Talking Houses

By Dr. Andrew J. Waters (Drew)

Great and wonderful lessons were learned by our family and everyone in the neighborhood as we were constantly on the move.

Our family remained close-knit and adjusted smoothly to many uncomfortable situations.

We remained stable and prosperous. Our climb to success and stability wasn't hampered by our circumstances.

Moving and living in rental properties is much different than moving into a home that is being purchased. There are difficulties in life but to sustain a family and goals under extreme pressure that comes with the change of moving, dismantling, and reestablishing a healthy environment for family living was made possible by the knowledge, skills, wisdom, and family coordination of Mrs. Grace Waters. She put everything in motion.

Each home/house we lived in told a story and reflected our attitudes and our abilities to adjust with positive results. Mrs. Waters had a philosophy. I'll restate it here: When someone gives you the back or anything that is secondary and unacceptable, take that thing or situation, change it, refurbish it, turn it around, and make it the front with beauty. Mrs. Waters had flawless ability and courage making changes and improvements.

We learned how to overcome and thrive with opposition and not be bitter. From our life lessons of lemons, we made lemonade.

The houses really could talk.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Covenant Books, Inc.
• Release date: Feb 20, 2023
• ISBN: 9781638859772

Book preview

Table of Contents

Title

Copyright

Log Cabin House

The Jasper House

The Parsonage House

The Alley House

The Green House

The Red-Shingled Two-Story Home

The Brown House

New House

Hotel House

About the Author

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Talking Houses

Dr. Andrew J. Waters Jr. (Dr. Drew)

ISBN 978-1-63885-976-5 (Paperback)

ISBN 978-1-63885-977-2 (Digital)

Copyright © 2022 Dr. Andrew J. Waters Jr. (Dr. Drew)

All rights reserved

First Edition

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Covenant Books

11661 Hwy 707

Murrells Inlet, SC 29576

www.covenantbooks.com

Log Cabin House

Now the Lord said unto Abram, get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will show thee.

—Genesis 12:1 (KJV)

Deep, deep down and way, way, way back in the undeveloped dark woods of northern Louisiana, in the small village of Husser, Louisiana, near the city of Amite, seventy-five miles north of New Orleans, a son of an ex-slave purchased one hundred acres of timberland full of tall timber. The fact is, northern Louisiana can be slightly hilly, not like the Gulf area, with its marshes, swamps, and very, very flat and below sea-level situation.

Most of the land, if not all the land in New Orleans, is below sea level. They bury their dead all above ground. Most of the cemeteries and graveyards are outstanding because of the beautiful mausoleums, the above-ground burying. New Orleans is the Crescent City, and it has many outstanding features. These features are more common and unique in tropical places like island territories Hawaii and Puerto Rico.

The year was 1890. Slavery had just been abolished in 1863. The many freedmen, who had been slaves, and their families had little or no formal education. It was illegal to educate slaves. Many slaves did not have their reading and writing skills in English developed yet.

Did some of Grandpaw's people own slaves? Some of Grandpaw's people were exceptionally light-skinned, some looked almost white, and others were very dark-skinned. Had Grandpaw been a slave, or was he one of those freedmen? He was born during slavery times, 1845, but there had been freedmen in the USA before the Mayflower. These times were exceedingly difficult. Freedmen had to always carry their freedom papers with them. Some freedmen were taken and sold into slavery by slave-traders that had no scruples and a lust for finance that propelled them to discredit many males with papers and sell them into slavery. These activities were challenged. Some made it to the courts, some were settling in the favor of the freeman, and other freedmen had to become runaways to regain their freedom.

Many ex-slaves were self-taught. Many watched their owners read, write, and play instruments. The ex-slaves implemented what they saw and heard. They improvised with everything. Many ex-slaves had great skills in solving problems and discovering ways and methods to lessen their burdens. This proved to be unbelievably valuable to freedmen.

During the Reconstruction period and for many years after, ex-slaves moved around the USA. They moved north and west, searching for better ways to support their families. Like shifting sands, freedmen were constantly moving and searching, seeking to improve and lift themselves up to a standard of independence and honor.

Is there an explanation why humans are constantly changing their geography? Why do humans relocate so often north to south and east to west? Is it more economical, or is there a logical answer to this seemingly constant moving about? Does this question have a definitive answer? What do you think?

Is there any research that informs us why these trends continue? There is a simple answer. Ex-slaves and sharecroppers had an economic investment that they believed would achieve much when they migrated north to cities like Chicago, Detroit, and New York. Many others migrated west to states like California, Kansas, Washington, Texas, and Oklahoma. What cultural, economic, psychological, and sociological adaptations were being established, organized, and transferred? Why did this accomplishment push and surge become so frightening to certain portions of our USA and the free-world society?

How does one explain and understand the ex-slave son with no formal education in business that achieves great accomplishments in land acquisition? How did Grandpaw Miles learn the value of property? Was the son of an ex-slave a genius? In the early years of freedom, those ex-slaves and offspring of ex-slaves that could read and write were often called uppity n——s.

One such man was Grandpaw Miles. The inquiry and many questions were made in our family. How did Grandpaw Miles know to purchase one hundred acres of timberland, and where did he get the finances to purchase such a large land acquisition? Did Grandpaw Miles have business knowledge he did not discuss with his children? What motivated him? Grandpaw Miles had lived in New Orleans, but he made a land purchase seventy-five miles north of New Orleans, way out in the country. There