Mr. Wagner

Growing up on a Granville County farm with my mom, dad and brother, we raised most of our food with a big garden, one cow, two hogs and 50 chickens. On Saturdays my mom would make hot rolls and “pick” a chicken and soak it in salty water. Early Sunday morning, before we attended church, Mom fried the chicken and cooked vegetables for our lunch.

We enjoyed seeing our neighbors at Amis Chapel Baptist Church. Revival time was special. Dad would travel to Oxford to get the block of ice in a wooden bucket with a spigot. I can still taste the refreshing cup of ice water between services.

Real excitement occurred when REA (Piedmont Electric) put up poles and electric wires. Mr. Wagner, the man who wired our houses, boarded with us. He enjoyed our home-grown food, especially Mom’s mashed potatoes and biscuits. When my four girlfriends spent the night, our bedroom was upstairs over Mr. Wagner’s room. You can imagine how we laughed, giggled and talked. The next morning Mr. Wagner said, “By golly, I thought the ceiling was coming down on me!”

Mr. Wagner stayed with us long enough for Mom to save money for a GE refrigerator. No longer did we cool our milk in the spring. We had ice anytime. Thank you for our electricity!

Geraldine Compton, Oxford, Piedmont EMC