The Old Dillard Settlement

September 2001

In our Dillard Tall Tales, Recipes and Three Songs, there is another special day written about Gertrude at age 92. This was written by Carolyn, and I quote: "One of my favorite people to visit is 92-year-old Gertrude McClain Jones. She is realted to a lot of us on the Davenport side of the family. Her mother Julia (Davenport) McClain, was my granpa Whit's aunt.

"I work for Joe Davenport, who is also my uncle. He has a paving business on Hwy. 202 between Summit and Flippin. One morning, Phyllis Snyder, Gertrude's daughter, called the office wanting Joe to haul some gravel to their driveway. When the work was finished, Phyllis and Gertrude drove down tot he office to pay for the work. The wanted to invite Joe and me to lunch the next day at their house. Gertrude says, it's just beans and cornbread. We go to their house at noon and there was Gertrude stirring fried potatoes and dipping a cup into a pot of beans to scoop them out in our plates. While we enjoyed the feast of pinto beans, sauerkraut, fried potatoes and cornbread, with big goblets of iced teas on the table, Gertrude entertained us with family stories. She said, "Once upon a time when Floy was born (Floy was Uncle Whit and Aunt Rosa (Dillard) Davenport's first child) Whit was looking for someone to stay with Rosie to help with the baby. Whit and Rosie lived at the old Bulter place and we lived at Maumee.

"Whit came and got me and we walked over there and wasded the Buffalo River. Rosie was about 14 or 15 years old and I was younger than she was. I stayed a week and helped Rosie cook and we played with Floy like she was a doll. I washed dirty hip-pins (diapers) and hung them out. Whit gave me $2.50 and boy, I thought I was rich!"

I reckon the old saying "God takes care of children and fools" must be true, because Floy survived.

Caroly continued, "Gertrude said that her sister Pauline was 'struck on' Bazze Dillard and she was 'struck on' Austin Dillard."

When they asked what they would do for birthdays and holidays when she was young, Gertrude replied, "They always liked to go out to the old Maumee store. There was a great ol' big wheel of cheese that they kept a cheesecloth on; whole pieces of bologna hanging up in there; and they kept bolts of material to make up for sewing." She said at Christmas time they would order their candy and it would be put out in big wooden buckets. She said they would have soft puffy candy shaped like bananas and peanuts. Her favorite of all the candy was the hard candy shaped like ribbons.

Another story she told was about "once upon a time" she and Lizzie (Williams) Dillard, who later married Clarence Dillard and they became the parents of Jane Rose, ruby Pyle, Ernestine Noeller and Joe, were asked to sit up with a corpse. Gertrude was about 12 or 13 years old and Lizzie was only a little older than she.

At that time, when a person died the family would get someone to "site up" with the dead person the night before they were to be buried the next day. The Smeltzer girls' mother had died and she and Lizzie were going to sit up with her. Gertrude said, "I don't know why in the world mother let me do that, but off to the Smeltzer place we went.

"It got dark and the wind was a-howlin', old cats were yowlin' and every once in a while here would come first one then the other of those Smeltzer girls, peeping in the door."

Gertrude has eyes as bright as a robin's and when she told this tale, you could just see the mist swirling outside and hear the wind howling when she said, "Me and Lizzie were scared to death."

Gertrude, you have lived, and are living, a very eventful life. Happy birthday, and may you have many more, along with your stories of years ago.

I got hungry for that ribbon candy while writing. I don't have any, but I went to the candy bowl and stated eating those old-time orange slices that stick to your teeth when you eat them and I love that taste and feel of the grains of sugar crunching between my teeth.

Many local boys joined this camp, as well as from other counties and states. This was a great help to the boys and finance to their families. I don't know how much money was given to the boys and their families, but one CCC camp in Missouri stated that the boys received $8 and $22 was sent home to his family. That doesn't sound like much now, but was an abundance in the '30s.

The boys had training that could help prepare them for jobs after their days in the camp. They learned to work with tools, heavy equipment, cooking, office work, and building with native rock (the rock quarry is evident at Buffalo Point Park on the hike to Pebble Spring or the Indian Rockhouse), hewn logs and lumber. The old rock cabins and lodge in the park, and the beautiful rock walls, were constructed by CCC boys when the park was a state park. Many landowners were asked to donate land. My dad and mom donated land where the top pavilion is located.

The camp provided recreation for the boys, which we locals were allowed to participate in. There was an Ample Theater, which was a treat for us young people, since shows were something for us, because the closest theater was at Cotter. There was a tennis court, recreation building, barracks, kitchen-dining hall and other constructions. The water for their use came from Desoto Springs.

So many things can be written about this, but not enough space this time. I don't dare close without saying what a nice thing it was for us teenagers. Many Marion County girls married CCC boys and have lived happy lives.

Girls, was it not a great time?

As I sat down at U.D. and Almeda's old home place with some of the children, we began to think of so many things which had happened on that place, even when Ebb and Mary (Davenport) Williams owned it. How they raised their families on this farm and all the times Aunt Mary would take off during the rain, sleet, snow or sun to help a sick neighbor or deliver one of the over 600 babies she numbered. The children must have enjoyed going to Water Creek, which ran through the farm, for a cool swim or bath after a day of working in the fields of hay, garden or truck patches.

Uncle Whit and Aunt Rosa (Dillard) Davenport lived on this same farm and some of the stories their children tell are things never to be compared to any other family of kids, just ask Glen, or maybe better, ask some of the others. We love you anyway.

After that family, Almeda, their daughter, and U.D. bought the farm and raised their family there for many years. Now the yarns they can tell are almost equal to their aunts and uncles, but some of the aunts and uncles were carried over into this generation and how I loved to g visiting with my cousins.

Their daughter Gwen and Wesley Shipman are the owners now and the place will continue to be loved and taken care of in their special way. This is where folks are gathering before and after U.D.'s funeral.

This is where I heard a few comments. Once upon a time when U.D. and some other men he was with were eating in a café, they noticed a poor feller come in and they knew he was in need of food. The men said, "I believe we should get him some food," but U.D. said, "Naw, that man can work, let him buy his own." The subject dropped. The men went out after eating and happened to look back to see what had happened to U.D. He had bought hat poor "working" man some food. His bark was much worse than his bit, don't you think?

Carolyn Vigna said she remembered when he was in the Army, he wrote to her mother, Almeda, and her two brothers, Raymond and Danny, that he was sending her a birthday present. She said they were all so excited, they watched daily for the mail to come. Finally that day arrived and there was a package from Korea. They lost no time in opening it. Who cared if the paper was ripped? Just open it and let us see. Of course, there was present for each of them, but she only remembers hers. It was a beautiful kimono and doll. Oh, how she wishes she still had it, but the family had a great loss with everything gone by fire. What a shame, but the beautiful memory is still there.

Carolyn remembered when on holidays they had lots of delicious food, but U.D. would always think of some less fortunate families than they, so off with some food to share with them.

He was a hard worker and expected everyone, including his family, to be likewise. He and Almeda were active in our Ralph-Caney Fire Department and we will miss them at the Caney Firehouse Saturday evening, Sept. 22, when all that barbecue dinner will be served, with fine desserts to fit your taste. Remember that old-time saying, "Come one, come all."

Once upon a time our mothers and fathers knew what wood would make the quickest, hottest and longest burning fire. The long-burning wood or the cookstove was so good to keep going with a pot of beans, whippoorwill peas or a batch of meat cooking slowly and the heat of the cookstove would keep the house a little warmer in the cold winter time. The fire in the fireplace was something not only for warmth and beauty, bur for safety. You never wanted to put popping wood on unattended. This caused many homes to burn or a hole to be burned in of the braided rugs which took you so long to make.

This time of year reminds me of when so many men had to work in the timber after the crops were gathered. Once upon a time when ties were cut and the demand was great, Charles Robinson said his dad was sent down to this part of the country to cut and float ties down the Buffalo. He mentioned a company from Missouri who hired him and Florence Davenport's father, Dixon, was the foreman. He mentioned how they slid the ties down the river off of Tie-Shoot Bluff.

He told the story of a group of men who would back the wagon up to the bluffs to unload and once made the mistake of getting too close; the wagon and team both went off. I asked if the man was in the wagon--he didn't know. Then I wondered if this could be one of the groups who camped out and had to keep the fire full of coals to cook the beans. Did I tell you about the men taking turns and the first one who complained of the food had to do the next meal? One cook sure did put he salt to the beans. When they sat down to eat, one said, "My, the beans are salty...it's just the way I like them."

I don't know if he was the next cook, but two lessons were learned--keep you thoughts to yourself and keep the coals alive.