Article l, Volume 8 June 25, 2017
Pleasant Hill, Suffolk, VA
In the spring of 1947 my family moved into a small house on 1 acre of land on Baker Street in the Pleasant Hill community of Suffolk, Virginia. My father, James Felmer Bryant and mother, Roxie Bryant had purchased the house and land for a reasonable price.
We were a family of 8 at the time. Neighbors gathered around and some helped us unload the truck.
We had an apple tree, peach tree and grape vines on the lot. Also, a big plot for a garden.
We were greatly blessed. Don't ask me how all of us managed to find sleeping space in that little house. Well, we did. But some of the neighbors were in the same predicament.
We didn't complain.
The following things were missing: running water, electric, gas, indoor toilet, refrigerator and a whole lot more.
The streets were packed with dirt. Shortly after we moved in, the streets were upgraded with rocks. Well, that is what they said, but the rocks turned out to be ammunition for the children to throw at each other. And throw we did. I was knocked in the head at least two times and had to go to the doctor. It is amazing that somebody didn't get killed. Anyway, a few years later the streets were paved. But still there were a lot of rocks on the streets.
We used lanterns for light. The neighborhood was really dark at night.
Bro Joe Riddick and a man named Mr. Porter spearheaded a drive to get electric in the neighborhood. They were told to collect some seed money from the residents. So, they asked each household to contribute $1. Some of the neighbors balked at that idea. One neighbor reportedly said, "No way! We don't need no electric."
Well, he was in the minority. Mr. Riddick and his committee were successful in convincing the county government officials to put electric in the neighborhood. I can still, vicariously see them stringing the electric poles.
Oh, it was a great day when the lights were turned on.
But still there was no running water.
On real cold days the pumps would freeze. So we had to fill buckets of water at night to ensure that we would have water the next day or in some cases the next week.
Without indoor toilets, members of the family had to go to the outdoor toilet. Now, that was a challenge too. Because in some cases, spiders were inside the hole. I know a man who was bitten.
An upgrade for some families were to have a two seater toilet. This addition meant that two persons could use the toilet at the same time. It is often said, there were two paths but no baths.
Immediately after moving in, my dad planted a garden that included a variety of vegetables and he bought some chickens and pigs.
Helping manage the garden and feed the animals gave us (children) an immediate sense of responsibility.
Three of the young boys I immediately became friendly with were Thurman Patillo, Douglas Jones and Maynard Porter.
We spent a lot of time in the summer of 1947 running around being creative. We made our own toys, seemingly created games, and established our daily activities.
There was no parental involvement. The parents just made sure we ate something during the day.
Well, there is a little bit more to it than that. There were some mothers who would engage in physical fist fights with each other about children stuff. After the fights, they would return to their homes and put the physical encounter they had behind them. It was not unusual to see the same mothers sitting together on one or the other porch the next day shelling beans and engaged in a friendly conversation.
After all the ripping and running during the Summer, I had to get prepared to go to school in September. I was not prepared. I had no kindergarten and no classroom exposure beyond one week.
A year or two earlier I went to school for one week in the Saratoga community and my family had to move to another location. It was an isolated area, where I did not have any means to get to the local school. So, I just spent the year running wild in the woods and learning about animals, plants and the environment.
I couldn't even say the A, B, C's. To me, it didn't matter, because my life exposure was not expanded enough, at that time for it to matter.
(to be Continued)
Copyright 2017 Grady E. Bryant, Sr.
People who visit this blog site also read: www. wbcfallschurch@blogspot.com
Immediately after moving in, my dad planted a garden that included a variety of vegetables and he bought some chickens and pigs.
Helping manage the garden and feed the animals gave us (children) an immediate sense of responsibility.
Three of the young boys I immediately became friendly with were Thurman Patillo, Douglas Jones and Maynard Porter.
We spent a lot of time in the summer of 1947 running around being creative. We made our own toys, seemingly created games, and established our daily activities.
There was no parental involvement. The parents just made sure we ate something during the day.
Well, there is a little bit more to it than that. There were some mothers who would engage in physical fist fights with each other about children stuff. After the fights, they would return to their homes and put the physical encounter they had behind them. It was not unusual to see the same mothers sitting together on one or the other porch the next day shelling beans and engaged in a friendly conversation.
After all the ripping and running during the Summer, I had to get prepared to go to school in September. I was not prepared. I had no kindergarten and no classroom exposure beyond one week.
A year or two earlier I went to school for one week in the Saratoga community and my family had to move to another location. It was an isolated area, where I did not have any means to get to the local school. So, I just spent the year running wild in the woods and learning about animals, plants and the environment.
I couldn't even say the A, B, C's. To me, it didn't matter, because my life exposure was not expanded enough, at that time for it to matter.
(to be Continued)
Copyright 2017 Grady E. Bryant, Sr.
People who visit this blog site also read: www. wbcfallschurch@blogspot.com
or Warner Baptist Church.express news (no .com)
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