Harlin and Mildred are my paternal grandparents. In did several interviews with my grandmother during the last years of her life. She shared the following account of their courtship and marriage: "I was working at the Pol-mac Hotel in Campbell Missouri. One day after I got off work, I saw Harlin for the first time. He was driving a wagon on the way out of town near the railroad tracks. He looked over toward me, tipped his straw hat and smiled. After that I saw him at the Campbell Baptist Church at the Sunday evening services for the younger adults. He would dress up in his nice Sunday clothes and then walk three miles into town. He was quiet, very handsome, and a gentleman. I tried out for a play the church young adults were doing. We were supposed to read a couple of lines. We did not try out for a specific part. We were just cast us in the parts they felt we were best suited. Harlin also tried out for a part. They listed who got the parts in reverse order. After the first day all of the parts were cast except the four main parts. The next day, I found out that Harlin and I were cast in the lead roles. We practiced and rehearsed for two months. Often, we had to rehearse without Harlin because he was working out at the farm. We performed the play at churches in Campbell and in tge neighboring towns of Gideon, Maulden, and Pee Dee. We did the play for a couple of months, and you know something, not once did he ask me out! I asked him sometime later, how come he did not have the mind to ask me out? His response was that all those other boys were asking you out. I asked him, “did it ever occur to you that I might not like any of those other boys, but that I was doing the sociable thing by going out with them?" A few weeks after the play ended, Harlin asked me out, well kind of. He had a friend come up to me and asked, if I was not doing anything if I might consider going out with Harlin. It took him months of doing the play, and I did my best to show my interests and intents in wanting to go out with him, and yet he did not respond. He finally sends this friend over to ask me out. I asked him what took so long, and he said he was trying to save up money. For our first date, we went to the picture show in Campbell. He walked into town (about 3 miles) and he picked me up at the hotel. We had another date after that. A few days later, Harlin proposed to me at the hotel and I happily accepted. The hotel treated the two of us to a nice dinner. He said he would pick me up that Friday after work to get married. I finished work and then waited. About two hours passed while I waited"
Editors note: I asked her, “Didn’t you think about leaving?” Grandma’s response was no, I knew he would be there.” As we discussed further, I realized that it was not an issue of trust as much as it was a perception of time. Few people had phones, so they couldn't easily call each other and inform people of delays. Trains would arrive when they arrived. Horses pulling wagon’s took extra time and sometimes had to stop for water or rest. Cars were unreliable and often boiled over and would stop by a stream or farm for water. Her feelings were, “He would be there when he could get there, and he did arrive." Harlin had borrowed the car to go into town. He was late because water had washed over the gully and into the car. He asked Vernon (his brother) to help him with the car. Vernon didn’t want to do it, but did anyway. Harlin hadn’t told anybody he was getting married. Vernon pulled the car all the way into town with horses. They went to the McFarland garage owned by Harlin’s cousins and they took the engine apart to dry it out. The car had stalled and he had a problem with the right front wheel. We drove 12 miles to Piggot, Arkansas to get our marriage license, but it was too late in the day to get married. The next day, Harlin picked me up from the Hotel. We picked up another couple and drove to the farm of our former preacher. Harlin wanted his former preacher to marry us, who had moved to Arkansas. We went to the preacher’s house and we had to wake him out of bed. He took a long time to talk to us, about an hour. Finally, Harlin said, “Are you going to marry us or not?” The preacher’s response was, “Well, I was trying to give y’all every opportunity to back out before I do.”
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My great grandparents, George Washington Adams and Melinda Jane 'Linnie" McFarland were married on February 10, 1909. The pictures below are of the two of them The photos are undated, but by their appearance it was around the time they were married. My grandfather, Harlin Edward Adams was born two years later on January 11, 1909. Right after Harlin was born George was getting ready to go town Linnie also wanted to go. My Grandma Adams related the following story to me: “After Linnie said she wanted to go to town, George said, You are not going to town, you're staying right here. I’m going to the hard goods store and I have man’s work to take care of. Linnie said, I have been here for more than a month in this house I am to going to town. He turned and walked out saying, I don’t think so, and he went and hitched up the horses. Linnie bundled up Harlin and wrapped herself up because it was winter and she started walking toward Campbell which was about two miles away. George hitched up the wagon, and about half way to town came across her on the road. For more than a mile he tried coaxing and persuading her to get in the buggy but she refused. With greater determination she pressed on. Finally, at the town sign, she got in and said, When I say I'm going to town, I will go town!"
My grandma shared that George was a pretty bullheaded man and Linnie was a pretty determined woman. |
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