Pathways of Life: Second Edition

By Elbert Wilson

Remember when farm families did their own butchering, mothers stayed home, folks churned their own butter, canned vegetables and meat, shucked corn, thrashed wheat, used a washboard, walked to church and school and had corncob fights?

. When girls (or at least my sisters) curled their hair with curling irons heated in the chimney of a kerosene lamp.

. When kids learned to work on the farm, both at home and for the neighbors - and considered it a privilege just to be allowed to participate.

. When, at school, the two big challenging recess games for boys were mumble peg and marbles.

. When kids who had brothers in the service during World War II shared the worry and agony with their parents, to learn of some neighbor families whose son never came home.

. When parents hung little flags in their doors or windows that contained a star for each son in the service -- like the two stars on our flag for my brothers Alvin and Howard.

. When we shared in rationing, and we painstakingly saved the foil from cigarette packages and turned it in for the war effort.

. When grandma came to visit and brightened up life by making room in her suitcase for chewing gum for the kids and chewing tobacco for herself.

. When grandma taught me to catch a chicken and wring its head off - all for the promise of her homemade chicken and noodles.

. When we visualized the scenes when glued to the radio listening to Tom Mix, Gene Autry, Jack Armstrong, Inner Sanctum, and Lucky Strike Hit Parade.

We thought we had almost everything - looking back, we had a pretty good quality of life. At times I find myself wishing for the return to the more simple ways of life.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Oct 19, 2020
• ISBN: 9781665501903

Elbert Wilson

Elbert Wilson, better known as Neb to friends and acquaintances, was born during the final chapter of the great depression. Elbert’s early life in a small rural community in southern Indiana near Madison was influenced by his parents who clung to the “old” ways of living. Many of Elbert’s interesting experiences and encounters were with folks whom some may describe as “common”, but who proved to be real salt-of-the-earth folks. Living without the conveniences of electricity, indoor plumbing or telephone made Elbert’s growing up years quite interesting and endearing in many ways. We can never go back to those days, but he certainly talks about them in this book, bringing alive an era long gone except for the memories. He tells stories about both the good times and some not so good. Part of this book contains Elbert’s poems, which help capture the flavor of times past. Elbert is a staunch believer in patriotism and love for this great country. His father fought in World War I as did two brothers in World War II. He saw first hand some of the after effects that war had on their lives and their reluctance for many years to talk about their wartime experiences. Elbert is retired. He and his wife Stella reside in Indianapolis. They enjoy doting on their two children and four grandchildren.

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2020 Elbert Wilson. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 10/19/2020

ISBN: 978-1-6655-0191-0 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6655-0190-3 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2020918798

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

About the Author

Elbert Wilson, better known as Neb to friends and acquaintances, was born during the final chapter of the great depression. Elbert’s early life in a small rural community in southern Indiana near Madison was influenced by his parents who clung to the old ways of living. Many of Elbert’s interesting experiences and encounters were with folks whom some may describe as common, but who proved to be real salt-of-the-earth folks.

Living without the conveniences of electricity, indoor plumbing or telephone made Elbert’s growing up years quite interesting and endearing in many ways. We can never go back to those days, but he certainly talks about them in this book, bringing alive an era long gone except for the memories. He tells stories about both the good times and some not so good. Part of this book contains Elbert’s poems, which help capture the flavor of times past.

Elbert is a staunch believer in patriotism and love for this great country. His father fought in World War I as did two brothers in World War II. He saw first hand some of the after effects that war had on their lives and their reluctance for many years to talk about their wartime experiences.

Elbert and his wife Stella lived the first fifty years of their lives in Madison, Indiana. They currently live in Indianapolis, having moved there from Madison in 1985. They are proud parents of David and Shari and enjoy spending time with their grandchildren Amy, Andrew and Abigail Wilson, Margi Feldman and great grandson Orion Feldman.

INTRODUCTION

PATHWAYS OF LIFE

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I n this second edition of Pathways of Life, the reader is introduced to real life stories, such as The Huckster Wagon, Barnyard Dogs, Blue Racer and more. All of these stories reflect the author’s experiences and memories during his life in the small farming community of Wirt in southern Indiana.

I grew up on a farm near the village of Wirt in southern Indiana. Farm families in each township within Jefferson county lived near villages similar to Wirt. In addition to farmers, there was a smattering of school teachers, ministers, prognosticators, speculators and some story tellers. Each village had a grocery store, church and postoffice. Sawmills, blacksmith shops and/or garages were commonplace, and townships had elementary schools. The primary focus in writing this book is to tell about the very interesting people, places and events in and around the Wirt community.

With few exceptions, I would not change much of my life growing up. We are who we are and we all have a story to tell. Some people try to deny their heritage, and maybe with good reason. I have no such thoughts. My family, with all of its faults, had many good qualities, including the uncanny ability to improvise and make-do with very limited resources.

Growing up at the tail end of the great depression had some advantages (believe it or not) for the youngest in a household of six kids. My parents did almost everything the old fashioned way and they were just fine with that. Because of our lifestyle, I had the advantage of learning a lot of the old methods and mores. I’m thankful that my parents taught me the value of hard work, honesty and love of country. They provided a moral compass for myself and my siblings to follow.

I’ve recalled a lot of happy moments during my lifetime and I am thankful for the many folks I’ve been privileged to know in various ways. Some of the folks that I’ve crossed paths with may have seemed rather common at the time, but I’ve come to realize that most of them were genuine and honest folks who contributed much toward my growth and understanding of the world in which we live.

Being part of the slow transition from what I term old ways to modern ways of life in a small rural setting to me was priceless. Many of my experiences among the people, places and events during this special era will never be duplicated, making them all the more unique and intriguing. Best we understand from whence we came in order to pave our future Pathways of Life.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

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I n memory of Alice Jarman Moore, who inspired me to write.

And my Econ Professor Dr. Sam Braden, who instilled in the minds of all his students that there is no free lunch.

I am thankful for my connections with the various characters discussed in this book. They all struggled to carve their nitch in life and most were successful. Their contributions helped make Wirt a great American community in which to live.

To My wife Stella, who provides her brilliance, strength, love and inspiration.

This book is dedicated to all those who have struggled and sacrificed so I may enjoy living in freedom in the greatest country in the world. They have truly demonstrated that freedom is not free.

Thanks to my friend Linda Miller for her review and suggestions.

PART I

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It Really Happened Like This

Old Ways, Good Times

House Cleaning

Pearl Harbor Day

The Saturday Shopping Trip

The Huckster Wagon

Butchering Hogs or Cracklins and Such

Growing Tobacco

Pack Rat

Jalopy Racing and The Peters Family

The Entertainment Scene

Corn Shocks Oh Shucks

Halloween Time In The Country

Violin Lessons

Goin Downtown

Making the Most of Life

Fishing

A Gift I Would Always Remember

IT REALLY HAPPENED

LIKE THIS

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D uring my time growing up on the farm in southern Indiana, my life was influenced by my parents and neighbors and their simple ways of living. My parents were mostly self-sustaining, and when needs arose, instead of looking outside the home for solutions, they first looked inward with the attitude of meeting needs with available resources. The saying necessity is the mother of invention truly applied. Nothing was wasted. Consequently, many things other folks might just throw away because they were out-of-date or well worn, we saved or changed them for other uses. For example, how many farm families would think of using worn out bed springs for smoking hams over a hickory fire? That’s just one example of my Dad’s ingenuity and frugality.

Overall, I was a pretty happy camper during my growing up years. I enjoyed helping on the farm with the many associated tasks, including gardening, planting and harvesting crops, and tending our livestock. One time a farmer friend gave me some hull-less white popcorn seed that produced magnificent popcorn without hulls. Since then, I’ve been picking hulls out of my teeth, and have been unable to find the same hull-less popcorn anywhere. We milked our cows by hand. We fed the hogs, cows, chickens and mule with corn, hay and other produce grown on our farm. I split lots of wood and kindling for Mom’s use in the kitchen range, where she cooked many delicious meals.

The biggest event to occur around Wirt was when Lottie Lockman, who lived on the farm adjoining ours to the east, was arrested in 1946, accused of arsenic poisoning of four or five folks she helped care for. That made the news nationwide. Joe Cooper, one of the best attorneys in town defended Lottie and she wound up being acquitted. I guess that was Wirt’s twist on Arsenic and Old Lace and was my closest brush to anyone of notoriety during my youth. The next big thing in my life happened a few years later when I helped my neighbor Vern Kidwell’s wife milk ten cows by hand while Vern recuperated from rabbit fever. That didn’t make either local or national news, but in my mind it was rather noteworthy.

During hunting season, it was fun romping the fields and woods hunting with my rabbit dog Susie and our Irish Setter bird dog Mike. Our farm and adjoining farms offered unlimited space, which I was free to explore. I could step outside of our house and look for seemingly miles in certain directions and see nothing but rolling farmland and woods.

Most of our travel was local and limited to getting a few goods and services not available at home. Vacations were one day visits, as we had to be back home before dark. Otherwise, who was going to milk the cows, feed the chickens and slop the hogs? Our out of town visits were limited to a few friends plus the families of Aunt Lizzy in Columbus, and Aunt Mary in Greenwood.

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Iron and Stand — Mom would heat this iron on

top of our kitchen range, then rub paraffin wax on

the bottom to make it glide across the fabric.

OLD WAYS, GOOD TIMES

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M y parents and us six kids shared the good times and many trying times together on our small farm near the village of Wirt. When visiting with my mother, who still lived on the home place for years after dad died, lots of memories returned when viewing the many things in the household and outbuildings that accumulated during their marriage. Some of the old keepsakes remaining in the home were: the old wind-up Victrola, which once scratched out records including Al Jolsen’s Mammy; the horsehair overstuffed rocker that scratched my butt every time I sat on it; the old well-used oak dining room table and many other items that my parents acquired after their marriage in 1921.

While raising a