Memoirs of Lula Sue Simmons: Part 5, Adventures on Little River

In the 1940's, most children didn't receive store bought toys like our children in today's society.  They created their own homemade toys from materials found around the home.  The purchased toys they may have received usually came from mail order catalogs.

Mom and her siblings were no exception- they rarely received toys, even on Christmas and their birthdays.  Their play time was spent outdoors, in the woods and on the river bank.

During the summer we had this old boat and with Mama at work and us kids to fend for ourselves and protect the little brother and sister we had to figure out a way to keep them safe while we played with the boat. 

So with a rope to tie Elton and Gertie in the edge of the water so they couldn't wander off into deep water we was set for a summer of fun.  A boat with a big hole in it and a river.

We would float the boat out into the river when it started to sink we would jump out, pull it to the bank,  bail out the water and start over.  

In a poor family you learn to play with what you have, make do with the clothes and eat what you are blessed with.  Our daddy wasn't around much but we had Mama, grandparents and each other.

Of course everyone had their own swim holes.  There was the Barnetts, Pittmans, Mays, Culpeppers and ours.

You did not go to these special places unless you were invited this were [sic] private places in a [sic] ever running river but each protected their territory with pride.  The deepest and widest ones was the better ones.

So Alton and I came up with this great idea to make ours the very best.  So we wented [sic] to Grandpa with a story only a grandfather would believe comming [sic] from his grandchildrens [sic].

While the river was out of its banks from a lot of rain a few weeks earlier this great big alligator had swan [sic] up stream right into our swim hole.

Now the job was to get rid of the gator and to protect his grandchildrens [sic].  So down to the river with a couple of sticks of dynamite and Boom the children are safe and Alton and I have a real deep swim hole.  Of course the big gator never did float to the top.  Must have been blown to bits.

Memoirs of Lula Sue Simmons: Part 3, Crossing the River

Mom spoke often of their adventures in "the river" and of spending summer days at their "swimming holes".  Since the family resided in the Pinebur community of Lamar County, I'm sure she was speaking of Little River.

As Mom aged, she enjoyed sharing stories of her childhood in Pinebur.  I can remember her smiles and laughter when she spoke of the tricks her brother Alton pulled on her and I can remember the breaking of her voice when she spoke of some of the hardships the family endured.  Her story continues....

  As a child we would think and act like children but we would work like adults.  After school we would pick cotton, pull corn, feed the stock and watch over the younger kids until Mama could get home from work.

After moving across little River from grandmaw and grandpaw one of us would have to ride the bus over to their house and get Gertie and Elton in the afternoon and walk back home.   Walking home would be about a mile through the woods and across the river.  By wading the river and carrying one child at a time and then go back and bring the other one and another walk of about half of a mile took time.  

Of course if it had rained and the river was flooded then we would cross down river in a boat.  This was a very tricky thing to do.

There was bob [sic] wire strechted [sic] across the river and we would pull the boat across by holding on to the wire and slowly pulling the boat to the other side.  Alton was always suppose to do this.

But one cold and rainy day he decided it was time for me to learn this.  So with him waiting on the other side of the river watching out for our safety Gertie and I started across.  But with freezing fingers and not strong enough for the current I made the mistake to let go of the wire.  The boat was going down the river at a very fast rate and with Gertie crying and screaming for me to save her.  

And my big brother on the bank rolling with laughter there was one thing to do.  I jumped out holding on to the tie up rope and pulled the boat in.  I got a good case of pneumonia, he got a good laugh he also got something else when Mama got home.