*Barbara Roebuck lived near the Pinkney community about three miles out of Union when she was a little girl. Her family could hear the Buckwalter Lumber Mill whistle at their home. One morning, they heard the whistle begin blowing non-stop. The family stood on their front porch for a long while wondering why it was blowing constantly at an odd time of day. It alarmed them, but they had no way of knowing why it was sounding.
As it happened on that same day, her dad was taking her uncle Ned Chamblee, who had been drafted into the Navy, to Meridian to catch the train for his service. When the two men arrived in Meridian, people were marching in the streets. Someone had a #3 washtub using it as a drum. Word had arrived that World War II had ended, and the people were celebrating in the streets. Only when her dad returned home that afternoon did Barbara and her family find out that the Buckwalter whistle had been blowing to announce to Union the end of the war.
As Barbara reflected on the war, she recalled the story of the contributions of the Choctaws and other Tribal Nations for the use of their difficult, unwritten native languages in World War II. Using their languages, they enabled the United States soldiers to freely communicate plans with each other during combat operations because the enemy could not interpret their unbreakable code.
Barbara’s memory then spurred my research on the role of these tribes. The Navajo Code Talkers translated English messages into their native language and then relayed them to another tribal member to pass on. The Talkers sent coded messages about troop movements, enemy positions, and other critical information in this and other wars. These codes proved to be vastly important in the war. In fact, the original twenty-nine World War II Navajo Code Talkers received the Congressional Gold Medal, and approximately 300 subsequent code talkers received the Congressional Silver Medal for their role in the war effort.
Barbara also recalled another important group in World War II: the Tuskegee Airmen, a group of African-American military pilots who fought in the war. They were trained at Tuskegee Institute in Alabama and made a great contribution to the war effort.
*Ralph Germany remembers that Hugh Matthews had a warehouse on Front Street adjoining the railroad tracks. Before the Richardsons had Union Milling Co., Hugh had chicken feed shipped in by train. Ralph and James Amos worked for Hugh unloading 100-pound boxes of chicken feed from the train over a metal ramp into the warehouse for storage.
He also remembers races along the strip in Butts’ Bottom when he was a teenager. Most boys would race in their cars; Ralph took his horse to race. When the “start” signal was sounded, the car racer would get into his car, crank it, and begin the race. At the same “start” signal, Ralph, already on his horse, would also begin the race. They raced from one bridge to the other.
*Ralph Staton called to identify the man looking at a pea and bean sheller in front of Mike Boone’s Feed and Seed store in a previous article as his dad, Clyde Staton. Mr. Staton, himself a carpenter in Union for many years, was a descendent of Norfleet Staton, builder of Boler’s Inn.
Robert and I went on a day trip up the Natchez Trace to French Camp with our friends Benny and Mary Ware a few weeks ago. While on the road, we began to recall old sayings or old wives’ tales. For example, ‘If it rains before seven, it will quit before eleven.’ Another version of that saying was ‘If it thunders before seven, it will rain before eleven.’
Most everyone in our generation has heard ‘If it thunders in February, it will frost in April.’ Many people today listen for that February thunder and faithfully mark it on the calendar. It proves true more often than not. Once when I was teaching, I repeated that saying to my students when we were in the midst of a February thunderstorm. One of my students laughed, so I marked the date on the board. For two months we waited, and the students made jokes. However, when the date in April arrived and frost was seen on the rooftops, those doubting students became believers of that old wives’ tale.
Everyone thinks about Friday 13th as unlucky. Most people will at least think twice if a black cat runs in front of them. Has breaking a mirror ever bought you seven years of bad luck? Do bad things really come in threes? Or do you pick up a heads-up penny for good luck, yet leave it alone if it’s tails- up? Are you afraid to open an umbrella in the house? Do you avoid walking under a ladder? Have you ever owned a rabbit’s foot or hunted a four-leaf clover or hung a horseshoe over your door? Do we really believe in luck?
Do you eat an apple a day to keep the doctor away? Has touching a frog ever given you warts? Have you ever not pulled a grey hair for fear that two would grow in its place, or refused to crack your knuckles because it might cause arthritis? Of course, we remember an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
One last piece of advice is offered: Don’t drive faster than your guardian angel can fly!
These and many more sayings that you can recall are familiar to our generation, and recalling them on a road trip can always provide added entertainment.
If you have memories of Union or other surrounding areas, contact Teresa Blount at teresablount26@yahoo.com or 601-774-5564.
