The Old Dillard Settlement
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Doretha Dillard ShipmanNovember 2001
The Mt. Echo Newspaper runs a column each week by Doretha Dillard Shipman called The Old Dillard Settlement. This column contains snippets of wonderful stories and memories. I have never met Mrs. Shipman but I look forward to her column and it's normally the first thing I read when I receive the Echo. Mrs. Shipman has been kind enough to allow me to share with you some of her stories and memories. (If you don't already subscribe to the Mt. Echo you should!)
November 8, 2001: Our Davenport relations were remembered. One of the things Iris remembered some telling her, that Grandpa George made musical instruments but didn't' remember what kind. She remembered when once upon a time, the hills and hollers would ring with her Dad's songs as they would walk to school through the woods to Mull, she would hear Virgil singing. What a wonderful memory for a child to remember. She recalled hearing how the folks would get together and sing. Uncle Virgil played a banjo. I have heard Grandpa George wanted his children to learn how to play an instrument. I guess that would stand to reasoning if he made them.
Thanksgiving is just around the corner and I can almost taste the turkey and dressing. It is not too long to election time either, and more hunting seasons will open up. Lots of things are going on.
Thinking of election. Once upon a time there were more election places than there are now. I recall one out at the Burley Baker Store, and my! What a fine bunch of folks who cast their votes at Rush. It has not always been a ghost town. Even after all the hotels were gone, and the 5,000 people who worked at the mines were not there anymore, there still existed a store and post office with Lee Medley as caretaker.
Rush at one time, was a lively place. The school children from the old Dillard School walked to Rush to compete in games, such as races, etc., and I remember going to a pie supper down there. So you can see it was a busy place, but then one day on July 27, 1954 was a primary election, which proved to be the last election held at Rush.
Lee and Mary Davenport were kind enough to share a picture of this final day with us. Hope you enjoy it as I am.
Pictured is: (Back row: Junior Casting at the post, Bessie (Medely) and Cicil Casting and Lee Medely.
Row 2 from back: Mary (Martisic), Mable (Dillard) Holland and Jim Davenport and Lon Dunlap.
Row 3: Lee, Janice and Monty Davenport.
Row 4 from back: Eddie Davenport, Grace McCafferty and Berneta Davenport with the big smile.
What a wonderful group.
November 15, 2001:
Virginia, you and one of your cousins were together a lot, and I guess that could make up for a whole lot. Do you remember when once upon a time you lived in Yellville, we were country cousins, Earnstine (Dillard) was staying with my family going to school, and you two cousins could find more excuses for Earnstine to stay in town with you--one of the reasons, which tried to be concealed, was to be with those good looking Callahan boys. My daddy Pate wasn't blind to that and Uncle Clarence, Earnstine's dad, had told my dad, to be by her like he was by us. Well at that time, we didn't have boyfriends at Yellville, but we were not allowed some of those privileges anyway, and how can a teenager see why it would be bad just to stay with her town cousin. Wasn't that a special time in your sweet young lives?One special time I remember when your family lived here, Virginia, your sister, Jearldean, came to spend some days with me, and when she went home, I rode out to Yellville with her and Daddy. While Dad was gone to do some business, I stayed there at your home until he came back through to pick me up. In between times, I really did want some curls. There were no home permanents, if there was to be any disturbance to the hair, it would be braided for a "kink", rag curls, curling irons you put down in the coal-oil lamp, or metal wave clamps of which my hair was too short, and oh how I wanted longer hair and a curl or two. I got a wish that wonderful day. I borrowed fifty cents from your mother and Aunt Veda, to go to the beauty shop and have two curls on one side three on the other side, which was a style for little girls. It was quite a thing. They washed my hair, put some of the bad smelling "stuff" on it, then hooked me up to this big machine, which had clamps every so hot if it touched my head. I have had a blister burned a time or two with the things. When I got home, I think Mother and sister Myra thought I looked alright, I did and that was the first time I got to let my hair grow out, because you never cut any perm off as long as there was a little, "kink". You wanted to get your money's worth and I did, the whole $.50 worth but...My what misery beauty can cost!!
November 22, 2001:
A lot of our fear and unhappiness are mixed with happy and carefree times though. I was just thinking about something one of my Dillard cousins told in our Dillard Gen. Book he had prepared for us at the Dillard Reunion, which his health was so bad he was unable to attend. Once upon a time when E.G. Dillard lived here in the Dillard Settlement, he wrote, "During the depression, we lost about everything. (The bad thing they had lost their dad,) I remember one day setting on the front porch not knowing what to do, as we didn't have a penny to our name, when I looked up and saw Uncle Bazze walking toward the house. He looked at me and said, "Dutch, do you remember the little pig I gave you?" I told him I did and he said, "She now has a litter of pigs of her own and I will give you $20.00 for her and you can have one of her little pigs." Without that $20.00 I don't know if we would have survived the depression. I have always been thankful to my Uncle Bazze."E.G. was also thankful for his mother who worked for $2.00 a week at a Hotel in Yellville and he worked on farms during the summer for room and board and expressed that he had many good experiences with his Uncle Troy Mears. He worked cleaning a pool hall at Yellville, before school time at YSHS. Also he worked at the Fee's Café. Here he met Sid and Reba Cole. They asked him would he like to go to California? He went with them and got a job in a restaurant before and after school. He was age 15, and how thankful he was to have a job.
Doesn't this make us all want to help someone during a struggle and--be thankful for the little blessings?
His family moved to Yakima, Wa. Where he joined them for about a year. Age 17, he headed back to San Diego, CA. Not having the money for a ticket, he walked or hitch hiked to Salem, Or where he heard a train whistle. He hopped the train, and remembered riding on top of the cars, going through tunnels, almost suffocating, as these were coal burners. He made it and later was drafted into the Army.
We are thankful to all our Veterans and all our Fighters of today and this is being thankful for big blessings.
November 29, 2001:
Once upon a time, cars and trucks were few. As usual, Grandpa "Doc" wanted to try one out. He did. Although the thing died, couldn't it started. It provoked him "much-so" and he beat the thing, it still didn't start. He ran into a fence or two because the dumb thing could not understand the language of his horses, whoo, gee and haw. I don't believe he ever drove much after that, but his sons loved cars and trucks and gradually they all had vehicles. When Uncle Roy Dillard Doc's son, and family moved to Texas, in his early married life, he had a truck. Women didn't drive much either, but his wife, Aunt Veda (Mears) needed to go to town for something and she got into their truck to try out her talent of driving. She got it started, no problem and managed to stay on the road fine. It was when she had to stop that she was in awful trouble. She couldn't stop it. She drove around until she finally came to a stop on a hill. She then walked back to town to get her groceries. I wonder if there was a hill when she got back home to stop her. Experience is a dear teacher.
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