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Jan "Janet Silks" Rowan (57) wife of Winston Rowan wrote as Winton Harold Rowan (58) talked today on this day May 20, 2000, of the Country trips.

I wrote down what he said, thus follows his memories:

Winston Harold Rowan Family and Country life Memories ©

Winston’s uncle, Walter W.W. Roan went to a boarding prep school when he was a young man and also worked in the mines during the summer. Walter Rowan called his nephew Winston Harold Rowan, "Wince". He told him that "Wince" was what they called his grand-daddy William Winston Roan. Walter said he was around two years old when he his grand-daddy died and from the pictures he had seen of him, Winston favored him a lot. (Winston Harold Rowan is Leon V. Sr.'s son).

Jim Brown lived around Rockledge Alabama and Winston Harold Rowan remembers when he was 8 or 9 years old his father Leon V. Rowan, Sr., and him going there in an old wooden sled pulled by two mules. It made an impression on him.

Josey and Robert Montgomery Rowan lived across the road on a farm from James Franklin Rowan's farm west of Boaz, Alabama. He had an adopted daughter named Corinne Rowan that married Paul Brothers. She sold the farm after her parents died. Janie Rowan Starnes lived down the same road across from the Golden's farm, near the old Red Apple Road, Sargan mill, and the creek where they use to swim and fish. There was an old pear tree across the road from Janie Starnes where they always gathered pears to eat and cook up. Walter Starnes was a "jack of all trades". Winston Harold Rowan remembers most about him was that he sharpened "saws" for other folks on an old grinding wheel right in front of his house. From Janie's home there was always a piano playing Christian music. Voices of Christian songs could be heard accompanying the piano or a radio. Janie could really preach the Gospel. She didn't need to read it out of a book it was always from her heart. At her home she always had teacakes, biscuits and jelly and other goodies to eat. One was always welcome at Aunt Janie Starnes home. On a trip to the "nice clean out house" one could feast on delicious strawberries or grapes if they were in season. On the return trip from the outhouse you could cool off with a drink of water from a bucket drawn well and gourd dipper.

There was an old path that led from the Starnes' farm to the James Franklin Rowan farm. Along the path were blackberry vines full of fruit in the early summer. To the left of the path, just before you crossed the road to James F. Rowan farm was an old barn and one milk cow that belonged to James. On his property there were lots of apple trees. Sunday was a big day for visitors to the Rowan farm. Most weekends different family members would always drop in after church, some coming from Birmingham and Gadsden too. Many a day they would sit on the porch in the wooden swing off to the side of the porch or one of the rocker chairs or a straight back chairs. The front porch would be full of the men folks waiting for the ladies to cook up a grand country meal of fresh vegetables. Out in front of the house were two cedar trees and even a hand crank pump that held what else but fresh cold well water. To a city slicker the water had a bad taste but if you were thirsty that was it to drink, unless you went up the road for an ice box coke at the small country store.

James Rowan was a circuit-riding preacher of the Gospel and an energetic farmer dabbling in everything you could grow. Granddaddy James really liked his chewing tobacco called Brown Mule. On the farm along with a whole apple orchard, he had a sugar cane field just to the left out side the front door of the house. He raised Christmas trees on some of his land to sell in season to others. Grapes were out by the outhouse, chickens and eggs for consumption and for trading to the wagon peddler man. He had a medium size barn with a loft. Attached behind the barn was his pig pin where he raised pigs. Out the back door of his house was a smokehouse for curing meet. Between the smoke house and the barn was a vegetable garden. James grew his peas in the corn. The peas would climb the corn stalks making them not having to be staked and much less work too. The tomatoes were not even staked they grew on the ground over by the barn. Up towards the Hill on the farm was a fabulous watermelon patch, which all the grandchildren robbed every chance they could. They ate only the hearts of the watermelon. Of course it all stopped when they got caught.

Winter time a large truck of coal was put under a huge apple tree between the house and the outhouse. It was all for the pot bellied stove and fireplace. The back room of the house was for canned vegetables and dried apples. Inside one wall was an active beehive and honeycomb which was plentiful. Leon Rowan Sr. would rob the hive once a year. All the kids thought that was a real big deal and enjoyed the honeycomb.

The kitchen was the biggest room in the house where it was always bustling, especially on Sunday's. I have never ate a meal at Grandma's that I didn't enjoy. Oh I can see it now, no electrical appliances, hand cranked ice cream, homemade butter and buttermilk churned with the old churn. Teacakes and biscuits always in the cupboard. I see the old milk cow grazing in the front pasture of the house. There's the Well in front near the road that provided water for drinking, cooking and bathing. You can always know a country boy by the scar under his chin where the handle had hit them from standing too close to the crank when the tubular water bucket went back into the well.

Later in life Maggie Rowan could not hear very well. Her son Dr. Walter Rowan bought her a hearing aid, which she wouldn't wear. She preferred the bullhorn or nothing at all. Electricity came in the 50's to the Rowan house. Dr. Rowan bought his mother a few modern appliances, an electric stove and a refrigerator that replaced the old ice box. Of course he got her a telephone. Maggie burnt the electric stove up by trying to burn wood in it. On the telephone she would call people up, have her say and then hang up. She even had a big floor radio. The house was dimly lighted with only one low-wattage light bulb. It was so dark at night when they went to bed you couldn't see the house from the road.

My grandparents James Franklin Rowan and Maggie Caldonia Isbell Minnix were pioneers of this country. They believed in God, family and country, who believed that there was no shame in hard work, and honesty. They strode to educate their children and grandchildren to be the best they could be, to respect their neighbors and were always willing to go to their aid in times of need. I thank God for having spent part of my childhood in their presence.

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Added memories 8/14/2000

Leon and his father told this to Winston:

One winter when I was around 9 or 10 years old, Dad and me went to Boaz, Alabama on horseback. While there it snowed real bad. We had to leave our horses and walk home. We almost froze before we got home.

Again, when I was around 9 or 10 years old only this happened in the springtime, Dad and me were in a horse and buggy visiting some relatives and a Mountain Lion chased us. It was sure scary.

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Memories never stop, they return for another day and another story to tell. We should be as persistent in doing the meaningful things that make the memories of our tomorrow's. After all tomorrow is made up of our today’s.

by Jan Rowan

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