I feared Grover
when I was small.
Traveling a dirt road
across the Knob,
Mother would sometimes
slow to a stop and say,"Teri, help yourself to the dipper
while I carry Grover his supper."
The dipper,
a dimpled, tin
water ladle,
was slung 'cross a line on a willow
that hung near icy water
weeping forth
from a slick and mossy rock.
My mother's arms, laden with loaves
and foil-covered dishes,
both steered and nudged
me toward the perennial spring,
a generational point of harbor.
Later, without mother,
I would ride the white mare
bareback over the road
in an effort to locate the cousins.
Passing by,
I'd mark Grover's solitary trek
a twisted grape stick in hand.
Once, before he died,
I stopped at the spring
to fill a jug of water.
Grover,
still as his stump, sat
in overalls that were
soiled and ragged,
Resting upon his palms,
his hoary head was
obscured by scraggly white hair.
Cradling, Lily, my newborn,
I walked over the blacktop
to place and leave
a basket at his feet.
That afternoon
I carried the coveted water
to Aunt Ruthie,
my last maternal link
there in the hollow.
"What's Grover's story?" I asked her.
"How long was Grover homeless?"
"Why sis,"
She replied
" When your mama
weren't more than a chap,
Our mama would walk her
over the way
to carry that poor man a
parcel of vittles.
He sure loved her
apple stacks."
I'm ninety-six this year
So I reckon Grover's lived there
nigh always. Anyway, since the fever
wiped out most-a his folks."
" Ruthie,
every Sunday
Mom always cooked
extra for Grover, but
I never asked her,
where does he live,
where does he sleep?"
My aunt's thin hand
stretched like a paw
and clasped my own.
"Merciful heavens, girl!
Your mama had heart.
Grover sleeps where he lives
The ground is his bed.
In winter he cleaves
to the sides of the hill.
This old earth shelters that man."
© Teresa Price
4/2009, revised 12/2012c
*poetic license w/ Aunt Ruthie's story
Piney Knob Baptist Church Cemetery:
Robertson, George F. September 26, 1849 December 11, 1932 Robertson, Theodocia S. May 1, 1861 November 9, 1943 Robertson, Zack C. c1889 c1975 Robertson, Grover July 10, 1891 September 17, 1988
1910 census
Name:
|
Grove H Roberson
[Grover H]
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
Age in 1910:
|
19
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
Birth Year:
|
abt 1891
[1891]
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
Birthplace:
|
North Carolina
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
Home in 1910:
|
Morgan, Rutherford, North Carolina
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
Race:
|
White
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
Gender:
|
Male
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
Relation to Head of House:
|
Son
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
Marital Status:
|
Single
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
Father's Name:
|
George F Roberson
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
Father's Birthplace:
|
North Carolina
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
Mother's Name:
|
Theodocia Roberson
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
Mother's Birthplace:
|
North Carolina
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
Neighbors:
| |||||||||||||||||||||||
Household Members:
|
|
1940 census (Is this the same person?)
Name:
|
Grover Roberson
| ||||
Respondent:
|
Yes
| ||||
Age:
|
43
| ||||
Estimated Birth Year:
|
abt 1897
| ||||
Gender:
|
Male
| ||||
Race:
|
White
| ||||
Birthplace:
|
North Carolina
| ||||
Marital Status:
|
Single
| ||||
Relation to Head of House:
|
Head
| ||||
Home in 1940:
|
Chimney Rock, Rutherford, North Carolina
| ||||
Farm:
|
Yes
| ||||
Inferred Residence in 1935:
|
Chimney Rock, Rutherford, North Carolina
| ||||
Residence in 1935:
|
Same House
| ||||
Resident on farm in 1935:
|
Yes
| ||||
Sheet Number:
|
12B
| ||||
Number of Household in Order of Visitation:
|
205
| ||||
Occupation:
|
Farmer
| ||||
House Owned or Rented:
|
Owned
| ||||
Value of Home or Monthly Rental if Rented:
|
3000
| ||||
Attended School or College:
|
No
| ||||
Highest Grade Completed:
|
College, 1st year
| ||||
Class of Worker:
|
Working on own account
| ||||
Weeks Worked in 1939:
|
48
| ||||
Income:
|
0
| ||||
Income Other Sources:
|
Yes
| ||||
Neighbors:
| |||||
Household Members:
|
|
1920 Census: (Ruth is Francis R, age 12)
|
1930 census:
|
1910 Census
Name:
|
Ruth F Mcentire
| ||||||||
Age in 1910:
|
2
| ||||||||
Birth Year:
|
abt 1908
[1908]
| ||||||||
Birthplace:
|
North Carolina
| ||||||||
Home in 1910:
|
Polkville, Cleveland, North Carolina
| ||||||||
Race:
|
White
| ||||||||
Gender:
|
Female
| ||||||||
Relation to Head of House:
|
Daughter
| ||||||||
Marital Status:
|
Single
| ||||||||
Father's Name:
|
Fred A Mcentire
| ||||||||
Father's Birthplace:
|
North Carolina
| ||||||||
Mother's Name:
|
Maggie A Mcentire
| ||||||||
Mother's Birthplace:
|
Tennessee
| ||||||||
Neighbors:
| |||||||||
Household Members:
|
|
1930 census:
|
1940 census
Name:
|
Ruth Atchley
| ||||||||||||||||
Respondent:
|
Yes
| ||||||||||||||||
Age:
|
31
| ||||||||||||||||
Estimated Birth Year:
|
abt 1909
| ||||||||||||||||
Gender:
|
Female
| ||||||||||||||||
Race:
|
White
| ||||||||||||||||
Birthplace:
|
North Carolina
| ||||||||||||||||
Marital Status:
|
Married
| ||||||||||||||||
Relation to Head of House:
|
Wife
| ||||||||||||||||
Home in 1940:
|
Golden Valley, Rutherford, North Carolina
View Map
| ||||||||||||||||
Street:
|
Cave Creek Mountain Road
| ||||||||||||||||
Inferred Residence in 1935:
|
Rural, Rutherford, North Carolina
| ||||||||||||||||
Residence in 1935:
|
Rural, Rutherford, North Carolina
| ||||||||||||||||
Resident on farm in 1935:
|
Yes
| ||||||||||||||||
Sheet Number:
|
1B
| ||||||||||||||||
Attended School or College:
|
No
| ||||||||||||||||
Highest Grade Completed:
|
High School, 2nd year
| ||||||||||||||||
Weeks Worked in 1939:
|
0
| ||||||||||||||||
Income:
|
0
| ||||||||||||||||
Income Other Sources:
|
No
| ||||||||||||||||
Neighbors:
| |||||||||||||||||
Household Members:
|
|
Frances Ruth Atchley
1909 - 2008
Ruth (McEntire) Atchley, age 99, of Union Mills, N.C., died Wednesday, June 25, 2008, at Brian Center East in Hickory, N.C. A native of Cherokee County, SC She was a homemaker and member of Shingle Hollow Congregational Holiness. . She was the daughter of the late Fred McEntire and the late Margaret (Breden) McEntire and the widow of the late Horace Earl Atchley.
Source: http://www.arrangeonline.com/Obituary/obituary.asp?obituaryid=69645093&info=vs
