever amount we could afford. He was a STAR in many, many, other areas than baseball and only the people from Swifton knew it.
I hung out a lot at Buck Hulen's grocery store and Ray McNutt's Gulf service station. I made more contacts with the people of Swifton at those two places than probably anywhere else. I met characters like Burrhead Russell, Claude Mitts, Junior Templeton, Alfred Moon, and many others and listened as they told stories of the past in the Swifton area. I don't know if half of them were true or not, but they sounded good.
Stan and Oneida Chapman became two of our dearest friends and they owned the theater in Swifton. That was quite a popular place in those days. We could go to the show any time we wanted to by just walking in and taking our seats. We didn't go much but a few times we enjoyed seeing a good movie. It was a real treat to eat at Lola Thompson's Cafe over on Highway 67. Lola fed us so well when we would go in, especially on Sundays after Bible study and worship.
I often went to O'Bannion's grocery store and just sit and visit with Walter and Beulah O'Bannion who owned the store and attended services at the church there. It was there that I met a candy salesman named J.B. Milligan. J.B. sold candy and also was a gospel preacher. We would sit and visit and eat Baby Ruth candy bars so long that sometimes he didn't have time to finish his route and he would just go home and finish it later. Baby Ruth candy bars then were what they call 'Family size' now but J.B. and I could eat one each without any problem at all. It was from those visits that J.B. decided to devote his life to preaching the gospel full time and at the age of 88 he is still preaching near Batesville, Ark.
Places and events like these reminded me so much of being at Herman Junction and Bay, Ark. They were the same kind of people and maybe that is why we loved them so much. Ah, Herman Junction and Swifton, how we loved you.
The wonderful people of the whole town of Swifton could not have been better to us. I am going to mention some names and I will miss someone for sure, but I certainly do not mean to slight anyone. From the very beginning, the elders of the church were so supportive and encouraging. Ira Hulen, Henry Webb. W.O. Hulett, Sr., Homer Smith, and C.G. Holt were the elders and we loved them and their wives so very much. I just cannot adequately describe how they shepherded us and were so patient and kind. I could write a book about each one of those couples.
There were a lot of people that I admired who did not attend the services of the church of Christ in Swifton. I am not just 'name dropping' when I say that we loved and admired George and Charlene Kell. George was a great professional baseball player who had just retired and began his career as broadcaster for the Detroit Tigers. We watched him play one time in an Old-Timers game at Yankee stadium in New York on a Saturday and on Monday morning he woke us up to sell us a new car. When My Lady was expecting our baby girl, Charlene Kell hosted a baby shower for her and every person in Swifton was invited. What a shower that was! We bought two new cars from George and just paid him each month whatever amount we could afford. He was a STAR in many, many, other areas than baseball and only the people from Swifton knew it.
I hung out a lot at Buck Hulen's grocery store and Ray McNutt's Gulf service station. I made more contacts with the people of Swifton at those two places than probably anywhere else. I met characters like Burrhead Russell, Claude Mitts, Junior Templeton, Alfred Moon, and many others and listened as they told stories of the past in the Swifton area. I don't know if half of them were true or not, but they sounded good.
Stan and Oneida Chapman became two of our dearest friends and they owned the theater in Swifton. That was quite a popular place in those days. We could go to the show any time we wanted to by just walking in and taking our seats. We didn't go much but a few times we enjoyed seeing a good movie. It was a real treat to eat at Lola Thompson's Cafe over on Highway 67. Lola fed us so well when we would go in, especially on Sundays after Bible study and worship.
I often went to O'Bannion's grocery store and just sit and visit with Walter and Beulah O'Bannion who owned the store and attended services at the church there. It was there that I met a candy salesman named J.B. Milligan. J.B. sold candy and also was a gospel preacher. We would sit and visit and eat Baby Ruth candy bars so long that sometimes he didn't have time to finish his route and he would just go home and finish it later. Baby Ruth candy bars then were what they call 'Family size' now but J.B. and I could eat one each without any problem at all. It was from those visits that J.B. decided to devote his life to preaching the gospel full time and at the age of 88 he is still preaching near Batesville, Ark.
Places and events like these reminded me so much of being at Herman Junction and Bay, Ark. They were the same kind of people and maybe that is why we loved them so much. Ah, Herman Junction and Swifton, how we loved you.
SWIFTON, HERE WE COME: POST#68, JAN.15, 2010
When we decided to leave Manila, Arkansas after two years, I first decided that I would quit preaching. I just thought that there must be a better way of life. I went to Jonesboro to talk to my brother, Ray and he would not help me find another job. He wanted me to preach. I went to my old friend, Floyd Winningham and talked to him about a job in his business or about him helping me find a job. Floyd said, "I would never help a preacher quit preaching!" He gave me some really good advice and we decided to continue our life in preaching the gospel. So, I began looking around and setting up times to "TRY-OUT" (I sure didn't like that term and still don't.")
Someone told me about the church at Swifton, Arkansas looking for a preacher. I didn't know one thing about the church there, but I made an appointment to go there to preach on a Wednesday night in May 1963. We rolled into town with a flat tire and three of the poorest looking characters in the country. I went to Lewis Hudgeons Texaco station to get the tire fixed and then we went on to church services. I don't remember much about that night except the sermon that I preached and it was probably about as flat as the tire was. However, they greeted us like we were really something and the next day they called and invited us to move there. I accepted the offer and began making plans to move in about 30 days.
Then, a preacher that lived close by told me that the Swifton church just fought all the time. That was one thing that we didn't need. I drove over to Swifton and met with the elders and told them what I had heard. Ira (Buck) Hulen said, "We don't have enough energy to fight" and they assured me that they had no desire to have anything but peace and unity. The first Sunday that I preached there I told the entire church about what I had heard, and that if they wanted to fight they would have to give us time to get into fighting shape because we had been through some hard times the previous two years. I will say right now that the 3 1/2 years that we lived at Swifton were some of the greatest years of our life, even until right now.
We had been in the house for about two days and a man knocked on the door. When I answered, he pushed me aside and walked through every room of that house and came back through and walked out and never said one word! I was in shock. What had I moved My Lady and Son into? I thought that the elders had lied and had sent a guy to whip us before I had even preached my first sermon as the local preacher. But, in a few minutes to same man came back, carrying a cold watermelon, introduced himself and we sat down and ate watermelon and had a great visit. The man's name was Bill Wheeler, Sr. He and Vesta his wife and thier family became very, very, dear to us. He was one of the most outstanding Christian men that I have ever known and taught me lesson after lesson about living for the Lord. I could write a book about Bill Wheeler. How we loved them! I could not possibly write in one blog post all the people at Swifton and what they meant to our lives.
It was at Swifton that our KATHY DEANN KNIGHT was born on February 16, 1966. When she was born at 2:30 in the morning I was so excited that I ran down the hall and woke up Oneida Chapman who was a patient there and told her about our baby girl. Then, I went to Tuckerman and stopped and called Ewell and Eloise Webb and told them that our Kathy had just arrived. Ewell could have shot me for waking him up that early but he was gracious. Our Kathy was named after their daughter, Kathy. So now we had a Son and a Daughter and Barbara thought that we were the only couple in the world with a child of each sex.
Life sure was good and we were still only about 40 miles from Herman Junction and could go there often and visit.
Someone told me about the church at Swifton, Arkansas looking for a preacher. I didn't know one thing about the church there, but I made an appointment to go there to preach on a Wednesday night in May 1963. We rolled into town with a flat tire and three of the poorest looking characters in the country. I went to Lewis Hudgeons Texaco station to get the tire fixed and then we went on to church services. I don't remember much about that night except the sermon that I preached and it was probably about as flat as the tire was. However, they greeted us like we were really something and the next day they called and invited us to move there. I accepted the offer and began making plans to move in about 30 days.
Then, a preacher that lived close by told me that the Swifton church just fought all the time. That was one thing that we didn't need. I drove over to Swifton and met with the elders and told them what I had heard. Ira (Buck) Hulen said, "We don't have enough energy to fight" and they assured me that they had no desire to have anything but peace and unity. The first Sunday that I preached there I told the entire church about what I had heard, and that if they wanted to fight they would have to give us time to get into fighting shape because we had been through some hard times the previous two years. I will say right now that the 3 1/2 years that we lived at Swifton were some of the greatest years of our life, even until right now.
We had been in the house for about two days and a man knocked on the door. When I answered, he pushed me aside and walked through every room of that house and came back through and walked out and never said one word! I was in shock. What had I moved My Lady and Son into? I thought that the elders had lied and had sent a guy to whip us before I had even preached my first sermon as the local preacher. But, in a few minutes to same man came back, carrying a cold watermelon, introduced himself and we sat down and ate watermelon and had a great visit. The man's name was Bill Wheeler, Sr. He and Vesta his wife and thier family became very, very, dear to us. He was one of the most outstanding Christian men that I have ever known and taught me lesson after lesson about living for the Lord. I could write a book about Bill Wheeler. How we loved them! I could not possibly write in one blog post all the people at Swifton and what they meant to our lives.
It was at Swifton that our KATHY DEANN KNIGHT was born on February 16, 1966. When she was born at 2:30 in the morning I was so excited that I ran down the hall and woke up Oneida Chapman who was a patient there and told her about our baby girl. Then, I went to Tuckerman and stopped and called Ewell and Eloise Webb and told them that our Kathy had just arrived. Ewell could have shot me for waking him up that early but he was gracious. Our Kathy was named after their daughter, Kathy. So now we had a Son and a Daughter and Barbara thought that we were the only couple in the world with a child of each sex.
Life sure was good and we were still only about 40 miles from Herman Junction and could go there often and visit.
Friday, January 8, 2010
BACK AGAIN: POST #67
It has been some months since I wrote and I have been quite neglectful. I could also say that I have been very busy and that would be true. However, I have found that we can make time to do what we really want to do.
I stopped the journey from Herman Junction with POST #65 and inserted one concerning a trip that My Lady and I made in July 2009 to Hot Springs. I was just so 'inspired' when I got home from there that I could not restrain myself from writing about that trip. Now, I will go back to the time when were on our journey in the early days of our married life.
On February 1, 1960 we left the church at Michigan City, Indiana and moved a few miles away to work with the church of Christ at Laporte, Indiana. The church there had elders to oversee the work and I really needed the guidance and leadership of a good Eldership. There were three elders in the beginning....Leo Bailey, Ernie Bush, and Collie Owens. Brother Owens resigned shortly after our arrival there and began worshipping in Michigan City where he and his family lived. I worked the entire time that we lived there under the oversight of Brothers Bush and Bailey and I will always be thankful for the great work that they did and the wonderful influence that they had on our lives.
The entire congregation at Laporte was was wonderful to us. When we moved into a small house at 707 Division Street, there was one house between us and Bryan and June Butts. They were from Arkansas and they were as happy to meet us as we were to meet them. We developed a friendship that lasted as long as they lived and we loved them dearly. I spoke at both of their funeral services. We also became dear friends to their children and grandchildren. It is sad for us that today all of their children have also passed away but we cherish the memories of the great life that we had with them. We still go back to Laporte from time to time to visit those who are still living from years ago and to enjoy a wonderful relationship with the church.
In July 1961 we moved from Laporte to Holland, Missouri. We had such a hard time there that I do not even like to think about it. Yes, there were some good people that we learned to love but it was while we lived at Holland that Johnny (Pete) Earls, the youngest brother of My Lady got sick and passed away. It was such a sad and difficult time for us.
Do you know how that sometimes we jump out of the frying pan into the fire? We did that when we moved from Holland, Mo. to Manila, Ark. We wanted so much to leave Missouri and when we were offered the opportunity to move to Manila we accepted it and moved there. But, it was a sad mistake. The best thing that happened while we lived there was the birth of our son, Martin Andrew Knight on My Lady's 21st birthday, September 17, 1962. What a great joy and one that made a lot of bad things kind of disappear.
Marty got his name from my mother's maiden name and a dear friend, Andrew Simpson of Buchanan, Michigan. We had met and fallen in love with Andrew and Mary Simpson while we lived in Indiana. It was about one week before Marty was born that Andrew died and I was afraid to leave My Lady and go to the funeral at Dover, Arkansas. Marty has blessed our lives more than he will ever know.
In June, 1963 we moved on again and life began to be better than the last two years had been. I will tell you about that next.
I stopped the journey from Herman Junction with POST #65 and inserted one concerning a trip that My Lady and I made in July 2009 to Hot Springs. I was just so 'inspired' when I got home from there that I could not restrain myself from writing about that trip. Now, I will go back to the time when were on our journey in the early days of our married life.
On February 1, 1960 we left the church at Michigan City, Indiana and moved a few miles away to work with the church of Christ at Laporte, Indiana. The church there had elders to oversee the work and I really needed the guidance and leadership of a good Eldership. There were three elders in the beginning....Leo Bailey, Ernie Bush, and Collie Owens. Brother Owens resigned shortly after our arrival there and began worshipping in Michigan City where he and his family lived. I worked the entire time that we lived there under the oversight of Brothers Bush and Bailey and I will always be thankful for the great work that they did and the wonderful influence that they had on our lives.
The entire congregation at Laporte was was wonderful to us. When we moved into a small house at 707 Division Street, there was one house between us and Bryan and June Butts. They were from Arkansas and they were as happy to meet us as we were to meet them. We developed a friendship that lasted as long as they lived and we loved them dearly. I spoke at both of their funeral services. We also became dear friends to their children and grandchildren. It is sad for us that today all of their children have also passed away but we cherish the memories of the great life that we had with them. We still go back to Laporte from time to time to visit those who are still living from years ago and to enjoy a wonderful relationship with the church.
In July 1961 we moved from Laporte to Holland, Missouri. We had such a hard time there that I do not even like to think about it. Yes, there were some good people that we learned to love but it was while we lived at Holland that Johnny (Pete) Earls, the youngest brother of My Lady got sick and passed away. It was such a sad and difficult time for us.
Do you know how that sometimes we jump out of the frying pan into the fire? We did that when we moved from Holland, Mo. to Manila, Ark. We wanted so much to leave Missouri and when we were offered the opportunity to move to Manila we accepted it and moved there. But, it was a sad mistake. The best thing that happened while we lived there was the birth of our son, Martin Andrew Knight on My Lady's 21st birthday, September 17, 1962. What a great joy and one that made a lot of bad things kind of disappear.
Marty got his name from my mother's maiden name and a dear friend, Andrew Simpson of Buchanan, Michigan. We had met and fallen in love with Andrew and Mary Simpson while we lived in Indiana. It was about one week before Marty was born that Andrew died and I was afraid to leave My Lady and go to the funeral at Dover, Arkansas. Marty has blessed our lives more than he will ever know.
In June, 1963 we moved on again and life began to be better than the last two years had been. I will tell you about that next.
Friday, July 31, 2009
HERMAN JUNCTION BOY IN HOT SPRINGS: POST #66
You can take the Herman Junction boy out of Herman Junction, but don't leave him forever in Hot Springs. Really, I love Hot Springs and have had many enjoyable and pleasant times there. We try to go for a short stay at least one time each year but sometimes don't make it. One of my favorite places in the world is the famous Arlington Hotel in downtown Hot Springs. I like to think of the history of that 134 year old structure and all of the things that have gone on there.
It is said that there were a lot of big time crooks who stayed there many years ago and I suppose that is true. Speaking of crooks some of our nations Presidents have spent some time there too and I suppose that you can guess who at least one of them was. But, there have also been a lot of other famous and not-so-famous people who have walked the halls of the Arlington Hotel.
One time Barbara and I were there between Christmas and New Years. In the past we have gone there at that time of year many times. We were sitting in the lobby one day and an elderly lady was sitting across from us and she seemed so alone. Barbara went over and invited her to sit with us and visit if she desired to do so and she came over immediately. She lived at the Arlington and had done so for many years. She had never married and owned a farm in Illinois consisting of almost 2,000 acres. Her nephew farmed it for her while she enjoyed living at the Arlington. She told us that she was 93 years old and that she needed to get a will made soon to take care of that farm and other assets. I didn't tell her, but I thought that she needed to hurry!
We just returned from a short trip to Hot Springs and I learned a lot. I strongly believe that "NURDS" should not be allowed to reproduce. Now, I have my own definition of a 'Nurd' but I am not telling you what it is, you will have to make up your own. We were sitting on the veranda of the hotel and here came a NURD with a bunch of little NURDS right behind him. He had no idea where he was going and the baby Nurds kept telling him that Momma said that she would meet them in the lobby. Finally, Papa Nurd listened to them and they strung into the lobby and sure enough Momma was there and she was a NURD too! How they got into that hotel I will never know and it must have been real interesting to see them get around the city.
Has your companion ever talked you into doing something that you really didn't intend to do? I have had that experience many, many times. This time she talked me into having a thermal bath and a massage. Can you imagine Booie Woods from Herman Junction doing that? I can't imagine me doing it either. But, here I was and at least I thought that I had no choice.
I went in for the bath and here was a great big guy handing me a key to a locker and telling me to get COMPLETELY undressed! I hid in a closet and did it and wrapped up in a towel. Then, he took the towel away and made me get in a tub of scalding mineral water and that almost took the hide off me. He took a mit and put it on his hands, rubbed off my arms and then told me to lift up my leg! When I did he could see where I didn't want him to see but he was much bigger than me and was in charge. He got me bathed off and that was my first time to have a bath by someone other than my Momma or me and I don't want to make that a habit. He gave me a cup of that HOT water and told me to drink it. SHOO! He left me in there for 20 minutes and came to get me and put me in a 'HOT BOX" he called it and it sure was a "HOT BOX". Much hotter than the "SWEAT ROOM" at Bay High School.
When he took me out of that hot box he put me on a table with a hot towel under my neck and left me again and then he put me in a COLD SHOWER! He didn't know it but I kind of hunkered over in a corner where just a little bit of it hit me because it was really COLD. That ended my bath....I mean it really ended my thermal baths at Hot Springs. Never again!!
Now it was time for the massage. Everyone had told me how wonderful a massage is and how they felt so wonderful after it was over. So, here I go and a guy named "Bob" came out to administer the massage. He rubbed me down on both sides for about 15 minutes. It seemed to me that he got his hands all wadded up in the flab and after getting untangled he told me that he was through and I could go. He held out his hand and said, "Bob" again and I thought that anyone could remember a man's name for 15 minutes. I really did not feel any different than I do when I get out of Barbara's whirlpool tub at home. Barbara said that I should have given him a good tip before he started and he would have done a better job. But, where is a man going to find a tip when they have taken all his clothes away and locked them up? Besides, I think that they should have paid me for all that.
From now on I am going to just stay at home or maybe go visit Herman Junction where they all do their own baths and if someone gets a massage I never have heard of it.
It is said that there were a lot of big time crooks who stayed there many years ago and I suppose that is true. Speaking of crooks some of our nations Presidents have spent some time there too and I suppose that you can guess who at least one of them was. But, there have also been a lot of other famous and not-so-famous people who have walked the halls of the Arlington Hotel.
One time Barbara and I were there between Christmas and New Years. In the past we have gone there at that time of year many times. We were sitting in the lobby one day and an elderly lady was sitting across from us and she seemed so alone. Barbara went over and invited her to sit with us and visit if she desired to do so and she came over immediately. She lived at the Arlington and had done so for many years. She had never married and owned a farm in Illinois consisting of almost 2,000 acres. Her nephew farmed it for her while she enjoyed living at the Arlington. She told us that she was 93 years old and that she needed to get a will made soon to take care of that farm and other assets. I didn't tell her, but I thought that she needed to hurry!
We just returned from a short trip to Hot Springs and I learned a lot. I strongly believe that "NURDS" should not be allowed to reproduce. Now, I have my own definition of a 'Nurd' but I am not telling you what it is, you will have to make up your own. We were sitting on the veranda of the hotel and here came a NURD with a bunch of little NURDS right behind him. He had no idea where he was going and the baby Nurds kept telling him that Momma said that she would meet them in the lobby. Finally, Papa Nurd listened to them and they strung into the lobby and sure enough Momma was there and she was a NURD too! How they got into that hotel I will never know and it must have been real interesting to see them get around the city.
Has your companion ever talked you into doing something that you really didn't intend to do? I have had that experience many, many times. This time she talked me into having a thermal bath and a massage. Can you imagine Booie Woods from Herman Junction doing that? I can't imagine me doing it either. But, here I was and at least I thought that I had no choice.
I went in for the bath and here was a great big guy handing me a key to a locker and telling me to get COMPLETELY undressed! I hid in a closet and did it and wrapped up in a towel. Then, he took the towel away and made me get in a tub of scalding mineral water and that almost took the hide off me. He took a mit and put it on his hands, rubbed off my arms and then told me to lift up my leg! When I did he could see where I didn't want him to see but he was much bigger than me and was in charge. He got me bathed off and that was my first time to have a bath by someone other than my Momma or me and I don't want to make that a habit. He gave me a cup of that HOT water and told me to drink it. SHOO! He left me in there for 20 minutes and came to get me and put me in a 'HOT BOX" he called it and it sure was a "HOT BOX". Much hotter than the "SWEAT ROOM" at Bay High School.
When he took me out of that hot box he put me on a table with a hot towel under my neck and left me again and then he put me in a COLD SHOWER! He didn't know it but I kind of hunkered over in a corner where just a little bit of it hit me because it was really COLD. That ended my bath....I mean it really ended my thermal baths at Hot Springs. Never again!!
Now it was time for the massage. Everyone had told me how wonderful a massage is and how they felt so wonderful after it was over. So, here I go and a guy named "Bob" came out to administer the massage. He rubbed me down on both sides for about 15 minutes. It seemed to me that he got his hands all wadded up in the flab and after getting untangled he told me that he was through and I could go. He held out his hand and said, "Bob" again and I thought that anyone could remember a man's name for 15 minutes. I really did not feel any different than I do when I get out of Barbara's whirlpool tub at home. Barbara said that I should have given him a good tip before he started and he would have done a better job. But, where is a man going to find a tip when they have taken all his clothes away and locked them up? Besides, I think that they should have paid me for all that.
From now on I am going to just stay at home or maybe go visit Herman Junction where they all do their own baths and if someone gets a massage I never have heard of it.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
PREACHER MAN: POST #65: July 9, 2009
I worked at Independent Steel Co. for some time and really enjoyed my time there. One day as Ray Brown and I were sitting side by side working, he asked, "What do you plan to do with the rest of your life?" I said, "I hope to someday work as a full time preacher of the gospel." I had already been preaching for a few months every Sunday morning and the other men of the church rotated the preaching duties on Sunday evening. We talked about that for some time that day and I had absolutely no idea what was about to happen.
One day Ray came to me and asked if I would be interested in preaching full time for the church at Michigan City and I told him that I would like that. A few days later the men of the church had a business meeting and to my utter surprise asked me to begin working with the church on a full time basis. I began on February 1, 1959. I had four books...my Bible and four volumes of Hardeman's Tabernacle Sermons which had been delivered by Brother N. B. Hardeman and published shortly after that. My two older brothers who were preachers sent me some helps and I bought other helpful books and materials as I could afford it.
I would write out my sermons and go over to the church building and preach to the empty seats all week. When we moved into the preachers house in September 1959 Barbara said that she could hear me all the way over inside our house as I would 'lay back the hide and pour in the salt' on those empty seats. One day I was able to buy a small tape recorder at Sears and then I would go to the building and record my sermons and listen to them over and over again as I prepared for the next Sunday. Of course, I did all the other things that a 'minister' does such as visiting the sick, hospitals, etc.
One of the more interesting things that we did was working with inmates at the State prison in Michigan City. The first time that I went there I was absolutely scared out of my wits. I had never been behind so many locked doors in my life and I wondered if I would get out or become another inmate. We baptized some men and when they were released we were able to get jobs for them and they worshipped with us. But, I must admit that every one of them that we worked with returned to prison and that was disappointing to me. I saw enough that I surely knew that I never wanted to reside in one of those places.
The preachers house was a wonderful place. It was a huge, two story house with a full basement and here were two kids from Herman Junction moving in. Dad and Mom had come to Michigan City and he co-signed the papers for us to buy a cook stove, refrigerator, bedroom furniture, living room and dining room furniture, at Montgomery-Ward's and we moved in. It was so big that we could just get lost in there but we loved it so very much. That house still stands and looks almost exactly the same and we often wish that we could spend just one more night there.
What a wonderful place Michigan City was and is. There is one special thing to me....the first check that I ever received as a full time preacher was signed by brother James Alred on Feb. 1, 1959. Today in 2009 the church there helps to support us in our present ministry and the check they send each month is signed by brother James Alred. We are still blessed to go there almost every year and preach in a gospel meeting and it is one of the highlights of our year.
We had left Herman Junction less than one year before, planning to go back home but it has been fifty-one years and we have never lived at Herman Junction again.
One day Ray came to me and asked if I would be interested in preaching full time for the church at Michigan City and I told him that I would like that. A few days later the men of the church had a business meeting and to my utter surprise asked me to begin working with the church on a full time basis. I began on February 1, 1959. I had four books...my Bible and four volumes of Hardeman's Tabernacle Sermons which had been delivered by Brother N. B. Hardeman and published shortly after that. My two older brothers who were preachers sent me some helps and I bought other helpful books and materials as I could afford it.
I would write out my sermons and go over to the church building and preach to the empty seats all week. When we moved into the preachers house in September 1959 Barbara said that she could hear me all the way over inside our house as I would 'lay back the hide and pour in the salt' on those empty seats. One day I was able to buy a small tape recorder at Sears and then I would go to the building and record my sermons and listen to them over and over again as I prepared for the next Sunday. Of course, I did all the other things that a 'minister' does such as visiting the sick, hospitals, etc.
One of the more interesting things that we did was working with inmates at the State prison in Michigan City. The first time that I went there I was absolutely scared out of my wits. I had never been behind so many locked doors in my life and I wondered if I would get out or become another inmate. We baptized some men and when they were released we were able to get jobs for them and they worshipped with us. But, I must admit that every one of them that we worked with returned to prison and that was disappointing to me. I saw enough that I surely knew that I never wanted to reside in one of those places.
The preachers house was a wonderful place. It was a huge, two story house with a full basement and here were two kids from Herman Junction moving in. Dad and Mom had come to Michigan City and he co-signed the papers for us to buy a cook stove, refrigerator, bedroom furniture, living room and dining room furniture, at Montgomery-Ward's and we moved in. It was so big that we could just get lost in there but we loved it so very much. That house still stands and looks almost exactly the same and we often wish that we could spend just one more night there.
What a wonderful place Michigan City was and is. There is one special thing to me....the first check that I ever received as a full time preacher was signed by brother James Alred on Feb. 1, 1959. Today in 2009 the church there helps to support us in our present ministry and the check they send each month is signed by brother James Alred. We are still blessed to go there almost every year and preach in a gospel meeting and it is one of the highlights of our year.
We had left Herman Junction less than one year before, planning to go back home but it has been fifty-one years and we have never lived at Herman Junction again.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
MOVING ON: POST #64
It was a very hot day on August 22, 1958. I will never forget that day as long as I have my right mind. Late in the evening when it got a little cooler, My Lady and I along with my sister Linda and her husband got in their old 1949 Ford car and left Herman Junction. We drove to St. Louis where we spent a little time with Linda's brother-in-law and his wife before resuming our journey to Rochelle, Illinois to work in the Del Monte Company canning plant. We got lost on the way and spent some time on roads that we had never heard of and it was during a terrible thunderstorm. We began to wonder if we would ever make it to our destination.
Our plans were very simple. We would work at Del Monte for a few weeks and go back to Herman Junction, build a Jim Walter home on Dad's place, get a job at the Singer sewing machine plant in Truman, and live happily there until we went to heaven. I hadn't really thought about people going to heaven except the folks at Herman Junction and a few from Bay and Truman. Our plans and dreams were simple and we had no doubt that everything would work out perfectly for us. We even took very few clothes because we fully intended to be back to Herman Junction very shortly.
But, it was not to be. The Del Monte plant was slowly closing down because the harvest was almost over and they were not hiring additional workers. I don't know when nor why we decided to go over to Michigan City, Indiana where our oldest brother, C.W. and his wife lived, but that is what we did. Sister-In-law, Emmie worked at the M & M diner on the main street of Michigan City and we walked in unannounced to her surprise. Barbara ordered a Dr. Pepper and the whole place responded in laughter at that little ole Southern girl coming in there and ordering a Dr. Pepper. That didn't set too well with her either. We went on to 202 California Ave. where C. W. and Emmie lived right on the edge of Lake Michigan. I mean when you stepped out their door there was sand on the driveway and it was just a few steps to the beach.
What a wonderful place. We slept on pallets on the floor and wherever we could find a place to lay down.
I got my old job back at Weil-McClain, a company that manufactured boilers for heating systems in huge buildings and maybe even some smaller ones for homes. I loved working there until the snow came and it got extremely cold. I think that I have mentioned before how hard it was to go to work at 6:00 in the morning to shovel the snow off the sidewalks so the people who worked in the offices would not have to wade through it. It was a hard job but one that afforded My Lady and I the opportunity to soon move into our own apartment on Franklin St., the main street of the city. The building is standing there today and we love to drive by and see it. We asked one time if we could go up to the third floor and see it but they would not allow us to do so.
Soon, I was offered a job with a company, Independant Steel where I would work inside where it was warm and it even paid a little more than my job at Weil-McClain. Ray Brown was a good friend and he called and told us that the job was mine if I wanted it. I considered it for about two minutes and took off for home to go with him to work at 1:00 in the afternoon. I really liked that job. I went in at noon Indiana time and was back at home at 8:00 PM and I loved that. When I got home My Lady would have a great meal and I ate like a full grown hog and went to bed and before long I weighed 250 pounds and was still gaining.
I love Michigan City, Indiana to this day and go there every time we have the opportunity to do so. But, we missed Herman Junction so very much, especially My Lady. A truck driver came through one day and he had a stalk of cotton and she just looked at it and cried like a baby. Seeing it almost made me cry too but not for the same reason. It was March of 1959 before we got to go home for a visit and it was a delight for us both.
We have never lived at Herman Junction again but we have visited there hundreds of times and we still do as often as possible. Why don't we just go there right now?
Our plans were very simple. We would work at Del Monte for a few weeks and go back to Herman Junction, build a Jim Walter home on Dad's place, get a job at the Singer sewing machine plant in Truman, and live happily there until we went to heaven. I hadn't really thought about people going to heaven except the folks at Herman Junction and a few from Bay and Truman. Our plans and dreams were simple and we had no doubt that everything would work out perfectly for us. We even took very few clothes because we fully intended to be back to Herman Junction very shortly.
But, it was not to be. The Del Monte plant was slowly closing down because the harvest was almost over and they were not hiring additional workers. I don't know when nor why we decided to go over to Michigan City, Indiana where our oldest brother, C.W. and his wife lived, but that is what we did. Sister-In-law, Emmie worked at the M & M diner on the main street of Michigan City and we walked in unannounced to her surprise. Barbara ordered a Dr. Pepper and the whole place responded in laughter at that little ole Southern girl coming in there and ordering a Dr. Pepper. That didn't set too well with her either. We went on to 202 California Ave. where C. W. and Emmie lived right on the edge of Lake Michigan. I mean when you stepped out their door there was sand on the driveway and it was just a few steps to the beach.
What a wonderful place. We slept on pallets on the floor and wherever we could find a place to lay down.
I got my old job back at Weil-McClain, a company that manufactured boilers for heating systems in huge buildings and maybe even some smaller ones for homes. I loved working there until the snow came and it got extremely cold. I think that I have mentioned before how hard it was to go to work at 6:00 in the morning to shovel the snow off the sidewalks so the people who worked in the offices would not have to wade through it. It was a hard job but one that afforded My Lady and I the opportunity to soon move into our own apartment on Franklin St., the main street of the city. The building is standing there today and we love to drive by and see it. We asked one time if we could go up to the third floor and see it but they would not allow us to do so.
Soon, I was offered a job with a company, Independant Steel where I would work inside where it was warm and it even paid a little more than my job at Weil-McClain. Ray Brown was a good friend and he called and told us that the job was mine if I wanted it. I considered it for about two minutes and took off for home to go with him to work at 1:00 in the afternoon. I really liked that job. I went in at noon Indiana time and was back at home at 8:00 PM and I loved that. When I got home My Lady would have a great meal and I ate like a full grown hog and went to bed and before long I weighed 250 pounds and was still gaining.
I love Michigan City, Indiana to this day and go there every time we have the opportunity to do so. But, we missed Herman Junction so very much, especially My Lady. A truck driver came through one day and he had a stalk of cotton and she just looked at it and cried like a baby. Seeing it almost made me cry too but not for the same reason. It was March of 1959 before we got to go home for a visit and it was a delight for us both.
We have never lived at Herman Junction again but we have visited there hundreds of times and we still do as often as possible. Why don't we just go there right now?
SMART BOY FROM HERMAN JUNCTION: POST #63: May 19, 2009
We had some pretty intelligent people at Herman Junction when I was growing up. Dad said that Booie Woods had more 'common sense' than anyone that he knew even though Booie could not read nor write. My brother Rayburn won the Math award when he was graduating from high school so I guess he was a pretty smart old boy. My Dad seemed to be able to do anything that he wanted to like farming, carpentering, painting, rail-roading, gardening, and all kinds of things. As I got to thinking about this, shoot, we weren't a bunch of Dumb Bunnies down there.
But, I learned this week that I am lacking somewhat in Computer knowledge. My computer began doing a few things that I didn't tell it to do and would not allow me to do some things that I wanted to do. Marty was too busy so I called "The Computer Doctor" that I found listed in the telephone book. What a nice guy! He took my computer off on Wednesday and said that he would get it back to me on Thursday. He didn't! Barbara called him on Saturday and he told her to send me to his office and he would go over some of my problems and I would see why he needed to keep it a little longer. So, I went over there.
He began telling me all this stuff and clicking on things and telling me things but I didn't have a clue what he was talking about. He said that I didn't have enough Mega Bytes and I told him that my Doctor said that I had been having too many Mega Bites and that was why I had to take the medicine that he prescribed. He said that wasn't the kind of bites that he was talking about. He said that I really needed a GIG! I hadn't heard of a GIG in years and had never used one because I never hunted for frogs in my life and had no idea where to get a GIG! He said that wasn't what he was talking about either and that he would take care of it. He must have clicked on 500 buttons and things would pop up and he would click them off or sometimes he would say, "Uh, Huh" and go on to something else. He sat there and talked to that computer just like it was a real live person and it never answered him one time that I heard. He would tell it to do this or do that and sometimes it would and sometimes it wouldn't and he would ask it, "What in the world is wrong with you?" Since he could tell that I thought that The Computer Doctor needed a Doctor, he told me that I could go on so I did, thinking that if Booie was here he could probably fix that thing!
He brought it back to me and it is working faster and some better than when he took it, but the problem that prompted me to call him in the first place is just like it was when he got it. He said that I would have to call my ISP for that problem and I did and after about an hour they told me that I needed to call Microsoft. I have a call in now for Bill Gates and he will probably call back in a few minutes.
At Herman Junction we didn't have this problem. When something went wrong with a tractor or plow or something, Booie and Dad just fixed and went on with their work. Where did those simple days at Herman Junction go? I think that I'll just go back there today and get some of the fog in my head cleared up!
But, I learned this week that I am lacking somewhat in Computer knowledge. My computer began doing a few things that I didn't tell it to do and would not allow me to do some things that I wanted to do. Marty was too busy so I called "The Computer Doctor" that I found listed in the telephone book. What a nice guy! He took my computer off on Wednesday and said that he would get it back to me on Thursday. He didn't! Barbara called him on Saturday and he told her to send me to his office and he would go over some of my problems and I would see why he needed to keep it a little longer. So, I went over there.
He began telling me all this stuff and clicking on things and telling me things but I didn't have a clue what he was talking about. He said that I didn't have enough Mega Bytes and I told him that my Doctor said that I had been having too many Mega Bites and that was why I had to take the medicine that he prescribed. He said that wasn't the kind of bites that he was talking about. He said that I really needed a GIG! I hadn't heard of a GIG in years and had never used one because I never hunted for frogs in my life and had no idea where to get a GIG! He said that wasn't what he was talking about either and that he would take care of it. He must have clicked on 500 buttons and things would pop up and he would click them off or sometimes he would say, "Uh, Huh" and go on to something else. He sat there and talked to that computer just like it was a real live person and it never answered him one time that I heard. He would tell it to do this or do that and sometimes it would and sometimes it wouldn't and he would ask it, "What in the world is wrong with you?" Since he could tell that I thought that The Computer Doctor needed a Doctor, he told me that I could go on so I did, thinking that if Booie was here he could probably fix that thing!
He brought it back to me and it is working faster and some better than when he took it, but the problem that prompted me to call him in the first place is just like it was when he got it. He said that I would have to call my ISP for that problem and I did and after about an hour they told me that I needed to call Microsoft. I have a call in now for Bill Gates and he will probably call back in a few minutes.
At Herman Junction we didn't have this problem. When something went wrong with a tractor or plow or something, Booie and Dad just fixed and went on with their work. Where did those simple days at Herman Junction go? I think that I'll just go back there today and get some of the fog in my head cleared up!
Saturday, April 25, 2009
CHURCHES AT BAY: POST #62
There never was a church of any kind at Herman Junction that I ever heard of. But, in Bay there were four churches and today as far as I know those same four churches are there, plus as Assembly of God church. The First Baptist church met in a rock building on the Northeast side of town, the Broadway Baptist met on Broadway St., and the church of Christ and Methodist church both met on church Street. When the First Baptist church built a new building the Assembly of God bought their old one and today all of those churches still meet in the same locations.
I was raised in the church of Christ, baptized at the age of 12 and made my first 'talk' in church at the age of 12. Aubrey Vanwinkle asked me one Sunday morning after services if I would like to speak to the auditorium class that night. Aubrey liked good, long, advance notices you see! Well, with my Mom helping me work it all up I made my first public appearance that night and it wasn't long until I was doing that quite often. I also began leading singing at about that same age and Jimmy Chester and I did a lot of the song leading until we both grew up and moved away. I loved to sing and still do. I have some wonderful memories of church as I was growing up. We were always the first ones to arrive. We always parked in the same place. I remember going to 'gospel meetings' in the summer time and the house being completely filled and people standing outside and looking in and listening from the windows which were wide open because it was so hot. I recall many, many, baptisms, dinners on the ground, afternoon singings, vacations bible schools that lasted two weeks, gospel meetings that lasted 10 days to two weeks, and the church growing and was strong. The gospel was preached in love and I don't remember any big fusses or the church splitting because of personal differences.
I went with my buddy Jim Isbell to visit the Baptist church one night and I hoped that nobody would see me and tell Mom that I had gone to the Baptist church. But, you can't get away with much in Bay! I had hunkered down as low as I could so Max Taylor couldn't see me but it didn't work. When Max asked all the visitors to stand and I didn't, he said, "Well, I see Hook Knight back there to but he didn't stand up." Now, everyone in four counties knew that I had been to the Baptist church! Well, as you can see, I survived it!
I don't remember any big fights among the churches although there were severe disagreements doctrinally. I think that we all knew that those disagreements existed but we all agreed that there was a way to address those disagreements with a good spirit. That's the kind of people that we had at Bay and they even let us Herman Junctionites come into town and worship with them and I enjoyed it immensely.
I was raised in the church of Christ, baptized at the age of 12 and made my first 'talk' in church at the age of 12. Aubrey Vanwinkle asked me one Sunday morning after services if I would like to speak to the auditorium class that night. Aubrey liked good, long, advance notices you see! Well, with my Mom helping me work it all up I made my first public appearance that night and it wasn't long until I was doing that quite often. I also began leading singing at about that same age and Jimmy Chester and I did a lot of the song leading until we both grew up and moved away. I loved to sing and still do. I have some wonderful memories of church as I was growing up. We were always the first ones to arrive. We always parked in the same place. I remember going to 'gospel meetings' in the summer time and the house being completely filled and people standing outside and looking in and listening from the windows which were wide open because it was so hot. I recall many, many, baptisms, dinners on the ground, afternoon singings, vacations bible schools that lasted two weeks, gospel meetings that lasted 10 days to two weeks, and the church growing and was strong. The gospel was preached in love and I don't remember any big fusses or the church splitting because of personal differences.
I went with my buddy Jim Isbell to visit the Baptist church one night and I hoped that nobody would see me and tell Mom that I had gone to the Baptist church. But, you can't get away with much in Bay! I had hunkered down as low as I could so Max Taylor couldn't see me but it didn't work. When Max asked all the visitors to stand and I didn't, he said, "Well, I see Hook Knight back there to but he didn't stand up." Now, everyone in four counties knew that I had been to the Baptist church! Well, as you can see, I survived it!
I don't remember any big fights among the churches although there were severe disagreements doctrinally. I think that we all knew that those disagreements existed but we all agreed that there was a way to address those disagreements with a good spirit. That's the kind of people that we had at Bay and they even let us Herman Junctionites come into town and worship with them and I enjoyed it immensely.
E. D. SMITH'S GROCERY: POST #61
I don't know what our family would have done had it not been for E. D. and Aunt Mollie Smith and their grocery store. This is where all of our groceries were bought for many, many, years. We would go into Bay on Saturday night and Mom would take her grocery list and hand it to E.D. and he would go about the store gathering all of the items and piling them on the counter. Then, he would take a pencil, spit on the end of it, and record every item and price of it on his little book and charge it. It took quite some time to do that too because there was always a long list and especially when Grandma Halfacre would send some money and order bologna, cheese, bread, and other stuff for us all to eat when we got back home. Can you imagine the food that it took to feed all of us? In the winter there was a roaring fire built in the stove in the back of the store and people gathered round that thing while the head of the clan would take care of buying the groceries. It was as crowded as Wal-Mart it seemed to me.!
I guess most of the other shoppers paid for their groceries at the time they bought them, but the Knight's charged theirs. I guess we must have paid once a month or something when Dad would get paid on the railroad and then later when we were farming and he was a carpenter. I don't know how all that worked out but we sure spent a lot of money at the Smith's grocery store. Later, E. D. retired and in 1956 he passed away. Dad bought the 1949 Chevy truck from Aunt Mollie and I loved that truck. He drove it until it was demolished by a train one day on the railroad crossing right in the middle of town. Aunt Mollie ran the store for a little time and then she closed it and sold it to Ben and Hazel Swanner and they ran it for a few years. They tore the old building down and built their home there and the house is still standing. I sure did hate to see that old store building go down. Dad built Aunt Mollie a house right next door and he and Mom lived there until they both passed away.
We did our shopping for clothes from Sears-Roebuck and Speigel's catalogs. What a great day it was when one of those big orders would come in and everyone would sit around and Mom hand out to each one what was meant for them. It all smelled so good and fresh. New jeans, shirts, underwear, socks, and shoes were distributed to everyone in the family. We sure looked spiffed up for some time before they would all begin to fade into looking just like the ones that we had before. We had Sunday clothes and everyday clothes and you didn't dare get those Sunday clothes all torn and messed up. They all had to last at least a year before we would make another order.
Sometimes I long for those days and those times. No credit cards, hot checks, thieves, etc. It was quite nice really and as we made our way back to Herman Junction we were glad that Bay was close by.
I guess most of the other shoppers paid for their groceries at the time they bought them, but the Knight's charged theirs. I guess we must have paid once a month or something when Dad would get paid on the railroad and then later when we were farming and he was a carpenter. I don't know how all that worked out but we sure spent a lot of money at the Smith's grocery store. Later, E. D. retired and in 1956 he passed away. Dad bought the 1949 Chevy truck from Aunt Mollie and I loved that truck. He drove it until it was demolished by a train one day on the railroad crossing right in the middle of town. Aunt Mollie ran the store for a little time and then she closed it and sold it to Ben and Hazel Swanner and they ran it for a few years. They tore the old building down and built their home there and the house is still standing. I sure did hate to see that old store building go down. Dad built Aunt Mollie a house right next door and he and Mom lived there until they both passed away.
We did our shopping for clothes from Sears-Roebuck and Speigel's catalogs. What a great day it was when one of those big orders would come in and everyone would sit around and Mom hand out to each one what was meant for them. It all smelled so good and fresh. New jeans, shirts, underwear, socks, and shoes were distributed to everyone in the family. We sure looked spiffed up for some time before they would all begin to fade into looking just like the ones that we had before. We had Sunday clothes and everyday clothes and you didn't dare get those Sunday clothes all torn and messed up. They all had to last at least a year before we would make another order.
Sometimes I long for those days and those times. No credit cards, hot checks, thieves, etc. It was quite nice really and as we made our way back to Herman Junction we were glad that Bay was close by.
SHOPPING AT BAY, ARK: POST#60
Bay, Arkansas was a suburb of our town of Herman Junction. That is where most of our shopping was done as well as visiting the Doctor, going to church, school, and most other things that we could not take care of at Herman Junction. By the time that we arrived at Herman Junction the school, hotel, sawmill, and the post office were closed. There was the one little grocery store left and that was about all. So, when we wanted to 'go to town' that meant going to Bay or to Truman and we chose to go to Bay most of the time. Truman just seemed a little unclean to Mom because it was in a 'wet' county so we stayed in the one that was dry even though the old highway that ran in front of our house was lined with empty beer cans and whiskey bottles that were thrown out of the car window as the consumer made his way back to the 'dry' county.
Bay was a bustling little metropolis as I was growing up. There were several grocery stores. E.D. Smith and his wife Aunt Mollie had one on what is now called 'Church Street'. Sitting beside the store was a Grist Mill where corn was taken and made into meal. West of the Grist Mill was Dick Davis's barber shop and across the alley was the Herman Hill/Carl Taylor grocery store and then on the corner was a Drug Store. The drug store burned and just left a huge, gaping hole in the place where it had been and there has never been a building built there again on the same spot.
Lining Main Street were several businesses. There was Raymond Collins Barbara Shop, another grocery store that I don't remember who owned it, a Cafe that various ones ran, Sam O'Daniel's grocery store, another building that housed a variety of businesses, the Post Office, and then there was another big grocery store. At one time Willis Holmes owned it and then a man named Roach owned it for several years. Following that the 'Chinaman' owned it and I never did know his name, it was just the Chinaman. Across a small parking lost there stood Fred Friends Gulf service station.
One the other end of Main Street there was the theatre, Howard Hundley's grocery store, later owned by Carl Taylor, W.A. Hall's variety store, the Yellow Jacket Cafe, and a pool hall. Behind Howard Hundley's grocery store was a little shack that Doss Miller lived in. Mr. Miller drank an awful lot and I remember that they would limit his purchase of shaving lotion and other items like that because he would drink them. On past his little house there was another store and on the corner there was Mr. Burris's shoe shop. A big house called the "Hindman House' stood between the pool hall and Vernus Kitterman's grocery store. Barbara and I spent our first night of married life in that house. Out in the alley behind the Post Office was the huge Mule Barn and the jail house. Various families lived in part of the old mule barn building including the Knight family before I made my appearance on the scene. Various changes were made through the years but that is the basic layout of the downtown part of Bay.
When I was in my teens I worked with the Mexican field laborers driving them out to the fields, picking cotton with them, and then driving them home for the night. On weekends we always took them to town and since I had learned to speak Spanish pretty well I would work in Mr. Hall's Variety store translating for them and I really enjoyed that. He sold about everything that one could imagine except groceries. How I wish now that I could remember all the Spanish that I learned and could even expand on it but when you don't use something you usually lose it and I did.
Across the railroad tracks were two gins and several other houses in my day. The gins are still there and still operate during the fall and you can hear and smell them all over town. They sure aren't good for allergy prone people like me. As I mentioned earlier, Bay was a bustling place on Saturday evening and night. It was the place to be. I can go back there in my mind right now and really have a good time, but for right now I will move on back home to Herman Junction.
Bay was a bustling little metropolis as I was growing up. There were several grocery stores. E.D. Smith and his wife Aunt Mollie had one on what is now called 'Church Street'. Sitting beside the store was a Grist Mill where corn was taken and made into meal. West of the Grist Mill was Dick Davis's barber shop and across the alley was the Herman Hill/Carl Taylor grocery store and then on the corner was a Drug Store. The drug store burned and just left a huge, gaping hole in the place where it had been and there has never been a building built there again on the same spot.
Lining Main Street were several businesses. There was Raymond Collins Barbara Shop, another grocery store that I don't remember who owned it, a Cafe that various ones ran, Sam O'Daniel's grocery store, another building that housed a variety of businesses, the Post Office, and then there was another big grocery store. At one time Willis Holmes owned it and then a man named Roach owned it for several years. Following that the 'Chinaman' owned it and I never did know his name, it was just the Chinaman. Across a small parking lost there stood Fred Friends Gulf service station.
One the other end of Main Street there was the theatre, Howard Hundley's grocery store, later owned by Carl Taylor, W.A. Hall's variety store, the Yellow Jacket Cafe, and a pool hall. Behind Howard Hundley's grocery store was a little shack that Doss Miller lived in. Mr. Miller drank an awful lot and I remember that they would limit his purchase of shaving lotion and other items like that because he would drink them. On past his little house there was another store and on the corner there was Mr. Burris's shoe shop. A big house called the "Hindman House' stood between the pool hall and Vernus Kitterman's grocery store. Barbara and I spent our first night of married life in that house. Out in the alley behind the Post Office was the huge Mule Barn and the jail house. Various families lived in part of the old mule barn building including the Knight family before I made my appearance on the scene. Various changes were made through the years but that is the basic layout of the downtown part of Bay.
When I was in my teens I worked with the Mexican field laborers driving them out to the fields, picking cotton with them, and then driving them home for the night. On weekends we always took them to town and since I had learned to speak Spanish pretty well I would work in Mr. Hall's Variety store translating for them and I really enjoyed that. He sold about everything that one could imagine except groceries. How I wish now that I could remember all the Spanish that I learned and could even expand on it but when you don't use something you usually lose it and I did.
Across the railroad tracks were two gins and several other houses in my day. The gins are still there and still operate during the fall and you can hear and smell them all over town. They sure aren't good for allergy prone people like me. As I mentioned earlier, Bay was a bustling place on Saturday evening and night. It was the place to be. I can go back there in my mind right now and really have a good time, but for right now I will move on back home to Herman Junction.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
SHORTEST POST IN BLOG HISTORY: #59
Have you ever cleaned out an outdoor outhouse? That's all I'm saying 'bout that!
OLD SPORT AND OLD BESSIE: POST #58
We lived in a perfect spot at Herman Junction for people to drop off their unwanted animals and invariably they would come to our house for provisions since it was the only house right on the highway. I couldn't begin to count the animals that came to our house and there was no way for us to keep them so I would chunk rocks at them and run them off. I guess that I wasn't any better off than the people that dropped them off in the first place. But, with ten people to feed there wasn't much left for the dogs and cats from all over the country.
But, one dog came and I fell in love with him. I named him Sport. I really loved that dog and I am proud of a picture that I still have of Sport and me. He would wrestle with me just like another youngster would and I taught him a lot of things. The thing that I liked the most about him was that he would go a long way across the field and bring the cow, Old Bessie in for milking. I would just take him out to the edge of the field and tell him to "Go get Old Bessie", and he would take off and in a few minutes they would be back to the house. It sure saved me a lot of walking and I liked that.
I don't remember what happened to Old Sport. I know that he died of course, but I don't remember when. But, I do know one thing---"If dogs have a heaven, there's one thing I know; Old Sport has a wonderful home." Does that remind you of a song that Gene Autry used to sing and even Elvis recorded? It was about "Old Shep" and I have cried a river of tears listening to that song. Don't deny it now, you have too!
Then, there was Old Bessie. She sure supplied milk and butter to a lot of hungry Knight's. I have churned a lot of butter and didn't mind it at all because you could sit and do that. I also loved that milk after it was cold. One hasn't lived until he has a big chunk of corn bread crumbled up in a glass full of good milk.
Have you ever noticed that nearly every old cow in those days had a name and most of the time the name was "Old Bessie"? I have even seen one or two in TV shows that were given that name. I wonder why? I have known several nice ladies named Bessie or Bess. I wonder if they know that there is a big herd of cows scattered all over the place named after them? Or, forgive the thought, but could it be that they were named after the cows? I'll try to see that this doesn't get into the hands of a woman named Bessie.
But, one dog came and I fell in love with him. I named him Sport. I really loved that dog and I am proud of a picture that I still have of Sport and me. He would wrestle with me just like another youngster would and I taught him a lot of things. The thing that I liked the most about him was that he would go a long way across the field and bring the cow, Old Bessie in for milking. I would just take him out to the edge of the field and tell him to "Go get Old Bessie", and he would take off and in a few minutes they would be back to the house. It sure saved me a lot of walking and I liked that.
I don't remember what happened to Old Sport. I know that he died of course, but I don't remember when. But, I do know one thing---"If dogs have a heaven, there's one thing I know; Old Sport has a wonderful home." Does that remind you of a song that Gene Autry used to sing and even Elvis recorded? It was about "Old Shep" and I have cried a river of tears listening to that song. Don't deny it now, you have too!
Then, there was Old Bessie. She sure supplied milk and butter to a lot of hungry Knight's. I have churned a lot of butter and didn't mind it at all because you could sit and do that. I also loved that milk after it was cold. One hasn't lived until he has a big chunk of corn bread crumbled up in a glass full of good milk.
Have you ever noticed that nearly every old cow in those days had a name and most of the time the name was "Old Bessie"? I have even seen one or two in TV shows that were given that name. I wonder why? I have known several nice ladies named Bessie or Bess. I wonder if they know that there is a big herd of cows scattered all over the place named after them? Or, forgive the thought, but could it be that they were named after the cows? I'll try to see that this doesn't get into the hands of a woman named Bessie.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
DREAMS AT HERMAN JUNCTION:POST #57
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.
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.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
