Old Jefferson — The Grand Mentor

Peyton Smith’s Grocery – June 21, 1936

The usual Saturday morning crowd was gathered when Peyton Smith planted the seed for the idea that would change Old Jefferson forever.

“You know time doesn’t seem to have any identity. You can’t see it or hear it as it passes. We carry a pocket watch or have a clock that ticks as if time were not silent. A time piece reminds us of time but it is not time. It is really events that mark the passing of time. ie: We are born, cut our first teeth, start to school, break a bone, get a job, get married, have kids, etc. All these are events which mark time for us.

Now that we are in what is being called an economic depression this will be an event which marks time for all of us for years to come.

We can already see how this “depression” has changed lives. We all have to get by on less. Some of us were rich and are now poor. Some are depressed, others have begun to fight and steal from their neighbors. Children are often beaten for no reason, wives are battered, couples have divorced, and a few of our women have turned to prostitution. A few men have begun to make “moonshine” and sell it to their neighbors who have become drunkards.

I have an idea: this depression is not going to last more than a few more years. Why don’t we put our heads and hearts together and see if we can’t come up with a plan to survive without falling apart (as we have been doing). What would happen if we think of our whole community as one family? If some of us have more than we need and our neighbor’s children are hungry and barefoot, it is in the best interest of all of us that we do something before it’s too late.”

The others gathered at the store soberly agreed something needed to be done.

Everyone was silent for what seemed like several minutes. Finally Ben Ward broke the silence. “Peyton, you seem to have done some thinking about this thing. You see the people who come into your store. All of us try to put on our best appearance, but when a family runs out of money their grocer is the first to know. Tell us more of your idea on how to help all of us endure without hitting bottom or turning against one another.”

Peyton listened to Ben’s words, knowing that his neighbor had also done a lot of soul searching and praying about the tough times that had hit Old Jefferson.

Peyton began talking, with long pauses between his comments. It was as though he were in a form of meditation rather than talking about an idea.

“To begin with, things are not hopeless. God has not forsaken us, we are free people, the twenty-four families in our community are mostly good and respectable people, the occasional theft a man does is more than likely to get food for his family. Our government is doing some things to create jobs. Our roads are gravel but they are well maintained and safe. Most of our farms and houses are paid for. Nearly every person in our community who is able to work, which is most everyone, either knows a trade or has a high school education. Two or three have college degrees.

We have a vacant house here and there which could be a house for an additional family.

Collectively we have enough to get by for a while. There seems to be about twenty percent of us who are experiencing eighty percent of the hardship. Of our twenty-four families, about five are really struggling. One or two are hungry.

The first suggestion I would make is that we do an honest appraisal of our collective strengths and assets.

The same would tell us how much difficulty each of us is expenencing.

I suggest that before we start anything we make sure everyone of our neighbors has adequate food and shelter.

Some form of banking should be set up to serve our 24 families. The best bet is probably one of those new credit unions. But we will probably have to use script for cash.

As soon as we know who is out of work we need to start creating some jobs. Those of us needing help on the farm or in the mill or store can provide some full or part time jobs.

This is a good time to build and repair if we have any money. Labor and materials will never be cheaper.

We need to start a training program for everyone who wants to better him or her self.

We are skilled at:

Farming – Forestry – Fencing
Maintenance- Machine Shop
Teaching- Accounting – Bookkeeping
Merchandising- Sales Training
Light Manufacturing
Carpentry- Mechanics- Machinists
Food Processing – Gardening
1. Canned Vegetables
2. Canned Fruits
3. Jams & Jellies
Investing
1. Real Estate
2. Cattle
3. Horses
4. Equipment
Meat Processing
1. Country Ham
2. Sausage
3. Bacon
Baked Goods
1. Fruit Cakes
2. Biscuits – Cornbread
3. Cakes – Cookies
Light Industry
Construction: Houses – Barns – Buildings
1. Shoeing Horses & Mules
2. Welding
3. Building Wagons (horse drawn)
4. Building Buggies