Page 54 - Anthology

Let me tell you about my red beard. After we were taken prisoners, we didn’t have any razor or anything
to shave with and we had not shaved for several weeks. I had a red beard and it was a pretty good size
by the time I got to shave it off. I shaved it off in cold water. Just cold water, so it was tough to do. But
we got it done. I didn’t want it, so I got rid of it. It hurt to shave it off and a lot of the prisoners did not
know me the next day. They had been with me for quite a while and they just didn’t know who I was.

I like to be called by the name Huston. I was drafted into the United States Army in November 1943. My
family was not in favor of me having to be in the military. My father had served in WWI and returned with
a negative opinion of the army. Naturally, I formed the same opinion and therefore was not looking
forward to serving.

I was born in a rural area of Anderson County, Kentucky, in August of 1923.

My early childhood was spent working on the family farm. My family raised tobacco, corn, hay and eight
cows. All the farming was done with horses, no tractors. I had no transportation to go into town, so my
days were spent on the farm. My family did not own an automobile. They traveled by horse and buggy or
walked. Avenstoke, Kentucky, was the nearest community to the family farm and was approximately
three miles away.

The fondest memory I have of my early childhood was catching a ride to church. I got to go somewhere.
The church is a beautiful old country church and continues to hold service today. We have always been a
member of the Pigeon Fork Church. It is located in Waddy, Kentucky, about 12 miles from my family
farm.

Pigeon Fork Baptist Church

I would ride in the back of a truck to attend church. The driver was Mr. Haskell Franklin, the uncle of the
girl I would eventually marry. Haskell would pick up several people, take them to church and give them a
ride home after services. Haskell was a good man, and he had to be because he was the only boy – he
had five sisters. Haskell had a good voice and was a singer in the church. Haskell’s family had a quartet
and would travel around singing troubadour style.