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"I REMEMBER"Both of my grandfathers fought in the Civil War. Our grandfather, Richard Henry Wilks was from Tennessee and fought in that war and was taken prisoner. When the war was over he was freed but was too sick and weak to travel. A good family from the North took him in and fed and nursed him until he was able to make it back home. They had to have been wonderful Christians, as he said he was lousey as a hog, besides being sick and weak. He had almost starved to death while in prison. When he finally did get home Grandmother, Dolly Dickey Wilks, hardly recognized him, he was so thin. She was over- joyed to see him, as she had never had one word from him, thought he had been killed. She too, had had a hard time to keep soul and body together for herself and two small children (Uncle W. Henry Wilks and Aunt Florence (Dutch) Wilks). The thing that Grandmother missed most was salt....She would go out and dig up the dirt around the smokehouse where they had hung meat to cure. She would put water over the dirt and let settle, then use that water for seasoning food. That made a deep impression on me. I am never without salt in my home. Our mother's father, Andrew Jackson Ball (Jack) was too young to fight. So, he ran away and enlisted as a Drummer Boy. He too, wanted to do his part. His youngest daughter, Cynthia Fender, widow of D. W. Fender, is still living near Pocahontas, Arkansas and she is still as spry as a cricket. It was said of grandfather Ball that he was the fastest walker of anyone in Arkansas. I could believe that as my mother could sure out walk any of her girls. Both grandfathers have a bunch of descendants still
living in California, Arkansas, New Mexico and Texas.
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