THE GILLUM CLAN AT WING; THE EARLY DAYS

     Lula Belle was the first Gillum born at Wing, in 1901.
      When WW1 came along, Dad went to war. He told me there was not room to lie down on the troop ship. They slept setting up. Reports indicate he was in battles in France, but he never talked about it. He told me when he went to Germany, he got close enough to hear the guns when the war ended. He served in the occupation.
     On the way back home, he once had a choice of waiting until the next day for a train, or walk 20 miles in 4 hours to catch an earlier one. He almost made it. He saw it pull out.
     Once back at Wing, he decided to go to the oil fields of Oklahoma. There was a job open in a boiler room; no one could hang with it, it was just too dang hot. He took the job, drank only warm water out of the boiler, and made it fine. Many years later, I had an experience in the hayfield that convienced me he had the right idea. I was tromping and shaping the haystack, very hot. Dad was bringing loads of hay to me. The cold, cold water where the large spring ran into the creek was nearby, so I  began running and jumping in the cold water between loads. By the time the day was over, I thought I was going to die!
     When John Wesley died in 1922, Grandma called dad back to run the farm. Dad spent more time before the Depression supervising the share croppers than actually working the land. When the Depression hit, the share croppers could not get money to put in their crops unless Dad signed the note. The crops failed, and the share croppers walked. Dad was left holding the notes. It took many years to pay them off, and I understand Dad was not an easy man to get along with during that time, but he paid them all off. A Gillum always pays his debts.
     Soon, things got tough on the farm. Dad had no money to put in his own crops. Grandma still had some money, but Dad would not ask her. He had to sell many acres of prime pine timber land to the government, for $2 per acre. Dad had to put his car up on blocks. He couldn't buy gas. When a man asked Dad, "What happened to the car?" Dad replied, "The Depression hit it." My brother Harold, a little boy, pointed to a rusty spot. "Is that where the Depression hit it?"
     Dad was a hard man. If a Hobo came by asking for food, he wasn't always successful. Dad took charity from no man, and had little patience for those who did.
     Dad was once engaged, but his future wife got a gall bladder infection and died. Dad had built a house in the meadow for her. Grandma, Hallie and the rest of the family loved her. When Dad married my Mom, Irene Lazenby, they did not live in the little house in the meadow at first. It had no electricity. My mom came from a gentle, laid back family, unlike the tough, stern Gillums. Even though she was very hard working, Grandma and sometimes Hallie, were harsh in judging her. Her life was miserable. After 3 children were born there,Harry(Named, at the insistence of Martha Jane "Tennessee" Tucker Gillum, after Harry Poynter)  Harold, and my oldest sister Jonnie, Mom wanted out of that house. They moved to the house in the meadow, even though Dad had to do without his radio. Jan was born there. Later they moved across the road to the "Other house." where Barbara, 5 years before me, was born. After Grandma and Hallie both died in 1941, they moved back up on the hill to Hallie's house, closing out the moving triangle, all within hollering distance.
     Now that you have some idea of what Mom was up against, moving in with all those dominant Gillums, I want to tell a little story that I love.  After Dad and Mom married, a picture of Dad's dead sweetheart continued to hang on the wall. After a time, a picture of Searce Pickens, Mom's old sweetheart, showed up on the wall. Well, Searce Pickens was now working for Dad. Pretty soon, both photos came down. Mom had beaten the Gillums at their own game, a very rare occurrence. 
     Many of Mom's sisters moved to California before I was born. I met none of my grandparents. So, I did not know her family well. Her sister, Ruby, stayed at Wing awhile.
     JR Turner is the only living man to know all the Wing Gillums, except Jimmy, Dad's younger brother who died in 1903. JR was sweet on Ruby. The romance dragged on. Grandpa Lazenby was not big on long romances without a wedding ring. He asked JR, "When are you getting married?" "Well, I just need to save just a little more money." Time after time that happened. JR probably did need more money, in those days. but he also had a wanderlust. He could not settle down to one place easily, and I'm sure the responsibility of a wife sat heavily on his shoulders at that time.  Finally, a California sister sent money, and Ruby went to California. She entered into a romance with Homer Greear, and marriage was looming. But before that happened, Ruby went back to Wing for a visit. Well, the old romance started heating up. Someone at Wing called Homer Greear and warned him. Homer jumped in his car, drove through to Wing, scooped up Ruby, fled to California, and married him.
     JR continued his wandering ways for many years. When he was here and he saw a Gillum, he would ask about Ruby. In recent years, he still does. But he is 101 now, and his short term memory recycles very fast. When he asks about Ruby now, we have to tell him she has been dead for decades. He starts the mourning process all over again. But it does not last long.

My next post, MY MEMORIES BEGIN; MY LIFE AT WING will be posted in a few days. Thanks for Reading!