 |
| Daddy's winter garden of cabbages, lettuces, broccoli, and cauliflower! |
As I was speaking with my Dad on the phone, I told him that I had spoken today with a co worker that he had met before, he had seen him perform at his church in a band, he had been the drummer.
Of course, that brought back memories for my Dad. Listen, you should hear what he has to say....
"
Our school was the Big A School in Eastanollee (which is in Stephens County, near Toccoa)
and it had three rooms and a stage. On the stage, we could do plays and play music. I played the drums. Big A School had no electricity, no running water, and no bathrooms. We had two outhouses, one for boys and for girls. And as a boy you were not allowed nowhere NEAR the one for the girls!
Daddy, did you have a place to play?
"We had one spot, a basketball goal and it was just over dirt, not paved.
What did you eat for lunch?
We had cathead biscuits with a piece of ham, or any piece of meat that you might 've killed.
(Note: Cat head biscuits...biscuits in the South are a light, soft bread, and if you say cat head, it means that it is big, like a cat going under a fence where the head of the cat flattens out? Cat head biscuit!)
Do you remember your teacher?
Our teacher was Roy Lee Sayers, and he would take the boys down to the woods and we would smoke cigarettes. I remember smoking with Bert Certain and L.T.
WHAT! He would smoke cigarettes with children? How old were you?
Oh yes, we were about 9 or 10 years old. We rolled our own cigarettes. Smoking tobacco was 5 cents a pack and we would take brown paper bags and cut them into pieces for cigarette papers. You could use newspaper but newspaper STUNK!
And I know that you walked to school.
Yes, we walked about 3 , it might have been closer to 3 1/2 miles to school, in all weathers.
And I know that in the winter, it was your job to build the fire in the fireplace when you got to school!
Hee, hee, yes, not everybody could do it, but I could, so it became my job.
I just had this conversation tonight with my Dad, and I thought I would share his memories with you. My Dad was born in April of 1927, so these school memories are from the 1930's when the country was in a deep Depression. I think it made those who lived through those times very tough and strong. Louis Zamperini, who is from the same generation called it "hardy" and if you look it up, that is exactly correct. I think we should all strive to be hardy.
"
Hardy | Definition of hardy by Merriam-Webster http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hardyable to live through difficult conditions (such as a cold winter or a drought). : strong and able to accept difficult or unpleasant conditions.
