Easter Sunday Hubby and I were alone so I shuffled through some old community newspapers, looking for a specific issue.
Wow. I’ve been writing this column for 13 years. How time flies.
During these years we’ve covered Mom’s childhood memories of her family,
My childhood memories of Grandma Hattie.
My city life during WWII with my parents.
The past few months we’ve covered my mom’s nightly reading from the Bed Time Bible Story Book.
My mom also told many stories centered on her childhood sibling responsibilities.
I chose this humorous account:
Three Tolbert kids, errors in judgment.
Everyone knew Hattie’s young’uns were some of the best-behaved in Lee County. She parented from the Good Book.
Her three youngest of a Baker’s dozen were, my mom Marguerite and two red-haired, freckled face siblings, John and James. All three had made, uhh, errors in judgment.
Hmmm.
Mama tried dippin’ snuff but it made her throw up. Never tried that again.
Five-year-old John sneaked into the pasture and tried bull riding. Never tried that again.
And James?
Mom tried to keep James, the spoiled caboose of the family train, on the track.
He was just “mischievous but could be sweet and humble” according to his Pa.
Grandma didn’t particularly hate tobacco. How could she? After all she did dip snuff. She carried a little blue canister and a sweet gum toothbrush in her bosom.
Grandpa smoked a pipe which was allowed in the house only because of the cherry tobacco aroma.
Grandpa also occasionally puffed on a cigar but usually hid behind the smokehouse where Hattie couldn’t smell it.
Back to Mom’s story.
Ma smelled a cigar and saw James puffin’ on it but quickly outed him and slick as a greased pig he ran around the house and hid under the house behind the chimney.
“Well smarty, just you wait till your Pa gets home. He’ll settle up with you”
When Pa came from working in the field Ma ran to him “I caught your son, James, smoking’ one of your cigars today. He’s hidin’ under the house.”
Soon Pa was crawling under the house. “Hey, son you still under here?”
A small voice whispered, “Over here Pa. What happened? Did Ma catch you smokin’ too?”
Well for what it’s worth those three Tolbert kids turned out just fine.
Results
My mom raised two children of her own, adopted another, worked at Richland County Health Department contributing her entire salary to help found and build West Columbia’s Suburban Baptist Church. She wrote many songs, poems and published a book.
John joined the Army, was wounded and decorated for service. Became a successful car salesman for Pulliam Ford Dealership. No children.
James joined the military too but got a medical discharge for damaged kidneys. He married and had three lovely daughters.
He remained a humble man and retired as a stone mason.
And Hattie’s older children?
Not a failure among them. Siblings helping siblings. Success when parenting from the Good Book, Y’all.
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