The Camden chronicle. (Camden, Tenn.) 1890-current, 1901-06-07
THE PASSING
OF
UNCLE BILLY.


Poor Uncle Billy" he explained.
whats the matter?" asked his
friend. Something happened to one
Of your relations?"
NO he wasn't exactly a relation of
mine-not exclusively. He was Uncle
Billy to everybody. Wherever he has
gone, he will be Uncle Billy still.
can remember him ever since was
knee high to toad. and in all that
time he never changed a wrinkle OF
his old face. He got old 40 years ago,
/ think and then time overlooked him
and death never found it out until now.
/ The paper mentions the Death Angel
also 1t is with unfeigned regret that
they chronicle. The funeral will be
/ held in the First Baptist church, which
makes me wonder whether the church
es drew straws for him, for nobody
ever suspected him of any church
affiliations in my time.
'He was a pagan-one of the unre-
generate, a tobacco-chewing, rough
talking, big-hearted old reprobate, who
never smiled, but let his eyes smile for
him while the rest of his features were
composed in imperturbable gravity,
and who was liked by everybody-else
he would never have been Uncle Billy
He kept the one general store in the
little village when was a boy. He had
a young man named Abner to help
him, and Abner did practically all the
business. Uncle Billy never seemed
to care much how things went, devot-
ing himself chiefly to checkers. Some
times he would tumble round among
the shelves for his customers and
serve them. and quite as often he
would tell them to go around and see
if they could find what they wanted
themselves. That wouldn't work
everywhere, but we were a primitive
people then and we'll content to be So.
We said I have saw him when we
didn't say 4 seen him.. and we felt an
honest scorn for those finicky folks
who were more correct in their Ian
guage. We were always square with
Uncle Billy we never took advantage
of his unbusinesslike ways and we APP
preciated the freedom he allowed us.
"And now the old fellow is dead!
"a fellow named Lish Jewett, l re-
member, played a great trick on Uncle
Billy one time. He was the village
! cutup and addicted to didoes anyway
Uncle Billy aimed to keep most
| ~ In, 81 HIT hn
, very good run of it, and every once in
t a while he would get out of something
a Lish found out that he was short or
soda-only had about half a pound Of
it, and what does he do but go around
: and tell everybody to ask for soda.
Y "The people were all willing to do it
r We had only too little to vary the
mototony of existence in that little
town, and so old and young and ricl
and poor focked into Uncle Billy's
= store and called for soda. The oil
: man was generally pretty quick catch
" ing on. but somehow he didn't tumble
v in this instance. although he was Ger
! tainly suspicious. When Doc Peter
son came in toward evening and aske,
for two pounds of soda Uncle Billy be
Q trayed his curiosity.
1t "'What be you wantin sody fol
10 Doc? he asked.
.e "'Why, says Doc what would
# want 1t for-to grease my boots
What does anybody want with soda
- "'Well, says Uncle Billy I reel
8 oned that mebbe you had diskivere
N some sort O. use for it out o. the con
10 mon. Everybody in town has gon
n sody mad, seems like. I've sent
Saint Joe for boatload to meet tn
- dee-mand It's mighty curious no
they'll get run on suthin all at ono
here. don't reckon a can O Californ
N peaches'd do you jest as well. woul
in they? I've got in some mighty fin
ne peaches
oil "He hadn't ordered a boatload. b.
- he did lay in big supply of it, and
" course Just as soon as he got it Il
% demand fell off. Uncle Billy couldn
er- figure out how that happened. F.
at two or three weeks everybody tn
he came into the store would be ask'
- how they were off for soda, and
~ seemed that everybody had all thu
% wanted at home.
MS "At last Jewett thought he won
err put up a job on the pastor of t
~ Methodist church
1.-THE pastors name was Dolby a
81 he was a good sort of a man. only
ser hadn't got his edge worn of. bel
an young and not long out Of the sem