GROWING UP IN HAPEVILLE AND SOUTH FULTON WITH ED MILTON
By Edwin Milton
Comments by Laurie Searle (4/30/22):
Ed Milton, now deceased, was a local historian who lived in Hapeville, Georgia. He wrote and published a book about his life growing up in Hapeville and South Fulton County, including his time living in the Cackle Corner House in the area that is now Chattahoochee Hills, Georgia. I spoke to Ed while he was still alive and told him about our efforts to document the history of Chatt Hills. He gave me permission to use the information in his book, and so I am including the section he wrote about of his time in the Friendship Community, living at Cackle Corner Farms.
By Edwin Milton
Comments by Laurie Searle (4/30/22):
Ed Milton, now deceased, was a local historian who lived in Hapeville, Georgia. He wrote and published a book about his life growing up in Hapeville and South Fulton County, including his time living in the Cackle Corner House in the area that is now Chattahoochee Hills, Georgia. I spoke to Ed while he was still alive and told him about our efforts to document the history of Chatt Hills. He gave me permission to use the information in his book, and so I am including the section he wrote about of his time in the Friendship Community, living at Cackle Corner Farms.
STILL GROWIN’ UP
-- IN SOUTH FULTON --
1930’S
-- IN SOUTH FULTON --
1930’S
FRIENDSHIP COMMUNITY
Friendship community is located about 8 miles west of Fairburn, GA. on Rivertown Road at Cochran Mill Road. Fairburn is 10 miles south of College Park on U.S. 29 (Roosevelt Highway). Old Campbell County is now South Fulton County. Friendship Community limits was more or less about a mile in all directions from the crossroads. All roads were unpaved except US 29.
It was anchored by: Friendship Baptist Church, founded in 1876 and about a quarter of a mile north of the crossroads on Cochran Mill Road. Friendship School was about one mile east of the crossroads on Rivertown Road. Homer Cook’s General Store was in the southwest corner of the crossroads. There were two different gristmills. Berry Cochran Mill was half mile from the crossroads, off Rivertown Road and located on Little Bear Creek. Owen Cochran Mill was south on Cochran Mill Road at Big Bear Creek. There was also a blacksmith shop near the crossroads. The Chattahoochee River was about three miles west of the crossroads. The ferry to Douglasville and Carrollton was open and running at this time. Farming was the principal occupation.
In the telling of this yarn, you must keep in mind we were city people. Consequently, the question I frequently asked myself is why did we located to this particular area? About the only answer to that question is that my grandfather’s people came from that part of the county, and it would be less stressful on the family finances. Now – let’s get on with it.
Friendship community is located about 8 miles west of Fairburn, GA. on Rivertown Road at Cochran Mill Road. Fairburn is 10 miles south of College Park on U.S. 29 (Roosevelt Highway). Old Campbell County is now South Fulton County. Friendship Community limits was more or less about a mile in all directions from the crossroads. All roads were unpaved except US 29.
It was anchored by: Friendship Baptist Church, founded in 1876 and about a quarter of a mile north of the crossroads on Cochran Mill Road. Friendship School was about one mile east of the crossroads on Rivertown Road. Homer Cook’s General Store was in the southwest corner of the crossroads. There were two different gristmills. Berry Cochran Mill was half mile from the crossroads, off Rivertown Road and located on Little Bear Creek. Owen Cochran Mill was south on Cochran Mill Road at Big Bear Creek. There was also a blacksmith shop near the crossroads. The Chattahoochee River was about three miles west of the crossroads. The ferry to Douglasville and Carrollton was open and running at this time. Farming was the principal occupation.
In the telling of this yarn, you must keep in mind we were city people. Consequently, the question I frequently asked myself is why did we located to this particular area? About the only answer to that question is that my grandfather’s people came from that part of the county, and it would be less stressful on the family finances. Now – let’s get on with it.
RURAL LIFE
On a cold evening on New Year’s Day in 1928, we arrived at our destination – Friendship Community. A ten-year-old boy actually looked forward to these proceedings with anticipation and a sense of adventure. The house was located in the northwest corner of the crossroads from Cook’s Store. It was a large, two story log house with large rooms and high ceilings, a tremendous fireplace that burned logs – not coal. (The house was later covered with asbestos siding). Running water turned out to be a run out to the well. And oh Yes! We had a path and an outhouse. . .and I discovered an additional use for the Sears Roebuck catalogue.
In very short order, were faced with a hat full of cultural shocks: Water – a well; electricity – oil lamps; and heat – an open fireplace (not a coal fired setup). And then not to mention the numerous airy cracks and crevices we were unfamiliar with. These were only a few things on the horizon of my new learning curve.
On a cold evening on New Year’s Day in 1928, we arrived at our destination – Friendship Community. A ten-year-old boy actually looked forward to these proceedings with anticipation and a sense of adventure. The house was located in the northwest corner of the crossroads from Cook’s Store. It was a large, two story log house with large rooms and high ceilings, a tremendous fireplace that burned logs – not coal. (The house was later covered with asbestos siding). Running water turned out to be a run out to the well. And oh Yes! We had a path and an outhouse. . .and I discovered an additional use for the Sears Roebuck catalogue.
In very short order, were faced with a hat full of cultural shocks: Water – a well; electricity – oil lamps; and heat – an open fireplace (not a coal fired setup). And then not to mention the numerous airy cracks and crevices we were unfamiliar with. These were only a few things on the horizon of my new learning curve.
If you have never lived with an OIL LAMP, in place of a light bulb you have been deprived of an adventure. Ordinarily there were at least three oil lamps in use: One for the living area, one to study with and one in the kitchen. An oil lamp gives off less light than a 25-watt bulb. At night any of these activities were in progress: Reading, studying, sewing, playing, etc. and when you went from one room to another, a lamp went with you. Oil lamps need daily servicing: Kerosene oil had to be replaced in the lamp, the wick had to be trimmed and dust and smoke in the globe had to be cleaned. There is a lot of different between this and throwing a switch. At the time, it was indeed a different world for me.
FIREPLACE: After we had settled in a few months, I was “taught” to build a fire in the large open fire place using one page of newspaper. But it entailed side effects. A pine tree falls in the forest and after several years the pulp rots. The center, or heart and knots do not rot – they are called “Lightwood” or (Lite-ard). After finding some and carrying it home, it would be splintered into small pieces. Only two or three small pieces would be necessary to start a good fire. One comment, unless you have tried to warm yourself before a wood fireplace, you’ll never know the real job of an automatic heating system. The warmth of an open wood fireplace only warms the part of the body facing the fire. No wonder it tempts the ladies to hike the back lower part of their skirt while warming themselves – facing you. I really don’t know if mother ever cooked with a wood burning stove. So, she too was filled with wonder. . . wonder how to keep house in such a situation as she faced. It definitely was not with a sense of adventure.
There are many uses for a fireplace other than heating and cooking. The FIREPLACE has for time immemorial, been the center of home life. A flickering fire with flames dancing to the tune of whatever mood you fancy can transmit your thoughts to realms unknown, it is one part of the house every individual can dream their own dreams. One treasured memory is a family’s popcorn session. A wire screen box about 6x8x4 inches, with a flap top and a long wire handle and plenty of home-grown popcorn is all you need. Everybody can take turns holding the popper above the heat and continuous shaking so the grain or kernels wouldn’t burn. There was never the problem of running out of corn; everybody ate to full capacity and the supply seemed endless. Eating and popping corn was a pleasant activity.
I don’t remember the names but there were certain parts of a hog that could be sliced about one eighth of an inch thick and attached to a wire handle. This was held over the heat in the fireplace and “cooked”. It was delicious. Hot dogs could be done the same way – but we never had any – But somehow, we never missed them.
FEATHER BED: Practically everyone remembers the feather bed of those days, soft and fluffy. Three of us boys had the back bedroom, (unheated). In the winter at bedtime, we would get up close to the fireplace and toast both sides before making a dash to the bedroom. The trick was to get in bed as quick as we could, wallow out a body place in the feather mattress, pull the cover over our heads and lie still until our body heat warmed “our place”. After you warmed up, it was nice till morning. Oliver and I assigned little brother to sleep in the middle. He generally protested that we were trying to put something over him. But you know we wouldn’t do a thing like that. I really dreaded the times I was scheduled to get up in the mornings and build a fire in the fireplace – Boy it was cold!
WELLS are the staff of life. Wells at the surface are covered for convenience and to keep living creatures out of the well, as they would contaminate the water. A large wooden box-like structure about four feet square is constructed over the well opening. The top is a large shelf leaving a 2x2 foot opening over the center of the well for the well bucket to clear. A log windlass about a foot in diameter with an iron crank driven into the log is fitted into brackets above the shelf on one side. A large 8 to 10 inch pulley is attached to fittings over the center of the well. A two gallon well bucket with a “ring at the center of the handle is tied to a rope and threaded through the pulley and secured to the windlass.
Water is drawn from the well by lowering the well bucket into the water and drawn up via the windlass, then set to rest on the ledge or shelf. There is also a dipper hanging nearby for the thirsty. It takes manpower to “draw” a large amount of water. Wells are frequently used for refrigeration in the summer. Milk and perishables are lowered into the well (not into the water) with a rope as the temperature is much cooler than the air above.
DAILY LIVING
SATURDAY NIGHT BATHS: You’ve always heard. A bath is a bath is a bath. Not necessarily – There ae baths – and then, there are baths. Our wood burning cook stove had a water reservoir attached to the fire box side. It would hold 3-4 gallons of water. Normally the hot water would be used for kitchen purposes. But not during the cool seasons of the year. On those Saturday nights a galvanized wash tub (about 30 inches across and 18 inches high) would be brought into the kitchen and placed near the stove. Well water was poured into the tub and warmed with water from the reservoir. Then, one by one, one after another, would be given instructions to scrub until clean. I do no remember the peckin’ order, but the water recycled for us four boys; baby sister got her own tub of water. You look back and say, “Gee Whiz.”
WASH DAY was a busy time. Someone came in to help Mother on wash day. The large cast iron wash pot was about 20” in diameter and 20” high with the top open. The pot was filled about 2/3 full. A good fire was built around the pot and water brought to a boil. Soap or powder was added along with the clothes. The clothes were taken out with a 4 foot stick which was shaped like a paddle. The clothes were laid on a flat surface and repeatedly struck with the paddled. (Why I don’t know). The clothes were then placed in a washtub which also had a washboard in the tub. Using soap, the clothes were scrubbed up and down the corrugated side of the board. After scrubbing they were placed in a tub of water and rinsed, then wrung out and hung on the clothes line to dry. They were secured on the line with clothes pins.
Ironing wasn’t a snap either. Most clothes of the day were cotton and had to be ironed. Since electricity wasn’t available, the only appliance available was the “flat iron.” It had to be manually heated on the stove or at a fireplace. Ironing in the cool months was heard enough; but in the summertime, it was murder. A hot fire was needed to heat the irons. One had to use at least 2 irons: one to be heating wile the other was used. Boy, and I glad I wasn’t a girl.
FIREPLACE: After we had settled in a few months, I was “taught” to build a fire in the large open fire place using one page of newspaper. But it entailed side effects. A pine tree falls in the forest and after several years the pulp rots. The center, or heart and knots do not rot – they are called “Lightwood” or (Lite-ard). After finding some and carrying it home, it would be splintered into small pieces. Only two or three small pieces would be necessary to start a good fire. One comment, unless you have tried to warm yourself before a wood fireplace, you’ll never know the real job of an automatic heating system. The warmth of an open wood fireplace only warms the part of the body facing the fire. No wonder it tempts the ladies to hike the back lower part of their skirt while warming themselves – facing you. I really don’t know if mother ever cooked with a wood burning stove. So, she too was filled with wonder. . . wonder how to keep house in such a situation as she faced. It definitely was not with a sense of adventure.
There are many uses for a fireplace other than heating and cooking. The FIREPLACE has for time immemorial, been the center of home life. A flickering fire with flames dancing to the tune of whatever mood you fancy can transmit your thoughts to realms unknown, it is one part of the house every individual can dream their own dreams. One treasured memory is a family’s popcorn session. A wire screen box about 6x8x4 inches, with a flap top and a long wire handle and plenty of home-grown popcorn is all you need. Everybody can take turns holding the popper above the heat and continuous shaking so the grain or kernels wouldn’t burn. There was never the problem of running out of corn; everybody ate to full capacity and the supply seemed endless. Eating and popping corn was a pleasant activity.
I don’t remember the names but there were certain parts of a hog that could be sliced about one eighth of an inch thick and attached to a wire handle. This was held over the heat in the fireplace and “cooked”. It was delicious. Hot dogs could be done the same way – but we never had any – But somehow, we never missed them.
FEATHER BED: Practically everyone remembers the feather bed of those days, soft and fluffy. Three of us boys had the back bedroom, (unheated). In the winter at bedtime, we would get up close to the fireplace and toast both sides before making a dash to the bedroom. The trick was to get in bed as quick as we could, wallow out a body place in the feather mattress, pull the cover over our heads and lie still until our body heat warmed “our place”. After you warmed up, it was nice till morning. Oliver and I assigned little brother to sleep in the middle. He generally protested that we were trying to put something over him. But you know we wouldn’t do a thing like that. I really dreaded the times I was scheduled to get up in the mornings and build a fire in the fireplace – Boy it was cold!
WELLS are the staff of life. Wells at the surface are covered for convenience and to keep living creatures out of the well, as they would contaminate the water. A large wooden box-like structure about four feet square is constructed over the well opening. The top is a large shelf leaving a 2x2 foot opening over the center of the well for the well bucket to clear. A log windlass about a foot in diameter with an iron crank driven into the log is fitted into brackets above the shelf on one side. A large 8 to 10 inch pulley is attached to fittings over the center of the well. A two gallon well bucket with a “ring at the center of the handle is tied to a rope and threaded through the pulley and secured to the windlass.
Water is drawn from the well by lowering the well bucket into the water and drawn up via the windlass, then set to rest on the ledge or shelf. There is also a dipper hanging nearby for the thirsty. It takes manpower to “draw” a large amount of water. Wells are frequently used for refrigeration in the summer. Milk and perishables are lowered into the well (not into the water) with a rope as the temperature is much cooler than the air above.
DAILY LIVING
SATURDAY NIGHT BATHS: You’ve always heard. A bath is a bath is a bath. Not necessarily – There ae baths – and then, there are baths. Our wood burning cook stove had a water reservoir attached to the fire box side. It would hold 3-4 gallons of water. Normally the hot water would be used for kitchen purposes. But not during the cool seasons of the year. On those Saturday nights a galvanized wash tub (about 30 inches across and 18 inches high) would be brought into the kitchen and placed near the stove. Well water was poured into the tub and warmed with water from the reservoir. Then, one by one, one after another, would be given instructions to scrub until clean. I do no remember the peckin’ order, but the water recycled for us four boys; baby sister got her own tub of water. You look back and say, “Gee Whiz.”
WASH DAY was a busy time. Someone came in to help Mother on wash day. The large cast iron wash pot was about 20” in diameter and 20” high with the top open. The pot was filled about 2/3 full. A good fire was built around the pot and water brought to a boil. Soap or powder was added along with the clothes. The clothes were taken out with a 4 foot stick which was shaped like a paddle. The clothes were laid on a flat surface and repeatedly struck with the paddled. (Why I don’t know). The clothes were then placed in a washtub which also had a washboard in the tub. Using soap, the clothes were scrubbed up and down the corrugated side of the board. After scrubbing they were placed in a tub of water and rinsed, then wrung out and hung on the clothes line to dry. They were secured on the line with clothes pins.
Ironing wasn’t a snap either. Most clothes of the day were cotton and had to be ironed. Since electricity wasn’t available, the only appliance available was the “flat iron.” It had to be manually heated on the stove or at a fireplace. Ironing in the cool months was heard enough; but in the summertime, it was murder. A hot fire was needed to heat the irons. One had to use at least 2 irons: one to be heating wile the other was used. Boy, and I glad I wasn’t a girl.
SCHOOL: We were immediately enrolled in the Friendship school. The school was located about a mile north of the crossroads on Rivertown Road. The building was a clapboard, one room wooden building, about 15 by 30 feet. Everyone walked to school or caught a ride. The teacher, Miss Eunice Eidson, was pleasant and helpful. She boarded at one of the student homes. There were about 12-15 students in graded one through seven. Different grades sat in groups in the room. The teacher gave each group specific instructions on studying as she rotated between the groups. The room had a large pot-bellied wood stove for heating. I think it had a well – and if not, the school used a spring nearby – and a path.
Each person brought their own lunch. A normal lunch was sausage and biscuit or jam, a baked sweet potato, and other items not requiring refrigeration. At times we carried biscuit and syrup or honey. A hole was punched in the biscuit with a finger and filled with syrup and voila! You had a delicious biscuit and syrup. There was no such thing as “loaf bread”; it was not a necessity.
During recess we played the usual games: marbles, skip rope, ball etc. I had not forgotten my favorite. . . fisticuffs. So, when the opportunity presented itself, I jumped at the chance. It happened during recess, the kid and I were really involved. Suddenly he reached down and picked up a short piece of tree limb and struck me over the head with it. This was the surprise of my life as I had always considered all fistfights would be fought fair and square with fists. The teacher stopped the fight and I just do not remember our punishment. The teacher’s favorite punishment would be keeping the kid after school and let him write a sentence 100 times. Such as: I will not fight at school anymore. Anyway, the fight taught me something, I was not so anxious to become involved in a fight with my new friends.
Starting with the 1929 school year, Campbell County closed Friendship School and merged it with Fairburn School. Students were bussed to school. Children were picked up at designated stops. There is no language suitable to adequately describe our first bus. Simple, it was a Model “T” pick up truck. A frame was built for the sides and top and covered with canvas. The rear was a canvas flap that could be opened to board or leave the buss. Seats were a board built on to each side of the pickup body. In the wintertime, a bucket containing live charcoal was placed in the “bus” to furnish some heat. Mr. John Ray was our first driver and he lived on Cochran Mill Road near Palmetto.
The second (1930) bus was of classic proportions. Basically, the vehicle was a model “T” flat bed truck. A “room” was built on the flat bed with a door and steps in the rear for boarding. This bus lasted two years also. In the wintertime, the bus had a difficult time maneuvering the dirt roads which had turned to deep muddy ruts on hills. There were a number of times the bus could not climb the hill within the city limits of Fairburn. We had to retreat back down the hill, turn around somehow and go back home.
About 1930, the Fairburn two-story wooden schoolhouse was demolished and replaced with a “modern” one-story brick building – which still remains standing. During construction, classes were scattered all over Fairburn, almost any room that could accommodate a class. One thing you had to become accustomed to: if you lived a distance from the school and road a bus, your extra activities at school were severely limited. No one is going to drive 16 miles to pick up a student for a school activity. We recognized that problem and did not question it. Anyway, at that time we didn’t have a car.
Each person brought their own lunch. A normal lunch was sausage and biscuit or jam, a baked sweet potato, and other items not requiring refrigeration. At times we carried biscuit and syrup or honey. A hole was punched in the biscuit with a finger and filled with syrup and voila! You had a delicious biscuit and syrup. There was no such thing as “loaf bread”; it was not a necessity.
During recess we played the usual games: marbles, skip rope, ball etc. I had not forgotten my favorite. . . fisticuffs. So, when the opportunity presented itself, I jumped at the chance. It happened during recess, the kid and I were really involved. Suddenly he reached down and picked up a short piece of tree limb and struck me over the head with it. This was the surprise of my life as I had always considered all fistfights would be fought fair and square with fists. The teacher stopped the fight and I just do not remember our punishment. The teacher’s favorite punishment would be keeping the kid after school and let him write a sentence 100 times. Such as: I will not fight at school anymore. Anyway, the fight taught me something, I was not so anxious to become involved in a fight with my new friends.
Starting with the 1929 school year, Campbell County closed Friendship School and merged it with Fairburn School. Students were bussed to school. Children were picked up at designated stops. There is no language suitable to adequately describe our first bus. Simple, it was a Model “T” pick up truck. A frame was built for the sides and top and covered with canvas. The rear was a canvas flap that could be opened to board or leave the buss. Seats were a board built on to each side of the pickup body. In the wintertime, a bucket containing live charcoal was placed in the “bus” to furnish some heat. Mr. John Ray was our first driver and he lived on Cochran Mill Road near Palmetto.
The second (1930) bus was of classic proportions. Basically, the vehicle was a model “T” flat bed truck. A “room” was built on the flat bed with a door and steps in the rear for boarding. This bus lasted two years also. In the wintertime, the bus had a difficult time maneuvering the dirt roads which had turned to deep muddy ruts on hills. There were a number of times the bus could not climb the hill within the city limits of Fairburn. We had to retreat back down the hill, turn around somehow and go back home.
About 1930, the Fairburn two-story wooden schoolhouse was demolished and replaced with a “modern” one-story brick building – which still remains standing. During construction, classes were scattered all over Fairburn, almost any room that could accommodate a class. One thing you had to become accustomed to: if you lived a distance from the school and road a bus, your extra activities at school were severely limited. No one is going to drive 16 miles to pick up a student for a school activity. We recognized that problem and did not question it. Anyway, at that time we didn’t have a car.
Comments by Laurie Searle:
Ed Milton goes on to say that his family moved annually, trying to find a “comfortable home. Their second house was on a side road, their third house was on Rivertown Road about 1 ½ mile from the crossroads.
Ed Milton’s book is quite enjoyable, and while it seems to be out of print, I think there may be a copy at the Old Campbell County Historical Society, 549 Roosevelt Highway, Palmetto, Georgia 30268. The website is https://oldcampbellcounty.com.
Ed Milton goes on to say that his family moved annually, trying to find a “comfortable home. Their second house was on a side road, their third house was on Rivertown Road about 1 ½ mile from the crossroads.
Ed Milton’s book is quite enjoyable, and while it seems to be out of print, I think there may be a copy at the Old Campbell County Historical Society, 549 Roosevelt Highway, Palmetto, Georgia 30268. The website is https://oldcampbellcounty.com.