McNairy County independent. (Selmer, McNairy County, Tenn.) 1902-1969, 1918-12-13
From W. r. Mccormick Who
Is "Over There. !"
Wednesday. Oct. 30, 1918.


This has been fine week so far,
We've had big frosts with ice> and
frozen ground, but it has been clear
and dry and that's fine.
The leaves have turned brown and
are falling to the ground. It seems
much like autumn at home. | see
lots of scenes which remind me of
when | was just "Rady" at home, and
would 60 singing or whistling across
the frosty, frozen fields with cap
pulled down and my hands in my pock-
cts. Just yesterday saw an old rab-
bit-hawk sail about, stop still in the
air, and lock for birds or something.
! told one of the boys how | had Of
ten stopped my corn pulling or cot
ton picking to watch them.
Somehow the frost, the frozen
ground, the brown leaves and the bar
rem timber take me back only a few
years ago to the time when dear
Grady and | 'possum hunted and went
to school together. Those were hap
py. care-free days, but | didn't know
it, because nothing ia either good or
bad, excert as compared with some-
thing else. We thought of much ex-
cept gun and dog and time to use
them. But am no longer boy,
though | do love to think about the
time when | was.
can imagine now papa hauling in
the corn, and remember when broth
er and used to climb up 10 the corn
crib to throw back the corn when the
crib was nearly full. We would work
a while and play a while, and write
our names and the date high upon
the wall. | remember the geese and
the chickens, the horses and the cows,
and pen of fat hogs nearby. The
hallway was Uttered with the shucks
which flew from the corn as papa
scooped it into the crib. imagine
now the brown fields and the stubble,
and the larks whistling and singing
as they sail through the warm sun
shine over the frosty fields. | i'm
agine fresh plowed spot of ground
with sweet potatoe vines partly un-
covered, and | almost see q large pile
of mash and pit where the sorghum
was made. | imagine the old walnut
tree standing leafless by the well,
dropping its nuts. The ground by the
we'll in theyard is covered with fallen
leaves, and see you, mamma, come
to the well with your bucket about
the time to put on the turnips, and
wonder if you are singing as you used
to. The roses are gone; the honey
suckle is still green. and furnishes
protection to the English sparrow.
see few pink flowers in the corner
Of the yard. but they too will soon be
gone. The other bushes in tie yard
are also leafless.
The cellar doors are also dropped
to let the warm sunshine in on the
sweet potatoes heaped in the sand
and there are the big pumpkins. as
big as those huge ones helped yor
haul when ! was home from school /
year ago. Oh. I'd love to be there
when you kill" one to make custards
and pies of himl In the cookroom
smell something cooking; there's the
steam coming from the pot on thu
stove, and hear the noise of the boil
ling potatoes and turnips, and pump
kins and the fresh hog" you killed
the other day. Gee! it does smell
.Igood! | see little old mischievous
sister Minnie running in and out tt
land from her playhouse, and calling
back to "Mohmie" for something sht
cant find. There's Era, nearly grown
helping about the dinner, and old. biz
Mollie is sewing at the machine
Bill jumps the fence into the yard
He has been with papa who has jus
returned with another load of corr
and Bill has come to see If dinner j
ready.
1t is past mail time. see you go
ing or sending the girls to the mail
box to see if you can hear from you
boy who is wearing the uniform 0
: his country somewhere in France.
: do hope you get it. | wish thi
: could reach you tomorrow to assur
{ you that am alright. The old be
rings to announce dinner. hear pt
!, pa call the horses at the pasture gat;
: Jack and Jake 90 to water alone
Soon | hear corn thrown into th
trough and the mules biting it. Ps