Oral History Interview with Anonymous

Interview Transcript

Earl and I married in 1925. He (Uncle Pen) lived here in this little house. This ground belonged to Mr. Clarence Wilson. And, then we bought it back from Mr. Clarence Wilson in 1929. During the time Uncle Pen lived here, he was a riding a mule somewhere and it throwed him. [he was thrown] And I don't know whether it throwed [threw] his hip out of place or not, but my husband came out here one day and it was cool and Uncle Pen didn't have no wood and I think he (Earl) went and got Mr. Wilson and they went and got him (Uncle Pen) some wood and that was after he got hurt.

Now, I didn't know much about him 'til he moved here in this little house and Earl and married, and he come out to our house and spent the night with us. Earl's daddy was even living then, I don't even remember what they talked about, but I know what I cooked. - laughs.) It was late in the fall and Earl had killed a small hog we had, and you know when it's warm you can't keep so much meat. it will spoil you know. if you understand [the] farm, we'd wait until winter. So, he sold the hams and shoulders, and we kept the sausage and the liver and the side meat, and I'd been over to my mother's and got winesap apples. And, I remember the two things I cooked that night, I fried some of that fresh side meat and some of them apples and I had hot biscuits and I don't remember what else I had. I had, and the best I can remember, Earl's mother wasn't at home that night. She was living too, when we got married.

But, far as knowing anything much about Uncle Pen the, he went, and after he left here, he went over to Mr. Clarence Wilson's and lived with them awhile. He lived in the house with them and boarded. I don't think he would pay much, and I think he paid 'em some board and I think he stayed there awhile. I always thought, now I don't know if I'm telling it right, or not, but I always thought that he lived with Speed and Jeanie for awhile, now that was Rosetta's mother and father, but now I won't say that was the truth. But, as far as me knowing--I knew that he was Charlie and Bill and all the Monroes, their mother was a sister to him, she was a Vandiver. Oh, my aunt and uncle lived when Raley lived, her name was Melissa and Bill named one of his daughters Melissa and she died about two years [ago]. We moved from Olaton down here at Horton and my stepfather bought a farm over here on Vine Hill Road when I was 13 and she had passed away about two years before we moved down here. I heard my aunt talk about it, Aunt Lizzy Wilson and she was a sister-in-law to the one Uncle Pen lived with over across the bayou.

I guess I head Earl's mother say, but I don't remember, but I do know what killed Mr. Monroe, their daddy, died of pneumonia fever. Their daddy, he lived until my son was about a year old. My husband bought a horse drawn mowing machine. It was pulled by horse. It was pulled by horses, and [there were not] it wasn't very many of them. And Uncle Buck, that was Burch and Charlie and them's daddy, lived right over the hill there and he get Earl to come cut his day down (???) and he said that he never would forget when Maude and Berthe cook[ed]. Summertime when they had blackberries, Bill'd go out in the summertime, you know, and pick a big bucket of blackberries and he told Bertha before I died, "Bertha, I never will forget the blackberry pies you made.” And he'd hire work hands you know and they had all that big family and they'd eat and they'd cook dinner for them all, you know. Now days you take your lunch with you. Earl and I stripped a lot of tobacco, we worked awful hard, and we'd strip tobacco, and we never would go to the house and eat, we'd always take our dinner with us. We'd take off long enough, maybe about 15 minutes.

Uncle Pen, I can't tell you but very little about him. He was Earl's (She means Buck's) wife's brother and her name was Melissa. I don't know if he was older, but I guess he was younger and I think at one time he'd been married, now, I never did, but I never heard him, and I don't remember what he and Earl talked about.

They said that Bill made a song about Uncle Pen. I tell you one thing, when he lived here, in our house, right out in front of our house now was--that was called the public road and it went in front of this house and went in front of their old place and they've done away with so many of the roads, and late at night I could hear Uncle Pen over the hill. I didn't know what he was playing, but I know he was playing his fiddle. And Mr. Clarence Wilson played a banjo, but Earl said when he'd be over to Uncle Buck's, when he'd be over there, to cut the grass, he'd always eat dinner with them too. After dinner they'd get their fiddles and banjos out. Now, I think one of the other boys played a banjo. Charlie played a guitar. Bill played a mandolin. I guess when Uncle Pen was able to work, he would trade--trade cattle and work and taken [took] care of his money to live upon, I guess. He probably didn't pay Clarence Wilson much, don't suppose he paid very much to stay there, but I don’t know, he stayed there awhile. But, whether he stayed any at Uncle Buck's, I don't know. I know he spent the night with us, and I know he said how he enjoyed the fresh meat and [those] them fried apples.

Uncle Pen was a tall feller. I remember that, you know Charlie Monroe was a tall man. And so was Burch and Speed was too, now Harry wasn't. Harry was the oldest boy and Earl always told me he thought more of Harry than 'ere [every] one of them and he was raised up with them and I wasn't. Earl lived on this farm and Monroe's right across over there and they went to Rosine to church together and sing. They'd have services and sing up there. The oldest one was (??) and the second one was Korene (??), Clarice, they's [they’re] both dead and they'd go up there to church and they'd have singing. You know people years ago--cause you didn't have no other place to go. The roads was [were] dirt roads. Monroes sang at church and there'd be a big bunch in the choir. Maude and Berthe, they was, [were] they went to both Churches, Methodist. All the Monroes were Methodist as far as I ever known.

Don't even know where he (Uncle Pen) come from. Now, he was a tall fellow. He was a very fair size. He was an average person. He wore his hat all the time. My hair's natural. You like Bertha? She used to cut my hair and Bertha said--Bertha in the world (??)--she would begrudge is someone with pretty hair, but she cut my hair all the time.

I don't remember cooking and sending anything out here, but I guess I did. I don't recall it. Earl just asked him to come out and stay overnight with us. This house belonged to Clarence Wilson, but he (Uncle Pen) stayed here. It was a one room log house. We tore our old house down and built this house here. James Thomas [interviewee’s son] is 64 and he was 12 years all--so about 52 years. Just a one room log house and I'll tell you who built that. When Earl's daddy first sold it to her aunt, when Aunt Julia Schroader built that house and live several years themselves and Mr. Clarence Wilson bought it from them. We bought it back about--the deed was made about four days before Mildred, my daughter was born, 6[th] day of March, 1929. That’s when this deed was made. We tore that little old house down. He (Uncle Pen) eat [ate] with us, before my son was born in 1926. I was pregnant when he came out to eat with us.

[points to a picture of James Austin hanging on the wall.]

He never wore no beard. Best I can remember sometimes he'd wear a little mustache. Now, he didn't wear [a] no beard, no, no, no, no. He had average--like men would wear their hair cut, good everyday clothes, just like the other men. He had good everyday clothes, ever [every] time I seen him, it would be overalls. Just ever day [everyday] clothes, overall pants, and shirt. He didn't walk on that leg very much. Dr. Willis come [came] out here and Earl was out here and he thought it was out of place. He pulled on that leg, and I don't know if he ever got it in place or not. Rosetta may not remember.