Marvin Pate celebrates 94 th
Published
October 10, 2002 9:26 PM CDT
We wish a happy 94th birthday to
Marvin Pate of the Lupton community. He was born to James W. and
Martha McCullar Pate on October 12, 1908. The family lived at Poplar
Springs in Winston County. When he was two, his mother passed away
leaving his father with six children to rear. Later, his father
remarried Mattie Elliott and four more children were born. Marvin
never knew his birth mother, but he was blessed with a stepmother
who was always dear to his heart. Today, Marvin and sister, Eula
Piper, are the sole survivors of the family. The Pates are noted for
their longevity. James W. lived to 87, Mattie, lived to 101, two
brothers reached 94 and the other one 97.
Marvin attended Poplar Springs School, which was a one-room
school at that time. One teacher taught grades 1-6. After school, he
worked in the fields helping the family make a living. Not many
children of that era were able to go to high school. Of necessity,
they quit school to find work to survive.
At age 16, Marvin's grandfather John Newton Pate passed away. He
left his farm near Fall City to his wife Silvanie Raines Pate and
his two daughters, Talitha and Mary. Since farming was their means
of survival, Marvin joined them for two years and helped raise corn,
cotton, hay, sugar cane, as well as large gardens and
livestock/poultry. The workdays were long ones from daylight to
dark. Sunday was the only day of rest as they attended church.
Neighbors and friends helped them when slaughtering hogs or bringing
in the crops.
Marvin married Nellie Curtis, daughter of Joel and Malinda
Curtis, of Black Pond. Theirs was a marriage "made in heaven" and
lasted 66 years. They were blessed with a daughter, Louise, in
1934.
After marriage, Marvin was employed by Milford Curtis. He hauled
lumber from his sawmill in Double Springs to Bob Carr Lumber Co. in
Jasper. The truck did not have a cab for protection from the
weather. It had just seats and windshield and during rainstorms, you
could hardly see the road. In freezing weather, conditions got
rough. The winters were more severe in the 1930's. The ground would
freeze and spew up and snow was common.
Our vehicles had to be protected so the radiator and engine block
had to be drained every night. During travel, radiators had to be
partially covered to prevent freezing. At 5 a.m. in the morning, ice
had to be broken to get water to fill the radiator. Mule and wagon
was the principle form of travel in Walker and Winston Counties in
those days. The roads were dirt or gravel and always contained large
mud holes in rainy weather.
A workday consisted of 12-14 hours daily. Nellie would arise at 4
a.m. to prepare breakfast after the fires were started in the wood
stoves. One was for cooking, the other for heating.
She made biscuits, salt pork (sow belly), redeye gravy, coffee,
sorghum syrup, and butter. She packed a dinner pail for lunch with
fried eggs, salt pork or sausage in biscuits. With this, butter and
syrup would be mixed in a small jar. (Cholesterol was not a word to
us and we didn't worry about what it did to our health.) Our dinners
and suppers consisted mostly of vegetables. Our meals would not be
complete without cornbread and buttermilk. On rare occasions when a
hen would stop laying, we would have chicken and dumplings. That is
a dish Nellie was known for in the community.
Marvin's next job was driving a truck for Joseph (Jody) Lee of
Thach. His brother, Marshall, was already working for Mr. Lee, who
was highly respected in the community. He was praised for using
local men on his farm and sawmill.
Marvin could not serve in the Armed Forces during WWII due to
personal injuries. He contributed to the war effort by working with
DuPont Powder Company in Childersburg, Alabama, manufacturing
gunpowder for the Department of Defense.
After the war, Marvin worked at the sawmills and farming until he
and Nellie bought land and built a house at Crossroads near Redmill.
They moved from Winston County and later began another career. His
brother, John, was working with Bankhead Coal Company and he joined
the crew as oiler on the shovel that moved the earth from the seam
of coal. He then became a bulldozer operator for the company
building roads for the coal trucks and removing ground surface. He
stayed on this job until retirement in 1974.
Nellie started her own business sewing and installing draperies
throughout the area after Marvin's retirement. They decided to sell
the house at Crossroads and build a new home next to daughter Louise
Pate Cook on the Lupton Road. This was a wise decision for all
concerned. Nellie became ill and died two years after moving. Louise
was her caregiver until she passed away.
Marvin lives there in the house and under Louise's watchful eyes,
continues to garden, keep house, and do some cooking. His turnip
greens are growing there now. He enjoys three grandchildren: Randy
and Tommy Cook, and Nancy Cook Edgil; four great-grandchildren, Jim
Cook, Brittany Cook, Lindsey Gann and Chad Edgil; and three
step-great-grandchild, Josh, Jamie and Kevin.
He attends Edgil Grove Southern Baptist Church and often speaks
of the congregation as his second family. They supported him as he
made the transition following the death of his soul mate of 66
years. He still reminisces about the "Good Ole Days," but does not
look at the past as being a time of just struggle and hard times. He
remembers best the good things of those years. Yes, Marvin Pate has
seen life from mule and wagon to televisions and computers. His life
has almost spanned the entire mechanical and electronic revolution.
(Information provided by nephew, James "Jim" Pate of San Antonio,
Texas.)
We add our congratulations and HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Mr. Marvin
Pate.
(R.B.)
Ruth Baker is a retired school teacher, an author and
historian, living in Townley, . Her column appears in the Daily
Mountain Eagle on Friday. You can e-mail her at
hrbaker@sonet.net.
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