Marie Ann DeChaine James Autobiography – Part 2 of 4

Jennifer James June 22, 2018 2 Comments

The Boutwell’s were our neighbors. He played a saxophone in an orchestra in one of the hotels in Jacksonville. Don’t ask my why, I did not care for him. In fact, I think I was afraid of him. Mrs. Boutwell was very nice. They had two children – a beautiful little girl three or four years of age, Julia, and an infant baby. I loved babies and it was my joy when she had me babysit for them. They had a horse and a cow. Florida law was that you had to have your cow dipped for ticks once a year. Buddy and I were elected for the job of taking the cow to the dipping vat. We got to ride the horse with the cow following on a leash. One morning, which was my day to babysit, I was met at the door by Mrs. Boutwell in tears. She told me Julia was dead. She was standing in front of the fireplace and her flannel nightgown caught on fire.

Our home on Little Pottsburg Creek was a lovely and comfortable place to grow up in – a place with many happy memories to look back on. Ours was one of the few homes in that area with indoor bathroom and toilet. To many of you young readers, I mention this because I know this must be hard to believe. Besides the bathroom upstairs, there were three large bedrooms with fireplaces in two of them. Our only means of heating the house were the fireplaces. Archways separated the living room from the library with fireplace in each room – very decorative, with marble inlayed tile fronts. Each of these two rooms had windows that were known as French windows (long windows that opened to the porch like doors). Ours was a large country kitchen with pantry, a room as large as most modern kitchens today. Ours was the only home thereabouts with a cellar entered into by a trap door in the kitchen. The temperature stayed at 65 degrees winter and summer. This is where mom kept her perishables. We had our own well with pressure pump on the back porch which kept the house supplied with water. Our house was on eight and a half acres facing Little Pottsburg Creek. Between the house and the creek was a summer house – a gazebo – where we kids spent a lot of play time. From there to the creek was a long grape arbor with four different kinds of grapes. To the right was the grove of fruit trees – persimmon trees. As I remember, mom saying that before we lived there, the owner experimented with different kinds of fruit and nut trees that would thrive in Florida. We had hickory nut trees similar to walnuts – same size, but hard shells – chinky-pens (or pears, can’t read writing) similar to and taste like Brazil nuts.

Adjoining our home place were nine acres. There was a small house on it and mom let one of the colored ladies, who did chores for mom, live there. Her name was Sarah. When Buddy and I were getting into our early teens, mom decided to have square dances at our house. Not only we young people, but mom’s friends enjoyed these once a month affairs. No alcohol was allowed, and everyone had a wonderful time. The Hulberts, sons and father, furnished the music – guitar and fiddle (violin). It was at one of the dances that I met my husband, Red, Edward Warren James, who couldn’t keep his feet still when the music began. It was a fun time for parents and young folks alike.

When my grandmother, mom’s mother, passed away, mom canceled out the dances for a year in respect for her mom. It was a disappointing time for everyone. I did not know my grandparents as most children do. They visited us one time. I don’t know for how long. Their home was Brainard, Minnesota, near the Twin Cities, St. Paul and Minneapolis. I do not recall of any affection toward us children by either of them during their visit. I don’t know how old I was when I learned I had an older brother in Minnesota – Edward and I corresponded as long as he lived. He married, and their first baby, Myron, was born about the same time as my first, Betty, was born.

This life story of mine will be filled with going back to’s. Which brings to mind when my first half brother was born. This old colored lady, Aunt Lucy, an old slavery negro, took care of mom and us chiluns. She wore this long full skirt and apron and she would gather herbs and roots in this big apron from surrounding woods, as I remember. I was always at her heals – following wherever she went. She would make a tea of these herbs and roots and give it to us kids – kept us healthy. Aunt Lucy was like a second mother to us and we loved her.

Another going back to’s – The time when Buddy, my older brother, and I sneaked Sarah’s (colored girl who worked for mom), box of snuff. He had me open my mouth and when he poured the snuff in, I inhaled the dry stuff and almost choked. Aunt Lucy to the rescue! And mom never knew anything about this incident. Back then, almost all colored people dipped snuff, except Aunt Lucy, who insisted to us children that it was a dirty habit. Another incident in my growing up years – we moved out of our bigger home to a smaller house owned by an attorney, Mr. Williams. He had an underground incubator where he hatched young chickens for marketing. He wanted mama and papa to run this for him. Apparently it didn’t work out very well. It wasn’t very long before we moved back home. While there, we had a goat and papa got us a wagon for the goat to be harnessed to and ride us kids in. We had a lot of fun with Billy the goat.

As I recall, we children had no restrictions from mom. Sort of free spirits to do as we wanted – come and go as we pleased. She never asked where we’d been or what we’d been up to. Comes to mind the time mom rented the upstairs to a friend – Don Warner and his mother, until they could find a house to move into. Mrs. Warner had gone into town for the day. Gertie and I went through her trunk. We didn’t remove or take anything, just snooping. It embarrasses me to think about it now. I’m sure she told mom, but it was never mentioned to us. I think mom’s attitude was “kids will be kids”.

Mom sold the old home place in Spring Glen in July of 1924. I was fourteen years old and had finished eighth grade at Arlington School. We moved to Southside where mom had rented a place. I looked much older than my years. Red and I were seeing quite a bit of each other and mom was getting concerned. A friend of mom’s Mrs. Vanderpool, who was quite involved in the building of the Deaf & Blind School in St. Augustine, FL owing to the fact that she had a daughter who was blind. I guess mom was telling her friend of her worries. Through mom’s friend, I was hired as a supervisor over fourteen young deaf boys. I truly enjoyed my time there. One of my young boys, not only could not hear or talk, but was paralyzed from his waist down. Richard Hicks was an exceptionally smart boy. He couldn’t run and play with the others and spent a lot of time with me teaching me the sign language. We had many happy hours together. He was from Jacksonville – his parents visited him every weekend and became my friends too.

Separating Red and I did not serve its purpose, however. He came to see me every weekend and called often and wrote me every day. Poor mama, this must have been a trying time for her. She liked Red, but knew that I was much too young. I was a big girl and looked much older than my age. I only worked at the Deaf & Blind School one semester – then to Jones Business School in Jacksonville, where I learned to become a secretary. My first job after finishing my business course was Wadsworth, Howling Paint Supply office.