Anger Document
Judy, the Blocton fire could have generated a lot of anger but it didn't. I guess we wern't smart enough to wonder why the town didn't have a better water supply, newer hoses and a well organized fire department.
Of course the town didn't have money to take care of those matters. But, we were happy and impressed to have the Red Cross on hand a day or two later with all sorts of things to help people get back on their feet, furniture, clothes, utensils, etc. I really didn't know what all they did.
The thing I remember was being invited into a room, measured and handed a pair of wool trousers. Remember it was in hot July weather and the trousers were heavy and black. But I was grateful. I never knew what all the family got, but it was sufficient to get us back into living in a rented house in as much comfort as we were accumsomed to having.
Another nice thing was a visit by the wholesale grocery man who let Mama re-stock her grocery store on credit. She rented a little junky store building at the west end of the business district and we did very little business. Mama found a different, more desireable location pretty soon.
There we lived up stairs, with plenty of room. Later, when Mrs Manring opened a boarding house. I never knew the location} she got Mama to do her laundry. I had gotten the job at the Silver Moon and when I would get home from work I would help Mama wring out the sheets and things and hang them up on lines we had installed in the spare space in the upstairs section of the building. She would brag on me for being so strong and wringing the sheets so dry, so they would not drip water on the floor. Esther helped with the ironing, using irons she had to heat on the wood stove.
In retrospect, it was good that we had never gotten to a life of luxury....we lived at about the same level of poorness that we were accustomed to. Mama was happy that Mrs Manring remembered her and wanted to help by giving her the laundry work. In later thinking about the store operation, the real benefit of the store was the fact that she got our food stuff at wholesale prices. Love, Jerry
Of course the town didn't have money to take care of those matters. But, we were happy and impressed to have the Red Cross on hand a day or two later with all sorts of things to help people get back on their feet, furniture, clothes, utensils, etc. I really didn't know what all they did.
The thing I remember was being invited into a room, measured and handed a pair of wool trousers. Remember it was in hot July weather and the trousers were heavy and black. But I was grateful. I never knew what all the family got, but it was sufficient to get us back into living in a rented house in as much comfort as we were accumsomed to having.
Another nice thing was a visit by the wholesale grocery man who let Mama re-stock her grocery store on credit. She rented a little junky store building at the west end of the business district and we did very little business. Mama found a different, more desireable location pretty soon.
There we lived up stairs, with plenty of room. Later, when Mrs Manring opened a boarding house. I never knew the location} she got Mama to do her laundry. I had gotten the job at the Silver Moon and when I would get home from work I would help Mama wring out the sheets and things and hang them up on lines we had installed in the spare space in the upstairs section of the building. She would brag on me for being so strong and wringing the sheets so dry, so they would not drip water on the floor. Esther helped with the ironing, using irons she had to heat on the wood stove.
In retrospect, it was good that we had never gotten to a life of luxury....we lived at about the same level of poorness that we were accustomed to. Mama was happy that Mrs Manring remembered her and wanted to help by giving her the laundry work. In later thinking about the store operation, the real benefit of the store was the fact that she got our food stuff at wholesale prices. Love, Jerry
posted by Jeremiah | 11:04 AM
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