Marion Co TOC

    I was about 12 when we lived back in the woods. We bought an old unfinished log house from an Indian who had escaped the migration, and he had 20 acres there, it would be across Crooked Creek from Rea Valley and about 2 miles off the hwy into Flippin. Beautiful piney woods, the house was built to be 4 rooms, but only half had been "chinked" or finished as 2 rooms, a bedroom and kitchen. My room was the unfinished part and it was like sleeping outdoors, almost. You could see between the logs, but there were windows too.
    I could lay there at night and listen to the "good old boys" run their hounds. I loved to hear those dogs "sing".
    The men would be off somewhere with a fire going and a jug being passed around, and remarking on each dog's position in the run.
    Occasionally, the dogs would run right past our house as the fox would try to make them loose the scent that way.
    Oh how I loved it.
    I had a well-known mule then named "Pete". All the folks used him when they needed him. He was a free-range mule and knew every trail in the woods. I could get on him and just head him in the direction I wanted to go, and we would be following a very fine trail to Rea Valley or White River, or anywhere I wanted to go. Only problem I had was he absolutely refused to cross a bridge. Did not like that sound under his hooves. But he would find a trail and down we would go and across the creek.
    I will stop with that one, haha.
    I must say how much I appreciate all the work that Gladys Horn and Linda Haas Davenport has done in putting the Mt. Echo newspaper on the Marion Co., AR web site your great work has allowed me to access articles about my family. I spent about 8 hours yesterday going through every issue and saving every article re my family there. Some great ones. One where my g-grandmother, Belle Berry Griffin, she went to a "Gospel Meeting". and where one of her daughters had a "rehearsal". I kept every one of them on Jenks Neal Griffin, Daddy Griffin to us all. Of course, I am kin to about every old name there, Nanny was a Berry/Cowdry.

Bill "Chaps"