During those days it was the custom that we dug the graves for each other, but in our case Daddy always gave me that job. When Bill Ott passed away, I was the one that was from our house to set up all night. When Dave Graham died, I was the one to help dig the grave. It rained all day when we dug Dave’s grave. We had a problem keeping the water out of the grave, so one would dig and the other one bail out water. They had planned to bury Dave in a wooden box, but the grave was so full of water, it would have floated, so the undertaker went back to Jefferson City for a concrete vault. They didn’t have a regular size on hand so they had to take an extra large one and we had to go back in and make the grave larger. We put 2 x 4’s on the bottom so the undertaker could get the straps out that lowered the casket. Well, the 2 x 4’s floated out of place and the casket didn’t set level, so there was a lots of gurgling as water got in anyway.
grandpa
Photo Friday
Photo Friday
Photo Friday
Aunt Naomi’s Story (part 15)
Grace and John Hale lived about two miles from us on Route H. They were good neighbors to mom and daddy. Mother made wonderful angel food cakes. She needed cream of tarter to make these. One time she had me walk to Grace’s to borrow a teaspoon of cream of tarter. Grace and John were the first in the neighborhood to own a television. They invited us to watch. The evening we watched, there was a monster show on and Jimmy Durante singing “Inka Dinka Do.” Good memories!
There were some sad memories also. We had another neighbor named was Harry Smith. He had a wife who we never got to see. She suffered from some type of depression because she drowned herself in their farm pond about two years after they lived there. We went to their house to Christmas Carol and although they were home, they never came to the door to acknowledge us as other neighbors did. We were young and very shocked at the suicide. That was the first we ever heard of such a thing and so close to us!!
Two men were hunting on our farm (I was about 7). One man came running up the south hill, shouting for help that he had shot a man. Daddy and Mahlon took the car down as far as they could go and they carried him to the car, then they hauled him up to Brazito. Mother called ahead and asked Mr. Norfleet to take him to the hospital because they thought our car couldn’t go fast enough. The man did live and we were very relieved.
Every few years controlled burning is done to get rid of noxious weeds, etc. on farms. Sometime a fire would get out of hand and the entire neighborhood would rush to the scene and help put out the fire. Once a fire got away from our neighbor in the woods behind the brooder house.
Photo Friday: Grandpa & Grandma
Here are a few more that Aunt Naomi sent in. Anyone care to guess at a date for each photo (I couldn’t even tell you if they were taken in the same decade).