03709_0150: Guess We Had Moving Fever (another version)

(Handwritten) 2nd version (Handwritten) Begins on page 8 of original story (Handwritten) Guess we had moving fever (Handwritten) Ga-2B

I and my Daddy and about all our kin I knowed about was always renters, share croppers, or worked on somebody else's place for wages. Reckon us never found any place we wanted. Seems like come next we'd find the right place to suit us, but we never did."

"Was my folks Georgy folks? No, sir, leastwise before I was born they come over from North Carolina and rented a place in Pickens County. Course it was a long time after I was born before I come to remember moving so much, but I reckon I got things all straightened out in my mind from time I left Daddy, so I can tell you how many times we've moved and if you want to ask me any questions I'll try to answer them.

"No, I wasn't the only kid in the family. Oldest of seven, all living. Don't know much about them - scattered here and yon. Seems like folks now-a-days don't hang together like when we ^ was ^ boys and girls. I remember I was always strong for a kid and laid off corn ground for Daddy when I wasn't but twelve years old. Wasn't long after that I was doing a man's work along with Daddy and I stayed pretty close around them parts where I was born.

"Yes, my first wife was born and raised close about there too. Her folks was tenant farmers too."

After pausing a moment to part his voluminous mustaches and spit in the fire, he straightened back in his chair and resumed, "That was in '96. Reckon we was like most young folks, wanting to get away from things, so we went a piece further south and I got a job running drill in a gold mine. After I'd been there about two years, pay dirt played out and the mine shut down, so we moved a few miles to south of there and worked in

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(Handwritten) These are editions of a story which has been re-edited & is going through the mill

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an ochre mine. Won't a driller there; did most any kind of work. Reckon we stayed there two years more. Yeah, that's right, because it was 1900 that we went back near where I come from and got a job as handy-man on Mr. Shield's fifteen-horse farm. Suppose you heard tell of Joe Brown, used to be Gov'nor? Well, he lived not far away, and folks sure liked Joe Brown. That's Joe M., I mean. Don't remember much of Joe E., but I do remember seeing the big WELCOME sign painted on the front of his big barn. Folks used to tell about him feeding all the folks around those parts, because he had so much corn he didn't need it and just handed it out to anybody who'd ask. I never seen nobody turned away from Joe Brown's place neither. While I was with Mr. Shields he loaned some of his hands to Joe Brown to help survey the place and build a fence around it.

"Man, that was some farm; seemed like a thousand acres. And that was a fence, too, let me tell you. The posts was all concrete and just miles and miles of wire. Reckon Joe Brown kinda took a liking to me because several times he borrowed me from Mr. Shields and had me haul big loads of corn down to Hariette where his home was. Our first boy was borned there-- (the first one was a girl) so we calls him Joe Brown. We had another girl besides them. Guess we must have had moving fever all the time, because we went back to the ochre mine section, but couldn't get any job. That was nineteen-two and my first wife died. Worked on a small farm at day wages not far from the mines for nigh two years. Spring of nineteen-four we went over into Spalding and got a job in a saw mill. Met a gal from over in Milton County and took a liking to her - guess the kids did too, anyway we got married. Her kinfolks was farmers too so she was used to it, and we stayed there nigh four years and had three more kids borned there. Them young ones

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is all growed up and gone by themselves long ago. Don't see them often since times got bad because we can't afford a car. Anyway we move around so much sometimes maybe they don't know where to look for us."

Here Dave paused long enough for each of us to take a good big chew of "natural twist" with which I am usually supplied, and Dave remarked that it was "mighty good chewing tobacco." Having again manipulated the mustaches to his satisfaction he quietly resumed.

"I got tired of saw-milling, and spring of nineteen-eight we went on a farm a short piece west of the saw mill, and worked on halves for three seasons. Didn't do so bad there, but you know how it is; when come time to move, about all you got is a little furniture and maybe a little corn and fodder and mighty little cash. Anyway, we moved back over nigh Sulphur Springs in spring of nineteen-eleven, and cropped on halves two seasons. Didn't do so good there, so we went back to Spalding in spring of thirteen end took a little bigger place on halves for two seasons. Didn't do so bad them two seasons, but late in 'fifteen my wife died, and we just didn't feel like staying on there, so come spring of nineteen-sixteen we went back over by Sulphur Springs and I bought a small team of mules and a few tools and paid standing rent on 25 acres of good land. That's where Betsy and I got married. Didn't seem like we wanted to stay too close to her folks right then so I sold my stock and we went to a big farm about seven miles further north nigh the mountain and worked a one-horse crop on halves. That's in 'seventeen. Made pretty good that season and felt like I could do better by myself, so I bought stock and worked a one-horse crop over by the 'Springs' two seasons - that was in 'eighteen and 'nineteen. Didn't do so good that last season so in spring of 'twenty we moved over to a small place not far away. Still had my stock and worked a two-horse crop. We stayed on just the one season that place. Done pretty good though in

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the spring of 'twenty-one we moved to the Lawrence farm, not far from the 'Springs." That's a fifteen-horse farm and I worked forty-five acres with my own stock. Didn't do so bad the first season but we stayed on in 'twenty-two and didn't do good; so next spring, that's 'twenty-three, we took a smaller place, two-horse crop, and settled down there until late 'twenty-six. We'd come out clear that season and maybe a little better than that. About decided to try a real crop and bought more stock and tools and moved back on the big place I cropped once before near the mountain. I had a five-horse crop there three seasons, 'twenty-seven, 'twenty-eight, and 'twenty-nine." Here Dave paused and studied for a moment, which gave me an opportunity to refresh our supply of "twist," and after throwing a fresh chunk on the fire he sat down and resumed.

"Don't know as you know about things in the farming line, but seems like things started going down hill fast about that time. The first season I didn't do so poorly, but guano and feed-stutff was getting high and it just seems-like there wasn't anything left. Second season I just about broke even. In 'twenty-nine the boll weevil just about eat us up and cotton didn't bring more than enough to pay for guano. I was sure enough cleaned out. Stayed on until crops was gathered, and Betsy and I moved in with daughter Nell over to Oaktown. We stayed on at that place until the spring of 'thirty-one. Had a few little piddling jobs around town but just couldn't find any steady job any place. That spring we heard tell about good farming down in Dalton County, so Betsy and I went over there and found a likely looking place and rented a twenty-five acre crop on thirds and fourths. Stayed there through thirty-two and again we got ready to move off, all we have to move was

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our furniture. Seemed like that wasn't any place fit to crop on where it wouldn't take more than cotton would bring to pay for guano.

Betsy and I moved to a little house over in "Socktown," a short piece from where her folks used to live, and I got odd jobs around town. We just about managed to eat that year. I went to the relief folks one time and they give me twelve pounds of flour and a little sack of dried milk but I didn't take it. Guessed we might as well starve to death all at once as to teeter along on the job. We ain't been on relief yet. Well, in 'thirty-four I got a farm-hand job not far off and we stayed in Socktown until spring of 'thirty-five. Got back farming - three-horse crop I rented - and didn't pay out. Come spring of 'thirty-six we moved to another sawmill town and I worked two, three months. About time we got settled I put a ad in the Farmers Market Bulletin asking for work on a big farm. 'Grannies', I got a stack of letters a foot high! Betsy read them all and she wrote for a job bossing farm hands on a big orchard farm up in north Georgy. It wasn't long before we were sent for to go up there, and I got the job. Nice place and I liked it fine. Got fifteen dollars a month and keep for both of us. Feller what owned it lived in Savannah. He come up frequent and he acted like he was pleased the way I done things. We was getting along fine until come spring of 'thirty-seven. He come up and we traded for another year and he said he was pleased the things I had done and planned, but after he went home I got a letter from him cussing me out for the way I done things. Made me so mad I quit. That was in July, 'thirty-seven, and we moved back to where I used to work in a saw-mlll. That mill had been moved a long time, but a small mill was there and I got work in it. There was a farm house off a little piece from where the mill stood and the man what

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