A Clean Face And Overalls
An on-the-air conversation brought this photo to mind.
He was wearing overalls. Probably hand-me
downs from an older brother. His hair was combed,
at least as combed as an eight year old boy’s hair is
ever combed. And he was clean as a new
penny. His mama would never have let him go
to school any other way. But if you look carefully,
you’ll notice that the overalls are not new,
the shirt is a little worn, and the haircut is
probably done at home.
I know from a note in her diary that his mother was
trying to help make ends meet in 1933. Her worry
was that this child needed new shoes. She was
making bonnets and selling them to people she knew in
the Mountain View Neighborhood around Laurens
Avenue.
His dad was a laborer, and then a truck driver
for a freight company in Knoxville. He never had a
car of his own, and when he got a job at Cas Walkers
in the 60’s, he depended on this son to pick him
up after work some nights.
The kid in this picture told me one of the treats
he and his brothers remembered from their
childhood was doughnuts from The Salvation
Army. But he said the down-side was they had to
attend a service to get them.
His mom prayed a lot. He was baptized in a creek
after making a profession of faith at a revival.
A few years after this photo was taken, this kid
found himself in the Pacific with The Sixth Army.
As an adult, his ideas of right and wrong were
clear, and not a lot of in-between. They served him
well as he advanced in his career as a civil servant.
The boy grew into a devoted husband and father.
Seventy five years.
The boy in the photo is gone.
The memories fade a bit.
But the values stand strong.
Thanks, Daddy.
Small guy,nice blog,great job,hope i will see your work soon.