Part 5 of my long journey

I really lucked up when I was in Grammar School because we lived just across the road from the school house.  Back then it was a two room school with classes one, two and three in one room and classes four, five and six in the other room.  Each room had one teacher and we stayed in the designated room for the day.

When the teacher was teaching one grade the other students sat and studied lessons until it was  time for them to be taught.

We had what was called a Field Day once a year where students from different schools gathered at the High School in Walterboro for contests and games.

I was chosen to enter the Arithmetic competition two years in a row.  I won first place the first year and came in second the second year.  The second year I was chosen to enter both the Arithmetic and the English contests.  I guess luck was on my side because I had a Migraine Headache and couldn't participate in the English class.

When they started the Lunch Program in our school my Mother managed it.  It was located  in a room behind the Class Rooms.  She and another lady cooked lunch for all the classes and each grade would take turns going to the lunch room to get their lunch and bring it back to their desk and eat.

Things have really changed since then.  We ate what was cooked for us and today it  is so many things to choose from.  My mother was transfered to the Walterboro High School and she continued to manage the Lunch Program for many years.

My Journey will continue later on.

by Louise Price Headden Hilton

Part 4 of my long journey

As was written in a previous journey we lived about 5 miles from the closest town.  One time a week Daddy would hitch the horse to the wagon and make the trip to town to get groceries and other supplies.  Back then flour, meal and other staples came in 50 pound cloth bags.  The bags had different designs on them so Momma would take them and make the girls dresses.  One time one of my aunts came for a visit and brought some beautiful yellow material.  Momma made me a dress out of it and I thought that was the best dress that anyone could own.  We always liked to see them come for a visit because we always got plenty of fruit.

Another job my brother had was working for the Western Union delivering messages that came in.  He owned a bicycle and every Sunday when he wasn't working he would ride from town and let us ride his bike.  No one realizes the thrill and excitement it was to experience this because we could not afford a bicycle.  My friend across the road had a bike she would let us ride when she was in the mood.  We thought how lucky she was to be brought up in such a "rich" family.

Later on my brother bought a car and taught me to drive it.  When he went on dates he would leave the radio on which run down the battery.  We got used to being woke up at 5:30 in the mornings to help him push the car to get it started.

I will continue my journey later.

by Louise Price Headden Hilton

Part 3 of my long journey

Living on the farm we had very few accommodations. We didn't consider ourselves poor because we had never been used to things like an indoor toilet.  Our water supply was a pump on the back porch and on laundry day we pumped water to fill up two tubs. A fire was built under one of the tubs to boil the clothes and the other tub was used to rinse them. After the washing was finished the clothes would be hung on clothes lines with wooden clothes pins.  One of the big problems was if it should start raining and the clothes was almost dry we had to bring them in and hang them over any place we could find.

My brother was working for Holsum Bread Company at one time and he insisted that I iron his Uniform shirts.  In those days the irons had to be heated in front of the fire place and the irons had to be cleaned thoroughly before they were put on the shirts.  Starch for the shirts was made by boiling flour and water. The shirts had to be sprinkled with water out of a bottle that had holes punched in the top.  Needless to say standing in front of that hot fire ironing shirts for the day was not a chore I would choose for a Profession.

Our cook stove was heated with wood and to the side it had a reservoir that water was kept in to heat for the cooking and dish washing.  It had a warming oven at the top and I cannot remember a time when my Mother didn't have some good home cooked biscuits keeping warm for us to eat.

My journey continues later.

by Louise Price Headden Hilton

Part 2 of my long journey

On our farm we grew corn, sugar cane, cotton and every kind of vegetable you could think of.  We had a horse to plow the field and also to pull the wagon.  There was hogs, pigs, chickens, laying hens and a rooster that would run you and if he got the chance he would spur you.  When our cousins would come to see us that would be their entertainment for the weekend to outrun the rooster.

When the cane was harvested there would be a cane grinding with all the neighbors gathering around to get a taste of the syrup that was being boiled in a large vat.  A wood fire was used to  keep the cane juice boiling. This would be another chore for the horse because he had to pull the mill that would grind all of the cane.  After the syrup was finally cooked, because it took hours, it would be put in quart jars and stored away for the winter.  Of course our neighbors would take a sample home with them.

My journey will continue in Part 3.

by Louise Price Headden Hilton

Part 1 of my long journey

I was born July 7th,1924 in a little community called Mashawville.  It was located about 5 miles outside of Walterboro, South Carolina.  My mother's name was Hattie Mary Smith Price and my father's name was Harvey Wichman Price.  I had 5 sisters and 3 brothers.  Back in those days families took care of older people because there was no such things as Nursing Homes so my Father's Mother and my Mother's Father lived with the family at different times.  I will continue my journey next time.
by Louise Price Headden Hilton

The Prices

My Mom was one of nine children who were born and raised on a farm in the small community of Mashawville, SC. She had 5 sisters and 3 brothers. She is the next to the youngest. The Harvey and Hattie Price family lived on the farm during most of the first half of the 1900s.