Like I was saying earlier. Lack of a bicycle(I'd left old ugly bike with Danny and jimmy on Catalina)along with our good as new feet we walked if we got there.

Thinking back I'm amazed at what we saw in what I'd estimate was about a seven mile hike. I'd lay or blame what we saw on the times as much as anything. Old times trying to slip away gracefully while the new times were busting out all over.

East of uncle Buck's place and just across Cheatom Creek was the old Cheatom place. Aunt Fanny Cheatom was my mothers aunt. She was a big old scary woman. Long dark dresses, a shawl or cape and an old sun bonnet. In real life she turned out to be a sweet old woman. Aunt Fanny's husband Corbet Cheatom had died several years back. I can't remember him. He must have done alright as a business man cause aunt Fanny was quite wealthy.

The Cheatoms had one child. I don't recall her name. Nancy I think but I'm not sure. She was a sickly person so she wasn't out a lot. She was married to a man named Artis Warren. As likable a person as you could ask for but he was a heavy drinker. Artis and his wife had one child. Her name was Betty Faye and she was Fanny's only grand child. Betty was a real looker, however back then, my body had not yet been seized by ragging hormone's. I was more attracted to the pigeon's that Artist trained to find their way back home. My mom kind of treated Betty Faye as a little sister. I remember mom teaching Betty Faye to sew and making a dress that Betty had worn  to school. I can also recall how they would clown around and speak in what they called "pig latin". Ettyba Ayefa Arrenwa I guess???

One fine Saturday morning me and Lowell along with the Wideman brothers decided we'd walk to old man Harmon's cross road store. It was down the road past the Gann and Cheatom farms. There was a cross roads  next to where the Warren and MesKelly places set. It was the Cedrum and Prospect crossing. Harmon had built his store at just east of the crossing on the road going to Prospect.

Like I said it was a pretty day. Early fall was making itself known by the color of the tree's and some real cold mornings and nights. Not quite "first frost" weather but close. This was a cold bright morning. The air was bright and fresh. I decided to wear my "Brogan" shoes knowing damn well they'd be too hot as the day warmed. So there we went as rag tag a bunch as you'd find anywhere. Cold enough to cause your beath to smoke in the cold fresh air but at the same time three of the four were bare foot. Ed was rolling a Prince Albert smoke. Aw youth. How sweet it was.

Me and the rest of the bunch decided to cut back through the wood's and get on the Millwood cut off road. Wasn't long until we pasted the new Millwood house. As usual old man George Millwood was setting on the front porch rocking back and forth in a porch swing. I guess he did that a whole lot cause every time I passed his place he'd be out there on the front porch. He was a neat old man. Real white headed and sort of heavy set. He was always dressed the same in clean faded DC overalls, light blue stripped shirt and highly polished black shoes. George was always eating a apple  or whittling on something, When he found out where we was headed he asked if we could pick up a can of Garrett's snuff for him. We said we would.

I made reference to the "new" Millwood place. George had built the house for him and his ailing wife Adale. She died shortly after they moved in and George was alone now . Well almost alone anyway. George had family just down the road. They lived in the "old" Millwood place. "They" being Georges youngest son Charles's family. George and Adale had six sons and three girls. The baby of the bunch was Charlie. Unlike his siblings Charles never got farther from home than Carbon Hill. He got married and him and his wife started making babies. Because the above mentioned skill seemed to be what they did best it wasn't long before the place was full of squawlin little kids with wet full diapers. Charlie didn't have a regular job. Claimed he needed to stay home and help his dad on the farm. Of course you had to remember to that Charlie also suffered with a bad back and several other problems as well.  What we called as just lazy in general. After George found out that his wife was dying with cancer he built the new house. Gave the old place to Charlie and Hazel. He said he'd furnish them a roof over their heads but whether or not they eat depended on them. Well Charlie whined and complained but got a job at the Parade gas station and learned about the cost of living when paw wasn't helping out. Then one day Charlie just flat run off.
Left Hazel at home with all them kids. She reminded me of the old woman that lived in a shoe. Strange as it sounds, things got better when Charlie left. Hazel had more time to devote to the kids and the house. I guess that Charlie weren't no great loss. Time and life past without him. As for George, he continued waiting for the time when he'd see his wife again.

Turns out Hazel needed somethings from the store too. One of the kids' run out to the road with a note and two dollars. Hazel told us what she needed and wrote  Mr. Harmon a note as well. One pound of Red Diamond coffee and a box of rubber seals for Mason fruit jar lids. She told us to keep a quarter for our trouble. This sure weren't California where easy money was there for the taking.


We past on through the Millwood holdings and past the B.J. Roberts place. Roberts lived and worked up north. He'd bought some land from aunt Fannie Cheatom and built what we called a "shot gun" house. His wife and two son's came down every summer and stayed until time for school to start in Indiana.

We eventually got to Cedrum road and crossed the Cheatom Creek bridge and headed up the hill toward the old Cheatom place.

Artis Warren was working in the yard of the old place. Fanny kept the old house rented out and as a rule it was usually occupied. For what ever reason there was no tenet at the time and the old woman had Artis cleaning up around the out buildings. These were the same buildings that Fanny wouldn't let us snoop around, so to see them open today prompted me to question Artis about the contents. He laughed and said I tell what, I know you boys are going to the store. If you'll pick-up something for me I'll give you all a tour of Mr. Coberts machines. You all just tell old Sam at the store to send me my regular and to give you boys each a cold drink and put er on my bill. I told Artis we could do that and ask him if I could take off my shoes and leave them in a safe place till we got back. He agreed. Hung em on a low tree limb and took off.

Well we was starting to get a hell of a list of items to pick up. Didn't really bother me except for knowing that what Artis was getting was a half pint bottle of moon shine. I'd been here before and well knew what his "regular" was. I told Ed Wideman that at this rate we'd be getting something for ever house we past. Artises house was way off the main road so we slipped by it.  The MesKelly place was within sight of the store. The MesKelly place was also the home of the ill fated parachute caper. The parachute thing will be covered later. Mrs. MesKelly was checking the mail box as we past. Lowell asked her if she needed anything from Harmons. He was fishing for a quarter but she wasn't needing anything. Oh well, we was coming this way anyhow.