David Patton, Palmer Historian
2009
Due to time constraints, Mr. Patton regrets that he cannot personally respond to every comment and inquiry. Like most small town historians, he is an unpaid community volunteer and makes no claim of “knowing everything” about local history. For a detailed account of Grundy County history, he recommends that you consult your copy of the Grundy County Heritage Book.
However, if you have information you would like to share, you may write him at
50 Dogwood St.; Palmer, TN 37365, and he will attempt to respond through this page as time and circumstances allow. Your courtesy and understanding will be appreciated. Ms. Susan Sissom and other volunteers will be assisting Mr. Patton in transmitting this material, but have no personal knowledge as to the veracity of its contents.
Memories of Christmas Past By Mrs. Allene Nunley Hargis
As told to David Patton
“Christmas was a wonderful time at the Methodist Church. Uncle Joe Geary was Sunday school superintendent and Roy Barker the choir director. Brother Crawford Barker was the pastor and had a son, Billy Barker, who was in my class at school. Some of the men who attended church then were Isom Patrick and his brother Charlie Patrick, Floyd Owen, Raymond D. Swann, Albert Nunley, Dave Henninger (the Company Store manager), H.C. ‘Nick” Nichols, Carl Geary, Clabe Rogers, James ‘Flop’ Brooks, Uncle Bob Ackerman and his son Reyburn Ackerman, Ewing Hampton and Reece Fletcher.
If you got to Sunday school early, you could ring the church bell. A long rope hung down from the ceiling under the bell tower, and it was hard to pull for a child. Everyone in Palmer could hear that bell on Sunday morning.
That tall Christmas tree you mentioned stood just under the bell rope at Christmas. Every child got a gift wrapped in red or green tissue paper. That was about the only wrapping paper back then, and I still like it best today. We also got a brown paper bag with an apple, orange, and chocolate drop candy. I still buy those chocolate drops if I find them at Christmas time.
We children practiced the Christmas play for about two weeks after school at the church. We’d march across the pulpit stage in a line, scared to death, to sing Christmas songs and say our verses.
Some of the young people who attended the Methodist Church at that time were Dola Ivey and her sister Becky Ivey, Allene Geary, Hazel Gholston, Louvenia Gholston, Marie Gholston, Betty Nunley, Joyce Conry and her sisters Anna Polk Conry and Frances Conry, Martha Hampton and her sister Becky Hampton, Johnnie Jane Heard, Robert Hill Foster and his sister Dorothy Foster, Howard Ruth Sitz and her sister Frances Sitz, Nathan Barker and his brother Charles Barker, Bobby Owen and his sisters Carolyn Owen, Ruth Owen, Mary Elizabeth Owen and Pee Wee Owen, and, of course, Billy Ray Nunley and his sisters Allene Nunley, Clara Ruth Nunley and Judy Nunley.
Santa came to our house while we were at church on Christmas Eve night. Mama cooked all day on Christmas Eve. She made that banana cake that your mom made and also chocolate and peanut butter fudge, the best egg custard pies, chicken and dressing and all the rest. Daddy always went to the Company Store and bought a bushel of Red Delicious apples, a bushel of oranges and pecans and English walnuts.
We had a piano and our cousins Tootsie Cannon and her sister Nadine Cannon could play, so that’s what we did all day and sang while Mama cooked.
We girls always got a doll for Christmas. I remember our brother Bill got a Lionel train one year. He put the tracks together on the living room floor. I can hear it running now. It had a whistle too. I remember getting electric stove one year. It was green in color and about the size of a large shoebox. A small light bulb inside warmed what you put in it.
One year we got a snow sled. It did come big snows then, and we rode it down the hill behind our home and down the slate dumps. One slate dump was down in front of our house and one between our house and the house of Bobby Owen.
One year Daddy and Mr. Rose Burr Sanders went to Chattanooga on Christmas Eve and got bicycles, a red boys’ bike for Buck Sanders (W.H. ‘Buck’ lives in Tracy City today.) and a blue girls’ bike for us. Talk about happy, we were!
At Palmer School (The old school is 81 years old now and still going strong.) we made paper ropes of green and red art paper and hung them on the top of the blackboard. We also hung red tissue paper bells. Remember those, how they folded and unfolded?
You know, most every family in Palmer at that time had come from Tracy City, or at least their parents did. Men who had a job and worked at the ‘Big Mine’ had things a little better than others. I guess sawmill was about the only other work. Some farmed or raised animals. By today’s standards, we were all poor, but sure didn’t know it. We were among the fortunate ones. I feel so blessed to have had such good hard working parents. Those coal miners were the most giving and honest people ever. What wonderful men and families for children to grow up with and be protected by.
You mentioned visiting Bonnie Gipson Payne on Palmer Mountain. I knew her dad Joe Gipson and his brother George Gipson. Bonnie’s brother Hollis Gipson and her sister Allene Gipson were in my class when I started to Palmer School in 1934. The Gipson boys were very good baseball players.
The old fire tower (no longer there) on Palmer Mountain was a place when I grew up for school and Sunday school picnics.”
Allene grew up in Palmer during the 1930’s and ‘40’s as a daughter of the late Graham and Sarah Cannon Nunley. She lives today in Tucson, AZ.
Memories of Christmas Past By Mrs. Diana Henry Smith
As told to David Patton
“I asked Daddy about Christmas when he was growing up. He grew up in the great Depression, and you were lucky if you had enough food on the table for Christmas. They didn’t even have a tree until he married Mama. I guess a lot of people were like that back then. He said they always had food and sometimes he would get an orange and an apple. They always had nuts and Granny Nennie would make them pulling candy and a cake for Christmas.
You are right about Christmas being the best memories. Most of my memories are good ones. Growing up on Burnt Orchard Hill was on big happy family. Most of the people who lived there were Granny Sanders and her kids. Big Mama (Diana’s maternal grandmother) was the baby girl. There were always 35-40 kids up there. Sometimes even more.
Mama really got into Christmas when we were little. Aunt Willie Mae ‘Bill’ Harrison would send her boys to the woods to get all of us trees. Mama would not let us put it up until the 23rd. We got to decorate it on the 24th. A lot of people still used real candles, but she would not let us use them. Mama would say, ‘you are not going to burn my house down with those things’. We would pop corn and string it with holly berries in between the corn. Then we would make paper chains and most of the ornaments. We painted sweet gum balls and hung them on the tree too. For the lights, we had to use those big colored bulbs. One time Mama got us some that looked like candles and when they got warm they would bubble up. I loved to watch them and still have a few. We made a lot of red bows for the tree and always had a star for the top.
One year when I was 12 Mama let us put up the tree on my birthday, the 15th and we had a party. We decorated the tree and sang carols and had a ball. I guess there were 30 kids pus the grown ups. I thought I was grown.
I never even saw an artificial tree until we went to Chicago. The first few years we were up there, we had a real one. We would put it up on the 15th then come to Tennessee. By the time we went back to Illinois, it was dead and a big mess. It would be all over the carpet, so we got a fake one. It looked like a big aluminum ball.
Papa Land (her grandfather) loved Christmas. He was like a little kid and would light up just talking about it. Bib Mama made those banana cakes you mentioned. I would love to have her recipe for it. It always had three layers and was cooked in an iron skillet. We always got presents from Papa Land and Big Mama and we stayed as much of the time with them as we did Mama.”
Diana has been very helpful with our history work on Palmer, and we appreciate it very much. She grew up in the 1950’s and early ‘60’s as a daughter of James and Willie Mae Land Henry and lives today in Cleveland, TN. Her grandparents were Dock and Nennie Henry and Will and Nell Sanders Land.
Memories of Christmas Past By Mr. Charles Lewis
As told to David Patton
“You asked about Christmas at Palmer School. We had a small tree with home made decorations on it. We all drew names including our teacher. You didn’t have to tell anyone whose name you drew. On the last day of school before Christmas, we took our presents to the classroom, and the teacher would give them out. It was fun.
At home we always had a tree with decorations on it. We would go and cut a small cedar or spruce pine. We had holly leaves and berries made in wreaths for our windows and doors. We didn’t have lights, but it was fun. Most of the time we’d have snow on Christmas back then.”
Charles always responds to our requests for historical information on Palmer, and we appreciate it. He grew up in the 1930’s and ‘40’s as a son of Mr. and Mrs. Herbert Lewis. Shortly after returning to Palmer after service with the U.S. Navy in WWII, he moved to Florence AL, and still lives there today.
Memories of Christmas Past by Mrs. Nellie “Nell” Bone Finch
“Hi, David, To answer some of your questions about Christmas, yes, we sometimes exchanged gifts at Tatesville School. We drew names and each and every one got a present. Yes, we got the teacher a gift. Not always chocolate covered cherry candy because we made up to get them a gift.
No, the Nazarene Church wasn’t there when I was growing up. We had church I the Tatesville School (no longer there- It stood at what is now the junction of Tatesville and Daus Mountain Road.) and the school was used a lot for what they call a community center these days. We had our plays and Christmas trees there at night. We would practice our plays a month before Christmas. At the closing of our plays I would say a speech, mostly it was ‘The Night Before Christmas’. I would act it out and sometimes got a standing ovation as we really had big crowds.
At home, we didn’t get presents. We were always looking to play games like jump rope, checkers, or a big rummy game.
We had ham and plenty of other food. Turkey was enjoyed at our house. Dad always killed a hog on Thanksgiving and Mother saved a ham for Christmas.
There were always cakes and pies. Sometimes we had chicken, but it was mostly turkey. Now my favorite is roasted duck or pheasant. I always like a cake with raisins in it, a devil’s food cake full of raisins.
We always decorated our house with spruce and holly. It sure smelled good. We always had a crowd for Christmas and sometimes the preacher and his wife were there, but we always had plenty of food.
We had our celebration at night. The house was full and people outside. Clayta (Rev. M.C. “Bud” Hampton’s daughter) was the singer and speech maker when she got older. We ate a lot of sandwiches. My brother Tillman would buy a whole stick of bologna, a big stick of it. Most Sundays at home we had roast beef.”
Nell grew up in the Tatesville section of Palmer during the 1920’s and 30’s as a daughter of W.K. “Will” or “Deacon” Bone. She and her sister, Thelma Bone Nolan, are the only survivors of this large family. Nell has been a wonderful help on our Palmer history research. She’s the widow of Bill Finch and a resident of the Hven of Rest Nursing Home in Tracy City, TN.
Memories of Christmas Past By Mr. Billy Ray Nunley
“David, you asked about Christmas in Palmer. I think Christmas- time as a child is still one of my fondest memories.
My parents bought me a 12-gauge shotgun when I was 12 years old. I kept it for several years and used it for squirrel hunting around the goat rocks area. I had graduated to a 12-gauge pump by that time and sold it to Vernon Lewis for a redbone hound dog. I sold the pup to Alf Crabtree and got a 12-gauge Remington automatic, which I still have.
Do you remember the smell of Christmas when you walked in the Tennessee Consolidated Coal Company store? All the fresh meat in the meat market, hay and feed I the back of the store, dry goods ‘clothing’ department, carbide in large cans for miners’ lamps, and toys and furniture upstairs. That’s where the night watchman (some will remember that Wayne Cannon was just a kid and stayed with Pappy at night) Leonard “Pappy” Von Rohr stayed.
Our parents always bought us clothes plus a large toy we asked for as kids. I had wagons and one year asked for a pedal car which I got. I rubbed my leg on the side of it getting in and out and got an infection on the back of my knee. Dad took me to Dr. O.H. Clements at the Palmer Clinic and held me down while Dr. Clements lanced the infection. I still have a scar left on my leg.
Do you remember the large candy counter the company store had? You got 5 pieces of candy for a penny. We would always go to Robert Morgan instead of Mr. Frank Shockley as Robert would always put and extra piece or two in the bag.
At home, we always had plenty of vegetables from the garden and a potato bin in the cellar under the house and onions hanging from he ceiling. Also down there Mom had rows of canned fruit and vegetables, including kraut, blackberries, huckleberries, apples and peaches. In late fall dad would buy a bushel of apples, wrap newspapers around them, then place them in black powder pellet boxes he brought home from the mines. We had a smoke house and he’d put the boxes there in a dark area until winter. Those apples were wonderful, so mellow.
Fresh meat was always something we had plenty of. Dad and Mr. Rose Boro Sanders were partners and worked in the Palmer Big Mine together for many years. They would fatten several calves and pigs then each would take a calf and two pigs for fall killing. We had a large meat box in the smokehouse and would smoke the hams with green hickory wood and cover the rest of the meat with rock salt in the meat box. They then sold the rest of the calves and pigs dressed out to Isham Patrick who was the butcher at the Company Store. He would put whole calves and pigs in the freezer then cut pieces as needed for customers. Mr. Rose Boro’s son W.H. ‘Buck’ Sanders and I would get the skins from the cattle and the Company Store would give us $1.75 for each hide. What a great childhood I had with my sisters in Palmer. As of 2008, I’m 75, Judy 73, Clara Ruth 77, and Allene 79.
David, I have had a great life. My wife Shirley and I will be married 55 years on June 25, 2009. We have three great children, Alan , 52, Cheryl, 48, and Jennifer, 38. We also have seven grandchildren, five girls and two boys. I thank God, our Lord and Savior, every day for the blessings he has given me and my family.
You mentioned Woodrow Cleek. He was a good baseball player. I played against him several times. If you see Gene Layne, say hello for me. He’s the son of Frank Layne who was Joe Layne’s brother. All of them worked and ran the Esso gas station in Laager for several years. My dad was a cousin to Gene’s mother, Dixie Nunley Layne.
I don’t remember Carl ‘Cigar’ Nolan, but his brothers Abb and Edward and their father Claude worked for my dad in th4e mines at one time.
I remember Louie ‘Chief’ Geary singing at the Palmer Methodist Church. Also Albert Nunley and his brother-in-law Joseph S. ‘Joe’ Geary and Uncle Joe’s sons Johnny, Carl, and Alvin ‘Oats’. My sisters Allene, Clara Ruth, and our cousin Carlene ‘Tootsie’ Cannon Smith also sang and Tootsie played the piano at church.
My mother was a cousin of Bailey ‘Preacher’ Brooks’ wife, Ethel Cannon Brooks. Mom’s father, Lavator Cannon, was her uncle.
David, may our Lord Jesus Christ bless you and your family, as he has surely blessed mine.”
Billy Ray Grew up in Palmer during the 1930’s and 40’s as the only son of Graham and Sarah Cannon Nunley. Today, he lives in Monument, Colorado.
Memories of Christmas Past by Mrs. Edna Layne Brewer
“Hello, David. Glad to hear from you. I remember Christmas when my mother baked a ham and made sweet potato pies.
I hope you can read this. I have arthritis in my hands and can’t write much any more. I miss Grundy County?
(Edna grew up in the Chiggertown section of Palmer in the 1930's and 40's . She is the widow of Echerd Brewer and the only daughter of the late Rev. Aylor and Maude Morrison Layne. Many of you will remember her brothers: A.J. and the late Raymond and Cotton Layne. Today Edna lives in Manchester, TN, with her only child Keith Brewer who is a former Palmer School principal and Grundy County School Superintendent.)
Memories of Christmas Past by Mrs. Carolyn Johnson
“My memories of Christmas are getting a black doll one year and getting a tricycle another year. Five of seven children in our family wore it our pretty quick. With hardly any cars on our road in front of the house, we would ride it down “Dougin’s Hill” which was short, but steep and had a big curve. The hill was named for our neighbor Mr. Dougin.
I also remember that at church everybody got a brown bag of goodies, and I always enjoyed the play. We went to a two-room school and usually got a dresser set from the person who drew our name. One year I got a really nice jewelry box. I really liked it and still have it.
When our son Mike was little we always spent Christmas morning at home, then to my mom and dad’s, then to Dick’s parents, always a feast. Dick’s dad always shot fireworks for Mike. He truly cherishes that memory.
Mike is 44 now, works at the University of Georgia and is studying for his Ph.D.”
Carolyn and her husband Dick live in Elizabethton, TN. They are valued friends of former Palmer resident Sara Swann Shipley who lives in Johnson City.
(Sara is in her 90’s now and with no nearby family. We appreciate Carolyn and Dick for their help and friendship to Sara.)
Old Sayings and Figures of Speech in Grundy County, TN
“Suit yourself” or “Does it suit you?” Suit yourself was often said curtly as in “I’ve tried to talk you out of it, but suit yourself.” This, of course, meant satisfy yourself or “Do it your own way.”
“Does it suit you?” meant does it satisfy you or meet your approval. This used to be said a lot in Grundy County.
“Get that dog our of here! It’s bad luck to have a dog in the mines.” When I was a kid in the 1930’s the palmer Big Mine was shut down temporarily, and my dad Hubert Lewis worked at a little coal mine that Steve Meeks had in Barker’s Cove. Steve’s son-in-law Harley Tate also worked there with him. “I walked to the powder mag (magazine) at the Big Mine and god powder for Dad and carried it to Barker’s Cove. My dog followed me all the way into the mine and that’s when Steve told me to get it out of there.”
Howard Lewis is the only person left in the Palmer town limits who worked at the Palmer Big Mine. His Dad is one of the Palmer Big Mine crew featured in the latest book from the Grundy County Historical Society Pictures of Our Past.
“Uh tall” “I don’t understand it at all.” Would be the correct way, but “uh tall” instead of “at all” is still said a lot in Grundy County.
“Don’t county your chickens until they hatch.” This is a wise old saying and still relevant today. It meant don’t assume something is going to happen. Many people make big plans assuming things, which never happen. This can be disastrous in many situations in life.
“Hustle and bustle” We seldom hear anyone locally say this now. It meant “busy” or “hectic” as in “the hustle and bustle of the holidays.”
“The world don’t stop for nobody to get off.” How true this is. This old ball keeps on spinning regardless of our problems or the problems of nations. The high and mighty pass on into eternity and are nothing to “Father time.”
“The best way to learn a lesson is to learn it the hard way.” Lots of truth to that A lesson learned the hard way is not easily forgotten.
“Rocking chair money” This was unemployment benefit checks, of course. We wonder how many young whippersnappers drawing “rocking chair money” in these hard economic times have heard this old expression.
“He’s still feisty.” This was said a lot years ago to describe an old person who was active and still got around good. It probably came from the little, but very active Fiest dogs.
“It’s not all it’s cracked up to be.” This meant not all it claimed to be or should have been. Our citizens have found out that their government policies are often “not what it’s cracked up to be.”
Palmer News
TGIF! We do thank God it’s February. It has been a cold winter and with the coming of February we can see the light at the end of the winter tunnel. In fact, our first crocus bloomed February 8 and the buttercups should bloom the last week of the month.
Happy birthday to Palmer’s oldest citizen, Ethel Mae Gifford Cantrell. Among those attending the celebration in the fellowship hall at Palmer Church of God were nieces Donna Basham, and Anita Crabtree. Her only child, Lowell Thomas Cantrell and his family of Athens, TN, were also present.
Happy 60th anniversary to Clifford and Joyce Brown Cordell who celebrated back in December. They were married on December 23, 1948, by the late Rev. M.S. “Bud” Hampton, Among thus attending the celebration were Rev Hampton’s daughter Wanda Meeks and her cousin Patsy Higgins along with Ola Stockwell, Violet Garner Lockhart, Roland and Faye Summers Smith, Raymond, Doris and Jody Hargis.
Young Heath Layman and his tree-rimming crew were still in Kentucky as of this writing (Feb.11) helping to restore power after the January ice storm. He’s a grandson of Charles Green and the late Juanita Campbell Green.
Palmer School has a “sweet” fundraiser on Feb. 25. They’ll be selling Krispy Kreme Doughnuts for their 8th grade trip.
Randal and Sylvia Disheroon Roberts of Chattanooga were here recently due to the death of his cousin Mara Lee Caldwell. Sylvia’s the daughter of the late Ernest and Hazel Graham Disheroon.
We received word over the holidays that former Palmer school teacher Bertha Schulze Ashley of Manchester, TN, is alive and well at age 100 and is still driving around town. She enjoys hearing from former students, and Bobby Owen and Allene Nunley Hargis may remember her. Her phone number is 931 728-2928 and her address is 622 Iris Drive; Manchester, TN 37355.
Our January rainfall in Palmer was 4.9”. Howard Lewis had 4 below zero on the 16th at the old Clyde Boyd place on “tabernacle curve”. Let’s hope that kind of weather is over for this winter.
Mary Weaver of the nearby Cagle community came by to see Ricky Layne. He served on submarines in the U.S. Navy and retired after a 30- year career. Many will remember his late father and grandfather Bedford and Andrew Weaver.
Happy 75th birthday to Joyce Roberts Hargis on February 12 and also get well soon wishes. Joyce recently had two surgeries and spent 18 days in the hospital. She’s the pianist at Palmer United Methodist Church, but probably won’t be able to perform until spring.
What’s for supper? Would you believe dumplings and more dumplings? Anita Crabtree made 30 lbs. of dumplings over the holidays and says she made them up ahead of time, froze them, and then just had to drop them in the pot of chicken broth. She gave us a jar of sweet pepper relish she canned back in the fall, and it was delicious. Thanks, Anita!
Jerry Harrison, son of the late Herschel Harrison, Sr. has been in the hospital and goes back for more treatment in April. He’s a nice guy and says he’ll be 68 on August 29.
Our friend Bobby Owen sent us a calendar from his visit to the High Museum of Art in Atlanta. It featured the museum exhibit of the first emperor of China, Quin Shihuangdi, of terracotta warrior fame. Thanks, Bobby!
Bobby is also a member of the Dixie Wing of the Commemorative Air Force. They fly aircraft from WWII and Korean War era and participate in 10-12 air shows each summer. For more information on the group go to www.dixiewing.org .
Mr. Raymond Hargis told us that Ronnie Fults is critically ill in a Nashville hospital. Both live in Manchester, TN, and are former Palmer School principals, and served as Grundy County School Superintendents.
Rev. Cotton Ross, 85, preached Saturday night, January 31 at the Bryant’s Cove Church in the remote and rugged area between Gruetli-Laager and Tracy City. The services, held monthly, are accessible only by 4-wheel drive vehicles. Roy Braden brings a generator for lights and the old fashioned “outhouses” are used for restrooms.
Tyler Brown of Coalmont was one of just 65 volunteers from across the state honored by Governor Phil Berdesen with a “Volunteer Stars Award” in Nashville recently. He’s the grandson of former Palmer residents Herby and Bonnie Cook Caldwell.
Jack Johnson is now in rehab after some six weeks in Erlanger Hospital He’s the grandson of Lewis Braden and the late Peggy Nunley Braden.
We noticed that Wesley’s Chapel Holiness Church had a nice new sign on Hwy. 108 in Gruetli-Laager. Pastor Delbert Layne is a son of Leonard and Troas Knowlan Layne and grandson of the late Fate Knowlan.
Rev. J. Darrell Turner was taken to the emergency room recently, but at last report was home and OK. His late grandfather, Henry Clay Turner, was one of the Palmer Big Mine crew featured in the latest Grundy County Historical Society Book Pictures of Our Past.
Happy 63rd anniversary to Ralph and Doris McBee Burnett. They were married on February 11, 1946. Ralph is a WWII veteran and retired carpenter. Doris is a daughter of the late Alf McBee and retired as a teacher. Their daughter Ann Nunley is a teacher at Palmer Elementary.
Jerry Cannon and Keith McBee attended the funeral of Jack Long’s widow, Ruby Nunley Long. Keith was a pallbearer, and Jerry say he knew Ruby all his life. Ruby’s brother-in-law Rocky Long of Crossville, TN, was also here.
Don’t forget to visit our companion website www.grundycountyhistory.org for more information on our “neck of the woods”. Our friend Ralph Thompson works tirelessly to preserve Grundy County History and we are all indebted to him. Thanks, Ralph!
Well, the old clock on the wall says it’s time to say goodbye for now.
From the headquarters of “where the good people live” we wish you all a very enjoyable Valentine’s Day and invite you to join us next time as we welcome the exciting month of March.
Please pray for our troops around the world and also our government leader in these uncertain times.
Memories of Christmas Past
By Mr. Billy Ray Nunley as told to David Patton
“David, you asked about Christmas in Palmer. I think Christmas- time as a child is still one of my fondest memories.
My parents bought me a 12-gauge shotgun when I was 12 years old. I kept it for several years and used it for squirrel hunting around the goat rocks area. I had graduated to a 12-gauge pump by that time and sold it to Vernon Lewis for a redbone hound dog. I sold the pup to Alf Crabtree and got a 12-gauge Remington automatic, which I still have.
Do you remember the smell of Christmas when you walked in the Tennessee Consolidated Coal Company store? All the fresh meat in the meat market, hay and feed I the back of the store, dry goods ‘clothing’ department, carbide in large cans for miners’ lamps, and toys and furniture upstairs. That’s where the night watchman (some will remember that Wayne Cannon was just a kid and stayed with Pappy at night) Leonard “Pappy” Von Rohr stayed.
Our parents always bought us clothes plus a large toy we asked for as kids. I had wagons and one year asked for a pedal car which I got. I rubbed my leg on the side of it getting in and out and got an infection on the back of my knee. Dad took me to Dr. O.H. Clements at the Palmer Clinic and held me down while Dr. Clements lanced the infection. I still have a scar left on my leg.
Do you remember the large candy counter the company store had? You got 5 pieces of candy for a penny. We would always go to Robert Morgan instead of Mr. Frank Shockley as Robert would always put and extra piece or two in the bag.
At home, we always had plenty of vegetables from the garden and a potato bin in the cellar under the house and onions hanging from he ceiling. Also down there Mom had rows of canned fruit and vegetables, including kraut, blackberries, huckleberries, apples and peaches. In late fall dad would buy a bushel of apples, wrap newspapers around them, then place them in black powder pellet boxes he brought home from the mines. We had a smoke house and he’d put the boxes there in a dark area until winter. Those apples were wonderful, so mellow.
Fresh meat was always something we had plenty of. Dad and Mr. Rose Boro Sanders were partners and worked in the Palmer Big Mine together for many years. They would fatten several calves and pigs then each would take a calf and two pigs for fall killing. We had a large meat box in the smokehouse and would smoke the hams with green hickory wood and cover the rest of the meat with rock salt in the meat box. They then sold the rest of the calves and pigs dressed out to Isham Patrick who was the butcher at the Company Store. He would put whole calves and pigs in the freezer then cut pieces as needed for customers. Mr. Rose Boro’s son W.H. ‘Buck’ Sanders and I would get the skins from the cattle and the Company Store would give us $1.75 for each hide. What a great childhood I had with my sisters in Palmer. As of 2008, I’m 75, Judy 73, Clara Ruth 77, and Allene 79.
David, I have had a great life. My wife Shirley and I will be married 55 years on June 25, 2009. We have three great children, Alan , 52, Cheryl, 48, and Jennifer, 38. We also have seven grandchildren, five girls and two boys. I thank God, our Lord and Savior, every day for the blessings he has given me and my family.
You mentioned Woodrow Cleek. He was a good baseball player. I played against him several times. If you see Gene Layne, say hello for me. He’s the son of Frank Layne who was Joe Layne’s brother. All of them worked and ran the Esso gas station in Laager for several years. My dad was a cousin to Gene’s mother, Dixie Nunley Layne.
I don’t remember Carl ‘Cigar’ Nolan, but his brothers Abb and Edward and their father Claude worked for my dad in th4e mines at one time.
I remember Louie ‘Chief’ Geary singing at the Palmer Methodist Church. Also Albert Nunley and his brother-in-law Joseph S. ‘Joe’ Geary and Uncle Joe’s sons Johnny, Carl, and Alvin ‘Oats’. My sisters Allene, Clara Ruth, and our cousin Carlene ‘Tootsie’ Cannon Smith also sang and Tootsie played the piano at church.
My mother was a cousin of Bailey ‘Preacher’ Brooks’ wife, Ethel Cannon Brooks. Mom’s father, Lavator Cannon, was her uncle.
David, may our Lord Jesus Christ bless you and your family, as he has surely blessed mine.”
Billy Ray Grew up in Palmer during the 1930’s and 40’s as the only son of Graham and Sarah Cannon Nunley. Today, he lives in Monument, Colorado.
