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Civilian Conservation Corps Alumni web site

Civilian Conservation Corps History (1) (2)

My CCC Experiences

Memory Lane

Robert's Memoirs
Stories as told by my Father (1) (2)

Stories as told by my Mother

My personal memories
(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6)
(7) (8) (9)

My childhood memories
(1) (2) (3) (4) (5)

Lettie's Memoirs

Photo Gallery

Strawn Photo Gallery

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Robert's Childhood Memories Page 2

bowtie_sm.gif (400 bytes)    I remember we had a cow and a mule named Frank, that kicked and killed my brother Walter when he was 8 years old. The accident happened when he went to the saw mill with a black man named Thad Gill and when getting his hat that fell to the ground, the mule kicked and struck Walter in the head. He died before they could get help for him.

bowtie_sm.gif (400 bytes)    On the back of the lot there was a house used as a tenant house when all of this area was a farm. This house was used as a workshop, a livestock stall and a storage for hay and feed. There was a shed built out for wood storage for the cook stove, heaters and fireplaces. There was another building where Papa kept his 1917 Ford Model T touring car. A shed was built off this garage where Papa kept lumber, mostly walnut, to make furniture. All of his tools were hand tools with the exception of a manual drill press mounted to the wall. It   had a fly wheel and a handle you used to turn the press for the drill speed. A wheel at the top could be set to feed pressure downward to drill metal or wood.

bowtie_sm.gif (400 bytes)    Chavis St. was in the front, Billy Goat St. was in the rear. There was a tenant house across Billy Goat St. where Aunt Molly Strawther, a black widow we all loved, lived. She would tell us ghost stories. We had plenty of space to play and many places to explore, cotton gins, blacksmith shops, old buildings, creeks, ponds and the railroad depot. I remember playing baseball, roaming the woods and countryside, and working in Papa's shop making toy guns that shot rubber bands cut from tire inner tubes and crossbows that shot arrows. I remember shooting marbles with the young and old, watching the ball games and going with Papa when he had jobs building or repairing property.

bowtie_sm.gif (400 bytes)    I remember going to Mitchener's Lake with Papa and Uncle Jimmy Collins. After fishing and having fish fries, they would sometimes do some square dancing. I can remember going to Cedar Creek with Papa and setting fish hooks baited with toad frogs or scrap meat given to us by Pierce's Meat Market. Some times we would stay at Jimmy Dent's for several days and our catch would be ten or fifteen turtles that Papa would sell for $1.00 each.

bowtie_sm.gif (400 bytes)    We had family reunions when Papa would barbecue several hogs starting by digging pits under the tobacco barn sheds. He started cooking late in the day so that by 1:00 the next afternoon, everything would be ready. I can remember having Cakes, pies, fried chicken, pimento cheese sandwiches and country ham biscuits along with the barbecued pork. My favorite was the fried chicken, chocolate cake and lemonade.There were other foods brought but the ones I mentioned seem to stick in my mind the most. We would eat at Grandma Collins' house at Christmas, Thanksgiving and many other occasions. People back then didn't need a special occasion to gather and have a meal. Grandma Collins would boil a large country ham in the big iron wash pot. When it was time to eat, Grandma would always let the children eat first and then the grown people would eat last.

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Stories as told by my:   Father (1) (2)   Mother
Civilian Conservation Corps History: (1) (2)
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Personal memories of my life: (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9)

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