Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1914-05-06
AWAY BACK IN THE FIFTIES
W. r. Doyle Writes of 1.-THE Old Days"
mt Bounty Land.

Dendy, Walhalla, S. C.-Dear Uncle:
with memory and hope eliminated.
this life would hold out but little TO
us. Memory enables us to live in the
past, hope in the future. What gives
us continuous pleasure that we have
lived is that we will join loved ones
gone before and live with them in
~eternity's future. Therefore, from
these we gather most of the pleas
ureS Of this life-especially OF old
age. When memory carries us back
to our boyhood days and we review
our lives to the present, we involun-
tarily conclude that there is a Des-
tiny that shapes, without ever any
rough-hewing on u part. The IL
lustration or comparison may be in
elegant, but | am persuaded thai we
have as little to do, as to the general
curse Of IL lives, as the swiftly
floating log on the swollen stream
has to do with its starting. or can
have to do as to when or where it
may stop.
These thoughts are suggested by
the letter of our old friend, w. p.
Mauldin, to you, recently published
in The Courier. He has been lost
to me since November, 1858. When
memory takes me back to the years
lS57-1S, and to Bounty Land, when
and where ! first met Billy Mauldin.
! well remember that | was then as
thou%htlCSS Of the future as the log
which waited for the flood to rise
and bear it away. 1t was then and
there hat Mr.. Penny taught us
"readin', riting' and 'rithmetic."
Then and there we played and loved.
bat never thought. AS | now re-
member, there we're usually about
90 pupils in attendance-a happy
Family, as it were-consisting Of
boys and girls ranging in age from
about eight to perhaps 24 years. OF
them ! can now name you. Uncles
Tom and Stiles Dendy; Doc, Short
and Ed Johnson; Will, Jack, Neal,
Bette, Tom Handy, jim and Dave
Stribling; John, Dave, George, jim
and Bill Penny; Bill, Jim and Fan
ME Mauldin; Hayne, Bill, jim, Ben
and Tom Lowery; Agnes Steele;
Lucy, Evaline and Sam McElroy;
Will, Mile and Lizzie Hunt; John.
Margaret and Ben Dickson; Will
born Abbott, Bob Lumpkin; Frank,
Andy, John and Jeff Hall; Jane N.Y.
crs, Ellen Handy; Jim, Billy (Cou-
teri, Martha, Mandy, Eli, Phoebe.
John, Rose, Lou, Jim II. and Beck
Doyle, and Mat and Sue Alexander.
OF these ST all are either dead or
lost to me but you and Neal, Bette,
Tom Handy and Dave Stribling; Ben
Lowery, Agnes Steele, Evaline Nc
Elroy, Bill and Jim Mauldin;f VIII
born Abbott, John Hall, jim Fl. and
Beck Doyle, Mat and Sue Alexander
-16! The most OF those named |
never met after we separated at
Bounty Land on the last Friday in
November, 1853. Oh, time, with what
power and rapidity thou dost work!
Jane Myers, Ellen Handy and Jim
II | were in a class to ourselves
during the two years. Early in IAN
uary, 1898, Mr.. Penny started us to
studying the multiplication table,
and we recited it every morning for
five months. and all of us missed
some part of it every time. In fact,
we did not learn it during the entire
ten months. Mr.. Penny's worry over
Il i'll success reminds me Of Mr..
Jordan teaching Dave hurry the al
phabet, as told me by Mr.. Jordan,
who taught school in this county
long years ago. He said Dave could
not learn the letter co." He told
Dave one Friday evening that he
must learn that letter by Monday
morning, and Dave said he would
lave it all right by hat time. When
Monday morning came Dave went
down the line nicely till he got to
CO.., when ne headed up as usual.
"Wcll, Dave" said Jordan, 81
thought YOU were going TO know that
letter this morning" IT thought so,
too" replied Dave, "but I don't"
TO indicate or suggest, Jordan said:
"Wcll. Dave. what do you say when
YOU stump your toe?" 81 don't say
n%Othin'," answered Dave. "Ncs, you
DO. You say o, don't YOU" mo,
sir, | don't" said Dave. Il say
'ouch'." SO Mr.. j. could not lead
Dave to say 49," nor could Mr.. Pen
ny lead or drive us to learn the null