Young people can't have long memories. Old people fail to have long memories. As I think on those who lived along each street, the neurons in my brain go to fetch the memories from their dusty shelves, but alas, the tab on each memory is worn to the extent that only confusion is filed away.
A memory from long ago availed itself to me when prompted by June King, a name I remember coming from the lips of my mother so often. But beyond that memory resides merely blank pages. She was important to my mom and a good friend, but my mind's eye is blinded by time.
I do remember that she lived near the Davidsons, across the street and that she had a daughter, Julie. Their house would have been white board at that time, but was finished off in masonry at that later. I remember that some of that family, perhaps the previous occupants, the Mastens, along with the Davidsons were sitting on the front porch. Then this fool made a fool of himself!
I was riding south on Milton and trying to look "cool", peddling nonchalantly along. Joe normally parked his '49 green Chevy (I believe that was the year) in the drive, but this day it was on the curb out front. Looking cool as I peddled with my audience, I ran right into the rear of Joe's Chevy. Even more embarrassing was that I went flying over the handlebars and landed on top of the trunk lid of his car! Any degree of suaveness which I ever had was spilled right there. I never was a "cool" guy.
I could see their alarm at first, then a group laugh. Camaraderie is so easy when it's at the misfortune of others. I know that Joe had to be concerned about their car, but no one ever said a thing!
About Don and June King's family she writes:
"Well, I can answer the question as to who lived in the house on the corner of Milton and across from Joe & Mabel. The name is King... We bought the Masten house that Vivian Hadley owned, in 1963. We lived there for 20 years. I think most of the boys in Coatesville played football in our back yard, including the Winglers, Coffeys, Briones, & Steve Trump & many more. My husband Don played with them along with our sons Steve & Mark. And yes I was the Den Mother for several years. Don was the Little League baseball coach for several years with most of the boys on his team that played football in our yard. Jimmy Ellett was also on his team. Steve played football & wrestled at Cascade and graduated in 1972. He then joined the USAF where he was when he passed away from drowning. I remember the out pouring of love from our friends & neighbors & enough food being brought in to feed us for months. Mark joined the Army when he was 17 and was stationed in Korea. Both my girls Joy & Julie were cheerleaders at Cascade. They were both gymnasts & dancers. Joe & Mable & Mr. & Mrs. Bottorff loved to watch the cheerleaders practice in our yard and watch Julie do her flips when she did gymnastics in the front yard. I remember Joe helping our kids and most of the kids in town collect & identify leaves for. School project. I remember him coming across the street to help me when our crooked CHRISTMAS tree started falling and Julie who was only 4-5 and never crossed the street by herself had to run across the street & get Joe while I kept it from falling. So many good memories, too many to list. In fact I think I've written my own chapter of a book. "Donald A. King and June M. King were the parents of Steve, Mark, Julie and Joy. Julie and Joy went to Cascade at the same time as did my niece Sharril D. Weatherman.
Before Kings moved there Ida (nee Bowen) and Ira Masten lived there. Ira had died years before (1949). I remember Ida's silver hair well! She was born in 1883 and died in 1961. She was Vivian Hadley's mother. Vivian ended up with the estate at her death.
Harold and Inez Powell lived on the west side of Milton on top of the hill. This is the same house which later Chuck Coffy purchased after moving from the south Amo Road.
Halloween in 1950s Coatesville wasn't for one night. It was a must that we trick-or-treat the entire town. That means three or more nights of hitting the streets! No one ever had costumes, not even the rich kids. We played dress up and went door to door. Each night we would dress differently so we could hit the "good" places twice. Costumes were often ghosts or cowboys or anything of the imagination.
One night I put on Mom's clothes and a little rouge and lipstick. I did pretty well not being recognized because we didn't identify ourselves in those days. People guessed. Powell's were one of the "good" houses along with the Darnells. When I knocked on the door (few homes at doorbells then), Inez came to answer carrying the candy dish. Inez, surprised, said "Agnes is that you?" She thought I was my Mom! That was embarrassing for both of us. Billie Jamison who was with me laughed at me. She gave good candy and was generous. Knowing that we had little, she gave more than one!
"Good" stuff was Snickers bars, packages of hard candies, etc. "Bad" stuff were homemade popcorn balls and apples. They've been gone along time, but the Powells were good people, not the bad apples!
Inez hired mom as a domestic cleaning her house. They also owned the furniture store on Main Street by the bank. Any money which mom made from Mabel Davidson, Inez Powell or Lillian Darnell went toward furniture from Powell's store. They, as did Pyles Grocery" extended a personal line of credit. (This was before plastic money). Credit was secured by one thing: trust. If a person failed to pay, the only alternative was to stop credit. Lawsuits were nearly unheard of at that time!
In fact one could mushroom and hunt for animals without regard to property lines because we all knew each other and no one sued at least seldomly so!
Dad had no interest in new furniture. Anything he bought came from the "sale barn" (auction). If mom wanted anything new she worked hard for it. She bought new living room furniture and dinettes sets by working hard to raise seven kids and for others. Our own home was never dirty inside, but sometimes the boys would make a junkyard of the out-of-doors!
Mom and Dad never ever defaulted on credit. Sometimes even the grocery bill got up to $300 ($3000 in modern dollars), but everyone always trusted my parents. I'm sure many other families had that same degree of trust. That was the way people did business then because there were few potheads and drug-users standing by to get innocent people to finance their habits!
However, drinking was a problem. We all knew those who drank too much. This is not a Coatesville story, but Stilesville was the town where booze was procured. When I worked at the DX there. every other Friday the cash register was short $15. By coincidence (sic) every other Friday night those who were known for heavy drinking gathered at the DX before they went to Cherry Street in Terre Haute. There was a house of prostitution there and the price was guess how much? $15!
Bob Hostetler, my former neighbor on Jackstown Road, showed me why I was missing $15 regularly. He hit the register with his fist and the drawer popped open. He said that David Vinson had been banging Jim's register to pay for banging some prostitute in Terre Haute. I had been paying for David's action and the only action which I was getting was pumping gas. Bumgardner had the register fixed and my paycheck stabilized!
Harold Powell was born in 1902 and Married Inez Hulze in Marion County, Indiana in 1925. He died in 1985 in Franklin, Indiana. Inez was born in 1901 and died in 1975 in Franklin. They moved away around 1965 or so because that's when the Coffy's moved in.
Harold was a nice accountant type businessman with wire-rimmed glasses and always favored fadoras which many businessmen did. In a small town few in business wore ties except at the bank, but the fedora was the symbol of success then. Many less prosperous emulated the successful by proudly wearing their own. Dad too wore his fedora until his death. Baseball caps weren't in vogue so much except among the younger men like Web Jones. (I still have Dad's fedora and wear it on rare occasions).
Chuck Coffey was fortunate. He worked his way up to supervisor at Allison and then was promoted to General Foreman at a young age. Dad was happy for him. They had previously rode to work together when Dad worked at Allisons. The pay for an hourly worker at that time was $4000. There were few benefits then. Also, Allison depended on getting a military contract to make war things. War was good for Allisons, us and the Coffeys! With the threat of war winding down Allison laid off for six months at a time.Dad got $50 a week when laid off! Times were hard then and that's when we picked tomatoes for Herschel Knetzer and Oakley Carlton (in Fillmore). That's when Clyde Poff used us for make plaster figures. (Clyde always wore white shirt and tie with no fedora).
Chuck's name was Charles Leonard Coffey and his wife was Mary Ann O'Neal. He was born in Marion County in 1930 and died in 2004 in Clayton. Mary Ann was born circa 1933 in Clay Township. She grew up between Coatesville and Amo; since I believe her father was Frank O'Neal.
The Coffey's are parents of exemplary children: Linda who married Ralph Mantooth, Diana Bates, Bill, Bob and Dennis Coffey. All the boys were athletes who excelled at Cascade High School. Linda was my friend and the best friend of Bobbi Runnells since grade school.
No one... none in the Coffey family ever uttered a negative word about anyone in my presence! Linda was the most poised refined young woman around at that time. Diana was as well. Those characteristics weren't by chance, but because of fine parents!
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| Figure #10: Charles L. and Maryan Coffey (Ancestry.com) |
Because of years gone by, my memory required an airing out! Names, families and homes became vague. There is so much out there which is lost to the general public that if the right rock is overturned the ground underneath might be exposed. Of course to ask the question "Who lived in Coatesville in 1955?" may find that stone. Hendricks County has done an excellent job of preserving and digitizing their documents and I found exactly what I needed! It was a 1955 County Census of all males over 21. I have identified some of those on this document which I transcribed from the original hand written copy, and Don Wood provided more.
Enumeration of Males 1955 - Index-Clay Township - Males over 21 ("*" indicates likely Coatesville/Reno. Others not certain)The Philpotts (South Amo Rd.)and Creeches moved from Heavin Street to Putnam County in the late 1950s as did Johnny Sechman of Milton Street where Charlie Thomas family later lived.
*Thankie Albertson 50 W
Bobby Arnold 29
*John W. Albertson 38
*Delbert W. Allie 42
Carl Arbuckle 31
*Warren E. Archer 33
Ralph Arnold 30
*Arthur Awbrey 58
Robert E. Boswell 22
James Bowman 26
Waldo P. Brown 26
Frank L. Brown 78
William J. Belford 40
*Forest L.Bowen 40
Cecil C. Brewer 54
*Herbert L. Brown 51
*John H. Bombei 46
Siegried Brueggeman 39
Gerhard Brueggeman 70
J. N. Bartee 49
Willard Bartley 36
*Clifford G. Bryant 36
William L. Baldwin 76
Thomas E. Barker 33
Gilbert Berry 26
George E. Berry 58
Marion Bartley 37
Loren Bayliff 43
*Willard L. Beaman 41
*Henry Lee Beaman __
*Irvine A. Bennett 40
*A. M. Biehl 52
*William H. Biehl 58
*J. F. Biehl 85
*Albert Boffo 53
*George W. Boffo 47
*Robert W. Bombei 21
Oscar J. Boswell 27
*James A. Bottorff 71
Irvin Boulware 40
A. H. Bowen 67
*Noble L. Bowen 25
J.B. J. Boyd 65
A. C. Boyd 70
Howard W. Braden 27
Fred C. Brandt 55
Carmen C. Branson 85
Herschel Bray 56
Harold E. Bray 28
Wendell Brewer 43
Edward Brinegar 38
Wiley M. Broadstreet 67
George A. Broadstreet 29
James Brock 50
Maurice G. Bryant 27
Luther Buchanan 48
Lester Buchanan 43
James M. Buis 45
James E. Buis 25
*Artie Bunton 63
*Albert Bunton 29
Charles Burch 39
Hubert A. Burch 31
Tole Burnett 42
Clarence A. Burnett 35
*Garrett Campbell 36
Elmer Capps 50
Bert C. Carter 79
William J. Came 37
*Max Casady 51
*Manual Casady 77
*John M. Casady 47
Carl Castell 23
Mose Childress 42
Elmer E. Christie 61
Omar Clark 73
*Lawrence D. Cline Sr. 66
*Herschel V. Cline 63
*Clinton J. Cline 34
*Charles H. Cline 70
Harry D. Coakley 33
Jack Cochran 27
*Charles L. Coffey 24
*William A. Coffey 43
Guy Coffin 39
Jesse D. Coffin 68
Henry Comer 65
James D. Comer 39
Waynard W. Comer 42
Freeman Cooper 51
Neal Cooprider 74
Edmund Norris Cooprider 46
Sam Cooprider 67
Leo Courtney 67
Arthur M. Cox 41
Eddie C. Cox 21
Lory A. Cox 43
Burk D. Craig 51
Thomas Cress 51
Clarence A. Crews 56
Thomas L. Crews 24
Carl Crews 30
Charlie Crews 66
Paul A. Crews 26
*Lindol Creech 40
Andrew Cunningham 31
*Lee Curtis 36
*Glen Curtis 39
John O. Danberry 25
Randolph C. Daniel 41
*Woodson Darnell 50
Walter J. Davis Jr. 34
Leorn J. Davis 26
John A. Davis 22
*Joe H. Davidson 69
Jerd Dawson 69
*Lawrence Dean Sr. 54
*Lawrence Dean Jr. 34
*Max E. Dillon 46
Edward S. Dugan 67
*Harold D. Duncan 32
*Glen W. Duncan 64
Marvin Edgar 42
James Edwards 81
Kenneth J. Edwards 41
Fayte F. Edwards 53
O. A. Eggers 47
Jackie Eggers 21
*John Ellett Sr. 55
*John Ellett Jr. M.D. 32
*Oril Bruce Ellett 29
*W. J. Elliott 75
*Carl Elliott 60
Albert V. Ellis 53
Burk E. Elmore 32
*Wendell B. Elrod 59
*James F. Elrod 28
Leon English 21
Willard English 46
Willie E. Faulkner 56
Charles E. Fellers 51
Finis Firkins 38
Paul E. Fischer 42
Elmer Fisher 59
Cecil Fisher 54
Clyde A. Fisher 23
Clyde J. Fisher 56
Andrew Fisher 80
Neil K. Flietz 21
Theodore J. Flietz 50
Elmer Foltz 80
*Bud Finley 43
Elso Fritsche 61
*John J. Gambold Sr. 58
*John J. Gambold Jr. 31
Ernest Games 68
Charles W. Garret 27
James Ray Garrison 37
John George 69
William W. Goins 30
Opal Good 65
Charles Goss 35
Joe J. Goss 38
* Keith Greenlee 24
Joseph Greenlee 31
George H. Greenlee 56
Robert A. Greenlee 29
*Murray Greenlee 53
Wallace Greeson 37
Herbert Lee Greeson25
Earl Greeson 72
Wayne Eugene Greeson 28
Robert Greeson 32
James E. Greeson 21
Earl D. Greeson 49
Clyde N. Gregson 73
Forrest D. Guthrie 48
*Garth Guthridge 36
Amos E. Hackleman 63
Stanley M. Hadley 68
Clifford M. Hadley 49
*Lewis E. Hadley 34
*Mark Hadley 48
Eriel G. Hadley 44
Harry C. Hall 27
Eugene Haltom 53
Floyd Haltom 21
Lester A. Hayne 36
Lee Hanlon 50
*Glen Hanlon 53
Stanley D. Hanlon 25
*Clifford E. Hanlon 31
*Otho S. Hapner 42
Albert Harlan 80
George Harlan 75
Richard Harlan 69
Henry Harlan 69
Ira Halan (Harlan) 73
Joe M. Harper 31
Herbert S. Harvey 77
*Herbert R. Hathaway 36
*Harman H. Hathaway 57
Keith Heartwell 38
*Harold W. Heavin 26
*James Heavin 29
*Ralph Heavin 56
*Milus D. Heavin 32
*Bennie G. Heavin 30
*Howard C. Heavin 38
*Paul Herod 61
*Goldman Hill 35
John J. Hinesby 31
Chales (Charles) Hodson 51
Roy Hodson 71
Walter D. Hogue 36
Elmer Horner 33
*Fred Hubble 68
Gilbert Hubble 42
Jessie M. Hubble 36
John A. Hubble 22
*Albert Hubble 46
Ora Hunt 82
George W. Huckleberry 47
*Maynard B. Hunter 49
Virgil G. Irban 32
Harold E. Jackson 45
Willis M. Jackson 72
*William H. Jamison Jr. 30
*Kenneth L. Jenkins 32
Glen E. Johnson 41
*Roy E. Johnson 49
*L. J. Johnson 24
Robert H. Johnson 36
James H. Johnson 47
*Wilbur E. Jones 35
William E. Keith 22
Robert E. Keller 33
James M. Keller 27
D.L. Kersey 84
*Clarence Kersey 79
Raymiond C. Kersey 43
Theodore Kersey 53
Virgil Kersey 51
Thomas King 87
Thomas F. Kimberling 48
*Charles R. Kirts
*Wayne Kivitt 37
Herschel C. Knetzer 30
*Roscoe C. Knight 78
*C. D. Knight 77
Lester Kenworthy 70
Freeman V. Lambert 23
Harry Lambert 46
Royce Lambert 21
*Roscoe E. Lasley 62
Fred W. Lawrence 52
J. T. Lawrence 62
Charlie Lawson 43
*Clyde K. Layman 36
*Charles F. Lee 38
Etna Lefforge 71
Jessie E. Lewis 73
Floris G. Lewis 62
*Roy D. Lee 58
Burl Leisure 66
Ross Lennington 44
*____ Lineberry __ (Anthony Lineberry)
William Lawrence Linder 58
Charles Limburg 39
W. R. Lisby 79
Carl E. Logan 67
Charles Logue 63
James Lones 35
Archie Ludlow 60
Homer Luttrell 44
*Willard Lydick 27
*Billie E. Lydick 21
*Roy Lydick 48
Harold Lynch 42
Ray Maden 66
Glen Maden 49
*Earl Malicoat 53
*Carl Malicoat 49
*Elza R. Marley 47
*C.A. Masten Dr. 71 (Veterinarian)
*George Masten 50
*Merle L. Masten 70
*Roy E. Masten 43
*Sanders Masten 43
*Oscar Masten 66
George J. Mayo 36
James Mayo 67
Ellis d. Mayo 28
Robert L. Miles 46
William Miller 38
Harry Miller 40
Kenneth William Miller 47
J. C. Miller 30
*Van Montgomery 56
Ernest F. Miller 49
Everett Miller Jr. 25
Paul E. Miller 26
James G. Morelock 26
*Junior Mullins 28
Fred Mynat Jr. 35
* Oral McCammack 55
*Dennis McCammack 55
*Carl McCloud 63
*Ollie McCloud 74
*Alden McCloud 45
Glen E. McGowen 39
Frank McMillin 34
John S. McWethy 59
*Will Neibold 56
*Malcolm Neier 29
*Elvin E. Newby 55
*Maurice Newby 27
*J. R. Newman 64
William H. Nye 39
Frank O'Neal 67
Rome Osborn 49
Orrin S. Osborn 75
Roy Parker 44
Fred C. Parker 75
*Albert F. Pfister 60
*Albert E. Pfister 27
Aldus W. Phillips 80
Frank Phillips 36
O.W. Phillips 75
Virgil Phillips 38
Holiday Phillips 61
*Carol W. Philpot 38
Harry Pittman 70
Bernard Porter 28
John W. Porter 70
*Harold A. Powell 52
Owen R. Price 21
Edgar W. Pridemore 43
Thomas Pringle 39
Roy H. Pritchard 51
Clarence M. Puckett 27
Alton L. Pugh 34
P. F. Quick 70
*Russell C. Ratcliff 40
Marschel Reed 54
Ray Rees 59
*Morris Reeves 44
Kenneth Rhea 32
C. H. Rhoades 51
Terry Rhoades 24
Frank L. Rhodes 53
Paul E. Richardson 2
Robert L. Risley 30
*A. P. Robinson 82
* Fay Robinson 60
*Marvin Robinson 40
*Donovan D. Robinson 34
*G.C. Robinson 67
*John R. Robinson 36
Clay H. Rogers 79
Thomas Rogers 60
*Ward Rollings 48
*James Rollings 24
*J. R. Rollings 54
James Ross 28
*Ed Rumley 65
Perry Rushton 59
Cecil F. Rushton 52
Walter O. Rushton 74
Glen Rushton 41
James A. Russell 80
George W. Russell 82
Robert A. Russell 23
*Wendell Salsman 21
*Vasil Salsman 57
*John Sanders 32
* De Vee Sanders 47
*James Sanders 52
*George Schilling Sr. 33
James Chester Scott 68
Everitt Scott 62
*Orval R. Scotten 64
*Marion Sechman 43
*Ralph Sechman 61
*Jessie L. Sechman 70
*A. B. Sechman 74
De Loss Sharp 27
*Robert Shaw 29
Wendell A. Shirley 55
*Russell Siddons 39
*Russell Franklin Siddons 21
Bassie Singleton 44
Gifford G. Smith 42
John P. Smith 67
Charles V. Smith 27
Wendell W. Smitherman 43
Robert Smock 33
*Herschel W. Smyth 37
Hoyt Spencer 57
John J. Springer 31
George Springer 36
*Cyrus Stanley 57
*William R. Stanton 27
*Tracy L. Stanton 33
Ray Star 57
Oliver Z. Stayton 82
Willard L. Steagall 37
Melvin W. Steel
Maynard Stephenson 56
Jack R. Stephenson 32
*Herman A. Stewart 52
*Wayne H. Stewart 30
*Otis M. Stewart 54
* Atlas C. Stewart 59
*Roland C. Stewart 32
Darrel Jean Storm 21
Joe Storts Sr.
Joe Storts Jr. 30
Milbur Stuart 49
Donald H. Stuart 47
Wendell Stuart 55
Joe Sullivan 65
Robert M. Sullivan 68
Luther L. Summers 73
Richard Y. Sutton 39
Clyde Terry 69
Courtland W. Tharp 38
James Irvin Thompson 55
Alden Thornberry 26
Otto Thornberry 77
Ruck Thornberry 53
*Arthur W. Tincher 50
Hoy B. Travelstead 35
Roy G. Travelstead 28
*Millard N. Trout 59
*Richard Trump 23
*Don Trump 43
Jodie Tumblin 34
*Andrew Underwood 50
*Wolfrom L. Underwood 44
Delbert Unversaw 41
Carl Vanice 60
Aubrey Viles 62
*Glen Von Tress 34
Theodore Waggoner 48
Ransdell A. Waggoner 39
Ora Wagle 43
Horace E. Wainwright 50
James Arnold Walker 22
*Earl F. Wallace 52
*Randall Wallace 28
*Noble Wallace 57
*Burt Wallace 34
*Earl M. Wallace 66
Evain Wallen 34
Andy Wallen 36
Carmie Wallen 38
*John Walters 72
James R. Walters 45
*Harry D. Walton 38
*James R, Walton 21
*Vern R. Walton 64
*Donald E. Walton 30
*Harold Walton 21
*Ray Walton 21
*Leonard Walton 52
*Keith Walton 28
*Lester Walton 57
*Charles Walton 84
Duglas Ward 32
Cecil William Ward 44
Wayne Wills 35
Merold Weatherman 22
*Glenn Wellman 32
Robert Lee Welty 31
Loren A. Welty 74
H. R. Weekley 56
*Raymond Wesst Jr. 31
*Roy West 59
*Noel West 51
*Howard West 33
*Leland West 59
Otto Whicker 70
W. R. Whicker 49
Charles Whicker 36
J. P. Whitecotton 41
Clarence White 43
Raymond White 49
Morris L. Wilcox 21
Ottis Williams 52
Karl F. Williams 25
Lloyd E. Williams 33
James L. Williams 32
Wm J. Williamson 43
Ralph J. Willis 30
Lee Wilson 47
Earl Wilson 42
Jack L. Wilson 21
*Maurice Wingler 29
*Wendell E. Winks 29
Hurley G. Winter 28
H. L. Winton 51
Paul Wise 38
*William R. Woods 32
Raymond T. Worrell 41
Clarence Wycoff 53
Charles Otho Wright 70
Royce L. Yeager 42
Grafton Yeager 68
Don Wood comments with the following on some of those of whom I less familiar:
"Bud Finley lived in the first house west of the elevator next to Rollins and Kieth Greenlee lived next door to Don trump and i believe his dad was Murray. Garth Guthridge lived in Reno in the new house next to the RR I believe the Edgar Family moved into it . Fred Hubble lived on the corner across from the church. Maynerd ( red ) Hunter lived in the house that Delibert Allie bought before moving down to what is now colliers lake. Clarance Kersy lived in the house just west of Woodie Hadly. John Springer lived on the across the street from me about 2 houses west and on the north side. ... "
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| Figure #11: Doc Masten-Skipper (grandson)-Linda Shaw (Courtesy of Linda Schoolcraft) |
Doc Masten lived on South Milton St. He bought an acre of ground from Manual and Callie Casidy . He was Robert Shaw's neighbor till he died. He built the stone house there around the same time as the Shaw's did, according to Linda Schoolcraft.
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It's time for a recess from all this information. Some census in other locales list entire families, including children. Children are important and Art Linkletter in our day had a television program called Kids Say the Darndest Things. Out of privacy I want to relate what one Milton Street kid said years ago. I wish that I could divulge who it was for it fits that now grown person so well. Here is my memory of one mystery kid (And please accept this as not vulgar, but merely the innocence of young boys):
Billie Jamison and I traveled the same path quite often. Sometimes we admired the same girls. Oftentimes when we were bored we walked by the home of some of them hoping to be noticed. It never happened! One day in our travels we met a boy which we knew well. We were around twelve and he was much younger. I had learned about sex from Colby Johnson so I was so informed! I was inclined to teach this youngster all my knowledge. He told me that he knew he'd seen a girl "nekkid". He knew all about it!
When pressed for details, this six or seven year old said to the effect "I saw her and looked." "What did you see? I asked. He said "... inside their was a playground." I laughed! "There was a swing set and slide in there and a lot of toys." Billie and I had a great laugh at that, but we knew very little more than he did! That's not meant to be off-color, just the darndest things kids say! I had to share it because I remember it so well, and nowadays there always seems to be sexual overtones to everything to attract the reader.
Face it! Coatesville was a hotbed of provocative activity. It seems that when boys get to about fifteen, someone sneaks into the bedroom and implants a controller in the gray matter of the brain. From that time on they're programmed for life, or at least until the processor short-circuits sometime in their 90's! More about some of those later.
Recess is over! Now we'll look at a map. There were Coatesvillans outside the city limits. The map below shows the names of those of this period (1965) and where the property owned by them (Figure #12 below):
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| Figure #12: 1965 Clay Twp. Landowners |
Before we continue on our journey north on Milton Street, my neighbor, Jack Poff, provided some useful information on the character of our neighbors and my own family. It's good to have a perspective of "us" from another source. Rather than gathering names, dates and places for people, the goal here is to provide character to the inhabitants of this small town. Jack says (abridged):
"... Larry's (Herrin's) family lived across the street from us and the Poff kids and Herrin kids grew up together and shared many a morning waiting for Francis Jones to pull up to the school bus stop that we shared for years. Larry was three years my senior and Dale was a year older. I remember many times sitting in their old 40's vintage Nash pretending we were driving a "get-away car" while Dale told me stories about Jessie James, Bonnie and Clyde and The Buck and Blanche Barrow Gang. We didn't hear many of those stories around my house but Dale really made them come to life.
My family moved back to Coatesville over 60 years ago when I was 3 years old. From 1955 until I graduated from Cascade in 1970, we lived in what had been Doc Ellett's house. I say moved back to Coatesville because although my Dad was borne in Groveland in 1920 he grew up in the Coatesville area on the Oscar Mann farm which was the first farm East of State Road 75 on the North side of the North Amo road. Many years later when we moved back to Coatesville, it was because my dad, along with his brother in-law Earl Toney and his father, Howard Poff had started a business which was coincidently located on SR75 on the back of the old Oscar Mann farm where he had grown up.
The business concern was originally called Poff & Toney, Inc. but in 1965 Dad bought out Earl Toney and my brother, Jim Poff bought out granddad. They then merged with Bryant Engineering from Port Huron, Michigan. The company became Bryant-Poff, Incorporated and they continued in the grain and feed mill machinery manufacturing business until 1987 when Dad retired and they sold the facility to Red Hayden.
...I especially enjoyed your stroll down South Milton and renaming all the folks who lived in the houses. You missed the Smith's. They were an older retired couple who lived in the house between the Hadley's and Jamison's. Didn't the Wink's live between the Jamison's and McCloud's? South of the Shaw's (yes they did) place was a small creek and south of that before you got to the sale barn was a house and a family with a son my age by the name of John Paul and maybe a last name of Albertson (That is where Paul Chambers lived later on). I was only 3 when we moved to Coatesville in 1955 and our mom's used to visit periodically so that we could play together. I think his family moved away maybe to Plainfield before we started first grade.
You also mentioned the house on the corner across from Shaw's. For as long as I remember the house stood vacant and we all stopped short of it on Halloween Night. There just weren't that many houses south of it, so why take the chance?
Eventually the house was torn down and it was a vacant lot for several years. Was that where you said Pud Lineberry once lived? (yes). Turning on that corner and going East to where it crosses SR75 and turns into the South Amo road was a small house on the corner where I think Barbara Aubrey lived (actually the Allee's). I can't remember any other houses or families on the north side of that road between Milton and SR75 though I think there were some. On the south side of the road was a family with a boy the same age as Dale I think. His mom was a Den Mother for Cub Scouts for a while. Can't recall their names right now but I'm sure it's stored back there somewhere.
I thought you were a little rough on Joe and Mable Davidson. I mowed their yard for a few years and don't recall being that disappointed in my pay. What I do remember was that when I finished, most of the time Joe would take me into his study in the NW corner of the house. Mable would bring in my pay and something cool to drink while Joe would tell me about some scholarly endeavor he was working on. One time he showed me his cowry shells. He had amassed quite a complete collection which I think he planned to donate to DePauw or Indiana University.
Joe was quite a botanist. He was especially fond of Day Lilies and Hybrid Tea Roses. He spent many years cross pollinating them to come up with just the right color or characteristic and they were all very unique. I seem to recall him telling me that he had developed either a lily or rose that was blue. I believe that Jackson & Perkins may have acquired the rights and sold it nationally. It was named after Joe. I don't recall the entire scientific name, but of course it was very Latin sounding and ended with Davidson.
Back to your disputed pay issue with Mable. Anyone who remembers my dad, Clyde Poff, knows he was quite the entrepreneur and as Archie Bunker said "heavy on the manure."
Dad used to tell a story about raising hot house tomato plants when he was a kid. As the story goes, he would raise them in late winter and early spring under glass frames on the south side of the farm house. When they reached the appropriate size, he would dig them and wrap them five to a pack in wet newspaper. On Saturday morning he would take them to Coatesville and sell them on the street corner for people to plant in their gardens. He always claimed that when someone would ask him how much they cost, he would respond "Oh, whatever you think they're worth."
According to him most people would pay him more than he would have charged them. If anyone was too cheap, he would remember them the next year and respond with a more appropriate price instead of letting them decide on their own. Everyone else paid "whatever they thought they were worth."
Well, as I said earlier, I mowed yards for a few summers while growing up and I remembered dad's story. For a while he was right, a lot of them would pay as much or more than I would have charged. One day I was mowing a lawn over on Broadway (maybe Red Banks). I finished and collected for the job and started pushing the mower back home when Olive Bourne stopped me and asked me if I would mow her yard. Olive was the town librarian and I spent a large part of my spare time in the library as a kid so I knew Olive pretty well, or so I thought. I said sure I would, then cranked the mower back up and made pretty quick work of it because it was a small yard.
When I finished, she came out and asked what she owed me. Well, I said "Gosh Mrs. Bourne whatever you think its worth." I don't remember what she paid me but I do remember that whatever she paid me wasn't near half enough. She then proceeded to take me on an inspection tour to see if I had done the job right. I kid you not, she got out a hoe and made me hoe and weed her flower beds and trim some shrubs. After I finished she reckoned it was an acceptable job and I should just plan on doing it "like that" every week. I've never seen anyone turn heal and go in the house quite so quickly and she never offered me a penny more for my additional efforts.
Well, I headed back to the house and when Dad got home that night I related the story to him. He said "Well, I used to sell her tomato plants and I could have told you that she was one that I had to suggest a price to." When I told him that I wasn't going to mow her yard any more he said "Oh yes you are, and then you can do like I did and tell HER the price NEXT year. Now let that be a lesson to ya!" It was a lesson I never forgot and it might be the reason that I was OK with what Joe paid me. I probably told him what he owed me. I did have a few yards I only mowed once because someone thought my price was too high but Joe's wasn't one of them..." (parentheses mine).
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