tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-110422572008-02-19T02:31:19.543-08:00Gladys Adams Crumphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09443833848729461240noreply@blogger.comBlogger66125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042257.post-68750427483725916852007-08-05T15:26:00.000-07:002007-08-05T15:39:18.590-07:00

I remember working in the tobacco fields when the tobacco was almost over my head, so big it lapped together between rows. One day we were working, all sticky and gummy with tobacco juice, and my mamma's sister and her kids came down from Nashville. Well, we thought they were a big city bunch, and it would be a tragedy for them to see us dirty. As the grown son came looking for us, he saw

Gladys Adams Crumphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09443833848729461240noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042257.post-7187963531492045522007-03-10T18:37:00.000-08:002007-03-10T18:44:41.759-08:00

My grandma was a great one for hunting wild herbs in the spring of the year. She called this "going 'senging." She would get her herb apron on and her 'seng hoe, pack a lunch of biscuits, fried eggs, hog jowl, green onions and radishes from her garden. She would always take us with her and we would roam the woods all day for weeks. She would dig only ginseng. She let us dig star grass root and

Gladys Adams Crumphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09443833848729461240noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042257.post-11311996079830385202007-02-19T18:24:00.000-08:002007-02-19T18:43:43.203-08:00

Like death and birth, marriage and courtship came to our house in its own time. According to our custom, courting was done on Saturday night, Sunday afternoon, and Sunday night until 10 p.m. We had a Victrola, as I said (Country Music & Vittles 3/1/05], and we played that a lot when our dates were there. One record, large and with recording only on one side, was entitled Love with a Capital L.

Gladys Adams Crumphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09443833848729461240noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042257.post-81967019393982965372007-01-22T19:17:00.000-08:002007-01-22T19:36:51.164-08:00

I visited my friend Maggie Lee more than anyone else. One winter her Dad decided he was going to save money. He would not buy matches that year. They kept a fire going. One cold winter morning she and I woke early and were playing loud. Her Dad awoke and he called out to her to start kindling up the fire. I knew very well what she was up to as she got up. She was giggling. She found a very small

Gladys Adams Crumphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09443833848729461240noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042257.post-59443604837978120422007-01-15T20:03:00.000-08:002007-01-15T20:16:38.922-08:00

I experienced the harshness of the elements when my sister Sadie's son, Virgil, was born. Her family had to vacate the house they had rented, so another family shared one large room of their house with them until the baby came as it was so near time. I went to help her out after the baby was there. It was very cold and the snow was about two feet deep. I cooked on a wood-burning heating stove

Gladys Adams Crumphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09443833848729461240noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042257.post-1161836495727851822006-10-25T21:21:00.000-07:002007-01-22T19:38:39.592-08:00

When my next sister after Jennie was born, my mamma wanted to name her for her sister's dead child, so she named her. None of us would call her this name until later when we could tease her with it. She hated it also, so we called her Bette. She is still Bette. When she was very young, maybe twelve years old, she came down with pneumonia. Then treatment was not so advanced for pneumonia as it

Gladys Adams Crumphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09443833848729461240noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042257.post-1158715682247852702006-09-19T18:23:00.000-07:002007-01-22T19:39:38.610-08:00

I really did not think Cudram could remove warts - but I did have this wart on the side of my finger. One day I saw Cudram walking toward our house. I thought I would trick him, so I went out to the road as he passed and I told him I would like for him to remove my wart. He said, "Well, maybe." He asked for a pencil, so I had someone bring out a pencil. All the time I was laughing to myself. He

Gladys Adams Crumphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09443833848729461240noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042257.post-1157470428587031142006-09-05T08:32:00.000-07:002007-01-22T19:40:49.749-08:00

Mrs. Ollie was a neighbor. Everyone loved her. She always had lunch ready by 11:30 a.m. each day. Everyone close by knew when she rang the big dinner bell outside high up on a pole that it was 11:30 and dinner was ready for her menfolks in the field to come in to eat. But any other time the bell rang meant trouble. Her husband, Mr. Sid, had a heart problem, and this was her signal for help. If

Gladys Adams Crumphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09443833848729461240noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042257.post-1156455878745152822006-08-24T14:41:00.000-07:002007-01-22T19:42:15.284-08:00

We were allowed to play in the rain or get under the downspouts whenever there was a good rain with no lightning. This was like a shower. We could even take the soap outside and really take a shower, with our clothes on, of course. We could make mud pies and wade mud puddles to our heart's content. It was so relaxing to feel the mud between my toes. Some of the things we did were not good for

Gladys Adams Crumphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09443833848729461240noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042257.post-1153773026057768232006-07-24T13:28:00.000-07:002007-01-22T19:44:17.325-08:00

I used to enjoy visiting my Aunt Hattie and Uncle Herman. They had two small daughters, Mary and Marie. Aunt Hattie was my pappa's half-sister, the only sister he had. I would walk four or five miles to spend the weekend with them. Once Uncle Herman was going to say grace. He stuttered pretty bad. Mary was a baby on Hattie's lap. Just as Uncle Herman started the blessing she put her foot up on

Gladys Adams Crumphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09443833848729461240noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042257.post-1148678325188543872006-05-26T14:18:00.000-07:002007-01-22T19:45:32.955-08:00

My folks had very strict rules, both moral and religious. We were not allowed to "sass" or talk back to parents or anyone older than we were. We were not allowed to swear, cuss or use bad language of any type. Church was our main place to go. If we did not have church at our home church, Scott's Chapel, a Freewill Baptist Church, we were allowed to go to the Methodist Church or Church of God of

Gladys Adams Crumphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09443833848729461240noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042257.post-1148587041706362542006-05-25T12:56:00.000-07:002007-01-22T19:46:54.621-08:00

One of our new amusements was to catch big tobacco worms and tie thread to the horn on their tail. About four worms were a good team. Then we would fasten them to a small match box and add little pebbles until they could hardly pull the box. Oh, this was so much fun! We just rolled and laughed to see the worms work so hard. To add to the fun, we decided to tie the cat to a shoe box and load it

Gladys Adams Crumphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09443833848729461240noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042257.post-1148073633985489542006-05-19T14:18:00.000-07:002007-01-22T19:48:01.490-08:00

We always loved to make playhouses out in the woods in the summertime. Each person cleaned out a spot around a big tree, walling it in with rocks and using big rocks and pieces of scrap lumber for seats or tables. We would make beds from soft leaves. We used old pans or pieces of discarded dishes. We worked like beavers making a place that was ours for the whole summer. We cooked make-belief

Gladys Adams Crumphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09443833848729461240noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042257.post-1146777842203200192006-05-04T14:23:00.000-07:002007-01-22T19:49:23.470-08:00

One of my fondest memories is of market time for tobacco. When my pappa sold tobacco, he had to stay two or three days in Clarksville for the auction. He always came home with each of us a dimestore gift. Some of the gifts were scissors, rings, watches, crayons, coloring books, or little toys. We usually told him what we wanted before he left. Once, however, he surprised us with what was called

Gladys Adams Crumphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09443833848729461240noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042257.post-1141914200042436082006-03-09T06:22:00.000-08:002006-03-09T06:23:20.066-08:00

My world back then was very small, about a thirty mile radius, but it seemed vast to me. I loved to watch the garden and crops mature. I would dream of finding huge radishes in the garden after season when no one knew they were there. Sometimes I would dream of our little grocery store. The keeper there always gave us much more candy than five cents or three eggs paid for. I would sometimes

Gladys Adams Crumphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09443833848729461240noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042257.post-1138765752130177662006-01-31T19:48:00.000-08:002006-01-31T19:49:12.146-08:00

When Sissy was thinking marriage, her husband-to-be was brave, for Sissy was about 19. So he came riding over on his beautiful horse, all shined up. I remember how he and my pappa sat together on the swing in the breezeway, and he asked my pappa for Sissy in marriage. After a little "pep talk" to him, my pappa said they could marry with his blessing. Well, my mamma and Sissy sewed a lot in the

Gladys Adams Crumphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09443833848729461240noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042257.post-1134595361279071252005-12-14T13:19:00.000-08:002005-12-14T13:22:41.300-08:00

Like death and birth, marriage and courtship came to our house in its own time. According to our custom, courting was done on Saturday night, Sunday afternoon, and Sunday night until 10 p.m. We had a Victrola, as I said (Country Music & Vittles 3/1/05], and we played that a lot when our dates were there. One record, large and with recording only on one side, was entitled Love with a Capital L.

Gladys Adams Crumphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09443833848729461240noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042257.post-1109556920798444642005-11-27T17:20:00.000-08:002005-11-27T17:27:50.933-08:00

I remember how my pappa loved gospel songs. At sometime in his years, he had learned music. He taught all of us to sing in harmony. While we were about our chores, making beds, washing dishes, empting the pots, or sweeping, all of which we did every morning, someone started a song and all joined in around the house. At his time my pappa was usually waiting for the stock to eat and planning out

Gladys Adams Crumphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09443833848729461240noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042257.post-1109555434692562512005-11-18T19:20:00.000-08:002005-11-18T19:25:47.696-08:00

Another thing that is very vivid in my mind is how we were made aware to watch out for storms, which we had quite often. While we were in the fields, we were taught by my pappa how to "read the clouds" and wind patterns. We knew almost exactly how long to wait to start to the house. We worked and read the clouds. Sometimes we knew not to go for shelter. And when we must go, we knew never to get

Gladys Adams Crumphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09443833848729461240noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042257.post-1109555046048972822005-11-16T19:50:00.000-08:002005-11-16T19:53:57.513-08:00

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

Gladys Adams Crumphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09443833848729461240noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042257.post-1110766808450507772005-11-14T15:00:00.000-08:002005-11-14T13:29:26.066-08:00

I remember how peddlers used to come by our house with huge loads of pots and pans, medicines, or whatever they could carry. They would put down a big cloth with all their wares on it, take it up the the four corners, and fling it upon their back. They would go from house to house selling things. I remember thinking, "Oh, how nice that would be! I might just like to be a peddler when I grow up."

Gladys Adams Crumphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09443833848729461240noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042257.post-1110765335540147052005-11-05T17:25:00.000-08:002005-11-05T10:28:25.293-08:00

Everyone big enough to work helped in the fields. Tobacco had to be worked a lot. After it was about grown, my pappa always did the "topping," breaking out the center top. Then the leaves that were left grew thick and were of a good grade. But it grew what was called "suckers," two over each leaf next to the stalk, and many near the ground. We must go over each plant and remove each of these

Gladys Adams Crumphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09443833848729461240noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042257.post-1109554452857347292005-10-27T15:40:00.000-07:002005-10-30T14:43:49.696-08:00

They [the church]once had an evangelist for revival. He was very unlearned. He had to have someone to read the scripture. But what I remember most was how he kept asking for someone to bring him a poisonous snake. The next day we were working in the tobacco field and a man we knew came by. He saw a copperhead sunning itself on the rocks, so he put a plank on its neck and called my pappa to come

Gladys Adams Crumphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09443833848729461240noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042257.post-1109549884662070252005-10-11T17:30:00.000-07:002005-10-11T17:34:36.220-07:00

On snowy days my pappa would wrap his feet and legs with burlap socks, since he could not afford boots, and he would get out his twelve-gauge and his hound. Then he would start out looking for rabbits for supper. I could hardly wait for his return. I knew when he went we would have rabbits when he came in. I would almost pray for a big kill. Sure enough, he always had from three to five rabbits.

Gladys Adams Crumphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09443833848729461240noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11042257.post-1109548862379852252005-10-09T15:05:00.000-07:002005-10-09T15:06:46.410-07:00

My mamma never knew when she started a meal how many might be there to eat. All the mailboxes for people miles around were in front of our house. Sometimes people would meet the mail carrier. Folks came early to listen to the radio news, and they might just stay for dinner, which was a noonday hot meal for us. No one around then had a radio except us. It was battery operated because no one had

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