JAMES LOUIS KNIGHT MARCH 17, 1934-MARCH 24, 1978: #17

Everybody needs a brother like James (Jamie) knight. He was the third son of Dad and Mom, born on March 17, 1934. He was one of the most gentle men that I have ever known. I never knew of Jamie getting into trouble at school, with our parents, or anyone else. He was a quiet guy and that may have been because he followed Harvel in the line of boys and it paid to be quiet when Harvel wanted you to.

One of the funniest things that I remember happening involving Jamie, and probably the most mischievious thing that he ever did happened one night after everyone was in the bed. I have mentioned that in the 'big house' we had three bedrooms. Dad and Mom took one, when Granny was with us she took one and Linda slept with her some, and then the boys had the other room. Most times there were two boys in one bed and sometimes three. One night Jamie and Rayburn were in bed and they were talking and cutting up. Dad kept saying, "You boys quieten down in there." But, Jamie must have been feeling too good to go to sleep or something and he just kept on. After about two or three admonitions from Dad and them being ignored, the boys heard Dad take the razorstrap off the nail and they knew what was coming. Jamie was the instigator of about all of the noise and when he heard Dad coming he just rolled off the edge of the bed between the bed and the wall. Dad came in and it was dark of course, he pulled back the cover and started whaling away and saying, "Jamie, are you gonna stop this racket and go to sleep?" Rayburn kept yelling, "I ain't Jamie!", but it took Dad a few swipes with that razor strap before he realized that he wasn't whipping Jamie. I guess Rayburn needed it anyway and he probably got Jamie out from behind that bed and he got his too.

When I first started preaching Jamie had already been preaching a few years and I needed help. I had four volumes of Hardeman's tabernacle sermons and a Bible and that was it. Harvel sent me a few outlines and I stole a few from him when I would visit, but James sent me a lot of help in addition to writing a lot of letters of encouragement and instruction. Until the day that he died he was a great help to me. His wife Elta gave me Jamie's library after he died and I have been blessed tremendously by it.

He preached in a meeting for us in Michigan City, Indiana, my first local work. He, Elta, and Cindy came up from Oklahoma and the church had very little money to help with their expenses. They came in a brand new car. One night we had a baptism and had to go to LaPorte for the baptism and croYsing over a railroad a bit too fast he ruined that car and had to trade for a new one to get home. He had only a few miles on his car. It was my great pleasure to preach in gospel meetings in Farmerville, La. where they lived. In recent years I have been back there to preach in meetings and many times people will tell me, "Your brother married us", or "Your brother preached my mates funeral" and many of them tell me, "Your brother baptized me." He has been gone for more than 30 years but is still deeply loved at Farmerville. I consider it a compliment when some of the people call me James before they catch themselves. Jamie really made sure that all is well at Herman Junction.

Jamie died in March 1978 after having some health problems for some time. He is buried at home in Farmerville, La. His wife, Elta Starling Knight still lives in Fermerville.  He also left a daughter, Cindy Johns who lives in Monroe, La. and a son Steve Knight who lives in Beaumont, Tx.  Granddaughter Kelli lives in Jackson, Tn. and she and her husband produced James on Great-Grandchild, a boy names Cash.

TRACTORS: POST #16

I have loved tractors all of my life. When I was small my Dad traded our pair of horses to Lofty Preston for a big, Red, M Farmall tractor. Since that time my favorite tractor has been a Farmall although I like all the others as well. About the time that he traded for that tractor I got one just like it for Christmas I guess. It was Red too! It had two or three other pieces of equipment and I remember playing in the dirt with for hours. I have had three experiences with tractors including the one when Dad traded the horses for the big M, that I will never forget.

There was man named Poss Phillips who lived in our area and he drank quite a bit. One time he came into town, probably to bring a load of cotton to the gin, and while we was waiting for his cotton to be ginned he had a little too much to drink. When he started home he was driving across the big bridge over Gum Slough ditch and ran off into the ditch filled with water. He died in that accident. He was pulling the wagon and they got it and of course the tractor out of the ditch and my Dad bought that wagon. For many, many, years Dad kept that wagon and every time that I looked at it I thought of that tragic accident that took the life of one of our neighbors.

The most memorable tractor story that I vividly remember is one that involved me and Dad's little Allis-Chalmers tractor that he had bought. The wheels on the front were spread far apart. Dad had taken the tractor to a garage in town and worked on it and the day that we went to get it we had a problem. Dad had driven the truck and the tractor needed to be driven home too. So, he asked me if I thought that I could drive the tractor home. I was about 14 years old. I told him that I could do it.

When I left for home I knew that Dad was standing in the street watching me drive down the road to Herman Junction. When I got a pretty good distance from town and I knew that he wasn't looking, I began turning the wheels and driving back and forth from one side of the road the other ....back and forth, back and forth. One time I got the wheels turned so far to the right that I couldn't get them turned back in time and ran down a big embankment and turned over in the ditch. It threw me off in the railroad right of way and I was not hurt. It scared the thunder out of me. I jumped up on the road and took off running back to the garage where Dad was. I ran in there and told him that I had met a drunk man in a white car and he ran me off the road and I turned the tractor over. Would you believe that Clarence Rodgers came driving up and heard me tell that story and said, "Herb, I met that same SOB and he nearly ran me off the road too!" Do you believe in miracles? Here I had told the biggest lie of my life and had a witness to back me up! I don't know what or who Clarence Rodgers saw but to this day I have not seen that white car with a drunk driver. You know, I don't think that I ever did tell Dad the truth about that incident. If I had he surely would have taken the razor strap to me regardless of my age.

Mom's best friend from her childhood days was Gladys Bradke Cook from Enola, Arkansas. Glad and her girls came to visit us occasionally and they were there when I turned over the tractor. I had the biggest crush in the world on Allie Rae, one of her girls. But, she and my older brother Ray were the same ago and they had a crush on each other so I was just left out of the picture. That is until the day that I wrecked the tractor. I was lying on the bed after we got home and Allie Rae came and sat on the edge of the bed and rubbed my forehead. I thought that I had died in the tractor wreck and an angel was taking care of me! Allie is to this day a great friend and we love her children to death. By the way, she doesn't even know this story but it sure is the truth. See, that is one of the reasons why all is well at Herman Junction.

BARBARA JEAN EARLS BALDRIDGE KNIGHT: #15

I received a message on email this week that showed a picture of a 1936 Ford car. It was one of only four of those cars produced and is the only one that is still in good running condition. It was made of pure stainless steel and is as beautiful as it was the day that it was made. It is insured for $1.5 million dollars! It would be wonderful to get to actually see that car.

But, I have something more unique and by far more valuable and I fell in love with her at Herman Junction, Arkansas many, many, years ago. Barbara Jean Earls Baldridge Knight is in a class all by herself. There was only one of this model made. She, like the unusual car is still as beautiful as ever and in good running condition. I had a shirt made for her once that said on the front, "This old gray mare is still what she used to be!" And she certainly is.

Barbara was raised in a family with two brothers and three sisters. She also had a half sister from a previous marriage of her father. Barbara would tell me through the years that she felt that she had a biological father somewhere that she didn't know. When she was 41 years of age she learned that she did indeed have a biological father and learned where he was and visited him. She learned that she had two more brothers and two more sisters. She contacted them in 1998 and since then has become very close to them. So, she is probably the only person in the world that had four brothers and five sisters but biologically is an only child! I have kidded her that many years ago two good people made a mistake and I married it!

I said that I fell in love at Herman Junction, Arkansas. When we were youngsters we didn't have a 'youth minister' but the parents attended to that task. We had a bunch of young people our age at church and the parents were great at entertaining and teaching us. We had parties in those days at our homes and we played games of all kinds, but usually played a game or two where the guy and gal would go walking as we called it. We would get in a circle and put a coke bottle in the middle and a guy or gal would spin it. When it stopped spinning the guy would go walking with the gal that it was pointing at or or the gal would walk with the guy it was pointing at.

One night we played that game and I gave the bottle a spin and when it stopped it was pointing at 'Bob' as we all called her in those days. We took our walk down the road a little while and on the way back we stopped and I took her in my arms and kissed her in the middle of the old dirt road. That was the first time. A few days later she came home with my sister for Sunday dinner and we had a great time all afternoon. That evening as we crawled into Dad's 1939 Ford car to go to church, somehow my hand and hers touched and we held hands all the way to church. There has never been a moment since then that I have not loved her. We were married at Herman Junction in the 'big house' on July 24, 1958 and someday I will tell you about that wedding. We enjoyed many, many, wonderful times at Herman Junction and still go back there to visit my sister and remember the beginning of our 50 plus years of being in love.

So, I have something far more beautiful and valuable than an old 1936 stainless steel Ford. I think that I will just keep her! Now, you surely understand why I say that all is well at Herman Junction.

HERBERT HENRY KNIGHT, APRIL 22, 1910-JAN.30,1994:#14

I have often wondered why Dad chose Herman Junction to buy a small piece of land to build a house for his family. And, I have often wondered how in the world he managed to do it at all! He was working on the railroad and Mom said that he would buy some materials every time that he got paid until he got enough to get started. Then, there were some other men who helped him voluntarily and one or two that he had to pay some money for thier work. Most of you have never heard of 'swapping labor' where someone would help you in your crop or wherever you might need help and then you would return the favor. But, I remember that well

There are several things that always come to my mind when I think of Dad. He was one of the finest singers and song leaders that I have ever heard. I can hear him now as he gets ready to begin a song..."Do, sol, mi, sol, do.....On the first." He knew music and seldom got one too high or too low. My favorite song to this day is the one that I first learned sitting on his knee and singing with him as a child..."Each day I'll do a golden deed, by helping those who are in need." You remember that as "A Beautiful Life." I have some tapes of him leading singing and some of him singing at our family reunions. One time a cousin objected to us singing at our reunions but Dad said, "When the Knight's get together, the Knight's sing." And, we sill do.

I viewed him as the strongest man that I ever knew. When there was a horse that needed shoeing and no one could get it done, Dad would throw that horse just like he would throw a man and the horse had new shoes in a few minutes. I heard the story about someone stealing all the clothes off the clothesline and dad ran him down. The guy crawled under a cotton gin and it was at night, and dad crawled under and took away his knife, got the clothes, and crawled out. There is no way that you could get me under a gin in the dark. I would have just worn the drawers that I had on until I could get some new ones.

Dad and Mom would get the early morning paper, divide it, and sit at the breakfast table and read the news. I remember that My Lady and I stayed all night with them once and we laid and listened as they read things to each other. Dad said, "Well, I wonder what old Clinton is up to today?" Later Mom would say, "They have three loaves of bread for a dollar at Young's Big Star in Truman." It was like that until they got the whole paper read.

Among the very last words that I heard him say was when he had his last stroke. When he had suffered strokes before and then get better, he would say, "Let's go." "Where do you want to go Dad?" someone would ask. He would say, "Let's go out on the porch." The last time he had a stroke I went to Jonesboro and as I entered the room where several others were already there, he was sitting up in his bed and he looked at me and said, "I'm going!" I asked, "Where you going Dad?", expecting to hear him say 'to the front porch.' But, this time he said, "I'm going to gloryland!" That was on Thursday and on the next Sunday morning he went to gloryland. I suspect that when he arises from that rest, he will proably lead the saved creation in 'A Beautiful Live' and that will be a joy. Yes, all is well at Herman Junction tonight.

FLORA DESSIE KNIGHT April 12, 1912-July 25, 2004:#13

The citizens of Herman Junction never knew a finer human being than Dessie Knight. I will never forget how blessed she felt when we moved into the 'big house' after moving from place to place in the first few years of my life. Now, we had our own house and we did not have to move again. Dad was working on the railroad and share crop farming too and so we made it fine. One of the reasons that we made it so well was the contribution of my blessed Momma to the family. I asked her one time shortly before she died, "How many biscuits did you make each morning?" She told me that she made FIFTY-FIVE big 'cat head' biscuits every morning and an equal amount of cornbread every night during school and at noon and night when we were in the fields. That is just the bread and there was all the rest of the meal to prepare as well. In between preparing those meals there was house cleaning, washing, ironing, canning, gardening, taking care of Grandma, and all the other things that came with having a family of 10-11 people. Of couse she was pregnant most of the time too. She always insisted that we get our lessons not only for school, but for Bible class at church as well. If there ever was an example of committment and dedication to the Lord, Dessie Knight was it.

During the last few years of her life Barbara and I were worked a lot in Romania and there was one time in particular that I was very uncomfortable leaving because she was having so much trouble. I told Laura how I felt and she told Momma. I went to see here just before I was to leave for Romania and as I was leaving her she said, "I hear that you are worried about going to Romania because of my health. You go on because you have a contract with God to preach the gospel and I will be alright." And she was. She sent me $50 once in memory of Dad to help with our work. I know she didn't have it but she sent it anyway.

But, with all of her busyness and raising a family she had a tremendouos sense of humor and would keep a person in the floor laughing, especially if you were part of the family. She told me once that her number one weakness was laughing at dirty jokes! I'd love to tell you some of those jokes but I am a preacher you know and other people read this blog from time to time. (I had one in here but I decided to delete it before I got in a bunch of trouble. You'll just have to wonder what it was).

I loved to tease and aggravate her and watch her laugh. I was the only person that she allowed to call her "DESS" and I loved calling her that. One time I was driving the truck to church and for some reason she got scared and grabbed the steering wheel and pulled us off into a fence and almost the bottom of the ditch. I was able to get out but she laughed about that forever.

She wanted to move into town when all the kids were grown up and gone and they did. She worked as a cook for the school for several years. She took care of Dad when he became ill. One day he was putting on his tie to go to church and he was having trouble and so Mom was going to help him. She had hold of the tie and he began to fall and she wouldn't turn loose of the tie. They both fell to the floor and laid there and laughed and Dad told everyone that she tried to choke him to death with his own tie.

Momma lived until she was 92 years of age and was in good mental health until about three weeks before she died. We all thank God for her and miss her so much. God has maybe washed her mouth out with soap and has let her rest in peace until He comes for her. She was a great reason why all is well in Herman Junction today.

RAINY DAY AT HERMAN JUNCTION: POST #12

I loved rainy days at Herman Junction. For one thing it meant that there would be no work in the cotton patch if it was raining. I loved to lay in the bed and listen to the rain dripping off the house into a big wash tub sitting under the edge of the house catching rain water for Mom to wash clothes in. If I had been normal I could have slept late but I have never been able to sleep late in my life. The old saying, "Early to bed and early to rise" has certainly been true of me.

Since we didn't have a TV we had to manufacture something to do and that was not really a hard thing to do. We could always go to Booie's house and watch TV with the Woods kids and that was enjoyble. If the Burn's family happened to be there we could sit and listen to them play music and I loved that too. The big house was built high enough off the ground that sometimes we could crawl under the house and sit and play marbles. It was a great time to have corn cob fights because the cobs were good and wet. We could always put on our roller skates and have fun skating and trying to figure out new moves. That is, if they weren't already worn out. It is amazing what can come out of the head of a youngster who has no TV to watch or electronic games to play. If someone had said 'Nintendo' in those days Harvel would have probably popped him thinking that he was trying to speak Mexican.

One of my favorite things to do was to just watch some of the older brothers and some neighbor guys draw a big circle on the ground and all of them get in there and see who could stay in the longest with all the others trying to throw the rest of them out. Now, that was quite a tussle. Or, they might get on top of that storm celler and see who could stay up there the longest and be declared the King Of The Hill.

We had a big front porch and a big back porch so we could sit on the porch and be sheltered from the rain and just watch it rain or play some game or another. Of course, it wasn't long until I was out in the rain jumping in mud puddles and making a mess of myself. Mom was standing yelling at me to stay out of the mud but I was already in it! We have gone out in the road between our house and Booie's and the mud was just right to slide barefoot in it. You could back up a little distance and run and slide for a good ways in the mud. I wonder now what would have happened if we had hit a piece of glass or a splinter off an old piece of a board. I hurt just thinking about that.

Of course when Linda and I got a bicycle for Christmas to share, one of us could ride the bicycle up and down the road. Every time that I got on it she wanted it too. Ain't that just like a little sister?

If it had rained a lot, the ditch in front of our house was full of water and Booie would bring his fish net down and throw it in the ditch and catch fish. I cannot imagine now us eating those fish but we did. The fish had come up that ditch out of the Big Bay Ditch about a quarter of a mile from the house.

I've always loved a rainy day but there is none better than the days at Herman Junction and that is what made everything well at Herman Junction.

HERBERT HARVEL KNIGHT: POST #11

I wrote a little about my oldest Brother C.W. earlier. Well, I have to tell you about the next brother in the litter and that is Harvel. Nowadays a lot of people know him as Herbert and that is his first name, but we always called him Harvel because Dad's name was Herbert.

Harvel was one tough guy. He would fight anyone that he encountered IF HE COULD SEE HIM. He was known as a guy that could whip about anybody, but as tough as he was he was afraid of the dark. I am told by some of his kids that he still is. I remember stories about him and the dark, like the night he was walking home by himself and something made a noise in the weeds in front of the cemetery and he ran completely by the house. One night he and some of the other brothers and a neighbor guy was walking home and a car full of guys from somewhere stopped and asked if they wanted to fight. Harvel told them to just come on, but when he looked around all the other guys were a quarter of a mile down the road and he stood there by himself. I don't remember for sure but I think that he got out of it someway. One of the funniest stories that I remember from my childhood at Herman Junction involves Harvel and his close buddy Charles Bratcher. The family had all gone somewhere and brother James (Jamie) came home from Freed Hardeman College. Since nobody was there Jamie just went on to bed. Later that night Harvel and Charles came home and after coming in and turning on the lights decided to go to the wood pile and get some wood for a fire. While they were outside Jamie got up and turned the lights out! The story as I heard it was that Harvel and Charles walked back to Truman instead of going in that house.

Harvel had a little green 1937 Ford couple. I really liked that car. One time he and old friend Charles Bratcher were driving down the street in Truman, Arkansas and they noticed a rattle in the back of the car. They devised a plan to find it. They got out and Charles climbed in the trunk and Harvel slammed the lid down and took off to see if Charles could find the rattle. But, an older lady had seen all this and called the police to report a kidnapping that she had just witnessed. If I remember right, brother Gib McCord who may have been the police chief caught them and of course when they explained he knew that everything was fine.

I also remember the time in the cotton patch when Rayburn was trying to speak Spanish. We had a lot of mexicans come to our country then to work in the fields. Ray kept trying to speak spanish and Harvel told him to shut it up. Ray said, "Si, Senor." Harvel kept telling him to stop it and Ray kept saying, "Si, Senor." It wasn't long until Ray was knocked about five rows across from where we were working. I'll tell you this, "you haven't lived until you have Harvel Knight for an older brother."

Harvel was the first of my brothers to preach the gospel. I guess that by now he has been preaching for nearly 60 years and is still going. He and his wonderful wife Bobbie produced seven fine children. His beloved Bobbie died Nov. 7, 2001 and we all miss her. She sure brightened things up when Harvel brought her home and she helped to make everything well at Herman Junction.