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| George Buster Singleton |
(For decades, local historian and paranormal investigator
George “Buster” Singleton published a weekly newspaper column called “Somewhere
in Time.” The column below, which was titled “A look back at yesterday’s
autumns” was originally published in the Oct. 9, 1997 edition of The Monroe
Journal in Monroeville, Ala.)
As I have stated many times in my writings, I think the youth
of our country has missed a lot by not growing up during the closing days of
the Great Depression. A form of togetherness among the country families was
something that has long since disappeared from the scene. There was a time when
the community families would come together and perform tasks for those older
members of the community, or if there were sickness in a family, all the
community would come together and do whatever work necessary to keep their farms
going. Since autumn is my favorite time of the year, I would like to back step
in time and recall some of those good times that I remember as a child and
growing up in the country.
I can see them now, the mule-drawn wagons loaded with cotton
on their way to the cotton gin. This trip to the gin would begin before the
crack of dawn. The wagons had been loaded the day before and just before the
early dawn streaked the eastern skies. The mules were harnessed and hooked to
the ready wagons. A small boy of five was going to be allowed to make the trip
to the gin this day so he had already nestled in the fluffy load of cotton for
the trip to the gin. This young boy would sleep almost all the way to the
cotton gin located in the small town of Sweet Water. As the wagon approached
the small town, an older brother or father would awaken the sleeping youngster
so that he wouldn’t miss anything as the wagon entered town.
Cotton wagons rolling,
Grandpas strolling,
Hickory nuts falling,
Fox squirrels calling,
Wild geese flying,
Haystacks drying,
Golden leaves flaring,
Bed covers airing,
Autumn has arrived.
Already the loaded wagons from various parts of the farm
area would be lined up in place for their time to gin. The line of wagons would
slowly move toward the gin as one by one pulled under the shed where a long,
large suction pipe was swung over and the cotton removed from the wagon. Many
times, the wagons that had arrived late would wait in line for several hours,
even into the late hours of the evening. A wide-eyed boy would listen to the
tall tales of the wagon drivers and sit spellbound for hours as the stories
broke forth in the gathering of farmers.
One of the highlights of the day’s trip was at lunch time.
To be caught in line at the gin at lunch time was something to look forward to.
A father or older brother would remove a nickel from his pocket and this small
boy would race down the street to Lewis Brothers Store. Here, he would purchase
a stick of peppermint candy that had peanut butter mixed inside. This nickel
stick of candy would be about 10 inches long and about 1-1/2 inches in
diameter. There was nothing in the whole world that tasted better to this
country boy of five than this candy.
The height of peace and contentment would be the return trip
home during the late hours of the evening while lying on the cotton seeds or
the heavy bagging folded up in the wagon bed. Life just couldn’t get much
better than this as a small boy lay there, licking his candy stick of
peppermint and peanut butter. Usually, the trips to the cotton gin was made
around the middle of the week and sometimes on Saturday. The trips on Saturday
were usually avoided, due to the many wagons that were always there. And, too,
most times there would be a community cookout on Saturday afternoons. And surely
no one in their right minds wanted to miss this get-together.
As the farming community gathered by the large overflowing
well for the Saturday meal and time of fellowship, plans were beginning to
formulate for a wood-cutting and community corn-gathering for a less fortunate
family down the road aways. A time was agreed on as to when the corn-pulling
would take place. The wood-cutting and splitting could wait until a later date
due to the weather; it would be awhile yet before the fireplace would be needed
to warm this country home.
This community get-together was also looked forward to by
this five-year-old country boy. He couldn’t wait for those mouth-watering meals
of potato and pumpkin pies, not to mention all that pecan candy and sweet
cakes, that always showed up at these corn-pullings and wood-cuttings. The
wonderful memories of those golden days of autumn will forever dwell in the
mind of this country boy for always.
Ripe pumpkins
glistening,
Coffee pots whistling,
Night stars
brightening,
Bullfrogs quietening,
Golden corn rustling,
Corn harvesters
hustling,
Cornstalks tilting,
Autumn has arrived.
(Singleton, the author of the 1991 book “Of
Foxfire and Phantom Soldiers,” passed away at the age of 79 on July 19, 2007. A
longtime resident of Monroeville, he was born on Dec. 14, 1927 in Marengo
County, graduated from Sweet Water High School, served in the Korean War, lived
for a time among Apache Indians, moved to Monroe County in June 1964 (some
sources say 1961) and served as the administrator of the Monroeville National
Guard unit from 1964 to 1987. For years, Singleton’s column “Somewhere in Time”
appeared in The Monroe Journal, and he wrote a lengthy series of articles about
Monroe County that appeared in Alabama Life magazine. Some of his earlier
columns also appeared under the heading of “Monroe County History: Did You
Know?” He is buried in Pineville Cemetery in Monroeville. The column above and
all of Singleton’s other columns are available to the public through the
microfilm records at the Monroe County Public Library in Monroeville.
Singleton’s columns are presented here each week for research and scholarship
purposes and as part of an effort to keep his work and memory alive.)
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