Monday, December 31, 2007

small town news

For Christmas, my aunt (my mom's sis) sent me, along with a card, copies of columns from the local newspaper of the small Texas town where my family lived in the early-mid 1980s. The clippings were sent to her back then by either my mom or dad. It's amazing what was published.Thought you might enjoy a small sampling. I've abbreviated names...don't know why. At least it eases my conscience, anyway.

From "Willow Springs" by Mattie C.
Mrs. Wade lives between us and Flood Greene's lake. She walks 3 miles a day and Wednesday it was kinda cold. Started out with a sweater on. Just before she got to where school lane runs into Clark's Ferry Road, she pulled her sweater off and laid it down beside the road with a stick on it, planned to get it on her way back home. But when she got back where she left it, the sweater was gone. Anyone who passed that way and thought they found a sweater, well they didn't. It belongs to Mrs. Wade. That's her walking sweater.

...Mattie D. called me tonight....asked if I remembered the old cistern that we got water out of to drink. Drew it out with a bucket and rope. One day dropped the bucket and rope in the cistern. Her brother Arvel S., climbed up on the cistern with a stick with a nail through the bottom to fish out the bucket. Well, he slipped, dropped the stick, it slid off and the nail stuck in his sister's eye, Mattie D. Stuck in her eye near her nose. After quite a lot of time found her mom, took Mattie to the doctor. Didn't lose her eye, just made her eye weak.
From "News of Interest" by A. Kennemer
We've lost so many friends since I wrote last. It makes me feel "blue". May C. has left us. She was dead in bed we were told. She has been with her son Joe Bob and wife Mary, many months, and Joe Bob has been sick also. The lord had to be with Mary or she couldn't have made it.
From "Pauline's News" by Pauline R.
[Mother] was much better off then than she is now. If they think they can come every other week and see about her business and check out her house and things, I would say they have another think. . . .I never took anything from mother. I can't do it and they can't either. Her doctors were there in Greenville and down there they will have to run all sorts of tests to see what is wrong with her. That knot on her neck is about 8 inches long and as much as two inches wide and stands out every bit of an inch. Another small on e has started under her chin by the big one, but no, she wouldn't go to her doctor while she was here. . . .Someone tell me just what can be done with a mother that you can't do anything with or change her mind. We have done all we can. We can't even think of one other thing to even try to do or to suggest to her--it has all been done.

We sure had a bad wind storm Tuesday night, or maybe early Wednesday morning. We didn't get but 1/2 inch of rain, but all together this week we got 2-1/2 inches. Not bad. There was also some frost in low places, but I didn't get out to see about any ice. Frost is ice, but I mean any on the water.
This last one is insanely long. Lots of info on who visited who, who's sick, who was in church, and what the weather has been like. The columns are an interesting bit of history of the time, but I can't imagine how some of this news reporting could not have come back to bite these women in the butt!

2 comments:

alu said...

Oh, my hometown newspaper used to have a similar "column" written by an elderly lady who just desribed her week and her visiting and such. As bloggers, we are probably all kindred souls. I wish I could remember her name...Dolores? Gladys?...And I hope the missing sweater turns up, dagnabbit!

erin said...

The "walking sweater" one was my favorite :)

I love how Pauline rants about her grubbing relatives and exasperating mother (and I didn't even include all of it)...and then it's on to the weather.

Speaking of kindred souls, I was seriously disheartened that your butt was bitten, but am glad you're back and so happy for this unexpected benefit. Going underground means that you can cavort here. Wohoo!!!! I hope you come back often!