1941 - Last Halloween

1941 – October 31 – My Last Halloween

Pop (Pop is her father Leonard) had a grill, garage and service station at the foot of the hill. We lived above the service station. I fried burgers and fries, took care of the station and took work orders for mechanic work, while pop worked in the mine. Then when pop got home from working in the Peabody Coal Mines he would fill the work orders for the mechanic work.

Where we lived there was a fork with two roads just above it. One of those roads led the way up to the coal camps; the other fork led to Yancy. Back when I grew up you could Trick or Treat until you were sixteen years old; now I think it is fourteen. Some of my friend’s mothers and fathers owned the post office, the shoe shop, the local grocery, and the local barber shop. We were all turning sixteen that year; so this would be our last trick or treat. So we decided we were going to do a good one. We got credit for a lot we didn’t do because one of the boys was trying to get even with his step daddy. He and a friend moved his step daddy’s barber shop into the middle of the road. We got the credit for that but we did not do it.

We had a three seater outside toilet for ourselves and customers to use.  Back then Kam Smith was the sheriff; and boy did he ever have a spot light on his car. We were blocking the road when we saw that spot light on Kam Smith’s car coming down the road. We all ran into the outside toilet. It was pitch dark inside that toilet and it was a little crowded. We were all moving around trying to make room for all of us when all of a sudden Madeline yelled, “Oh my God!”

I asked her, “What’s wrong Madeline?” Madeline replied, “There’s a bald headed man in here!” We didn’t know Pop was on one of the seats in the toilet until we started moving around trying to make room and Madeline found out pop was there. Pop was laughing because he knew we were up to mischief but we couldn't leave because the sheriff was coming. We finally got out of that toilet.

We decided we would move our enterprise just a little farther up the road. We had just blocked the road when we once again saw Kam Smith’s spotlight coming down the road. We all ran trying to find some place to hide. Some of them climbed and hid in a tree; but I was always a four by four and I couldn’t climb that tree. I tried but I had on a pair of cover alls and when I swung on the tree limb, I just couldn’t make the climb. So I hit the ground and I just laid belly bust in the ditch, so Kam didn’t see me.

The VC2C Bus Lines was who transported people back then and the last run was at 10:30 at night. We decided we were going to block the roads until that last bus ran. Back in WWII, there weren’t too many boys or men around, Uncle Sam wasn’t no woman but sure did take our men. When the bus went up the hill, it had to stop and unblock the road; there were passengers on the bus and they helped the driver unblock the road. When the bus went up the hill we blocked the road again.  When the driver had to stop and unblock the road again he wasn’t real happy because the bus was empty this time and he didn’t have any help.

We yelled out as he was unblocking that road, “We’re Halloween witches!” and the bus driver answered back, “Oh no you’re not! You’re sons of b’s!

Anyway we went home happy after that and went to sleep. The next morning the sheriff pecked on the door at mom and pop’s place and accused us of moving the barber shop. I mean the whole barber shop! Not just the barber chair, which alone must have weighed a ton; but the benches and even the sink! The whole nine yards had been moved out into the middle of the road. For years I didn’t know who had really moved that barber shop. I had my suspicions, but I really didn’t know for sure.

When I was pregnant with Danny, and big as a cow; I went back to Harlan for a visit. I was In Scot’s 10 cent store when a guy came up that I thought had helped move that barber shop, Odell Shepherd. I said, “Odell Shepherd! My god man, what do they mean having you as sheriff in Harlan. Tell me the truth did you help and give us the blame for moving that barber shop?”

Odell said, “I confess I helped but I’ve been forgiven.” I told him, “Odell I don’t know who forgave you but I haven’t forgiven you yet!” I finally told him I forgave him because I was afraid I’d get a speeding ticket before I left Harlan. So I finally forgave him. Now I think us twelve got blamed for a lot more than we did; but we really enjoyed our last Halloween!