Here is a picture I found of my grandfather, Herbert Williams, and his dad. Grandad had a reputation for being able to grow some mighty good fruits and vegetables. At harvest time he would load a bunch of the harvest into the wagon and go into town to sell them. Sometimes dad would go along but dad said that he himself was not much of a salesman. Grandpa would send him door to door and when a pretty girl would answer the door dad would get all embarassed and end asking directions or something. Grandpa, on the other hand, would began to call out to the people and you would began to see their heads popping out of the doors and windows to take a look. Soon he would have a bunch of people gathered around the wagon. It was not long and the fruits and the vegetables were all gone and they would head back home. Grandpa said that as he came into town, he would start out in a sing-song way a little verse that went like this . . . (see if you can hear him calling it out?) . . ."Watermelons, mushmelons, peaches, and to - MA - TOES . . .
THEY are COLD, they're FINE, they are RIGHT FRESH off the VI - ine.
They are COLD as ice, SWEET as honey,
WELL WORTH the money.
They will PAINT YOUR CHEEKS,
CURL YOUR HAIR,
and MAKE YOU FEEL LIKE A MILLIONARE."
In his later years when he would tell this story, he could not help going ahead and adding the following little verse as well. He would say: "Have you ever heard a name this long?"
"May Rose
Say Rose
Elizza Becca Jane
Katherine
Caroline
Mary Jane Pane."
After hearing these over and over as I grew up, I can still hear him tellin
g them to this day.
