[NB – This is the 18-page Memoir that John Paul wrote and left us. I have published it in it’s entirety, instead of constructing a separate biography myself, as I have done for the other siblings. I did add pictures, which he did not have or include, and a few “Nota Benes” where the information is inaccurate, or could benefit from better explanation. I reasoned that I can’t write anything better than what the person wrote who lived it. But certainly others could add to it. I have filled in dates that John Paul left blank, as he certainly intended to fill them in as he found them out. -Jim Rungee 2019]

JOHN PAUL AND EMILY SMITH

9875 EAST PASEO SAN ARDO

TUCSON, ARIZONA 85747

January 6, 2001

Dear Family Members,

I have been working on the attached information for some time and have made a promise to myself that I will get some sort of family tree information down on paper. I have nieces and nephews that I hardly know and they have cousins that they have never met. Hopefully, I can put together something so when we’re traveling in the area of another family member we can at least contact them.

I would like to expand this information as much as I can and will use any information you can provide. I don’t have any information on Brothers and Sisters of Henry and Amanda Smith, Jessie and Sarah Waggoner, Thomas and Hulda Smith or Charles and Nancy Waggoner. I’m Sure Betty or Myra could help me out on the Waggoner side but I don’t have addresses or phone numbers for them

I do know that Dad had 2 brothers and 4 sisters – Erasmus Nathan and Haskell Columbus Smith, Agatha Etta Smith Eslick, Mary Myrtle Smith Hazelwood, Alora Smith Corder and Tommie Smith Taylor but I have no information on them.

I also know Mom had two brothers – Joe and Benjamin Waggoner, but again I don’t have any information on them. Again, I’m sure that Betty or Myra Waggoner could help with this information

Anyway, I would like for you to update any of the missing or incorrect information on the attached family tree and return the corrected pages. When I get all the information back, I’ll update my list and send completed copies to all family members.

For your information, I have sent copies to Ena, Peggy, Sandra, Bill Jr., Audrey, Bert and Barbara. If you know anyone else I should send a copy to, let me know.

Love to All,

Emily and John Paul

Hope everyone had a happy and healthy 2000 and a better 2001.

My Phone: (520) 574-1277

THE “SMITH’S” ACCORDING TO JOHN PAUL

BY: JOHN PAUL SMITH

Everybody grows up with the feeling that their family is special in some way and I’m no exception. I grew up knowing, that in our large family, each Brother and Sister had a special bonding with the other. I’m going to make an attempt and put in writing some of the things as I remember them. Since I am the baby of the family, my memory may be different than that of my two surviving Sisters but we can arbitrate any differences. Also, I might point out that I was the “Rebel” in the family and may alter, deviate, or in some cases, forget incidents along the way. The precious last days I spent with my sister, Estelle, before her new life effective September 19, 1998, inspired me to write this. Therefore, I dedicate this to her.

DEDICATION

To my Sister, Estelle Smith, born, March 19, 1920. Entered her new life, September 19, 1998. Peacemaker in the family: Who else could agree to name the family cow, Edward, Albert, Christian, George, Andrew, Patrick, David. The only reason I can come up with her results is because there must have been seven of us living at home when we assumed ownership of the cow and each had an input on the name. Since our cow was female, why not, Elsa, Alberta, Christine, Georgia, Andrea, Patricia, Diane? I don’t know.[NB– This was actually the full name of Edward VIII, King of England from Jan to Dec 1936, when he abdicated the throne to his younger brother, George VI, because the Church of England would not sanction a marriage to an American divorcee . Estelle certainly must have seen this in a newspaper story at the time]. Physic in the family: Who else in 1935, at 15 years of age, born Baptist with no Catholic affiliation at the time, could come up with a name like “John Paul” for her brother. Estelle was a devout Catholic when she passed away. Family Humorist: Who else could arrange to have an Episcopalian Sister, a Cumberland Presbyterian Sister, a Baptist Brother, a Church of God Niece, an Episcopalian Pastor, and a Catholic Priest sitting around the dining table arranging her Catholic funeral.

THE EARLY GENERATIONS

I have always considered myself as the youngest of nine brothers and sisters and I guess that is technically true, but, in my eyes, I am, in fact, the youngest of eleven. I’ll try to explain as we go so you had best hold on. Of course, I wasn’t around when a lot of this happened, but from what I’ve been told and what I’ve read and what I remember, I’m going to start 108 years ago on April 17, 1889 and do the best I can. I had no living grandparents when I was born, and the only memory I have about them is recorded in my Mother’s family Bible.

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My Great Grandparents were Henry L. Smith (date of birth and death unknown) and Amanda Melissa McClure Smith (born January 8, 1833 and died in 1882). They were married December 22, 1853 in Moore County, Tennessee. Amanda was the second wife of Henry. My Grandparents were Thomas L. Smith (born in 1857 and died December 11, 1893) and Hulda Canzada [NB – Cassandra is what most records show on Ancestry.com] Ward Smith (born on January 1, 1859) and died March 29, 1916). They were married on October 28, 1877. Both are buried in Champ Cemetery, Lincoln County, Tennessee. On my Mother’s side, my Grandfather was Charles L. Waggoner born July 18, 1829 and Nancy Elizabeth Walker Waggoner born December 12, 1848.

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THE FIRST AND SECOND GENERATION

We start on April 17, 1889, when Sarah Ann (Sallie) Waggoner, my Mother, was born in Lois, (Moore County) Tennessee. She had two brothers, Joe and Benjamin [NB – Sallie only had 1 full brother – Joe Waggoner. She had 2 half-sisters, and 3 half brothers from Charles Lafayette’s first marriage to Martha Spencer – Benjamin was one of those]. As far as I know, Mom grew up in the Lois area and when she was 19 years old, she met a widower from Mulberry, (Lincoln County), Tennessee named Erasmus Nathan Smith (known as Nathan) who had a small son named James Thomas (Jared) Smith.

Jared, born on October 4, 1903, in Mulberry was 3 years old when my Mother married his Father on April 28, 1907. Nathan had two brothers, John Edgar Smith and Haskell Columbus Smith (Nicknamed Bodie [NB – Also nicknamed “Lum”]) and four sisters, Agatha Etta Smith Eslick, Mary Myrtle Smith Hazelwood, Alora Smith Corder and Tommie Smith Taylor. I must point out that Nathan Smith was not my Father but as you will learn later, is, in fact, my Uncle. Therefore that makes Jared, my cousin or maybe my stepbrother. Sound confusing. You ain’t seen nothing because I’m not even born yet. However, after I was born, family wise, all of this confusion didn’t make any difference because there was, in fact, no confusion. All my life, Jared treated me as a brother and I am fortunate to have had that close relationship with him.

While married to Nathan Smith, my Mom had a son named Charles Wilson Smith (Nicknamed Charlie). Charlie was born in Mulberry on March 15, 1909. Now, Charlie is my half brother because we have the same Mother. But Charlie is also my half cousin as well because he is the son of my Uncle Nathan. I don’t know which half is which and really don’t care because Charlie and I had the same brother relationship as did Jared and I. So again, all this confusion is really no confusion in the Smith family.

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On June 22,1911, God saw fit to take Uncle Nathan at a very young age, in a drowning accident, leaving Mom to care for Jared and Charlie. Four years after Uncle Nathan’s death, my Mom and John Edgar Smith (Nathan’s Brother) got married in Mulberry on August 15, 1915. John Edgar was born February 15, 1891 in Mulberry. John Edgar and Sarah Ann had nine children of which I am proud to be known as the baby.

My point for all of the above information is to show that there are really eleven brothers and sisters and regardless of what it looks like on paper, Jared and Charlie make the total of five brothers in my family. From here on the family tree gets a little more simple and, although there is much information that can be added to mine, it could only be added by each brother and sister, at least up to the time of my birth. Therefore, we will go through the next 30 years in a leap.

During their marriage, Sarah Ann (Sallie) Waggoner Smith and John Edgar Smith had nine children as follows:

Gladys Christine Smith, Born June 1, 1916

Hulda Elizabeth Smith, Born February 15, 1918

Estelle Smith, Born March 19, 1920

Susie Ruth Smith, Born July 29, 1922

Johnnie Jewel Smith, Born December 31, 1924 — Died December 18, 1925

Douglas Smith, Born July 28, 1927

Joe Waggoner Smith, Born February 27, 1930

Barbara Ann Smith, Born October 16, 1932

John Paul Smith, Born March 28, 1935

Now that I have me born, the first seven or eight years are going to be a little fuzzy because I can’t be expected to remember everything when I was that young. I’ll try to highlight some of the things that I do remember. I was born in Mulberry in the “Old Norman House.” I don’t remember living there, but, I know the house well and knew the family who lived there after we moved. Although it has been renovated, the house is still standing. My first memories about where I lived were in the house “on the corner” in Mulberry. Although renovated, this house is still standing as well. We had no street addresses – Mulberry was too small. There was a Post Office, a Cafe, two grocery stores and two auto repair shops (one of which doubled as a Blacksmith because there were still a few horse and buggies still in existence), a Baptist Church, a Methodist Church, a Cumberland Presbyterian Church, a Church of Christ Church and a Black A.M.E. Church, a five room schoolhouse for Whites and a small schoolhouse for Blacks.

A little background pointing out the family status when I became a part of it may be helpful here. Again, I point out that this information is as I know and remember it. As we all know, the 1920s and 1930s were very hard times and our country experienced a great depression. My Father and Uncle Bodie opened and ran a country grocery store during the depression. Although their efforts failed as did many businesses during that period, I later came to know that all their efforts had not been in vain. Later in life, many times, I have been approached by people who tell me that they don’t know what they would have done if it had not been for my Father. He gave them credit and provided them with food for their families at a time when he knew there would be no money for them to pay the bill. He continued to do so until he and Uncle Bodie had to close the store. So, when I was born, times were not all that great for the Smith family. We were getting by but by no means thriving.

The house “on the corner” was small (five rooms counting all rooms) and there were still four of us at home (Douglas, Joe, Barbara and me). We all shared one large bedroom but I can truly say that I don’t remember any discontent among us. The house was right in Mulberry and within walking distance to stores, schools, churches and even the country Doctor. We didn’t own a vehicle, although I do remember my Dad driving a truck. I believe it may have been owned by someone else and my Dad hauled livestock for the owner.

I remember the hard times for my Dad to find employment and remember he would drive a truck for someone else. He mostly hauled livestock. I can remember that Dad was so good at guessing the weight of a calf that he could always guess within ten pounds. He also worked in Fayetteville at the tobacco ware house during tobacco season. I also remember when he would have to accept work away from home. In particular, I remember when he accepted a job in Smyrna, Tennessee as a night watchman. He would seldom get home. Smyrna was only about 60 miles away but in the 1940s it was like being 10,000 miles away. I always remember he would write letters and put U.S. War Bond Stamps in them for our savings. A first class letter in those days was three cents. I always remember how happy I was when he did got home.

THE THIRD GENERATION

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By this time in my life, the third generation was in the making. My brother, Jared met Ena Pitts and they were married on October 27, 1923. I’m not sure exactly when, but they moved to Michigan. However, they visited Tennessee as often as they could. Jared and Ena had one Daughter, Evelyn born June 20, 1930. Evelyn was was my step-niece I guess but if you have followed the story closely, she was in fact my cousin. However, in my heart, she was a niece that happened to be older than me.

Charlie had met and married Alice Reeves on April 25, 1937. They lived in Calhoun, Georgia. Charlie and Alice had two daughters, Margaret Ann (Peggy) born December 30, 1940 and Nancy Alice born April 26, 1942, and one Son, Charles Wilson Smith Jr. born on May 30, 1946. Although Peggy, Nancy and Charles Jr. are my half niece and nephew and half cousins, like their Father, I don’t know which half is which and consider them as full fledged nieces and nephew.

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Gladys had met and married Frank Cummings on October 2, 1937 and they lived in Chattanooga and Cleveland, Tennessee. They have two daughters Sandra Faye born on Mar 30, 1942 and Patricia Estelle born on June 15, 1955.

Hulda had completed nurses training and was a registered nurse. She met and married Henry Carbine on February 15,1942. They lived in Chattanooga, Tennessee and Rossville, Georgia. They have one daughter, Charlotte Oline born on October 10, 1942.

Although Estelle never married, she had completed nurses training and has become a registered nurse. She made the decision to join the Army Nurse Corps and serve our country.

Ruth had entered nurses training following in the footsteps of Hulda and Estelle.

Douglas, Joe, Barbara and I were still living at home. Even though we had very little, I can’t remember ever having to do without. I’m sure that my older brothers and Sisters may not be able to say that. I can always remember the security I had when Mom told me everything was going to be O.K. and that we were much better off than many other people. Being the youngest, I also had the security and support of all the older brothers and sisters.

Even during hard times, I remember my Mom’s insistence that we share what we had. Even though we hardly had room for all of us to sleep. I remember when the storms and rains were so bad that the creeks would get out of banks and flood everywhere. Sometimes, these rains would come during the school day and on numerous occasions, we would have a house full of kids over night that were unable to get home from school because of flooding creeks between the school and their home. I can remember the parents of these kids thanking my Mom and telling her that they knew as long as she was there, they would not have to worry about their kids. I remind you that this is at a time before many people had telephones and you could not communicate like you can today. In fact, we did not have a telephone at the time. On these occasions, all the kids parents would bring home grown food and other groceries to show their appreciation and replace food my mom had used to feed their kids. I was in the first through third grades at school during this time period. My first grade teacher was Mrs. Frances Small and my second and third grade teacher was Mrs. Essie Harrison. School lunches were five cents.

With the good times of life, unfortunately, we must also expect tragedies. I guess during this time period was, at least to my memory, one of my first encounters. The Methodist Church was about 100 yards from our house and I remember one Sunday morning the church caught on fire and burned to the ground. We didn’t have a fire department in Mulberry and had to depend on the Fayetteville fire department (eight miles away) to respond. Needless to say, there was not much that could be done. I remember asking Mom over and over if our house was going to burn down. A playmate of mine, Mary Allen Mackelderry’s family, was not so lucky. Their house was next door to the church and could not be saved. The fire was caused by faulty stove pipes from one of the two stoves used to heat the church. A lady had built the fires early in order to warm the church before Sunday School started. The church was never rebuilt and to this day, nothing has been built on the lot. I don’t remember how active my entire family was in the church at this time but I do remember both Barbara and I attending every Sunday. We attended the Baptist Church so the fire did not effect us.

I remember our neighbor across the street, Mrs. Dosha Logan, was deathly afraid of the storms and rains. She lived alone and as soon as a storm started blowing up she was on her front porch yelling for Barbara, who was about nine years old at the time, to come over and stay with her during the storm. I remember her nickname for Barbara was “Barkie” and I probably hated it worse than Barbara. Even though I’m sure Barbara would much rather stay at home with us, I guess this was the beginning of her sincere concern to support and comfort other people.

Other neighbors, friends and acquaintances around us were the Solomon family. There were three children, Bobby, Ellen and Doris, all school and playmates of mine, the Kennedy’s, our Baptist Preacher. I believe they had more than one child but I only remember Jack who was my age, also one of my school and playmates. Jack’s father smoked cigars and I remember Jack and I stealing two of those cigars. I had my first experience at learning to smoke and believe me it was a lesson. I have never been so sick in all my life. I think I was sick for two days. I was about seven years old. There was also the Crawford’s, the Methodist Preacher who had a son and playmate, Billy, the Kimes, who had a son, my classmate and playmate Bill, The Johnsons, who had a son and daughter, Bill and Sally that were schoolmates and playmates, the Ferrells who had a son and daughter, Hardy and Joann, that were schoolmates and playmates, the Prices who had a son, Wayne, Joe’s close and best friend, and the Waggoner’s, a black family who had two sons Junior and Thomas (Shag), a friend and playmate of mine. At that time, I probably spend more time after school with Shag than anyone else. The open fields and Mulberry Creek was our playground and I remember many, many enjoyable times.

During the 1941-43 time frame when I was six to eight years old, things were not going so well for our family. Dad had been sick off and on quite a bit. Finally, in early 1943, he was confined to his bed. A hospital was out of the question for us, both availability wise or financially. My Mom would do the best she could and care for Dad at home. With Dad not working, we had very little resources. However, as has been demonstrated time and time again, in this family, the older brothers and sisters joined forces to make sure Ruth continued nurses training and the rest of us had food, clothing, a place to sleep and that we continued our education.

Henry, Hulda’s husband, was drafted in the Army and had received orders for somewhere in the Pacific [NB – Records show that Henry was first sent to Europe. He returned in 1944, only to be sent to Hawaii in 1945 presumably for the war in the Pacific. It looks as if the war ended before he was deployed further than Hawaii], so Hulda put her nursing career on hold and brought Charlotte to stay us and be Dad’s private nurse.

One day Charlotte was running a fever and Hulda called the Doctor and ask him to come by and check her. When he came by, he diagnosed Charlotte with scarlet fever and we were all quarantined for three weeks. We could not leave the house. The Doctor did make one exception. Douglas was only about a month away from completing his junior year of high school and the Doctor agreed that, provided he did not have any contact with the rest of us, he could continue to go to school. He could obviously see the importance of Douglas not having to make up an entire year of high school. The next day after the Doctor’s visit, Charlotte was back to normal and if she did in fact have scarlet fever, it was for only one day because I don’t remember her being sick for any of the remaining three weeks.

Another very special memory I have while Hulda was living with us was our family support for the country. Camp Forest, a U.S. Army Camp, was located approximately 25 miles from Mulberry and many times soldiers were on maneuver in the wooded areas around Mulberry. One evening, Joe brought in a loaf of bread and some fresh eggs and asked Hulda if she would help him make egg sandwiches for the soldiers that were on maneuvers in the area. Hulda was more than happy to do what she could to help. It was probably good for her and she felt in some small way she was helping Henry fight the war. Anyway, Joe only had a few sandwiches, but when he started passing them out to the soldiers, they started giving him money. He would immediately go to the store and get more bread and eggs and have Hulda make more sandwiches. Needless to say, it was a long night and even though I didn’t help much, it was a night that I will never forget.

As with all good memories, there is always a little bad. I remember times when Dad’s condition was so bad that I would have to go and visit my aunts (Aunt Alora Corder and Eunice Eslick – Aunt Eunice was Uncle Abe Eslick’s second wife after Aunt Agatha Etta died) I would much rather have stayed at home but I am sure it was best. I really didn’t mind too bad because I met a friend that lived just down the road from my aunts house. Even though I did get homesick at times, I did like going there and I knew it would never be more than two weeks. My favorite reason for going there was because Aunt Alora and Eunice lived about 1/4 mile apart and they always went all out to cook for me. I normally had a choice of where I wanted to eat and, of course, I chose the place that had what I liked best. I also believe that Aunt Alora and Aunt Eunice secretly had a contest going between them to see where I would eat the most.

As time passed, Dad’s condition didn’t improve. Estelle was granted leave from her Army Post at Fort McClellan, Alabama to come home for a visit. I can remember seeing her in her uniform for the first time and how proud I was that she was, not only a nurse, but an Army Nurse. Her stay seemed very short to me and I cried desperately for her to take me with her when she left. She tried to explain to me that she had no place for me to stay and that most of all I needed to stay home and finish school. Later in life, I learned from Mom that Dad asked to speak to Estelle alone before she left. Mom thought and I am inclined to agree that Dad made Estelle promise that she would get us through high school. I don’t think Estelle ever revealed that to any of us but that was her way.

On the morning of November 3rd, 1943, when I woke up, Barbara was standing by my bed and she said to me that she would tell me something if I wouldn’t cry. She told me that Dad had died during the night. I don’t believe that it had much of an impact because I’m not sure that I really understood death and that Dad would be gone forever. I do remember walking through his room and because his bed had been moved out of the room, how empty it seemed. I walked from his room in the kitchen and Mom asked me if I knew about Dad and if I had any questions about it. I told her that I knew and I didn’t have any questions.

My memories of Dad are all good. I learned later in life that he did have a problem with alcohol but I have no real memories of that. I remember him as a huge man and how, on hot summer days, I would walk next to him to shade me from the sun. Quite often, we would go to the grocery store where he would sit and have a Coca Cola and socialize with the people that were there. While there, he loved to listen to the “Lum & Abner” show on the radio and I loved to watch him laugh from the time the program began until it ended. I can’t remember whether we had a radio at home or not, nor can I remember any of us listening to the radio at home. I do remember all those trips to the store and that Dad always took me just about everywhere with him. I was with him so much that his friends nicknamed me “Little Bull” after his nickname which was “Bull.”.

And speaking of nicknames, I also had another nickname – “Pepper.” It seems that during the war, black pepper was hard to come by. I’m not sure why but I guess for the same reasons that sugar and gasoline were hard to come by. Anyway, Dad got two huge boxes of black pepper from somewhere. He had put them on the dining room table. Our dining room table was quite large at the time. I happened to walk through the dining room with my toy car (similar to a matchbox car but smaller), saw the big boxes of pepper, proceeded to climb upon the table and sprinkle black pepper over the table and make roads for my car in the pepper. I have no idea how long this went on but needless to say when I got caught, I was not only in serious trouble, but, I got the pepper in my eyes to boot. My Dad nicknamed me “Pepper” and the nickname stayed with me through high school and beyond.

I think I handled Dad’s death as well as any eight year old kid could have. The biggest problem I had was when they opened his casket during the funeral service and again when they started lowering the casket in the grave. After the service and burial, I think I realized how permanent death is and that I would never see my Dad again in this life.

After Dad’s death, I remember trying to pal around with Joe and his friend Wayne Price, but as any older brother’s reaction would be, they didn’t want me hanging around. My best friend at the time was Thomas (Shag) Waggoner. He was the black kid mentioned above. Shag’s father (Buss Waggoner) ran a automobile repair shop and worked on cars for local residents. Even though the schools were segregated and Shag went to the black school, we were good friends after school. Shag and I got along just fine. As stated above our swimming pool and bathtub was Mulberry creek and our playground was the wide open spaces around Mulberry. We ate at his house some days and at my house on other days. I did spend time with other friends in school but when I was at home, my friends closer friends were the Solomon family and Shag.

One other very special person I must mention here. Buss Waggoner (Shag’s father) was an automobile mechanic but he also was knowledgeable in other areas such as electrical. While my Dad was sick, he had difficulty breathing and some times my Mom or someone had to hold a small electric fan in his face so he could breath. The fan was old and would sometimes quit. When that happened, if Dad was having a hard time breathing, someone would have to fan newspapers in his face to provide the same air as the fan. On many, many occasions, when that fan stopped, regardless of the time of day or night, Buss would drop what he was doing and head for our house to repair it. He was a true friend of my Dad and our family.

In an accident that happened shortly after Dad’s death, (less than one week) Wayne Price’s (Joe’s friend) Father was killed in an oil truck accident and I remember Mom insisting that she go and stay with Mrs. Evelyn Price even though she had hardly had time to mourn for herself. I think our family felt that Mom shouldn’t go because of her own loss. However, my Mom was a very strong woman who insisted that she knew what Mrs. Price was going through and felt that she could help to ease her pain.

When things finally seemed to have settled down and Estelle had taken on the role of taking care of the family by claiming all of us as dependents, things seemed to be getting back to normal. I do remember the hassle with all the paperwork that Estelle and my Mom had to complete to make all of us dependents of Estelle. Anyway, with all that behind us things seemed to be going well, at least, until my Mom had a visit from the owner and landlord of our house. I have no idea under what circumstances we were renting the house but even at my age, from the conversation, I knew that the owner had been waiting for my Dad to die in order to sell the house. He had in fact sold the house and the new owners wanted us to move right away so they could do some renovating and move in. This was a complete shock for my Mom and she had no idea what to do about it. Dad had only been gone approximately three weeks and Mom was faced with her first big problem of finding a place for us to live. I believe this was approximately one month before Christmas.

Edgar Hazelwood (Aunt Myrtle’s son and our cousin), who lived on Crystal Ridge, found out about our problem and came by to tell Mom that we could move into a small house on his farm, rent free, and we could move in as soon as we wanted. It was not a matter of whether we wanted to move there or not, it was just a matter of getting help from someone who had a truck to move us. Fortunately, we were able to get the loan of a truck and made the move. The house where we moved was only a three room house, but as always, we made do with what we had. We had no electricity but we made out fine with coal oil lamps. The house was heated with a wood stove. At this time, Hulda was still with us. She sat us all down and explained that we were living here rent free and that anything Edgar needed us to do to help out on the farm, we were to do it. Although I remember Joe and I both working in the barn, feeding the cattle or shucking corn, for which we were not supposed to take money, Edgar would insist that he pay us.

Our new house was not close to stores and schools. It was approximately four miles one way to school. We could ride the school bus, but we still had to walk about two miles to the bus stop. I didn’t have many friends while we lived on Crystal Ridge and actually enjoyed going to school so I would have someone to play with. I did get my first lessons and learned the meaning of hard work. I continued to perform chores and work on the farm. I even had my own small axe and I would cut down trees, from the field across the road, that we used for firewood. We also had a creek real close and it was my bathtub for our short stay on the Ridge. Needless to say, as in our house on the corner in Mulberry, we had no running water or indoor toilet.

We were settled in our new house by Christmas 1943 and I remember how exciting it was when we went out looking for our own “REAL” Christmas tree. Back then, all you had to do was to ask the owner of the property if you could find and cut one of the small cedar trees on his property. In most instances they would give their approval. In this case, we only had to ask our cousin Edgar and, of course, he was more than happy to let us do it. I can’t remember what Santa brought me for Christmas that year but I’m sure it was something nice.

At the beginning of the new year, Henry, Hulda’s husband had returned from the Pacific and she and Charlotte had rejoined him in Chattanooga, Tennessee. During the year, Ruth had completed nurses training and Douglas had completed high school. Douglas had moved to Chattanooga and stayed with Hulda and Henry until he got established in a job. The entire family was working to care for Mom, Joe, Barbara and I. Finally, during 1944, a very important year for all of us, the family had joined forces and managed to buy the Cecil Johnson house, “on the hill,” right in Mulberry.

I can’t remember exactly when we got settled in our new house but I’m sure it was late 1944. We had electricity, we had a telephone (our telephone number was 25), we had running water with an indoor bathroom, we were within walking distance of the school, stores and post office and I felt as though we had struck it rich. The house wasn’t big enough for all of us to have our own room and I really can’t remember the sleeping arrangements. I do know that Joe was the oldest one at home and he had a room of his own. I believe Barbara and I shared a room.

I remember that we had our first radio and we were listening to all the programs on radio – Mr. District Attorney, Fiber McGee and Molly, Baby Snooks, The Screeching Door, The Green Hornet, Jack Benny and many more. It would be unbelievable to kids today how effective listening to the radio was back then as compared to TV today.

The schoolhouse was next door to our house and that was a plus for me. After school, I could stay and play with kids waiting for their bus to take them home. Back then, even though school ended at 3:00 P.M., it could be as much as one hour before the school bus came to take everyone home. I had more friends and I seemed to be accepted better than when we lived “on the corner” in Mulberry. Shag Waggoner was still my friend and even though the schools were still segregated, we continued our friendship I also had new friends that had moved to Mulberry, the Laten family, Rogie and Roy who were friends until they moved to Pulaski, Tennessee. I was a little older at this point and Joe would even let me tag along with he and Wayne. For the most part, we had a pretty large group that would go to the creek daily for our bath even though we had running water.

Again all good normally is overshadowed by some bad. The school was next door on one side of our house. On the other side we had good neighbors, but they were bee keepers and had hives of bees. When the bees were being robbed of their honey, obviously they became very aggressive and would attack and sting anyone in sight, not just around their hive but several yards away from their hive. I was allergic to bee stings and even one sting anywhere around my face would end up causing swelling so bad it would close both my eyes. I did get stung a few times, but needless to say, I made myself invisible when the neighbor robbed bees. They were excellent neighbors and one of my lawn mowing customers. He always paid well too.

The next few years were fairly normal. I was doing good in my own little business of finding odd jobs to make money. Back then everybody had coal or wood stoves for heating and cooking and everybody had lawns to mow. So I started cutting wood for older people and bringing it in their homes and mowing their lawns. I could make anywhere from 10 cents to 25 cents, according to how big the job was. Just a note that there were no such things as power mowers back then. The only ones I used were John Paul power. As I grew older I would graduate to bigger jobs such as riding a hay bailer, combine, planting tobacco, cutting tobacco, etc. Some of the jobs were terribly dirty and I looked forward to my bath in the creek after a hard day’s work. I think it was about this time frame that I experimented again with smoking cigarettes. The tobacco companies were doing exactly what is being pointed out today. They would glamorize smoking and there was no knowledge that smoking was dangerous to your health, especially to a ten year old. I remember smoking Lucky Strikes, Wings, Camels, and Phillip Morris.

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I need to make a third generation update. When things go well, we pray that nothing will go wrong and we are devastated when we get bad news. During June, 1947, Mom received a call from Jared who lived in Michigan. He told Mom that Evelyn had been involved in a boating accident on a lake. She was an outstanding swimmer and tried to swim to shore but because of the cold rough water, she just couldn’t make it. After Mom’s initial shock, she decided she must go to Crystal Ridge (several miles away) and let the rest of the family (Aunts and Uncles) know. When Jared, Ena and Evelyn visited Tennessee from Michigan, Evelyn loved going to visit all the Aunts and Uncles on Crystal Ridge. She loved animals and especially the horses that Aunt Tommie and Uncle Roy owned. They loved to have her visit and loved her very much. We didn’t have a car but Mom asked Mr. Ernest McGhee, a local store owner, if he would drive her, which he did. I remember the day Jared called well. It was a wet, gloomy and dreary day. Obviously, it was a worse day after Jared’s call. Evelyn was just 17 years old and only days from graduating from high school.

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Ruth met and married William (Bill) H. Alvey on September 28, 1947. They lived in Chattanooga. Ruth and Bill have a Daughter, Sue Evelyn, born on July 28, 1949, and a Son, William (Bill) H. Jr., born on April 27, 1952.

Joe graduated from high school and elected to follow in the footsteps of Estelle and serve our country. He joined the Air Force on *****,1948. That leaves only Barbara and I at home. Barbara is now a sophomore in high school and I am in seventh grade.

After having mastered all the odd jobs around town, I graduated to better jobs. Since I lived close to the schoolhouse and we heated the school with coal stoves, fires had to be started every school morning. I got the job of building fires for the school. For building fires in three stoves each morning, I believe I made one dollar per month. Also after school, I worked in the local grocery store (Mullins and Steelman). I was pretty good at math and could operate the cash register and make change for customers. During the summer months, I worked full time in the store. The store had a pedaling truck (country rolling store) and we would go out in the real country on a different route for each day of the week and sell groceries. I learned to drive in this truck (a big bus converted into a store). I was driving by the time I was 13 years old. It is unbelievable that I could sell and nickel’s worth of cheese and crackers or a dime’s worth of bologna and crackers and how many times I did it.

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During this time frame, some of the grandchildren were getting old enough and would visit their Grandma by themselves, especially since we had a larger house with more room and only Barbara and I were home. I remember Peggy, Nancy, Charlotte and Sandra coming to visit for a week or so at a time. I think they always enjoyed visiting. I can remember they always enjoyed going to the creek or picking blackberries or looking in the back lot for rabbits. I was always proud of all of them and would take them to the store and show them off to all the people in Mulberry. I guess it was kinda of a “ha ha,” see, the Smiths are not doing so bad type thing.

A little about Mulberry School. It was an average country school, a total of five rooms of which only three were used for students. First through third grade in one room, fourth through sixth grade in another and finally seventh and eighth in another. I believe we had a total of about 60 kids and three teachers. We also had a small kitchen for lunches and had two cooks. As best as I can remember, school lunches were five to ten cents. Also, we only had outdoor toilets. The building was old and had the old traditional belfry with the single bell which was used for getting the kids back in from recess or lunch time. Access to the belfry was not easy but any small person could climb up there with ease. One of our big jokes was to climb up in the belfry at recess time and take the clapper out of the bell. Obviously, the teachers had problems getting the kids back in from recess. When the teacher would get ready to call someone to repair the bell, one of the students (I won’t say who) would always volunteer to go up and fix it. You would probably be surprised to know how long it took for the teacher to find out what was really happening and I suspect one of my closest friends was the informer.

I finally graduated from eighth grade at Mulberry School in 1949. Sometime during the summer of 1949 the old schoolhouse burned down. As I mentioned at the very beginning, I was the “Rebel” in the family, and I got blamed for many things that I really did, but I also got blamed for things that I did not do. Fortunately, on the night the schoolhouse burned, I was spending the night with my Cousin, Charles Waggoner, about eight miles away from Mulberry. Eight miles in those days was a long way. We didn’t have a car so it would not be an easy task for me to travel to Mulberry and back to Fayetteville where I was spending the night. My only mode of transportation was my feet or normally I would hitchhike and most of the people that picked me up were people I knew. It would be easy for them to track me had I done that. I think there are probably people that still think I had something to do with that fire but I can assure you, they are wrong.

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Now, I’m 14 years old and we’re about to enter the Central High School class of 1950 time frame when Barbara graduated from high school. After graduation, she elected to follow in Hulda’s, Estelle’s and Ruth’s footsteps and enter nurses training in Chattanooga. So, I now can claim to be King of the Hill. I got my own room in the house. I will be a sophomore when school starts again and I’m Mom’s only problem. I continue to work in the grocery store. This job is probably the best thing that has happened to me. I must give credit to J.D and Katherine (Steelman) Mullins, Will Terry and Mary Boon Steelman as well their Father, J. Boone, and Uncle, Wade Steelman, for their sincere interest in my welfare and guidance at a very sensitive time of my life. I did need someone other than my family to care for me and I believe the Mullins and Steelman family did care for me.

For the most part, I got along with everyone in Mulberry. However, I guess for everyone there is the exception. Two incidents that I point out without naming the individual involved is the exception. My reason is because of the vivid memory that I have until this day of these incidents and the impact that they had on me at the time. The first incident happened shortly after Dad had died. Estelle had sent me a small Army uniform which I wore every day. Mom had trouble getting me to let her wash it.

I was proud of that uniform and wanted to be seen wearing it. One day, an older man who often socialized at the store called me over and started commenting on my uniform. He told me that I was not a soldier and if the police were to see me in the uniform, they would arrest me for acting like a soldier. The man had no idea what an impact his comments had on me. I went home, changed clothes and never wore that uniform again. Mom never questioned why I wasn’t wearing it, but at the time I was growing so fast, she probably figured I had just outgrown it. This is the first time I have ever told this story.

The second incident happened one day while I was working in the store. This same individual was visiting the store and to this day, I do not know why, but he came over to me and punched me in the eye. I don’t know if I did something or if I said something. All I know is he gave me a black eye for something unknown to me. As far as I know, the only other person that knows about this is Katherine Mullins. She was in the store and heard the commotion and came over to ask me what happened. She checked to see that I was o.k. and I begged her to not tell my Mom because she would only worry. Maybe some day I’ll get the chance to ask him about it.

I guess the next couple of years could be considered fairly normal and I even started working in jobs where I was paying Social Security. I also had made it to my senior year in high school. I did have a little trouble with my grades in some required courses (English) and it looked as though I was not going to graduate. The principal agreed that if I would attend summer school and make up the courses I needed, he would let me graduate with the class. I was more than happy to agree and, fortunately, he let me continue to participate in all senior activities. The only thing he would not do was let me have my senior class ring until after I completed summer school. He kept it in the school safe. I was also a member of the senior class play cast and he allowed me to continue and play my character.

Our senior class play was scheduled two nights before our graduation ceremony. The play went well, however, that night after the play, the schoolhouse burned to the ground. Fortunately, the investigation proved it was caused by faulty electrical wiring and there was no arson suspected. I could imagine who might get blamed.

The school staff did an excellent job and our graduation ceremony was set up at the grade school and went as normal as it could be expected under the circumstances. The principal informed me (as well as three other students in my same category) that he had retrieved our class rings from the school safe and they would be sent to the manufacturer for cleaning or replacement. He told us that he would give them to us after we satisfactorily completed summer school and made up required credits. I did attend and complete summer school in Lewisburg (Fayetteville did not have summer school). The principal did give me my class ring. The manufacturer had cleaned the original rings instead of replacing them. That particular ring had a special meaning since it had survived that fire. I had no plans to go to college, mainly, because I didn’t think Mom could afford to send me. I felt I would be much better off finding a job so I could fully support myself with the possibility of attending college later.

Sometime during this time frame, Douglas met and married Barbara Ann Stevens on ********. About the same time, he was drafted into the Army and received orders to Germany. Needless to say, the marriage did not get off to a good start and it did not last very long. There were no children involved and this marriage ended in divorce on*******.

Also during this time frame, Ruth was having problems and the family ended up having to place her in a home in Knoxville. Bill ended up divorcing her and Bill Jr. and Sue Evelyn were placed in foster homes. Fortunately, as I continue, you will see that Ruth was subsequently released from the home, gained custody of Bill and Sue Evelyn, and resumed a fairly normal life.

After completing summer school, with a little boost from Mom and Barbara, we decided it would be best for me to go to Chattanooga to find a job. So, one day in July 1953, I hitchhiked to Chattanooga to embark on my great adventures of conquering the world. Of course, once I got there, I knew Barbara, Douglas and Hulda were in the area. I think I stopped at the first filling station I found when I got to Chattanooga and asked the manager if they needed help. The station happened to be a Kayo station. Kayo stations are a big chain of Kendall Oil stations all over the southeast. It just so happened that the supervisor for ten of these stations office was in the rear of this particular station where I stopped. The manager referred me to him and after a short verbal resume and conversation, he hired me to not only work as an attendant but as a manager trainee. He told me to report to the Kayo station on third street the next morning. He asked me where I lived and I told him that I was going to get a room in the YMCA until I could save enough money and afford something more permanent. I went from there to the YMCA and booked a room for one week. When Douglas found out that I was in Chattanooga and living in the YMCA, he came by to see me and told me that maybe he and I could get an apartment together. Of course, I told him that would be great.

I liked my job and was learning fast. The manager that was training me was thorough and taught me everything. In fact, after about six weeks, he called the supervisor and told him that I was ready to take over a station. About two weeks after that, I was checked in the Brainard Street Kayo Station as manager. It was a small station and we only sold gas and oil and changed oil by appointment. Also, Douglas had found a small apartment on McCallie Avenue and we had rented it. I didn’t have a car but really didn’t need one because the city bus system was excellent and most of the places I needed to go were close to the bus stops.

I failed to mention it before, but I joined the Tennessee National Guard in March of 1952 and, of course, attended meetings in Fayetteville. When I moved to Chattanooga, I transferred to the unit in Chattanooga. The draft was very much in force at that time and I was getting very hot for being drafted into the Army. Since I had turned 18 years old and was not attending college, I was exactly who they were looking for at the time because of the Korean conflict. Other National Guard friends of mine were getting their draft notices every day and I knew I didn’t want to be drafted into the Army. At the the same time I was having some problems as manager at the station. Too much success too fast I guess. I wasn’t having trouble handling the sales and service but was having trouble handling the older employees. Anyway, the supervisor replaced me and sent me back to the third street station for further training which I didn’t like. I only lasted about one month and gave them my notice and quit.

With Douglas’ help, I found another job working in a drug store. I knew from the first day, this was not what I wanted to do. Since I had already given it some thought and I knew my draft notice may be in the mail any day, I did the honorable thing and went to the Navy recruiting office with every intention of joining the Navy. Fortunately or unfortunately, the Navy recruiter was out to lunch. However, the Air Force recruiter was there, and he had about an hour to talk with me before the Navy recruiter got back from lunch. You guessed it, I joined the Air Force. So, on January 4, 1954,1 joined Estelle and Joe in serving my country.

The recruiter gave me a bus ticket to Knoxville and an address where I was to report the next day. It took an entire day to process, but along with everyone else who was bussed in from all over Tennessee I was sworn in on January 5, 1954. Even though we had been processing all day, they loaded us up on a bus and took us to the airport. I got my first airplane ride in a C-47 (Gooney Bird) that was sent in to take us to Lackland AFB, Texas for our basic training.

I spent the next three months in basic training and then was sent to Scott AFB, Illinois for technical school were I spent six months. I was then sent to Shaw AFB, South Carolina and was assigned my first real job. I was an Administrative Clerk in a Squadron Orderly Room. I was there less than a year. I received orders to go to Korea. I hitchhiked across the country to Parks AFB, California, stopping to visit with the family in Tennessee. This trip was before the interstate system and the route I took was the famous Route 66. Anyway, I reported to Parks AFB for over seas processing and arrived in Osan, Korea (K-55, Hill 180) in June 1955.

For the most part, the conflict had ended before I got there and there was only the aftermath of the war. We lived in tents and Quonset huts without indoor bathrooms and showers. We had a separate building with a public toilet and showers. It was a treat to have hot water. Most of the time we showered in cold water. I was assigned to a Quonset hut with 21 other people. We had about six inches between each cot. We worked six days a week and worked long hours every day. There wasn’t much to do when we were off duty anyway. I did visit some of the orphanages and would take food and candy out for the kids on weekends. I was absolutely devastated when I left the military compound for the first time and saw how the local people lived. For the first time in my life, I could see how very true my Mom’s words were when she always told me that we were much better off than a lot of people. No one can know the meaning of cold until they have spent a winter in Korea. I can remember sleeping in my clothes and taking the mattress cover off to put over me to keep warm. It was a long, long year, but my year in Korea ended in June of 1956. I believe that this was the year that I grew up. I received orders to Fort Myer, Virginia. I would be working in the Pentagon. When we reached port in San Francisco, I hitchhiked back across country again (Route 66). I stopped by Tennessee on leave before reporting to Fort Myer, Virginia.

Incidentally, while I was in Korea, Douglas had met and married Audrey Crye Rickett on August 4, 1955. Douglas and Audrey have a daughter, Katherine born on May 17, 1956 and son, David Douglas born on October 20, 1957, and they live in Rossville, Georgia.

I reported to my new duty station, Fort Myer, Virginia in June 1956. I lived in the dormitory and worked in the Pentagon. Fort Myer is just across the river from Washington, DC. and at night we would go into D.C. and visit some of the night spots. There were many in the D.C. area and we would normally go to a different one each night. One night, we went to a place called “Rands” where they had a rock and roll band and I met a beautiful young Slovak girl that looked like Kim Novak. I wrote her telephone number on the back of a match book and ended up calling her within the next few days. Our relationship flourished and it ended up rounding off a big year in the Smith Family.

Joe and Bertha Rollings got married on July 26, 1956. They have a daughter, Elizabeth born May 28, 1958 and a son Richard Frank born November 12, 1959.

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The beautiful young Slovak girl previously mentioned, Emily Jane Petras and I got married on December 15, 1956. We have three daughters, Deborah Susan born August 27, 1957, Cynthia Dawn born September 20, 1961, and Paula Jane born December 26, 1967 and a Son, John Michael, born November 26, 1961.

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Barbara met and married James L. Rungee on December 28, 1956. They have one son, James L. Jr., born September 24, 1957, and two daughters, Julie Joyce, born February 17, 1959 and Teresa Anne, born 30 January 1960.

At this point, Gladys and Frank lived in Cleveland, Tennessee, Hulda and Henry lived in Rossville, Georgia, Estelle was still serving as an Army Nurse stationed in many different places, Ruth life was beginning to get back on track, Douglas and Audrey lived in Rossville, Georgia, Joe (still in the Air Force) and Bertha were still traveling with the Air Force, Barbara and Jim (still in the Army) also were still traveling with the Army and John Paul (still in the Air Force) and Emily were still traveling with the Air Force. Needless to say, with three of the families still in the military, it was impossible to have a family reunion. We could come close but there always seemed to be at least one missing.

Although each of us have our own stories from this point on, our stories will never end. During the next 43 years the following is a list of family members who have joined our early generations, Uncle Nathan, Johnny Jewell, and Dad.

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Douglas Smith, Died September 20, 1961,

Charles Wilson Smith Sr., Died August 2, 1966,

James Thomas Smith, Died December 28, 1969,

Joe Waggoner Smith, Died January 18, 1977,

William H. Alvey Sr., Died February 2, 1979,

Hulda Elizabeth Smith Carbine, Died April 15, 1980,

Charles Wilson Smith Jr., Died June 10, 1980,.

Sarah Ann (Sallie) Waggoner Smith, Died April 25, 1981,

Henry Carbine, Died June **, 1982,

Susie Ruth Smith Alvey, Died 23 April , 1989,

Estelle Smith, Died September 19, 1998.

THE THIRD GENERATION AND BEYOND

The following is our hope for continuing our story.

EXAMPLE OF WHAT I WOULD LIKE FROM EVERYBODY

Deborah Susan Smith met and married Bruce Wayne Lundquist. They were married on January 27, 1979. They were divorced on ********* There were no children. Deborah has never re-married.

Cynthia Dawn Smith met and married Edward Johnathan Line. They were married on March 28, 1981. They have one Son, Daniel Johnathan Line born July 18, 1983

John Michael is still single with no known plans of marriage.

Paula Jane Smith is still single, has no definite plans of marriage as of yet

I need help from here. As you can see I have many astrisks that need to be filled in with dates. I would also like the full, names, dates of birth, dates of marriage and/or divorce, children’s names, dates of birth etc.. all the way from Peggy Morgan to Jordan.

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This is the end of what I have that John Paul recorded. Over the ensuing years, he developed renal failure, eventually having to go onto dialysis. Although dialysis often controls one’s life and ties them to their home, it never slowed John Paul down. He and Emily traveled and visited family quite a bit over the next few years, making arrangements though a network to set his dialysis up at places they visited. In 2003, the family came through Murfreesboro to visit his older sister, Barbara. Gladys had died in 2001, and they were the 2 last surviving siblings.

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His health deteriorated, and he passed away on August 1, 2006. (NB – Mom (Barbara) and I, along with Richard Smith, flew out to Arizona and visited in July. One of his wishes was to live until after midnight on the first of the month, so that Emily would get one final month’s retirement check …I never doubted that he would, and he did! – Jim Rungee)

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Emily stayed on in Arizona, where her daughters and grandson all were close. She was diagnosed with cancer in May of 2015. [NB – I had the opportunity to visit her and my cousins in early July of 2015. She loved and cherished her family and the Mulberry roots that she had married into so much! Jim Rungee]

Emily passed away on July 27, 2015.

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