The mines shut down in 1957. We still lived in the Company house for free but as families moved out, the people who stayed behind would tear down the old houses to burn. We had no electric which meant there were no lights to see so no more partying at home. Mom and Dad began to go away to someone else’s house to party. I remember one time they took Bonnie and Ronnie with them, usually they left them with Shirley or I (if I was home)to watch. So, we had to only Lucille to watch and we took her with us square dancing at the radio station. We stayed so late that Lucille climbed up on a table and went to sleep. Shirley and I told her we were never going to take her with us any more, I don’t think we ever did.
Mom’s sister, Tince, came from Tennessee with her family to live with Grandma Francis. Her husband, Earl, was the one who showed Dad how to make moonshine with the cornmeal the Government was giving us for free. The Government began to give out free food to everyone since the mines shut down; cheese, dried eggs, dried milk, flour, and cornmeal. This was our basic diet. food. Once, I went with Dad up on the mountain to help him run off eight gallons of moonshine since he had no one else to go with him and help carry it.
We stayed up there all night and waited for the moonshine to drip one drip at a time into the glass gallon jugs. That was the first time I had ever climbed to the very top of the mountain and it took us all day. I carried three gallons down in a burlap sack over my shoulders while Dad carried five. When we got down off of the mountain, Mom told us Shirley had lost her baby, she had been six months pregnant.
It wasn’t too long after Dad got caught; he was at the still when a guy he knew came up to the still and started a conversation with him about moonshining. Dad didn’t think anything about it because he had worked with this guy in the coal mines and considered him a friend. The man told Dad he was sorry but he had to arrest him then he called his buddies out of hiding. They tore down the still and the man told Dad he had become a revenuer since the mines had shut down. He had approached Dad by himself so there would be less trouble since he knew him. Dad asked if he could come home to let his family know what had happened before he went to jail. I still think it was a low down dirty trick and told him so with a few more things - I don’t remember what all I said. I must have been running my mouth because the revenuer told Dad if he didn’t shut me up he was going to have to take me to jail too. Dad got out of jail on a three hundred-dollar fine and three years probation. I paid the three hundred-dollar fine for him after I went to Ohio.
Showing posts with label Teen Years. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Teen Years. Show all posts
Friday, March 30, 2012
Thursday, March 29, 2012
My Family: Chapter 58
Every time I would go home for a visit something had happen. This one time I went home, my best friend since school had had a nervous break-down. Apparently, she tried to kill herself with a knife. I went to see her and she was in a bedroom just sitting in a rocking chair. She hadn’t said a word to anyone since she tried to kill herself. She even refused to talk to me, but stayed anyway and talked enough for us both. When I still didn’t get a response, I read out loud to her. I did this every day at about the same time. I stayed home a little longer than was normal for me. Then one day she began to talk to me and I asked her to tell me why she tried to kill herself.
She said she was in love with a boy who lived in Orville and he was going to marry someone else. The girl who lives next door to him was pregnant with another guy’s baby but he didn’t want to marry her. So my friend’s love interest decided he would marry the girl and give her baby a name. Well, that told me right there this boy was in love with the girl but my girlfriend didn’t want to hear it. She begs me to call the boy on the phone and ask him to come talk to her. I didn’t think it would make any difference and told her so she begged me so hard I did what she wanted. At the time there were only two phones in the coal camp and I figured our neighbor would be more likely to let me use their phone.
I told the love interest who I was and what I wanted but he told me to tell my friend “no” he didn’t want to see her. I called him everyday for a week and begged him. He finally said he would be down later that day. When he came and they had a long talked. He explained to my friend he was sorry but he didn’t love her that he was in love with the other girl. And as quickly as that started, it was over. I went back to Aunt Hannah’s to stay since my friend was going to be okay. My girlfriend had a sister who was thirteen and she met this man who was already married, had a family, and lived on Buffalo Creek. She became pregnant but neither she nor her family knew it. Everyone just thought she put on a little weight and was looking good since she was real skinny to start with.
My girlfriend told me that one day her sister ran around the house like a crazy person crying with a stomach-ache and her mom had to get someone to take her to the hospital. When they got there the doctor took her sister away then came back and told her mom that the sister had a baby son. Boy, were they shocked! My girlfriend also had a little boy out of wedlock. The father was the same male friend who was kidding when he said he was going to rape our other friend in the ball field. She said they started to see one another right after I left. Later she had a little girl by the same guy but they never got married.
She said she was in love with a boy who lived in Orville and he was going to marry someone else. The girl who lives next door to him was pregnant with another guy’s baby but he didn’t want to marry her. So my friend’s love interest decided he would marry the girl and give her baby a name. Well, that told me right there this boy was in love with the girl but my girlfriend didn’t want to hear it. She begs me to call the boy on the phone and ask him to come talk to her. I didn’t think it would make any difference and told her so she begged me so hard I did what she wanted. At the time there were only two phones in the coal camp and I figured our neighbor would be more likely to let me use their phone.
I told the love interest who I was and what I wanted but he told me to tell my friend “no” he didn’t want to see her. I called him everyday for a week and begged him. He finally said he would be down later that day. When he came and they had a long talked. He explained to my friend he was sorry but he didn’t love her that he was in love with the other girl. And as quickly as that started, it was over. I went back to Aunt Hannah’s to stay since my friend was going to be okay. My girlfriend had a sister who was thirteen and she met this man who was already married, had a family, and lived on Buffalo Creek. She became pregnant but neither she nor her family knew it. Everyone just thought she put on a little weight and was looking good since she was real skinny to start with.
My girlfriend told me that one day her sister ran around the house like a crazy person crying with a stomach-ache and her mom had to get someone to take her to the hospital. When they got there the doctor took her sister away then came back and told her mom that the sister had a baby son. Boy, were they shocked! My girlfriend also had a little boy out of wedlock. The father was the same male friend who was kidding when he said he was going to rape our other friend in the ball field. She said they started to see one another right after I left. Later she had a little girl by the same guy but they never got married.
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
My Family: Chapter 57
The second time I ever saw a policeman or a patrol car I was with my father and our neighbor who lived next door to us. I was driving because they were drunk and Dad had passed out in the front seat with the neighbor passed out in the back. I don’t even remember where we had been or why we were driving around in the car. I decided that since I had a car and Dad couldn't say ‘no’, I would drive to Charleston, a city about 90 miles from Logan. I had to drive over Blair Mountain to get to Charleston.
Now, I didn't know anything about driving in the city, we only had one red light in the town of Logan and no policemen only a Deputy Sheriff. Logan did get a policeman after I left West Virginia and when I came back it was as if there was a policeman on every corner.
Of course, I got lost once I was in the city and turned down a street to find my way back, it was 3:00 in the morning and I was the only car on the street. All of a sudden there was a car in front of me with flashing lights on top of it and then one behind me. I didn’t know what they were doing, the one in front of me was in the same lane as I was and we were heading straight toward one another. He pulled to one side just as I passed but another two took his place because I was not stopping. Three cars more were across the road behind me and one on each side of me. I was scared and wasn't going to stop for nothing. I slowed down to a crawl, almost to a coast.
With all the flashing lights in his face, Dad woke up. He asked me where we were, when I told him and he saw the cars on each side of us; he told me not to stop (he didn't know what they were doing either). By the time they got me to stop the car there was eight patrol cars surrounding us. They had slowed my car down to a crawl and we came bumper to bumper so I had to stop. Dad and I locked the doors and talked to them with the windows up. Finally, they told us who they were and we rolled the window down on the driver’s side of the car. They laughed at us because they figured it out that we hadn’t been in a city before. I think Dad really should’ve known who they were but he had just woken up and was still half drunk. I don’t think he was thinking clearly.
The police said I was going the wrong way on a one way street and I hadn’t stopped for any of the red lights. I explained I hadn't see any red lights and asked them to point out the lights to me. The traffic lights were on the corners instead of overhead in the middle of the street. They shined a flashlight into the neighbor’s face and asked about him. I said he was drunk and the owner of the car. I was so nervous that I forgot to put the car in park and when I took my foot off the brake, the car began to coast into the cop car in front of us. They yelled at me to brake and they are lucky I didn’t faint. They showed us how to get out of the city and on our way back to Logan. The neighbor did’t wake up until we got back home, and my dad and I never did tell him what had happen or where we had been.
Now, I didn't know anything about driving in the city, we only had one red light in the town of Logan and no policemen only a Deputy Sheriff. Logan did get a policeman after I left West Virginia and when I came back it was as if there was a policeman on every corner.
Of course, I got lost once I was in the city and turned down a street to find my way back, it was 3:00 in the morning and I was the only car on the street. All of a sudden there was a car in front of me with flashing lights on top of it and then one behind me. I didn’t know what they were doing, the one in front of me was in the same lane as I was and we were heading straight toward one another. He pulled to one side just as I passed but another two took his place because I was not stopping. Three cars more were across the road behind me and one on each side of me. I was scared and wasn't going to stop for nothing. I slowed down to a crawl, almost to a coast.
With all the flashing lights in his face, Dad woke up. He asked me where we were, when I told him and he saw the cars on each side of us; he told me not to stop (he didn't know what they were doing either). By the time they got me to stop the car there was eight patrol cars surrounding us. They had slowed my car down to a crawl and we came bumper to bumper so I had to stop. Dad and I locked the doors and talked to them with the windows up. Finally, they told us who they were and we rolled the window down on the driver’s side of the car. They laughed at us because they figured it out that we hadn’t been in a city before. I think Dad really should’ve known who they were but he had just woken up and was still half drunk. I don’t think he was thinking clearly.
The police said I was going the wrong way on a one way street and I hadn’t stopped for any of the red lights. I explained I hadn't see any red lights and asked them to point out the lights to me. The traffic lights were on the corners instead of overhead in the middle of the street. They shined a flashlight into the neighbor’s face and asked about him. I said he was drunk and the owner of the car. I was so nervous that I forgot to put the car in park and when I took my foot off the brake, the car began to coast into the cop car in front of us. They yelled at me to brake and they are lucky I didn’t faint. They showed us how to get out of the city and on our way back to Logan. The neighbor did’t wake up until we got back home, and my dad and I never did tell him what had happen or where we had been.
Monday, March 26, 2012
My Family: Chapter 55
My first crush was on a guy 13 years older than myself. I didn't think I was ever going to fall in love. He lived a cross the street from Aunt Hannah and would come over to talk to Uncle Andy. I didn't pay him any attention until one day Aunt Wanda and Uncle Andy told me he was only coming over to the house to see me, so I started to pay attention to him. I could see his house from my bedroom I had at Aunt Hannah’s.
But he had a girlfriend who lived in the apartments and he took her out on a date every day. I would watch him leave to pick her up and still be watching his house from my window, while lying on my bed, when he came home. He was twenty-seven and I was fifteen. All we every said to one another was hello.
Aunt Wanda lived in the apartment over the dance hall, and I could see the apartment building where his girlfriend lived and sometimes I would be at Aunt Wanda's when he dropped her off at home and start back up the alley. Aunt Wanda and I would race down the steps and sit on the bottom step pretending we were there the whole time as he passed by. He would stop and talk to us for a few minutes. After he left, I would be in seventh heaven for the rest of the night. It wasn’t to be because one day he moved to Ohio.
Here’s the story of how I gave Shirley’s wedding dress away. Remember she was dating Dave? Well, they decided to get married. I was living with Aunt Hannah at the time but I would go home for short visits. While at Aunt Hannah’s, I met a girl who was around my age and lived down the alley. She needed a dress to wear to an event - I don't remember where she was going - but I told her I had a dress she could have. I hardly ever wore the dress because my parent’s neighbor bought it for me when I sang on the radio with the class. That was the only time I believe I wore it.
However, I forgot the dress was no longer mine it was now Shirley’s. Shirley made me give it to her either because she did my dishes for me or because she didn’t go to the movies with me. Anyway I didn't know it but Shirley was going to wear the dress when she got married which just so happened to be the same weekend I gave it to my new friend to wear. Shirley was desperate, she had no wedding dress and I believe Dave’s sister either brought her a dress or loan her one. If she knew where I was (I moved frequently) she could have come and I would have gotten the dress back for her.
But he had a girlfriend who lived in the apartments and he took her out on a date every day. I would watch him leave to pick her up and still be watching his house from my window, while lying on my bed, when he came home. He was twenty-seven and I was fifteen. All we every said to one another was hello.
Aunt Wanda lived in the apartment over the dance hall, and I could see the apartment building where his girlfriend lived and sometimes I would be at Aunt Wanda's when he dropped her off at home and start back up the alley. Aunt Wanda and I would race down the steps and sit on the bottom step pretending we were there the whole time as he passed by. He would stop and talk to us for a few minutes. After he left, I would be in seventh heaven for the rest of the night. It wasn’t to be because one day he moved to Ohio.
Here’s the story of how I gave Shirley’s wedding dress away. Remember she was dating Dave? Well, they decided to get married. I was living with Aunt Hannah at the time but I would go home for short visits. While at Aunt Hannah’s, I met a girl who was around my age and lived down the alley. She needed a dress to wear to an event - I don't remember where she was going - but I told her I had a dress she could have. I hardly ever wore the dress because my parent’s neighbor bought it for me when I sang on the radio with the class. That was the only time I believe I wore it.
However, I forgot the dress was no longer mine it was now Shirley’s. Shirley made me give it to her either because she did my dishes for me or because she didn’t go to the movies with me. Anyway I didn't know it but Shirley was going to wear the dress when she got married which just so happened to be the same weekend I gave it to my new friend to wear. Shirley was desperate, she had no wedding dress and I believe Dave’s sister either brought her a dress or loan her one. If she knew where I was (I moved frequently) she could have come and I would have gotten the dress back for her.
Friday, March 16, 2012
My Family: Chapter 52
I had a cousin would try to hang out with us but we threw rocks at her to make her go home because we didn’t want her dad to follow her and whip her with the razor strap. She asked me once, after we became adults, if I remember doing this to her. I said I did because every time she’d come up to the house, there came her dad with the razor strap to whip her every step of the way back down the road. Her mom and dad came up to our house all the time. Every day after supper, her dad would come up talk to Dad while we did the dinner dishes. If we dropped a knife onto the floor, we would say he was coming for a visit. That’s an old wives tale; if you drop a knife a male was coming for a visit.
Dad’s niece met her second husband at our house at one of the house parties and I got my first speeding ticket driving his car. He had a wife and a house full of children which lived further up the hollow but, like all the rest of the men, once they started to come to the parties they just kept coming back. Some of the men’s wives would come with them but mostly the wives thought they were above messing with White Trash. These wives would sometimes stand at the fence and call us names. One time Mom took out after a lady who came to the house and called Mom names because her husband was at our house drinking on the weekends. Mom went after her and picking up a pipe as she went, the woman ran and got into her car real fast.
Dad’s niece met her second husband at our house at one of the house parties and I got my first speeding ticket driving his car. He had a wife and a house full of children which lived further up the hollow but, like all the rest of the men, once they started to come to the parties they just kept coming back. Some of the men’s wives would come with them but mostly the wives thought they were above messing with White Trash. These wives would sometimes stand at the fence and call us names. One time Mom took out after a lady who came to the house and called Mom names because her husband was at our house drinking on the weekends. Mom went after her and picking up a pipe as she went, the woman ran and got into her car real fast.
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
My Family: Chapter 50
On one of my stays home, Sue came for a visit. We got into a fight because Bascom’s sisters told him I had said all this bad stuff about Sue. Truthfully, I don’t know where his sisters heard about Sue’s past from but it wasn’t me.
This is Sue’s story: when she was living with Aunt Belvia and Uncle Noah, she got hard to handle because she was boy crazy. She was 15 years old when they let her go live with my father’s nephew Junior and his family in Detroit. But after about six months, he brought her back to Aunt Belvia’s saying he couldn’t handle her and she was going to get in trouble. He apparently couldn’t keep her out of the bars where she was dancing and singing. None of the rest of the family wanted to be responsible for her, so Aunt Belvia sent her to live in Kentucky with Grandma Dillo who was living with her brother.
That’s how she met Bascom because they all lived up Collin Creek. Sue liked him right away but Bascom thought she was too young to marry or to date. Then Sue either tried to kill herself or she threaten to kill herself, so Grandma Dillo went to see Bascom and talked him into marrying Sue. Either that or she threatened him because Sue was under age. Sue had told Bascom she never dated before and somehow Bascom sister’s knew that wasn’t true and they didn’t want her to raise the twins from Bascom’s previous marriage.
Sue apologized after the fight and said she knew I wouldn’t have told the sister’s anything about her. The next time I went to stay, they had moved to Collin Road in Kentucky where Bascom had built his first wife a house which Sue had accidentally burned down a couple of weeks after they got married. It had been an electrical fire; she left something burning and gone back to bed after Bascom went to work.
Bascom still owned a good size chunk of the mountain but because they had no house to live in they had to rent. They rented a house right down the road from his parent’s and it came with a piece of land so Bascom wanted to put in a garden. He wanted me to help him, but I was to also help Sue in the house at the same time. I was busy working from 5:00 am to dark because I did all the work. The twins were in their first year of school, and it was my job to iron the dresses which they were to wear to school the night before. All I ever saw Sue do is lie around and read books.
One day, Bascom’s brother and sister came for a visit. His brother and I sat on the back porch while I cried because I heard Sue tell her sister-in-law I was lazy and she couldn’t get me to do anything to help out around the house. I told his brother Sue was lying, and I did all the work there. I even had to help Bascom in the garden. I was miserable, if I went home I wouldn’t have to lift a finger to do anything, and yet here I was working like a slave. As soon as his brother and sister left, I went in the house and demanded they take me home because I heard what Sue said. Bascom and Sue both begged me not to go. Sue said she had to say that stuff to his sister because Bascom family didn’t like her and she wanted to look good in their eyes. I told her I didn’t care I was still going. Bascom took me home the next day.
This is Sue’s story: when she was living with Aunt Belvia and Uncle Noah, she got hard to handle because she was boy crazy. She was 15 years old when they let her go live with my father’s nephew Junior and his family in Detroit. But after about six months, he brought her back to Aunt Belvia’s saying he couldn’t handle her and she was going to get in trouble. He apparently couldn’t keep her out of the bars where she was dancing and singing. None of the rest of the family wanted to be responsible for her, so Aunt Belvia sent her to live in Kentucky with Grandma Dillo who was living with her brother.
That’s how she met Bascom because they all lived up Collin Creek. Sue liked him right away but Bascom thought she was too young to marry or to date. Then Sue either tried to kill herself or she threaten to kill herself, so Grandma Dillo went to see Bascom and talked him into marrying Sue. Either that or she threatened him because Sue was under age. Sue had told Bascom she never dated before and somehow Bascom sister’s knew that wasn’t true and they didn’t want her to raise the twins from Bascom’s previous marriage.
Sue apologized after the fight and said she knew I wouldn’t have told the sister’s anything about her. The next time I went to stay, they had moved to Collin Road in Kentucky where Bascom had built his first wife a house which Sue had accidentally burned down a couple of weeks after they got married. It had been an electrical fire; she left something burning and gone back to bed after Bascom went to work.
Bascom still owned a good size chunk of the mountain but because they had no house to live in they had to rent. They rented a house right down the road from his parent’s and it came with a piece of land so Bascom wanted to put in a garden. He wanted me to help him, but I was to also help Sue in the house at the same time. I was busy working from 5:00 am to dark because I did all the work. The twins were in their first year of school, and it was my job to iron the dresses which they were to wear to school the night before. All I ever saw Sue do is lie around and read books.
One day, Bascom’s brother and sister came for a visit. His brother and I sat on the back porch while I cried because I heard Sue tell her sister-in-law I was lazy and she couldn’t get me to do anything to help out around the house. I told his brother Sue was lying, and I did all the work there. I even had to help Bascom in the garden. I was miserable, if I went home I wouldn’t have to lift a finger to do anything, and yet here I was working like a slave. As soon as his brother and sister left, I went in the house and demanded they take me home because I heard what Sue said. Bascom and Sue both begged me not to go. Sue said she had to say that stuff to his sister because Bascom family didn’t like her and she wanted to look good in their eyes. I told her I didn’t care I was still going. Bascom took me home the next day.
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
My Family: Chapter 49
Later that day, I called Mom at the our neighbor’s house (remember we didn’t have a phone) and asked to pick me up at aunt Belva home in Logan so I could come home. She said Dad and her would come and get me , and I was to stay at Aunt Belva's house until they got there. I don’t remember exactly how they got to Logan, but I do remember after arriving Dad left again saying he would be back with a ride and we were to stay there. Well, we waited all day for him to come back; even Mom got tired of waiting. I talked Mom into walking, she didn’t want too, but I told her that she wouldn’t have to walk long, someone would come along and pick us up to take us home.
I was half right, we did get picked up but we were dropped off at the mouth of Rum Creek Hollow. We still had about 2 ½ more miles to go. As we started up the hollow, someone came along and we hitched a ride the rest of the way home. Dad got home about midnight, he came through the door drunk and hollering for Mom and me.
I was laying with Mom on their bed; we were reading by an oil lamp as we had no electric lights. Shirley was now married to David and they were in the other room sleeping. Dad hollered so loud he woke everyone up but no one dared answer him. Suddenly, Mom jumped off the bed and blew out the light so he couldn’t see us. Then she ran out the back door and left me to face Dad alone.
He yelled at me to strike a match and light the lamp so he could see to beat me, I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t want to disobey him but I didn’t want to get beaten either. So I snicked into Shirley’s bedroom and asked her what she would do if she were me. Here is what she said, ”You’re a fool if you light the lamp and just let him beat you. Mom’s no fool, she ran. Do what you want but if it was me, I’d leave.”
That’s what I did, I went out the back door and down to my girl friend’s house to stay the rest of the night. The next day, I got a ride to my Aunt Wanda’s and then went on to Aunt Hannah’s to stayed. I only went home for visits after that night.
I don't remember ever having ask Mom or Dad if I could ever go and stay with one of my Aunt's or cousin I just walked away and come back when I got home sick, sometimes I would stay for a week or month depending on how things where at home, if things were bad I would leave and show up on someone's doorstep and they always let me stay, even Aunt Eloise and she lived in Ohio, Mom and Dad would fine out where I was at, because Dad would come and get me when they wanted me home, which wasn't often.
I was half right, we did get picked up but we were dropped off at the mouth of Rum Creek Hollow. We still had about 2 ½ more miles to go. As we started up the hollow, someone came along and we hitched a ride the rest of the way home. Dad got home about midnight, he came through the door drunk and hollering for Mom and me.
I was laying with Mom on their bed; we were reading by an oil lamp as we had no electric lights. Shirley was now married to David and they were in the other room sleeping. Dad hollered so loud he woke everyone up but no one dared answer him. Suddenly, Mom jumped off the bed and blew out the light so he couldn’t see us. Then she ran out the back door and left me to face Dad alone.
He yelled at me to strike a match and light the lamp so he could see to beat me, I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t want to disobey him but I didn’t want to get beaten either. So I snicked into Shirley’s bedroom and asked her what she would do if she were me. Here is what she said, ”You’re a fool if you light the lamp and just let him beat you. Mom’s no fool, she ran. Do what you want but if it was me, I’d leave.”
That’s what I did, I went out the back door and down to my girl friend’s house to stay the rest of the night. The next day, I got a ride to my Aunt Wanda’s and then went on to Aunt Hannah’s to stayed. I only went home for visits after that night.
I don't remember ever having ask Mom or Dad if I could ever go and stay with one of my Aunt's or cousin I just walked away and come back when I got home sick, sometimes I would stay for a week or month depending on how things where at home, if things were bad I would leave and show up on someone's doorstep and they always let me stay, even Aunt Eloise and she lived in Ohio, Mom and Dad would fine out where I was at, because Dad would come and get me when they wanted me home, which wasn't often.
Monday, March 12, 2012
My Family: Chapter 48
My cousin Sue’s house had a straight line floor plan; you could come in the front door go through the living room, continue to walk into the kitchen and out the back door. There were two bedrooms; one off of the kitchen and the other off of the living room. The first night alone in the house, I locked both the front and back doors before we went to bed. I decided we would sleep in
Sue and Bascom’s bedroom because the twins and I could sleep together in their bed while Sharon slept in her cradle. That first night, I got up in the middle of the night because I was cold. The twins were still asleep, so I got up out of bed and went into the living room to find out why I could hear the wind whistling in the house. Both doors were standing wide open, perplexed I closed the doors and locked them. I thought maybe I had forgotten to lock them the first time and the wind blew them open. The next day no one came up the mountain to see us. That night, I made sure the doors were locked before we went to bed, but the same thing happened again. I woke to both doors standing wide open but this time I knew I had locked the doors. I woke the twins and asked which one had open the doors, they both said they hadn’t done it. Someone must have opened the doors and I knew it hadn’t been either me or the baby. I was angry with the twins for lying to me. I once again locked the doors and put everyone back to bed.
The third night, I locked the doors and put Sharon in the big bed with us so we could all be together. This way I wouldn't have to get out of bed to give her a bottle. The bed was pushed up against one of the bedroom walls. To make sure no one rolled on top of her I laid Sharon between the wall and myself.
In the middle of the night, I woke to Sharon screaming but I couldn't find her. I searched all over the bed, I even woke the twins to help me. We still heard Sharon crying at the top of her lungs but we couldn’t find her anywhere. An idea popped into my head, I grabbed the covers and pulled them away from the wall. There she was stuck half way down between the wall and the bed!
Because she was so upset I gave her a bottle to quiet her, that’s when I realized both doors were wide open again. Exasperated, I got out of bed and locked them. I then yelled at the twins for opening them and explained the dangers, some wild animal could have walked into the house and killed us all. Because I didn’t want to lose her again, I put Sharon back in her cradle for the rest of the night. The twins were crying and still denying that they opened the doors. I went back to bed wishing someone would come and stay with us.
The fourth day we had no food in the house, all we had were the beans which had spilled out of the bags and never cleaned up. I was scooping up the last of them into my hand when I heard something out on the back porch. I saw through the kitchen window, a strange man standing at the rail. I picked up the rifle from the kitchen corner, took the safety off, opened up the door, and aimed it at him. Then I asked what he was doing up on our mountain. He held up both hands, in one of them was a clip board. He explained he was only there to read the electric meter. I never heard of such a thing and asked him what it was. He pointed to the meter and explained why he was doing it. I told him to be quick about it and get himself down off of our mountain. I watched him through the window until he finished and made his way off the mountain. That night I didn't wake up at all, I wearily just closed the doors the next morning. It had become normal for them to be unlocked and standing open.
The next day, we were rescued when Bascom sent two of his sisters to take us to his parent’s house. One of them said Bascom knew we probably ran out of food. We walked all the way to Collins Creek about three miles with his sisters. As we walked, they wanted to gossip about Sue (which she had previously warned me about) and kept asking me questions about her. It was the longest three miles ever. I stayed with Bascom's parents for two days where I helped his mother peel peaches for canning and had a pillow fight with his brothers; one was my age and the other was two years younger. Bascom had an older brother as well and he drove me to my Aunt Belvia’s house in Logan.
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| Alma Poodie Dillo age 15 |
The third night, I locked the doors and put Sharon in the big bed with us so we could all be together. This way I wouldn't have to get out of bed to give her a bottle. The bed was pushed up against one of the bedroom walls. To make sure no one rolled on top of her I laid Sharon between the wall and myself.
In the middle of the night, I woke to Sharon screaming but I couldn't find her. I searched all over the bed, I even woke the twins to help me. We still heard Sharon crying at the top of her lungs but we couldn’t find her anywhere. An idea popped into my head, I grabbed the covers and pulled them away from the wall. There she was stuck half way down between the wall and the bed!
Because she was so upset I gave her a bottle to quiet her, that’s when I realized both doors were wide open again. Exasperated, I got out of bed and locked them. I then yelled at the twins for opening them and explained the dangers, some wild animal could have walked into the house and killed us all. Because I didn’t want to lose her again, I put Sharon back in her cradle for the rest of the night. The twins were crying and still denying that they opened the doors. I went back to bed wishing someone would come and stay with us.
The fourth day we had no food in the house, all we had were the beans which had spilled out of the bags and never cleaned up. I was scooping up the last of them into my hand when I heard something out on the back porch. I saw through the kitchen window, a strange man standing at the rail. I picked up the rifle from the kitchen corner, took the safety off, opened up the door, and aimed it at him. Then I asked what he was doing up on our mountain. He held up both hands, in one of them was a clip board. He explained he was only there to read the electric meter. I never heard of such a thing and asked him what it was. He pointed to the meter and explained why he was doing it. I told him to be quick about it and get himself down off of our mountain. I watched him through the window until he finished and made his way off the mountain. That night I didn't wake up at all, I wearily just closed the doors the next morning. It had become normal for them to be unlocked and standing open.
The next day, we were rescued when Bascom sent two of his sisters to take us to his parent’s house. One of them said Bascom knew we probably ran out of food. We walked all the way to Collins Creek about three miles with his sisters. As we walked, they wanted to gossip about Sue (which she had previously warned me about) and kept asking me questions about her. It was the longest three miles ever. I stayed with Bascom's parents for two days where I helped his mother peel peaches for canning and had a pillow fight with his brothers; one was my age and the other was two years younger. Bascom had an older brother as well and he drove me to my Aunt Belvia’s house in Logan.
Friday, March 9, 2012
My Family: Chapter 47
When I was 14 years old, I would spend some time (a couple of weeks or as long as I could stand it) with my first cousin Sue (she’s three years older than me) and her husband, Bascom, in Kentucky. I could only stand to stay two or three weeks and then I would make them bring me home. If they didn’t, I would threaten to walk from Kentucky to West Virginia and they knew I would. So when I was ready to come home, they always brought me home. Then I stayed at home for a week (which was about all I could stand) and then I either found a ride or hitchhiked to my Aunt Wanda’s in Logan or in one of Aunt Hannah’s apartments in Man.
Sue would pay me $5.00 a week to help her with her housework. Bascom also had a set of three-year-old twins by his first wife who died in childbirth. She had been my third cousin. I was only suppose to help Sue but I ended up doing all the work. I had been with them about two weeks when they left me home to take care of the twins and a tax man came around to the house to write down what you own and how much it cost so they could charge your taxes (this is a personal property tax). Well, I was very helpful. Sue was always bragging to me how much she paid for her furniture, in the end, she paid for it. I told the tax man double what she really paid.
The next time when I came to stay with Sue, they had moved to Kentucky. Bascom said they had to move there because I had cost them too much money when I told the taxman how much they had paid for furniture. I never told them I had lied. Sue just had a baby and she wanted my help for the summer; if I would stay that long. They lived on top of a mountain and it was the only house up there. It was about half a mile off the main road. One day, Bascom told Sue and I to kill and cut up 10 chickens a day (five for her and five for me) as we were preparing meat for the winter. We were to kill and cut up the chickens each day until there was none left. On our first day, neither of us could kill the chickens. So before Bascom left for work (he was a coal miner) he would kill the 10 chickens for us. Our first couple of days we did just like Bascom said, but soon we got tired of cutting up the chickens. Sue wanted me to do her chickens but I refused. She got so disgusted with me and the chickens, she said that if I wasn't going to cut them up to just throw them down the mountain side and that’s exactly what I did. I took the pan with her five chickens in it and toss them over the mountain side. When she seen what I did, she yelled at me (she couldn’t believe I actually did what she said). Sue and I got into a fist fight and went rolling down the mountain after the chickens. We quite fighting when we realized if we didn't find the chickens Bascom would paddle both of our behinds. It took us a long time to find the chickens in the weeds, bushes, and trees.
Another time I stayed with them, Bascom got sick and Sue had to take him to the hospital to see the doctor there. I was to stay home to watch the twins and their baby who was about five-month old. Before Bascom left, he showed me how to load, shoot, and put the safety on a 22 rifle. Just in case I needed to shoot someone who came messing around the house and intends to do us harm or if an animal came in from the top of the mountain. They were only going to be gone that day and be back before nightfall. I could probably have handled the day but, as it turns out, while Sue was at the hospital she told the doctor about this little bit of pain she had in her chest. She was having a heart attack and they put her in the hospital and instead of Bascom coming back home he decided to stay at the hospital with Sue. That left me up on a mountain by myself with four-year-old twins and a 5-month-old baby. They were gone for a week.
Sue would pay me $5.00 a week to help her with her housework. Bascom also had a set of three-year-old twins by his first wife who died in childbirth. She had been my third cousin. I was only suppose to help Sue but I ended up doing all the work. I had been with them about two weeks when they left me home to take care of the twins and a tax man came around to the house to write down what you own and how much it cost so they could charge your taxes (this is a personal property tax). Well, I was very helpful. Sue was always bragging to me how much she paid for her furniture, in the end, she paid for it. I told the tax man double what she really paid.
The next time when I came to stay with Sue, they had moved to Kentucky. Bascom said they had to move there because I had cost them too much money when I told the taxman how much they had paid for furniture. I never told them I had lied. Sue just had a baby and she wanted my help for the summer; if I would stay that long. They lived on top of a mountain and it was the only house up there. It was about half a mile off the main road. One day, Bascom told Sue and I to kill and cut up 10 chickens a day (five for her and five for me) as we were preparing meat for the winter. We were to kill and cut up the chickens each day until there was none left. On our first day, neither of us could kill the chickens. So before Bascom left for work (he was a coal miner) he would kill the 10 chickens for us. Our first couple of days we did just like Bascom said, but soon we got tired of cutting up the chickens. Sue wanted me to do her chickens but I refused. She got so disgusted with me and the chickens, she said that if I wasn't going to cut them up to just throw them down the mountain side and that’s exactly what I did. I took the pan with her five chickens in it and toss them over the mountain side. When she seen what I did, she yelled at me (she couldn’t believe I actually did what she said). Sue and I got into a fist fight and went rolling down the mountain after the chickens. We quite fighting when we realized if we didn't find the chickens Bascom would paddle both of our behinds. It took us a long time to find the chickens in the weeds, bushes, and trees.
Another time I stayed with them, Bascom got sick and Sue had to take him to the hospital to see the doctor there. I was to stay home to watch the twins and their baby who was about five-month old. Before Bascom left, he showed me how to load, shoot, and put the safety on a 22 rifle. Just in case I needed to shoot someone who came messing around the house and intends to do us harm or if an animal came in from the top of the mountain. They were only going to be gone that day and be back before nightfall. I could probably have handled the day but, as it turns out, while Sue was at the hospital she told the doctor about this little bit of pain she had in her chest. She was having a heart attack and they put her in the hospital and instead of Bascom coming back home he decided to stay at the hospital with Sue. That left me up on a mountain by myself with four-year-old twins and a 5-month-old baby. They were gone for a week.
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
My Family: Chapter 44
When we were teens, I would sit at the kitchen table and watch Shirley pluck her eyebrows. This one day I asked her if it hurt and she said at first it hurt it did but not now that she was used to it. Of course, I begged her to do mine and she warned me it would hurt but I said I could stand it. I was tough. Well when she pulled one hair, I screamed; she laughed and told me she knew take the pain. Never again did I or anyone else ever pluck my eyebrows. Shirley also sat at the kitchen table and draw dress designs, I could sit and watch her for hours. Sometimes, we would go into Logan and buy leg make-up; the kind you put on your legs to make it look like you have a suntan, but we would put it on our face as make-up instead - it work the same.
Because of my parent’s partying on the weekends, my neighbors in the hollow thought I was fast and easy. When my girlfriend and I would go into the Company store, we were sometimes treated to string of catcalls and teasing. One woman even said to me she saw me lying on the green (a section of grass up the mountain where we took a lot of pictures) with a boy. After several times like this, my girlfriend and I made up a story of what we were going to say if they teased me again. As we went through the door my friend waits until I get a little ways from her and hollers to me, “Poodie, wasn’t that you I seen in green bottom.” And I holler back, “No, I thought that was you.” We left the store laughing thinking that the joke was on them when really the joke was on us. We were giving ourselves bad names.
Because of my parent’s partying on the weekends, my neighbors in the hollow thought I was fast and easy. When my girlfriend and I would go into the Company store, we were sometimes treated to string of catcalls and teasing. One woman even said to me she saw me lying on the green (a section of grass up the mountain where we took a lot of pictures) with a boy. After several times like this, my girlfriend and I made up a story of what we were going to say if they teased me again. As we went through the door my friend waits until I get a little ways from her and hollers to me, “Poodie, wasn’t that you I seen in green bottom.” And I holler back, “No, I thought that was you.” We left the store laughing thinking that the joke was on them when really the joke was on us. We were giving ourselves bad names.
Monday, March 5, 2012
My Family: Chapter 43
For all the grief I thought Shirley gave me while growing up: not sharing her shoes, beating me up, and telling on me; she did save my life once.
I loved going to the movies, but I was never allowed to go alone, Shirley always had to go with me. When we went to the movies there always seem to be a few boys and girls walking home which was about four miles. I would laugh and have fun with the boys and Shirley would be walking a paces behind me and the other girls saying she was going to tell on me but I knew she wouldn't.
This one time a boy drove by us and asked all of us if we wanted a ride. He had two other boys in the car with him. The group of kids we’re with consisted of five girls and about four or five boys. Everybody said yes including myself. Shirley refuses. The driver said he would take us all home but first he had to go into Dehue first to drop off the boys he had in the car. After the my group climbs aboard, it was overflowing with teenagers; on the hood, the running board, and inside the car there was four up front with some boys sitting on the windows with half of their bodies sticking out.
Shirley wouldn't let me get in the car no matter how much we all beg her, her excuse was the car was too full and the driver was going to have an accident. They left without us and in the pitch dark we walked home with me fussing the whole way. By the time we got in front of our house, we met some of our friends who said the driver had an accident before they got to Dehue and some of the kids had to go to the hospital in Logan. All Shirley would say was “I told you so.” I humbly agreed.
I loved going to the movies, but I was never allowed to go alone, Shirley always had to go with me. When we went to the movies there always seem to be a few boys and girls walking home which was about four miles. I would laugh and have fun with the boys and Shirley would be walking a paces behind me and the other girls saying she was going to tell on me but I knew she wouldn't.
This one time a boy drove by us and asked all of us if we wanted a ride. He had two other boys in the car with him. The group of kids we’re with consisted of five girls and about four or five boys. Everybody said yes including myself. Shirley refuses. The driver said he would take us all home but first he had to go into Dehue first to drop off the boys he had in the car. After the my group climbs aboard, it was overflowing with teenagers; on the hood, the running board, and inside the car there was four up front with some boys sitting on the windows with half of their bodies sticking out.
Shirley wouldn't let me get in the car no matter how much we all beg her, her excuse was the car was too full and the driver was going to have an accident. They left without us and in the pitch dark we walked home with me fussing the whole way. By the time we got in front of our house, we met some of our friends who said the driver had an accident before they got to Dehue and some of the kids had to go to the hospital in Logan. All Shirley would say was “I told you so.” I humbly agreed.
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
My Family: Chapter 42
There was a curb at the end of our row of houses and it was out of sight of our house and
that was as far as we would let any boy walk us home. In the summer time, we would have a traveling caravel and a traveling roller rink come up the hollow - not at the same time. The roller rink would stay for at least two months, so we did a lot of skating. I would get away from Shirley while she was skating - I would do my thing. One day, I was not skating while she was, three boys came by and asked me if I wanted to go for a ride, I agreed. I was sitting on one boy's lap with my back against the door and my legs on the other two. I always wore my hair in a ponytail. We drove by the roller rink real fast. I don't know how fast we were going, but Shirley said we were doing at least 90 mph. We were laughing so hard I didn't notice Shirley standing on the side of road watching us. She turned to one of the other girls and asks who those fools were. One girl told her I was in the car. When we pulled in at the roller rink and stopped, Shirley grabbed the car door, jerks it open and got hold of my ponytail. She dragged me out of that car and we had a fight right there in front of everyone. Of course, the boys jumped in and told her to let me alone. They yelled to “give her nickel and send her home” but all she would say was she was going to tell on me this time for sure. Shirley never did like anything me and my girlfriends thought was fun and the boys would always ask why she had to come along. They stopped asking this after awhile because Shirley got older, had more fun, and got to know all the young people in the hollow - she knew more teenagers than I did. I don’t know or remember any of them because I didn't spend my summers at home. Shirley told me the driver of that car was a boy that liked her and she didn’t like him. He had been mad at her so that was why he asked me to get in the car. You know, I didn’t realize she had any boys that liked her but Dave and Chuck.
For all his faults, Dad would give you the shirt off his back and he always stood for the little guy. Once he was checking up on Shirley and I at the roller rink when I heard him say to some guy, “why don’t you pick on someone your own size.” There he stood having words with a guy who was picking on a smaller guy. When Dad interfered, the big guy walked away and the smaller guy thanked Dad and then he walked away. I went over and told Dad he embarrassed me fighting. He said that it was an unfair fight because one guy was bigger than the other; Dad had been drinking so I walked away. When I looked again, he was gone. Dad was always fighting. The guys would tell me that they seen my father throw some guy out of the Beer Garden window, they would be laughing while telling me but I didn’t think it was funny. My dad was not all that large himself. He was about five feet eight inches tall and weighted one hundred and sixty pounds, but he acted like he was ten feet tall.
Once, I went to the Beer Garden with Dad and left him sitting at a table. He was slowly getting drunk and I went to get a pop. The person behind the bar was looking at me funny and I knew something was wrong. I turned around and saw Dad was having a fist fight with another customer. I got so upset I jumped in the middle of them, they stopped fighting, and we left. I never went in a public place with Dad again.
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| The Dillo home in Hutchinson |
For all his faults, Dad would give you the shirt off his back and he always stood for the little guy. Once he was checking up on Shirley and I at the roller rink when I heard him say to some guy, “why don’t you pick on someone your own size.” There he stood having words with a guy who was picking on a smaller guy. When Dad interfered, the big guy walked away and the smaller guy thanked Dad and then he walked away. I went over and told Dad he embarrassed me fighting. He said that it was an unfair fight because one guy was bigger than the other; Dad had been drinking so I walked away. When I looked again, he was gone. Dad was always fighting. The guys would tell me that they seen my father throw some guy out of the Beer Garden window, they would be laughing while telling me but I didn’t think it was funny. My dad was not all that large himself. He was about five feet eight inches tall and weighted one hundred and sixty pounds, but he acted like he was ten feet tall.
Once, I went to the Beer Garden with Dad and left him sitting at a table. He was slowly getting drunk and I went to get a pop. The person behind the bar was looking at me funny and I knew something was wrong. I turned around and saw Dad was having a fist fight with another customer. I got so upset I jumped in the middle of them, they stopped fighting, and we left. I never went in a public place with Dad again.
Friday, February 17, 2012
My Family: Chapter 41
You can imagine what sparse Christmases we had at my house, but the one which stands out is the one where I’m thirteen; I didn’t get any gifts that year. Shirley was sixteen and she wanted a record player. Lucille was eleven and she wanted a set of telephone's which had a wire connected to them. You could go into another room and talk over them just like walkies talkies. Sonny wanted a BB gun and I wanted a doll. Dad and Mom went in to Logan that year. They told Shirley to watch us and if we were good; they would bring us back something. I begged Mom to please bring me back a doll, I wanted nothing else. She said I was too old dolls but she would think about getting me one. I prayed all that day, December 24,1954. “Please God, let them bring me back a doll.”
When they returned, they gave Shirley a record player with a couple of records, they gave Sonny a BB gun, Ronnie got some toy cars and a red wagon, and Bonnie was given some baby toys. Lucille and I are still waiting for our gifts. There was a bath house connected to our house and Mom told Lucille to go out there and bring in this big box. She told Lucille everything in the box was for her - in the box is a doll, the toy telephone, a set of dishes, and a lot more that I don't remember now. It’s the only Christmas my sister, Lucille, remembers because she got a lot of toys. After awhile, I realized they got me nothing! I felt hurt and I screamed and cried as I watched as the rest played with their toys. Lucille and I talked about that Christmas after we grew up and had families of our own; we couldn't understand how our parents could forget me. I know they did truly forget me because when Mom realized they didn’t have a gift for me, you could see she felt sorry and bad about it. She said I was too big for a doll anyway, and it was too late to go to the store and get me something. Besides they didn’t have any money left, they spent it all on whiskey. She said I could share Shirley’s record player. Yeah, right. Here’s a girl who wouldn’t let me touch anything that belong to her and she’s going to share - I don’t think so!
The next morning, I went to see what my friends got for Christmas. Two of my friends got Christmas stockings with fruit and candy, and my second cousin got a Shirley Temple doll which her mother (my first cousin who is the same age as my parents) never let her play with it. I would go to her house when her parents were not home and we would go open the clothes press and take the doll out to look at it then we would put it back. I asked my cousin what happen to the doll years after we grew up and she said that she didn't know.
Later, our next door neighbor went to Logan and brought me back a doll. I hung the doll on Grandma’s wall and forgot about it. By the time I thought about the doll it was gone.
When they returned, they gave Shirley a record player with a couple of records, they gave Sonny a BB gun, Ronnie got some toy cars and a red wagon, and Bonnie was given some baby toys. Lucille and I are still waiting for our gifts. There was a bath house connected to our house and Mom told Lucille to go out there and bring in this big box. She told Lucille everything in the box was for her - in the box is a doll, the toy telephone, a set of dishes, and a lot more that I don't remember now. It’s the only Christmas my sister, Lucille, remembers because she got a lot of toys. After awhile, I realized they got me nothing! I felt hurt and I screamed and cried as I watched as the rest played with their toys. Lucille and I talked about that Christmas after we grew up and had families of our own; we couldn't understand how our parents could forget me. I know they did truly forget me because when Mom realized they didn’t have a gift for me, you could see she felt sorry and bad about it. She said I was too big for a doll anyway, and it was too late to go to the store and get me something. Besides they didn’t have any money left, they spent it all on whiskey. She said I could share Shirley’s record player. Yeah, right. Here’s a girl who wouldn’t let me touch anything that belong to her and she’s going to share - I don’t think so!
The next morning, I went to see what my friends got for Christmas. Two of my friends got Christmas stockings with fruit and candy, and my second cousin got a Shirley Temple doll which her mother (my first cousin who is the same age as my parents) never let her play with it. I would go to her house when her parents were not home and we would go open the clothes press and take the doll out to look at it then we would put it back. I asked my cousin what happen to the doll years after we grew up and she said that she didn't know.
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| Mom, Grandma Hattie, Aunt Alice, Aunt Tince |
Later, our next door neighbor went to Logan and brought me back a doll. I hung the doll on Grandma’s wall and forgot about it. By the time I thought about the doll it was gone.
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
My Family: Chapter 39
It got so bad living with my parents, I moved out and stayed with several of my Aunts. Aunt Hannah let me live with her and I watched her young boys. Which reminds me of a story about my Uncle Andy.
Uncle Andy's sister, Dolly, lied to her husband, Ernie, about her age. She was fifty years old but she told him she was thirty-five and he believed her. He was in the service with no one around to tell him any different. When he was discharged from the service, they packed up and moved back to the hollow. They were only home about three months when someone let it slipped how old Dolly really was, Ernie divorced her. Dolly loved him until the day she died. Ernie got married again within a year after his divorce.
Aunt Hannah lived in an apartment in which she had torn the wall down between two existing apartments to make one large one for her family. Since it’s over a dance hall, the boys have no place to play and Aunt Hannah wants me to keep them outside all the time.
This is how I spent my days: after breakfast, Aunt Hannah would ask me to take the boys outside and keep them until lunch. Then after lunch, they would take a nap (not for very long cause Uncle Andy had a big mouth) and I‘m to take them out again until dinner. I to entertain three boys who are two, three, and four years old with nothing to play with but one swing. I never took any toys outside because I would had to carried them back up fifteen steps. This was not a fun job and I wasn’t very happy.
Until I met Irene; she and I become fast friends. She was a widow with three children and her husband had just been killed in a mining accident a year earlier. She had a baby who was only eight months old and two girls; five and three. She lived a couple of houses down from Hannah and I would take the boys down to her place so the boys could play with her girls. There was a creek at the end of her row of homes but her yard had a fence around it. One day, I left the boys in the yard and told the oldest, Butch, to watch the other two. As I went into the house, I gave them strict instructions to stay in the yard. Irene was hanging curtains so I helped her; forgetting to check on the boys. When Irene’s girls came into the house, I asked where the boys were. They said they didn’t know. I ran outside, sure enough the yard was empty. Panicking, I searched the yard and surrounding areas but didn’t think to search for them down by the creek. When I couldn’t find them, I thought maybe they went home. I ran up to the apartment and asked Aunt Hannah if the boys came home. She took one look at me and said, “Lord Poodie, if you have lost my boys; I am going to kill you.” I said a quick “No, I know where they are at. Don’t worry I’m going to go and get them back.” I took off running down the steps and back to Irene’s. As I passed by an alley, I saw the boys. They were all soaking wet. I took a hold of Butch to shake and holler at him. He began to cry and said it wasn’t his fault, Rick went down to the creek. Steve and Butch had followed Rick to the creek where Steve fell in. Butch and Steve jumped in save Steve. They were black as a lump of coal from the coal dust that’s in the creek. I had to tell Aunt Hannah what happen as she could see us standing in the alley from her apartment window anyway. She had to throw their clothes they were wearing away; she couldn’t get them clean. I was a very lucky girl that day that those boys didn’t drown. At the bottom of the creek it’s like quick sand, although the creek itself isn’t high, there is at least two to three feet of coal dust on the bottom. In the creek in front of our house up Rum Creek, I once sank up to my knees in the coal dust and my girlfriend had to help me out.
Uncle Andy's sister, Dolly, lied to her husband, Ernie, about her age. She was fifty years old but she told him she was thirty-five and he believed her. He was in the service with no one around to tell him any different. When he was discharged from the service, they packed up and moved back to the hollow. They were only home about three months when someone let it slipped how old Dolly really was, Ernie divorced her. Dolly loved him until the day she died. Ernie got married again within a year after his divorce.
Aunt Hannah lived in an apartment in which she had torn the wall down between two existing apartments to make one large one for her family. Since it’s over a dance hall, the boys have no place to play and Aunt Hannah wants me to keep them outside all the time.
This is how I spent my days: after breakfast, Aunt Hannah would ask me to take the boys outside and keep them until lunch. Then after lunch, they would take a nap (not for very long cause Uncle Andy had a big mouth) and I‘m to take them out again until dinner. I to entertain three boys who are two, three, and four years old with nothing to play with but one swing. I never took any toys outside because I would had to carried them back up fifteen steps. This was not a fun job and I wasn’t very happy.
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| Poodie, Steven, Rick and Butch, Dolly's house in background |
Until I met Irene; she and I become fast friends. She was a widow with three children and her husband had just been killed in a mining accident a year earlier. She had a baby who was only eight months old and two girls; five and three. She lived a couple of houses down from Hannah and I would take the boys down to her place so the boys could play with her girls. There was a creek at the end of her row of homes but her yard had a fence around it. One day, I left the boys in the yard and told the oldest, Butch, to watch the other two. As I went into the house, I gave them strict instructions to stay in the yard. Irene was hanging curtains so I helped her; forgetting to check on the boys. When Irene’s girls came into the house, I asked where the boys were. They said they didn’t know. I ran outside, sure enough the yard was empty. Panicking, I searched the yard and surrounding areas but didn’t think to search for them down by the creek. When I couldn’t find them, I thought maybe they went home. I ran up to the apartment and asked Aunt Hannah if the boys came home. She took one look at me and said, “Lord Poodie, if you have lost my boys; I am going to kill you.” I said a quick “No, I know where they are at. Don’t worry I’m going to go and get them back.” I took off running down the steps and back to Irene’s. As I passed by an alley, I saw the boys. They were all soaking wet. I took a hold of Butch to shake and holler at him. He began to cry and said it wasn’t his fault, Rick went down to the creek. Steve and Butch had followed Rick to the creek where Steve fell in. Butch and Steve jumped in save Steve. They were black as a lump of coal from the coal dust that’s in the creek. I had to tell Aunt Hannah what happen as she could see us standing in the alley from her apartment window anyway. She had to throw their clothes they were wearing away; she couldn’t get them clean. I was a very lucky girl that day that those boys didn’t drown. At the bottom of the creek it’s like quick sand, although the creek itself isn’t high, there is at least two to three feet of coal dust on the bottom. In the creek in front of our house up Rum Creek, I once sank up to my knees in the coal dust and my girlfriend had to help me out.
Sunday, February 12, 2012
My Family: Chapter 38
Remember I mentioned a boy giving me a ride on his back when I was in first grade, well, when I went into the tenth grade he was one of my teachers. The first day of school he pulled me aside and asked me not to call him by his name but to call him by his sire name and put a Mr. in front it. We had our first test of the year coming up and I took the day off - my first day in two years of high school because mom didn’t wake me up in time to catch the school bus. When I went back to school the next day, Mr. teacher was reading out what everyone’s grade was on the test. I got a “D” and the class spoke up and asked how I could get a “D” when I wasn’t there to take the test. I didn’t even know the class would miss me, I never spoke to any of them and if they spoke to me I just turn my head.
The boys were the biggest pests, they would pull my hair, throw paper balls at me, or tell on me for chewing gum in class. Telling on me for chewing gum was the straw that broke the camel’s back because when the teacher told me to throw it away, that gum had lasted me a whole week and God only knew when I would get another stick, I stuck it to my bed post every night before I went to sleep if I forgot and fell asleep with it in my mouth I would have cut it out of my hair the next morning. I stood in front of the whole class and told the the boys what I thought of them - I had no friends in high school.
I dropped out of school after the first half of tenth grade; I was 16 years old. I didn't have any lunch or clothes to wear and it was getting harder for me to steal Shirley's shoes; she was hiding them better or maybe she was sleeping with them. I just know I couldn't find them anymore; she said if I wore her shoes she couldn’t wear them anymore because I turned the heel. She would wait for me at the bus drop-off to get them back and if I didn’t run she would beat me up. I didn't have any books to study from, in West Virginia you had to buy your books for school. That’s probably why a lot of children didn’t go to high school. I do know I wasn't the only one without books and had to share someone's with them, but I did no homework.
The boys were the biggest pests, they would pull my hair, throw paper balls at me, or tell on me for chewing gum in class. Telling on me for chewing gum was the straw that broke the camel’s back because when the teacher told me to throw it away, that gum had lasted me a whole week and God only knew when I would get another stick, I stuck it to my bed post every night before I went to sleep if I forgot and fell asleep with it in my mouth I would have cut it out of my hair the next morning. I stood in front of the whole class and told the the boys what I thought of them - I had no friends in high school.
I dropped out of school after the first half of tenth grade; I was 16 years old. I didn't have any lunch or clothes to wear and it was getting harder for me to steal Shirley's shoes; she was hiding them better or maybe she was sleeping with them. I just know I couldn't find them anymore; she said if I wore her shoes she couldn’t wear them anymore because I turned the heel. She would wait for me at the bus drop-off to get them back and if I didn’t run she would beat me up. I didn't have any books to study from, in West Virginia you had to buy your books for school. That’s probably why a lot of children didn’t go to high school. I do know I wasn't the only one without books and had to share someone's with them, but I did no homework.
Saturday, February 11, 2012
My Family: Chapter 37
My girlfriend had a male cousin who would visit them from the North. He’d go into Logan and pick up women then bring them back to her house where they would stay until the cousin got tired of them. This one night, my girlfriend and I were on her back porch and the window to one of the bedrooms was open. We could hear a woman in there with him, they were arguing. He tried to get her into bed with him but she didn’t want to go. I decided to take a peek through the curtains to see who the woman was when I saw that it was my mother! She was so drunk she could hardly stand up! I went through the window so fast they didn’t realize I was in the room until I had dragged Mom out of it. I continued to drag her out of the house, scolding her all the way. The girlfriend’s cousin followed us, cussing and hollering at me all the way. He told me Mom owed him because she drank all his whiskey up. Finally, he grabbed a hold of one her arms and I had the other. We were fighting over her. I called him all the bad cuss words I knew while he called me bad cuss words. Then when he seen I wasn’t going to give her up, he hit me with his fist in the face. There we were on the side of the road with everyone in the hollow watching us fight over my mother when I spotted my cousin. I hollered for her to go and get her dad’s shot gun because I decided to kill him. She, however, was too afraid to get the gun. I would have shot him and she knew it. The man let mom go and ran back into the house as soon as I hollered for a gun. I yelled to him I would be back with my dad and he would kill him for me.
My mom weight next to nothing as I dragged her home but she kept falling down so I had to pick her up and carry her - about ten houses above my girlfriend’s house. That was the first time I ever saw my mom visit my girlfriend’s house - she always could smell whiskey a mile away. Dad wasn’t home when we got there. We were sitting on the front porch when he finally came home with a bushel basket of corn - he had been out with friends stealing it. It took so long for him to come home I had calmed down and changed my mind about telling him about the man hitting me. But Mom didn’t know this and she knew if I told Dad where she had been then she would be in trouble. So as soon as Dad sat the basket down on the steps, she told him about the man hitting me. This pull the attention away from her and put it on me. Dad got real mad, he checked to make sure he had his knife on him and then we all went down to my friend’s house (my dad wasn’t drunk).
My girlfriend’s mom grabbed me and held me back as soon as we barged through the door - Dad hadn’t knocked. She begged me to tell Dad I had lied and the cousin hadn’t hit me; she didn’t want anyone to get hurt in front of her small children. I ran outside to the back porch where the cousin had gone when he heard us come in the house. Dad had him by the front of his shirt and he was denying he hit me. I stepped in and told Dad I lied that he hadn’t hit me. My girlfriend’s mother was also pleading with Dad; saying she was had been there the whole time and hadn’t seen him hit me. Dad told the cousin he was lucky this time but if he ever found out that he really did hit me he would be back. No one ever hits his girls. The cousin was gone the next day.
My mom weight next to nothing as I dragged her home but she kept falling down so I had to pick her up and carry her - about ten houses above my girlfriend’s house. That was the first time I ever saw my mom visit my girlfriend’s house - she always could smell whiskey a mile away. Dad wasn’t home when we got there. We were sitting on the front porch when he finally came home with a bushel basket of corn - he had been out with friends stealing it. It took so long for him to come home I had calmed down and changed my mind about telling him about the man hitting me. But Mom didn’t know this and she knew if I told Dad where she had been then she would be in trouble. So as soon as Dad sat the basket down on the steps, she told him about the man hitting me. This pull the attention away from her and put it on me. Dad got real mad, he checked to make sure he had his knife on him and then we all went down to my friend’s house (my dad wasn’t drunk).
My girlfriend’s mom grabbed me and held me back as soon as we barged through the door - Dad hadn’t knocked. She begged me to tell Dad I had lied and the cousin hadn’t hit me; she didn’t want anyone to get hurt in front of her small children. I ran outside to the back porch where the cousin had gone when he heard us come in the house. Dad had him by the front of his shirt and he was denying he hit me. I stepped in and told Dad I lied that he hadn’t hit me. My girlfriend’s mother was also pleading with Dad; saying she was had been there the whole time and hadn’t seen him hit me. Dad told the cousin he was lucky this time but if he ever found out that he really did hit me he would be back. No one ever hits his girls. The cousin was gone the next day.
Friday, February 10, 2012
My Faimly: Chapter 36
When I was 14 years old, I had a girlfriend, Karen, who lived in Dehue, she was also my cousin’s friend. One time Karen needed someone to go to a dance with her on a double date. My cousin couldn't go because she had already had a date to the dance so I was talked into going with her. I didn't want to but I went anyway - the boy who was my date had the car. My cousin and I stayed at Karen’s the night of the dance. Once there, we met up with another group of kids and they all decided they would go up a hollow they knew about. Karen came up to me and told me their plans begging me to go along, I told her I wanted the boy who brought me to take me back to her house. Boy, was he mad; I think he did 90 mph all the way home and we never said a word to each other.
I got out of the car and went into the house and Karen’s mother said I was home early and asked where her daughter was. I gave her some excuse about not liking the boy I was with and had decided to come home, I told her Karen stayed at the dance. I watch TV with her mom until my cousin came in from her date then I told my cousin what had happen at the dance. And when Karen came home, she acted like she was drunk but I think she hadn’t drank a drop. Her eyes were all shining; we went in her bedroom and she told us all about her date including the sex part. It had been her first time. Karen ended up getting married and having a child by the time she was 16 years old.
I got out of the car and went into the house and Karen’s mother said I was home early and asked where her daughter was. I gave her some excuse about not liking the boy I was with and had decided to come home, I told her Karen stayed at the dance. I watch TV with her mom until my cousin came in from her date then I told my cousin what had happen at the dance. And when Karen came home, she acted like she was drunk but I think she hadn’t drank a drop. Her eyes were all shining; we went in her bedroom and she told us all about her date including the sex part. It had been her first time. Karen ended up getting married and having a child by the time she was 16 years old.
Thursday, February 9, 2012
My Family: Chapter 35
Sometimes, after school I’d visit my girlfriend as her family was sitting down to eat dinner and if there was enough food, they’d ask me to eat with them. If there wasn't I’d wait outside until they finished. Then I’d help do the dinner dishes so I could eat any leftover food. Sometimes there wasn't anything left, but I’d still help with dishes. My girlfriend’s dinners were like we have now, always different every day. Once I had dinner at another friend’s house and I didn't know what were eating, she told me it was meat loaf. Everyone I knew was poor but I just didn’t know it until I got into high school where I met a lot of different girls.
I had to catch the school bus to go to school, our high school was in Logan which is fifteen miles away from our hollow. I wore Mother's orange jumper every other day to school and stole Shirley’s shoes. I must have gotten my own shoes later but I don't remember. I do remember I did go to one more year of school before I was sixteen and left. I never missed a day of school once I started high school. One day a girl in my class asked me if I would have lunch with her and she would pay. We went to a restaurant. I was so nervous I didn't know what to order so I got the same thing as her - a tuna fish sandwich and a coke. I never had tuna fish before and was the best tasting sandwich I had ever eaten and I told her so. She wanted to take me to lunch again but I said no. She then asked me if I had supper the night before and even though I told her yes, I don't think she believed me. See, she asked me what I had for dinner and because I was embarrassed about just having beans and cornbread all the time, I made up a dinner that I read in my Health class. She said I was lying and I didn't have dinner like that. I asked her how would she know she wasn’t at my house. She never asked me what I had for supper nor does she ask me out to lunch again.
While writing this I’ve been thinking I haven’t change very much since high school. I treated my co-workers the same as I treated my classmates - I had lunch and breaks by myself, nor did I talked to anyone. They used to call me stuck-up or say I thought I was better than them but the thing is: I was really afraid they would snub me. We didn’t eat like everyone else. Most times I didn’t have a lunch to eat. And because we ate lot of chicken, I don’t like it now. When I was a child, we didn’t have turkey. Aunt Hannah use to say the meat was too dry to eat. I will eat a very small piece of turkey at Thanksgiving but only because it is a special day with my family.
I had to catch the school bus to go to school, our high school was in Logan which is fifteen miles away from our hollow. I wore Mother's orange jumper every other day to school and stole Shirley’s shoes. I must have gotten my own shoes later but I don't remember. I do remember I did go to one more year of school before I was sixteen and left. I never missed a day of school once I started high school. One day a girl in my class asked me if I would have lunch with her and she would pay. We went to a restaurant. I was so nervous I didn't know what to order so I got the same thing as her - a tuna fish sandwich and a coke. I never had tuna fish before and was the best tasting sandwich I had ever eaten and I told her so. She wanted to take me to lunch again but I said no. She then asked me if I had supper the night before and even though I told her yes, I don't think she believed me. See, she asked me what I had for dinner and because I was embarrassed about just having beans and cornbread all the time, I made up a dinner that I read in my Health class. She said I was lying and I didn't have dinner like that. I asked her how would she know she wasn’t at my house. She never asked me what I had for supper nor does she ask me out to lunch again.
While writing this I’ve been thinking I haven’t change very much since high school. I treated my co-workers the same as I treated my classmates - I had lunch and breaks by myself, nor did I talked to anyone. They used to call me stuck-up or say I thought I was better than them but the thing is: I was really afraid they would snub me. We didn’t eat like everyone else. Most times I didn’t have a lunch to eat. And because we ate lot of chicken, I don’t like it now. When I was a child, we didn’t have turkey. Aunt Hannah use to say the meat was too dry to eat. I will eat a very small piece of turkey at Thanksgiving but only because it is a special day with my family.
Monday, February 6, 2012
My Family: Chapter 33
Sharon lived at the end of our camp, her parent’s are the same ones who got into a fight with my parents at the picnic. We were in the same grade. She may have lived with her sister in Logan when we started high school because I don't remember her riding the school bus with me. Anyway, I remember she once took me to her sister’s apartment and that’s where I saw an electric clothes dryer and washer for the first time. I can recall she got into a big fight in Junior High which started a small war where it was hollow versus hollow. See, someone had made Sharon mad (I don't recall how it started) and she wrecked the classroom - threw books and paper all over the room. The whole class joined the fight with kids from other classrooms joining as well. Maybe it was just an excuse to cut up. I had already heard about the fight as my class was two doors down from her classroom. Principle came into our homeroom and talked to all of us. He said kids from the hollows weren’t raised right, we were “savages.” And he would jerk us up by the hair of our heads.
I went to Junior High everyday without a lunch. Because of this I would walk to Aunt Belvia’s house every day for lunch since she lived around the mountain from the school. Aunt Belvia’s husband, Noah, was a miner at the Orville coal mine and he drove by our house every day to and from work, so if I wanted a ride to Aunt Wanda’s or just to go to visit Aunt Belvia, all I had to do was stand in front of my house and flag him down as he drove by. He would always stop and give me a ride into Logan.
This one time I spent the night with them. I slept in a small bedroom next to the bathroom, close to the mountainside. I had a bad dream that night and, while I was still asleep, I tried to open the window. I was just getting ready to scream out the window when Uncle Noah woke me up. He said I woke him up when I opened the window. He thought I was going to climb out. I told him I had a dream and was going to holler for my Mom. I walked in my sleep quite a lot when I was little, Mom was forever waking me up and telling me to go back to bed. One time, I woke up on my own with my hand on the back doorknob. I had been trying to get out the door, but I think the doorknob was cold which is what woke me. I know I’m very thankful that I didn’t make it outside that door - I’m scared of the dark.
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| Poodie age 16 |
I went to Junior High everyday without a lunch. Because of this I would walk to Aunt Belvia’s house every day for lunch since she lived around the mountain from the school. Aunt Belvia’s husband, Noah, was a miner at the Orville coal mine and he drove by our house every day to and from work, so if I wanted a ride to Aunt Wanda’s or just to go to visit Aunt Belvia, all I had to do was stand in front of my house and flag him down as he drove by. He would always stop and give me a ride into Logan.
This one time I spent the night with them. I slept in a small bedroom next to the bathroom, close to the mountainside. I had a bad dream that night and, while I was still asleep, I tried to open the window. I was just getting ready to scream out the window when Uncle Noah woke me up. He said I woke him up when I opened the window. He thought I was going to climb out. I told him I had a dream and was going to holler for my Mom. I walked in my sleep quite a lot when I was little, Mom was forever waking me up and telling me to go back to bed. One time, I woke up on my own with my hand on the back doorknob. I had been trying to get out the door, but I think the doorknob was cold which is what woke me. I know I’m very thankful that I didn’t make it outside that door - I’m scared of the dark.
Friday, February 3, 2012
My Family: Chapter 32
The Company always had a Fourth of July picnic for the miners up Slab Fork Hollow. They would put the watermelon in the stream which ran out of the mountain to keep it cool. This one year all the grown-ups got real drunk. There was this one couple who decided to pick a fight with my parents. The wife yelled at Dad (for what, I don’t know) and Mom got mad. She yelled back at her. And then the husband yelled at my mother which caused Dad to yell at him. The next thing you know everybody was running around a large table, the size of four tables put together, and they were throwing food at each other. All the children just stood around, stunned, as these grownups fought.
Uncle Noah’s sister was our neighbor on one side, boy, was she a bad neighbor, but then again so was my parents weren't great neighbors either. I certainly wouldn’t wanted to live next door to them. Anyway, she was a bad neighbor and When the kids from the camp would play games it would be in front of her house in the alleyway. The reason was because there was a wide spot in the alley and we could play baseball. Her yard was fenced in and when our ball went into her yard, she would not give it back. Typical old lady stuff. We always had to find another ball or stop playing. She never had any children of her own.
Her husband's garage was next to our fence and when my parent’s had their parties the men would park their cars in front of his garage so he couldn’t get his car out. One time he wrote in black paint across the garage doors “DO YOUR SPARKING SOME PLACE ELSE.” That didn’t help Shirley’s and my reputation. Other than the sign on the garage doors, I don’t ever remember if they ever complained to Mom and Dad about the noise or the parties.
About this time, I had a boyfriend. He liked Shirley first but she didn’t want him so he latched onto me. I would meet him in church or at the movies, let him walk me home, and kiss me good night. All he wanted to do was sing country songs and kiss. When we sat together at the movies, I would have to buy a soda and put the straw in my mouth so he couldn’t kiss me. I never took it out of my mouth until the movie was over. I would always pay my own way in the movies and, can you believe the gall, his sister had the nerve to say I was only using him. I told her sure that’s why I paid my own way to the movies. He couldn’t even afford to pay the fifteen cents for me to go to the show.
Well, he joined the Army and while there I wrote him a “Dear John” letter. When he got out of the service, he came up to the house and asked for all of his pictures back. And if I would go to the caravel in Logan with him that his stepbrother would drive us. I said that I would go, It was the worse mistake of my life. When he picked me up Shirley’s boyfriend, Dave, called from the porch to be home early and not to do anything he wouldn’t do. Dave was just trying to embarrassed me because it was my first date going anywhere with a boy. But I wish he had hit me over the head and made me stay home.
My date was all hands, I had to fight him off all night and it was worse when we were in the car with his brother. When I first got in the car, his brother made the comment he wished I was his date, and by the end of the evening, I wished I was his date, too. When his brother stopped in front of my house, I got out of the car fast, and said goodbye. That was the end of that boyfriend.
Once this one woman from Dabney came up to our house and stood by the gate; she did not come into our yard, but yelled at me, calling me a whore and other names. When my neighbor heard her, she came over and told her to leave. My neighbor told the women she was talking to a baby and it wasn’t my fault if she couldn’t keep her husband home. My parents weren't home at the time or this woman wouldn't have called me names. Later, after Shirley’s oldest daughter grew up and moved to Ohio, she married this same woman’s son. Small world, huh?
Uncle Noah’s sister was our neighbor on one side, boy, was she a bad neighbor, but then again so was my parents weren't great neighbors either. I certainly wouldn’t wanted to live next door to them. Anyway, she was a bad neighbor and When the kids from the camp would play games it would be in front of her house in the alleyway. The reason was because there was a wide spot in the alley and we could play baseball. Her yard was fenced in and when our ball went into her yard, she would not give it back. Typical old lady stuff. We always had to find another ball or stop playing. She never had any children of her own.
Her husband's garage was next to our fence and when my parent’s had their parties the men would park their cars in front of his garage so he couldn’t get his car out. One time he wrote in black paint across the garage doors “DO YOUR SPARKING SOME PLACE ELSE.” That didn’t help Shirley’s and my reputation. Other than the sign on the garage doors, I don’t ever remember if they ever complained to Mom and Dad about the noise or the parties.
About this time, I had a boyfriend. He liked Shirley first but she didn’t want him so he latched onto me. I would meet him in church or at the movies, let him walk me home, and kiss me good night. All he wanted to do was sing country songs and kiss. When we sat together at the movies, I would have to buy a soda and put the straw in my mouth so he couldn’t kiss me. I never took it out of my mouth until the movie was over. I would always pay my own way in the movies and, can you believe the gall, his sister had the nerve to say I was only using him. I told her sure that’s why I paid my own way to the movies. He couldn’t even afford to pay the fifteen cents for me to go to the show.
Well, he joined the Army and while there I wrote him a “Dear John” letter. When he got out of the service, he came up to the house and asked for all of his pictures back. And if I would go to the caravel in Logan with him that his stepbrother would drive us. I said that I would go, It was the worse mistake of my life. When he picked me up Shirley’s boyfriend, Dave, called from the porch to be home early and not to do anything he wouldn’t do. Dave was just trying to embarrassed me because it was my first date going anywhere with a boy. But I wish he had hit me over the head and made me stay home.
My date was all hands, I had to fight him off all night and it was worse when we were in the car with his brother. When I first got in the car, his brother made the comment he wished I was his date, and by the end of the evening, I wished I was his date, too. When his brother stopped in front of my house, I got out of the car fast, and said goodbye. That was the end of that boyfriend.
Once this one woman from Dabney came up to our house and stood by the gate; she did not come into our yard, but yelled at me, calling me a whore and other names. When my neighbor heard her, she came over and told her to leave. My neighbor told the women she was talking to a baby and it wasn’t my fault if she couldn’t keep her husband home. My parents weren't home at the time or this woman wouldn't have called me names. Later, after Shirley’s oldest daughter grew up and moved to Ohio, she married this same woman’s son. Small world, huh?
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