My brother Bill was fourteen when Daddy bought him his first car. It was in 1937 and there were fewer restrictions on driving in those days. The car, a 1931 Model A coupe, had a rumble seat usually referred to as the "cooter" shell. It belonged to our local dentist who sold it to Daddy for fifty-five dollars. Bill made good use of that car during the summer while school was out. Gas was cheap and he and his friends pooled what little money they had and spent most of their time going and coming. The destination didn’t matter. They piled in as many friends as the car would hold and rode. They were having fun.
Summer flew by and soon it was time for Bill to return to school. Daddy wanted to be sure he stayed there. Bill had already asked if he could drive his car to school. That may seem a reasonable request for most people but since we lived directly across the street in front of the high school it seemed a mite suspicious. Daddy believed in an ounce of prevention and decided it would be better to clip Bill’s wings before he took flight. He remembered when Bill started school at Midway, a rural area near Kershaw, where they lived at the time. It was Bill’s first year and he had no desire to go. Mama and Daddy lived in a house across the road from the schoolhouse then too. Daddy owned a small grocery store located beside their home. He would take Bill to school each morning, drop him off, and then go to his store to work. When Daddy left the school Bill lit out for home.
Esther, our sister, was three years younger than Bill and too young to go to school even at the one-room schoolhouse he was attending. Daddy continued taking Bill to school and Bill continued slipping away as fast as he could. Mama decided to try sending Esther with him thinking that would solve the problem. It didn’t. When the first opportunity arose he headed for home leaving Esther and the school behind.
One day Bill followed some older boys when they left the school grounds and he became lost in a wooded area nearby. They had everyone out looking for him and Esther was crying because she had lost her brother. When they finally found Bill Daddy brought the two of them home. He and Mama decided it might be best to wait another year before trying again. Things worked out just fine for Bill and Daddy. Bill and Esther graduated from Kershaw High School in 1943. We were in the midst of WWII and Bill had been given a deferment to allow him to finish high school. He was inducted into the army and reported for duty the day after his graduation. It was thirty-two long months before we saw him again.
When Bill returned home he too had acquired a healthy respect for education. He and many of his friends returning from the military attended Kershaw High School for refresher courses that year. Afterwards he enrolled at The Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina. Daddy was so proud the day that Bill graduated. Daddy grew up in a time and place when many children didn’t have the opportunity to attend school. He had hopes that all his children would acquire a college education. Unfortunately his daughters had other ideas. Esther and one of our cousins enrolled at King’s Business College in Charlotte after graduating from high school. That didn’t last long because Et became homesick and was ready to leave after a couple of months.
After graduating in 1946 I didn’t have college on my mind either. Daddy made one last effort and enrolled Esther and me at Columbia Commercial College in Columbia, South Carolina. He had hopes, again, that if two of us went together we might stay. Daddy didn’t realize the strong homing pigeon instinct ingrained in his children. He carried us to Columbia on Sundays and told us he would be back for us on Fridays. Columbia was approximately sixty miles from our home and too far to walk but Et and I would take every opportunity that arose to return home with the first person we saw from Kershaw. Sometimes it would be as early as Tuesday. I know Daddy was disappointed when we decided we had enough of CCC and came home after six months. City life was not for us.
Mama ran interference for Et and me. She told Daddy that everyone was not cut out for college. It was his dream, not ours, and he finally agreed. Esther went to work in Lancaster at the Spring’s Purchasing Department the following year. I was hired at Spring’s Uptown Office not too long afterwards. Daddy had a store in Lancaster at the time so we all rode to work together. Everyone was happy, especially Daddy, to know the two of us were at least taking advantage of our training at CCC.
My younger sister and the baby of the family had dreams of becoming a nurse. She enrolled at Camden Nursing School in 1953. She was doing fine until her class was required to watch an autopsy on a little child. She passed out cold during the procedure. It was more than she could take and we found her at home that afternoon when we returned home from work. I think by that time Daddy had resigned himself to the fact that his daughters did have dreams of their own. Many years later, Mama, who Daddy always referred to with the pet name of “Duck” told us of Daddy’s final words in the matter.
Summer flew by and soon it was time for Bill to return to school. Daddy wanted to be sure he stayed there. Bill had already asked if he could drive his car to school. That may seem a reasonable request for most people but since we lived directly across the street in front of the high school it seemed a mite suspicious. Daddy believed in an ounce of prevention and decided it would be better to clip Bill’s wings before he took flight. He remembered when Bill started school at Midway, a rural area near Kershaw, where they lived at the time. It was Bill’s first year and he had no desire to go. Mama and Daddy lived in a house across the road from the schoolhouse then too. Daddy owned a small grocery store located beside their home. He would take Bill to school each morning, drop him off, and then go to his store to work. When Daddy left the school Bill lit out for home.
Esther, our sister, was three years younger than Bill and too young to go to school even at the one-room schoolhouse he was attending. Daddy continued taking Bill to school and Bill continued slipping away as fast as he could. Mama decided to try sending Esther with him thinking that would solve the problem. It didn’t. When the first opportunity arose he headed for home leaving Esther and the school behind.
One day Bill followed some older boys when they left the school grounds and he became lost in a wooded area nearby. They had everyone out looking for him and Esther was crying because she had lost her brother. When they finally found Bill Daddy brought the two of them home. He and Mama decided it might be best to wait another year before trying again. Things worked out just fine for Bill and Daddy. Bill and Esther graduated from Kershaw High School in 1943. We were in the midst of WWII and Bill had been given a deferment to allow him to finish high school. He was inducted into the army and reported for duty the day after his graduation. It was thirty-two long months before we saw him again.
When Bill returned home he too had acquired a healthy respect for education. He and many of his friends returning from the military attended Kershaw High School for refresher courses that year. Afterwards he enrolled at The Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina. Daddy was so proud the day that Bill graduated. Daddy grew up in a time and place when many children didn’t have the opportunity to attend school. He had hopes that all his children would acquire a college education. Unfortunately his daughters had other ideas. Esther and one of our cousins enrolled at King’s Business College in Charlotte after graduating from high school. That didn’t last long because Et became homesick and was ready to leave after a couple of months.
After graduating in 1946 I didn’t have college on my mind either. Daddy made one last effort and enrolled Esther and me at Columbia Commercial College in Columbia, South Carolina. He had hopes, again, that if two of us went together we might stay. Daddy didn’t realize the strong homing pigeon instinct ingrained in his children. He carried us to Columbia on Sundays and told us he would be back for us on Fridays. Columbia was approximately sixty miles from our home and too far to walk but Et and I would take every opportunity that arose to return home with the first person we saw from Kershaw. Sometimes it would be as early as Tuesday. I know Daddy was disappointed when we decided we had enough of CCC and came home after six months. City life was not for us.
Mama ran interference for Et and me. She told Daddy that everyone was not cut out for college. It was his dream, not ours, and he finally agreed. Esther went to work in Lancaster at the Spring’s Purchasing Department the following year. I was hired at Spring’s Uptown Office not too long afterwards. Daddy had a store in Lancaster at the time so we all rode to work together. Everyone was happy, especially Daddy, to know the two of us were at least taking advantage of our training at CCC.
My younger sister and the baby of the family had dreams of becoming a nurse. She enrolled at Camden Nursing School in 1953. She was doing fine until her class was required to watch an autopsy on a little child. She passed out cold during the procedure. It was more than she could take and we found her at home that afternoon when we returned home from work. I think by that time Daddy had resigned himself to the fact that his daughters did have dreams of their own. Many years later, Mama, who Daddy always referred to with the pet name of “Duck” told us of Daddy’s final words in the matter.
“Well, Duck,” he said, “I suppose one out of four ain’t bad.”
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