Getting back to that night at the social, Donald came over to me and asked where Dora was. I told him Dora was at Ruth’s and that I had come to the social alone he hung around and when it was time to go home he said he would take me.

Wilbur had already left and I was sure he would be waiting for me along the way. As we went out and got in Donald’s car I was thinking of Dora she had been trying to get him to take her out, and here I was in his car. We started for home and must have went a mile when he stopped the car and reached for me, and pulled me against him, and before I knew what was happening he had me down on the seat and was on top of me.

I grabbed his hair and jerked his head back knocking his glasses off. I got my knee up and kicked him in the stomach, he let out a yelp, as I opened the car door to get out he grabbed my arm as he said, “OK, OK, I’ll behave, just help me find my glasses.”

I took the matches he gave me and after lighting about six matches, I found his glasses. I was surprised to learn he couldn’t see anything without the glasses.

When Donald insisted on taking me the rest of the way home I didn’t say no, I still didn’t trust him, but I knew Wilbur was out there waiting for me. When we got to Wilbur’s barn I told Donald, that was far enough. I would walk the rest of the way, I didn’t want mother to see the car light, that he could turn around beside the barn.

There was no fence beside the barn just a manure pile, a ditch, and muck that was caused by the drainage from the ditch on the upper side of the road, the swamp grass was just high enough to hide the ditch and muck.

I jumped out of the car as soon as it stopped and ran for home. When I had went up the road a short way, I heard the car spinning, quickly I crawled through the fence into mother’s truck patch and hid behind the hedge, and watched. Donald was spinning the car wheels and the car headlights were shining at an upward slant, into the tree. He had done just what I hoped he would do, he had backed into the ditch and muck. I was laughing to myself when I heard voices, Wilbur was talking to Donald, I couldn’t hear what they were saying, I was sure he had been waiting for me. I wished I could get back at him, then it came to me what to do. I ran across the truck patch and climbed over the fence to Wilbur’s chicken pen, quickly I opened the gate and propped it open so the chickens would be out as soon as it got daylight, I was sure they would do a number on his garden.

The moon wasn’t shining real bright that night, but enough that it wasn’t real dark and my eyes were adjusted to the dark. So when I passed Wilbur’s woodlot where he chopped wood, his ax was sticking in the end of a log, I just picked it up and took it along home where I put it in the granary behind father’s tools. As I went in the house I could hear Donald’s car spinning trying to get out of the muck .

Mother was waiting for me and wanted to know how things went. I told her I didn’t go with Wilbur as he walked too slow, she believed this because she knew I  never walked I was always running.

When I went to the well for water the next morning. Wilber saw me and came over saying “you let my chickens out last night, you do that again.. I’ll,” I said “you stay away from me or I’ll tell my mother.” he said “I wasn’t going to do anything,” and I said “just stay away from me or I’ll fix you good.”

The week that followed was a busy one for mother and I, and I worked extra hard and hoped she would let me go to the square dance Saturday night. I knew father wouldn’t be home so I was hoping there was someone I could go with.

Saturday afternoon Dora came home she was excited when I told her about the dance that night. She had some new clothes and couldn’t wait to wear them.

We got to the party early, there were only a few people there mostly family. Dora and I were sitting on the porch talking when a car stopped in front of the house. Mary Cupp a friend of ours stuck her head out the car window and hollered, “come on, go along, Lena Spiker’s getting married and everybody’s invited.” Lena Spiker was the daughter of an elderly farmer, she was around 40 years old, real tall, long legs, skinny, always wore man’s clothes, had a mouthful of rotten teeth, chewed tobacco, and could outcuss and outspit any man around. She had invited everyone to her wedding. And they were going out of curiosity and to poke fun. Everyone was wondering what kind of a man would marry her.

I looked at Dora, she looked at me, we both started to laugh as we got up and walked out to the car.

Boyd Smith, Mary and Bill Lawson were in the front seat.

Mary got out of the car and told Dora to get in front, then she got in the back with Bill, and another guy, and told me to get in.

I tried to see who was in the back seat, but it was too dark. As much as I wanted to go, I was afraid to get in the car. I had an urge to run, and was about to do so, when the guy in the back said, “come on, you have to sit on my lap but I won’t bite you” and I recognized that voice, it was Woodrow Cupp the guy that had bought the mine post from mother.

I couldn’t believe he was here, I had told him about the dance, but I never dreamed he would come. I got in the car and sat crosswise on Woodrow’s lap, he was so long legged all I had to sit on was his knees, and every time the car hit a bump I slid off. I tried holding on to the back of the front seat but Bill Lawson in the front seat teasingly said, I was trying to hug him.

Everyone laughed but I didn’t think it was funny. I put my arm around Woodrow and braced myself against the back seat.

We got to Lena’s just as it was over. And I must say everyone was surprised, or a better word was shocked.

Lena got married down in the pasture field, under a beautiful old tree, alongside a small Creek. She had on a white dress, she had her hair in a bun on top of her head with some flowers in it, she carried a bouquet of wild flowers.

The man she married was the biggest shock. He was about her age, not as tall as she was, but heavy set, not fat, just big bone, partly bald. He had on a suit, white shirt, and tie. He was a nice looking man except for, like her, he had a mouthful of rotten teeth. His name was Wheeler, except for that no one knew where he came from or anything about him.

Everyone was invited into the house for a piece of wedding cake, but we didn’t stay, saying we wanted to get back to the dance.

We went back to the dance, but there wasn’t many people there, mostly older married people.

Boyd Smith was driving the car, he said, “let’s go for a drive.” And he drove 3 hours, then he took Dora and I home. As we got out of the car, Woodrow said “you sure you weigh only 90 pounds, my legs are paralyzed.” And he had his arm on my shoulder using me as a crutch pretending like he couldn’t walk.

Boyd Smith loudly said “come on Woody, let’s go.” And Woodrow said “goodbye kid, take care,” “I’ll see you sometime,” and for some unknown reason I didn’t know why, I ran to him, threw my arms around his neck and kissed him on the lips. He said, “whew, you’ll be seeing me again.”

I watched as he got in the car and they drove away.

It’s just 3 weeks later, mother, Dora and I were eating breakfast, talking about the reunion that was to be at the church on Sunday.

When the telephone rang, mother answered it, Dora and I kept on talking, suddenly we noticed mother wasn’t saying anything and she was crying. We knew the phone call was bad news so we waited till mother hung up the phone. She sat down at the table and looked at me and Dora then said “Woodrow Cupp was killed last night” I was stunned, I couldn’t move, I couldn’t swallow. Mother started talking, she said, “the cable on Woodrow’s truck broke, and hit him.” She didn’t know anything else.

I ran out of the door and back over the hill to the big spring, where I cried until I had no more tears, then I went back to the house.

On Sunday, instead of going to the reunion we went to Woodrow’s funeral he lived at Uniontown Pennsylvania but his parents brought him back to Shady Grove West Virginia for burial. Dora and I sat in the back of the church, when it was time to go up to the casket we held each other’s hands when I started to choke, Dora said “cry, dont hold it back.” Somebody put an arm on my shoulder and I turned to look, it was Mary Cupp, behind her was Bill Lawson and Boyd Smith.

As I looked at Woodrow for the last time, I remembered what he had said, “you’ll be seeing me again.” I touched his hand and went back to my seat tears running down my cheeks.

The church was full of people and I think everyone was crying,  Woodrow had a lot of friends and relatives.

The weeks that followed was rough, I had my first case of puppy love, and I had been dealt a hard blow, but nobody felt sorry for me. They went on as if nothing happened. Dora was always yelling at me to hurry up, and she always gave me the hardest part to do.

Mentioned in this chapter: Ada Bell Guthrie Boyd 1921-2005, Donald Redburn Moyers 1910-1997, Dora Guthrie McNair 1916-1982, Ruth Guthrie Seese 1912-2007, Wilbur Finley Frankhauser 1870-1957, Clara Bell “Carrie” Maust Guthrie 1889-1965, Mary Grace Cupp _____ – ______, Lena Mae Spiker Wheeler 1889 – 1948, Kenneth Boyd Smith 1928-2011, Mary Lawson 1914 – 1965, Naaman William “Bill” Lawson 1921-2007, Woodrow Wilson Cupp 1912-1936, Dorcey William Wheeler 1881-1968, William Henry Wheeler 1849-1930, Lucinda Caton Wheeler 1863-1934, 

By the time spring came [1936], the timber cutter had moved on, the big trucks that had hauled the lumber away left the road with twenty inches deep ruts, even the buggy would drag it was almost impossible to travel. Father was again contacted to build another barn, he had the blueprints almost finished and soon would be leaving to work on location. Sister Ruth was still running the boarding house for the Summit Lumber Company. Her hired girl quit, she needed help, Dora volunteered to go help her. That left just Mother and I at home. There is a lot of work on the farm in the spring and summer.

Mother called Albert the one armed man to come help. Albert had only one arm but he did the work of a man with two good arms. Soon the crops were planted and everything was the way it should be. Father had cut some mine post during the winter, but hadn’t hauled them out to the road. Mother and I hitched up the horses to a sled and hauled the posts out. She then made a couple of phone call and the post were sold. 

Couple days later a truck stopped at the house, Mother was down at the chicken house as usual. So I answered the door when the truck driver knocked. As I looked at the man in front of me, I couldn’t believe what I saw, this man looked just like he had stepped out of a magazine, he was tall broad shoulders, slim hips, blonde curly hair and the bluest eyes I ever saw. I guessed him to be around twenty five years old. He introduced himself as Woodrow Cupp and then he had come for the mine post. Mother came into the house just then and heard what he said. She went to the cupboard and got a couple sticks of chalk as she handed them to me, “ you go along with Woodrow and count the post.” I was nervous and had a lump in my throat. As I walked out to the truck and climbed in he said, “ I would have been here sooner if I would have known I was going to have such a pretty helper.” I hunged my head and didn’t know what to say, he reached over and raised my head up, as he said, “ Hey I’m not gonna bite you.” I felt better then and soon we were talking like old friends. I learned he was related to our neighbors down the road. I told him of the church picnic and of a square dance a neighbor was having in a few weeks. It was hard work loading the post on the truck, Albert helped the best he could, finally the posts were all loaded. I  climbed up on the truck and with the chalk made a mark. Chalk made a white mark on the end of each post as I counted each one. I knew how many there was but wanted to count them again to make sure, I rode with him in the truck back to the house. I knew he was tired and hungry so I invited him in for a piece of apple pie and a glass of butter milk

Mother was working in the kitchen and asked a lot of questions while he ate. As it turned out Mother knew him when he was a kid, he had been born in West Virginia a short distance away, he had been eleven years old when his parents had moved to Uniontown, Pennsylvania where they still lived. As he left he said, “ I’ll be seeing you.” As he started the truck engine he stuck his head out the window and hollered, “ I’ll be back soon.” 

As I went in the house Mother was counting the money she had got for her post. She told me to go hitch up Doc to the buggy as we were going to Bruceton to buy wallpaper and curtains before Father got home and spent the money for something else.

Mother and I spent the rest of the week papering and cleaning the living room, she even bought paint and painted the doors and woodwork.

When Father came home that weekend, he looked at the living room and was pleased, he didn’t care that Mother had sold the post to get money to buy paper and paint. 

The corn was growing and so were the weeds, Father had to spend Sunday plowing the weeds out of the corn and he was mad as a hornet. I had to stay home from church and hoe corn. I was hoeing in one direction and Father was plowing the other, as the horse approached me he stepped on a stalk of corn, Father jerked on the rein then picked up a rock and threw it at the horse. The rock missed the horse and hit me on the shoulder. I let out a scream and yelled, “ What did you do that for?” Father didn’t say a word just turned and went to the house. Father didn’t come back to the corn field. I saw Uncle Tickey and Aunt Susie go into the house, so I got to the plow, I coaxed the horse along the corn row. I narrowed the plow so I wouldn’t plow out any corn. When I got to the end of the row I unhitched the horse and took him to the barn. I took his harness off and gave him some oats. Then I took off and went down to the creek, I didn’t know what had made Father so mad.

It was getting late and I knew it was about milking time, so I started for home, as I got near the house I could hear Mother and Father arguing; hurriedly I got the milk buckets and went to milk the cows. I had two cows milked when Mother came to help, as she set her stool under the cow she said, “ He’s gone back to that barn.” Tomorrow we’ll finish the corn. I thought sure she would give me heck for running off instead of working in the corn field. Maybe Aunt Susie calmed Father down, she didn’t approve of working on the Sabbath Day; he usually listened to her.

Mother and I worked all next week clearing the weeds out of the corn field. Then I had to help Mother clean the weeds out of her garden. It seemed I had spent all my life pulling or chopping weeds, milking cows, carrying water, coal and fire wood. 

Altho school was out for the summer, the people of Brandonville were having a pie social at the school house to raise money for a basketball court for the school yard. Brandonville didn’t have a play ground for the children, they always played in the school yard, so the community got together to buy some play ground equipment.

This social was to be a big event, I wanted to go but Dora and Father both gone I didn’t think I would get to. On Saturday afternoon, Mother was visiting our next door neighbor, they were talking about the social and my wanting to go. Wilber the neighbor said he was going and I would walk along with him.

After the evening chores were done, I got the curling iron and curled my hair, it didn’t look as nice as it did when Dora did it but I thought what the heck. It was getting dark when I knocked on the neighbor’s door, Wilber had been waiting for me, he was eager to get going. Wilber had his oil lantern, and walked up the path in front of me. When we walked to Brandonville we took a short cut across the field and through the woods across a creek and then another field. Down an old road and we were there. This was the way I always went when I went to school. The path was wide and well worn. Wilber and I had crossed the field and started down through the woods. Suddenly he turned around and grabbed my arm as he said, “ We don’t have to hurry, we got lots of time, how about letting me play with you for alittle while,” at first I didn’t understand what he meant. He sat the lantern down and tried to get my dress up. I gave him a big push and yelled, “ you rotten Son of a Bitch!” I gave his lantern a big kick and sent it down over the bank. Then I took off running as fast as I could, I knew that path and didn’t need a light.

When I got to Brandonville, I was a nervous wreck, so I went to Masrene(Massereene) Evans house, she was a girl I went to school with, we were good friend, so I told her what happened. She went with me to the school and stayed with me all evening. Wilber was at the social and kept looking at me, I had the feeling he would be waiting for me on the way home. I expressed my fears to Masrene, she insisted I stay at her house all night. I knew Mother would worry so I said no. Then my problem was solved or so I thought. Donald Moyers [Donald Redburn Moyers 1910-1997], a guy that Dora  had always wanted to date, was at the social. All the girls were crazy about him, he was medium height and weight, he wore black framed glasses and had pimples, his Father lived on a big farm. He was an only son. He had a new car and was considered to be a good catch.

Aurella Massareene Evans Coates 1918-2003, Woodrow Wilson Cupp 1912-1936, Donald Redburn Moyers 1910-1997, Dora Guthrie McNair, Ada Bell Guthrie Boyd, James Guthrie, Aunt Tickey and Suzy, and one armed Albert.

The fourth of the July came on a Sunday that year. After church that day, uncle Ray took aunt Rhea, uncle Oak (as we called aunt Rhea’s brother), Dora and I, to camp Dawson, an army base thirty miles away.

The army was having an independence day celebration. Some of Uncle Ray’s old army buddies were going to be there. The celebration was really something to see, I never saw so many good looking guys in one place, it was the first time I ever saw a guy in uniform, the sight was breathtaking. They had a military parade, the governor of the state was there and made a speech. When the military band played the national anthem, everybody stood at attention with their hand across their heart. Uncle Ray cried, as he said it made him homesick. Remembering the time he had spent in the army. I’ll always remember the magnificent time we had that day with Uncle Ray and Aunt Rhea that day.

July and August is a busy time on a farm and our’s was no exception. The oats were ripe and had to be cut, raked, and tied into sheafes and shocked. The hay was also ready to be cut, raked, dried, and hauled into the barn. Father came home to do the cutting, but the rest was left to Dora and I; the hay got rained on before we could get it into the barn, and then had to be scattered and raked again. The wagon broke down and we couldn’t fix it, we had to use the sled to haul the hay to the barn, which was harder work.

Every Sunday, somebody was having a family reunion, as we knew everyone, we all went taking a picnic lunch. Mother would buy a loaf of bread and make peanut butter sandwiches. I seemed to live just for those sandwiches, they were so good.

I saw Tommy Harvey [Homer Thomas Harvey 1911-1979] once again at a picnic that summer, but before I could talk to him, father had him playing and singing he looked at me once in a while and winked but that was all. He didn’t stay very long, I never saw him again. 

September came and I was thirteen, [September 1934] I was five feet and seven inches tall, and weighed ninety seven pounds. I was all legs, I ran everywhere, very seldom walked. The barn was full of hay and the granary was full of grain, the corn had to be cut and shocked. School was out of the question. Dora and I started checking on the rabbit traps, repairing the ones that needed it. It wouldn’t be long until hunting season started.

Around the first of October, a gang of men came to the house. They were looking for the Forsye place, they told us they had been hired to cut timber and make a road along the little sandy creek. That a timber company from confluence, PA had bought the timber and were bringing in the sawmill. They asked where they might find a place to stay until they get a shanty built. Mother didn’t have any room, as she had deer hunters coming, but she got on the telephone and started calling her friends. Soon she had a place for everyone to stay. Big trucks started coming past the house two and three at a time loaded with the saw mill. The men on the trucks would wave and whistle. I would hide when I saw a truck coming, as I didn’t like men whistling at me.

In a couple weeks, the men had their shanty built and their own cook. As they needed food supplies, mother had plenty of milk, eggs, potatoes, ham, she also agreed to furnish them with bread, and once they tasted her pies, they bought them faster than she could bake them. At first two men would come every night after milk and (eat) then more of them came. Father learned some played music, soon all fourteen of them were coming, and night after night they would sit with father and play and sing. Finally staying up all night started to interfere with their work and they didn’t come as often. There were two, Teddy and Orie that still came every night. Teddy was real tall and heavy set and usually fell over his own feet. He wore glasses so thick the men called him Popeye. I think that’s the reason he blundered so much. He was excellent when it came to music. Dora learned alot from him. He liked me best and wanted to teach me to play his guitar, but I said no. As he kept wanting to touch me. I liked Orie better than Teddy. Orie was shorter and older, a good singer, but when playing music he followed better than lead. One night it was snowy and icy. Teddy slipped and fell on his guitar and mashed it. He had paid a hundred dollars for it, so he was heart broken. He only got fifty cents an hour for working, it would take him a long time to save enough money for a new one. Without his guitar Teddy and Orie stopped coming. 

Rhuie Lena Frankhouser 1891-1944, Oak Fuller Frankhouser 1877-1937, Dora Guthrie McNair 1916-1982, Homer Thomas “Tommy” Harvey 1911-1979, Ada Guthrie, “Teddy and Orie”, Uncle Ray Frankhouser.

The next weekend Hazel asked mother if I could go home with her for the weekend? Mother said it was alright, but I would have to come home Sunday evening. Saturday afternoon as we were getting ready to leave, Dora came home. She was all excited, she had bought some new clothes with the money she had made. When I told her I was going home with Hazel, and that we were going to Hazel’s church that night, she wanted to go along.

It was six miles to Hazel’s home, but we were so busy talking, telling Dora about going with our neighbor to his church, that we were at Hazel’s home before we knew it. Hazel’s church was Methodist, and very pretty, it looked like the ones you see on Christmas cards. Compared to the service we had witnessed on Sunday night at the other church, this one was BORING. I always knew we went to church to worship God, not to have a good time, I found out I could do both. Soon as the service was over, we started home.

We had gone a short ways, when a car pulled along beside us. There were three guys in the car. The driver stuck his head out the window and started talking. Hazel knew these guys, they were her neighbors. I kept on walking, I didn’t want to talk, as the headlights beamed on my back, the driver, Paul Mitchell, got out of the car.

As he got out he said, “ hey, that’s my beautiful Suzie, she’s getting away,” I took off running up the bank, I jumped over a fence, right into the cemetery. I ran to a tombstone and hid, Paul was trying to find me, calling me to come back. As he turned in the opposite direction, I ran to another tombstone, and then to another, and another. He turned around again and was coming in my direction, calling me “Susie.” I ran again to an older type tombstone, this one was tall and narrow, I squatted down so he wouldn’t see me. As I did so, the ground beneath my feet gave away and I started sinking. I let out a scream, and jerked my foot out of the hole, and fell over backwards. Quickly, I was on my feet and running. As I approached the fence, I gave a big leap, I cleared the fence, and went rolling down the hill. Rocks and briars grabbing at my clothes. I laid very still, I could hear Paul calling for me, but his voice was getting weaker, which meant he was going back to the car.

I heard the car start up and move on. I crawled back up the hill to the fence and followed it to the road. It wasn’t far from Hazel’s home, so I took off running. I crossed an open field, I could see Hazel’s home in the distance. As I approached the house, I was shocked to see Paul Mitchell’s car in the driveway. Hazel, Paul, and the other guy were talking, as I got closer I heard Hazel say, “see I told you, she could take care of herself.” Paul turned around and looked at me as he said, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to frighten you.” As I walked past him, I asked Hazel where Dora was. She said Dora was with Harry Kelly. I went into the house, Paul followed me and took hold of my arm, and tried to pull me towards him. I pulled away from him and ran into the bedroom. I was so mad, why do boys have to act like animals.

Revival services started the next Sunday at our church, it would be every night for two weeks. Dora and I were both in the choir. Mother made me a new dress, and I wore the shoes with the cut off heels. Dora had a lot of new clothes that she bought with her money, that she had got working. Dora had big breasts, slim waste, she really had a nice figure, her hair always looked nice. I was too tall and skinny, when I sat down, I wasn’t any taller than Dora, but when I stood up, I towered above her. I didn’t like it. Dora said I looked like a big “L” with the shoes mother made me wear.

Then one day mother got a phone call from Ms. Farquer. The old neighbor lady that had given me the shoes. Ms. Farquer had some clothes she wanted to give me.

I ran all the way to the next farm. I had no idea what the lady was about to give me, but anything would be better than what I had. Ms. Farquer’s daughter, the one that was married to a doctor, was there visiting her mother. She was tall and skinny like me. It was her clothes that she was giving me. It seemed Ms. Farquer felt sorry for me and had asked the daughter to give me the clothes. The box was so big and heavy I could hardly carry it, but I didn’t care. I practically ran home. I couldn’t wait to see what was in the box. Mother and Dora had just stood and looked as I lifted the dresses from the box. I couldn’t believe my eyes, there was three silk dresses, a couple skirts and blouses, two sweaters, and two silk slips, and two brassiere’s. At the bottom of the box was silk stockings, a dozen pairs. They had small runs in them but I didn’t care, I had never seen anything so thin. I was in seventh heaven with all of those clothes. Everything fit perfect, the silk dress was too old for me, they had a lot of ruffles and lace. At my insistence, mother removed the ruffle and lace. The dress then looked great. The green dress had a wide belt and flared skirt. I liked it best. Mother said I wasn’t to wear the padded brassiere as it made me look older. I didn’t care, I was determined to wear them. Dora didn’t say anything about the clothes but I could tell she was jealous. When I came downstairs wearing the green dress. She didn’t speak to me as we walked over to Uncle Ray’s to church. But she kept looking at me. I had let my hair grow long. It hung down my back. The grass green dress was a good color for me. I wore the wide belt real tight as I always liked, but I didn’t wear the padded brassiere as I was afraid everyone would laugh at me. Or Father would say something and embarrass me again.

It was Sunday night, the last night of revival services. The church was packed, we could hear a thunder storm getting closer. As we were singing the last hymn the storm broke, the rain came down fiercely, sounding like hail on the roof, the lights flickered on and off a couple times. We waited while everyone was talking. Dora made our way to the back, some made a dash for their cars. I was talking to a girlfriend, when I noticed Dora talking to Frank Uphold. I made my way over to them to say hello to Frank when I noticed the guy standing next to him. He was a little taller than I, black curly hair and wide shoulders, he wore a western shirt and jeans. Frank introduced him as Homer Harvey.

As we shook hands he flashed a smile of white teeth and said, “call me Tommy.” The rain had let up and people were leaving, Frank asked Dora if he could take her home? She said, “Yes.” I ran to tell Uncle Ray that we had a way home. I hesitated a moment as I looked at this, “Tommy.” He was very handsome, all the girls were looking at him. He was also a man not a boy and he would be going home with us. I wondered if he would act like an animal like the boys did. I didn’t have much choice, it was, go with him or go with Uncle Ray and walk home alone in the rain.

We went out to Frank’s car, which was a big four door. Dora got in the front seat with Frank. Tommy opened the back door, the back seat was piled high with musical instruments, he put one on top of the other and we squeezed in beside them. As we drove Tommy he explained he was twenty seven and a country and western singer from Wyoming, he had hopes of getting on the Wheeling, West Virginia Jamboree, and then to Nashville and the Grand Ole Opry. His mother was a cousin to Frank’s mother, so he was visiting. I shivered from the dampness, Tommy put his arm around my shoulders, but that’ s all he did, he treated me like a lady, he didn’t paw at me the way boys did.

When we got home, we invited Frank and Tommy in the house. Because of the storm, Mother and Father were still up. Father knew the Uphold family, but he had never met Frank, he was delighted at meeting him and his friend. When father heard Tommy was a singer and then he and Frank played music, he was overwhelmed, he couldn’t wait till they got their musical instrument out of the car. It was three o’clock in morning before Father and the rest of us quit singing and playing music. Father asked Frank and Tommy to come back Saturday night. He told them to invite some friends and have a party. The next day Mother was on the phone calling everyone on the line and inviting them to the party. Father went to Brandonville and Bruceton Mills and invited everyone he saw. He was excited all week long, and talked of nothing else.

Saturday night people started coming as soon as it was dark. I never saw so many people at our house, people kept coming. Father told someone to CUT THE FENCE, so they could park their cars in the field behind the house. They not only cut the fence they cut a chain and pulled the fence post out. Father had told everyone there would be country western music at the party, when it didn’t come we started dancing to Father’s music. Father had introduced me to some guy and asked him if he would dance with me. All I remember about him was he was real tall. I had to look up at him. He was a good dancer, but couldn’t compare to Boots Early.

It was nine o’clock when Frank Uphold and Tommy came with their music. Three hours later everyone stopped dancing to rest. I went outside to get fresh air. I was walking down the road toward the road when I heard someone behind me, I turned around and bumped into Tommy. He hugged me and gave me a kiss on the cheek and he said, “ I wanna talk to you! You have a good voice, with a little training you could be great. How about I come back Saturday night? We will practice, and I will teach you how to play the guitar, we will team up and go to Wheeling.” I was young and gullible, I believed every word he said. We went back to the house, Father was furious. He said, “ Where have you been? People are wanting to dance and you sneak off with the music man.” Father wasn’t concerned about me at all, all he wanted was Tommy to play music so everyone could dance! The dance was over at two o’clock, I was exhausted. I had hauled corn all day and danced all night. Father went over to Tommy and said, “ My daughter’s only twelve years old, but she sure can dance, if she would move like that working, I wouldn’t have to do anything.” Tommy looked at me and said, “ You’re only twelve?” I nodded Yes. He said, “ Sorry kid!” and picked up his guitar and left. Father had embarrassed me again. I had worked all day long, done everything that was expected of me, without being told. 

Sarah Farquer 1858-1942, Frederick Dayton “Twin” Farquer 1890-1970, Caroline “Callie” Farquer 1884-1968, Ray W. Farquer 1886-1962, Hugh “Max” Maxwell Farquer 1891-1965 Dayton Farquer 1857-1932, Nina Farquer 1900-1906, Lucy Farquer 1898-1980, Arthur Frank Uphold 1919-1999, Homer “Tommy” Harvey 1911-1979, Harry Kelly 1899-1974, Paul “Paul Mitchell” Richard Micheal 1917-1979, Hazel Virginia Sisler 1918-1990, William Clair “Boots” Early 1905-1963, Clara Bell “Carie” Maust Guthrie 1889-1965, James Guthrie 1879-1965, Uncle Ray Guthrie 1895-1976, Dora Guthrie McNair 1916-1982.

Nila Grace Niner my best friend lived across the road from the church. I haven’t seen her since we had stopped going to school together. Nila belonged to my church but she seldom went because everyone said her mother was a witch. Nila’s mother and father didn’t live together, and often Mrs. Niner would have a man living there with her. I was never told not to go to Mrs Niner’s, but I knew Mother didn’t like it when I did.

I usually went to visit the Seese family that lived down the road from the church. Charlie Seese was married to my sister Ruth so they were almost like family. Nila was standing on the porch as I walked across the road, I waved to her, she motioned to me to come talk. I knew aunt Stella and aunt Suzie were watching, so I stopped to talk. Nila was happy to see me and invited me to sit on the porch. We talked all afternoon. Mrs Niner made us a tray of egg sandwiches and some hot cocoa. Nila had a pet coon that was very playful, we were busy eating and talking and not paying any attention to the coon when all of a sudden he jumped on my lap spilling my cocoa all over my dress. I took my dress off and Mrs Niner washed the cocoa out but the stain was still there. When it came time to go to church Mrs Niner gave me one of Nila’s dresses to wear. The dress was red and since I was taller than Nila the dress was shorter than I usually wore. Nila was going to go church with me that night. After Mrs Niner curled Nila’s hair she curled mine. Nila was allowed to wear lipstick so I put some on too. 

The usual crowd was at church that night except one, my Father. He very seldom went to church on Sunday night unless it was a special occasion. It didn’t take long for me to find out why Father was at church that night. As soon as the first hymn was sung, Father got up and went up front. I listened as he spoke. “Children, Ladies and Gentlemen, tonight our subject is going to be how our church was created in the wilderness of this country, and the Indians that were here. My daughter is going to come up front and demonstrate how the Indians looked. Ada will you come up here?”  As I made my way up front I had no idea of what he was talking about. As I turned around to face everybody, my Father took a hold of my arm as he said, “The red dress simulates the Indians red skin, the paint on the face signifies the Indian is preparing for war. On the other hand the Indian woman didn’t paint their face because they didn’t do battle. I will now have Ada read a passage from Jerimiah chapter four, verse thirty.” I took the Bible he handed me and started to read, “And when thou art spoiled, what wilt thou do? Though thou clothest thyself with crimson, though thou deckest thee with ornaments of gold, though thou rentest thy face with painting, in vein shalt thou make thyself fair, thy loves will despise thee, they will seek thy life.” I stopped reading and looked at my Father. I knew what he was doing, because I had painted my face, he was embarrassing me in front of everyone. Without a word I handed him the Bible, and with my head bowed, I ran back to my seat. I had never been so humiliated in my life. Nila began to cry, she got up and went home, for she knew what he had done and felt responsible for it. On the way home I didn’t say one word. Father chattered as if nothing happened.

The next day mother washed and ironed the “RED .. DRESS.” After folding it up she handed it to me saying, “Take it back and tell that woman we don’t accept charity.” As I stood looking at my Mother, I knew Aunt Suzie or Aunt Stella, or maybe both had called my Father and told him that I went to Mrs Niner’s after church. And that’s why he was at church that evening. I had to tell my Mother the truth, because I didn’t know what else Aunt Suzie or Aunt Stella had told him. I went and got my dress, holding it up so Mother could see it, I said, “Mrs Niner didn’t give me the red dress, she only loaned it to me cause I spilled cocoa on my dress!” Mother said, “Did she loan you the paint also?” I ran from the house crying. I couldn’t understand what I had done wrong. Other girls wore red dresses and lipstick. I went to the shed and got the axe. Then I went back up the hill and cutting the brush from the fence, fiercely I swung that axe. I was so mad and hurt I couldn’t stop crying. If Dora was here, I could talk to her, she would understand. But she wasn’t here. I worked along the fence until I heard mother blow the Conch shell, signaling everyone that lunch was ready. I wasn’t hungry, but I went to eat, because I knew I was already to skinny.

Mother cooked three meals everyday. Breakfast was at six A.M, lunch at twelve, and supper at six P.M. If we weren’t there at meal time, we had to wait till the next. There was no snacking in between meals. My brother’s sister-in-law Hazel Sisler came to visit. She was three years older than I, and kinda plump. We had heard about the revival going on at the Church of God at Markleysburg Pa, twenty miles away. A neighbor of ours went every night, he was always encouraging everyone to go along. Hazel and I decided we would go to this church with him and his family. Mother said it was alright.

I filled the carbide light with carbide and put it in my pocket. A carbide light is a small can type light. It’s about four inches long and two inches in diameter, it’s in two parts, the bottom part for carbide, the top part for water. On the side it had a valve and a reflector. On the reflector was a flint. On the top was a lever for turning the water off and on. Lighting the light was very easy, I would turn the lever up three notches to let the right amount of water down into the carbide, I would count to ten, then spin the flint, and I had a bright light. This light was very handy for walking at night. The flames on the light for walking was on the third notch on the lever, but it could be turned up to shoot out about one foot. I was never afraid to walk at night, I knew wild animals were afraid of fire, if I would have encountered one all I would have to do is turn the lever on the light up, and I had a torch.

Getting back to Hazel and I going to church. Mother said she would do the milking so we could have an early start. It was a four mile walk, but the weather was warm and we were used to walking, our neighbor and his family were happy to have Hazel and I go to church with them. He had a brand new Chrysler with velvet seats, riding in that car I felt like a princess, riding in a golden coach. The church was crowded but our neighbor found Hazel and I seats, then he and his family went up front to what looked like reserved seats. The church music constituted a pipe organ, a piano, three violins, two guitars, a banjo, an accordion, and tambourines. They started the services with a hymn, the music was played real fast and everyone clapped their hands and stomped their feet. The second hymn, people were shouting and dancing in the aisle. The preacher started to preach, he screamed and pounded his fist on the pulpit. After an hour of this preaching the music started playing and the preacher said “ If you wish to be saved tonight, come kneel at the altar.” Over half the church got up and tried to get to the altar. They were climbing over each other, some were screaming others were crying. One was on the floor by the window he was crying and pounding the floor. Someone pulled on a woman’s skirt and it came off, she tried to get it back on, the preacher said, “let it off sister and let the Lord shine in.” The music started playing real fast and loud everyone got up and joined hands then circling the church they danced up one aisle and down the next, around and around they went. Singing as loud as they could. When the song ended everyone but Hazel and I dropped to their knees and prayed, then the service was over. I couldn’t wait to get out of that church and breathe some fresh air. Our neighbor acted just like everyone else, he came out of the church singing and sang the whole way home.

The neighbor thought Hazel and I would stay all night, but I assured him we would be alright walking home. The moon was shining that night, but going down the path through the woods it was dark. I took the carbide light out of my pocket and tried to light it, but it wouldn’t light. I kept trying it, but it wouldn’t light, then I had remembered I had forgotten to fill it with water. We had a long way to go and no place to get water. The path was hard to follow with no light. We heard the brush cracking, I didn’t know what it was, I knew a squirrel could make a lot of noise, but this didn’t sound like a squirrel. Quickly I opened the water lid on the carbide light, and then took off my pants, then squatting down, I urinated into the carbide light, quickly I snapped the lid shut and spun the flint. The flame shot way out burning my finger, I dropped the light in dry leaves catching them on fire. I stomped the fire out and picked the light up and turned the lever back to the third notch. With the light we were soon home. We had had enough excitement, but it didn’t last long.  

Hazel Virginia Sisler 1918-1990, Nila Grace Niner 1922-2010, Nora Ethel Thomas Niner 1889-1976, George W. Niner 1885-1963, Stella Guthrie Moyers 1889-1960, Suzan “Suzie” Guthrie Faulkner 1880-1961, Charlie Seese 1905-1988, Ruth Guthrie Seese 1912-2007, Clara Bell “Carie” Maust Guthrie 1889-1965, James Guthrie 1879-1965

We didn’t have enough coal to heat the house for winter, a neighbor had opened a vein of coal on his farm, he told father he could have some coal if he would help with the digging. Father took Dora and I along the day he went to the mine. Father went in about one hundred and fifty feet to the coal, there as father dug the coal, Dora and I shoveled it into a cart. When the cart was full we pushed the cart outside. Then we shoveled the coal into the wagon, we did this until the wagon got full, then we took it home and shoveled the coal into the coalhouse. Then we went back to the mine for more. We spent two weeks shoveling coal, before we had had enough.

I hadn’t been to school those two weeks, so when I went back I got a big surprise. The state of West Virginia had done away with all the old school books and issued new ones, but we still had to buy them. I went to the store to see the new books, the cheapest one was the reader, it was a dollar fifty. I couldn’t believe the price of some, the history book was eight dollars, the geography was nine dollars. I knew I would never get any books, school was as good as over for me. The teacher told me I could borrow hers, but she needed them, it didn’t work out, I ended up with no books at all. Mother and father didn’t seem to care that I didn’t have any books, that were only going to be used for two years anyway. I still went to school, but only cause I had to. The teacher tried to help, but finally she gave up, I began tapering off going to school.

Mother and father found more work for me to do. Dora and I now were doing about all the work. Father kept the fire going, he sat beside the fire and read his books, while mother made quilts. We cleaned the barn and took care of the livestock, we mended fences.

Hunting season came and Dora set the rabbit traps, the store was paying twenty five cents per rabbit. She was catching one and two rabbits a day, she needed more traps, so she had me crawl up the loft in the barn, where father had some seasoned lumber stored, I picked up the right size boards and dropped them down to her. We knew that if father had caught us taking the lumber we would be in trouble, so we took it in the back of the cow pasture, far enough away that he wouldn’t hear us hammering. By the time we were finished, we had over a hundred traps. Dora and I got up early and checked the traps, I would go one way, she would go the other, we didn’t need a map, we remembered where every trap was. The fox traps were two feet long eight inches square like a box, like this:

We made the trigger out of sticks, notched the right place, it resembled the figure four. If the lid was down, we knew something was in the trap. I would then stand the box on end, keeping my arm around the box, I would push the lid open just enough to peek in, it was NOT always a rabbit in the box, so I had to be careful. We often caught squirrels, possum, skunk, birds, we even caught a few coons, altho a coon would gnaw his way out. If it was a rabbit, I would reach in and get him by the back legs, pull him out, then holding him up I would hit him on the neck right back of the ears with the side of my hand; thus breaking his neck, it was done so quick he didn’t know what happened. Then I would take a pen knife and split it’s belly open and remove it’s internals. We done real good that winter, but I think it was because we had, had a big frost in May killing all the fruit blossoms. There was no apples, which was a rabbits favorite food. We had to buy apples which we used to bait the box traps. We were only allowed to trap rabbits during hunting season, one month in November, but we managed to make enough money to buy a new coat. There wasn’t enough money to buy a regular coat so we bought rain coats, both alike they were blue with flannel lining. They weren’t warm. We had to wear a sweater underneath, it had a wide belt which I tightened tighter than was necessary to keep warmer. We had hats that Mother had made from an old sweater and lined with flannel. They were so ugly, we would wear it till we got to where we were going then we would take it off.

December came and so did deer hunting season, for two week, four guys from Clarksburg, W.Va came to Preston County to hunt deer, they stopped at our house to inquire about a place to board. Since Ethel was working and staying with Ruth, and Glenn was married and had his own place, Father told them they could stay with us. Mother had Dora and I move the spare bed into our room for the guys to sleep on. She had an extra tick so Dora and I took it to the barn and filled it with clean straw, then we put it upstairs where the spare bed had been.

That is where Dora and I slept during the time the hunters stayed with us, one of the hunters was a musician, each night he would teach Dora about music. Grandpap Maust had died the past summer, and he had left his violin to Dora, I didn’t like the hunters staying at our house, it made a lot of extra work. It was always my job to keep the coal bucket, the wood box and the water buckets filled, with the hunters there, I was never able to keep the water buckets filled, there was more dishes to wash, the floor had to be scrubbed everyday, one guy had to have a bucket of hot water taken up to his room every night and morning. I was glad when the two weeks were up and the hunter went home, I was happy for Mother, she had made some much needed money.

I hoped she would buy me some decent boots, the ones I had were four buckle men’s boots and were three sizes too big. I was all excited the day Mother and Father hitched the horse to the buggy, to go to Kingwood, twenty miles away to do some shopping. Dora and I did the extra work before going, I went to school, so they could get an early start. It was dark when Mother and Father got home, Dora and I ran out of the house and helped unload the buggy then we took the horse and buggy to the barn. Dock the horse was glad to be home, we rubbed him down and gave him extra oats, then we hurried back to the house to see what Mother and Father had bought. Father met me at the door, he was all excited he got hold of my arm, and said, “ come see what we bought for you, we got you a new pair shoes instead of boots these shoes are waterproof you won’t need any boots with them;” when I saw the shoes I nearly passed out, I kept swallowing so I wouldn’t scream, I was so choked up, the only thing I could do was cry as I stood there and looked at the shoes. Mother and Father thought I was overcome with joy. I was sick on my stomach, as I sat down on a chair to try the shoes on, I couldn’t believe Mother and Father could do this to me. “The shoes,” were men’s high top shoes, they were four sizes to big for me, when I put them on they came above the knee, the shoe strings were two yards long, my legs were so skinny, that when I had the shoes strung up I still had eighteen inches of string, I couldn’t cut the string because it had a metal tip on the end, without that metal tip I would never get the string through the eye, which went clear to the top of the shoe. One shoe had a pocket on its side with a four inch pocket knife inside. Father took the knife saying, “you don’t need the knife you can put your pencils in the pocket,” I really cried then, because I only had one pencil and it was only two inches long.

The only time I got a pencil was when I bought it myself. It was always the kind, one for a penny, with hard lead and no eraser. The only way I was able to buy anything was by going from one store to the other to save tax money. I often went to the store for Mother, on horseback, West Virginia had a three cent sale tax on everything. Twenty five cents to fifty cents was one cent tax, from fifty to one dollar two cent tax, over a dollar three cents. So by going from one store to the other and buying one thing at a time, I saved the tax money.

Well getting back to the shoes, I got up the next morning and put the SHOES on, it took me twenty minutes to string them up. I skipped breakfast, and grabbed the milk bucket and ran clumsily to the barn. Dora had milked one cow and started on the next, when she saw me she burst out laughing. I knew the kids at school would laugh also. I took the milk to the house, then cleaned the cow manure off the shoes. I picked up my lunch, sneaked my old shoes under my coat and ran out the door. I was already late for school so a little more wouldn’t hurt, so I sat down on the ground and took the shoes off, then I hid them in some tall grass. Quickly I put my old shoes on and ran down the road, skipping and jumping over mud puddles. I felt so free and light without that heavy weight on my feet. I never did wear those shoes to school, I would wear them to the barn only. We always had to take our shoes off before going into the house, to keep Mother’s kitchen floor clean, so she never noticed that I didn’t wear the shoes to school. 

We had an eighty year old neighbor Mrs. [Sarah] Farquer who had a son named Max [Maxwell]. Max was fifty plus, very tall, gray hair, green eyes, he never got married, he never went anywhere, just stayed home on the farm and did the farming. I liked Max and his Mother, and would visit them often. Max did a lot of reading, he would sit and tell me stories of kings and queens and far off places. They always got a lot of magazines. When they were through with them they would give them to me, sometimes I would have more than I could carry. 

One day I told Max about the shoes, he didn’t laugh, like everyone else. He just looked at me a long time, then he said, “Why? Why did they buy such shoes for a young girl?’ He didn’t say, for a “little” girl, I liked him better for not referring to me as a little girl. I was eleven years old, five feet seven inches tall, I didn’t look like a kid, and I never got a chance to play like one. I didn’t like it when someone called me a little girl. Max lit his pipe. He looked at me and smiled, then turning to his Mother he said, “Mother the lady needs some shoes, think she might find some in the granary?” She turned to me smiling as she said, “My daughter’s old shoes are up in the loft in the granary, go look, you can have what you want.” I thanked them, said Goodbye and ran for their granary. I opened the door and climbed the ladder to the loft, there was a window on each end so the loft was well lighted. What I saw made my eyes bug out, there were more shoes there than a shoe store had. All the shoes had heels of two inches or more, I started trying the shoes on, some were too little, but I found some that fit, except they were tight. I found a pair that had a tee strap and three inch heels, with a thinner stocking they would fit great, I thought I had died and went to heaven, I found another pair, they were pumps with four inch heels. I was so excited until I stopped to think, I knew Mother would NOT allow me to wear the shoes with heels like that. Finally I decided what to do, I took six pair shoes, the ones with the straps and pumps, I hid, just as I knew. When I showed Mother the four pair of shoes she said I couldn’t wear them, they were too old for me, when I said , “I would cut the heels off,” she said I could wear them. I took the shoes to Father’s workshop, with Dora’s help, we cut the heels off and bent the steel arch straight. Dora had a short wide foot, so none of the shoes fit her. I wore those shoes with pride, and felt sorry for Dora that she didn’t, so we went back to the granary several times, but Dora never found any to fit her. 

Ethel came home that spring, she had a guy, George Ritchey, with her, she announced they had just got married. Father liked George and wanted to have a party for them, but George said, “NO”. Father went to the barn to pout, Ethel and George left. 

Spring came early, I had to stay home from school and help Dora haul the manure out and scatter it over the fields. Some people came to see Father about building a barn, he was spending all his time making the blue paint and figuring how much lumber would be needed. Everyone was working hard. Glenn got a job with Summit Lumber Company and moved to Fox Hollow, Pa. Dora got a job working for Dewey Livengood, he lived on a farm, his wife was having a baby. Mother and I were doing the milking, we were bucket feeding a heifer calf that she wanted to keep. Our next door neighbor broke his arm so I was milking his two cows. He ask me if I would plant his potatoes. So I stayed home from school and planted his potatoes, he gave me a rooster. Mother didn’t want my rooster around her hens, so when I came home from church on Sunday my rooster was in a pot cooking. I had hoped to sell the rooster, as it was, we had company for Sunday dinner and all I got was the feet. I was lonesome without Dora, one Saturday, Mother let me go visit Dora, it was to be the last night of school at Cherry Grove. The kids where Dora worked went to that school. Dora was just as happy to see me as I was her, she talked and talked, and when it was time to get ready to go to school, she curled my hair with a curling iron. I had brung the black pump shoes, Dora had ordered her a pair of high heel shoes out of a catalog. We looked like twins, with our high heel shoes and blue raincoats. We walked a short distance to the school house. The school was crowded, there weren’t enough seats for everyone. Dora and I made our way over to the window, after a while a boy got up and gave us a seat, Dora sat on the seat. I sat on the desk, the boy and some other boys and girls stood behind us, and every once in a while someone would pull my hair, and when I turned around they would laugh, after a while I got angry and went to the other side of the room, where some guy kept staring at me, I asked him, “Do you see something green?” he laughed and said, “Not anymore I don’t.” I didn’t know what he meant so I said, “Well don’t let it bother you.” I was sorry I had been so contemptuous, but I didn’t like people looking at me, on the way home, I told Dora what he said, she said, “you have grown up, they are acting like young rams.” I didn’t like it, I knew all about animals, and I couldn’t understand why people would want to act like them. 

The following Sunday, when church was over, I told Uncle Ray I wouldn’t be going home until after evening services, that I was going to visit friends. Mother had said she would do the evening milking, I was free for the evening.

Dewey Floyd Livengood 1898-1985, Uncle Ray Guthrie 1895-1976, Sarah Farquer, Maxwell Farquer, Ethel Guthrie Ritchey 1914-2008, Ruth Guthrie Seese 1912-2007, Clara Bell “Carie” Maust Guthrie 1889-1965, James Guthrie 1879-1965, Glenn Ralph Guthrie 1910-1986,  Dora Guthrie McNair 1916-1982, George Ritchey 1911-1970, Grandpap William Freeman Maust 1864-1929.

Well school was over for another year, I was in the sixth grade and ten years old. I was five feet six inches tall and weighed ninety pounds. Now that Dora was through school, she was allowed to have boyfriends. Revival services began at the churches in the community. Dora and I went every night even tho it wasn’t our church, this one night we were at the Methodist Church at Brandonville.

Our neighbor, Albert Harshbarger, was there also. After the services were over, he asked Dora if he could take her home? She said, “yes,” so we got in his car, and instead of going straight home, he wanted to go to Bruceton Mills, two miles in the opposite direction. We didn’t care so off we went.

Albert had went to a store in Bruceton Mills, and then we started for home, we crossed the bridge, turned left, and started up the hill towards home. We had gone but a little way, when the car started “missing,” Albert said the car needed some water, so he put the car in reverse and started backing up. I felt the car beginning to tip over, that’s all I remember. When I came to, I was laying on the ground beside Dora, I could hear people yelling. Dora moved first, then someone helped her get up, I rolled over and began sliding, someone grabbed my arm and pulled me back up, by this time I realized where I was, and what had happened.

Albert had backed the car over the embankment, it had rolled over at least three times, before coming to rest against a sapling about two inches in diameter. If it hadn’t been for that little tree, the car would have went into the river dam.

Albert was still in the car, but they were helping him out, he seemed to be alright except that his right arm was all bloody. Someone took us home. We were alright, mother and father were in bed, so we didn’t tell them what happened. Early the next morning, Albert’s mother [Minnie Thomas Harshbarger] called; Albert wanted to know if we were alright? He was alright except a cut on his arm. 

We forgot all about the car accident a couple days later, because mother fell and broke her leg. Ethel was working away from home, I had to go get her. Well, I’ve already told you about that, and what a mess that was. Three weeks later, Albert came over to visit, he went into see mother, who was still in bed with broken leg. Mother asked Albert how his arm was? He said, “it’s real sore, it pains me.” Mother asked if she could see it? That maybe she had something for on it. Dora helped take the bandage off, when I saw his arm, I was shocked, I had never saw anything like it. It was all red and yellow with puss, swelled up to almost twice the size. The cut was right above the elbow, the redness ran upto his shoulder. Mother took one look and told Albert to “go to doctor,” he said he would. As it turned out, Albert didn’t go to the doctor until a week later, his arm got to paining him so bad, he had to go. The doctor sent Albert to the hospital, he had blood poisoning, and in order to save his life, they had to cut his arm off. We all took it hard when we heard the news, especially Glenn, he broke down and cried and cried. He and Albert had played ball and went swimming, and did all the things boys like to do. Two months later, Albert was home, and learning to write, and learning to do things with his left hand, he was in good spirits, but we knew he was hurting inside. When I think back. What a waste. When some moldy bread would have saved Albert’s arm. 

September came, mother was getting around enough that we didn’t need Ethel, so she went to live with Ruth, where she got a job.

I started school at Brandonville, I was supposed to be in sixth grade, but they didn’t have anyone in sixth, so the teacher put me in seventh. Seventh grade was hard, the teacher assigned a boy to tutor me, after that I did good except arithmetic. I felt guilty about the boy helping me, so I gave the boy popcorn and nuts. I hated going to Brandonville school, I didn’t know anyone, and I had to walk, because there was no barn to put my horse in. Going to the barn to milk and sometimes having to go for water, often times made me late for school. Riding horseback to Guthrie school was fun, but walking was a bore. 

Glenn had gotten married that summer, he and his wife grace were living in one end of the granary. I was eleven years old in September [1932], and had grown another inch. Ethel had bought me a toothbrush, now I brushed my teeth everyday with soda. I had pretty teeth, straight even, I took pride in my teeth, but they were soft, if I ate something cold I got a toothache.

There had been three or four square dances that summer, and about as many reunions that father, Dora, and I went to everything that was going on. Mother went sometimes, but with a broken leg, she mostly stayed home. We didn’t have enough hay, for the livestock for the winter, so father went to see a farmer, that owed him money for building him a barn, the farmer didn’t have any money but lot’s of hay. We borrowed uncle Ray’s hay wagon and hauled three loads of hay. We slept one night in the farmers barn, because a storm came up and poured the rain down. The farmer gave us a blanket and we slept in the hay. It was great laying in the hay listening to rain on the roof, every now and then a cow would moo, or a horse would snort, it was so cozy, it didn’t take us long to go to sleep. The next morning the rain had stopped. The farmer gave us breakfast and while we were eating, they got to talking about the good old days. We learned the farmer and his wife liked to square dance, and they expressed their desire to have their three children learn the art. When we left, the farmer and his wife were having a square dance in two weeks and father would play the music. Father loved parties, that’s all he talked about for the next two weeks, he invited everyone he met. 

The night of the square dance finally came, it was raining, father asked Andy Seese, Charlie’s brother, if he would take us. Andy was sweet on Dora so he was delighted. As usual when we got to the dance, everyone was waiting for father and his music. The dancing was in the farmers living room, which was larger than the average, thus, giving father enough room for two sets of dancing. I had never danced, as I was too young, so I sat on the sideline and watched. I watched every move that was made, I wanted to be a good dancer. The place was crowded, I think everyone father invited was there, and had brung along their friends. Dorothy and Glenna Moyers, were there with their boyfriends, they had fun dancing and came out into the kitchen for a drink of water. I knew Dorothy’s boyfriend, Park Lancaster, I had seen him before. I had never seen Glenna’s boyfriend, he was a head taller than Dorothy’s boyfriend, had wider shoulders, he had black hair, blue eyes, and when he laughed he showed a mouth full of white teeth, he sat down on a chair in the kitchen, and Glenna sat on his lap, she pulled her dress up and hooked her legs around his. He kept running his hand up and down her arm. Soon they were back dancing, and I forgot all about them. It was getting late and people were beginning to leave, but others wanted to keep on dancing, father didn’t have enough couples for two sets (which required four couples each) he motioned for me to come, I didn’t know what he wanted. Father was talking to Boots Earley, a guy we all knew, Boots lived at Hopwood, PA. Often he came to West Virginia to visit his sister Iva Shaffer, a neighbor of ours.

Boots and his brother Bun, were famous for their music throughout, they had twin brothers that sang on the radio at Greensburg, PA. Boots was tall, long legs brown curly hair, brown eyes, and twenty five years old. As I approached father, Boots took my hand and said, “Your father says we are the needed couple.” I was shocked beyond belief, I WAS GOING TO DANCE WITH BOOTS EARLY. I thought I was dreaming. We were out on the dance floor, and I couldn’t believe how easy dancing was. When the dance was over, Boots swung me out on the floor again and father played “pretty red wing,” around and around we went, doing the two step, I had only seen it done a couple times. When we stopped dancing everyone clapped their hands. We danced some more that night, but I don’t remember what else. 

As I look back, everything changed from then on, father went around telling everyone about the dance, and my dancing for the first time. He said I didn’t move like that when it came to work.  

Albert Harshbarger 1909-1973, Minnie May Thomas Harshbarger 1887-1965, Andrew Jackson Seese 1909-1997, Dorothy Irene Moyers Lancaster 1919-1997, Park Wilbur Lancaster 1910-1982, Glenna Kathryn Moyers Forman 1916-2002, Vernon S. Bunn Early 1901-1953, William Clair Boots Early 1905-1963, Iva Early Schaffer 1898-1978, Dora Guthrie McNair 1916-1982, Ray Guthrie 1895-1976, Ethel Guthrie Ritchey 1914-2008, Ruth Gutrhrie Seese 1912-2007, Clara Bell “Carie” Maust Guthrie 1889-1965, James Guthrie 1879-1965, Glenn Ralph Guthrie 1910-1986, Grace Pearl Sisler Guthrie 1912-1990.

He was bigger than the usual riding horse, he came up to us and we petted him, Dora looked at his teeth and saw that he was about six years old. He sure was beautiful, I wished I had a horse like him to ride to school. Mother had taught us not to want for things, as we didn’t have any money, so as Dora and I petted the beautiful horse we wished him good luck with his new owner whoever that was to be.

The auction sale started and everyone bunched around the auctioneer, trying to see what was being sold. I was about nine years old then, and not tall enough to see anything, so I went into the house; there was an old lady that limped when she walked in the kitchen, she had her arms full of books, as she put them down, she ask me if I would help her carry some things from the upstairs. I made quite a few trips up and down the stairs, happy I was doing something instead of just standing around like everyone else. When we had finished carrying the things down the stairs, the old lady saw me admiring a pair of old scissors that were in a box of silverware, she picked them up and said “ you can have these if you want.” She must have read my mind, because she said you can have these old catalogs too. I couldn’t believe she had given me the scissors, I was always cutting paper dolls from catalogs and the scissors I had were kids’ scissors with one broken handle. I was excited and thanked her several times for the scissors and catalogs. Then I ran outside to find Dora and show her what the lady had given me. Mother didn’t believe the lady had given me the scissors, so she went inside the house and asked her, the lady told Mother about me, helping her to carrying things from upstairs and giving me the scissors. Mother was pleased that I had helped the lady, but the edge was to be taken off my happiness, because Mother didn’t believe me when I told her the lady had given me the scissors. 

It was late in the afternoon, I was sitting on an old bucket that I had turned upside down and placed next to the coal house, where I would be protected from the wind. Dora came to me, she was shivering and she pulled her thin coat tighter around her shoulders, I said “ the sale will soon will be over, then we can go home and get warm,” Dora said “let’s go watch them sell the horse, to see who gets him.” We didn’t have long to wait, as they led him out he was frightened , he sensed something was happening to him. He had on a western saddle with a brass horn and brass rings and saddlebags, he held his head high, and as he pranced around his long silver tail glittered in the sun.

The bidding was slow, this was a riding horse, this was farming country, a riding horse was no good for pulling a plow, the farmers wanted horse like the Belgium team that had previously been sold. The first bid was twenty dollars, then the bid started upward, I heard someone holler “$40”, I recognized that voice, it was Father’s, I was stunned, I couldn’t move, Dora grabbed my hand and squeezed it, I heard “SOLD forty five dollars.” I closed my eyes and held my breath, Father’s last bid had been forty five. Dora pulled me along through the crowd until we stood in front of the white horse. Father was holding the reins, when he saw us, he said “You better not be late for school again,” some guy picked Dora up and sat her in the saddle. I couldn’t believe it, a pair of scissors, two catalogs, and now a horse to ride to school. “What a Day.”

The next morning was Sunday, we didn’t have to go to school, and church was closed for the winter. Living on a farm you have to get up at six o’clock every morning, seven days a week, Dora and I were up and dressed, when Father hollered for us to get up we ran downstairs. Father was at the head of the table waiting for us, quickly we washed our faced and combed our hair. I slid into my seat and folded my hands into my lap and bowed my head. Father always said grace before each meal, but this morning I didn’t hear a word he said, in my mind I was already down at the barn with that white horse. As soon as we had finished eating, Dora grabbed the milk buckets and we ran to the barn. “DOCK” (that’s what Dora said the horses name was) whined when we opened the barn door, we gave him a dipper of oats. Father had already been to the barn and fed the animals, but DOCK was kinda skinny, we wanted to fatten him up, the other two horses, “Tops” was a dapple gray and mean, she would bite you every chance she got and was always kicking the stall down, and “Florie” the other horse was big, and brown, and old she moved slow and her eyesight wasn’t too good. Anyhow this morning Tops was mad, so to calm her down I gave her some oats also, but as usual she tried to bite me, we never rode Tops, it was always Florie that was put in the buggy, or that we rode to school.  Now that we had “DOCK” things would be different. After the milking was taken care of Dora put the saddle on DOCK, he was gentle, but done a lot of prancing around, so we had to watch our feet. Dora got in the saddle and I climbed on behind her. She pulled back on his reins, and he reared up in front! We hung on, then he took off, it was great! Like sitting in a rocking chair. We came to a gate, instead of him slowing down, he picked up speed and went straight over the top of the gate! I was used to climbing trees and swinging ropes so I hung on. Dora and I thought it was just great, but Mother didn’t. It didn’t take us long to learn DOCK’s ways, he had a mind of his own and he used it. He adjusted to the buggy right off and soon learned he was suppose to walk in the center of the road when hitched to the buggy, he got so that even at night he never ran the buggy off the road. We would just sit back and let him take us home. He had a habit of shoving, but he only  did it to Dora or I. Every time we turned our back on him, he would give us a shove with his head, he did that one time and made me step in some cow dung with my good shoes on. He had another habit, I found out. I went after the cows, he was in the pasture with them, he heard me calling and came running, I petted him and scratched his ears. All at once he put his head between my legs and then threw his head up before I realized it, I was on his back. When I told Dora what he done, she tried it, she discovered he only did it when she scratched his ears. We guessed someone had taught him that. We enjoyed riding DOCK to school, he liked to run, and if we wouldn’t let him, he would turn around and walk backward. DOCK loved Dora and I, and followed us everywhere he could, but his luck ran out and we couldn’t do anything about it.

That winter Florie, the work horse died, and DOCK was made to replace her. He adjusted to double teaming with Tops, the other horse, but Tops didn’t like him, she was always trying to bite or kick him, they were hard to handle. The only way DOCK could get back at her, was to do the only thing he knew how to do best, RUN. Tops was a workhorse and couldn’t run fast, in fact she hated to run, and often refused to, so DOCK not only pulled the load but hers too. Since it was winter we still rode DOCK to school. Our teacher was Cora Spiker, she lived two farms houses from us, and rode a horse to school also. She went passed our house so we usually rode together, this one morning the teacher on her horse was ahead of Dora and I on DOCK, and as usual they were running; there was a bridge over the creek. The bridge was about thirty feet long and rotting, as DOCK crossed the bridge, one of the bad planks gave way and Docs leg went through the hole, he caught himself but not enough to stop him from going over the side railing and into the creek below. It all happened so fast. When I came to my senses, ( which couldn’t have been more than a minute) DOCK was laying in the water, which was about a foot deep. Dora was still on the saddle. I wasn’t in the water, I had been thrown on the bank of the creek. I quickly waded into the water. I don’t remember how, but by the time the teacher missed us, and sensed something had happened, and came back, I had pulled Dora up the bank to the road. She was unconscious.

The teacher said, “Go for help,” I took off running for home. As soon as I was in sight of the house I started yelling for help, Father and Glenn took off running, Mother got on the telephone and called Uncle Ray, then she too went running. I didn’t go back, I was afraid. I didn’t know if Dora was dead of not. I didn’t know if DOCK was hurt. As it turned out, Dora had just been knocked out, she and Doc were OK, but they called the Doctor to come check her out, just to make sure. I didn’t feel so good myself, but I didn’t say anything, they told me to get my books and go to school. I took my good old time, walking to school, and at recess time I didn’t go out and play. When it was time to go home the teacher let me ride behind her on her horse. Dora stayed home for several days, and I continued to ride with the teacher on her horse. Dora was excused from going to the barn to milk, and Mother went in her place. I had a big black and blue mark on my elbow, which I kept well hidden, It pained me when I was milking the cow, but I still didn’t say anything. After a few days Dora was back in school, and we were riding DOCK again. Uncle Ray had replaced the rotting planks, and it was no longer a threat to our safety. The winter finally passed and spring came, we now had to walk to school, DOCK was put to the plow, I could see he was in agony, Tops and him didn’t work well together, he did more than his share of work, Dora or I would give him extra oats, but he still wasn’t like he was, I think the fall from the bridge did something to him, he no longer jumped over a gate, he would wait for it to be opened, and he no longer would walk backward, because we wouldn’t let him run. He still run but it wasn’t the same, it was like his spirit was broken. 

That had been Dora’s last year of school. School was out the last of April [Wednesday, April 30, 1930], and the last night of school was always a big event. Everyone from miles around would gather around the schoolhouse, then games of all kinds were played, and they always had a cakewalk for couples only.

At the end of the event all the students would gather up front and sing, “Goodbye school mates we are going to leave you now.” This year when we sang I don’t think there was a dry eye in the house, as this was the last year for this Guthrie School, After 150 years, they were closing the school for good, all the students would be bussed to Bruceton Mills school. I would have to walk to Brandonville, two miles away, then catch the bus. Father didn’t like this so he made arrangements for me to attend Brandonville school, I still had to walk two miles but I didn’t have to ride the bus.

Editors’ Plea:

If anyone out there, has a picture, or knows anything at all about Guthrie Schoolhouse, if you have ever seen a newspaper article referencing The Guthrie one-room schoolhouse, in between Bruceton Mills and Brandonville in Preston County, West Virginia. Please share with the world, by posting to this forum or sending to the email address below. In researching this subject, we have found it nearly impossible to locate any references to the school, firsthand accounts, etc. No information is online at all, and nothing scanned in databases referencing. If you are in possession of a book, or have access to local library materials in the Preston County area, please consider sharing any knowledge you may have. This one-room schoolhouse would have been located at what is now 932 Shady Grove Road, Bruceton Mills, West Virginia. If you have access to Google earth and are able to view historic satellite views of this location from 1910, 1920, or 1930 we would be ever grateful if you would post to this comment section, or email them to pettingilldrew@gmail.com. This one room schoolhouse was in existence and operation for one hundred and fifty (150) years from 1780 to Wednesday, April 30, 1930. If there is anyone who would have first hand accounts of this, we imagine they would need to be at least 95 years young, if you know of anyone who is from Preston County, West Virginia in the year 2020, that is 95 years or older, they would have more knowledge potentially.

Cora Spiker 1908-1953, Clara Bell “Carie” Maust Guthrie 1889-1965, James Guthrie 1879-1965 , Dora Guthrie McNair 1916-1982, Ray Guthrie 1895-1976.

I was hiding in the barn, when I heard a car driving into the yard, I looked out the barn window and saw three women, two men, and four kids get out of the car, they were relatives of fathers from Fairchance, PA they had two big dogs with them, as soon as the dogs were out of the car they took after the chickens, they caught and killed it, the kids which were two boys and two girls, laughed at the dogs. Mother and Father came out in the yard to greet their relatives, I couldn’t hear what was being said; but they didn’t tie the dogs up. I stayed in the barn until Dora came hollering for me, she wanted me to go with her after the cows, which were in the pasture field, we opened the gate and herded the cows down the road just as they reached a bend in the road, there were our relatives big dogs snarling and growling at the cows, the two boys stood laughing, the cows were frightened and didn’t know what to do. ( As it was milking time, the cows sacks were full of milk and running a cow at this time would bruise the sack) Dora yelled at the boys to call the dogs back to get them away from the cows, but the boys only laughed and said in a loud voice, “SEEK EM,” the dogs went for the cows, biting their heels, the cows took off through the wood, the dogs after them, Dora and I ran to head them off; Dora couldn’t run as fast as I could. As I came along side of the dogs, I picked up a dead tree limb and with all my might I brought the limb down across the dogs back, he let out a yelp and turned toward me as I brought the limb down again on his back, the other dog sensing this was no game, turned toward me, as Dora hit him with a club, he too let out a yelp and ran toward the boys. I picked up a rock and threw it at the boys, the second one hit its target, the boys ran crying saying “I’m going to tell my mother on you,” Dora rounded up the cows, and headed them down the road, they were still frightened and weary from running, one cow had a big scratch on her sack and it was bleeding, the rest had no sign of injury. I went ahead to the barn and got ready for milking, putting an extra dipper of grain in each cow’s feed box. Dora and I took a long time milking the cows, delaying going to the house. Finally we carried the milk pails to the house and sat them on the table.

I looked at mother, she winked at me and I knew the boys had told their story. The men folks were talking of hunting and bragging about what great hunters the dogs were, the woman folk were not saying things which was unusual for them, the boys were standing by a cake, that mother had just iced and when no one was looking they would stick a finger in the icing, I looked at one, and he stucked his tongue out at me, as if daring me to tell on him, but I’m sure mother knew what he was doing and didn’t say anything. 

The men and boys slept in the barn that night, and the girls and Dora and I slept on the floor. During the night I got real hot and I had a hard time breathing, Dora took me to the outhouse and then got me a drink of water and washed my face with cold water, but I was still hot. I couldn’t sleep, but I layed still and tried not to awaken anyone. Morning came and I was burning up with fever, mother put me in her bed and told me to stay there, she explained that the vaccination would make me sick for a little while. When Dora came to see how I was, I asked her about the vaccination, she explained smallpox, the dreaded disease that killed a lot of people, because they were not vaccinated, I felt a lot better after she left. Knowing I was now protected from getting that awful disease.

Father’s relatives stayed three days, I noticed that the dogs were tied up in the barn. The boys were still on a rampage, breaking the handle out of Motherś favorite hoe, letting the gate open, the sheep got out. The boys went into the grainery and played in the grain, throwing buckets of buckwheat into the wheat, then letting the door open, the chickens got into the grainery and ate so much, they were walking around with their necks stretched out and mouths open. They finally left, Mother was exhausted and took to her bed. I was back at school, but I could sense something was wrong at home, then one day as we were eating mush and milk for supper, Father announced he had sold the farm to Uncle Harry, and that we would move as soon as he could build a house on the other farm. They started cutting timber on the other farm, and a saw mill was moved in, to saw the logs into lumber for the house and barn.

On Saturdays, Dora and I would take the horses, and drag the big logs to the mill. Dora would fasten the chain around the log, then riding the horse I would take the log to the mill, the men at the mill would unhook the chain from the log, and I would go back after another log.

By the time spring came, Father had enough lumber to start building. I’ll never forget the day we moved into the new house, we were up at daylight, and told to start carrying everything out into the yard. Dora and I carried everything we could lift into the yard, we milked the cows and gave the milk to the hogs. By lunch time, Father had hauled two wagon loads over to the new house, Dora and I sat on a pile of blankets, waiting for his return, finally he came, Uncle Ray and Uncle Troy were with him, they each had their wagons, soon everything was loaded and they started on the way. Mother, Ethel, Dora, and I let the cows out and started them up the road, then we let the sheep out ( you can’t drive sheep, they are followers) they fell into line behind the cows, the bell sheep going first, then came the three pigs, it was a different story with them, they didn’t want to go anywhere. After a lot of pushing and shoving we got them to follow the sheep. It was two miles to the farm, the animals went along just fine for awhile, then they started to stop every now and then to eat, soon they didn’t want to go at all, we got sticks and had to beat them along, finally we came to the creek that boarded the farm, the pasture field wasn’t far away, so Father cut the fence, and we drove the animals into the field, the pigs were different, we had to take them to the house, they didn’t want to go, so we beat them along, they were getting tired, one layed down in the ditch and wouldn’t get up, so we left him there, and took the other two home. 

Father had built a granary, a chicken house and pig pen, the house wasn’t finished but we could live in it, it was a two story, two bedrooms upstairs, kitchen and living room on the first floor, it wasn’t as big as the house we had just left, we had to go up the road to a well for water. The whole place was a come down from the other, everything was unhandy, I couldn’t understand why Father sold the other farm and kept this one when there was no buildings on it, the only reason I could think of was that it was twice as large.

That summer was hectic, Father was building the barn, everyone was helping, Dora and I drilled holes and chiseled them out making them square. After the barn raising, we went on top the roof, Father fastened a pulley to a beam, then put a long rope around a board and Dora would pull it up, then I would carry it over to Father, to be nailed into place. I wasn’t afraid of heights and I was sure footed, I climbed everywhere on that barn, I think I carried every board that was put on.

The neighbors had a housewarming party for us, and as Father loved parties, there was square dancing until wee hours in the morning. I didn’t take part in the dancing altho I watched every move that was made. 

Dora and I still went to Guthrie School, we didn’t like walking the two miles every morning, as we still had to help with the milking, we were always late getting to school, altho we ran all the way. Father let us ride the horse, if he didn’t need the horse for something else, he always said, if he could plow, we could walk. Father didn’t have a car, so our only way of transportation was the horse and buggy.

One Saturday in the fall of the year, Father and Mother went to a farm auction sale, they said Dora and I could go long as they were taking the hay wagon, Father needed a new harrow, he hoped he might get one cheap at the auction.

I remember it was cold, Dora and I were shivering, as our coats weren’t warm enough. We got to the auction, and went to look at the animals, they were a scraggy bunch, we assumed that since we had had a dry summer there wasn’t enough grass. There were around thirty head of cattle and two big Belgium horses, then we saw “HIM”, a big white riding horse.

Clara Bell “Carie” Maust Guthrie 1889-1965 ,James Guthrie 1879-1965 , Dora Guthrie McNair 1916-1982,  Harry Guthrie ,  Ray Guthrie 1895-1976, Troy Guthrie 1891-1966, Ethel Guthrie Ritchey 1914-2008