Back When Stories #3 - Isaac Johnson House

hello and welcome to another episode of back wind stories produced by Jermaine Media and driving along the Appalachian Mountains we often come across these massive old homesteads that have long said empty do you ever wonder about the stories they could tell do you ever wonder about the families that live there and what ever happened to them well we here at Jermaine media feel the same way you do but sometimes we get lucky sometimes we can find a family member who can tell us some of the history in today's episode that's exactly what happened we got lucky a few months ago we posted a photo on Facebook of an unusual home located on a lonely back road in Wilkes County North Carolina we were soon contacted by someone who said they had a family member who had spent a lot of time in this particular house growing up as a child and that they were willing to tell us some of the stories we were elated we quickly set up an interview and found out some of the fascinating history about a property we came to know as the Isaac Johnson house we hope you enjoy it we called him Papa and our papi some of the grandchildren colleague and he built this house in the early 20s 1920s I don't know if he had help or but he built it mainly by self I suppose his daddy helped him I can remember when the upstairs was finished I was just a little child and we'd sneak upstairs and walk on the rafters because it wasn't floored out there it was the place where they throwed everything that they use anymore didn't want anymore whatever what I remember about Papa was he was humble easygoing I think he was probably about 65 when I was born he was born to 18 I think 1886 he was just a kind gentle man he never got on to us a lot we didn't we weren't mean children I don't guess or we just got by lost you know this way it was granny had a hard life but it made it a lot easier after she got here pop and granny didn't have a lot but they raised what they needed and he'd sell corn or whatever they grew and they had milk cows and sold milk and butter and I've heard Papa tell about cutting a load of tendon bark some kind of bark off of a tree that they would use it to Tanner in North Wilkesboro and he'd hold it down there it's been the night under the wagon then come back the next day with whatever provisions they needed in the summertime there was always the garden I had my own calf when I was little and she was a pet but the gardening it was always picking beans and pulling corn and I couldn't remember when I was just little riding the white horse Papa would lead the horse and the sled and we'd pull corn and throwing the sled over yonder in the field in the summertime they was green beans all over the place mom and daddy would come and pick the beans high commercial tubs carry them out to the fence and dump them over in a washtub we strung beans and granny and Papa they had a stove in the spring house and a little block building was built when I was little and she had a stove and I would cook stove in there and that's where she did the candy the number-3 washed over the whole 21 corpse and Papa would strain until he got enough for a kiddin granny would be a hunt and cans in Washington doing all that and then we start washing beans and put on a cannon and you boil them three and a half hours after that started bawling and Papa man the fire corn beans granny had a strawberry patch huckleberry bush she can beets and pickles and all kinds of things you know we've spent a lot of times here and we didn't course we didn't want to go home and that time mom and daddy come to get me and I've been here about a week I think so I told daddy he said well get stuff load up ain't going home daddy well that was the mistake and he told me to get the car we got out to the porch and I politely went out there sat down in the yard well his belt came off and I got a liquor off the backside and a lot of people these days don't we'll hear about things like that but I did go about a dozen steps and I'd sit down some more well that continued all the way out to the foot log and across from the end to the car the next time my daddy told me to get in the car I didn't argue well they didn't really decorate for Christmas and I don't know when my mama was little if they had a Christmas tree or not I've never heard her say but one time there was a Christmas tree and we spent Christmas Eve here and the next morning I got up and there was the last doll I ever got laying across a rocking chair in the front room I've still got the doll with the original dress and shoes the front room in this house is the first room you get to on the right when you come in the door and there was an old living room suit in there and the pump organ pop could play the organ a little bit and enjoyed playing that thing on the other side the high walls uncle Vaughn's room that was Papas son by his first marriage and he was a good uncle when uncle Vaughn died he had he wasn't an old man he was probably 50 40 or 50 I can't remember that happened long about 1961 or two and he was going down the road on his Doodlebug he had an old chopped up car that he made a Doodlebug got us what to call him back then and he run off the road and the thing wound up on his head and they got it off of him and he died he just didn't make it and when they used to call it setting up with the dead they brought him back here to the house and he was in the front room all night long they was people here and I remember the kitchen was covered in food what needed were to put anything else and I guess I was here all night long I don't remember but they had him here all night long and took him from here straight through the church and buried him the next room down is where we slept when we was growing up this kid slept in here when we were here so there was a big bed here and a twin bed in this corner and then another twin bed behind the door now there wasn't a bathroom in the house till late 60s and that little corner of the hall was made into a party room I guess you'd call it this was the fire room granny called it there was a table in the corner and a bed here and a a big pie safe here and Papas those short sawed-off 22 rifle laid in those little handmade racks and the shotgun hung over there in those a lot of time in these two rooms in the wintertime this is where they stayed so and then the kitchen the hoser cabinet I'm not sure but that looks like the same cabinet was behind the stove and the stove was actually turned this way and the wood box was at the end event over here and the sink was for it was the refrigerator was here and it was called a Calvin ater brand that was the original refrigerator brand and that's why a lot of older folks cause them cause a refrigerator our Calvin ater my mama still calls it a cap inator the water in the sink it run all the time never was cut off it came from up on the side of the mountain now in spring these were easier to climb when I was younger that happens yeah my left knee don't work as good as it used to it's warmer up here yeah there was a a bed in that corner over there and there was always a little table with quilts tacked on it in the hall in here nearly through the ceiling granny made quilts Papa took his nap on this bed every afternoon every afternoon he'd come up here take you take you a little nap no siesta when he was older but this this part of the house was not this up here was not floor until I was grown and this is when y'all played up here on the rafters yeah when we were little now these steps I got to the third step my feet flew out from under me whoo on a nail and I wound up at the bottom big time trip been a lot more fun if you just ridden the handrail well I didn't think about it I didn't have time to think about that for me yep watch your hands that's her the main difference is that a living back vented today things were much different back then we didn't have much pop and granny didn't how much you appreciate what you did have life was simpler I think modern times people don't know how to appreciate what it's like to be have a quiet place for the Hubble and the bubble and all of life's not running you by and dragging you with it so lot to be said for setting on the port ship in your coffee sharing memories with people from our past is is important I'm no spring chicken anymore and the things I remember my grandchildren will never know about if I don't tell them and it's important to know where you came from can't know where are you going if you can't if you don't know where you been so that's important I'm doing my best to write down things that I remember and I may never get it all wrote down but what I get wrote down will be there so maybe my grandchildren will enjoy read it someday I guarantee you they will you you know the question I'm going to ask Nix what's that could you share it with us I suppose I could as my mind takes me back through the pages of time to a place in the mountain time the far behind place off much beauty and back

Channel: undefined

Views: 17,575

Rating: 4.9848485 out of 5

Keywords: Appalachia, Germain Media

Id: GPsaL628H5w

Length: 13min 58sec (838 seconds)

Published: Sat Aug 27 2016