DAD'S MEMOIRS

Jim, Mary and my good friend Boyd from S. C. have been trying to get me to do this for a long time. Finally I am going to start. I don't know how good of a job that I can do, but I will give it my best. After all 92 years is a lot of ground to cover, and I have forgotten so many things. But maybe events will come back to me as I write.

I have been told that I was born on September 2nd 1913. I was there but I don't seem to remember one thing about it. But I am going to take my Dad and Mom's word for it. I think that it is just natural for all of us to think that our parents are the best in the world, and that is the way I felt from my first memories of them. I think of the kindness and care that they gave me, and the confidence that I had in them. Sorry to say that many children don't get that kind of a start in this rushing life that we live in today.

When I was very young I began to realize how hard my Dad and Mother worked. Dad worked in a marble quarry about 6 miles from our home. We did not have an automobile, so he had to walk to and from work each day. He operated a drill, and when he came home at night he would have white rock dust all over his body. He was so tired, and he and my mother would sit on the front steps, and she would try to get the dust out of his hair. I can still see that in my mind.

My Dad and Mother were both dissatisfied with the religions that they were involved in. They could not understand why preachers did not still go like Jesus sent the first Apostles. They had read about how Jesus sent the disciples two by two and how he told them to give the Gospel freely. They also read about how the first disciples who went forth to preach the Gospel left their homes and gave their whole lives in following the example of Jesus. They had also read in the Bible about God's people meeting in the home.

They saw none of this in the religious world, and they could not seem to get any answers to these questions. The standard answer was "Times have changed." All this time my Mother was praying to God that if there were preachers in the world like the ones that he sent forth would he please send them to her.

My Dad, Mother and many more were invited. My mother told me many times that in the first meeting she felt that these were God's true preachers. She could see that they were living what they preached. My Dad and Mother had to walk about 3 miles to the tent, but I don't believe that they missed any of the meetings.

These meetings went on for several weeks, and then the time came to make a decision. When the meeting was tested they both stood to their feet. There were several more that did the same. The choice that they made that night has made all the difference in my life. After living 92 years I am convinced that they did the right thing.

Mothers did not work outside the home in those days. As we were growing up our Mother was always at our side seeing that we were safe. Our important meals were always ready, and she always took time to play with us. What wonderful memories those are to me 90 years later. Oh, how I wish that this could be so in more homes today, but we know that it is a different world today.

Dad worked hard for our sakes, but my Mother did so much for us, too. I don't see how she was able to do so much. No washing machines, microwaves or any other appliances. Many days it would take her all day to do the laundry. We used an ice box refrigerator that we kept on the back porch so the ice man could get to it to put in ice. We did not have much in those days, but our wants were few and we were so happy.

I want to write today a little about my first school days, which was a long time ago, it would have been in 1919. There sure are a lot of changes since that time. I remember very well the little two room school building that I attended. The name of the school was White's School. It was named after my grandfather because he gave the land for the school to be built on. As I mentioned before, the school had two rooms. They were called the little room and the big room. In the little room were the first four grades - first, second, third, and fourth, and one teacher took care all four grades and all the different subjects that were taught. In the big room was the fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth, and the teacher in this room was the principal of the school. There was a long bench in the front of our desks facing the teacher. When school began in the morning our teacher would call the first grade to come to the front and sit on the bench. Then we would have about an hour of teaching, and then return to our desks, and the next class would be called up. And that continued until all classes were over. In the time that we were not in class we sat at our desks in the same room trying to study for our next class.

Talking more about my old school--One of my comments was did we have a bell to ring at the beginning of each school day. I was about to forget to mention that. Thanks J for reminding me. Yes we did have a bell; there was a belfry on the top of the building. The rope to ring the bell came down into the big room. The teacher would let different ones of us students ring the bell. We were so proud and felt so important when it was our day.

Of course we did not have any place to play inside, so all our play time was outside. I think that baseball and basketball were the most popular games. Since we did not have a cafeteria we ate our lunch on sunny days outside, and at our desk when it was raining. We had to bring our lunch from home because there was none sold in walking distance of the school.

We didn't have central heat, of course, in our rooms. Each room had a large, iron pot-belly stove. One of our teachers came up with a good idea for us. During the cold months she made us a big pot of stew for our lunch on the stove. Each student could bring anything from their home, such as a potato, tomato, corn, or anything that would work in the stew. The teacher brought a piece of beef. She would put the stew on to cook in the morning, and it would be ready for us at lunch time. We were supposed to bring from home our bowl and a spoon and a piece of corn bread. That was our lunch, and we all had a little part in it. About an hour before lunch time that stew sure began to smell good. We could hardly wait for the lunch hour to come.

Don't you think this was nice? I still love beef stew. There are a few more things I want to mention. We did not have a school bus, so that meant a walk to and from school, which we all enjoyed very much. And then I just wanted to mention that there was not a janitor at school so my brother Ralph and I got the job of sweeping out the school rooms each day after school was out. Then in the winter months we would come to school about an hour early in the morning to start a fire in the two big iron stoves. And I remember so well the first book we had. It was it was a reader titled, Baby Ray and his little dog Penny. I sure would like to have one of those books now. If any of you know where I could get one I sure would be glad to hear from you.

Even though I have mentioned a lot of what could be considered as "hardships," I didn't see them as that, and I still don't. I'm so glad I had the privilege of attending White's School. We loved our teachers very much, and they were good teachers who took an interest in us and wanted us to do well in school. To this day I can still remember their names. There were 8 of them.

My first teacher was Edna Finger. She was an excellent teacher and helped me so much when school was a new experience for me. Another teacher that comes to mind was Sam Capps. I don't remember the year he taught. He was a real friend to me. Some days he would send me and one of my friends, Clyde, to a little store about a mile from the school to get him some Hershey Kisses. He loved chocolate, and when we got back he would always give us each a Hershey Kiss. We thought that was something. It was on our lunch hour that we went. I graduated from White's School in 1927. There were only 6 in the class, and I think that one other man and I are the only ones left.

My thought was to help my father out a little if I could. I know that you have heard of hard times. Well these were real hard times Jobs were scarce and the pay was not very good. This was in 1927 when I first began looking for work. I soon found work.

The beginning pay was $6.00 a week, but I did get a few raises and my pay was soon $10.00 per week. It was about 10 miles to the business and I did not have a car, so Mr. Davis got me a bedroom in the apartment where he and his brother lived. He owned a small restaurant next to the produce business, and he was kind enough to let me have my meals there free. On the way to work each morning he would take me to Regas restaurant for a donut and a cup of coffee. That same restaurant is in business today.

And what we bought were things that were needful. Flour and meal came in 50 lb. bags. There were no such things as prepared food, and I know that you have heard of scratch. Well, Mother made everything from scratch, including biscuits. Why can't we make them today like hers?

I worked on for a little over a year for Mr. Davis and enjoyed my work very much. My uncle, the one that had the grocery out in the country, decided to move inside the city. When he did he wanted me to come and work for him, which I did. He had a store similar to the one Mr. Davis had. He did have a nice store and I was very happy to work for him, and my pay was a little better.

In the last week of September, which was in 1933, I took a weeks vacation and went to our annual church convention which was in Chattanooga, TN. That is where I met the Sweet Girl that was soon to become my wife. Her home was in Memphis, TN. Her name was LaVerne Rieben. She came with her mother and sisters. In those days we did not have the use of telephones as freely as we do today, and you know we did not even have e-mail. So we had to write one another by mail. And was I glad to see that postman stop. In the spring of 1934 I couldn't wait any longer to see her, so I made a trip to Memphis on the Greyhound bus. I did not own a car at this time.

After we were married we decided to stay in Memphis a few months. We rented a small house on Kendrick Avenue. This was not very far from Overton Park and the zoo. LaVerne and I would spend many late afternoons eating our supper there in the park. We were poor but we were in love and enjoying life to the fullest. I went up to The Kroger Co. office which was in Memphis and was able to get a job that I kept until we were ready to head for The Tennessee Valley.

When we came back to Knoxville my Father and my uncle Horace built us a small house on a lot that my father owned. We enjoyed it so much; I was even able then to have a few tomato plants. It was small but it was enough for us three. Jim was born on December 15th 1938. That was his mother's birthday also. Mary was born on February 5th 1945, and were we ever glad to have a little girl with us. I am so fortunate to still have them both with me.

I could write a book about all the businesses that I have been involved in since we came back from Memphis. For several years my brother Howard and I were in the poultry and egg business, we produced eggs for some of the grocery chains such as A & P markets. Then for several years we were the distributor for Coachmen trailers and motor homes. And when I retired we were making and installing security storm doors.

My sweet wife, LaVerne, passed away May 11, 1974. She was the essence of kindness to everyone she met, always had a big smile on her face, and she truly lived for others every day. Proverbs 31:10-31. She gave me two wonderful children, Jim and Mary, who mean an awful lot to me today.

After my retirement I begin to put more time into producing tomatoes and helping other growers all around the world solve their problems. I don't charge anything for this; I do it because I love to. I am on AOL with a special journal, Dad's Tomato Garden Journal. I use this to keep in touch with different growers. I am 92 years old and looking forward to another crop this Spring.

Today is January 10th 2006. I am going to tell you about a man and woman who did a great lot to help me in my young days. They taught me some valuable lessons that I still remember. My Grand Pa and Grand Ma. Their names were Frank and Angelina White. They had nine children seven boys and two daughters. My father was a twin, his name was Harris and his twin bother was Horace.

The farm that they owned was a fertile piece of ground; most of if was used to grow crops, only a few acres of woodland. He raised a lot of corn and wheat, and that is where they got their Flour and Meal. There was a mill powered by water nearby and I have made many a trip with him to have his corn and wheat ground. That was a real treat for me.

Grand Pa did not have a tractor, he had a team of extra good mules, Rock and Pete were their names, I can still see them early in the morning standing it the hallway of the barn waiting for their harness to be put on .They seemed to like to work Grand Pa was always so kind to them. The barn where they stayed was a two story building, their stalls were in the downstairs part and hay, straw and other supplies were kept upstairs. Who would even want a tractor, and miss all of this. Working on a farm with all the animals and so much of nature all around us was a pleasure, not work.

I haven't said much about Grand Ma yet, but as far as us grandchildren were concerned she was the main one. That is where all the cookies came from. Have you ever heard of molasses cookies? Well she could make the best, and there was a cookie jar on top of a cabinet that we all could reach, and it was always full and we were welcome. We headed there as soon as we got in her kitchen. So you can see why we loved her, and also why we were such a spoiled bunch of kids.

I need to tell you now also that Grand Pa made the molasses that she used in these cookies, He had a large patch of sugar cane, and when the cane was ready he would cut it and run it through a mill that got all of the juice out of it, then it was boiled in a large container over a furnace until it became syrup. Some of us grandchildren got to help in doing this. Who needs a store or would ever want to go to one if you had all this. About all they needed to by would be sugar, salt, soda and coffee. They did not have to worry about convenience foods, there were not any.

It is hard for me to remember everything that they raised. Here are just a few more; Hogs for their lard, bacon and hams, chickens for their eggs, and they had two cows that furnished all their milk and butter-- and they raised about any kind of vegetables you could wish for.

There were a lot of things that they did not have such as electricity, running water, Dish washers, clothes washers and dryers, Microwave ovens, air conditioning not even a car. When they wanted to go somewhere they hooked either Rock or Pete to a little buggy and took off. And just think that they had time in the afternoon to sit out on their big front porch and talk to their grand-children and neighbors. Makes me ashamed of myself, I don't seem to have time to holler at my good neighbor Ted who lives right next door.