My Grandfather James Damewood
About forty years ago, my grandfather, James Damewood, lived in the rural society of Soak Creek, which is located about twenty miles outside of Beckley. His life was a common one in West Virginia during that time. He lived on a fourteen acre farm in the shadow of Tam's Mountain, which he took care of with his family. They had very little mechanical farm equipment, so most ofthe work that had to be done was done by hand, whether it was cutting wood or plowing the fields. His father worked for a coal mining company, and most of the goods they bought came from the company store, paid for in script. Coal that was used to heat their house was provided by the mining company, and by what they could forage from the side of Tam's Mountain.
During the spring, my grandfather would plow and plant the fields, cut timber, and tend to the many apple trees on the farm, storing the ripened apples in an underground din
for later consumption. In the fall, they would 'rob' the bees of their honey and eat freshly made biscuits dripping in the honey they had just procured. They would also prepare for the winter by canning and storing the food that they had grown in the gardens and the fields. James was, and still is, and still is, a practical prankster who enjoys plotting mischievous deeds and jokes on unsuspecting victims who have the unfortunate luck to be nearby.
Shah Ali Quraishi
Cabell Midland High School FFA
About forty years ago, my grandfather, James Damewood, lived in the rural society of Soak Creek, which is located about twenty miles outside of Beckley. His life was a common one in West Virginia during that time. He lived on a fourteen acre farm in the shadow of Tam's Mountain, which he took care of with his family. They had very little mechanical farm equipment, so most ofthe work that had to be done was done by hand, whether it was cutting wood or plowing the fields. His father worked for a coal mining company, and most of the goods they bought came from the company store, paid for in script. Coal that was used to heat their house was provided by the mining company, and by what they could forage from the side of Tam's Mountain.
During the spring, my grandfather would plow and plant the fields, cut timber, and tend to the many apple trees on the farm, storing the ripened apples in an underground din
for later consumption. In the fall, they would 'rob' the bees of their honey and eat freshly made biscuits dripping in the honey they had just procured. They would also prepare for the winter by canning and storing the food that they had grown in the gardens and the fields. James was, and still is, and still is, a practical prankster who enjoys plotting mischievous deeds and jokes on unsuspecting victims who have the unfortunate luck to be nearby.
Shah Ali Quraishi
Cabell Midland High School FFA
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