The Reverend & Mrs. Green

We were trained to trust and fear God, which we did. I have felt the care and love of God in my life since I can remember almost. I was converted and gave my life to Christ at a very early age. I was about 11 years old when I received Christ and followed in baptism in a nearby creek.

I will never forget our dear old pastor who baptized me, Reverend Green. He visited our home many times and stayed many nights. He brought his current wife sometimes. He had bad luck with wives. He lost three before he died. His fourth was a cute, dumpy little lady.

When he brought her, we got a special thrill. She not only was named Mrs. Green, but she made herself a green hat with a big brim and lots of huge green flowers. She dyed her hosiery green, her dress was green, her shoes and bag were green. The kids at our house really had a big laugh out of this. We did as always when company came to eat and the ladies put their hats on the bed in the front room - we tried on hats. It was a ball.

This Mrs. Green was also different in other ways. She caught and ate rats, or so the Reverend told us. We thought this was very weird. We never saw her eat one, but we took the Reverend's word.

Rev. Green, like most preachers, would preach at church until 12 or 1 o'clock in the morning. My mamma always took a quilt to church and put it in front of the pew. She would sit there and as we fell asleep, we would take our place on the quilt. Sometimes I would be so asleep I would not know when or how I got home in my bed.