the squatters (standard:Inspirational stories, 3406 words)
Author: stanley mcqueen kentucky backwoods writer	Added: May 23 2009	Views/Reads: 3307/2146	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
this story is about a family who find a place to live when they had some bad fortune in virginia and traveled to kentucky to find a place to work and settled down

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man set and talk and the man tells paw that he is so thankful for him 
helping him and his family , and that he never had any intentions of 
doing any harm while they were camped on paws” land, thing had settled 
down with paw and he was being reasonable now concerning the new 
strangers that had come and camped on our property 

paw tells the man that if he would help him clear some land that he
would give him a place on our land to build a cabin for his family, 
that is if the man was willing to work for it and help us around our 
place, we grow corn he tells the interested stranger and it takes 
cleared land to make a corn crop and I am a man of my word paw assures 
the man, well sir I have strong back and I am sure willing to pitch in 
and help for a little spot of land to settle on , we come from Virginia 
, I was working in a deep mine and the coal cropped out and I lost my 
job their and I decided to head down here to Kentucky and see if I 
could find some work and settle here , and I declare  to you I am not a 
squatter or a rambler but a man who need a place to settle on and 
finish raising my three , paw tells the man that he believe he is 
telling the truth. Paw and the man shook hands on the new deal , and I 
was glad to hear that they would be staying, around. I was bound to get 
to know his young daughter , and now I have the chance of that. 

The man tells paw his name Is woooster snoot and his wife name is Mary
and his two sons name are Tom and Fred and the little pretty daughter 
is called Martha rose , paw share his name which is Luther and maw name 
is Sara and then he says” to him my son name is William , after the 
name sharing paw and Jake went walking and paw showed him around the 
place and maw tended to his sick wife and made a good supper in between 
watching after the woman.  Each of them eat hardly and maw made a broth 
for the woman to drink her fever broke and she seem to be some better . 


It was good having the new people here , we had scattered neighbors that
we hardly ever saw, making for a lonesome feeling at times, the day 
passed and paw had the family to bed down in the barn shed in the hay 
and the next day and Mary was much better, I hadn't the chance to say a 
word to the Martha rose yet but that will change soon , 

the next day was sunny and warm and paw and Jake went to the township to
fetch the doctor , old man Moore was the only doctor for miles around, 
and old country doctor that had few skills in medicine and sickness, he 
has study some medical books was about all the training he had, but he 
was better than noting , 

that next day I got my chance to talk to Martha rose , I went down to
the barn to get my saddle and she was standing at the mouth of the barn 
door, mammy had told her where the corn was and she was feeding mammy 
chickens, she spoke a soft howdy and I thought this was my chance to 
make conversation with her, how is sleeping in the barn shed I asked 
her,? oh it isn't so bad the hay is soft and better than the bottom of 
our wagon she answered” I must say you are a awful pretty girl and she 
blushed at my comment and I wish I had not come off so forward, I hope 
you all settle here and we can be friends I added trying to pass away 
my remark” 

Paw is a hard worker and he is a man of his word he will keep his end of
the deal , and I think we can be friends at least I hope so she said 
“right shy like,” if you would want to I would like you to take little 
walk around the ridge just a little ways , “our hog lot is not far and 
I want you two see a the little pigs that was born about three days ago 
, they are eight of them and they are all different colored, I like to 
see the pigs lets go she said “ so we head off following the well worn 
path that leads to out pig pens, , Girls are scarce around here most of 
the other residents of these parts have boys and what few girls they 
are have already  boy friends ,when we got to the hog pen she marveled 
at the little pretty piglets they are so pretty she said” I just love 
little baby pigs don't you she asked? Yes I get a kick at watching them 
little fellows roam around the pig lot following their mammy , there is 
something pleasing about them that I cannot explain” yes your right 
just something special she repeated my words. 

We both stand and watch the pigs for a while and she told me she better
get back and see how her mother was doing, so we walked back around the 
ridge to the house, I could tell she was close to her paw and mammy, 
Tom and Fred was still asleep and it was nigh nine o clock in the 
morning, the boys has played hard in front of the bar yesterday , where 
paw and I had some horse shoe stakes and the two played horseshoe 
games, it was good having the family here , not many folks here in 
these parts to visit much and sometimes they was lonesome feeling 
without people being around, 

Martha was the first girl I ever took a shine too something about her
smile and those blue bird blue eyes of hers that had  captured my 
heart, I was hoping she was feeling the same about me, but it was hard 
to tell about that, she seem friendly enough , and I knew that we both 
were have a more time to get to know each other, 

her mammy was getting much better and she was able now to get out of bed
and set on the porch stoop, her and Mammy had hit it off real good ,maw 
treated her good, like she was kin to us, it pleased me to see my 
parents so neighborly and friendly with these stranger folks that had 
come to our place , 

paw and her paw has took the wagon and went to the land that paw suppose
to have cleared, I knew that peace of land that paw was going to give 
him was steep, but would be fit for a nice cabin to be built for them 
to live in, and I also knew that he would have to earn it , by helping 
paw clear some ground for the next spring planting, things were going 
good now rose mother was on the mend and paw had told them that they 
was welcome to stay in the barn shed till paw and I Wooster would cut 
log off the land we were clearing and build them a sturdy cabin, paw 
promised him eight good acres for his years work which seem fair to me, 
paw was not such a bad sort of person he just thought people should 
work and work hard  to make it in this rough country we has settled in, 
paw has staked his claim on this land thirty years since I was born one 
hundred and fifty acres of mostly steep land , and rocky and had to 
plow and grow corn crops on , but like paw always declared where there 
is a will there is a way... 

it had been a full month and we had cleared a lot of land w we would
clear a spot one day and then the next day we would pull the logs that 
would be for woosters cabin , even the boys pitched in and help pull 
roots and sprouts off the land , it was hard work but we made progress 
ever day , wooster and paw cut the largest trees with a cross cut saw, 
paw and wooster were men of like strength and made for a good cutting 
team. We piled big heap of brush for the trees and would burn them this 
fall just before winter when the woods were damp and would not catch 
the woods on fire, it was sort of fun to work and the more work we done 
the stronger I seem to be getting, “it was like paw always said' hard 
work want kill no body but the lack of working a man will starve to 
death, 

Before long a year has slipped by and we finished the new cabin and it
was made extra large even with a dirt floor it was fit to live in , maw 
decided to have a sort of celebration on the day they was to move in 
her and rose mother prepared a big meal to take on the wagon to the 
cabin and we would eat on some homemade eating table in the yard that 
would soon be taken inside along with the house plunder they had 
brought from Virginia , it was a sunny day a good day to be alive and 
celebrate our new neighbor cabin, when we got there Mammy and wooster 
wife set the food on the large table , fried chicken and potatoes and 
green beans and corn bread, it was a feast for sure, after we all eat 
and talked about our past years work and how things had went so well , 
having enough land cleared now for more corn to grow, and paw was going 
to take wooster into town and make the land over in his name, paw had 
more land that we needed there just being the three of us , and now we 
would have neighbors good hardworking trusting neigbors, paw and 
wooster had become the best of friend, paw made jokes along while him 
and jake worked together and it was good seeing paw so happy with these 
new friend that had come in the night and it was as if they were meant 
to be here the way things worked out.. 

Rose and I went off after eating and took a stroll and she wanted to
show me where she had seen a squirrels nest, it was in a tree just a 
little ways from the new cabin, we walked along and talking and she 
told me that she has never been this happy in her whole life, my paw is 
going to own his on land tomorrow she said” and I am so glad she 
repeated ‘ 

well your paw is deserving to have it he worked and kept his end of the
deal and seeing paw and my mother so happy having you all as neighbor 
and friends is sure a good thing I said” as we stopped to look at the 
nest that a squirrel had made, 

I would like to ask you something she said” if you don't mind” what I
say “ have you ever kissed a girl ? 

She caught me off guard and I would never of thought she would of asked
such a question to shy liked fellow such as me, nope you the first girl 
I ever really talked to much , and nope I have never done that kissing 
before, but I do know a gal I would sure like to kiss I say looking 
into her beautiful blue sky eyes , what is her name does she live 
someone around these parts she asked ? Yes I answered “ as a matter of 
fact she lives real close to here , where she asked,? See that path we 
just come down she lives in a brand new cabin , she does she said; 
don't you get it its you that I would loved to kiss, oh she blushed ‘ 
you silly boy she added, well you asked and I told you who I would love 
to kiss and it isn't my fault but yours you did asked me and I told 
you, I haven't a clue how it happen , but suddenly our lips meet there 
in the stillness of the green woodland it seemed sparks went out the 
top of my head, her lips were soft like the touch of a rose flower, 
that was the start of our relationship we both grew into a man a woman 
and soon we were married, and paw and wooster helped us build our new 
cabin and paw give us a parcel of land, life here is much better and 
happy days filled with love and hard work , sometimes its hard to 
understand how the lord works and bines folks to meet and fall in love, 
but Martha rose was a God sent special picked by the hand of God just 
for a poor old plow boy like me, next fall if the lord is willing we 
will have our first born , just like the seed of corn plant two and end 
up with a ear ,with many grains, Paw and mammy are so happy that they 
are going to be called grandpa and grandma and so is Martha rose folks 
, thing got any better around here I don't think I could stand many 
more blessings, love is  a small word it cannot be worked out or bought 
and is what keep and bines family and people together, and without love 
the world would end and joy and peace would never be spoken of , it is 
my hope that this story means something to you and let you know just 
how important it Is to love thy neighbor as thy self ....the end


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