Here is the photo and the note Jim sent:
"Hey Cousins, Here is a pic that I did not know that I had until today. You all may already seen or have it. It was pasted in an old torn apart album. Written underneath was Baucoms at school. I scanned it with a lot of resolution and it enlarges nicely. The film was processed 10-15 1931 at Lollars. The names are written on the back with numbers that were written on the print. Most of the numbers are visible when the pic is blown up. I have added each one's age below for clarification. Starting with the big guy who is not identified, [hat with ears] and going clockwise is Katherine, age 14 in the checkered whatever. Next to her is a girl identified as Jesse's sweetheart. Peeking out from behind her [Jesse's sweetheart] is 6 years old Ruby Lee Baucom. Smack dab in the middle is 8 years old Charles with a bunch of missing teeth, then behind Ruby is a friend of Bea's, at the top the elder statesman of the group is 18 year old Jesse, next, 16 year old Bea is behind Charles. The person between Bea and the big guy is listed as Catherine's sweetheart who at first I thought was a girl but later appeared to be a curly headed boy. Missing is 10 years old Margie who I believe was made to stay home and help her mother. Neither James nor Comer were allowed to go to school beyond 12 or so as Doc required them to work to help support the family. [Emphasis mine.]"
And I thought about that last line, Neither James nor Comer were allowed to go to school beyond 12 or so as Doc required them to work to help support the family.
After all these years of knowing that fact, for some reason it hit me in a new way. "Neither James nor Comer were allowed to go to school beyond 12 or so as Doc required them to work to help support the family."
That's something I've known as long as I've known almost anything. My grandfather, Comer Baucom, was forced to quite school in the 4th grade to help support his family. He was born in 1908. He was 10 years old when he was in the 4th grade. It was 1918. And it wasn't until 1938 that minimum ages of employment and hours of work for children are regulated by federal law. In 1925, Comer's younger brother Ben Lee Baucom was killed in downtown Birmingham while delivering telegrams for Western Union. He was 15 years old and holding on the back of a truck to make better time on his bicycle when the truck hit a bump. Ben Lee and his bike went under the wheel.
(I think Aunt Ruby was born right around this time. I remember her telling me that they thought she was too tiny to live and a neighbor lady put her in a box in a slightly warm over to bring her body temperature up.)
And the worse part of it all was the fact that Doc Baucom had a job, but he gambled, drank and spent his money on the girlie show instead of supporting his family. Papaw said many a time that if his mother's brothers had not brought food over, they would have starved.
I remember when I was in my late 20's, visiting in Harpersville (where Lessie and Comer retired after living and working in Birmingham, AL most of their lives,) and Aunt Ruby brought Aunt Bea up for a visit with Comer and Lessie. Someone mentioned their father, Estell Baucom and it was truly all over except the shouting! Comer, Bea and Ruby went at it over the memory of their father.
After all these years of knowing that fact, for some reason it hit me in a new way. "Neither James nor Comer were allowed to go to school beyond 12 or so as Doc required them to work to help support the family."
That's something I've known as long as I've known almost anything. My grandfather, Comer Baucom, was forced to quite school in the 4th grade to help support his family. He was born in 1908. He was 10 years old when he was in the 4th grade. It was 1918. And it wasn't until 1938 that minimum ages of employment and hours of work for children are regulated by federal law. In 1925, Comer's younger brother Ben Lee Baucom was killed in downtown Birmingham while delivering telegrams for Western Union. He was 15 years old and holding on the back of a truck to make better time on his bicycle when the truck hit a bump. Ben Lee and his bike went under the wheel.
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| Ben Lee Baucom's Grave - Forest Hill Cemetery, Birmingham, AL |
(I think Aunt Ruby was born right around this time. I remember her telling me that they thought she was too tiny to live and a neighbor lady put her in a box in a slightly warm over to bring her body temperature up.)
And the worse part of it all was the fact that Doc Baucom had a job, but he gambled, drank and spent his money on the girlie show instead of supporting his family. Papaw said many a time that if his mother's brothers had not brought food over, they would have starved.
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| Estell Doc Baucom in center holding stick |
I remember when I was in my late 20's, visiting in Harpersville (where Lessie and Comer retired after living and working in Birmingham, AL most of their lives,) and Aunt Ruby brought Aunt Bea up for a visit with Comer and Lessie. Someone mentioned their father, Estell Baucom and it was truly all over except the shouting! Comer, Bea and Ruby went at it over the memory of their father.
They were pretty evenly split. Aunt Ruby was for her dad, Papaw was against him, and I can't remember where Aunt Beatrice stood, but she was in the middle of giving her opinion at top decibels also. I do remember being amazed that ANYONE was yelling at Papaw, as he was usually the yell-er instead of the yell-ee.
Nanny just ushered me outside to sit on the swing until they calmed down. It blew over pretty fast and then we all enjoyed a good meal. Nanny said it was always that way when the subject of their dad came up.
They all had different memories, so each person felt like they were arguing from a position of truth. The older siblings saw their dad in one light, the younger siblings saw him in another light.
I was feeling melancholy for a while today, thinking about all of that. And I was ashamed
of myself for the times in my youth when I thought it was funny that Papaw would get some mad when anyone brought up his father. Mad might not even be the right word. Furious would be better. But sometimes he would even cry. But back then I didn't have any comprehension of the magnitude of what he suffered through as a kid.
I have a different perspective now. It isn't funny to me at all to think about that anger and how it hurt Papaw for so many years.
And I think about how smart Papaw was, how he was so trusted and respected at his workplace and was elected treasurer by the union there year after year after year. How he could hold his own in any conversation with anyone.
Being forced to drop out of school by his father in the 4th grade didn't stop him from working hard and earning a living and retirement for his own family. He asked no man on earth to fill his needs. And he was extremely generous. You never left his home without him giving you a bag full of groceries from his pantry. (I'd be remiss if I didn't note that said bag always included toilet paper. Always.)
Then I read my cousin Aaron's Facebook comment. "Comer loved to stop at roadside picnic tables."
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| Comer Baucom b. 1908, Jesse Baucom b. 1913, Beatrice Baucom Smith b. 1915, Charles Baucom b. 1923, Ruby Baucom Rosato b. 1925 |
I was feeling melancholy for a while today, thinking about all of that. And I was ashamed
of myself for the times in my youth when I thought it was funny that Papaw would get some mad when anyone brought up his father. Mad might not even be the right word. Furious would be better. But sometimes he would even cry. But back then I didn't have any comprehension of the magnitude of what he suffered through as a kid.
I have a different perspective now. It isn't funny to me at all to think about that anger and how it hurt Papaw for so many years.
And I think about how smart Papaw was, how he was so trusted and respected at his workplace and was elected treasurer by the union there year after year after year. How he could hold his own in any conversation with anyone.
Being forced to drop out of school by his father in the 4th grade didn't stop him from working hard and earning a living and retirement for his own family. He asked no man on earth to fill his needs. And he was extremely generous. You never left his home without him giving you a bag full of groceries from his pantry. (I'd be remiss if I didn't note that said bag always included toilet paper. Always.)
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| Comer Eugene Baucom at home in West End. Their home was the former Lula Foster Home for Orphans. |
And it reminded me of the how Papaw found a semblance of happiness and grace in the outdoors and doing very simple things like taking his family and assorted grandchildren on picnics and trips. And I was so glad of that memory.
If you were traveling somewhere with Nanny and Papaw and he saw one of those cement roadside picnic tables, it was just about guaranteed that he was going to tell Lessie to pull over. And out would come the stash of potted meat and crackers and you thought you were living large, washing it all down with Nannie's sweet tea in a Tupperware tumbler.
A few years ago I took my son Cam and some of his friends on an impromptu trip to Oak Mountain. I stopped at Dollar General to get some crackers, potted meat and Vienna Sausages. We finished our hiking and exploring and made our way to one of those cement picnic tables over by the marina. I pulled out our lunch and one of Cam's friends said, "Potted Meat? What's that? I've never heard of that."
I tried to explain potted meat, but the more I talked, the more I suddenly realized that there just isn't any explaining potted meat. “Try it,” I told the kid. “If you don’t like it, that’s ok.”
He liked it.
I’ll finish with a few good memories: if you were on a picnic with Nanny and Papaw, your cousins running everywhere stretching their legs, wind whipping your hair, you liked potted meat. And were glad to have it.
The Vienna Sausages too.
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