Way Back When

by Declan Freswick

To learn about living in the past, talk to one of your grandfathers. I learned how much more difficult life was back in those times from Ashley Derrell Blackburn, my grandfather who was born on July 28, 1938 to a large family on a farm. The economic struggle of the present relate to the examples of life then.

Ashley Blackburn was born into a family with six brothers and two sisters. His family members were sharecroppers to their landlord. As the landlord furnished the land and fertilizer, his family tended the land, raised the crops, harvested them, and sold the crops. He explained, “The landlord would take about half the profit, most of the time he would screw us over, but that’s the way things go.” The tractors they had back then were actually mules and plows. The mules were named Red, Pea Wee, and Chim Charlie. He told me every day they worked in the fields from the earliest they could start until the sun went down, even during school days.

He explained a typical day as a child going to school. “We would walk half a mile to catch the bus.” After school was out, the children went straight home to work in the field. Going to school was valued during that time for many reasons. They were happy spending time in school rather than working hard in the field. Another reason schooling was valued was only families of the wealthy had the chance to be educated. This made me cherish the fact it is so easy for me to further my education.

Delicious meals were also valued in that time. “I loved when we got the chance to eat some good fried chicken,” my grandfather replied when asked about his favorite meal as a child. A dish like that was prepared only once a month due to the shortage of income. He told me that the majority of the meals were fish because of how cheap it was. A lot of my knowledge of cooking has come from my grandfather over time. During the interview, I started imagining the times when I was with him in the kitchen standing on a step stool, or sometimes a chair, trying to learn how to cook.

I proceeded to talk about my last topic, which was the evolution of the construction business. He started in the business when he was only twelve years old. His father bought a motor grader, a large machine used to level loose land, and he learned to operate it shortly after. “Well, it started with a mule, then a tractor, then the motor grader. Now there’s lots of different equipment they use.” He explained when asked how the equipment has changed over time. He started in construction as a laborer. He called that job a “ditch digger,” referring to the amount of time he would spend with a shovel in hand. After about thirty years of hard labor, he retired as vice president of Wellons Construction Company.

One can absorb a lot of information about the past easily by listening to someone who has lived it. This information is not only entertaining, but it is knowledgeable as well. From this interview, I started to value my life a lot more from realizing how much easier it is now than of the past. I hope this story has the same effect to others who read it.

Work Cited

Blackburn, Ashley Derrell. Personal interview. 1 Feb. 2011.

Note: Declan Freswick, who graduated from St. Pauls High School in Robeson County in 2010, is majoring in turfgrass management at Sandhills Community College.