Lessons Learned

...Here are more early memories from Mud Bottom -my husband's young years!...

Lessons Learned

Being the youngest of four adventurous brothers (Not to mention, also, having six sisters) could often be hazardous to a boy! This lesson young Ed learned, early on - with up-dates from time to time.

Farm life was not ALL work. There were times when boys could explore!

In the country neighborhood of Mud Bottom there happened to be an old abandoned log house. No one had lived there for a long time. The yard was overgrown with weeds, with the house almost hidden from view. It was the kind of place that would call to young, inquisitive boys to get a better, closer up, look!

The right day came for the three younger boys to explore the old log house. Ed was always up for some fun. He was about age six, with his brother Odell, eight and brother Jack, eleven.

The only thing of interest to be found in the old house was a pile of long discarded, mostly worn out, clothes! Being the only ’Find’ of their adventure, nevertheless, the boys focused on this pile of musty smelling old clothes!

Among the raggedy duds was found a pair of ‘under drawers’ which most likely had never seen the inside of a wash pot, nor ever flapped on a clothesline to freshen in the breeze! Ed remembers them as being a dingy white in color with brownish spots…especially in the seat area.

Jack dared his little brother, Ed, to try the underwear on! Perhaps Ed was intrigued with finding a pair of under drawers of his own. Little country boys his age often wore their overalls with nothing between the rough fabric and tender bottom! Whatever the reason, Ed did just as his brother told him to do! He shucked off his overalls and with his brothers watching him he put one bare foot and then the other into the underwear and pulled them up! He found them WAY too big!

It might would have been a blessing that they didn’t fit and he would leave them there in the heap of old clothes…so that his mother would not discover them when the next bath time came around!

It might would have been …except Jack said, ”Ummmm, I’m telling Mother you found some old under drawers and put them on!!” And with that the two older boys raced home, and did just that; leaving Ed to scramble back into his overalls as quickly as he could, and follow.

A set up!!

Ed of course, got a whipping from Mother and spent hours in a tub of water on the back porch, scrubbing his bottom with a bar of lye soap!

The brothers laughed! :)

June Kellum

July 2006

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This picture was taken on our recent trip to Mud Bottom!
The old barn is still there and , still used, it seems!
A big, new house was built on the spot where my husband's family lived, but the barn remained the same- except for the red paint!
:) Charles said it had no paint on it in their time there!









Amazing to me that so many old barns are still standing - after 70 -or even more- years!

I love the old things!



Junie

The Rent Crib

This is a small corn crib (the rent crib) that still stands on the old home place where my husband lived in his youth! This crib was used to store the 1/3 of the corn crop, which went to the landlord for rent of the farm.

This is in Limestone Co, Alabama in the farming area known as Mud Bottom, near the banks of Elk River.






Junie