Green Memories

     Many of us know the names and backgrounds of only a couple of generations before us, as well as our own generation, but we ancestors of the Greens are very fortunate to have been blessed with good record keepers in the family, with many books and diaries available.

     We are not privileged with all saints in our background, either, but we are most proud to be from this family. Just think; but for the grace of God, we could have all been bad!

     We would love to tie our family to all those famous Greenes from the past but that is not possible. Somewhere along the line our Grandfather dropped the "E" from his name while the other branches still retain this unimportant letter. The spelling of the name does not make the man; the individual who carries the label must make it good or bad. There are different spellings between the French and English and we are very positive the original from whence we came was of the English or Welsh.

Blacksmith Shop at Dalark, circa 1920 From left: W.O. Green, Lizzie (Rogers) Green, John E. Green, Helen Rogers Courtesy John Howard

The Early Days

     Facts become very hard to prove prior to the year 1783 in tracing our kin, but several members of the family have written very professional books from that year to our present day. We do have positive proof of the life and times of our progenitor; Gideon Green. He appeared in that year with a land grant in Anson County, North Carolina, of 150 acres. This man was our Great-Great-Great Grandfather and probably was of German as well as the Welsh extraction. His name appears quite frequently in records of that era and he and several of his brothers owned and operated water driven grist mills along the Rocky River. He married Elizabeth Andersen of Mecklenburg County, Virginia, and they had nine children. One of these children was my Great-Great Grandfather; Nathan. We don't have a lot of information about him, with the exception that he bought land and settled along the Rocky River, with the Grist Mill business and farming as his mainstay. Nathan married Polly Kizer and from this union came a most interesting man named George Jackson Green, who was our Great Grandpa Jack, as he was affectionately known.

     Grandpa Jack became well established in Union County, North Carolina, and he followed the family tradition by establishing a grist mill along the Rocky River. He inherited many acres of land from his father and bought a lot as the years went by. He had several acres in the adjoining counties of Cabarrus and Anson, and he was a schoolmaster.

     When the terrible years of the 1860's came along he had two sons who were old enough for service. These two sons were Jacob Paul and George Adderson; William Nathan would be seventeen in a few months and would also be drafted. As the onslaught from the north grew, Grandpa Jack was also drafted into what was known as the Home Guard. None of them were to return until the end of the war. This left my Grandfather John Wilson Green as the five year old "man of the household."

     Grandpa talked to me of these days when I was a teenager and told me of the problems they had with both sides. He was responsible for the horses and would hide them as anyone approached the farm. His mother; Crissie, and his three sisters were to hide the food and anything else of value. He said the southern forces were much worse than the northern.

     After the war everyone was broke and the farms and mills, as well as everything else, were in a shambles. Grandpa Jack returned home broke financially and spiritually. He only lived seven years after he returned and is buried in the family plot by the side of the house he built; just off Morgan Hill Road at the end of Santa Claus Lane, not far from the city of Monroe.

     Jacob Paul and George Adderson didn't stay around long after the war but left to seek their fortune in the state of Mississippi. They became very successful farmers and their offspring are very thick around the small town of Oakland. William Nathan was wounded in the battle at Rheems Station and was to carry the bullet in his hip for years after I came along.

     Grandpa John married Margaret Simpson in 1879. In the mid 1890's he was hit by the moving bug and they moved to Jackson, Tenn., for a year, and then back to Union County for awhile. Two of Grandpa's older sisters were widowed by the Civil War and they had remarried and moved to the land known as "Arkansaw". They wrote glowing reports of cheap and rich land that would grow cotton without a lot of effort!

     In 1889, Grandpa decided that this was the place to grow rich, and he loaded up Great Grandma Crissie, Grandma Margaret, and the kids for the long train ride to Arkansas. He also brought along a black man named Sam Watson and a nephew named Alexander. The two sisters had settled along the Clark-Dallas county line and this is where he bought land. He bought several acres east of the Macedonia Primitive Baptist Church, about a mile from the Clark county line.

     There were six children in the family by this time; Oscar, George, Charles, Maggie, John Ellis, and James. Five more followed with one dying at birth. The others were Adeline (Dolly), Nancy, Catherine, and my mother Susie. George, Nancy, and Catherine, all died at an early age. Grandmother Margaret died before I was born so I don't know much about her.

     Grandpa said that the first year he cleared enough land to plant several acres of cotton. All the profits, except for that used to buy a few barrels of flour, went to buy more land. The next 30 years of his life were spent on a continuous land expansion. He bought land at tax sales and also bought cut over timberland for a dollar an acre. He was adamant about not selling any land, saying; "God wouldn't make any more land but would make a lot of people".

John Wilson Green, circa 1900
Courtesy of John Howard

Life With Grandpa in Arkansas

     I consider myself to be the most fortunate of all the grandkids from this family because we lived with Grandpa the last 14 years of his life, except for a brief period when we lived in North Carolina. He was there on a hot, dry, Sunday morning in September of 1930, when I was born. He did not confirm the correct spelling of the names, but made the decision that I was to be named after both Grandfathers. He assumed that my Grandfather Howard's name was Benjamin since he was called Ben. His name was Benton. Grandpa was a very strong willed individual and he usually had his way about anything that came up. Momma always said he had to run things his way!

     I don't remember a lot about those early years living at his house; just brief, or special events. I do remember the first time I ever saw him, after I became old enough to retain anything much We lived in a small town by the name of Oakboro, in North Carolina on the Rocky River. He had written several letters asking my parents to move back to Arkansas and stay with him. I suppose this was a last ditch effort on his part as he came to North Carolina by train with what he called a "deal". He brought along deeds to 160 acres of land and the home place, if we would move back to Arkansas and live with him. He had been through a long list of hired people and grandkids, and could not get along with any of them. He was 70 years old at this time and had liquidated many of his holdings over the years. He had given much of the land to his kids, along with the buildings, horses, cows, and equipment. A sawmill, store, shop, and gin had been sold. He still had a lot of land with several families sharecropping it. I don't know any of the details of what he promised my folks other than the land. I do know that Dad was to manage the farm and Momma was to take care of him and the house.

     We made the trip from North Carolina in a stake body truck with a tarp over the back covering all our possessions. It was a very exciting trip for a seven year old, as we camped out along the way. I immediately set out to make friends with all the kids that lived on the place as well as finding "new" aunts, uncles, and cousins. I suppose I was most fascinated by the black kids; their funny way of talking and their hair. We were all good friends and remain so today.

     These were most happy times, with all the playing and school, but the style was to change very quickly. Momma decided it was time I had a little responsibility, so before and after school , my duties consisted of helping Grandpa. At this time he had to walk with two canes, and there was no way he would agree to a wheel chair. He was a large man; well over six feet and 230 pounds. He had to be helped from the bed to the table, and if it was warm; to his favorite spot in a swing on the front porch. He could see everything from that spot and keep his hand in what was going on around the place. I was expected to keep him company, bring plenty of fresh water, and water in a foot tub to soak his feet. Most of the time he was barefooted, as his feet swelled so bad. A long sleeved shirt and work pants with suspenders were his usual dress. "Long handled drawers" were also a part of his dress and he didn't take them off until the first of June, regardless of the heat! A broad brimmed, low crowned hat was required. It was felt, and was not changed with the weather. He very seldom wore his teeth, but kept them in a cup over the fire place.

     This probably sounds odd since he didn't have any teeth, but the most important job I had to do for Grandpa was to cut and make toothbrushes for him. This was a Black Gum stick about 4 - 6 inches long; about half the size of a pencil, with one end chewed until it made a soft ball He would stick the end of it in his can of "Garrett Sweet Snuff" and then put it back in his jaw. I tried to join in with him several times but always ended up real sick. A psycho must have come up with this name, because I never found anything sweet in this mixture. He taught me how to mix cocoa and sugar together and he saved me an empty can to put my "snuff" in. We would sit in the swing and "dip" and tell stories.

     He was a good story teller, although a lot of them are not acceptable to print. He had a good singing voice, and it was real strong, even in his old age. He also had the loudest whistle I have ever heard. You could hear him over a mile, whistling his favorite hymns.

     During this period Grandpa often told me that his "pocket book" was too full and he could not keep it closed. "They keep giving me those old brownies (pennys), and they aren't worth anything, so you clean all of them out and keep them to buy candy." His pocket book was a small purse looking thing with two compartments and snaps on top to keep it closed. There were several stores close by where you could buy candy and one of my favorites was "Kits". For a penny you could buy four pieces of this peanut butter filled candy, individually wrapped!

     Grandpa was pretty good about getting me in trouble, with both parents. He wasn't real bad about four letter words, but in that era, there were still a lot of things you didn't talk about in mixed company. He taught me many little Irish ditties that were not acceptable to either parent. Dad is a Baptist preacher and no colorful talk was allowed in those days. He did become more liberal after my sisters came along, even to the point of allowing them to play cards!

     One incident that would re-occur every few weeks was his attempt to get me to drive the truck. Grandpa said that if I would drive, we could go to Dalark and get a coke! Dad always said I was hard headed, and it sure did take a long time for it to soak in that I was going to get a whipping every time I started that truck.

A gathering of the Green clan at the home of John Wilson Green in the early 1900's. The Green home place is located close to the Macedonia Baptist Church in East Clark County. This house stood where the home of J.T. Green later stood. Left to right, back row is Nancy (Langley) Green and husband W.O., John Wilson Green and wife Margaret, Jim T. Green, Maggie (Green) Willis and baby John, Charlie Green, George Green, John Ellis Green, and Ora Green with daughter Bess. Children in front are Flora Green, Bob Green, Floyd Green, Erwin Green, Nancy Green, Susie Green, and Dallie Green. Picture courtesy of John Howard.

"God Made Man Master Over All Things"

     I must inject several stories about automobiles here. Most have been passed along by my mother, because I can't remember Grandpa driving. He always said: "God made man master over all things." He sure never mastered the automobile! Another remark was; "the speed of the machine is all the power it has". The only hard surface roads I remember were highway 67 and the streets of Arkadelphia, and every little hollow had a mud hole. When we came to one of these places, he would immediately start in with this long list of instructions about how to cross this particular place. The last part of the conversation would be "Shoot the juice to it, Hugh!" Then if we got stuck it was all Dad's fault.

     Grandpa did fair in driving a "Model T", but I suppose the clutch and gear shift on the newer cars were too much for him to operate. He bought a new "34" Chevrolet, which was the first car of this type he had ever seen. He fussed about learning to drive and one day on the way from Arkadelphia, he demanded his rights - as owner of the car, he wanted to be taught how to drive. Dad pulled over and stopped, got him all settled behind the wheel and away we went. He did real well until we started to make the curve towards home. He headed towards the large oak tree by the store and didn't even turn the wheel! Dad finally grabbed the steering wheel and we missed the tree and went down by the house and almost to the barn before he was able to stop!

     Long after I came along I remember a large "Model T" truck they used on the farm to haul cotton to the gin. This truck was probably at least a ton and a half by today's standards. It didn't have doors and the sides of the cab were cut out in a "U" shape where you crawled in. Grandpa drove this old truck quite a lot and would go to town on Saturdays in it. One of Grandpa's best friends was a black man named Perk Williams. I think Mr. Perk made some good sippin' whiskey that was favored by Grandpa. Perk's wife was named Jenny, and anytime Grandpa went to town he always picked them up to ride along. Jenny would ride in front with Grandpa and Perk usually rode on the back with the rest of the crowd. One day as they came from town, Uncle Jim and Perk were riding right on the far end of the bed of the old truck. When Grandpa got to Green branch, just below the house, true to his philosophy, he hit the branch just as fast as the truck would run. He threw Uncle Jim and Perk off and didn't even know it until he had parked the truck.

     Momma told me a story similar to this concerning a young man by the name of Lonnie Hinson. Lonnie had had a disagreement with his folks about something and they had ran him off, so he ended up staying with us for a long time. Grandpa had this old touring car that had a top that folded all the way down past the body. Lonnie was sitting in the back one day when Grandpa crossed this same branch and was thrown so high that he landed in the top on the way down!

     As we continue along with this story many things and habits come to light that I had forgotten. I went to a funeral this past week and met an old black man that we knew and he was talking about Grandpa and Momma. During the conversation he made the remark that he used to ride to town a lot with Grandpa when he would come down the "middle road". This brought back memories of the past and the three different ways to go to town. Each time a trip was made to town, a long drawn out discussion was held about which way to go, and the "lower road" or highway 7 and 8 was so named. The "middle road" went through Manchester community. The "upper" or "high road" went by the way of Joan or "Bethlehem", as we used to call the place. I can tell you for sure that whichever way you might go, there was always a load of people along for the ride to town! The old trucks would have 15 or 20 people hanging on. With gravel roads, or no roads, except for tracks or ruts, you could hear a car coming in plenty of time to get out there for a ride!

     I have mentioned the demon rum a couple of times and Grandpa was a great lover of this product. When I came along he had suffered a couple of heart attacks and Momma watched him pretty close and kept this stuff away from him as much as possible. He finally enlisted the help of a man who lived on our place, called "Scrooch", to sneak in a jug every so often. Momma finally caught him and that ended his deliveries.

     The Bible was quoted often at our house and many times it was changed to suit a particular situation. Grandpa would change one around to say "God made the world in five days and saved Saturday for going to town and Sunday for Church!" He didn't care how deep the grass was in the cotton, he went to town on Saturday. He could stay all day long and visit with some of his friends or just walk around town. He was very generous with money, and I have seen him give out several dollars at a time to people he thought might need help. I used to ask him if they repaid him and his stock answer was "Yes , ten-fold".

     Cotton farming took an awful lot of fertilizer in order to make a decent crop. In the days when the railroad went through Dalark, Grandpa would order several tons to be shipped there by rail. That was in the days before it was ready mixed. You ordered so many tons of potash, nitrogen, etc, and then you mixed it by hand. Kinfolk have told me that there would be several wagons to pick this up. Then there would be several others who wanted to "borrow" several sacks. Grandpa always took care of those not so fortunate as he. I remember this practice continuing on through my childhood.

     During this time you could buy beer in Clark County and one of his favorite watering holes was Pete's Cafe. Many older readers will remember the place on Main Street. I usually was bribed with a coke and hamburger to keep quiet about these visits.

     I sure don't want to misinform anyone about the booze because Grandpa was a far cry from being a drunk. There were just so many people around in those days that made whiskey or home brew, that it was very available. He was a very well educated man and his intelligence was unbelieveable. His ability at math was almost computer-like. He would glance at a column of figures and give you the total. For many years he was a Justice of the Peace in Dallas county and later in Clark county. He would tell lot of funny stories about different cases he had investigated and judged. I doubt he had a lot of formal education, and since his father was a school-teacher, he probably received most of his education at home. He also taught writing for several years and I really wish we had spent more time at this craft instead of the many other things, that are kind of useless.

     Grandpa did some sippin' pretty often but he was a God fearing man and a staunch believer and supporter of the Primitive Baptist Church. He was more plain spoken and said he was a "Hardshell"! I went to church with him a lot in my childhood and enjoyed going very much. Momma said it was because he let me do as I pleased, which was probably right. I was not able to last a full sermon as they were very long and the benches hard. Seemed like that preacher could pray for an hour, and that's too long for a youngster. When the weather was good I could go out to play with other kids and throw rocks and wade in a creek. Usually, there was a black man there cooking over an open pit dug in the ground. I suppose that was what we call barbecue today.

     There was a big disagreement between Grandpa and a Mr. Hunnycutt; who also went to church at Macedonia. I searched the church records, but there were no details. I know they "churched" Grandpa, and it was a sore spot for the rest of his life. After this happened, he went to a church near Fordyce called Bucksnort. I am not sure if this was the correct name or just one of his nicknames. He made one attempt to get back in the church at Macedonia. One of the people there told me that they took both men down in the woods and asked them to iron out their differences. He said Grandpa stuck out his hand and said: "Aw, dad blame it, let's shake and forget the whole thing." The other party told them he wouldn't shake hands with anyone that cussed, and walked away. This ended the affair and as far as I know they sure were never friends.

     I suppose everyone hates to be teased about different things and although Grandpa was a great teaser he really didn't like for anyone to "get something on him". I remember one item that was a big joke around the house for years, called the "upside down drawers". Grandpa always wore the two-piece type. They were just like the one-piece, except they had pants, a long sleeve top, and no "trap-door". During the war the two-piece type became impossible to buy, so Momma finally bought some of the one-piece type. One morning one of my Aunts was visiting and she asked Grandpa how he cut his hand. He told her it was none of her "dad blamed" business (his favorite swear words). He was so adamant that the Aunt finally got Momma to come and look at his hand and she made him tell her what had happened. He had gotten up real early and didn't light a lamp. When he put on clean drawers he got them on upside down. He had his head through the trap door, legs through the arms, etc. When the call of nature struck, there was no trap door so he proceeded to cut one with his knife! They were such a problem to get off him that Momma finally cut them off with scissors!

     My Grandmother was the "Doctor" of the family (before I came along) and she had to be present at all the births and sicknesses in the community. A lot of her remedies were passed along to my mother and used on all of her kids. I know a lot of the remedies will be forgotten, but I want to share what I can remember. Probably the main cure all was "Vicks Salve"; that was for sore throats, colds and pneumonia! They would take a spoonful and cram it in your mouth. Did you ever read the label? It says very plainly "not to be taken internally"! For a chest cold they would heat a cloth red-hot, apply about half a jar to the cloth and slap it on your chest. One of my cousins always cried when they did this and said she didn't like to wear the "old ironing rag". Kerosene, or "coal oil", as it was called, was almost as good as "Vicks". A spoonful of kerosene and sugar was a cure for worms. Turpentine was also used for this, and if you had a bellyache, you were required to lay on your back and they poured your navel full. Green walnut shells will cure ringworms and sulphur mixed with lard was for itch.

     Since Grandma was the human doctor, I suppose Grandpa was a "vet" When a cow got sick she always had "hollow horn" or "hollow tail". He had a small drill with a t-handle on it that he drilled holes in the cow's horns with. He would use a sharp knife to split their tail. I suppose either one hurt so bad they probably forgot what was really wrong! When a mule had colic he would pour turpentine in a pie pan and hold it to his belly.