Farm Life of the Past: The Penny

...another story from my husband's memories of his childhood. This event was probably in 1939...
(photo of Charles Edward near the time of this story)


The Penny


The baby sister played with a shiny penny someone in the family had given her. As the young will, she would bring it to her mouth for this new sensation - the feel of it in her mouth and the metallic taste! She would drop it and watch it roll, pick it up and drop it again. What was inevitable, happened, after a while. The penny fell through a crack in the floor of the old log home where this family lived!

The youngest brother, about age five, was told to go under the house to find the penny for the baby sister! The little boy, Ed, thinking of spiders, snakes and other scary things he might meet under there, nevertheless, did exactly as he was told!

The penny was found!

What happened after that has bothered Ed, all the rest of his life!

He told the family he did not find the penny. He put the penny in his own pocket. It became a hot, burning, secret thing, there in his bib overalls!

In the next day or so some of the older brothers and sisters were walking to a little country community store. The mother needed something to prepare the suppertime meal,
perhaps some dried beans! Although it was a long walk to the store in Leggtown, Ed tagged along with the older siblings.

Along the store route, most travelers knew of a natural spring near a church. It was customary for people to stop there for a cool drink of the water. The water, always fresh and cool, flowed out of the rocky hillside; pooling in a cement basin. These travelers to Leggtown, on the errand for their mother, gratefully, stopped for a drink from the spring!

A plan evolved here…or maybe had been in the works all along! After being refreshed with the cool water, and as they started to resume the trip, the little boy, Ed, unobserved by his brothers and sisters, dropped the penny on the ground and ‘Found it’ for the second time!

A found penny! What luck!

With much excitement, and relief on Ed’s part, the group of children traveled on! Ed was now free to contemplate what he might buy with the penny!

At the Leggtown store, Ed was dazzled with the array of candies available for just one penny.

He finally settled on a ‘Walnettos.’ This was a black walnut and caramel candy, which came packaged with several indivually wrapped pieces to the pack!

He shared this with his brothers and sisters, on the long walk back home, having only one piece for himself.


Note:

IMO- having known Charles Edward for 46+ years now, this experience was a big influence in helping Ed become the honest, giving and caring man that he is.

He always felt guilt for what that little boy had done, all those years ago!


June Kellum
July2, 2006