ClaraKindrickDeal.txt

-n -n -n This tape is being done today, April 15, 1994 in Hayside, Virginia. We're interviewing Ms. Clara Kendrick Deal for the Kentucky Historical Society. [BLANK_AUDIO] See, it's 730 in the evening Eastern Standard Time. And still what I'd like to do is just lay this right up here for you, let you hang on to it, and then we can hear you real good. Just lay it there and rest, and it'll pick it up real good, okay? Cuz my voice will carry. You were telling me, do you remember who your grandparents were on both sides of the family and when they moved in here? >> My hearing is not good, honey, get up close. >> Do you remember who your grandparents are and when they moved in here and where? >> Well, let me see. [BLANK_AUDIO] I think if I could, [BLANK_AUDIO] Now, my grandfather's name was Green Rains. [BLANK_AUDIO] Is that right, Bonnie? >> Mm-hm. >> I'll tell you, you forget a lot when you're about age. >> So don't let it worry, what was your dad's name, your father's name? >> His name was John Kendrick, and he taught school before, I guess, I don't know, many years. He was counted to be a most excellent teacher. I read about him in something I picked up not long ago. And it told about old time scooty, just as said, and John Kendrick, a most excellent teacher. And he was, he was a good teacher. I thought he's expecting me a little too perfect. >> [LAUGH] Where was he from? >> [LAUGH] [BLANK_AUDIO] >> Where was he from? >> Well, I'm trying to say. [BLANK_AUDIO] >> Bonnie, do you know where they- >> He was born in Kentucky. >> Yes, that's right, he was from Kentucky. >> Do you know where he was from? >> I'd say around 1900, top school. >> And what year were you born? >> [BLANK_AUDIO] >> 1998. >> I'll tell you, I've been sick so much, I go hard, so I hope I don't forget my name. >> [LAUGH] You're doing fine. What, so did you go to school around here? >> I went to school in Kentucky. We had a little, I didn't go, I didn't go to expect from college or anything, but I talked to school with several years and I'd go and renew my certificate. >> Uh-huh. >> I hope I've done a little good. >> What grades did you teach? >> Well, we taught sometimes, this little one on school, we taught all grades. Of course, you had to let the best students help teach little ones and so on. It was quite a problem. I think I had 91 years. >> 90. >> It seems to me like at the end. >> Were you the only teacher? >> I think so, I remember. >> Do you remember how much money they paid you back then to teach? >> We did get very much. I don't remember exactly, but I think it does pretty well if you got $50 a month. >> Mm-hm. >> Do you remember what year you started teaching? >> Let me see. No, I don't. I know it scared me. My father just got me a school. Now, he was a wonderful teacher. He had a good education for that time. >> Mm-hm. >> And he was counted to be an excellent teacher. But he just got me a school and said, "Teach." >> Mm-hm. >> "Like scared me to death." [LAUGHS] I had a passion or something worrying me. I'd go up in the mountains. I thought it was spring up there. And I'd go up there and stay and think about my troubles. So I made a mistake and went down the wrong side of the mountain. [LAUGHS] But I knew what I'd done. I don't know why the classmates didn't eat me up. But I never got better or anything. And even there was someone that I knew I'd write at that time. Anyway, I made the mistake. Here I was on this other big creek away from my house from home. But I knew what I'd done. So I just started walking. And I met the local people coming looking for me. I don't think I'll tell you all that stuff. [LAUGHS] It makes me feel pretty crazy. >> What was your husband's name? >> My husband's name was James H. Dill. He was a very skillful person. He had a gift of person. People had it in breakdown. Now, I think that's Jimmie Dill. He could fix it from charge much, either. He'd charge anything, part of that. He would make caskets for people. He was a real helpful person. But it's been going on for a long time. We had two children. They've been wonderful to take care of. >> And what are your children's names? >> Bonnie Sue and Murray Luke. >> Easy to remember, isn't it? Let's see. >> When you were-- do you remember what year you got married? >> Let me see. I don't like that. Let me see. >> I'm trying. It's not too much for you to do. >> I was about 34, I think. What year was that then? >> About 1934. I didn't marry young. In fact, I didn't name Murray at all. I thought I'd seen some people have such a hard time. I remember Murray. But my mother died. I told her she was worried about the children. I said, "Don't worry." I was helping. And I did. So I didn't marry young. I stayed at home until all those children left me. And they had to have somebody. And I did help them. >> How many brothers and sisters did you have? >> I had three brothers and four sisters. They lived in Ohio. I did. My youngest brother said not long ago he tried to get me to come and live with him. He said, "You can raise me." And I wanted to take care of him. But he lives in Ohio. And I want to go to Ohio. >> Have you ever been to Ohio? >> Oh, yes. >> I've been to Ohio. >> It's flat and cold. >> Yes, it is flat and cold in the windy. I bet it gets pretty chilly around here in the winter, though, doesn't it? >> Well, it does. But the mountains cut off from the wind. I like it. I guess I've lived here as long as it seemed more like home than anywhere else. >> Lots of deer out here, isn't there? >> Yes. >> Lots of deer. Do you enjoy the deer? >> The deer. >> Yes, there's lots of deer out here, isn't there? >> Oh, I can't have nothing more. I thought one time, I was eating up everything, I couldn't have anything. Of course, I didn't like mustard. So I had a little patch of mustard. I thought, well, I'll pick them up with some mustard. And you did. [laughter] You don't need a deer. >> How did you get into doing herbs and things like that? What did that come about? >> Well, people did live close to doctors. They had to do something, though. I don't know why I just got really interested in it. I don't know why I could about it. >> Who taught you about it? >> Well, I read books and talked to old people. They had been on that show, though. My grandfather, he knew quite a lot about things like that. And other old people. This little man, he was out being ginger-sing and got a copperhead bit. He said, "Pain was dreadful." But his brother came along right at that time, started a meal. He said, "What's the matter? I'm a copperhead bit." He jumped off right quick, and there was a little weed called "pacoon." You may know it. It has been a little quite fair in the spring. He said he jumped off, dug at that raccoon, and watched it and crushed it into a moose, put it on that copperhead bite. He said it was instant relief I could have walked home. But his brother took him on the horse. He didn't think about the whiskey. So, I don't know. I was just interested in anything. I used to dig ginger-sing a lot with my mother. It was a way of making a little bit of money. And that money always needed a little money. What does ginseng look like? No, true love ginseng. No, I've seen it some, but I was going to have you describe it for people. Well, I hardly have to describe it to you. It's a very nice, little plate, and easy for me to recognize. I thought it was something I enjoyed doing. It was a way to make a little bit of money. A lot of people did. Did people bring, when they got sick, did they come to you for herbs? Well, yes. I gave a lot of my herbs away. Especially, I think of the name of it. They would come... Campree was one thing. Yeah, Campree. Campree is very healing. And I had that for years. And they came and got that. What was it good for healing? What did it heal? Campree. Well, one lady had a big ulcer on her foot. They came and got that and made pocuses in here. Garlic. A lot of people came for garlic. I reckon garlic is good for a little bit of a smell of everything. It doesn't make sweet bread. Everything but sweet bread? It doesn't make sweet bread. Well, I just enjoyed plants. And I had a lot of curiosity. If we were out with somebody older, biggie-nerves, I was always wanting to know, "What's this? What's this? What's it good for?" And I did learn a little bit. Of course, I don't know much, but I learned a little bit. And people did come to get herbs out. So maybe I helped a few people. I hope I did. One woman called in and said, "The pinworms are killing me." So I looked up at my herb book and told her what to do. They heard from her. One day I called her. I said, "What about the pinworms?" "My husband said I ought to call you and told you that remedy worked." What else she had on to her? So I helped people with it for a while. What were some of the other things that people came to you with, some of the other cures that you had? Well, I can't think right now, but there were, do you know, there weren't many doctors there. What was the closest doctor? How far away was the closest doctor? Well, I don't know, but they just weren't many doctors around at that time. It might come to you. But anyway, you needed to know all you could about things that you had to depend on nature. What was the most poisonous plant that was out there? Poison ivy was bad. What is it good for that, Bonnie? Can you think, honey? I think it grew close together. Where you'd find one, you'd find the other. The jewelweed, I guess. Yes, jewelweed. You should do the tobacco piece for them. That's a poisonous weed. You should do your tobacco form. Uh-huh, yes. Tobacco is a nice to weed. From the devil came the seed. It's a pot, it's a stature close. It makes a chimney out of your nose. It's sweet to kiss, but oh how bitter. It's a little macrospitter. You want that? That's good, yeah. What kind of cures did you have for, say, the mumps? The mumps. I can't think of it right now, but there was something. I remember some man claimed when they married, they began to have children. Now, I can't have children. I've been cut by the mumps. But now the children came right along. So he had children all right. He didn't want them, but they came along. It seemed to me like he had a big family. After your children were born, did you keep teaching, or did you take care of the kids mostly? Well, I had to take care of the children. I didn't teach. It seemed to me like I counted up when I was about to go to the years. But I never did graduate from college. I just kept my shift, but we knew that. What's it been like living up here? Like living here. I love it here. I like it very much. I didn't care for Ohio, but I like Virginia. It's the weather's milder here, and the people I love is people. They've been very considerate. People can't put another, they used to jump another a lot. If you see, people came in and helped. Sometimes they'd come in and make you proud for you. It was... I thought it was a very fine place to live. People need help. Sometimes if somebody gets sent off, they just want to make you proud for it. What did you like the least about living up here? Well, I just love it. Too far from town, maybe? I never cared for it, but didn't think I'd ever want to live in there. I was cut up from there. Since you've been living up here, have you seen people change a lot? Have times changed a lot? How did people make their living up in here? Back when you were raising your kids, were they coal miners or timber or farm? Well, people were miners, of course. But your husband didn't mind? My husband, he could do just about anything. He was a skillful person. Anything wrote down. People would say, "Go to Jimmy Dill. He didn't fix anything. Won't charge him much either." He made caskets. He was just such a handy person. And like I said, he didn't charge anything much, and sometimes nothing at all. I remember not long before he passed away, he made an old lady her casket. She requested him to. He did. I'm satisfied. He didn't charge anything. We didn't worry much about money. We just had something to eat. Left to wire. Okay. Is there any particular story that you're aware of that she tells that it's a real good story? Well, I don't know. She has some good childhood stories. I like the time she went up in the apple tree. That's a good dramatic story. About when you ran up in the apple tree when you were a little girl. When I climbed the apple tree. Yeah, that's a good story. I like that one. Well, let me see what one that I did that displeased my father so much. And one of the new people threw up on me. And she said, you better run. And I ran out and I climbed the shoe jackpot tree. So I sat up there in the branches. He hung it and hung it and hung it. It wasn't even a word was it. So I sat up there and listened. You said it was one strange sound she's living away. But it ended up, we got to get about dark. I came down out of the bedroom where he was. He said, I don't know if it's this time, but don't you do that no more. Was your dad a hard man? Was he a hard man, your father? Well, I thought he was pretty rough on me, honey. Now, my older sister, she said he just carried her in his arms and told her to say I'm daddy's baby. But apparently he made a difference. Maybe I was ugly or something. And they've been both pretty. And I thought he was rough on me. What about your mom? Well, she took her on as best she could. And she knew I had to have help. Tell about Aunt Sue and the barn life. I like that one. Well, I wasn't a very good baby binder. So they decided, oh, and they only don't take care of this baby. Well, I had a playhouse in the barn often. So I went out there and fixed a little place and laid the baby down. I was enjoying myself. That play happened to me loose. The baby wiggled around and fell down there right that horse. Lord have mercy, I moved. Now, I got out of that quick and hurt. And I got the baby up and it fell on a plank. And the plank had a nail in it. Made a hole right in it's tummy. It scared me to death. So I knew I wanted to help. I took it to mother. She found it right away. Of course, the baby was crying. Now, I tell you, I got a lick in that top. How did the baby do? It got all right. She was a good nurse. Let's see what was it she did. I was trying to take what she used to heal it. But she was real good at healing. Can't take out it now. It doesn't make me scared to laugh out of me. Any other stories? I was just trying to think of some other stories. Have you had any floods or hurricanes or tornadoes? Shootings? Have there been any feuds up in here? I don't know. She used to teach where the hat fields and the macaques live. Remember when you taught school? The hat fields and macaques. What children are they? Hat fields and the macaques. I think just hat fields. Hat fields, I think mostly. Anyhow, there's just good stories. I worked superbly, but I had chances to get married. I didn't intend to ever marry. I made up my mind I'd not marry. But when my husband came along, he was so terribly sweet to me. Oh, he was good to me. I never regretted marrying him. He wasn't just good to me. He was good to everybody. People had anything wrong. Get Jimmy Deale. He'd do anything. He didn't fix anything. He didn't charge much either. Tell them how you climbed up on the roof and in the apple trees and all that stuff. She climbed up on the roof just about four or five years ago. Oh, I didn't think anything about getting up and fixing the roof. After a sleek wife, I just kept on fixing it myself. You just about had to. I don't know, honey. I never thought anything much about it. I just went ahead and did it. What do you see for the future around here? The future? Yeah, what do you see for the future around here? Well, I think it's a nice place to live myself. I have a lot of books. My husband knew I love books and he just tried to buy me anything I wanted. There's a big... You see over here to the right, I have a lot of books. Children come and borrow them and they come and got them themes right. They'll borrow them loads of them. And bring them back when they get done. So I've enjoyed that. I feel like it's been a help to people. I was glad to have the books to lend. He was good to buy me books. He knew I liked books. He didn't just bought anything. He thought I would like to have. He bought the piano for me. He said, "I knew you wanted that." Now, I don't play, but... He said, "I knew you wanted that." Now, I just bought it for you. So you just liked looking at it, huh? I liked looking at it. And I have a niece that she plays beautifully. So sometimes she's sure to play for me. Is this your daughter? No, my kids never learn. If you had to think back on everything, summing it all up, if you had to reduce everything down into one statement, what would you have to say if you just summed it all up into... Well, honey, I have believed in doing right. And when I was in trouble, I believed in calling on the Lord. And he sent help. See, that was one of the first things I would think about. "Lord, help me." And he did. That's the important thing to me, that God is able to do all things. Now, I was bad awful a lot of times. It didn't look like I could live. How? In what way? Bad off how? Well, my lungs had been weak for one thing. And I was real sick. I went to an old doctor and he said, "I'm an old doctor. I've seen old women as bad off as you are. But you're the first general one I ever saw in such a shape in my life." You've got to... What was this called? I kind of a breakdown. Physical and... A nervous breakdown, please. Nervous breakdown. Well, I was. I was really, really broke down. I went to my older sister. She and her husband were doing very well at that time. And she said, "I'd go and look at you. You'd lay there and never move for ever so long. And I'd go and look at you and go away and cry. I thought she was going to die." But I was tough, old bird. When was this? How long ago was this? When she was young? Yeah. Must have been back in 1938 or 19... Somewhere along that line. Yes, it was. When you were taking care of your other brothers and sisters, I guess. When you were teaching school and taking care of the other people in the family. Yes. Had more than she could do. Yeah. That's what it was. My mother died, you know, when she was grieving about the children. She said, "Well, I'll become my children." I said, "Mother, I'll help them." And I did. One of my brothers tried to get me to come and let him take care of me. He said, "You raised me and I want to take care of you." But he lives in Ohio and I don't like it. What did your mother die from? Was she older? Was she sick? Well, I think she had TB. Tuberculosis. How old was she? She was 45. So she left with a house full of kids. Yeah, the baby was sick. Was your father still alive then? No, maybe he was sick too. Yeah, he didn't have TB, but he was sick, wasn't he? He wasn't well. Let's see, what was his trouble? I think you said he died of uremic poisoning, but I don't know what caused it. I think so. Did you try to use any of your herbs to help your mother? No, there was no herb that you knew of that could help TB. No. Now, I have a little record of a little material on the herb somewhere. If I could find it, herbs are wonderful now. They help people. Let me see. She didn't get the stuff out of here. Right here, I believe. Some women were called midwives. A lot of times, I think we were all had midwives, were born into midwives. One time, she had had a doctor, the midwife. After birth, was rode to her side, and the midwife was afraid to try to get it. So she had a doctor one time, only that one time, I think. But some of these midwives were wonderful. There was one that she was so good. She was a little teeny moment. Her little hands were so small. They said, "If the baby couldn't be born, she could take them little hands and take the baby." The doctor said, "If she can't get the baby, don't choose him for me." She was a wonderful person. I remember I've seen her. What was her name? Was she your aunt? Aunt Melvine, we called her. But whether she was really my aunt or not, I don't know. She was a wonderful person. She had a natural, just seemed like she could do about anything. That's what the doctor said. "She can't get the baby, don't send her for me." Did many women die in childbirth back then? Well, it seems to me like they lost a lot of babies. More than they did mothers. More children than mothers. I think so. Now, of course, you don't know about trying to remember things like that. But they did. I think they lost a lot of children. But my mother was, she was a good nurse now. She took care of us. I'd have died, of course, standing for her. She said, "I was sickly child." It didn't look like she could raise me. Did she use herbs on you, or home remedies on you? Yes, she used the home remedies. I said, "What was it that was wrong with me?" Somebody was making a bed. They said, "This bed's wet." I said, "I don't wet the bed." But I sweat all night. I've been for a long time. She said, "Well, we'll fix that." She made the sage tea, I believe it was, and had me to sip it along through the day, and I soon put sweat in. She's a real good nurse. Poor little mother. She died, and she's 40, 45. The boys around here, did they have, did the men, and the boys, did they go off to the war from around here, or did they get out of the war because they were coal miners, or? About World War II. And Vietnam and Korean. Well, your brothers went to World War II. My brothers, all three, were in there. Let's see. One hour there was a pearl harbor when it was bombed. It happened to be on the only ship that got away. And one hour there was a big battleship. He said they bombed in big skyscrapers, and they just crumbled up like matchsticks. The war was awful. But they didn't get squashed. No, none of the young men around here ever got killed in the war. Well, I don't know. I guess her relatives didn't. I don't know. But now my brothers, they all came through. It was terrible, but they came through alright. Somebody said, "War is Hell." Of course it is terrible. But my brother, one of them he talked about how they bombed so many. But it was wonderful that they all got through like they did. I'll tell you, I sure believe in prayer. I've had too many prayers answered not to believe in prayer. I lived and looked like I couldn't. I wasn't strong person apparently. Apparently you were. You've outlasted just about everybody. Well, I've outlasted a lot of people. That's true. Anyhow. I'd hate to see the strong ones. I said, "I'd hate to see the strong ones if you were one of the weak ones." Well, if something was to do. I didn't think anything about going up on my roof and fixing it. If I was a legion, I'd just climb up there. I'd do whatever I thought had to be done. Two young men in the winter. One of them said, "Now, that goes with beautiful ones." Of course, when I woke up I had a good laugh about that. But the dream was just as plain as it could be. One time there were two men going to break in on me. Is this a dream or real? No, this is real. What, here? In this house? I don't remember exactly who it was. No, honey, I don't. I don't remember exactly who it was. They were going to break in on me. They knew I was a woman here by myself. They were going to break in on me. Yes, we're bothering the Lord of the Voices. They didn't think they had anything to worry about. But the Lord sent the dogs. I'm telling you, they took them away. These dogs out here?