Here Comes Raleigh

Blog 6

                              The sixth of seven blogs

         

                             HERE COMES RALEIGH

          My recollections of Raleigh and Pickensville are many.  Although I was not privileged to make the trip while young, later in life I made a number of trips to Pickensville to see Raleigh, especially enjoying the trip  to fish in the Tombigbee.  The ferry stopped operations at night so after the last car departed at dusk, Raleigh would load us on the ferry and go to the middle of the river where we would fish.  We caught catfish and lots of eels.  At times, we would go to a sandbar, build a fire and spend the night-Raleigh keeping us entertained with his tales.  Before locks backed up water to form the Tenn-Tom waterway, the river at times would get quite low creating many sandbars which  provided an idea camping and fishing area.

          My brother, Kenneth, remembers the episode with the mule.  We were the proud (snicker, snicker) owners of “Ole Dock.”  I remember Dock as being a mining mule.  Kenneth elaborates to say that he was originally a wild mule, captured out west to be used by the military but the end of the war negated the need for beast.  How the animal ended up in a wagon mine in Walker County is a mystery.  When Dock proved less than being the ideal mining mule, my Dad got him cheap.  We needed a beast of burden to pull a plow.  Dock didn’t take to that eagerly either, but Dad managed to get him to “gee” (right) and “haw” (left) after some effort.  Dock, however, simply refused to allow a body on his back.

          Raleigh contended that there was not a horse (or mule) that he could not ride.  We expressed our doubts that he should attempt to prove this contention regarding Dock.  Raleigh insisted!  It wasn’t pretty!  Raleigh mounted the mule and as was Dock’s m.o., he allowed him to sit on his back until Raleigh was comfortable.  When he insisted that Dock move, he did so--in a flash and violently.  Raleigh hit the ground hard-on a rock.  In his old age, Raleigh admitted that at times he still suffered from the results of that challenge.

           Garland, Jr. stores a treasure of Raleigh memories.  Get him started and he tells tale after tale.  In addition to the memories of Dock, Garland recalls an occasion when Raleigh was helping us cut pulpwood.  In the process, a swarm of yellow jackets were stirred up from their hole in the ground.  Raleigh had a hole in the seat of his pants and yellow jackets took advantage of it.  If only video would have been available to record the scene!  It surely would have made America’s Funniest Home Video-except for the nudity.  The pants came off!  Video was still decades away but memories have replayed this scene many times.

          The story does not end there!  Raleigh’s solution to the yellow jacket problem was to pour gasoline in the hole and burn them out.  This worked as far as stamping out the yellow jackets.  The problem was that he did not fully extinguish the fire as he had at first thought.  It caught back up, causing a forest fire.  We were then forced to stamp out the fire which proved to be a far greater challenge than getting rid of the yellow jackets.

Blog 5

                              The fifth of seven blogs

                             HERE COME RALEIGH

         

          Perhaps this glimpse of the family in which Raleigh Ryan was born sheds light on his later life style.  His aunt Gertrude and Pickensville were his safe port in an unstable childhood.  His visits to our house provided another port when not sailing with the Merchant Marines.

          As Raleigh aged and tired of his wandering life on the seas, he returned to Pickensville and unpacked his bags for good.  Gertrude had sold her property in Pickensville and moved to Arizona.  Raleigh moved into the house in which she had lived where he remained until his death.  My brother, Garland, purchased this property from Raleigh’s wife, Ruby, and utilized it as a second home while working as a counselor in the Mississippi school system.  Each workday morning he crossed the bridge that replaced the ferry over the Tombigbee River which was operated by Raleigh for so long.

          I conferred with my siblings regarding their recollections of Raleigh.  Lots of shared memories were recalled of many things, our “Here comes Raleigh” excitement being one of them.  Our memories, however, varied as we recalled specific incidents.

          Lora, my older sister remembered a trip to Pickensville with our father. She was young and the trip was a special event for her.  She recalled a store near the house in which Gertrude lived that had a row of post between the two. She was impressed that the posts were painted (or whitewashed) white with red tops.  The house also was white with red trim.

          Lora said that a later trip revealed that her young mind had perceived the store to be larger than it actually was.   Next to the store was a raised stone or brick platform which supported a large tank that was filled with gasoline. Cars waiting for, or leaving the ferry could fill their tanks from the gravity fed filling station.  The old store building, house, platform and road bed can still be seen on the property.

The fourth of seven blogs

                             HERE COMES RALEIGH   

          Charley, my grandfather, was known to do a little drifting.  His first wife, Annie May (Angie) Daniel Pounds died when my father was around five years old.  He then married widowed Janie Herron Allen.  They had one son, Gaby.  This was a rocky marriage.  One day grandpa hoboed a train and ended up in Texas.  For a period of time he drifted around living the life of a hobo.  His travels would occasionally bring him back to Alabama but it was not until later in life that he would settle down.  He, like Raleigh, did not like strings attached.

          When Gaby was in Europe serving in World War 2 he was able to contact his dad with a request that he check on his mother to insure that she was cared for.  This led to their being reunited and grandpa settled down in Cordova-well, sort of.  He never lost his desire for adventure and it was only sporadic that I saw him as I was growing up.  On March 14, 1961 he died in Cordova and is buried there beside Janie.  A few yards away, across a gravel road that runs through Mt. Carmel cemetery, Angie, my grandmother is buried with her relatives, the Daniels. 

          Charley and his nephew, Raleigh Ryan, had a kindred spirit which could be described as “footloose and fancy free”.  As Raleigh would arrive unannounced at our house, so would Charley, although not at the same time.  When Raleigh’s travels brought him to Walker County he would search out his uncle Charley-sometimes successfully, sometimes not.  When they made the connection they would share tales of great adventures.

          It is worth the climb to go up a little further on Raleigh’s family tree.  His grandfather, Raleigh Pounds, Sr. (born July 30, 1818) was first married to Martha Mitilta (Scales) Otey, a widow.  They had five children before her death.  He had accumulated 160 acres of land, some wealth, and he was not ready to admit that he was beginning to age.  When he was 65 years old he married 25 year old Elizebeth Riley (March 13, 1883).   This was the beginning of his second family.  At age 66 their oldest, my grandfather, Charley, was born exactly nine months after their marriage.  At age 68 Raleigh, Jr. was born.  A third son, Richard, was born a year later.

          Raleigh Pounds, Sr. married Elizebeth Riley when he was sixty- five years old and before he turned seventy they had three boys; Charley (my grandfather), Raleigh Jr. and Richard.       Their first daughter, Gertrude, was born when Raleigh, Sr. was 73 years old (Aug. 8, 1891).  She would later become a significant person connected with the early history of Pickensville.  Mary, their fifth child and second daughter was born just over 11 months later (July 12, 1892). She would later become the mother of Raleigh Ryan.   

Dewey, the sixth child of Raleigh Pounds and Elizebeth was born when Raleigh was about three months  past his 80^th birthday (Sept. 5, 1898).  He died in 1911 at age 93, living long enough to reach the year that Dewey would become a teenager.

Here Comes Raleigh-blog 3

The third of seven blogs

         

                              HERE COME RALEIGH     

          Where does the Pounds family fit into this picture?  Raleigh Ryan and my father, Garland Pounds, Sr. were first cousins.  My grandfather, Charley Pounds, and Raleigh’s mother, Mary Pounds Ryan were siblings.  Mary Pounds married Edward Jefferson Ryan and they had four children.  Mildred and Minnie Alice were their daughters, Edward and Raleigh their sons; Raleigh being the youngest.

          Charley Juneapple (Yes, that was his name) Pounds, my grandfather, was the oldest of six children born to Raleigh Pounds, Sr. and Elizabeth Riley Pounds.  They first had three boys, Charley, Raleigh Jr. and Richard.  Their daughters, Gertrude and Mary followed.  Dewey was their youngest child.

          Raleigh Jr. and Richard were both early members of the Birmingham fire department. Raleigh worked as a master mechanic. He was killed in early August, 1916, when the gun he was removing from a boat accidentally discharged, killing him instantly.  Dewey, while fighting in the First World War, while in Europe, was the victim of a poisonous gas attack which caused a severe mental disability.

          Old timers in the Pickensville area remember Gertrude. She arrived in Pickensville in a roundabout way. When young she moved to Miami, Florida and opened a café. While there she met a man from Cordova, Alabama whose family owned a sawmill and a mercantile store in Miami.  They married and from him she learned the store business.  They later moved to Cordova where they opened a general merchandise and grocery store.  After a divorce, Gertrude moved to Pickensville where she opened a store and café, establishing a successful business.  Silas (Sy) Yagle also had a business in Pickensville and a marriage and merger resulted.  Combining their merchandise, charge accounts and customer base, they created a monopoly in their small town and became quite prosperous. 

          Because of health reasons, Sy and Gertrude sold their business in Pickensville and moved to Arizona, thinking that the climate might be more favorable.  They later moved to Washington State.  After the death of Sy, Gertrude moved to the Republic community in Jefferson County, Alabama where she lived near her nephew, (my uncle) Gaby Pounds.  She died on November 25, 1967 and was buried in Forestdale, Jefferson County.  She had no children.

Here Comes Raleigh-blog 2

The second of seven blogs

                            

                             HERE COMES RALEIGH                      

         

          Raleigh talked about the “Merchant Marines.”  I never learned why he signed on to sail the seas but this became his livelihood.  World war two was then a recent memory and the sea lanes were safe again, leading to almost anywhere in the world.  My childhood memories are that he hit every port in which a ship could dock.  He did not, of course, but Raleigh could make you think that he had done so, multiple times.  With every arrival at our house, there was always the new tales of adventure.  We loved it!

          This country boy could never have imagined what would happen later in this story.  To me it is unreal that I can now cross the Tombigbee River at Pickensville via a bridge and launch my boat at the Raleigh Ryan Access Area.  Yep!  That’s the same Raleigh Ryan.  Well, maybe the same person but one who had mellowed over the years. 

          Raleigh eventually tired of his nomadic way and deserted his seafaring life and downsized his vessel to a riverboat.  There was a need for someone to operate the ferry across the Tombigbee at Pickensville and Raleigh was the natural candidate to fill the position.  The year was 1951, and he stayed at this job until 1979 when the waterway bridge called for an end to ferry service at Pickensville.  He was the only person to lose his job because of the waterway.

Raleigh was given a new job by the Tenn-Tom’s service contractor on the snag boat Montgomery which is moored behind the Tom Bevill Visitor’s Center in Aliceville.  He was a popular host at this exhibit.  In 1988 he officially bade goodbye to a livelihood on the water.  After working a total of 37 years on the river that he loved, he was not ready to go home to his rocking chair!  The remainder of his life he could be seen frequently talking to park visitors, spinning tales of past adventures and sharing his vast knowledge of the  historic Tombigbee River.

         

Here Comes Raleigh

HERE COMES RALEIGH’’

                  

          First there was a solo declaration which soon increased into a chorus.  One of us Pounds’ kids would spot him as he turned the final bend in the dead end road leading to our house and loudly announce his arrival.  Soon the other five would be jumping up and down, joining in the excitement.

          “Here comes Raleigh!”

          Living at the end of a country dirt road, anyone who entered was either a visitor or they were lost.  Most visitors drove in.  Raleigh walked in, the last leg of a hitchhiking trip from Pickensville, Alabama, or from wherever he had disembarked from a ship.  He packed very lightly-a few clothes and a couple of bags of Prince Albert with rolling papers.  He knew that we would provide food but not tobacco.

          We never knew when Raleigh would come or how long he would stay-nor would we ask.  He would stay until he got ready to leave, announcing that he had a ship to catch, and he would be gone.  We would have no idea when we would see him again. 

          In 1994 Raleigh died while living in Pickensville.  Garland Pounds, Jr., and my brother, was asked to conduct the funeral service.  He began his eulogy with these words:  “Here comes Raleigh!”  I suppose he wanted to give St. Peter advance notice that Raleigh was on his way-otherwise, he might try to slip through the pearly gates unannounced. 

          As I grew up, the unannounced arrivals and departures became a way of life.  When he came, we eagerly waited with anticipation to hear tales of his latest adventures.  Raleigh would fill our young ears with exciting episodes of journeys to faraway places in a world we country kids had no hopes that we would ever see.  Walker County was our world and a trip to Birmingham was high adventure.  There was not much promise that these boundaries would be extended to any degree.  We dreamed of making the ultimate trip-to Pickensville on the Tombigbee River.  If we ever made this trip, we vowed that we would cross the river and walk to Mississippi.  This would give us bragging rights that we had been outside Alabama.  

          Did I mention that this was only a dream?

         

My new book a success

  I want to give an update on my new book,THE GARDEN OF EVE  MYSTERY OF THE CHEROKEE HIDEAWAY.  I want to thank everyone who has been instrumental in making it a success.  Many of you did not know that I have written a book and it is published (and avaliable on Amazon).  It has just come off the press and I got my first look at it Friday when my publisher brought it down to Jasper for a book signing at the public library.  It was the first printing and my publisher had already informed me that she had made a mistake on the cover as it differed slighty from the title page.  The cover reads THE SECRET OF THE CHEROKEE HIDEAWAY and the title page reads MYSTERY OF THE CHEROKEE HIDEAWAY.  This mistake resulted in the editor making a recomendation that it read one way, but the plans were for the other and consequently both ended up in print.  Mystery was the word that I wanted to use and will be used in the second printing.  My publisher only had 150 copies printed initialy (most are already gone but iI still have a few) because there are usually mistake in the first printing that needs correcting.  People who now have a copy can verify the first printed ones because of this mistake.
     I have already had three book signings.  Friday we had one at the Jasper library and I signed a lot of books.  After it was over my publisher informed me that she has had only one other author(An established writer with a large following) who signed more books at a session than what I did Friday.  On Saturday there was a book signing in Rogersville and last night(12-6-11) I was one of three authors who were invited to the Huntsville-Madison County library for a historical presentation and book signing.  It was raining and a nasty night but the trip was enjoyable nevertheless.
     I am writing a trilogy and have my second book almost half completed.  I enjoy writing and hope that others enjoy reading my work.  After retirement, there were a number of things that I had on my list to do and writing a novel was one of them.  So I did it with no intention of having it published.  I let Ricky Butch Walker, an author with a number of published books-and a friend of mine, read it and he wanted to know when i was going to have it published.  I told him that I was not.  He contridicted this and insisted that i provide a copy of it to his publisher at Bluewater Publication. When I didn't follow through after he had given me the information to contact her(Angels Broyles) he arranged a meeting with her in Tuscumbia.  I didnt have the manuscript to be in what I thought would be in an acceptable condition but we met anyway.  We talked about the book and its content and she was very interested and requested that we meet again when I had the manuscript in the order that I wanted it to be.  I agreed, but didn't follow up until Butch arranged another meeting and informed me that I had better shape up and give her the manuscript.  After our meeting and after she had time to read it she called with high praise for the book and said that she wanted to publish it--which she did. 
     I think that those who read the book will enjoy it but a word of warning.  Don't read the end first and make sure that you read it well.  There are clues scattered throughout the book that you will need to solve the mystery.  I venture to say that you will not have it completely figured out before reading through the entire thing.  If you do I would like to know about it.  And if you still have questions, dont worry.  The second book will answer some of them.  This book reveals enough to answer most of the questions generated in it but raises new questions to which you will want to know the answers.    
     Sandra Strickland, my classmate from Cordova High School and English teacher extraordinare, was kind enough to edit it for me and correct my many mistakes.  I received assistance from others to which I am extremely grateful.
      If you would like to check out the cover you can see in as advertised on www Amazon.com and go to books and Wheeler Pounds The Garden of Eve.  You do not have to buy from Amazon although it might be the easiest way to get it. If you should want to buy one I will have them and will autograph one for you ($20).  I would like to give everyone one(or discount it) but my contract will not allow that over the fifty books that they provide me to sale or give as gifts.  After the first of the year it will be available on Kindle.      
       It appears that I have just started writing another book here so wil exit for now.  Thanks for being my friend.