Carthage courier. (Carthage, Tenn.) 1913-current, 1921-07-07

and opened up his side of the show
as follows: Judges, ladies and gen.
tlemen, everything has two sides ex-
cept a pancake, and that has a top
and bottom He plunged into his
tory that was as familiar to him as
his A. B. Cs. Warmed up, and few
shrugs about his shoulders, shaking
his long hair, he mounted the stair
steps of oratory and for forty min
utes like a Calhoun, a Henry Clay or
a Daniel Webster, swept everything
before him. The crowd went wild
The judges decided in Bradford's IA
vor and Gilbert Brittle's career as
a debater was at an end. My father
was the proudest man in the commu-
! nifty as he felt he was the discoverer
of an orator unequalled among Smith
CONTAINS.
How | would like to turn back the
wheels of time and once more go to
school few days at old Mount Holly
school house and have again Dutch
Shaver, Clay Bridges and Tom Full
Ter as teachers and see Jane and Vim
ME Silzer, Harriet and MolIie Barnet,
1 Martha and Sarah Everett, Bet and Nan
| Pruett, Sis Moore and Mollie Camp
| bell, Tom and George Campbell, Cal
and Lem Agee, John, Tom and Dave
Enoch, Buck and Leonard Fuller, Bill
and Levi Everett, John, George and
Jordan Barnett and lots of others,
] nearly all of whom are gone. How
| would like to be at another Friday
afternoon exercise when the patrons
came to hear US speak or spell. I
used to walk out on the floor frighten-
! ed almost to death and make bow
that almost reached the floor and
turn loose on Twinkle, twinkle little
stair-I wonder-I wonder what
wonder" and then burst out to cry
ing and sit down and mother and pap
feeling badly and then see another
boy march out and repeat my per-
Torrance by saying, IF at fust you
don't succeed-If | don't suck-no
succeed boo-hoo-wow" and down he
goes and l feel better and so does
mother and father, and here goes the
whole performance whittlecacut to
the end. We turn out early and all
days. What changes of times and
4 customs. Old house gone. Parents
gone. Most all the happy boys and
girls who were there then are now
beyond the river. Ny oldest sister
sleeps near there. / wish / could go
down under the hill to the cave spring
where in summer a perpetual wind
rushes from its mouth. / wish l
could see another mad-dog scare when
the large school boys followed a sus-
picious dog, doing strange stunts, I'M
! til they stoned him to death, to find
that it was a neighbours old dog with
a bone fastened in his throat. How
memories, sweet apd old, come back
/ to me as write of these happy days.
I'd be glad to see again Jordan Kill
j ger, Frank Shy, Buck Moore, Lem
Barnett, Uncle Isom Fuller, Phil Brad
ford, Billy Everett and many others
of the times that's past away. Sew
enty years have come and gone since
first / was born, short distance from
the old Mount Holly school house, and
with these years the overwhelming
majority of those l once knew and
loved have gone on across the stream
we call death. Soon the crossing time
for me will come and what a joy it
will be to brush away the sprays OF
deaths river when I have reached the
port where pilgrims land at the city
of the new JeruSalem-home at last
; That city is almost in sight.
i JOHN T. OAKLEY