Peninsula In Passage

there were no power lines and the power company said if you clear the right of way, we’ll bring the power. It took three to four years to do that. We had no indoor plumbing, just a pump in the kitchen for water, and used a wood stove for heat and kerosene for light. We had a gas refrigerator and finally got an oil-burning heater. I made lots of quilts and feather beds. It was quite comfortable but we outgrew the little house and went to the Poor Board to see if we built a new house would they provide the materials. They did and in 1955/56 we built a new brick house with 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms and a big basement where I did my canning. I cooked three meals a day – breakfast – bacon, eggs, sausages, pancakes. Had our big meal in middle of the day, always, and biscuits with every meal. My husband was a big eater but he worked it off. I was the bookkeeper for the farm. I also made all the girls’ dresses, many from printed feed sacks that I also used to ruffle kitchen curtains and for towels. My friends at church all did the same thing. We joined Berea Christian Church, a big part of our lives, in 1944, and all the girls were married there. I loved the smell of flowers and had a large garden - one of

Lucille Copeland and Sarah Bennett

friendship – everyone gave me flowers to plant. The girls had to get the eggs from the hen house and were afraid of the snakes that would get under the nests. The Muscovy ducks would chase the girls – Sarah was terrified and screamed bloody murder. We had cows and chickens so I could sell eggs and butter. We had a watch turkey that would chase people. We killed and cooked him – tough as whipped leather. We kept New Hampshire hogs and made sausage, lard, bacon, hams. We used to drive a pick-up truck with a sheet in the bed under the grapevines and pick grapes to make wine. I did a lot of fishing for croaker, spot, dogfish, some rockfish and an occasional catfish I could stand at the kitchen window and watch the line I kept in the water and run out to pull in the fish when it struck. Life on the water was an experience – always someone in trouble. A couple helicopters made emergency landings and the crews couldn’t leave so we gave them food and drinks. Two young boys from Respass Beach were lost on the Nansemond River and one went overboard. One couple was moving their boat to Newport News when he fell overboard and she was sure he had drowned. She came ashore and fought her way through brambles and vines up the beach to the house, screaming. Turned out the husband was alive and clinging to a buoy.

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