Memories of Charlton County - by Gibson and Mays Back to Table of Contents 10. HAPPY TIMES (Pp 12-13) I have had some mighty happy times in my life.
Growing up with a big bunch of brothers and sisters, and enjoying the children that lived on neighboring farms are some of my fondest memories. One of the happiest times in my life was when my little sister Anna was born. I was sent to get Dr. Wright in the middle of the night, but after I woke up the Wright family, I found that he had gone to Hortense to treat a sick person. There was nothing for me to do but go to Dr. Williams' house and wake him up. I was embarrassed to
do this for we never had used Dr, Williams, but when he was awakened, he came out and said "Madison, you'll have to take me. My horse is crippled." I was happy to do that and took him to my house as fast as our buggy would go! About daylight, I had a new baby sister and Dr. Williams was ready to go home. My sister, Lillie, had breakfast cooked and she asked Dr. Williams to sit down and eat, but he only drank a glass of milk. I took him home in the buggy but we
weren't in as big a hurry as when he came to our house. He really was a nice man and I never forgot how he came at midnight to help when Anna was born. When we lived near Bethel Methodist Church our neighbors were the Jesse Grooms family who lived on the old Paxton Place. Their boys, Earnie, Billy, Eugene and Ralph and the boys in our family were very good friends and since we lived only about a mile from them, across Spanish Creek, we saw them nearly every day. At noontime all of us boys got two hours off for dinner, when we could do what we wanted to, before going back to the farm chores. In the summer as soon as we had eaten our meal we listened for a special holler from the rooms boys, which meant they were on their way to the small lake on Spanish Creek. This was a signal for us to meet them there for a good time in the swimming hole. If we finished our meal first we would holler for them to come meet us there. We spent some
mighty happy hours with the Grooms boys as we were growing up. The Grooms family was the only one with a Victrola and the neighbors that lived anywhere reasonably close would gather up at their house and listen to their record player. It had a crank, just like an automobile, and had to be wound up. You'd wind it up tight, go and sit down and it would play all kinds of gospel and funny songs. Papa like to hear the song called "The Preacher and the Bear" which
concerned a preacher going hunting on a Sunday morning and was confronted with a big bear. He kept saying to himself, "Oh Lord, if you can't help me, don't help that bear!" When Papa heard this part, he would laugh and laugh. I loved to hear my Papa laugh. | 
