Trenton Street - Harriman, Tennessee

When I was in the 5th grade of schooling we moved to Harriman Tennessee. The Elementary school house had burned a year or so before so different grades were in the churches around town and I found myself in a Methodist church across the street from the Barter Store.

We were just scraping by financially with my mother working in a textile mill. The only other business that was between school and home was a Furniture store and the Greyhound Bus Station and I knew I had no chance of landing any work there. So I began stopping in to ask if I could help out for some money. I began sweeping up, emptying the trash, dusting off and running errands like mail to the post office for 10 cents and hour.

Soon I was moved to 15 cents when I began trading with the other children that came in with funny books. My instructions were “Two for three” and they can’t read ‘em while in the store. I became good at this trading business but you might know a couple of boys seemed to want to push me around because I was little and scrawny to say the least.

Mr. Sturgges came to my rescue and that made me feel important and needed. This was my first job for pay and I had a need to do well in order to keep the money coming in. I can still remember my mother and me counting our money together at the kitchen table.

Many years later I went back to visit only to find Mr. Sturgges gone and the building in serious disrepair. I drew what I found in order to capture the shadows of my life. I hope you will find this a worthy effort.