[Granville-Hough] 15 Apr 2009 - Mr. Jim Meadows Apple Orchard

[Trustees and Executors for Granville W. Hough]

Niece June Travis has asked me why we Hough men were so uptight about 
any forms of misbehavior.  I suppose my brief answer to her would be 
that we learned the Devil is always waiting with temptations.  Once you 
cross the line and succumb to the Devil's innocuous suggestions, it gets 
easier and easier to magnify this mistake with lies, fantasies, and 
cover-up.  One incident stands out in my memory.  It happened a few 
weeks after my father died in May, 1936.
    When I grew big enough to know the way to Concord Church and back 
home, I was delegated to take my three younger brothers each Sunday to 
Sunday School.  It was over two miles but not three, so it was a good 
walk or stroll.  We moved quite smartly on the way over and got to 
church on time and participated with our friends in the services.  
Afterwards, we took a more leisurely pace home, taking note of all the 
birds, animals, plants and any people we might meet.  Our last turn was 
in front of Mr. Jim Meadows home, and from there it was exactly one-half 
mile to our house on a straight road where you could not get lost.. 
    Each morning while my mother was getting my brothers ready for 
Sunday School, I ran up to the Mize-Magee Highway to get the Sunday 
paper.  I never got to read it as my brothers would be ready for church 
by the time I got back  home.  So, after returning from Sunday School, I 
looked forward to reading the Sunday paper.  On this particular Sunday, 
my brothers were dragging along, taking note of all the natural and 
man-made activities.  They made the turn in front of Mr. Meadow's house, 
and I knew they could get home in a few minutes.  So I took off, got 
home, and settled down to read the Sunday paper.
     What happened next to my brothers is a subject never really 
clarified.  Roland said Clifford suggested they climb the fence into Mr. 
Meadow's apple orchard, and check out his fruit.  Donald now remembers 
nothing about that part of the morning.  Clifford never admitted 
anything.  We do know that Von Magee, a black tenant who lived across 
the road from the apple orchard, saw three little white boys in the 
orchard and immediately reported what he saw to Mr. Meadows.  Mr. 
Meadows jumped into his truck and sped up to our house, where I was 
reading the paper and my mother was getting dressed in another part of 
the house.  The little white boys were nowhere in sight when Mr. Meadows 
drove by his orchard, but they were not at home.
    Mr. Meadows banged on our door somewhat forcefully and demanded to 
see Mrs. Hough.  My mother hastily completed dressing and went out on 
the front porch to see Mr. Meadows who told her that her children were 
stealing his apples.  My mother was dumbfounded, as we had more and 
better apples than did Mr. Meadows.  She turned to me for an 
explanation.  I could only say I saw everyone make the turn on the road 
in front of Mr. Meadows house, and that I had came on alone up the 
road.  I had seen no one climb a fence, in an apple orchard, and did not 
know where they went, as they had not yet arrived.  About that time they 
came in the back door and said they had come home through the fields.  
All denied any knowledge of being in an apple orchard.  They had no 
apples in their pockets.  Mr. Meadows was in perfect hearing distance of 
all the discussion, but he insisted they be punished.  .My mother  again 
asked each one  how they had  gotten off the road, and Roland finally 
confessed they had come through Mr. Meadows'  apple orchard.  I think 
each one had to apologize to Mr. Meadows for being in his apple orchard.
    What they all remembered is that Mr. Meadows made a big, big fuss 
about something they could hardly understand as a mistake.  I was 13, 
Clifford was 10, Donald was 8, and Roland was 7.  We could not remember 
Mr. Meadows  as a good neighbor, as he did other things which seemed to 
indicate he wanted drive us away and take our land.  Eventually he 
retired to Magee, sold his land, and seemed to want to be friendly.  
However, we did not ever trust him.  We wanted nothing to do with him 
and always took the pathway on the far side of the road in passing his 
house.
    In retrospect, we might consider that Jim Meadows listened to 
council from the Devil just as did small children.  However, to us he 
was the Devil, just waiting to catch us in a mistake.