To my knowledge these men were all bachelor's. If I am wrong, someone correct me.
Wineinger
Ervin (Dutch) Gale Vernon
These men lived in a two story house two or three miles east of Hewins. I believe Carl Kelley now lives there. They would come to my dad's store to shop and set around the heating stove to visit. Dutch was always dressed in cowboy attire, Vernon wore kaki pants and shirts and Gale wore bib overalls and knee high rubber boots. They told some interesting stories and kept dad up to date on what was happening in Hewins.
Cosat
Charlie and Homer
These men lived in a small house just east of the Cedar Vale Sales Barn. They always had a large garden, a few calves, a milk cow, a pig or two and chickens. They were very self sustaining. They both passed away in the 1960's and are buried at Ozro cemetery.
Ridgeway
Christain (Chris) and Robert (Bob)
These men lived just east of the Dale Seman place west of Hewins on the north side of the road. They had a small grove of pecan trees in one of their pastures and my uncle Zeke would take me squirrel hunting there. We would always go to the house and visit for an hour or two. Both of them smoked pipes and they would light them with kitchen matches, then get to talking and their pipes would go out. They would strike another match and the same thing would happen. They had three pound coffee cans sitting around, full of struck matches. I would like to know how many matches they bought in their lifetime. They told many interesting stories.
All of these men were what I would call hard working, salt of the earth men. My generation is probably the last to remember them. I wish I could go back to the 50's and hear more of their stories and learn more of their lives.
If you know about any of these men, please share your memories.
7 comments:
Sorry, Rick, I know nothing about any of these men, but I remember the name Bob Ridgeway. They all sound like an interesting bunch. However, I would like to know if you or anyone remembers the family that lived up on the west side of Lookout mountain. One approached their place by driving south from the sales barn, and then up the mountain. ?????? Was it Pierce?
I can't help you Wayne, it must have been before my time.
Two Pierce brothers; one was married and the other a bachelor, but the three lived together. Seems one name was Ozzie Pierce. They did painting and wall papering. Nice friendly people.
Yes Rick I can add some memories about these "old batches". You failed to mention the Slaten Brothers who lived on the south slope of Lookout Mt. and could often be seen returning from town on foot--never together, but one before the other. I'll comment later on all these when I have more time. Good topic!!
My father delivered gasoline to both the Pierces and the Slatens. I was sometimes with him and remember them all very well. The Slatens were "men of few words" and I remember them as being dressed nearly alike. The Pierces were much more talkative. My dad would take me up to the Lookout Mountain cave when we delivered to the Pierces.
The Wineger boys were a delight! I was lucky enough to do Veterinary work for them when they lived "just under the hill" east of Hewins. They had horses, including draft animals. I was always invited into the dusty old living room to have tea or coffee with them when I worked there. Oh the tales they could tell!! Where was my tape recorder?? One of them lived in the extended care portion of the CV Hospital at the end of his days. I think it was the one in overalls.
Oswald Pierce was indeed a fine paperhanger. I can't for the life of me think of the brothers name. Their house on Lookout Mt. was moved to Cedar Vale. and still sits on Kingman Rd. just N of the cemetary.
The Cosats first lived on a small acerage near Laytonville N of Hewins. Later they moved to the Merle Lemert place NE of CV. When most of us knew them they were living on the curve down by the sale barn. They did a lot of truck farming and sold some of their produce in CV. They had an old Model T with a box in the trunk space and hauled truck in that. Floyd Patteson remembers that later they got a small ford tractor and had a trailer for hauling the truck. My grandfather used to remark the "best canteloups in the country" were raised by the Cosats (or it could have been the Slatens). When he asked how they could do so well every year they admitted to having a good spring on the place to keep them well watered..
I had a call this morning from Carl Mills, who reminded me the Slaten bros. were twins named Floyd and Lloyd. One of them ran a threshing machine for O.D. Mills one summer and Carl recalls that Slaten would spend the day in the dust on the machine and then join the rest of the crew after work bathing in Otter Creek. Carl says he put the same dusty clothes back on every day after bathing for a whole week. I think they were regulars on one of the theshing crews every summer. They walked to town, shopped, and sometimes ate something at Herb's. When they walked home one would be lagging behind by several 100 yard.
when asked why he didn't keep up he replied, "Well you'd lag too if you had to carry the bread"
Yes the Ridgeway boys lived down on Rock Creek in that nice grove of trees. My memories of them are sparse, but I recall that when the local bank got into trouble in the early 50s the Ridgeways were one of the few accounts that lost considerable money, because their account was larger than the FDIC limit on federal insurance.
Well I have very happy and positive memories of them all. SALT OF THE EARTH !
It's nice to have an old timer like Don to fill out some of the personalities that we all have heard about.
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