I interviewed Marie on May 4th, 2006. I wanted to meet someone who could tell me more about the life along the Niangua River for a book that I was working on. The historical society in Buffalo told me that Maire would love to share information with me. When I contacted her she said, "come on over". I did with a small tape recorder in hand. When I arrived at her home she meet me at the door and invited me in. She was working on a quilt made with hankies she had recieved in a hankie exchange during WWII. I went home later and tried to the best of my weak abilities to capture that conversation exactly as she spoke...
Dad said we were Scott-Irish
Marie held up a book titled Teaching Early Day’s in Dallas County, written by Elva Murrell Hempbill. I think I told you that dad taught school. He was born in 1871. He taught in that log schoolhouse and they had slab logs for seats, and I think a big stump for him to stand at.
My sister Audrey was a schoolteacher. She went and rode a horse or drove a buggy. She rode a horse lots of times, she taught down at Cud it was quite a little ways, she was my first teacher. One time the creek was up and the horse got its leg fast in a limb or something that wasrhed in there and she had to pick it up and got its head down and the neck reins were fastened on the shafts and she had to wade out there and get that loose. She sent the little boy back home to have them come and I think the mare broke her leg trying to get out. She taught down at Cud it was quite a little ways, she was my first teacher.
Harry taught school for a while. Then he went to Chillicothe to Business College and from there he got a job in St. Louis at the post office. He joined the National Guards and they initiated him and somehow in the initiation he become mentally ill.
Then Roy was the next teacher and he taught for forty years he started out in grade school and I know we had a big ice storm he was teaching at Everheart and went on ice skates.
Church:
You asked me about our church believe. I was little and can’t remember my older sister or any of us being with me Dad and mother wur baptized in the Niangua River and I stood on the bank and I seen them going out into the water I was afraid for them. We didn’t live on the river, and I never learned to swim. I didn’t know what to expect. They were of the Baptist faith. Lots of times the pastor he would maybe preach for us every two weeks or something and then somewhere else. He would usually stay at our house. He would maybe preach Saturday night and Sunday or something. People would show up on their horses, wagons, and buggies, some walked. We used to went to church in the wagon, up at the old school house. Then to at Windyville they had a blacksmith’s shop down here, and what they called a hall up there. Sometimes they would have church there before they ever built the community building.
The church that my folks belonged to was the Baptist church and I grew up not knowing what any other was about. I thought everybody went to Sunday school, kids went to Sunday school. They all had Bibles as far as I can remember. When they started having church in the community building some Christian preachers would come there and there were a lot of school kids that joined that church at that time. There were fourteen of us baptized at the same time in the Niangua River. I never learn to swim.
I never went to the river enough to learn to swim. Then the Windyville church dispanded at that time. When I moved over closer to Plad why I went to that Baptist Church there. It was the church of my choice. I went to Bayleejam it was a free will Baptist. Windyville still had a Baptist Church, I never went back to Windyville very much. We walked and went to Bayleejam, it was a free will Baptist.
When I went to church camp when I was about twelve years old I guess, thirteen maybe and at meditation we’d take our Bibles and go set by a tree for long a time and study and meditate. I have never forgotten that and the last night we lit candles and stuck em to a paper plate and marched down to the river we put them in the water and that represented our lives going out into the world and some of them would drift along there and get hung up something and someone would go and release them that represented someone helping us along the way, that left an impression on me, I’ve never forgotten and I still go out to Plad church every Sunday practically.
Music:
They had a tuning fork they knew how to blow it just how to get the different notes. Then who was ever leading the singin would take off. My step Grandfather was a music teacher he taught the square notes. Do Ra Me Fa So La Te Do. I thought my mother was the prettiest alto singer I ever heard, and my sister, now I never could sing alto, I sang second soprano in high school. I was song leader at church for several years after I joined the Plad church.
We had one of those old pump organs at home. Pearly still has her folks. Dad sold ours before I was married; some one came by and offered a good price for it. My momma would sing a lot. Dad whistled, he never did sing. He didn’t have the voice to sing, but when he was about the place, what ever he was a doing, some of them said he would whistle the same old tune.
My brother could play a French harp, but we had neighbors that could play a quitar in fact one of them brought his quaitar worked for Dad he showd me how to cord and all but what you don’t use you loose ya know I took piano lessons for a year now I couldn’t play one if I had to I know where the notes.
Prejudices/Handicaps:
My mother was one forth Indian. Her father, Robert Yates, was half Indian. They say he looked like an Indian. He wore his hair in long braids. My cousins, off the same Great-grandfather, said when he would go past their place on the way to town, without any top on his buggy, he would stand with his foot up against the dashboard trotting his horse faster and faster. They said his braid would stand out straight behind him.
I would go to their house and stay all night. Mom’s twin sisters were younger than her, this one twin, the girl, had some kind of fever when she was about two years old left her… but when the kids came home from school they would help her and teach her. She could write good, and she knew her numbers and could read good. She couldn’t walk, she’d say “go on I’ll be there” and she’d walk, she’d go on all fours but she’d move one foot at a time, move this one and that. If I’d look back she’d set down so quick I couldn’t see her walk. Little kids could say “are you crippled?” and she’d say yes. But mama would always tell us “now don’t say anything about her legs”, they were no bigger than my wrist. She sew, she’d use the treadle sewing machine. She’d put that foot on it but she’d treadle with her hand, see she’d use that hand to push down on her leg. They had what they called a central, a telephone exchange at their house. The box seemed like to me it was higher than that television, seemed like to me it was higher but I was small and she could swing herself, get a hold of it and swing herself and set on that box and then they had tabs to push in the different phones. Lots of people would say they never did see her, but they knew her name. If they wanted to talk to someone on that line she’d know what line to plug in that box. We had the old box phones on the wall three rings, two shorts or whatever, if the phone ring well you’d know who it was for by the rings. You could listen to all the gossip in town.
Takes a Whole Community to Raise a Child:
One time my cousin and I were at the store. We wore socks up with garters ya know, and we rolled them down to our ankles, and some girls they called them flappers that were wearing shorter dresses. They were rollin their socks down to their ankles so we rolled our socks down, one of the ladies that lived down on a farm near us said “if your mama’s could see you they would whip youun’s both.” I said if she could come back now and see the world and how the girls dress and all, mercy.
I interviewed Marie on May 4th, 2006. I wanted to meet someone who could tell me more about the life along the Niangua River for a book that I was working on. The historical society in Buffalo told me that Maire would love to share information with me. When I contacted her she said, "come on over". I did with a small tape recorder in hand. When I arrived at her home she meet me at the door and invited me in. She was working on a quilt made with hankies she had recieved in a hankie exchange during WWII. I went home later and tried to the best of my weak abilities to capture that conversation exactly as she spoke...
Dad said we were Scott-Irish
Marie held up a book titled Teaching Early Day’s in Dallas County, written by Elva Murrell Hempbill. I think I told you that dad taught school. He was born in 1871. He taught in that log schoolhouse and they had slab logs for seats, and I think a big stump for him to stand at.
My sister Audrey was a schoolteacher. She went and rode a horse or drove a buggy. She rode a horse lots of times, she taught down at Cud it was quite a little ways, she was my first teacher. One time the creek was up and the horse got its leg fast in a limb or something that wasrhed in there and she had to pick it up and got its head down and the neck reins were fastened on the shafts and she had to wade out there and get that loose. She sent the little boy back home to have them come and I think the mare broke her leg trying to get out. She taught down at Cud it was quite a little ways, she was my first teacher.
Harry taught school for a while. Then he went to Chillicothe to Business College and from there he got a job in St. Louis at the post office. He joined the National Guards and they initiated him and somehow in the initiation he become mentally ill.
Then Roy was the next teacher and he taught for forty years he started out in grade school and I know we had a big ice storm he was teaching at Everheart and went on ice skates.
Church:
You asked me about our church believe. I was little and can’t remember my older sister or any of us being with me Dad and mother wur baptized in the Niangua River and I stood on the bank and I seen them going out into the water I was afraid for them. We didn’t live on the river, and I never learned to swim. I didn’t know what to expect. They were of the Baptist faith. Lots of times the pastor he would maybe preach for us every two weeks or something and then somewhere else. He would usually stay at our house. He would maybe preach Saturday night and Sunday or something. People would show up on their horses, wagons, and buggies, some walked. We used to went to church in the wagon, up at the old school house. Then to at Windyville they had a blacksmith’s shop down here, and what they called a hall up there. Sometimes they would have church there before they ever built the community building.
The church that my folks belonged to was the Baptist church and I grew up not knowing what any other was about. I thought everybody went to Sunday school, kids went to Sunday school. They all had Bibles as far as I can remember. When they started having church in the community building some Christian preachers would come there and there were a lot of school kids that joined that church at that time. There were fourteen of us baptized at the same time in the Niangua River. I never learn to swim.
I never went to the river enough to learn to swim. Then the Windyville church dispanded at that time. When I moved over closer to Plad why I went to that Baptist Church there. It was the church of my choice. I went to Bayleejam it was a free will Baptist. Windyville still had a Baptist Church, I never went back to Windyville very much. We walked and went to Bayleejam, it was a free will Baptist.
When I went to church camp when I was about twelve years old I guess, thirteen maybe and at meditation we’d take our Bibles and go set by a tree for long a time and study and meditate. I have never forgotten that and the last night we lit candles and stuck em to a paper plate and marched down to the river we put them in the water and that represented our lives going out into the world and some of them would drift along there and get hung up something and someone would go and release them that represented someone helping us along the way, that left an impression on me, I’ve never forgotten and I still go out to Plad church every Sunday practically.
Music:
They had a tuning fork they knew how to blow it just how to get the different notes. Then who was ever leading the singin would take off. My step Grandfather was a music teacher he taught the square notes. Do Ra Me Fa So La Te Do. I thought my mother was the prettiest alto singer I ever heard, and my sister, now I never could sing alto, I sang second soprano in high school. I was song leader at church for several years after I joined the Plad church.
We had one of those old pump organs at home. Pearly still has her folks. Dad sold ours before I was married; some one came by and offered a good price for it. My momma would sing a lot. Dad whistled, he never did sing. He didn’t have the voice to sing, but when he was about the place, what ever he was a doing, some of them said he would whistle the same old tune.
My brother could play a French harp, but we had neighbors that could play a quitar in fact one of them brought his quaitar worked for Dad he showd me how to cord and all but what you don’t use you loose ya know I took piano lessons for a year now I couldn’t play one if I had to I know where the notes.
Prejudices/Handicaps:
My mother was one forth Indian. Her father, Robert Yates, was half Indian. They say he looked like an Indian. He wore his hair in long braids. My cousins, off the same Great-grandfather, said when he would go past their place on the way to town, without any top on his buggy, he would stand with his foot up against the dashboard trotting his horse faster and faster. They said his braid would stand out straight behind him.
I would go to their house and stay all night. Mom’s twin sisters were younger than her, this one twin, the girl, had some kind of fever when she was about two years old left her… but when the kids came home from school they would help her and teach her. She could write good, and she knew her numbers and could read good. She couldn’t walk, she’d say “go on I’ll be there” and she’d walk, she’d go on all fours but she’d move one foot at a time, move this one and that. If I’d look back she’d set down so quick I couldn’t see her walk. Little kids could say “are you crippled?” and she’d say yes. But mama would always tell us “now don’t say anything about her legs”, they were no bigger than my wrist. She sew, she’d use the treadle sewing machine. She’d put that foot on it but she’d treadle with her hand, see she’d use that hand to push down on her leg. They had what they called a central, a telephone exchange at their house. The box seemed like to me it was higher than that television, seemed like to me it was higher but I was small and she could swing herself, get a hold of it and swing herself and set on that box and then they had tabs to push in the different phones. Lots of people would say they never did see her, but they knew her name. If they wanted to talk to someone on that line she’d know what line to plug in that box. We had the old box phones on the wall three rings, two shorts or whatever, if the phone ring well you’d know who it was for by the rings. You could listen to all the gossip in town.
Takes a Whole Community to Raise a Child:
One time my cousin and I were at the store. We wore socks up with garters ya know, and we rolled them down to our ankles, and some girls they called them flappers that were wearing shorter dresses. They were rollin their socks down to their ankles so we rolled our socks down, one of the ladies that lived down on a farm near us said “if your mama’s could see you they would whip youun’s both.” I said if she could come back now and see the world and how the girls dress and all, mercy.
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