While we were young and growing up we had many experiences that are
now just a flash in our memories. These are just such memories.
During the depression, jobs and money were not so available as today.
To supplement his salary, Daddy grew a garden for vegetables, hogs for
meat and a cow for milk.. There was a small pasture behind our house but
not large enough to feed the cow to Daddy's satisfaction.
Therefore, J. R. and I were detailed to go "pull grass" to feed the
cow. This provided bulk that the bought feed (peanut meal and ground up
cotton seed hulls) did not provide. To "Pull grass", we would take a No.
2 wash tub out to the gin yard or along side the railroad tracks, where
the grass grew a foot high. Then on your knees and start pulling until
the tub was full and back to the barn. Not the best way for two boys to
spend their time, but such was growing up in the 1930s.
In the fall of the year, after all of the farm crops were gathered,
Uncle Sam Massey let us turn our cow loose in his fields to feed on
grass, left over corn, etc. So, every morning before school, we (J.R.
and I) would take our cow to Uncle Sam's farm and turn her in the field.
In the afternoon we would go get her and bring her back home.
J.R., being the older, was more or less assigned the job with me
as his "helper" although looking back on it now I don't think I was much
help. Most of the mornings we were always in a hurry to get to school on
time. I remember many times when we left Uncle Sam's we would run at a
pretty good clip back to school.
As time went by and J. R. moved on to bigger and better things, I
inherited the job. This was pretty much routine except one afternoon, as
I was leading the cow home, we passed a house just down the street where
three of my female classmates were sitting on the porch. And wouldn't
you know it, the cow picked just this time to "drop her load".
--"SPAT"-- "SPAT"-- "SPAT"-- I heard the girls snickering and whispering.
You talk about being embarrassed!!!.
