Snodgrass Family History Book

World War. Father was a carpenter and a stonemason and.he
worked out to get money to buy grub and clothes for his
large family. Denver and I did most of the farming.
Dad would be away all week and he would tell Mother just
what was needed to be done for a week at a time. He would
come ho1ne Saturday and leave early Monday for another
week. After a few years Father made some house moving
equipment and Father, Denver and I would move houses and
do wells and most any other jobs we could do to 1nake
money.
When I was about 9 or 10 years old 1 would walk about I _
miles to help Mr. Smith plant corn and sometimes I would
make 50¢ a day. After I grew older and 1 would help him in
the hay field and he would board me and pay me 75¢ a day.
Boy I thought I was in the "MONEY". That money would
buy my own clothes and have a few nickels to buy my best
girl a red soda pop and a dish of ice cream. Sometimes I
would buy her two red soda pops. Back in those days
someone would have a party and we would play games and
when we would get tired and thirsty we would have a soda
pop or ice cream as long as our money lasted. Ha! Ha! After
the party broke up we would walk our sweetie home and say
good night and away I would go home.
About 1906 or 1907 Dad rented some 40 or 50 acres of land
in the wet Prairie south of our ho1ne. W c planted it. in corn
and had some hay on a few acres and about 1908 Dad built
our first evaporator and he would buy apples and we would
dry apples in the fall. The girls would work out and stay with
people and keep house for them when the families were
expecting a new baby and needed extra help. The only
entertainment we had was to go to Church on Sunday and
we would have singing Sunday Night. We always went to
the Baptist Church.
About once or twice a month someone would give a party,
and some times a candy pulling party and we would play
"Skip to my Loun and dance. We had fun but we had to work
hard to survive. Money was scarce, "Just like hens teeth".
Ha' Ha'
The first movie I ever sa\v I was about 11 or 12 years old.
Uncle Bill Rodgers had the first picture show. The movie
was silent of course. However, I would walk from home
about 3 miles a day and pay a nickel to see a Charlie Chaplin
or some other fool act. The building was a tin lean to. Jt
didn't matter how much it rained or hailed or what other
noise was inside, for the film was silent. But we really
enjoyed it very much. Sometimes I would have a extra
nickel or so and I would buy my best girl a sack of popcorn
and after the show I would walk her home and so1netimes it
would be raining, but I didn't mind getting wet for I enjoyed
the evening. After I grew older I would go to town and rent a
horse and buggy for the afternoon for S 1.50 and go take my
best girl for a ride. You ought to know who that was. She
lived at Morrow? ? ? ? ?
Snodgrass Family Documents, Stories & Articles
You guessed it; she became your Mother and Grandmother.
She was the most beautiful girl in the world to me. 1 finally
bought me a buggy of my own and I never had any trouble
finding a girl after that who was willing to ride with me. But
I always went back to see Rubie she was first with me.
In the fall of 1920 l worked for an apple buyer and shipper.
Two or three ti1nes a week I would send Rubie a basket of
peaches or apples. I would send them by freight express in
the evening and when the neighbors would see the express
\Vagon drive up they would come over to see what I had sent
her. She said sometimes the neighbors would stay and eat up
lots of her nice peaches and apples. As you kno\v she lived
in Muskogee, Oklahoma at that time. I didn't get to go see
her very often and late in 1920 after the fruit was picked I
went to California and I would send her a box of grapes and
other fruit rather than candy. You know for she was sweet
enough without candy. although, I would send her a box of
candy once in a while. She said her brothers would eat most
of it. When I came back from California I would have a
chance to go to Muskogee to see her I would not call her
until I was in town and sometimes she would have a
boyfriend visiting her. I would call and she would say come
on over. Her friends name was Joe Lawson. So Joe would
say I will go on home now, as Homer doesn't get to come
often. That was nice of him. Some times Rubie would come
up here and stay a few days and I would not know she was
coming. But when she got here of course I most always had
a date with some other girl. But when she got here my other
date would just have to wait until Ruble went back home. I
never had much trouble finding a girl who was ready to go
tbr a ride, as I always had a nice horse and buggy or an old
Model T Ford that would run. So after 1 got all my wild oats
sowed and the wild hairs out of my eyes, I decided that I was
old enough to bring Ruble home with me and to try to make
a living for us. So we lived happy together for over 50 years.
Oh, but I miss her so. My beloved wife Ruble passed away
on November 9, 1975. She was just 76 years old. We had
been to visit my brother Bruce and Sister May. On our way
home we stopped in Tulsa, Oklaho1na to see our newest
Great Grandson Bryan Claxton and Granddaughter Sue Ann.
While there Ruble had a fatal heart attack. I rushed her to the
hospital but she never spoke to me again. She is buried in the
National Cemetery, where someday I will be buried. 1 hope
to 1nect her in Heaven, as I am getting along in years just
turned 86 this year and" I hope to live as long as the good
Lord will allow ....
This will probably be the last time I will try and write any
more about my life.
With all my love to every one,
Homer Lawson Snodgrass Sr.
7/9/01 The Norwood Family History Page 10-146