Robert's Childhood Memories Page 1
I moved from Cedar Creek to Franklinton, NC in the
winter of 1921 at the age of 4. About the old home place, I remember the yard, stables,
blacksmith shed, a building where apple cider was made, a meat curing and smoke house, a
water pump just off the kitchen, the family grave yard with only field stones for markers,
a pasture between the house and Cedar Creek where soldiers still in the Army or reserve
from WW1 would camp, the large trees in the yard, a funeral held for someone that I can't
remember but the casket was in the yard, going to Youngsville, NC to a foundry that had a
lot of smoke to trade in plow points for new or repoured plow points, chasing through the
yard after Papa when he was going out in the T Model Ford, going to a funeral with Papa
when it was raining and the casket was lowered on straps by men, visiting the Thomlison
family up the road and the kitchen was connected to the house where the dining room was
and I remember someone coming to visit, I suppose Ella or Dolly, sisters, on a motorcycle.
There was a red clover field located
between the house and Cedar Creek in the horseshoe shaped section of the road. Located
across the road was a spring that we used to store butter and milk. Papa had rigged a
system to crank a bucket down from the house and it would fill from the spring and could
be cranked back without leaving the porch which was real engineering in those days. I do
not remember this but I was told by several people. I remember the path from our house to
Aunt Maggie Layton's house, Papa's sisters who later caused so much sorrow and the loss of
the home place where Papa had taken care of my Grand Parents, visiting Aunt Maggie and the
cousins and sliding on the tin roof on one of the buildings. In later years when talking
to Papa about how pretty the red clover field was, he told me that there were a few times
when he had the field ready to plant that it came a light snow and he would sow the clover
on top of the snow. He said it gave him a better and more even crop. The clover was reaped
and stored as feed for the animals. Sometimes it was plowed under to recondition the soil.
The roads in the period of wagons and into the
early twentieth century were built with less grade than roads built today since modern
equipment is capable of cutting down high ground and filling in low areas, thus the road
from Cedar Creek by the house has been rebuilt straight with only a slight increase in
grade and eliminating the few acres located in the horseshoe bend where the red clover
field was.
We moved to Franklinton from Cedar Creek, I
believe it was in December, before Christmas. It was real cold and I wanted to ride in the
truck with the two men, both black, who had the furniture. They assured Mama that they
would take care of me so Mama wrapped me up in warm clothing and maybe a blanket also. I
remember the solid rubber on the wheels of the truck. They had to lift me into the truck
seat, it seemed real high to get up into the truck.
The house at 11 Chavis Street had the
original porch enclosed and there were two square posts left in the large room. I remember
riding a tricycle in in what we called the back hall. A small room of the large room was
used to store cotton. We used to play on the cotton. There were large Elm trees on Chavis
Street that later I was told a man named Fort planted. All the streets were dirt. Everyone
had outside toilets which were open in the rear and were cleaned out by a black man who
used a shovel and a one horse wagon and used the waste on his farm. There was a hand water
pump located on the property line, ours and the Moore property, to furnish water for both
families.
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