Richland beacon., 1888-04-28
IMPROVING A CORNER LOT.
Carrying Refuse and Dumping II In
a Hole for Fourteen Years.
from the Atlanta constitutional

HE has been at thas lor 'i'ir'ee"
years." =,
And the speaker laughed as he watched
an old man gathering up a bucket OF
stones and broken bricks. The cid man
continued his work until his bucket was
filed, and then started back toward
Spring street, stopping on the way to
resurrect a rusted old hoop that was
nearly buried in the gutter.
After walking about three blocks he
stopped at the corner of Spring and
James streets, aud laying the rusty hoop
carefully upon great heap OF rusty
hoops OF all kinds and sizes, he carried
the bucket to the back of his lot, n part
of which was considerably lower than the
front, and emptied the bucket OF bricks
and stones.
He was very old man-ahout 20 years
old, apparently-in his shirt sleeves,
and wearing dingy straw hat. He was
feeble, too, and his sters were slow. but
he stopped only to get n drink of water
at the back door, and then amblel oil
with the empty bucket.
The little frame structure is half store
and half residence. Just inside the dool
to the store sat a portly old lady OF GO OIL
thereabOuts.
"Who is that old man yonder with that
empty bucket"
"Himl Why, that's old man Lewis
Powell, and he's my husband. l though
everybody knew him."
els that all he dOes!'
"Fill up the lot, you mean? No, no
he puts hoops on barrels and kegs. ant
raises calves and such like, but that's hi
main business. He's been at it nigh OF
to fourteen years"
"And how much has he filled in1"
"Oh, from the sidewalk on back. Tn
lot is fifty by eighty, and it used to b
Just one big hole. Now here on Sprinl
street, where the front is, the bank wen
nearly straight down, cause the eye o
the sewer was right there. Then tn
sewer was open and run in gully tn
Whole length of the lot, and just abon
in the middle of the lot. Here on Jane
street, at the side there, it wasn't s.
steep. The front of the old house wa
about half way down the bank. and tn
pillars mt the back was over ten feet high
The house wasn't more than twelve fee
that way, either. And right at the bac
door the sewer passed"
"HOw deep was it"
"Well, right here at the front the cit
men measured to the sewer once, and
was little over twenty feet below tn
sidewalk. The back Of the lot was
little lower. 1t was one big hole fifty b
eighty, and almost in the bottom OF
was the old house"
Fourteen years ago."
"FOnrteen years ago we boughtlt fror
Jack Smith on time. 1t wasn't mucf
but me and Jenny and Joe and Stell
Just buckled down and worked lik
tigers. The neighbors made fun OF Il
at first, and even the niggers thought
was funny. Now, amt telling you th
because I'm stuck up about it, but
inst shows what the Powell family hav
done, and it shows what poor folks ca
do if they stick ut it."
didn't the old man helpl"
eyes, a little. But we had to liv'
and then he spent lots of time fill
mp, so the brunt of the money part fe
on me and the children. We bought I'll
mud hole, and he made the mud no
what it is now. Right here where I'll
mud hole was there is n corner lot, m
them what used to laugh at us would Liz
mighty we'll to own it now"
And the old lady smiled as thong
the thought was very pie asant one.
eyes, sir" she continued, ''it's wort
coed deal now, and first thing yo
know, when the streets get paved alon
here, it will be worth q lot more than
is now"
"And the old man."
"The Old man has worked pretty faitl
fnl. Little at time he has fetche
dirt, and rocks, and bricks, and trasl
Then the city put pipe there for tn
sewer, and he began ut the sidewalk G
Spring street and filled hack. The ban
kept gettin' further and further. an
after, don't know how long, We bui
this little house on the filled in par
The old man kept film hack till we''
got pretty big back yard; and there
only a little part left to fill back Their
You see he never tore up the old hou
/ lust throwed in around it and in Il
he has almost buried it.
"Why?"
"Oh, it's Just a notion of his. +
} didn't want to see the old house tore u
and there it is now, with just the TO
stickin' ont. In little while it will
one level yard, so by so, and corn
} lot, too. And by the time it all ge
filed up-well, me and the old man
cettin' feeble now, and We won't Ia
J much longer. But, now that we are 9
ont of debt and just enough left to ke'
the old mans hand in, it does me go'
. to think of that old mud hole, and he
, we had to save and slave and pinch
pay for it. And think the oil mi
likes to stand there at the corner al
: look back how level and smooth it
and think how it was done, handful
time, through the rain and the sn6
and the sunshine. Fourteen years!
was a big job, but we stuck to it. al
I'm restin' now, for my work is don
The old man don't work like he used
but he says his job amt finished y
and he keeps film up"
\ "And when his work is done