Memories of Charlton County - by Gibson and Mays Back to Table of Contents 44. THE TOWN DOCTOR (Pp 90-91) There were very few doctors in our area. Most
of them lived in the larger communities so we felt like we were very fortunate when one came to Folkston to live and work. Dr. A. D. Williams, who lived near the railroad in Folkston, was one of the beat doctors I knew and when anyone got sick, the family sent for him. Jim Gay, Bailey Gay's brother, who was living with the Henry Johnson family out near our farm got very sick one day. They sent me to town to get Doc and I took him out to the Johnson place in our buggy. It
was the hottest kind of weather. I think Jim had typhoid fever, he'd been sick a long time, but there was nothing Dr. Williams could do and Jim died that night. I took the doctor back to town about midnight when the air was fresh and it felt good to us as we went down the road. It was a lots cooler than it was in the middle of the day. He said to me "Madison, it sure is a good night for sleeping for those that are able to be in bad. But poor devils like you and me
have to be up and working and doing the things that must be done." I want to Doc's house one day asking for a favor. I wanted him to fill out a paper so that I could file for a World War I soldier's pension. Mrs. Williams was getting ready for a ladies' party at her house that day, probably the missionary society or sewing club meeting, so Doc said "Let's just go on down to the office and I'll fill out your paper there." And we did. Soon
after that I took him a ham for his help and, a week or two later when I saw him he told me "Madison, I believe that was the best ham I ever ate!" Dr. Williams hadn't been in Folkston long before he bought a cow so the family could have all the milk and butter they needed. He had probably been raised in a city for he didn't know a thing in the world about a cow. But Frank Mills did, and he was an expert cow and horse and mule trader, and he knew Doc had a real
nice cow. Frank tried to buy that cow from Doc but he said he didn't want to sell her. Frank knew Doc didn't know a good cow from a bad one and said "Well, I don't really care whether I buy her or not. Why that cow's so old I bet she ain't got a tooth in the top of her mouth!" Doc didn't know that cows naturally don't have upper teeth in the front of their mouth and he went and looked at his cow, and sure enough she didn't have teeth where he thought they should
have been, Doc was outsmarted by Frank after all. The next time he saw Frank he said "I've decided to sell you that cow!" | 
