"When I Was a Little Girl" by Lena Bunch, 1993

“When I Was a Little Girl” by Lena Bunch, as published in Special Memories: A collection of stories by Chowan County Extension Homemakers. It was written in 1993 when Lena Bunch was 85 years old.

I remember going upstairs and then get on the rail and slide down; it was fun. I wore my hair cut short, parted in the middle and bangs across the front. All my dresses was homemade. When they was washed, they had to be starched and then they had to be ironed to make them look pretty.

When I was old enough to go to school, I was almost 7 years old and I had to walk to school every day one mile unless it was raining, then my daddy would carry us on a horse and cart. When it was really cold there was a lady lived half way to the school house and she would have a pan of warm water for us to put our hands in to warm them up. She was a sweet lady. We would go in her house to get warm and then we would go on to school and in the schoolhouse we had a wood heater to warm by.

We had to carry our dinner in a tin bucket. We would have a biscuit, sweet potato, sausage or sometime egg, sliced meat and about every day we would have apple jack or a tea cake, no drink unless you would go outside and get some water from the old hand pump.

Then we would play ring around the roses, or jump the rope. We would have one hour for lunch recess. The bell would ring, you had to get in line and march back in the school room. Then we would have more lessons. Lots of times we would write on the blackboard. The teacher would tell you what to write. Sometime you would know how to spell the words and sometime you did not know, then she would grade you for what you did.

I remember when I was 9 years old the older ones put on a play and they wanted me to be the little girl. The name of the play was Out On the Street and I was carried out on the street and left on a bench. It was cold and it began to snow and Bland Smith came along, saw me sitting there. She went and got a blanket and wrapped me up and then took me home with her. Leslie Peele, Dick Bunch, Elton Wilson wanted to do something for her to take care of me. Leslie took a hat and went around and said, “My bear he dances funny; I pass my hat and I get some money,” and from that the play went on. It was a cold street but I finally got warm. All of them have passed on except Blanch, Lessie, and Lena. That is something I cannot forget.

Back then I wore high top shoes with buttons on them, a long jacket and a stocking cap on you head. It was nice and warm. Look, now you go bareheaded.

I finally finished the 7^th grade. There was five in my class and there are two of us now, Pearl and Lena, and we are still hanging on.

When I was a little girl I belonged to the Sunbeams. Mrs. Clara Ashley taught us. I still remember the song that we learned, “Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam.” I joined the Church when I was 12 years old and I am still a member at Rocky Hock Church for 73 years. After I left form the Sunbeams, I joined the G.A. and from there the WMU and I am still a member. I look forward to going once a month.

But, you can’t help but thinking about the years back, things you did, some of my sisters and brothers, how we go on the porch at night and play and sing, play guitar, banjo and I would play accordion. That was in our young days. That was before Lessie, Cora, Lloyd, Lindsey and Lena got married. Then we had lots of fun but after then we all got married and had to raise our children.

And in those days we had hog killings. Neighbors would help one another. Those days we saved almost everything of the hog, the chittlins and stuff them for our sausage, made Tom Thumbs, have big iron pots out in the yard, make a fire around them, put your meat where you had cut up the fat meat and make lard out of it. When it got done, we would set the pot off, put a little rosemary in it, dip it through the strainer into a tin can and that is what we used to make biscuits and other things that require grease and the cracklings was used to make crackling bread, and sometimes we would put some in the biscuits.

There was always several at your hog killing. You would cook a big dinner for all and then later you would have to start supper. You would always cook some of the refreshes for supper and lots of the school children would be there where their daddy and mothers was after school. But now, there are not too many parties, or taking trips. All that is fun, just to go out and eat, and I just like being with a crowd. I am just so thankful for all these years that I have been able to go and be with all of you.

Hope everyone will have a good 1994 year.

I love you all.

OLD AGE IS GOLDEN

By Lena Bunch

Old age is golden, I’ve heard it said

But sometimes I wonder when I go to bed,

My ears in a drawer, my teeth in a cup,

My eyes on the table until I get up.

Then I wonder what else I could lay on the shelf,

Some folks might think you should lay there yourself.

But I am happy to say when I close my door,

My friends are the same as in days of yore.

When I was quite young my slippers were red.

Then I could kick my heels right over my head.

When I grew up my slippers was blue,

Then I could dance the whole night through.

Now that I’m old my slippers are black,

I walk to the corner and I puff my way back;

My get up and go have got up and went,

But I’m happy to say where my get up have been,

I get up in the morning and dust off my wit;

I pick up the paper and read the obituaries,

If my name is missing I know I’m not dead,

So I just eat my breakfast and go back to bed.