Childhood Memories

By Ella Goethe Henry

 

On a small farm in Hampton County, South Carolina, near Furman, in the Staffords Cross Roads Community, my father, the late John Luther Goethe, and my mother, Sarah Ella De Loach, married on December 20, 1899, and established a home in the early 1900’s. To this union, five children were born. One child, James Cornelius died at an early age. Another child, Ida Florine died at age six weeks. This left Jacob Sidney, and when he was seven years old, a set of twins came into this home for them to love. The twins were named John Luther, Jr. after Daddy and I, Sarah Ella Goethe, was named after Mama. It seems to me that God gave my parents a set of twins to replace the two children that died.

 

Now as an 81-year old widow, I am the only survivor of this immediate family and as I live alone, quite often I recall various experiences that I feel an urge to share, because I have truly been blessed in many ways.

 

Daddy owned and operated a farm on which he planted corn, beans, peas, peanuts, watermelons, sweet potatoes, sugar cane and cotton.

 

Having his own sugar cane mill, driven by a horse, he harvested the cane, ground it, put the juice in a big boiler, gathered firewood and cooked this juice for several hours until it became syrup. People in the community who didn’t own a mill brought their cane to our mill. For this work, Daddy was paid in syrup. Daddy also owned a grist mill and cotton gin powered by steam. The corn sheller was operated by hand and the grains of corn were measured – some were ground into grits or corn meal for our pantry. The remainder of the grain went to feed the livestock. Friends in the community also brought their corn to be ground and paid for this in corn.

 

When time came to harvest the cotton crop, everybody on our place worked. We donned cotton picking sacks and joined the hired hands and proceeded to gather the crop and haul it to the gin where it was ginned, baled and made ready to be sold.

 

More Childhood Memories. . .

When working in the cotton fields, we sometimes felt the need to relax for a few minutes. Well, Daddy took care of this earlier in the season by planting a few watermelon seeds between the rows of cotton.

 

The expensive soft drinks that are so plentiful today can’t begin to compare with the delicious watermelons we busted on the ground and fed ourselves with dirty cotton-picking hands. When the peanuts were harvested, some were to boil and eat as soon as gathered.

 

Some were dried and stored to roast later. Our peanut crop was enjoyed by the family and the hogs.

 

On our farm, we had cows to supply milk and butter for our table. Some were meat to eat, and to keep, and some to sell. Our hogs gave us pork, ham, sausage, back-bone and liver pudding. Also on this farm were chickens, turkeys, guinea fowl and sometimes geese and pigeons. We always had poultry and eggs to eat and some to sell.

 

Mama operated several incubators kept warm by kerosene lamps.The eggs had to be turned daily, and I had a special assignment to turn eggs and keep the lamps filled, trimmed and burning.

 

Mama advertised baby chicks in the market bulletin. Quite often, while we got ready to go to school, Mama counted and packaged the boxes of chickens to be mailed that morning.

 

Daddy got “Ole Lou” harnessed and hitched to the buggy and we left in time to get to school via the post office which was always open at 8:00 A.M.

 

Upon arriving at school “Lou” was detached from the buggy and put in a stable for the duration of the school day.

 

Our social life consisted of cane grinding parties out in the yard at night. While the syrup was being cooked, the young folks of the community gathered and laughed, talked and played games. This took place in October and November.

 

Peanut boilings were lots of fun in the summer. Friends were invited over in the evenings. The Peanuts had been gathered and boiled previously. This party also took place in the yard. We shelled and ate peanuts while we played “Drop the Handkerchief,” “Fishing for Love” and many other games. Those were the days. On special occasions we had dinner on the grounds at church, which everyone enjoyed. I especially remember Mama’s contribution of a dish pan full of chicken or ham and rice and a jelly cake.

 

The dinner and the fellowship were good and we enjoyed many visitors. In those days, we had Sunday School at 3:00 and preaching service at 4:00 in the afternoon. After church was dismissed, no one seemed in a hurry to go home. This was a special time of fellowship and catching up on the happenings since “last Sunday.” As you know, there were no telephones or automobiles and while the adults talked the children romped and ran on the grounds outside the sanctuary (never inside the building.)

 

Our mules pulled the plows and wagons on work days, and on Sunday they pulled the surrey in which we rode to church. Yes, it truly was a “surrey with the fringe on top.” While we attended the services, the mules were tied to a hitching post. Their names were “Frank” and “Dave.”

 

Mama’s hobbies were sewing, tatting, knitting and crocheting; also growing pretty flowers. She had a flower yard and plenty of house plants. They lived in a pit in the yard during the winter months. She also made lye soap.

 

I shall never forget her sweet voice as she sang and played the dear old familiar hymns on the old pump organ that is still there in the old home that was built in 1914. Mama was always ready to help nurse a sick neighbor. She always had time to cook and invite people for a meal.

 

Daddy Sang Bass. Even though he never learned to read music, he was able to harmonize beautifully. Many times when he had worked all day and was very tired, he ate supper and retired to the front porch to relax. He sat in his favorite rocking chair and put his feet on the banister. As he began to feel rested and relaxed, immediately we heard “sounds of music” from his mouth organ. He played and sang tunes and entertained us until bedtime. It was beautiful to me. He told us that when he was a young man, many times he played his mouth organ and danced his way through square dances.

 

Daddy had several hobbies that he enjoyed with my two brothers. I’d say fishing in the nearby creeks headed the list. Sometimes they went ‘possum or coon hunting at night. At times they arose early in the A.M. and went hunting for rabbits and squirrels. Mama played a very important part in this inasmuch as she anticipated their return by getting a fry pan greased and ready.

 

The boys found another kind of entertainment in the woods and streams that was truly off limits for girls – for they enjoyed swimming in their birthday suits.

 

Every farm had animals and sometimes they got sick. A veterinarian was seldom available in those days so Daddy bought and studied some books on animal diseases. He was the doctor when the mules developed colic – he vaccinated the hogs against cholera. When the cow had trouble giving birth, Daddy assisted when necessary. Quite frequently, friends and neighbors came for him to help with their sick animals. He loved people and people loved him.

 

Our family lifestyle was no exception. In those days everybody worked hard. Money was scarce, but brotherly love was plentiful. What I have written had been indelibly impressed in my storehouse of memories. Now, at this late time in my life, I thank God and my parents for all my experiences. All of this had been a very valuable part of my limited amount of education.

 

In retrospect, as I compare living the way things were when I was growing up,( I was born in 1909) to the way we are living now, there is a vast difference. For this, we owe our Lord a tremendous debt of praise and gratitude.

 

Our forefathers managed to do their very best with what they had to work with and used it to the best advantage. They thanked God and praised Him for their many blessings. They exercised their faith daily and as they worked and prayed they received strength, courage and inspiration to carry on. God blessed men with ambition and creative ability. Some were inquisitive, others were curious, some were prone to adventure, and some liked to experiment. It was by the minds and hands of these people that discoveries and inventions came about to simplify and revolutionize our style of living.

 

Here are some examples of the many changes that have taken places over the years.

Then: Water for all purposes was drawn from a well dug by hand. Buckets were tied to chains lowered into the well and filled and pulled up by the chain. Each bucket full of water was carried by hand and foot to wherever it was needed.

Now: Wells are bored with electrical equipment. The electric pump draws the water up and it is piped to wherever it is needed.

 

Then: Kerosene lamps were used for lights.

Now: The blessing of electricity is light for us at all time.

 

Then: Food was cooked on a wood burning stove or in the fireplace of kitchens or sometimes in an outdoor oven.

Now: With electric stoves and microwave oven, our cooking is much easier and takes less time.

 

Then: We had no refrigeration. In summer during hot weather, my mother put the milk and butter in jars in a sack and tied it with a cord. The sack was lowered several feed down into our well. Thus, we always had cool milk and butter.

Now: Thanks to electricity, we use the refrigerator and freezer instead of “the old oaken bucket in the moss covered well.”

 

Then: Transportation was accomplished by riding horseback, in horse-drawn carriages, buggies, or wagons, and in boats and trains.

Now: We ride and enjoy everything from automobiles to jet planes. The distance to be traveled could be as near as a neighbor’s house or possibly a trip to the moon.

 

Then: Harvesting farm crops was done by hand. In those times, the family, along with some hired help, was the cotton picker. Each person carried a sack with a shoulder strap. Some pickers bent over, some went on their knee and everyone used their hands to pull the cotton out of the pods. Hired help was paid by the pound. A wood burning furnace made the steam power that ran the cotton gin which removed the seed and baled the cotton for market.

Now: Using modern inventions, cotton is picked, ginned and baled in the field to be sold.

 

Then: Grain was harvested by a man using a cradle and scythe. He swung this through the oats and rye and dumped the straw with grain heads to the ground where it was picked up. It was then tied in a bundle and stood in a shock. From there it was dried, hauled into the barn and stored there to feed the livestock.

Now: Due to modern inventions, all this hard work is done by gasoline or electric powered machinery.

 

Then: Even music was different back then. Our parents sang to us and took us to church on Sunday where we thoroughly enjoyed the organ music. The sounds of music were brought out by pumping air into the bellows which filled the pipes of the organ. The organist was kept busy: her knees pushed the knee swells, and her feet pedaled to keep air in the instrument. At the same time, her hands and alert mind brought out melody, harmony and rhythm for the congregation to pour out their hearts and soul in song, praise, and thanksgiving.

Now: Thanks to electricity, with a flip of a switch or push of a button, you can listen to your choice of music with no effort on your part. The fact is many people don’t invest or take an interest in learning to play instruments because music is so easy to buy. Therefore, many God-given talents are wasted.

 

From these examples it can clearly be seen that life today is much more convenient and requires much less effort. This was made possible through the efforts, foresight and determination of our forefathers along with God’s bountiful blessings. Now we can sing “How Great Thou Art” and praise God for almost a century of progress.

 

Published in U S Legacies October 2002