Sunday, March 1, 1959
[continued from Section 2 – Story of Mary and Aunt Mary Cotton] At the door, I was still tickled and his face turned red and he too started laughing – he was a sweet, good Uncle Jim. He had steak, biscuit, hot coffee and other things all hot for us to eat. We got out of our wet clothes and then I can see Aunt Mary now, She too, got tickled, and we laughed and laughed. Aunt Mary was always funny.
Uncle Jim was a confederate soldier and he couldn’t go with us that day. Another thing that was bad about it all, I had on I believe the prettiest hat, I ever owned in all my life – it was really a droopy affair after that, but some how the fun was worth more than the loss of the hat, for I’ll never forget how that umbrella turned wrong side up it was a real show and how silly it has for the man to hit an innocent man who hadn’t hit his girl, but it was just a small loose sign board that hit her. Great are the days of youth and a great aunt, who had in it, fun and was always a ray of sunshine.
Monday, March 2, 1959
Josephine Crisler, daughter of Dr. and Mrs. J. A. Crisler [Joseph Augustus & Josephine Hubbard Crisler], died at Methodist Hospital. The paper stated after a long illness, age 64. [b. 19 Oct 1892 d. 2 Mar 1959] Her brother Dr. J. A. Crisler, Jr. survives, I knew them many years ago. They were a fine family and both father and son wonderful doctors. Josephine Crisler was lovely and friendly. Dr. Crisler Jr. is still living. He is younger than his sister, I was nursing when he married Elizabeth Crile, daughter of Dr. Geo Crile, a specialist, which was many years ago now. Dr. Crisler Jr. is a gentleman, a wonderful and sincere doctor and person in all he does. I remember a patient, who had a bad goiter, he worked with his father and they were specializing on goiters (which are growths in the throat region) the patient was a tenant farmer near Clarksdale, Miss and the Doctors Crislers were not charging him, they asked him if he could have a nurse for just a few days after the operation, he did and I was the nurse. They could only remove a part of the goiter due to the heart condition caused by goiter.
Tuesday, March 3, 1959
Well I remember, Dr. Crusher Jr. known of he would not be paid, saw the patient 5 times from 10 pm till day light. So from that day on, I knew he was a person who worked for the interest of all patients, regardless of their material circumstances. Its good to know people who are like that, gives you confidence and faith in people which our world needs so badly today–
March is like a lion now, with the winds blowing some rains fall too and storms reported here and there. As I sit here trying to think and relive years gone by – I truly say the most and best things are memories of goodness taught me by knowing good people. Use to be a few who would say one thing and do another, but most people in those days still remembered it wasn’t too far back through the years, they lived in a rugged country and only hard work and honesty would help them to survive. Our forefathers did survive, some of course didn’t
Wednesday, March 4, 1959
but then spirits lived on and those who survived respected their memory through the years that they lived – any person is important to God, each is a life that God gave and if the lonely sea slug were the only living being it should be respected, because God gave it life and it reproduces itself. Respect for others is the one thing our world needs today – and there is only one way for that to take roots and grown and that is to begin with ourselves and cleanse our hearts over lines of the lust, the crave of money and the terrible sin of wanting to be on top, for the sake of honor, the kind of honor, the politician holds in his clutches to make others bow down and do his bidding. But little does he realize the seed he sows, he will in due time rep and always your sins will find you out.
Thursday, March 5, 1959
Well Nancy, I told you this would be a scrambled affair and it sure is – Margaret and Tom moved to Memphis. Elbert Jr. and Richard both have new cars and Elbert Jr. is not starting on a big try to win a trip to Miami, Fla for next year. He and Ladye hope to go to New York in May. That’s the trip he won for his good work last year. Jr. works hard on his insurances and I am so thankful he is doing well. Mark Lenagar has gone to Shreveport, LA as manager of his work there he was assistant manager here in Memphis. Spring is just around the corner, the birds coming back, birds like the red bud, and others in fact just about all the birds went away once in awhile, a jay or mocking bird and very few sparrows remained. Now the black birds are departing and these other birds I told you about coming in and singing or and early in their ?
Friday, March 6, 1959
Margaret arrived about 9 am and she and I shortened two dresses and two skirts, this season, skirts are shorter almost to the knee. We fixed two dresses and two skirts, one skirt, made Margaret look like she was about 13 yrs old. We laughed about it.
We went by Dorothy’s for a few minutes. She and Byran were home, Byran’s granddad had vaccinated him for small pox, his arm is really taking good. he will go to school next fall. Each week we get letters from you and Norris, Frances and family, Walter Piercy, my brother, I write to those and Martha Nichols and of course a few others, and each week, first part I gather together bits of Munford news and others (?) is 9th year. I’ve been writing these weekly notes seems to come round quite often, but by telephone is almost the (?). 1 my contact with other people so after all maybe its good for me. Right now in your young life you can’t understand its that the years come and youth slips
Saturday, March 7, 1959
away, you have no choice, the same thing will happen to all that live —
Seems only yesterday, when I was 17, just really having dates and as all girls and boys, just wonder what the future holds in store and what will my lot be. Its a great big mystery life can’t be explained by any human no matter how much they study and dig into it all, it still will never be explained – only we know there is a Great God, our Father, our life and our all, that earth gives life and receives the body when the spirit goes back to God. They are trying to go to other planets to reach the moon and competition is great. The greatness is through sin, brought on by hate, fear, prejudice, not stopping to think, forgetting to pray and ask God to give you direction take away your bent to sinning. Sin is brought on the works of the devil himself and the greatest of all his weapons
Sunday, March 8, 1959
is ( his couragement) if he can get to worry and feel things are wrong and what’s the use, when you could look around and find a short cut by putting aside the right way of life for wrong thinking and wrong doing.
This is a wonderful world, no beauty equals the earths beauty for God’s beauty is real and the other artificial which passes away. But God’s world and His word will always be. This year Easter comes on 29th which is a bit early – so many things going on and we feel the nearness and dearness of Christ and the great need of Him. Today Helen’s mother had a light stroke. Miss Myrtle is really a very gentle kind and a real christian woman. All she does or thinks is for good so I pray if its His will she be spared her birthday is the same as my mother’s, March 24. Mamma would be 87 years old just doesn’t seem possible. I still
Monday, March 9, 1959
feel its time she come in with her wonderful and sunny smile. She was only 62 when she passed away had all her own teeth but one which was filled with gold. She was never idle always busy. She had her cross along the way. Papa became ill and was crippled with arthritis. he too, was more than 19 years older than her, so she had to manage, plan and keep things going in her later years. He gave his best, but wasn’t able to help her very much. He depended on her. He felt Alice is what he called her, could always manage and arrange or their welfare and she could. She knew how to work. She knew to save, manage and take care of what they had. She loved flowers, all people and especially young people and she truly had a lot of young friends. I know she wants me and all of us to live right in the sight of God and some day we will then join her.
Tuesday, March 10, 1959
I will start at this point to tell you about our lives where we lived on what is still known as the Brewster place, to me, it was the one place, that will always live in my heart and memory. At our place, first, we still had grandma. She was a big part of lives and our home life. I guess will tell you I was now about 10 years old. Mamma was now 31 and Papa 50. Bill was 8, Walter about five years old. I loved school. Walter started to school when he 5 yrs old. He and bill really didn’t like school but they were sent anyway. Grandma still taught me every night – reading, writing and arithmetic and our life there was quiet and peace. I can still see in my thoughts and from memory the fenced in yard of plink, with a garden and to the south the orchard with the most wonderful fruit, peaches, plums, berries, grapes. Well to me and all it was a good time of year. Mr. Bert and Mr. Horton Elam both bachelors lived across the road from our place. We were surrounded in a place of trees. There were
Wednesday, March 11, 1959
flowers always in our yard both our parents loved flowers. We had cattle, horses, mules, had a hired hand, tenants on the place. So about this time as I remember Perry and Abe were tenants that had lived there for many years, Edd, the one I told you Papa had for many years left about the time I was 10 years old, the Elam bachelors were well to do men, gentlemen and were nice to live by. Mr. Horton was very deaf only my brother Walter could convey a message to him, so he would hear it many times. Walter was sent by Mamma to ????? Mr. Horton to come over and have home made vegetable soup with us. Seems no one could make it as well as Mamma and Mr. Horton thought so too.
Mr. Gary Usher (?) lived at Horn Lake, Miss, told of one day when one of his horses strayed. He came up by our way and saw Mr. Horton in the woods across from our house hunting squirrels. Mr. Gary didn’t know Mr Horton and of course didn’t know he was deaf. So he called
Thursday, March 12, 1959
Mr. Horton, “have you seen anything of a stray horse,” O yes, he is right up there in that tree” said Mr. Horton, pointing to the tree. Mr. Gary said he was so disgusted and said you must be ________ fool” and Mr. Horton smiled and replied, “Yes, the woods are full of them”the woods were full of squirrels.
Mag Jones, was what we called her, the colored woman, who helped Mamma. Washed and really scrubbed the floors every week, Mag, just wasn’t very bright. So, it was always lots of fun for us children to watcher her and she told us weird stories too. Only had four front teeth, two above and two below. She dipped snuff and had long keen tooth brush made mostly from an elm tree – talking about elm trees you could never guess there was a barn on what was a bark called slippery elm, they would get the bark off the tree put it in a glass of water and there was a thick, slippery substance they wrapped bad tasting medicine, like
Friday, March 13, 1959
quinine in that is so bitter, well they put in slippery stuff see quinine was in powder form and they wrap it up and we took it from a spoon, and for sure, we would get a taste of the quinine. The older ones took it in coffee or in capsule. The first capsule I ever tried to swallow held 5 grams of quinine, both Papa and I had malaria and we had company for summer. Miss Kate Isabell and Mrs. Hallie Brewster. It was about time for dinner and Papa said, “Mary you are big enough girl now to take quinine in a capsule. Well I sure wanted to so he told me to come back in kitchen where the water bucket with the dipper for drinking was along side of wash pan for face and hands. I took that capsule and opened my mouth just like he said and threw it as I thought right in my mouth and to my throat ready to swallow any way that capsule landed on the hall and stuck. I finally got it in my mouth and swallowed it.
Saturday, March 14, 1959
We had good fields, rich and Papa knew how to have it farmed. We had a big farm for cows, all fixed for a dairy, which we did have with around 50 cows to be milked by hand a barrel churn for churning butter, two handles that took two people to churn, Papa had a covered milk wagon that you drove two horses to – he with Bob sold the milk, sweet and butter milk in big cans, also butter, he bought ice of 100 lbs in big blocks. We had one spot I loved among others, but I believe this spot was best to me. we called it a slough, instead of pond, it was large had several acres in it with cypress, places in it very deep. I had one spot my favorite on the north side, a big cypress root extended out over water. I sat there many hours a big log was but a ways from bank. I sometimes fished close to the log and would catch catfish and then after I would fish for perch. You could pull one out and put your huck [sic] back and catch another one it was wonderful.
Sunday, March 15, 1959
Grandma, I told you past away just before I was 11 years old and I have already told you about that. She was slender, frail and tall, grey eyes and a real lady with much dignity. She told me she loved me more than any of her other grandchildren, and I was too young not to know I shouldn’t tel her oldest granddaughter Elisie Holliday, who came to many times from San Antonio with her sister Effie. They lived with us for a while. Later both married. Cousin Elisie was more than 20 years older than me, she married John Couch and cousin Effie who when she went out looked like Cleopatra, she was tall and too proud. She, I felt, didn’t even love herself. Cousin Elisie was sweet. Effie married and went to Los Angles, Calif. Married a Crandall. They had no children, Elisie, Allen, Jim and Grady – her sister and brothers ??? those, they were Papa’s sister’s children.
Tip Top School was a joy to me. I loved school and I never missed unless the weather was just impossible. They were happy days…
