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HARRY TURNER REMEMBERS Note: Harry V. Turner is a former principal of McClain High School, former director of the Highland County Chamber of Commerce, and a graduate of Marshall High School (the only school in Highland County to win a state basketball title). Mr. Turner is a student of history and has been active in his church and community for many years. He was the featured speaker at the McClain High School commencement on May 30, 2004. Some years ago, Mr. Turner gave a program at Greenfield Rotary entitled "I Remember When." Recently I asked him if he still had his notes on that program so I could put it on my website, and not long afterwards he presented the following information. Mr. Turner has lived long enough to see many changes in the American way of life and he still savors the experiences, like his very first bottle of pop. In his talk, he sometimes paused to elaborate a bit, but this list of memories should help you get the picture. I hope you find his memories as interesting as I did. – Ron Coffey.) I REMEMBER WHEN By Harry V. Turner I remember the joy of going to Grandma’s house for ginger cookies. I remember my parents buying a 54-acre farm and an old house on it. I remember hand-milking cows and carrying the milk to the house. I remember getting my first dog I could call my own on April Fools Day. I named him King. I remember starting at daylight and working until almost dark with a team of horses. I remember my first bottle of pop. It cost five cents. The flavor was orange. I remember the Model T Ford. I remember almost getting killed – twice! – by horses. I remember trying to walk a foot log. I remember plowing with a walking plow. I remember going fishing and getting wet. I remember the neighbors gathering together to "butcher" hogs. I remember going to a neighbor’s in winter in a sled. I remember the neighbors gathering together for taffy pulls. I remember the Joe Louis vs. Max Schmelling fight. I remember shoveling gravel in a wagon from a gravel pit – two loads a day! I remember the harvest: A. Wheat B. Corn C. Hay I remember being quarantined for six weeks with scarlet fever. I remember my neighbor who was quite a storyteller – prefaced his remarks with "This is the truth if I ever told it." I remember running trap lines. I remember a cultipacker falling on my granddad, and my father’s lifting on one end of 1,100 pounds to allow him to get out. I remember "going to mills" – trading wheat for flour. I remember the Lange family reunions. I remember my grandfather playing for square dances. I remember shooting marks with my grandfather. I remember my great-grandmother smoking a clay pipe and living to be almost 100 years of age. I remember cutting firewood with a cross-cut saw. I remember the trek to the outhouse and the secondary use of Sears catalogs. I remember the quilting my mother and grandmother used to do. I remember the threshing and shredding dinners. I remember the steam engines used to power the threshers. I remember the "wakes." Bodies were kept at home with a wreath on the door. I remember the trips to the "Swirl." I remember trot-lining. I remember the joys of hunting, particularly with my shepherd dog. I remember thinking that Hillsboro and Greenfield were far and distant. I remember loafing at the country store on Saturday nights – selling cream and eggs. I remember going to Coney Island on the Island Queen. I remember the excitement of cutting a cedar for a Christmas tree. And these Christmas presents:
I remember the joy of shooting firecrackers on the Fourth of July. I remember winning the Highland County Championship in 1946. I remember working for the war effort:
I remember being scared to go to school. I remember learning the ways of nature and the joy of being in the woods. I remember the old swimming hole. I remember working all summer and bailing to buy my first Model A Ford – for $100! I remember pegging in tobacco. I remember the Halloweens:
I remember going barefooted al summer, and couldn’t stand shoes when school started. Also, I remember stepping in a hot pile of cow manure, which squirted up through my toes while running through chestnut barns.
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