CHILDHOOD MEMORIES

MEMORIES OF CHILDHOOD

By Fred E. Kidd, 1918-2001
(transcribed by Margaret ‘Maggie’ Williams Kidd)

Ammie's father, my grandfather, J.R. Kidd, gave each of his boys a black land farm when they married and went out on their own. Ours was in the Forest Hill area. The US government bought our farm in 1930 for the U.S. Public Health Service Hospital, commonly called "the Narcotic Farm", so the family moved temporarily to Grandma's old house at 405 Cromwell Street in Fort Worth. We stayed there from June 16, to Nov. 1, 1933 when Daddy bought a farm at Bransford. Daddy was unable to make a success of this farm because the soil was poor and his equipment was inadequate. The land was what Daddy called "tight land".

After leaving this farm came a succession of moves which my parents kept hoping would better our family situation: To Grapevine in Nov. 1934, to Altus, OK in Nov. 1935, to South Main St. in Fort Worth 1936. We camped out on the Grapevine prairie in Aug. 1936 where all the family did farm labor (picking cotton, gathering corn, etc). In Nov. 1936 we moved to Elton Moreland's old house, in 1938 to the Horton Place (off FM 1709), in Nov. 1938 to the old Buckner house in Grapevine. In June 1939 we lived on a farm in Roanoke where Daddy collapsed and died while I was at work. After that, the family moved to Massey's place on the Grapevine prairie. While there, I worked for Mr. Massey, went to welding school and machine shop school.

In 1942 I was drafted into the army and sent to Ft. Belvoir, VA for basic training then to Baltimore, MD where I was sent to automotive school. After that I was sent to Ft. Screvins, GA where I joined the Engineers unit to be sent overseas. Our unit left from Ft. Doobin, Cal. And landed in Brisbane, Australia 27 days later. From there we went to New Guinea and spent 18 months doing port construction and repair, 1 year in the Philippines doing the same. In 1945 our unit was shipped to Japan as occupation troops. After about 2 months, fresh troops came in and we were brought home. I came back to the U.S. in Jan. 1946 after spending 30 months overseas. I was very thrilled to rejoin the family in Grapevine. Of course, by then the biggest majority of them had grown up and only Fannie, Junior and Butch remained at home.

One of my earliest childhood memories is of riding in the back of a wagon from my grandmother's house (J.R. Kidd) on Cromwell Street out to our home in Forest Hill. I must have been about 3 years old at the time. There was a big sack of apples in the wagon and I kept eating them until I had a terrible stomach ache. When we arrived home I crawled up under the bed and wouldn't come out, even though my dad and new stepmother Fannie pleaded with me.

As I grew older I was very curious about what made things tick. I was always taking things apart to see how they worked. One time the family left me at home while they went to church because I had a bad cold. I found my Dad's pocket watch and proceeded to take it all apart, but then I couldn't put it back together. Boy, was I in trouble when he came home!

I also remember making an unusual yo-yo out of two phonograph records and a washer. The yo-yo was so large that I climbed up on the rooftop to yo-yo it off the side on a long string. My brothers and sisters thought that was real neat.

Another vivid memory is the time the roof of the house caught on fire from sparks from the cook stove flue. Peggy was scared to death and stood in the yard crying hysterically. I found a ladder and a bucket and made several trips up to pour water on the fire. It only burned a relatively small place in the roof, but I was the family hero for putting it out and saving us all from disaster.

An especially fond memory is of going with the family to downtown Fort Worth to Everybody's Department Store to buy groceries. Everybody's had a grocery department on the main floor and it had a bakery. When I had money of my own to spend, I would buy a fresh loaf of "store bought" bread for 3 cents, then I would take it back to daddy's car and eat it all. Store bought bread was a treat in those days because we ate homemade bread every day. These days it's just the opposite.

As a kid, I was always a great one for playing tricks and pranks on my family members. Once I tricked my cousin Paschal into tasting some red hot peppers by telling him they were candy. I doubt that he has forgotten that prank to this day. My two older sisters, Rachel and Polly, also were subject to some of my pranks. I remember one time I crawled up under their bed while they were asleep and woke them up by sticking a long hat pin up through the mattress. Needless to say, both of them were pretty mad at me over my idea of fun.

Another early memory of mine includes my brother Robert. We had been sent to the hen house to gather eggs. The water bucket we had taken to put them in was full of fresh eggs, and we had an argument about who was going to get them to the house. I grabbed the bucket from Robert and they were scattered and broken all over the yard. My father happened to see this and I received a whipping that stayed with me a long time. A bucket of eggs in those days was very valuable and not be wasted over a brotherly squabble.

I've grown older and mellowed through the years, but I still try to coax my grandkids into tasting peppers which are "not hot". Kids these days must be a lot sharper than we were because I am seldom to get one of them to "bite".

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	MEMORIES OF CHILDHOOD
	By Fred E. Kidd, 1918-2001 (transcribed by Margaret ‘Maggie’ Williams Kidd) Ammie's father, my grandfather, J.R. Kidd, gave each of his boys a black land farm when they married and went out on their own. Ours was in the Forest Hill area. The US government bought our farm in 1930 for the U.S. Public Health Service Hospital, commonly called "the Narcotic Farm", so the family moved temporarily to Grandma's old house at 405 Cromwell Street in Fort Worth. We stayed there from June 16, to Nov. 1, 1933 when Daddy bought a farm at Bransford. Daddy was unable to make a success of this farm because the soil was poor and his equipment was inadequate. The land was what Daddy called "tight land". After leaving this farm came a succession of moves which my parents kept hoping would better our family situation: To Grapevine in Nov. 1934, to Altus, OK in Nov. 1935, to South Main St. in Fort Worth 1936. We camped out on the Grapevine prairie in Aug. 1936 where all the family did farm labor (picking cotton, gathering corn, etc). In Nov. 1936 we moved to Elton Moreland's old house, in 1938 to the Horton Place (off FM 1709), in Nov. 1938 to the old Buckner house in Grapevine. In June 1939 we lived on a farm in Roanoke where Daddy collapsed and died while I was at work. After that, the family moved to Massey's place on the Grapevine prairie. While there, I worked for Mr. Massey, went to welding school and machine shop school. In 1942 I was drafted into the army and sent to Ft. Belvoir, VA for basic training then to Baltimore, MD where I was sent to automotive school. After that I was sent to Ft. Screvins, GA where I joined the Engineers unit to be sent overseas. Our unit left from Ft. Doobin, Cal. And landed in Brisbane, Australia 27 days later. From there we went to New Guinea and spent 18 months doing port construction and repair, 1 year in the Philippines doing the same. In 1945 our unit was shipped to Japan as occupation troops. After about 2 months, fresh troops came in and we were brought home. I came back to the U.S. in Jan. 1946 after spending 30 months overseas. I was very thrilled to rejoin the family in Grapevine. Of course, by then the biggest majority of them had grown up and only Fannie, Junior and Butch remained at home. One of my earliest childhood memories is of riding in the back of a wagon from my grandmother's house (J.R. Kidd) on Cromwell Street out to our home in Forest Hill. I must have been about 3 years old at the time. There was a big sack of apples in the wagon and I kept eating them until I had a terrible stomach ache. When we arrived home I crawled up under the bed and wouldn't come out, even though my dad and new stepmother Fannie pleaded with me. As I grew older I was very curious about what made things tick. I was always taking things apart to see how they worked. One time the family left me at home while they went to church because I had a bad cold. I found my Dad's pocket watch and proceeded to take it all apart, but then I couldn't put it back together. Boy, was I in trouble when he came home! I also remember making an unusual yo-yo out of two phonograph records and a washer. The yo-yo was so large that I climbed up on the rooftop to yo-yo it off the side on a long string. My brothers and sisters thought that was real neat. Another vivid memory is the time the roof of the house caught on fire from sparks from the cook stove flue. Peggy was scared to death and stood in the yard crying hysterically. I found a ladder and a bucket and made several trips up to pour water on the fire. It only burned a relatively small place in the roof, but I was the family hero for putting it out and saving us all from disaster. An especially fond memory is of going with the family to downtown Fort Worth to Everybody's Department Store to buy groceries. Everybody's had a grocery department on the main floor and it had a bakery. When I had money of my own to spend, I would buy a fresh loaf of "store bought" bread for 3 cents, then I would take it back to daddy's car and eat it all. Store bought bread was a treat in those days because we ate homemade bread every day. These days it's just the opposite. As a kid, I was always a great one for playing tricks and pranks on my family members. Once I tricked my cousin Paschal into tasting some red hot peppers by telling him they were candy. I doubt that he has forgotten that prank to this day. My two older sisters, Rachel and Polly, also were subject to some of my pranks. I remember one time I crawled up under their bed while they were asleep and woke them up by sticking a long hat pin up through the mattress. Needless to say, both of them were pretty mad at me over my idea of fun. Another early memory of mine includes my brother Robert. We had been sent to the hen house to gather eggs. The water bucket we had taken to put them in was full of fresh eggs, and we had an argument about who was going to get them to the house. I grabbed the bucket from Robert and they were scattered and broken all over the yard. My father happened to see this and I received a whipping that stayed with me a long time. A bucket of eggs in those days was very valuable and not be wasted over a brotherly squabble. I've grown older and mellowed through the years, but I still try to coax my grandkids into tasting peppers which are "not hot". Kids these days must be a lot sharper than we were because I am seldom to get one of them to "bite".

		To include your stories and other information in this site, Email us at Webmaster.
Comments, suggestions, additional info are always welcomed., Please contact: Webmaster