When Richard Charles Powell was born on October 10, 1939, in Carrollton, Arkansas, his father, Willis, was 24 and his mother, Hazel, was 18. He married Barbara Sue Trantham on December 25, 1959. They had four children in 14 years. He died on April 27, 2008, in Berryville, Arkansas, at the age of 68, and was buried in Alpena, Arkansas.
Richard Powell was named for his two grandfathers, Richard Powell and Charles Thomas. He was a farmer. He loved his family, coon hunting and pumpkin pie. His favorite coon dog was a Blue Tick. He could climb any tree he wanted to and pop the head off a snake by holding on to the tail whipping it like a bull whip. He was not afraid is my cherished childhood memory of him. He would ride a wild horse, go deep into a dark cave, run barefoot for his Aunt Betty through the dark pasture bottom land in June when snakes were crawling and owls were hooting--the very night I came into this world! He relished a good laugh. Once when his Blue Tick chased a deer, he took him to coin laundry and put him in the dryer with deer scent. That took care of that. When his coon hunting buddy went to sleep listening to the dogs run, he built a ring of dry oak leaves around him and set them on fire. Billy Joe Rudd awoke in a ring of fire and the rolling laughter of Richard Powell. Richard Powell always called me on my birthday with the story of the day I was born. The phone rings no more!
This is Richard and Patsy. Richard is playing with a cream can lid! I would guess the time was about 1940 as he looks young still. Patsy said they scratched each other in the picture. Richard scratched her and she REALLY got him a good one.
And below is about the time he started school--probably first grade. Once he told me he did not go to Green Forest to High School because all he had was over-alls and the other boys wore pants.
Growing up it was always "Patsy and Richard". Their names were used together when their childhood was recalled. Then in 2008, Richard died at only 68. The memories of him posted here are by Sister Patsy! She knew him best!
What Sister Patsy said on the day of Brother's funeral!
My brother, Richard Powell, went to work for wages when he was 14 years old. He quit school at the 8 grade and soon was working for Frank Sydney milking cows. He always did farm work except for a few weeks after he married when he worked for Tyson Foods.
In 1988 there about he was able to acquire a piece of land for him and his wife. There he grew chickens and beef cattle.Richard had a good life. He worked out in the sun and never had to live under someone's thumb. He had a good wife who did everything she could to make his life comfortable.
Richard and Barbara had 4 children who are a credit to their parents. never in trouble at least not of their own making. I dread today and will be glad when it is over.
AFTER THE WAR DADDY BOUGHT THE FARM ON DRY CREEK THAT FLETA CALLS HOME NOW. I WAS 8 YEARS OLD AND MY BROTHER RICHARD WAS 7 YEARS YOUNG. FOR 2 YEARS WE WERE GOING TO SCHOOL AT COIN AR. AND HAD TO WALK 2 MILES AND A HALF EACH WAY.
WE WENT TO SCHOOL COME RAIN OR SHINE. SNOW WAS NOT CONSIDERED A REASON FOR NOT GOING TO SCHOOL. WE HAD TO CROSS DRY CREEK AND DADDY CUT A TREE AND FELL IT ACROSS THE CREEK AND THIS WAS OUR FOOT BRIDGE.
WE CARRIED OUR LUNCH IN TWO KARO SYRUP BUCKETS . DADDY PUNCHED HOLES IN THE LID TO STOP SWEETING OF OUR EGG SANDWICH. MOTHER MASHED A BOILED EGG EACH MORNING ADDED CREAM, SALT AND PEPPER AND THEN SPREAD THE EGG MIXTURE ON A SLICE OF LIGHT BREAD TOPED THIS WITH ANOTHER SLICE OF BREAD AND THIS WAS OUR LUNCH. WE USED THE TERM "LIGHT BREAD " FOR BREAD PURCHED AT THE STORE.
ONE FROSTY MORNING WHILE CROSSING THE FOOT BRIDGE OVER THE CREEK RICHARD DROPPED HIS PAIL INTO THE WATER. WE SCAMPERED OVER THE BRIDGE AND RACED DOWN THE CREAK TO THE SHOALS TO GET RICHARDS LUNCH. HE WADED IN AND SAVED HIS LUNCH BUT NOW HIS FEET WERE WET AND THE HOLES IN THE PAIL HAD LET CREEK WATER IN HIS SANDWICH SO WE WENT HOME.
IT IS STANGE BUT WE CONSIDERED THAT WE WERE A UNIT AND IF ONE COULDN'T GO TO THE SCHOOL THE OTHER COULDN'T GO .
DADDY CONSIDERED US A UNIT ALSO BECAUSE I RECEIVED AS MUCH SCOLDING AS RICHARD DID FOR DROPPING THE LUNCH PAIL.
AfTER THAT DADDY WENT TO TOWN AND BOUGHT US RUBBER FOOT WEAR TO GO OVER OUR SHOES. THESE GOLOSHES CAME UP ABOVE OUR ANKLES. THE VERY FIRST DAY IT HAD RAINED WE START OFF AND RICHARD IS WADING EVERY MUD PUDDLE THAT WAS IN THE DIRT ROAD. MUCH TO MY DISGUST. I WOULD SAY DON'T WADE THE MUD PUDDLE. SOLSH, SOLSH! WENT RICHARD. DOWN AROUND MY UNCLES HOUSE WE CAME TO A VERY BIG PUDDLE. I AM SAYING DON'T WADE THAT WATER. RICHARD SAID IT OK I HAVE MY GOLISHES ON . IN THE MIDDLE OF THE PUDDLE THE WATER CAME TO RICHARDS MID CALF. BACK TO THE HOUSE WE GO AND WE WERE INTO MORE TALKING TOO FROM DADDY.
Richard Powell October 10, 1939--2008
My earliest memory of my brother was at Carrollton, Arkansas . I invented this game, the game went like this I gave Richard orders and he had to do what I said. I would say Richard run to that tree and he had to do what I said. I loved the game but Richard soon decided that this game wasn't to his liking.
Another memory was we were walking beside the road and we found this large saucer sized sea shell. Someone must have thrown it from a car. I thought the pearl coating was very pretty.
I remember we took sticks and played that they were horses. we rode our stick horses for hours.
most of my memories of Richard were at Denver. we played all day long and lived the good life.
when we moved to the farm I remember the first time we saw fox fire we were amazed and some what frighten but the first time we encountered seed tick we were both covered and I was sure we would both die.
I remember standing on the ground and begging Richard to throw me black hulls and persimmons. Richard could climb any tree and I was never able to get my feet off the ground.
If Richard were alive today I would call and say happy birthday and we would argue about his age. Richard would shave a year or so off just to get me going about how old he was then he would tell me how many of his kids were there to help him celebrate his day.
The first winter on the farm daddy bought a hog from the cripple man , the fellow had butchered it and loaded it on a cart bringing it to town to sell.
Dad brought the hog bringing it home to put in a smoke house on the hill close to the old house. dogs dug under the smoke house and carried the meat away the first night. I don't think we got a bite of the hog.
I remember eating persimmons that fall when we moved on the place. dad said these kids can live on persimmons and we wont have to feed them.
dad bought milk cows and me and Richard went to work learning to milk cows. A first we ran the cows in for daddy and he milked but Richard and me were learning to milk in the lot by grabbing a teat and milking into our mouths as we ran the cows in.
I remember we had one named Pet, she was white and we had her before the war, dad bought her back. one big
cow we named Mable and another was brownie. The rest of the names are gone from my memory. I think Mable was part Holstein because she was spotted and the black spots had a red ', yellow ting to them. we also had a gurnsey cow she always chased me and Richard up a tree when she calved. we called her Dude
One job that absolutely put terror in my heart was going into the cave way in the back and holding the lantern while Richard climbed up the ladder and hooked the pipe back together. The goats would climb up and knock it apart. I knew that there were copper head snakes in the cave and I was afraid of getting bite by one.
More from Patsy
Into the deep dark hole
I was in the bed and my mind was clicking so I got up. I was thinking about when we first moved on the farm on dry creek. Then I got to thinking that if I live until may 3, which is right around the corner I will have lived longer than mama or daddy did so I figured their age when they died. Daddy lived 73 years and 1 month lacking 4 days. Mama lived 71 years and 7 months and 12 days.
If I live until may 3, which is 43 days from now I will be 74 years old so I have lived 9 months longer than daddy lived as of now.
When we moved to the farm after daddy got out of the Navy I believe it must have been late October, 1945 we lived in an old house that was built in front of a cave which was our water supply. I was scared to go into that cave because of snakes, copper head snakes no less.
The pipe for the water went back and down into this room and some times the pipe would get knocked off the pipe that came out of the rocks when this happen Richard and me would have to take a Lantern and climb over these big rocks that looked like they had fallen from the ceiling of the cave down into the dark with only the lantern to see by which Richard always carried and tried to leave me in the dark.
when we got down to the bottom there was a Rickey old ladder and Richard would give me the Lantern to hold while he climbed the ladder and hooked the pipe back to the pipe coming out of the rock wall. I was scared to dead all this time and telling Richard to hurry. I think he moved slow just to scare me more.
when he climbed down the ladder he would take the Lantern back and climb out of the deep with me scrambling to keep up. The boy would put on some speed to try leaving me behind.
We went into the cave because daddy told us too and I assure you I never went back into that cave after it wasn't necessary to get water. I know what terror is and it is in that cave.
When you were at the back of the cave there was a rock wall which was about 10 foot high and someone years before our time had drove a pipe into the rock at the top of the wall. You could hear water falling behind that wall and there is no way to figure how much water is behind the rock wall. I ask daddy once in later years why he hadn't set a dynamite charge and blown thro' the wall which he could have done because he had used dynamite. Daddy said he didn't know how much water would come out of the cave and what would he say to his neighbors if a stream of water came out the size of the mouth of the cave? I thought about that awhile and told him perhaps he wouldn't have any neighbors after the water went down dry creek.
We found arrow heads in the plowed ground along dry creek and I have always thought Indians lived in the cave during their day.
From Patsy--The house she speaks of is the one in the picture with Richard standing on the front porch.
I remember living there.Daddy had cattle and horses. One horse was named John and another was Maud. John was hard to catch and some times daddy had to chase him all over the country side. He would come to a fence and jump over and keep going.
He had a team of mules at one time while we lived there I remember being in the lane when daddy turned them loose one day and here they come running down the lane. Daddy shouted crawl under the fence and I did and was not trampled under their hooves.
When we went to the store at carrollton owned by Hugh Morris we walked.
I remember mama buying us a candy bar and dividing in between me and Richard.
Daddy bought a car and I really was happy about that then he sold it and almost broke my heart. I think he sold it because he was going into the navy.
Grandpa Powell had a car but for the life of me during those years in Denver I don't remember grandpa Gaddy having a car during those years. I take that back I remember riding to take Helen and beans Garrison to cricket to get on the train . I don't remember seeing a car parked around the store or the house at Denver so maybe he borrowed a car that time.
The house we lived in when we first moved to the farm on dry creek was just a shack, 4 room . A front room and a small room behind that was our kitchen. the porch opened into the kitchen. one small room no bigger than room for one bed was where I slept.
Hosea Leathers lived in that house until his wife died. I suppose he built the house. The other bed room was larger and was off the front room. This was mama and daddy bed room and I suppose Richard and Clayton must have slept in that room also.
The walls had been papered with newspapers and I would lay in bed and read the newspapers. most were dated in the 1920's.
We used coil oil lamps for light and mama cooked on a coil oil stove. She had two cook stoves while we lived there because the coil oil ran down a pipe to the burners , I think there were 3 burners and there was a oven anyway the reason mama got a new stove was she took a rag and tied it on a long stiff piece of wire and ran it down the pipe to get the suet out of the pipe and then the stove would work better. Mama lost the rag in the pipe and no amount of poking and prodding would get the rag out. Daddy had to buy a new stove.
We had a rickety front porch that was at least 6 feet off the ground and the summer after fleta was born my bed was moved out there because the back bed room was hot as hades. I have marveled over the years as to how I managed to keep Fleta and my self from rolling off the bed and down off the porch since the porch was just barely big enough for the bed.
The spring would go dry in hot dry weather and then we had to haul our water from a spring at the creek. That is how mama broke her ankle crossing the creek with two pails of water walking on the slick rocks.
When she fell she told Richard to go get Mr. Morris and he and Lizzy managed to get mama up the dirt bank to our car. Lizzy and Hugh took mama and Clayton to the house and we walked. Lois walked with us. It seems like we stayed with grandma and grandpa Powell for a few days and after a week Richard and I came back home. Clayton being the youngest had stayed with mama and daddy.
Mama had her ankle in a cast for a year, the ankle never healed right and the doctor re broke it twice. Daddy said mama would pass out when he broke the ankle and doctor wanted to do it a third time but daddy said enough is enough and that was that.
Mama did her house work by putting her knee in a kitchen chair and shoving it around to do her cooking and what work she had to do. I think it was 1947 when she broke her ankle. She would have been about 26 or 27 years old and she hopped on that leg for the rest of her days.
The old house was built out of boards and never seen paint or a finish of any sort. The truth is the barn was a better place to live that that house. Daddy built the house where Clayton live now in 1950 I think Betty was born in that house and fleta was born in the old house.
I guess it took everything daddy could rack and scrape to buy the windows and doors for the house. One day when mama went back to the old house to wash cloths Richard was teasing Clayton and Clayton was chasing Richard with a piece of 2 by 4 and he threw it at Richard in the back bed room . Richard dodged and the chunk went threw the new window. daddy whipped all 3 of us and I felt and still feel this was unfair because Richard caused the trouble by teasing Clayton and beside I felt Richard should not have dodged the chunk of wood.
The way I remember it most of the whippings I got was Richards fault.
In those years Richard and I fought all the time and I believe it was because daddy favored Richard because he was the SON. We never fought when we lived at Denver and I do think Daddy caused mine and Richards troubles.
I will say that I was not happy during the years from the time I was 11 year old until I was grown. I finally grew up and realized that Being a girl was OK and I finally stopped trying to find favor with daddy and stopped competing with Richard for daddy's attention.
I have often wondered how Clayton felt about daddy and Richard and if he felt short changed like I did. I also wonder now just how much this effected Richard's life.
Have you ever gathered wood for a fire? I have most of my live only in the last 8 years have we had heat from a source other than a wood stove.
When I was young our heat was from a wood stove, in the cold months mother and dad would take the cross cut saw and cut a large tree after it was split, usually by my brother Richard, Clayton and my job was to get it on the porch.in the winter and spring when the tempt didn't get so cold my two brothers and myself provided all the wood for the stove.
Every night Richard would cut a post oak tree on the hill side above the house and chop sticks of wood. These trees would be about 8 inches around and made a good fire of green wood, while Richard did this Clayton and I searched the hill for dead limbs that had fell from the larger trees and brought them to where Richard was chopping wood. he would bust up our dead limbs and after we had gathered enough to last until the next afternoon we carried the wood to the front porch so mother could carry it to the stove as needed during the day while we were in school and daddy was at work,
Here Patsy talks about the red dirt road in front of our home growing up! We had a little reunion after he passed away. Patsy was so sad without him. You see it was always--Patsy and Richard--She loved him so. After he was gone, a part of her was gone also.
From Patsy
When Richard and me were going to school the school bus stopped just a few feet from here and we walked the last quarter mile home some times we ran and some times we had war. I missed Richard yesterday when we all gathered at our old home place. Richard was a constant at our family gathering this one might not come or that one might be busy but Richard was always present along with his wife Barbara come rain or shine.
Tony said years ago Tyson made the chickens growers put the wire in front of the fans that were in the chicken houses. Richard put them on as he was told to do and then all sorts of stuff got stuck in the wire and the chickens were not getting any benefit from the fans. Richard took them all off! The field man came out and jumped Richard about them and said they wanted the fans covered to keep people from getting into the fans. Richard said if you stay out of my chicken house you wont get in the fans and refused to put them back on. No doubt some guy setting behind a desk dreamed that idea up and probably had never been in a chicken house of course he had never meet Richard Powell either.
my brother Richard started hunting when he was 10 years old. He had a blue tick raccoon hound.
He would start out at dusk and travel on our land down the hollow to the creek carrying a lantern and hunt coons and opossums for their hides which he sold.
One night he took of and in about 30 minutes he came rushing back in the back door.
Richards eyes were as large as silver dollars, Daddy said why are you back so soon?
Richard said something was following me, daddy said what was it ? Richard said I don't know but it followed me all the way and was saying, Who, who are you?
We laughed at Richard, what he heard was a hoot owl. In the dark of night it doesn't take much to scare a body.
Richard and me crossed Dry Creek to go to school at coin. Daddy cut a tree and fell it across the creek and we walked on this tree to cross the creek. We carried our egg sandwich in a Karo syrup pail and one frosty morn Richard lost his bucket in the water. We ran down the creek and caught up with the pail , Richard waded out to reprieve his lunch getting his feet wet so we returned home to get a sever scolding from daddy. At the time I thought it was over the loss of the sandwich but now I know he was afraid we might drown.
Richard gave me this old iron wheel and my sweet husband made a bird feeding station out of it for me.
Richard did send me the picture of grower of the year. he also had a sign out at the head of his drive way stating it. When I got sick it worried Richard. He called me and told me he was sorry he used to lock me in the smoke house. I tried to kid him and tell him I was just the best kid and never deserved it...He did not even bite on that and everyone knew I was rotten. On my birthday the year before he died he went to the florest in GF and sent me a dozen roses...I was really sick at that time. He called and told me to expect them. The problem was I was running to drs and tests everyday and the florest missed me. There was a note on the door that said they had left them with a neighbor. I was so sick I would not even walk over there to get them. Richard called a little later and asked if I had gotten them. I told him yes and they were beautiful. He asked what color they were because he did not remember if they were yellow or red. I had no way of knowing since I had not seen them . I absolutely would not tell him I was 2 sick to walk across the street and pick them up. I told him they were yellow and I would post a picture on the blog. I went on the net and found a vase of yellow roses that someone had posted somewhere and claimed they were mine. The ones he got for me were red...late that night the neighbor brought them to me.
ReplyDeleteAnd...you told me he cried!
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