Folk Tales of the Kentucky Hills

Folk Tales of the Kentucky Hills by E. R. Gaskin These tales, or legends, are basically true with names changed and minor alterations made for publication. They are selections from Mr. Gaskin's much longer manuscript in which he records his memories of an earlier time (1900-1920), trying to give the flavor of a way of life long since gone. School time came again, time for scrubbing heads and rusty ankles, more clothes to wash and dinners to fix. All schools had adopted the pie supper plan to buy an extra blackboard or other necessities for the school. Pie suppers were always preceded by a program of recitations, essays, etc., usually by the students, then the pies were put up and auctioned off. Men and boys only would bid, then they would get to eat the pie sitting in the seat by the girl. Sometimes this was fun, sometimes not, for it was not announced whose pie it was when put up for sale, and sometimes the pies belonged to some girl the boy had rather not eat with, but most took it in sport and ate with the girl whose pie they had bought. Clear Fork School usually had two or three pie suppers each school term and there lived in about a mile of the school two sisters (old maids) who had gone to school there some years ago and they were always overly anxious to participate in the program. They remained young at heart and would always insist on the teacher giving them a place on the program. People who had been attending the pie suppers for years could not remember when Rose and Ethyl didn't have their say. They were about twenty-eight and thirty, but dressed and acted more like ten-to-fourteen. When their names were called, Ethyl would walk down the aisle, turn around and bow stiff-waisted, then would come the familiar, I stepped upon the stage My heart went pitty-pat I thought I heerd some pretty little boy say "What pretty little girl is that?" Probably one she gave when she was about ten, and because someone told her it was cute, she thought it still was. Rosa would follow with a long rambling poem about twenty-seven verses long, each stanza ending with: He may be ever so rich so handsome and fine But lips that tech liquor shall never tech mine. One night late in August there was a pie supper at Clear Fork and Benny and Cyrus made up with the auctioneer to give them a sign when Rosa's and Ethyl's pies came up for sale, as they had planned to surprise the neighborhood by making a date with them to take them home after the pie supper. On the way home (most everyone walked) asevere thunderstorm arose and was still raging when they reached Rosa's and Ethyl's home. Uncle Silas unbuttoned the door to let them in and seemed mildly surprised to see two young men with his daughters. He urged them to come right on in out 58 of the storm. Benny and Cyrus were a little reluctant to go in, as they were afraid Uncle Silas would smell their breath, for they knew that he had spent a lifetime fighting liquor. One thunderstorm boiled up after another, until after ten o'clock, which was very late. Uncle Silas urged Benny and Cyrus to spend the night. He lived in a big double-log house, that is, there was the family room with two beds, a few chairs and large fireplace. The chimney and log walls separated the kitchen from the family room so that one had to go out on the porch to reach the kitchen. In the kitchen was the cook stove, meal chest, large table, chairs and in one corner there was a bed and in another corner there was a floor-to-ceiling cupboard. Uncle Silas led Benny and Cyrus out on this long porch and to the kitchen where they would sleep. Silas set the lamp up on a high self, turned around and said, "Do ye fellers want me to blow this lamp...