The Old Dillard Settlement

Dec 2001

Do you remember all the pleasure we "kids" had finding a Sears or other catalogue with the right size clothing models for paper doll playing? We naturally had to wait until the catalogue was out of date before we started cutting but at least the same time before it was taken to the out-house or toilet, as we called it. But he thing about that, we could still spend time looking and finding some we had missed. That was the life, wasn't it?

The school children were very interested, and so were the instructors, and they had plans to continue to let the little ones learn the skills of cutting, folding, balance, color and learn-to play with something they have made themselves. With One paper chair, these skills can be learned, and the child doesn't even know they learned anything because it was play. So many ways to teach.

Lee and Mary Davenport were looking good Sunday. I wish they could have stayed to hear Dwight Shipman deliver his sermon, but Lee get rather tired to sit through two services.

I got to thinking how many things ins the pas Lee has seen change and I happen to run across this information he had given of once upon a time. Quote: "Seeing his first airplane fly over when he was a boy living at Desoto Springs. The first car he ever saw, a T-Model at Maumee. When you could buy all of the land you wanted for $1.00 and acre. When gasoline was nine cents a gallon. When men would drive hogs and cattle (by foot) from the Mull-Dillard area to the Summit Depot to be shipped to market by railroad, the first road grader he ever saw was drawn by a team of mules. Helping cut the right of way for Highway 14 with a crosscut saw.

As a young teenager, he would drive a team and wagon loaded with cotton to Yellville, leaving before daylight and getting home after dark. His mother would fix a warm rock to keep hid feet warm in the wagon and have a worm flat iron in his bed when he got home. Walking from Desoto to Mull, which was Dillard at the time, to a one-room school where one teacher taught eight grades.

It was stated, "the list can go on." I am sure of that from all the stories he has related to me, such as when he worked at the sawmills probably with steam engines.

I don't know if he was working for his Grandpa "Doc" when Doc inquired about buying a new sawmill but when the company sent their price listings to him he said, "Ted, get a pencil and write that company. Tell them if I had that much money, I wouldn't need a sawmill." Well something like that--only his language wasn't that mild to the sales company.

Lee, tell us more, I like to hear all that. Just make it up if you need to, it would still be interesting.

Now days, you pay a goodly price for a scant roll, get junk to go on the wall first so the paper will stick, then cut to match run the pre-pasted paper through water and slam it on to the wall or hire ti done by a pro, which might save a marriage some times.

Pick you choice folks.

Wasn't it fun to get up on Christmas morning and see those stockings with a bulge here and a smaller bulge there and maybe a doll head sticking out of the top of the stocking?

I recall when we really didn't put up a tree-then as I grew up and realized that was a custom to some; I just had to have one with trimmings. I remember trying to make decoration with anything shiny. I recall some of the first decorations Mother purchased. They were different colored tin foils with different cutout designs with several of the same designs sewn together. They could be stored flat. But on the tree, they were separated into round circles or balls. And how about all the red bells to unfold, some of them small, some medium and some large. Glass bulbs were so pretty but when they were broken, what a sad feeling. Popcorn was beautiful, but that was always hard for me, I loved to eat that too much. Even the buckberries were beautiful strung and placed around the tree. The beauty to a little child is something they can relate to and things of nature like the buckberry bushes they knew because they sometimes saw their mother make baskets from the vines.

Can you remember when the big thing at Thanksgiving and Christmas time, the men and boys would go hunting? Especially if there should be a snow on the ground, to track the rabbits and what a feast there would be to have fried rabbit.

Another special thing was to kill a hog and have fresh tenderloin for a Christmas dinner or one of those country-cured and smoked ham. Home made biscuits and ham gravy on the side. I can still imagine I see mother standing over that wood cook stove with an apron on left hand holding to the large skillet handle, turning those large slices of ham. What a beautiful thing to remember.

Frankie Sue, I bet you remember all these things, don't you? We "Old Timers" all do and how abut when we would go out in the snow, the folks would wrap their shoes in gunny sacks to help keep their feet warm and dry. How good insulated shoes would have been. I guess progress is good after all.