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Fire, Fire, House on fire
The Silverheels Riffle Remembers
All through that long, very hot summer, Grandpa and Darl dug out the cellar to install a pressurized five hundred gallon fresh water system fed from a sizable spring about 200 feet below the house. The installation was complete with hot and cold water and a flush toilet in a small room located in an alcove next to the kitchen. Mother was extremely happy.
"Fire, Fire, House on Fire!"
by Alan Wagoner In the early spring of 1936 we bought a very nice little farm, moving from the house we had rented on Kennebec Hill known as the Pierce House. This move was the brainchild of my father, Darl Wagoner. He thought that by making this move he could, with the help of Grandpa Farrell, supplement our income by doing a little farming.
Working at the Morris Hardware for Uncle George and Aunt Fanny, (that is what they liked to be called by their friends and by younger people) at nine dollars a week in the Dust Bowl and Great Depression years just did not quite hack it. It was hard to put bread on the table let alone put anything away for a rainy day.
Working at the Morris Hardware for Uncle George and Aunt Fanny, (that is what they liked to be called by their friends and by younger people) at nine dollars a week in the Dust Bowl and Great Depression years just did not quite hack it. It was hard to put bread on the table let alone put anything away for a rainy day.
George and Frances Scott offered Darl several opportunities over the years to go into busines for himself or in partnership with George, like financing a tin shop or opening a super service station right on the square. But Darl had other ideas, having acquired in the span of seven short years, four more mouths to feed.
The farm was located about a mile and three quarters from Malta on what is now known as Conk Palmer Ridge with our neighbors, starting at the top of the hill: Prince McKibben and family, Conk Palmer, ourselves, Else Miller and her mother, Cecil Glass and Julia. Those were the only neighbors until the crest of the hill.
At the top of the hill on the right on a knoll, was an old shack known as the Squirrel Tavern. From there you could either turn to the left toward Pennsville or right, back to McConnelsville.
The farm was located about a mile and three quarters from Malta on what is now known as Conk Palmer Ridge with our neighbors, starting at the top of the hill: Prince McKibben and family, Conk Palmer, ourselves, Else Miller and her mother, Cecil Glass and Julia. Those were the only neighbors until the crest of the hill.
At the top of the hill on the right on a knoll, was an old shack known as the Squirrel Tavern. From there you could either turn to the left toward Pennsville or right, back to McConnelsville.
The farm consisted of a nice two-story, six-room house with a covered front porch facing south toward Conk Palmers home and having a large field out behind the barn. We grew field corn for our pig and our cow, Old Jersey. Old Jersey was now long past her prime, but was able to give a little milk on occasion. Between the shed and barn there was enough room for a sizable truck patch where grandpa provided most of our fresh vegetables.
Finally there was the "two holer"-- a very sore spot with my mother as she was, from an early age, a town girl and accustomed to indoor plumbing. My father, Darl made a solemn promise that the situation would soon be remedied.
Finally there was the "two holer"-- a very sore spot with my mother as she was, from an early age, a town girl and accustomed to indoor plumbing. My father, Darl made a solemn promise that the situation would soon be remedied.
All through that long, very hot summer, Grandpa and Darl dug out the cellar to install a pressurized five hundred gallon fresh water system fed from a sizable spring about 200 feet below the house. The installation was complete with hot and cold water and a flush toilet in a small room located in an alcove next to the kitchen. Mother was extremely happy.
That spring and summer provided me with a lot of time and space to roam and explore new and strange things such as finding out about poison ivy and poison oak and learning that sticking your finger through the fence to a mother pig is not a good feeling. At least that last experience taught me that I could milk a cow with one hand while my pig-nipped finger healed! Our "city" dog Tony got to be slim and trim out in the country but Midge, our country dog, stayed the same plump size.
In mid-August, as the summer grew hotter, tragedy struck as I came down with a case of chicken pox. Being stuck in the house with illness was quite a blow as I was used to spending my days outside in the fresh air playing in an old army tent Pop had put up on a slab of cement by the lane leading to the main road. Mother tried to make me as comfortable as possible in the house by settling me into a large overstuffed leather chair with a quilt over me to keep me from scratching.
About lunch time one day as mother was out in the kitchen preparing the meal, I saw to my horror a wisp of smoke about three quarters of the way up the chimney. Fire was making its way up toward the 
ceiling!I screamed to mother, "Fire, fire!" She came running in to where I was in my old leather chair and then out the back door for Grandpa who was at the barn. Grandpa came running in grabbing the pyrene fire extinguisher on the way, while mother called the fire department.
ceiling!I screamed to mother, "Fire, fire!" She came running in to where I was in my old leather chair and then out the back door for Grandpa who was at the barn. Grandpa came running in grabbing the pyrene fire extinguisher on the way, while mother called the fire department. By the time the fire truck got there grandpa had the fire out and everything was almost back to normal. Would you believe the people that sold us the house had stuffed newspaper in the flue and had wall papered over it? If I had not been Alan-On-The-Spot,the house would have been up in smoke and flames before anyone would have realized it.
As I recall I did not receive anything extra for that little job, as it was just a part of living in those days on our new farm. By the way, everything is still there.
LeilaN |
Latest page update: made by LeilaN
, Apr 21 2008, 11:36 PM EDT
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Keyword tags:
Kennebec
Malta
McConnelsville
Silverheels
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| Started By | Thread Subject | Replies | Last Post | ||
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| ematusek | conk palmer | 1 | Oct 7 2007, 2:07 PM EDT by anwag | ||
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Thread started: Sep 29 2007, 4:30 PM EDT
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I always wondered about this name - since it's a road name now in Morgan County. Was he an early farmer in this area? Would like to know more.
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