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MEMORIES OF CACKLE CORNER FARMS
– AS TOLD BY SUSAN GOODE CHAFIN Building the Chicken Houses John remembers helping our daddy (he was known by his children and grandchildren as “Pop”) build some of the chicken houses. Since there were many large cedar trees on the property, they were cut to make the corner posts of the chicken house. John remembers “skinning” the bark off the cedar trees and Pop would dip them in a vat of creosote to preserve the wood. After the wood was cured, holes would be dug by hand, using post hole diggers. John, David, and Harry would take turns digging the holes. Additional cedar poles were used on the roof and then covered with sheets of tin. Boards were nailed onto side of the frame about 3 feet up and then chicken wire was nailed on the remaining top half of the house to allow for air to flow through to the hens. In the winter, plastic sheeting was nailed over the chicken wire to keep out the cold wind and protect the hens. |
This ariel view of Cackle Corner Farms shows the white farm house and one of the chicken houses H.K. built with the help of his sons. Across the street on neighbors’ property is a barn and Caldwell's Store, which still stand today.
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Digging a Well
Water was critical to the health of the hens. They came first when water was concerned. With only a hand dug well to provide water for all of the chickens and a house full of folks, baths were sparse. There would be just enough water to cover the bottom of the tub for the bath. No bubble baths allowed!
One year, the well dried up and there was no water. With the family’s livelihood in danger, a new well had to be dug quickly! The boys all pitched in and began digging the hole for the new well. Virginia married Jimmy Turner in 1962, so Jimmy was like another brother. He always helped out when it was needed. Jimmy, David, Harry, John and Allen began digging with shovels. The digging went on into the night. I can remember helping hold the lantern over the hole so that whoever was down there could see to dig. A rope was tied to the handle of a bucket and lowered into the hole with whoever was digging so that they could fill it with dirt. When it was full, the bucket was raised and emptied and lowered into the hole again.
Since Allen was the youngest and smallest, it was decided that he would go down into the hole to dig as the hole got deeper and deeper. I remember him saying how scared he was but didn’t want to let on so that he could feel brave and grown like his older brothers. I can still remember the shouts of joy when they struck water and could stop digging!
Water was critical to the health of the hens. They came first when water was concerned. With only a hand dug well to provide water for all of the chickens and a house full of folks, baths were sparse. There would be just enough water to cover the bottom of the tub for the bath. No bubble baths allowed!
One year, the well dried up and there was no water. With the family’s livelihood in danger, a new well had to be dug quickly! The boys all pitched in and began digging the hole for the new well. Virginia married Jimmy Turner in 1962, so Jimmy was like another brother. He always helped out when it was needed. Jimmy, David, Harry, John and Allen began digging with shovels. The digging went on into the night. I can remember helping hold the lantern over the hole so that whoever was down there could see to dig. A rope was tied to the handle of a bucket and lowered into the hole with whoever was digging so that they could fill it with dirt. When it was full, the bucket was raised and emptied and lowered into the hole again.
Since Allen was the youngest and smallest, it was decided that he would go down into the hole to dig as the hole got deeper and deeper. I remember him saying how scared he was but didn’t want to let on so that he could feel brave and grown like his older brothers. I can still remember the shouts of joy when they struck water and could stop digging!
Susie's Ceramics were sold at the Palmetto Festival.
Susie’s Ceramics
At the age of 14, my sister-in-law Shirley (Harry’s wife) introduced me to ceramics by taking me with her to a ceramic shop at the home of Tommie Webb on Hwy. 92 in Douglasville. I fell in love with it. Tommie had a small building in her back yard where she poured the slip into the molds and then put the greenware on the shelves for people to choose what they would like to make. There were all kinds of bowls, vases, figurines, Christmas trees, Nativity Scenes, etc. It was like a wonderland to me. Tommie would open her shop in the evenings 2 or 3 days a week and I went every chance I got. I asked a million questions and Tommie patiently answered everyone showing me her techniques of pouring the greenware, firing it in the kiln, using different types of stains and glazes and making beautiful artwork. I have always been interested in crafts and making things and this was right up my ally. As soon as I turned 16 and got my driver’s license, I would borrow the car and go to Tommie’s.
After I graduated high school and began working at the Federal Aviation Administration in East Point, I began saving my paycheck. First to buy a car since the family only had one car and one truck and I had been carpooling to work for a while. Next came the purchase of my own ceramic kiln. We put the kiln in Pop’s “egg room” where he worked in the evenings to candle the eggs and put them in cartons and cases to deliver.
As I began to buy molds and slip to pour it got crowded, so Pop offered to let me use one of his empty chicken houses. Together, we boarded up the house, shoveled buckets of gravel onto the floor of the house, put in a wood burning stove and found old tables and chairs to set up shop. Pop even installed a sink and shelves! Mama loved pouring the molds and while I worked at the FAA during the day, she filled the shelves and fired the greenware so that it could be stained or glazed. Together, we opened “Susie’s Ceramics” a couple of evenings each week! We were able to keep the shop open for about eight years and many friends and neighbors came and enjoyed creating their own pieces.
I was not able to purchase many molds at first, so I relied on other Ceramic Shops in the area to let me buy greenware from them and put it in my shop. Saturdays were spent driving to Hapeville, Stockbridge, Douglasville and anywhere else I could find a shop to buy greenware. I began taking orders for finished pieces and sold them at craft fairs, etc.
Georgia Ceramics in Hapeville was very close to my work, so many lunch hours were spent buying stains, glazes and getting ideas for new molds.
After I married in 1981 and moved to Jonesboro with my husband Bud, Mama kept the shop open for a while and folks would still come and paint. The commute and the cost of materials to keep the shop open eventually caused us to close it. There were many fond memories made there!
At the age of 14, my sister-in-law Shirley (Harry’s wife) introduced me to ceramics by taking me with her to a ceramic shop at the home of Tommie Webb on Hwy. 92 in Douglasville. I fell in love with it. Tommie had a small building in her back yard where she poured the slip into the molds and then put the greenware on the shelves for people to choose what they would like to make. There were all kinds of bowls, vases, figurines, Christmas trees, Nativity Scenes, etc. It was like a wonderland to me. Tommie would open her shop in the evenings 2 or 3 days a week and I went every chance I got. I asked a million questions and Tommie patiently answered everyone showing me her techniques of pouring the greenware, firing it in the kiln, using different types of stains and glazes and making beautiful artwork. I have always been interested in crafts and making things and this was right up my ally. As soon as I turned 16 and got my driver’s license, I would borrow the car and go to Tommie’s.
After I graduated high school and began working at the Federal Aviation Administration in East Point, I began saving my paycheck. First to buy a car since the family only had one car and one truck and I had been carpooling to work for a while. Next came the purchase of my own ceramic kiln. We put the kiln in Pop’s “egg room” where he worked in the evenings to candle the eggs and put them in cartons and cases to deliver.
As I began to buy molds and slip to pour it got crowded, so Pop offered to let me use one of his empty chicken houses. Together, we boarded up the house, shoveled buckets of gravel onto the floor of the house, put in a wood burning stove and found old tables and chairs to set up shop. Pop even installed a sink and shelves! Mama loved pouring the molds and while I worked at the FAA during the day, she filled the shelves and fired the greenware so that it could be stained or glazed. Together, we opened “Susie’s Ceramics” a couple of evenings each week! We were able to keep the shop open for about eight years and many friends and neighbors came and enjoyed creating their own pieces.
I was not able to purchase many molds at first, so I relied on other Ceramic Shops in the area to let me buy greenware from them and put it in my shop. Saturdays were spent driving to Hapeville, Stockbridge, Douglasville and anywhere else I could find a shop to buy greenware. I began taking orders for finished pieces and sold them at craft fairs, etc.
Georgia Ceramics in Hapeville was very close to my work, so many lunch hours were spent buying stains, glazes and getting ideas for new molds.
After I married in 1981 and moved to Jonesboro with my husband Bud, Mama kept the shop open for a while and folks would still come and paint. The commute and the cost of materials to keep the shop open eventually caused us to close it. There were many fond memories made there!
From a newspaper clipping of the time: Gov. Lester Maddox spoke to Cedar Grove PTA Tuesday night. In the picture with him are, Jimmy J. Lankford, principal (second left), Mrs. Vaughn Watts, program chairman (second right) and Mrs. Frances Goode, President (far right).
Devoted to Cedar Grove Elementary
Although Mama (also known by her children and grandchildren as “Memaw”) did not have a “job”, she had many titles. One of her beloved ones was PTA President at Cedar Grove Elementary. Having six children all go from 1st grade through 7th gave her many opportunities to serve in every capacity. She was chief fundraiser (paper drives, Krispy Kreme doughnut sales, Carnival, Country Store and Spaghetti Supper with a Variety show afterward) were just a few. Many fondly remember the “Womanless Weddings” performed on stage at Cedar Grove. Her lifetime membership and PTA pin are still treasured items that she left.
Although Mama (also known by her children and grandchildren as “Memaw”) did not have a “job”, she had many titles. One of her beloved ones was PTA President at Cedar Grove Elementary. Having six children all go from 1st grade through 7th gave her many opportunities to serve in every capacity. She was chief fundraiser (paper drives, Krispy Kreme doughnut sales, Carnival, Country Store and Spaghetti Supper with a Variety show afterward) were just a few. Many fondly remember the “Womanless Weddings” performed on stage at Cedar Grove. Her lifetime membership and PTA pin are still treasured items that she left.