Reminiscences of ETTA FOSTER LANDERS at age 90

I have been trying to think of some old times long ago as I remember up to 1920. As I grew up there are lots of things that we have now that we didn't know about then. I believe we had a more peaceful life and were happier in those days. We did not have cars, electric lights, hot water of screens for windows and doors. We had to cook on a wood burning stove, and heat the house with a wood burning fireplace. The toilet was located outside the house. On wash days we had to build a fire around a big iron pot to heat water. We would put the water in a wash tub to handwash the clothes and scrub the clothes on a washboard. Then we would put the clothes into the iron pot to boil for awhile. From the pot, we would take the clothes and put them through a rinse. This required passing the clothes through three different tubs of rinse water. We used homemade soap and starch. The clothes would be hung on clothes lines to dry. In the winter the clothes would become stiff from the water in- ~the clothes as it froze. After the clothes dried, we would sprinkle them so they would be damp when we ironed. Irons were heated in the fireplace winter and summer. We would use the cookstove if space was available and there was a fire in the stove. This work did not seem so hard at that time. If we got sick and needed a doctor, we would ride in the buggy about five miles to visit his office. The cost was $3.00 for a visit there. If a person was too sick to go to the doctor~s office, someone would go to get the doctor to visit the person at home. The cost for a house visit was $5.00 Children were all born at home. The doctor would come to the house and deliver the babyo The charge for this was $10.00.

We grew all the food we had to eat on the farm. This included all kinds of vegetables. We raised our own hogs and chickens. We also had cows to keep us in milk and butter. On Sunday, we always went to church. We lived close enough to walk. We also walked to Rest School which was close enough to walk to. It was a one room schoolhouse. Our lunch consisted of a biscuit with meat or a baked sweet potato. If we needed a tablet or pencil, we would sometimes stop at Busbin's Store and trade him eggs for those items. Six eggs would buy a tablet and pencil. The school was heated with a pot bellied stove. We always opened the school day with a prayer. Before we went to school, we had hot buttered biscuits and syrup for breakfast. For dinner we had vegetables, crackling corn bread. There was usually enough vegetables left from dinner for supper. We had more hot bread for supper. We had baked sweet potatoes in season. It was my job to roast the coffee. We bought green coffee from the store. I put it in a bread pan and roasted it in the oven. Daddy

always made the coffee. He would take the roasted coffee beans and put them in the grinder which was nailed to the wall. He would then take the ground coffee, put it in a pot and boil it in water on the stove. He only made coffee for breakfast. The children were not allowed to drink it. We were told it wasn't good for us. Until this day I have never drank coffee. Sometimes I now drink a cup of decaffeinated coffee with the children. My kinds and grandchildren drink lots of coffee. My grandparents drank coffee. I use to love to visit with them. Grandma was a very large woman. She would want me to stay a few days at a time with her so I could fetch her things so she wouldn't have to get up from her chair. Grandma knitted a lot of socks, lace, gloves and other things. Grandpa would bring home a bundle of cotton from the gin. Grandma had a spinning wheel. She would card the cotton and spin it into thread, wind it on a big spool, then knit things My Grandpa raised lots of different fruits and berries.
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You (J.P.) didn't know our parents when they were young. Daddy was very strict and patient with us. I don't ever remember hearing him use a bad word.:or heard of his drinking alcohol. Mother was a kind loving mother to have so many kids. She had to scold us and sometimes switch us. Daddy had a razor strap, and if any of my nine brothers needed it, they would get it. Mother had a good strong voice. When me and my brothers were working in the fields, we could hear her singing. Her favorite songs were, "What a Friend we Have in Jesus," and "When the Roll is Called Up Yonder I'll Be There" as well as other songs. My brothers had a swimming hole on Whitewater Creek about one mile away. They said they could hear her calling them home. During those years I worked in the fields with the boys. Sometimes Daddy would tell ~e to stay in the house and help Mother. Daddy had a low voice and one needed to listen closely to hear him in a noisy room. Mother breast fed all of us. She had a rocking chair that she used when she was feeding us. I never knew until I was 12 or 13 years old about sex. I was told not to let a man or boy put their hands on me. I would see my Mama getting fat and see scraps of material where she had been sewing. I would begun to wonder what was going on. Then one morning I would wake up and there would be a new baby in the house - usually a boy. You (J.P.) was the last one before I left home and they let me name you (Etta named Joe or J.p. after one of her earlier sweethearts). I loved all the children and liked to help take care of them. I really miss all of them who are gone. They left so young.

I have had a good life. God has been so good to me. I had a good husband and he worked so hard. We wanted a home for our old age. It is a small place. I prayed we would not have to move in with any of our children or become dependent upon them. God has answered our prayers. It has been 72 years since Emmett and I got married. We had our 60th anniversary. We had 10 children, 29 grandchildren, 40 great grandchildren and 9 great-great grandchildren - and maybe more. Thank God for his love. I am still ablg to take care of my needs. As for feeding babies, I didn't know until mine came along that I wouldn't be able to breast feed my children. I started them on cow's milk, and it didn't suit them. I had lots of trouble finding the right food. I almost lost the first one. From there on I used sweetened Eagle Brand Condensed Milk with some other things to help. After that we had no trouble and they grew up healthy. They are still good kids, with God's help. I don't recall things too well, so I am just writing when thoughts come to me. I remember when I was about 12 years old when one baby was born. I bathed the babies. Mother didn't have enough milk for 2 or 3 days, so I fed them bread soaked in cow's milk. I loved them so much. I don't remember my Daddy ever hitting me but one time. Arthur and I were very close together. We were picking cotton and decided to throw some green cotton bolls. We were behind Daddy, and he said to stop throwing the cotton bolls. We didn't stop at once and nearly hit him with one. He got a limb off a cotton stalk and thrashed us a little. He never said a word~ We quit. I used to help with the milking of the cows and churning the milk. No matter what else was going on around the house, I had to help with the milking. We moved to Griffin in 1918. You (J.P.) was just a baby (3 yrs. old). After that I couldn't keep track of things at home. Our first car had no glass door that closed off the car (Dodge Touring car). One time we got caught out in a rain storm and really got wet. Ruby came to live with us in the early 1920's so she could work in Griffin. She stayed with us until she married in December 23, 1926. Things in those days seemed very hard compared to the way we live today. We enjoyed life because we didn't know about this kind of life. We were raised to go to church.I was saved on June 6, 1928 I have called upon God many times but he has never failed me. We now live about 3 blocks from a Church of God, and I attend there. We just have people from our neighborhood, and its kind of like a family reunion. We have a very good pastor. You can see I don't remember much and don't write very well. I thank God for his great love and for keeping me well enough to take care of my needs.

Guess I will close now. Hope you can read and understand this letter. Thank you for all you have been able to find out about the family and share with us. (written by Etta Landers Feb. 3, 1988, in a letter to Joe Foster, brother)