I grew up in a family that loved to story tell. In fact, the crazier the escapade, the better the story became.
My Pop pop was the family wordsmith, who loved to "turn a tale" with his dry sense of humor. To keep these stories alive, one year he received hard-bound book for Christmas. It was like a journal that included a personalized embossing, "Pop pop's Memory Book." When I was going through his things after losing him a few years back, I found the book with empty pages.
Talking about these memories, my cousin and I have decided that before we lose any more chunks out of them that we better write them down.
First up is Pop pop's early life in West Virginia.
Pop pop was born in the summer of 1918 on Owen's Run. I doubt if it was in a hospital, but I don't know for sure. What makes me remember the year so vividly is that President John F. Kennedy was born just the year before. It always conflicted with my perspective because history viewed JFK’s presidency as some sort of mystique because of his youth when all I can think -- he's older than Pop pop!
Well, the road to the White House, by way of Hyannis Port, is a wee bit different than the country roads of Leading Creek, West Virginia.
Pop pop was the younger of two sons to Winley Turner and Flossie McElwee. To the rest of the family, his folks were known as "Mumsey" and "Pap." Mumsey, I was told, was a name of character from the popular comic strip, "Bringing up Father."
Pap was 8 years older than Mumsey. They met while Pap was riding a bike while taking photographs. I don't know more about their courtship, but I do know the two of them were very different. For example, whenever Pap was sent to the store, he would take the remaining change to purchase matchsticks. Because you could always used them anything else would be a waste. According to my grandmother, Mumsey always wished he would have surprised her with some candy.
Pap worked odd jobs while moving his family from place to place. Pap worked as a janitor at the Tanner School (Tanner, WV) and worked at a company that produced wooden boxes and crates. Although plastic and Styrofoam were invented then, they wasn't widely used especially in the retail market. Grocers and butchers used these wooden containers to place their produce and meats in for their customers.
Pop pop said that Pap moved the family to the Leading Creek farm (approximately 1922) at the right time. The Great Depression hit many families in the late 1920's and having the farm was a blessing to my family.
As I recall, the house and barn were nestled at the foot of a hill with a washboard dirt road separating that area from a little field and the creek. Pop pop called it more like a "crick" as many times it was pretty dried up. (The picture provided is backwards shot of what I remember. The little winding path is where we would travel to get to the farm from Glenville. The farm house would have been on the left side from the direction we traveled. The barn and its yard were on the left side of the house.)
At the top of the hill was a large plot of land. I remember this is where my sister and I first shot a shotgun (I was almost 15 and she was 9). That was our last visit before Pop pop sold the farm to owner of the Fox Oil Company.
West Virginia is known for its resources of gas and oil. When Pop pop sold the property he did negotiate the gas and oil rights because Mr. Fox told him that he was going to use the property for hunting only. Not sure when we learned differently.
Working the farm was not a favorite of Pop pop’s. He hated raking hay in the meadow and would wish for rain clouds whenever he could. Because his brother, James, and Pop pop were different in many ways from stature to temperament, they would always get after each other when it came to working the farm. One day the “sweat bees” were extremely bothersome, but they seemed to like James a bit more than Pop pop. When one decided to land on my grandfather’s forehead, James moved in to push it right into Pop pop's skin. Pop pop said that when all heck broke loose, and Pap had to separate them.
Pap and Mumsey weren't ones who yelled. Pop pop never remembers witnessing them have an argument. They didn't use the strap when correction was needed. Doubt if there were “time outs” then, but his parents managed to correct the situation without violence. I always thought how progressive that was especially during that time in history.
Mumsey would prepare lunch every day and carried it up that back pathway for Pap and whoever else was working. Pap was known as a hard worker. His body definitely saw that effects as he aged. In his later years, he walked with crutches. Looking back now, I wonder did he have rheumatoid arthritis.
Growing up on the farm did leave many impressions on Pop pop. One of the earliest memories included reading the Bible around the age of 4. When the elementary school teacher learned this, she talked my great-grandmother into enrolling Pop pop in school early. Pop pop would say later that he really doesn't remember reading that early, but maybe he had a good memory and was a bit of a mimic.
Another tale from Pop pop was the Wells Fargo delivery around that same time. Pop pop ran out to meet the delivery man and told him, “just put in the barn.” Pop pop thought it was feed for the horses not realizing his parents ordered an Edison Cylinder Record Player. Don't worry it didn’t go into the barn and now resides with my sister in Georgia. It still works because Pop pop drilled into us to never over wind it!
When you lived on the farm, it was a treat to go into town. Mumsey would get the boys ready first before getting herself dressed. Pop pop remembers one time when he was about seven or eight. James and Pop pop decided to play with a stray piece of glass (they were pretending to play car) when Pop pop managed to find himself close enough to the creek to fall in.
Knowing that he would be in trouble, Pop pop and James concocted a plan. They would build a fire to dry the wet clothes. We would always ask Pop pop if that worked. He would say that he didn’t remember the rest of the story with a twinkle in his eye!
James, I was told, had a weak stomach, and Pop pop would talk about anything that would ruin an appetite at the dinner table. It was the plan to get an extra dessert as James wouldn't touch it. When I was growing up, we weren't allowed to talk about anything like snakes or vomiting without Pop pop us telling us that wasn't proper dinner table talk.
According to family lore, Pap was known to walk in his sleep. In fact, he would head to the barn to harness the horses to the plow. Fortunately, he never ran into trouble with a stray kick, but I don't know how Mumsey handled that.
Speaking of horses, Pap purchased a Shetland pony named Ginger for his sons to ride to school in Glenville (about 3 miles away). In addition, Pop pop and James had a collie named Rex, who has a gift from Uncle Roy Turner.
Starting school as early as he did, Pop pop graduated high school early too -- by the age of 16. When he started high school, he was all of 12 years and weighed less than 85 pounds. Because of his childlike stature, one of the teachers conned him onto the stage to recite a piece called, "Does Anyone Wanna Buy a Baby?" The dramatic piece was about an older brother wanting to find someone to buy his new baby brother. According to Pop pop, he received rave reviews.
After high school, Pop pop went to Glenville State College for two years. He and his cousin, Hadsell Ball, along with more than 700 people attended an Amelia Earhart lecture on January 11, 1936. According to reports, Mrs. Earhart's topic was "Aviation Adventures" as she shared about her previous year’s 3,000 mile solo flight from Honolulu to California.
That same year, Pop pop completed college and went straight into teaching. His first summer after classes ended, he went on the road as a salesman and purchased himself a gray 1936 Chevrolet. Soon thereafter, he caught the eye of my grandmother. But that's another blog story!
When Pop pop married Grammie in 1938, he brought her back to live with Mumsey and Pap on the farm.
I think Mumsey must have loved having a daughter in the house. Grammie told one of her memories of the farm was she decided to help cut out a dress pattern on the kitchen table. Mumsey didn't own many special things when they lived on the farm, but she did have a lace tablecloth. Grammie, in her haste, not only cut the dress but also cut up that tablecloth. It was beyond mending, and Grammie said Mumsey never said a word about it.
