The village of High shoals, #2

Continuing my experience in High shoals, I learned that dibbies (baby chicks) were ordered from Sears and Roebuck. Mama’s chicks came in a past board carton with holes in it, delivered by the mail man.  I watched her transfer them to the thing she called a brooder with a light bulb to keep them warm.   I remember she ordered, Rhode Island Reds.

(Mamas chicken house in 1943)

My mama once heard a sound at her chicken lot she did not like. She got Shir and I up so we would not be scared, Opened the back door and fired a couple rounds out over the coop from dad’s shot gun. She had no more problems. 

Big event, my sister Kat got married, she was 15 or 16 years old. She married S.A.(Dick) Lankford 17 of Shelby, NC. Daddy and mama made the prettiest arch with flowers over it for them to walk thru.

Our closest neighbors were the Jones’s, who happened to be Black (Colored or Negro at the time). My mama  never allowed the “N” word in her home, that would get you a switching, we were all God’s people she said.

I remember on their farm catching ‘crawdads’ and watching as they made molasses. Mr. Jones let me ride the old blind mule that pulled the press round and round.

Shirl registered herself in the first grade. Daddy was gone and mama was sick, and Shirl walked herself to school and got her shot. Mama had called to tell the principal that she could not be with Shirl (some female thing!)

Shirl fell with one of those glass pitchers, thin glass with a picture of an orange on it. She cut her had real bad and dad applied alcohol. That even hurt me. But my sister got over it but still has scars on her hand and fingers.

After signing herself up to school, the next year the teacher said if we had a bus, the class could take a field trip out to a dairy farm. My sister said, “Daddy said he would take the class, he has a bus.” She never asked daddy. But she was really daddy’s pet, and he said Okay when the teacher called to thank him and tell him when to be at the school. She is okay for a big sister but her middle name has always been trouble.

We buried my mama’s mama, Granny Loyd while we lived in High shoals. That is the first burial I remember. Granny Loyd always gave us Big peanut butter crackers. Back then the soda crackers were the same size as the box today but one cracker scored for four sections were stacked in the box.  Mama broke them up for small crackers, but Granny used the whole thing, what a treat. I missed her.

We had our first indoor toilet, mama bought some Bed Time Story books from traveling sales man and had Shirl and my names on the books very small in gold. I loved it when mama read those stories.

High Shoals was a good time in my life. The war was still on and I remember hearing mama & Daddy pray for their sons safety and for an end to the  war.

Thanks for coming this way.

Nite Shipslog

PS:

I did not make a life long friend there. I wish I knew that happened to the Jones’ boy.

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No American passenger cars were produced while we lived in High Shoals 1942-45. But the auto makers produced: