The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1918-08-09
JOHN PERSHING--
MISSOURIAN
A Quiet Farmer Lad, But Keep Off or
I'll Kill YOU" Was the Way He
Called One Bully's Bluff

woman employed in the Pershing
household was making frequent in.
roads OIL the slowly growing woodpile
in order to finish her Saturday bak-
ing. Finally the future general en-
tered protest.
"Look here, Aunt Maria" he said
reprovingly, eff you keep on carrying
off this wood | never will get enough
split to last over Sunday"
His father was strict in discipline.
He kept the boys steadily employed
at useful wholesome work. By the
time John had reached his teens the
family possessions included a 160-
acre farm about a mile south of La
clede, and there the future soldier
worked faithfully every year, from
blowing to corn husking.
Every morning-if you were up
+ early" says Clay C. Bigger, boy
hood friend of John Pcrshing, and
now one of the foremost lawyers Of
Linn county, "you could see John and
Jim with their teams going out to the
farm. They took their dinners along
and ate at the farm so the horses
could rest during the noon hour.
GAS we lived on a farm and l was
about Johns age his father frequently
called on US for help, and usually |
was sent to change work with the
Pershing boys. We plowed corn to-
gether-barefoote - many a day,
worked in the hay field, and bound
grain.
"John was worker He put IN
full days and made full hand. His
father, though not unduly severe,
was strict in his requirements of the
boys; yet | never heard John conf
plain. He always had a genuine in
terest in carrying to successful fin
ish every piece of work that he was
directed to do.
John Pershing was not q genius"
continued his boyhood friend. "He
possessed good, clear, analytical
mind but no better mind than ten
thousand other Missouri boys today
possesses. He was clean in charac-
ter-absoutely so--and regular at
tendant at church and Sunday school
services at the Methodist Episcopal
church, of which he was member and
in which lis father and mother were
active workers. His parents were in
tensely religious people.
at was in that kind of home and
under such influences" continued Mr..
Bigger, "that John Pershing grow up
TO young manhood, The only traits
distinguishing him from many other
boys who had even better minds than
he were those that characterized him
as tiraless worker, indomitable in
his purpose to perform every task
set before him, and to do that con-
scientiously. And John Pershing new
err was tough; he never considered it
necessary to seek questionable COM
panions or places in order to have
good time. We had our neighborhood
parties, our taffy-pullings and sleigh
rides, our baseball and swimming and
fishing, and all these John Pershing
enjoyed in the whole souled fashion of
a healthy country boy, but he never
resorted to rowdyiGm in any FORM
Pershing was not quarrelsome but
was abundantly able to take care Of
himself if a genuine difficulty arose.
All his old associates agree on chat
point. They tell of term of school
lie taught when he was 18. 1t was at
Prairie Mound in Charlton county
In the course of the term it became
Lis duty to thrash big boy. He ad-
dressed himself to his duty in his US
ual direct and vigorous way. The
discipline had the desired effect so
far as the boy was concerned but it