Uncle Irvin and 'Play Purties'

Growing up 'going to town' was always a treat. We lived in the country once but mostly in town. But the phrase 'We are going to town', meant someone was going downtown where the Dime Store, A&P, Western Auto, Sears or Penny's were.  There was no shopping centers, no 7/11 type stores.  In the country or outskirts there were small Grocery and General Stores.   

In our family there was a unique marriage. One of Mama's sisters had a son, Irvin O'Shields.  He married one of Daddy's Sisters, Bertha.  Irvin was my cousin and Bert was my aunt.  BUT it was always Uncle Irvin.  Uncle Irvin was a bigger than life man, I never met anyone who did not love the big red headed guy and Aunt Bert.  They were successful in their own right. Like many hard working entrepreneurs they were very successful, raising cattle and running a neat General store (Red’s Place) and service station.  

Me at the Wheel Bobby being cute in Mildred's 1948 ford convertible.

I cannot remember the name of the community, but it was outside Laurens, SC.  NO MEMBER OF OUR FAMILY refused a trip to Uncle Irvin’s. He would give you anything in the store!  At night he would shoot firecrackers for you by the hundreds. There were three first-cousins, Charles, Bobby and Mildred.  We were double kin. Bobby was my age and we actually looked alike. Mildred (called Sister) was Shirl’s buddy.  I got to spend a week with them several summers. What a treat.

 Bobby and me

Sherry and I stopped by ‘Red’s Place’ once in 1957 to visit, not long after we were married. (The O'Shields lived in the back of the store).  Uncle Irvin gave us $5, that was a lot of money almost a day’s wages.  

Bobby is the only alive now, we see him only at funerals.  He is a great guy and still at 77 years of age works 40+ hrs a week.

One of Irvin’s  lines: Jackie you go in the store and get you a ‘Play Purty’.  If you are not familiar with that term,  when I was growing up, that was a toy. Imma guessing that was s’posed to be ‘Play Pretty’.

I was in the USAF when Irvin died. I immediately went into the First Shirt’s office and asked for emergency leave. First SGT laughed, “Airman, no one gets emergency leave for an uncle, only immediate family qualifies.”

When I left his office he knew Irvin was immediate family and I had an emergency leave.  Do you have kin that is as close as immediate family?

Nite Shipslog

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Cousin Charles was a sailor home on leave when he was killed in a wreck single car accident in his dad’s 48 Buick

When I see one of these I often think of Charles.