Southern Pines Teen Shot in Hunting Mishap

Jimmy Hatch was the class clown.  For anyone that has known my dad over the years, I suspect that doesn’t come as a surprise. He has always had a great sense of humor and has never known a stranger. He had lots of great friends growing up.  Even after all these years, he still tries to keep in touch with several of the really close ones. 

James Vernon Hatch

One of his friends from school, went on to be the North Carolina Boy’s Champion Tennis player, in spite of some injuries he suffered in an auto accident. Another friend opened a coffee shop in Washington DC.  It was one of the early beatnik hangouts that became famous.   He knew Penny Fuller, although she was younger, who went on to become an actress and another classmate became a famous artist.  His graduating class had 33 people. Sadly, only a small portion of them are still here today.

When my dad was a kid he hung out with his cousin David Johnson. They would get together and act out some of the old Western movies, where the Cowboys and Indians would fight each other. One of them would be up in a tree and the other would pretend to shoot him and he would fall out of it, just like the actors did. I always thought that they were lucky to not have killed themselves from the fall.

Dad played JV football until the day he got shot in the leg. What?? No Cowboys and Indians here. He was out at a farm, hunting with a friend, when they got separated. His friend saw some movement through the trees and thought it was a squirrel and fired a shot…right into my dad’s leg. That friend has since passed away but there were never any hard feelings between the two, and their friendship endured to the end.  Dad still has a big ole scar but it has never seemed to bother his gait.
 
Jimmy took all the required courses in school but his favorites were band and drama. He emceed the Junior/Senior proms, had the lead in the class play, played in the band at school, sang in a trio, and had a little band of his own with friends, called the Downbeats. He loved all these fun things and although he hated to study, he did graduate in 1954. 

Jimmy Hatch is on the second row, second from the left.  

His favorite teacher was Billy Williams, who he had for homeroom, chemistry, and biology.  She was also in charge of the proms. He said she was a great teacher, pushed him along, encouraged him to study (which was not something he wanted to do) but she would also let him get away with murder. He said they used to call her “Bat Cave”, (not to her face however), because she was from Bat Cave, North Carolina. Funny how certain teachers make a long term impact on your life. I have a few of those myself!

One of dad’s favorite memories is of Christmas. His mother would go all out. There would be lots of decorations, carols on the radio, and a bunch of presents. He said that being an only child, they spoiled him rotten. His mom always made fruitcakes during the holidays, too, just like my mom’s mother.

During the war years his mother’s job at the telephone company was considered essential to the war effort. She had to work many nights and weekends, so her time at home was precious. Dad's Grandma Hatch took care of him a lot during those times and he was crazy about her. Even though she would have to get a switch to him once in awhile, he still thought she was a wonderful lady. 

He remembers a time when they lived in Wilson, North Carolina, that they went to the Annual Tobacco Festival. There was a parade during these festivals. This particular year, Ava Gardner and Mickey Rooney were in that parade. Ava was from a town nearby and at the time, her and Mickey were dating. Dad said that his mom, Ola Mae, was beside herself because she was getting to see them. A wonderful memory for both her and my dad. 

Dad’s first job was at the Modern Market, working for Walter Emmett Blue, better known as W.E. He stocked shelves, took out groceries, swept floors, etc. He also worked as an apprentice electrician, at a radio station as a sports announcer, and for the water department cleaning and repairing water meters. He said his favorite job was the radio announcer because “you were somebody". He got a lot of attention from that job. He also wrote the football coverage for the local paper and that got him a lot of added kudos.  He loved his job at the Modern Market, too, and they promised him a raise to $100 a week if he would not go into the Air Force. I don’t think he ever got that raise…

Today's Terri's Tidbit:  Do you use Ebates?  If you order anything online, go to the Ebates site and order through them and a lot of stores will give you a percentage of your total back.  See their website here.  If you have a Tidbit that you think is worthy of sharing, just leave me a comment and I will try to work it into a future blog.  

The Day I Discovered the Family Bible - Part 3

By the time I was born, my Grandfather Garrison was already 69 years old.  I have no memories of the tobacco farm.  I am not even sure if it was still a working farm.  While growing up, however, I did hear many stories of how they would have to work long hours out in the fields, in the North Carolina heat, getting the tobacco cut and into the barn. They would cut the leaves and take them to the tobacco barn to hang and cure with a wood-burning furnace. Harvesting tobacco was a very hard and dirty job. 

Today, the old tobacco barn is still standing, though in much disrepair.  At one time there were almost half a million tobacco barns in the state but only about 50,000 are still around today.  Oh the stories it could tell! 

The Old Tobacco Barn

My dad was career Air Force, and we traveled all over the world while he was on active duty.  We didn't get back to North Carolina often but when we did, we always loved visiting with family.  The Garrison’s had annual reunions, which were huge and so much fun.  There was usually a big horse shoe tournament, complete with bracket charts to determine the ultimate winners.  Trophies were given and the competition was fierce. 

The reunions were not only an opportunity to see family, and for the grown ups to catch up on things, but it also gave all of us cousins time to spend together, getting to know one another.  And I had a bunch of cousins!  There were thirty some grandchildren and my brothers and I were some of the youngest.   Someone would always step up and organize games for us to play. Some of our favorites were Kick the Can and Capture the Flag.  One year we decided to play Kick the Can as it was getting dark.  That didn’t end well.  Two of my cousins came running around the corner from different directions and ran into each other.  There were some major bumps and bruises.  All lived but lessons were learned.

On one of our trips back to NC, I remember sitting in the middle of the kitchen floor, playing jacks.  One of my older male cousins got down on the floor and played jacks with me for a while.  I don’t think he had a clue what that meant to me.  Well, forty some years later I still remember it with clarity so I guess it meant a lot!  These were always great times, but for my family they were few and far between, so we treasured every moment.  

Some times when we made it back to North Carolina, we would barely hit the door and one my aunts and uncles would come get me and I would get to go spend several days at their house with three of my cousins.  I loved those visits.  We always had a great time!  My Aunt, the wife of my mom’s youngest brother, ran a catering business and sometimes I would get to help out on some of her jobs.  It gave me a chance to watch how she worked and she could run circles around all of us.  She was and still is an excellent cook.  We still love going to their house whenever we get a chance.  And an added bonus is, I can walk right across the street and see another one of my aunts, my mom’s second oldest sister.   A true blessing having them both still here and living close to each other.  Grandma and Grandpa have long since passed and, sadly, of their 12 children, these are the only two still living.  

Grandpa and Grandma in their younger years

In later years

Terri's Tidbit for Today:  If you are researching your family, don't forget to use Facebook for finding some clues.  Many times there are genealogical or historical societies in towns or states that have a Facebook page.  I joined one for North Carolina, recently, and listed a brick wall I had hit on one of my Great Great Grandmothers.  Within 30 minutes I had a response from someone who helped me bring down that wall.  Use all the resources you can to help you find some of those allusive family members.  

Welcome to Unearthing My Family Roots!

Welcome to my new blog, Unearthing My Family Roots!  I am excited that I will have the opportunity to share with you fun facts about my Hatch, Marley, Garrison, and Hayworth families, as well as some interesting little "Tidbits" that I find helpful, intriguing, money saving, ridiculous or just plain mind boggling!  

I begin this blog in memory of my mom, who was born 76 years ago today!  She has been gone over 23 years but she is never far from our thoughts.  Oh how she loved her family!  She was the youngest of twelve, the daughter of a tobacco farmer, wife for 35 years and mother of three.  I'll share more about her in later blogs.

Also, two years ago today my family and I became stranded on the "Infamous Carnival Triumph Disaster Cruise".  Our four day cruise turned into a nine day float.  We were on the cruise for my brother's wedding, so there were over 20 of us on board.  It was not a cruise you would want to repeat but the time spent with family was priceless!  My husband wrote "Guido's Log" about the trip and I will be sharing parts of that with you in the next couple blogs.  It's a funny look back at what we were experiencing at the time! 

As mentioned above, here is my first "Terri's Tidbit":  

If you haven't already discovered Lisa Louise Cooke's Genealogy Gems Website and Podcasts, don't delay another minute!  I have learned so much more about genealogy from reading her newsletters, watching her videos and listening to her podcasts.  Click here and start learning new ways you can make your genealogy research experience even better!

So, let's begin this adventure together!  Until next time...