More Stories
from Central:
Chappie’s
Childhood Stories
Editor’s
Note: Here we continue with the childhood stories of Marvin Chapman “Chappie”
Morgan, and his memories of growing up in Central during the 1940s.
Jimmy’s mother, Mrs. Myrtle McAllister, was a terrific cook.
Any time I was around at supper time, she automatically set a place for
me.
That is, until Mama found out I was
eating so often at their house.
Mama put
a stop to it and taught me a lesson in etiquette.
When I was in fourth grade, our teacher, Miss
Dessie Zachary, was giving the class some instruction on this same subject of
eating at someone else’s house.
She told
a story about a young boy she knew who, like me, ate at a friends house
regularly.
Here too, the lady
automatically set a place for him without asking.
When the young man’s parents learned of his
daily free-loading, they admonished him and aught him that he should never eat
at anyone’s unless he was first invited. The next time he was at his friends
house at mealtime, the lady of the house set his place at mealtime, the lady of
the house set his place as usual.
When
the family sat down to eat, the visitor hung back and stood leaning against the
wall.
The lady, noticing this strange
behavior, wondered why the sudden change.
She decided to say nothing and just wait to see what would happen.
The family dug in and ignored the hungry lad
who was intently watching from the edge of the room.
When it became evident that no invitation was
forthcoming, he blurted out, “I’d eat if y’all invited me!”
Miss Zachary’s story caused laughter in the class, but
embarrassment to me.
I felt as though
she was telling the story on me!
In fourth grade I had a sweetheart who had the prettiest
green eyes and a head full of long, golden ringlets.
Her name was Barbara Sue Neams.
And a shy one she was.
Miss Zachary scolded certain members of the
class once, for teasing my golden haired sweetie because she still believed in
Santa Claus.
I wasn’t one of those who
got the scolding, but, I did think she was kind of big to still be
believing.
Up to this time, I had never
owned a suit, other than a little tan one made for me by Aunt Delia Richardson
back in about 1940.
Mama took me to
Welsh and Levy men’s store in
Barbara Sue kept the home-made valentine.
She married Russell Watts and had three
children.
My wife and I and our three
children were visiting them once, not long after our return from
Cockleburs
Wendell was at home one day with Janey and me while Mama was
in town shopping. He was in the house preoccupied while Janey and I played
around the porch on the east side of the house.
A fence ran close to the edge of the porch separating our
yard from Mr. Ware’s corn field. Between the fence and the corn rows grow all
kinds of weeds. Among these various weeds, I saw some cockleburs growing close
enough to the fence that I was able to remove some of the prickly burs from the
dried stalks.
Although there realy isn’t much one can do with cockleburs,
I found a way to have fun with them. I tangled them in my little sister’s soft,
fine hair! Well, she couldn’t take a joke and with the wad of tangled burs
dangling from her head, she went crying to Wendell.
Wendall wasn’t at all impressed. He scolded me the whole
time he was trying to remove the well tangled burs. He finally gave up and got
some scissors. I knew I was in trouble then. Janey’s hair was a sight after the
last bur was removed surginally. And Wendell kept the condemning evidence until
Mama got home. She soundly thrashed my little behind.
The
Squirrel Hunters
Several men came to the house once to go squirrel hunting
with Wendell. They went off behind the house where we could hear them shooting
now and then. By and by they all came out, all except one. When we didn’t show
up after a while, they began calling for him and firing their guns. Later, the
man came waling up the lane in front of the house. He hadn’t been lost as was
feared. He had just hunted on through the woods and came out up on the