Halloween
Now, the village of Chuckatuck had its own form of trick or treat on this special night. Yes, we made our way in costume to several houses as very young kids for candy and would always say “trick or treat”. The parents were there only for the small kids, and as you came of age, five or six, you were on your own. As you grew older and understood the lay of the land and the homeowners, the house of “Shotgun Daisy” diagonally across from the Methodist churchyard was one to avoid. For those of us who were avid ballplayers and the churchyard being our favorite spot, there was always the possibility that a stray ball might end up in her front yard. We could assume that she had nothing better to do than watch us, and if a ball went into her yard, she was out of the house and on top of it right away. Many of us feared her, primarily because of her name, “Shotgun Daisy”. Now it was well known that on at least one occasion during a Halloween night, several of the boys were lying in the ditch on the church side of the road when shots were fired from her front porch. A quick dash into the cemetery, crashing into a tall wrought iron fence, was uncomfortable at best, but better than the alternative, or at least we thought so. Now her house was of the clapboard type and was especially susceptible to having a nail shoved between two boards with a long string, coated with wax, attached. Once you pulled the string taut, you could slide your fingers up and down it, making it sound like someone was ripping the clapboards right off the house. We guess this might have been unnerving for her, but then it was Halloween. Not to be outdone the older boys would take a brown paper bag, fill it with dog poop, put it on her front porch, and light it on fire after knocking on the door. The early knock precluded any fire damage should she be delayed in coming out; however, as expected, she would answer the door immediately, see the fire, and proceed to stomp on it. What a mess, and, yes, she did put it out and the boys knew they should not have done that, “but then it was Halloween”. This writer believes that had she not been so adamant about taking our baseballs and softballs, which inadvertently ended up in her yard, she would have received the same treatment on Halloween as the rest of the community. That statement is made simply as one of redemption.
Hunting, Fishing and Trapping
Hunting for quail, squirrels, rabbits, ducks, “Canadian Honkers” (Canada geese), and trapping for muskrats was a form of recreation, plus trapping put a little spending money in your pocket. Just about every young man in the village had a succession of guns, typically starting with a BB gun and then a 22 rifle, followed by a gauge shotgun. Hunting in the early days was often a means of obtaining a meal or two, while also being a sport. Hunting dogs were household pets for most families, and when not being pets, they acted as scouts for quail. Once they smelled them, they would stand until the hunter flushed the birds out. If you were on the water, the pets would be retrieving ducks and geese from the frigid waters of the lakes and creeks in the area. Most of the land was not posted, but you always asked the landowner if you could hunt on the property, and without fail, permission was granted. Soybean fields were great for quail hunting, and corn fields attracted the geese early in the morning or late afternoon, just before dark. Most ducks were killed from blinds built on the water or near the water’s edge with decoys to attract the ducks to fly in to join a group, not knowing that they were not alive. Shelton Rountree, the game warden we all knew, was fair and true to his job. He was respected, and when he asked for your license, you'd better have it with you. Birds, ducks, and geese would be counted to ensure you were within the limits.
Muskrats were plentiful in the area, and a pelt would bring anywhere from $2.00 to $3.00, depending on the condition. The meat was a delicacy sought after by many African Americans in the area, so it was no problem to have it taken off your hands. Sam Chapman in Sandy Bottom and Raymond Butler at Reid’s Ferry would buy the pelts from the locals and sell them to a buyer from Norfolk. Mr. Chapman could also distribute the meat if it made it that far without falling into the hands of some of the farm workers.
Fishing in Crump’s Mill Pond and the marl pits, now known as Lone Star Lakes, were excellent sources for local fishermen. Add to these Burnt Mill, Lake Prince, and Western Branch reservoirs, and you have hundreds of acres of good all-weather/season fishing. The lakes are home to a variety of freshwater fish, with the most prized being the largemouth bass, crappie, chain pickerel, bluegill, redear sunfish, white perch, and yellow perch, among others. Fly casting and bamboo poles remain the two most prevalent types of fishing equipment. If you wanted a great time, go to the “Duck Hole”, at the top end of the Chuckatuck Creek, very close to the grist mill, where you have brackish water, and you can add some saltwater fish to that list, like striped bass, croakers, and catfish.
There was some outdoor recreational activity year-round within the GCH area, and in the early days, all you needed to do was “just do it,” as no license was required, as it is today. Still, there are many activities that you can enjoy at your leisure and relatively inexpensively.
Ice Skating and Sleigh Riding
Russell’s Hill at Everets
Ice skating, for the most part, took place on the lake at Ferry Point Farm. This was a relatively shallow lake that would freeze over quickly. The winters in the ’40s and ’50s seemed to be much colder than we have now, and you could count on two or three weeks of good ice skating almost every winter. In the mid-1940s, Sonny Chapman and Crip Willoughby were out in their Model T truck with a rider on board, who noticed the fire flowing through the exhaust pipe, visible through the wooden floorboards. It seems they were going ice skating, but they did not want a certain young rider to go, so he was left with his grandmother, Mrs. Novella Chapman. Off they went, and in the process, Sonny ventured onto the ice, fell through, and had a tough time getting back to shore. When they got him home, he was put into the bathtub with warm water to help thaw him out. This writer remembers looking at him in that tub and saying, “See if you had taken me, you might not have fallen in”. However, knowing this person, he would have most likely been right out there with Sonny, thus the two would have been in trouble, not just one.
Sleigh riding was another winter event that took place at Everets on Russell’s Hill. The house is still there, and the hill is just a little shorter now with the dam in place at Reid’s Ferry. It was awesome when you stood in front of this house and looked down toward the Wagner/Martin’s store on the edge of the creek. We likened it to the downhill jumpers, except that at the bottom of this run were a variety of cypress knees standing about twelve inches tall as guards in the marshy area, ultimately to keep you out of the creek. The nominal sleigh of that day had a metal frame, and part of that frame extended in a semicircle around the front, just forward of the foot controls (which were not very responsive to quick turns). Virtually every sleigh had significant bends in those semi-circle frames, keeping it from contacting a cypress knee. If your speed was too fast when hitting the cypress knees, it was like a catapult launching a dead weight into space. There were moguls (bumps) along the way, which made it more fun. A car hood would hold three or four members for the ride of your life down this hill, but it was just a little more challenging to get it back up to the top. On one occasion, Lynn Kirk was making her way down the hill, hit a mogul, slid off the sleigh on her face, and drew blood. It seems that her savior was close by, and after helping her up, she was escorted to the Russell house for a clean-up and some minor doctoring by Mrs. Emma Russell. She returned after some hot chocolate and made many more trips down this hill as we all did. What a great place for kids and adults to play and have fun!
Marl Pits (swimming holes)
We have an entire section on the marl holes from the perspective of making cement. In the eyes and minds of the many younger and some older folks in Chuckatuck, these holes were made for swimming, and nothing could stop us from enjoying such an unbelievable array of holes of varying depths and lots of tall banks to jump from. One hole was said to be bottomless, but now we doubt that. The first and best hole was adjacent to the Glasscock farm, and we even had the Lone Star heavies provide the wood for a float and, ultimately, a diving board. One individual who will remain nameless, until later, learned to swim in this hole at a very early age from the float when his mother took his life jacket off and holding him under his arms looked him straight in the face and said, “Either sink or swim, Drexel”. With that said, she tossed him backwards about six feet from the raft, and you bet your life Drexel did swim just like a puppy dog. From that day forward, in 1940, at the age of two, Drexel never wore a lifejacket while swimming in the marl holes. The area adjacent to this hole became the local garbage dump, and eventually, we left that swimming hole and moved to one behind where Marvin Winslow now lives. The older boys constructed a diving board, and because trees somewhat hid this hole, it was much easier to swim without the fear of getting caught. However, this would later become a problem due to a drowning that had occurred earlier. Even though Lone Star posted the property, the swimming and hunting continued up until it closed its operation. Ultimately, the marl holes were sold to the city of Suffolk and are now known as Lone Star Lakes.
MUSIC
Tent Shows (Local, Minstrel, Revivals, White’s)
Several local kids in the area would put on their version of a tent show in the same location in the 1930s, but in a much smaller venue. Sonny Chapman, Gibson Chapman, Claire Willoughby, Jenny Woodward, and “Chief” were the principal actors and would put on shows doing the Dippsy Doodle. I'm not sure what the charge was for these shows, but we’re sure they were good. Gibson Chapman laughed quite a bit during his interview when discussing these shows.