Person:Joseph Smith (228)

Howard would not "horse trade" or otherwise work on Sundays. He always had a large wad of Mail Pouch chewing tobacco in his cheek, and would fire off a volley of spit to emphasize a conversation point. Howard and Lucile took over the farming of "Brookside Farm" from his dad & mom. At Thanksgiving there would be a morning squirrel hunt in the Catalpa forest on the west side of the farm. That was a great place for a kid to wander. There was not a lot of brush, but a lot of long grass. It resembled green waves flowing around the tree trunks. Occasionally, deer would be sighted near the remaining native woods to the south.

    They had hundreds of chickens, and a local fox would get into them night after night. Dad would wait on the porch swing in the dark with his shotgun across his lap, hoping to put an end to the loss of stock and eggs; but every time the fox would wait until the coast was clear and then strike again. Finally Dad's bad luck changed. He looked out the window into the barn lot one night, and was delighted to see his foe sneaking along the edge of the street light beam. He posted his wife by the floodlight switch in the kitchen, gripped his shotgun tightly, and yelled, "NOW" as he lept onto the porch. Unfortunately, the yell unnerved Lucile so, she turned on the kitchen light instead! Dad swore he heard the fox chuckling softly as he loped away to raid another day.

As related by their son, Glendon 7/99.

1. ↑ 1910 census for Elwood City, Pipecreek Twp., Madison Co., IN. (Supervisor's district #8, Enumeration district #115)
   page 15B.

   1910 census for Elwood City, Pipecreek Twp., Madison Co., IN, (Supervisor's district #8, Enumeration district #115.