6. ON TO WEST END SCHOOL AND SCHOOLFIELD HIGH SCHOOL

I will never forget my first day at school. I was frightened and cried continuously. I was so fortunate to have such a beautiful and loving teacher by the name of Mildred Slayton. She sat me up in the window and let me look out until I got over my fears. I will never forget her for being so kind to me that one day. Over the years, we developed a true friendship as she was getting promoted through the school system and finally became the Principle of Schoolfield High School. She passed away in 2002 and sadly, never married. What a loss that was to some potentially lucky man.

While at West End, which was located where the Schoolfield Hardee's is now located, I always looked forward to recess. Several of my pals and I would sneak over into the woods and roll some cigarettes from a Golden Grange cigarette rolling machine. This was a machine that one could order through the mail, and as I recall, cost about 25 cents. We would, after using it, wrap it carefully and bury it in a secret place. To my knowledge, it is still buried there, but is now covered by a Kroger Super Market so it would be difficult to locate.
West End was a great elementary school and we all loved it very much. It had many great and wonderful teachers whom I will forever be grateful for all they did for me.

Edith, as a child was considered a very beautiful young lady. She was my favorite person in the whole wide world as we were growing up. One of her very best friends was Doris Adkins. Doris’s brother, Ray, was one of my very best friends. On one occasion, Edith, Doris and I had been to the Schoolfield Theatre and when leaving they noticed a lady and were trying to determine whether or not she was wearing a wig. Doris suggested that I run up to her and give her hair a tug to determine if their thoughts might be correct. I ran up to the woman and gave her hair a big tug and lo and behold, it was her original hair. Out of sheer fright, I started running and ran until I got home.

Ray Adkins and I lost touch during our late teens, but I found that his career led him to work for the North Carolina Highway Department as an engineer. He died in the 70s after being mugged, beaten and robbed while giving a seminar in Fayetteville. I did not know about it at the time, although I lived in Fayetteville. I did attend his funeral, which was at his hometown of Durham, N. C.

Doris passed away in the spring of 2005 in a nursing home in Martinsville, Virginia. She was pre-deceased by her husband, Charles [Bugs] Smith.

After seven years at West End, I entered Schoolfield High. At that time, rather than being grades nine through twelve, high school began at grade eight and ended with grade eleven.

After completion of grades through eight, I became embroiled in an argument with my “shop teacher,” Mr. Hill. He sent me to the principal for reprimand, and I was suspended for several days. I took this as an opportunity to convince my Mom that I would be of more use to the family if I dropped out and went to work as my brother Robert had done a couple of years previous. She, finally, reluctantly agreed, and I set out to make my fortune by getting a job in a local restaurant washing dishes. I washed an average of 50 tubs of dishes per day for $3.00 per week. That was my first bad business decision, but it really taught me the meaning of hard work. Although the pay was low, so were prices. Hot dogs sold for the low price of five cents each or six for 25 cents. Hamburgers sold for 10 cents each and in most places 3 for 25 cents.

It was difficult to find time to enjoy the few things we had while having to wash all those dishes. I did begin to give Mom some money to help out, as Robert had been doing for several years. The only difference was that I would talk Mom out of more than I would contribute each week. I never will understand how Mom made it on the small amount of money available, but she did a wonderful job and we will forever be grateful for that.

During this time period, my Mom married Fred W. Lee. He was a boarder of one of our neighbors and worked in the weave room of Dan River Mills. He was a wonderful person and while trying to court Mom, he would always bring Edith and me candy.

We thought it was quite funny at the time that he talked so loudly. He was accustomed to it due to the loud noise in the weave room. If a person has not been in a weave room, they cannot imagine the noise decibels in there. We always called Fred Lee, Mr. Lee since he was a kind and generous man that commanded the respect of everyone that met him. He was from an area near Winston Salem, N. C., and never learned to drive a vehicle. He was, however, responsible for our family having its first automobile, which was a 1933 Dodge. It was a beauty; dark blue with spare tires in each front fender. It was a real classic. I did not know that Mr. Lee had decided to take driving lessons until one day I was on the way to Dan River to clean the spindles on Mom’s carding machines and saw our beautiful car being towed in by a wrecker truck. I told Mom and she called to learn that Mr. Lee had arranged with a friend of ours, Bill Plaster, to give him driving lessons. Mr. Lee drove it 50 feet and rolled it over in a ditch. That was his first and only attempt to drive. Mr. Lee passed away in the early 50s and was sorely missed by everyone who knew him.

Pictured is a replica of the first automobile our family owned, a 1933 Dodge.


After the Dodge was wrecked, it was time for another car, and this time Mom chose a 1937 green Studebaker four-door sedan. It, too, was a beauty. Mom cared so much for this car that she had Dan River build us a garage. For this, they charged 50 cents per week which made our total rent $1.50 per week.

After we had driven the Studebaker for a couple of years, I decided it needed a fresh paint job to re-new the ‘sparkle’ we had become accustomed to. After pleading with Mom and getting her permission, I bought what was advertised as the very best paint that would never show a brush mark. This was a “new” product that was supposed to be exclusive to L. Herman’s Department Store. I began the painting one afternoon and darkness fell when I was about one half complete. After continuing the next day, I realized what a foolish mistake I had made. It showed up two tones of green and looked exactly like the Swicegood Funeral Home ambulances. Needless to say, it became the “laughing stock” of the neighborhood and taught me a great lesson.

Pictured is our second family car, a 1937 Studebaker.