Scot Family Of Kentucky (Chapter 3)

Chapter (3) 1953 to 1955

"Scot Family Of Kentucky"

         Gene Scott owned 2 cars 1941 and 1947 chevrolets. They both were old cars, but they ran good and were black. He gave Ronnie the 1941 Chev to tinker with. Ronnie learned a lot about mechanic work from working on the old car. Gene would get Ronnie to help adjust the valves on his old 1947 chev. Ronnie learned mechanic work real easily it intrigued him. When Gene had any car problems he always got Ronnie to do the work. Because of this he qyickly became a good mechanic. He enjoyed tinkering around with cars and when he repaired one it excited him. He soon began changing motors and transmissions and just about anything else. He learned a lot more about cars than Gene ever knew. He knew his Dad helped him to learn a lot of what he knew.

         One day a man named Nelson who lived in Riverdale came to the Scott's house. Nelson was a short man in his 30s he owned a 1939 Ford V8 sedan it was blue and in good shape. Ronnie fell in love with it right away even though it was an old car. Nelson told Ronnie he would trade him Ford for Chev. Of course Ronnie wanted to, but he knew his Dad Gene would have to approve of it. So when Gene came home from work that day and they were eating at the supper table. Ronnie asked Gene if he could trade cars to his surprise His Dad said okay. Gene seen the want to in Ronnie eyes. The next day Nelson brought the Ford up to Ronnie and drove the Chev home to Riverdale. Ronnie had heard so many good things about the V8 Ford Flathead he had to own one himself.

         Around the same time Jerry played with a couple of kids who lived up the road, Barbara, and Butch. Barbara was 15 and Butch was 12 and Jerry was 13 at the time. he was bitten by one of their many dogs. The mean dog bit him right on his nose it swelled up and looked real nasty. Jerry was playing with the dog and got to close to its face. Barbara, and Butches parents Bill and Mayble took Jerry to a doctor to make sure he was alright. After they returned they told him he could have his choice of the litter their female dog had. Jerry picked one out and brought him home. He was a black and white Terrier mixed. Jerry gave him the name Sport it was not long before all the Scott's children called Sport their own dog. Sport lived until he was 17 years old. He was the only dog the Scott kids grew up with.

         Ronnie, Jerry, and the Hensley boys Paul and Jimmy. Would sometimes go frog gigging in the school resovoir. It was once a creek they dammed one end it was a big lake. It was next to the school and supplied the schools water needs. At night with giggs and a bright light they would sneak around the lake to try to catch the frogs sleeping. When they found one they took their gigg and struck it in the Bull frogs body. Bull frogs hind legs were very tasty. You threw everything else away and just ate their hind legs. The gigg looked like a small pitch fork with barbed forks on it. If you made any noise the frogs would jump in the water for safety. You had to watch your step to sometimes you would come up on poison Cottom Mouth snake. They are a spieces of a water snake and the inside of their mouths is snow white. They are very poison and deceiving with their pretty white mouth.

         At age 15 Ronnie began to write poetry he liked to express his inner feelings of love on paper. He thought about a girl he had yet to meet and dreamed of how he wanted her to be. He pictured in his mind a dark headed beautiful petite girl. He would write his poetry about her charms and her beauty. Writing poetry allowed him to dream of the future in a special way. He had written several poems in a notebook he kept hiden under the matress of his bed. They were private thoughts and feelings he did not want anyone else to read them. This helped Ronnie to understand himself better by writing his poetry.

         The old Scott's house had a tin roof on it. Ronnie would get him a ball and practice catching it off the roof. After he threw the ball high upon the comb of the roof. He would run to the side of the house and tried to anticipate where the ball was going to role off the roof. This noise on the roof had to bother Lottie and Gene, but they never said anything. Sometimes he would have to lunge for the ball to catch it before it hit the ground. This improved his reflexes a lot and help him play the outfield much better. Because most of the catches of the ball off the roof were over his head. He soon developed the talent of catching a batted ball over his head in ball games. He became an excellent outfielder and he loved playing the game. This was the only time Ronnie truly felt he was as good or better than anyone else.

         Ronnie had a few friends living in Versailles he played with often. Most of the time they played baseball together. Bobby lived close to the little school His step Dad was named Joe, he was a sign painter, and his mother was named Mary. They lived at the bottom of the school house hill and next to the little grocery store. He played a lot with Bobby he would always go to Bobby's house to play. He would play ball on the school ball field with Doug, Dickie, Bobby's older brother, Bobby, and other kids. Bobby was the same age as Ronnie, but he was a little taller and bigger. Bobby was another good ball player he had a great arm and could really hit the ball hard. Sometimes they would play ball all day at the schools ball field. Most of the time there were enough boys to play a game of ball. Ronnie enjoyed those days playing ball with his friends on the schools field.

         Around this same time Ronnie would often go to Bobby house to help him with his school homework. This may sound a little funny because of Ronnie's own school grades. Believe it or not Bobby knew less than he did about Mathmatics, English, and Spelling. Sometimes after helping Bobby with his homework Ronnie and him would watch television. They would often play checkers and many card games. Ronnie and Bobby were the best of friends.

         Mary Bobby Mom was a good slow dancer and Bobby wanted to learn how to dance. He asked Mary if she would teach him the steps. After Bobby caught on to slow dancing with Mary's his mothers help. He asked Ronnie if he wanted to learn how to dance. Ronnie was a little relunctant at first, but agreed to try. Ronnie was a very stiff person this made dancing much harder for him to learn. After a few days with Mary showing Ronnie the steps and moves of slow dancing. He finally caught on to the basics of the slow dance. Later in life Ronnie became a good dancer because of Mary's help.

         Millard, Sonny, and JT. were some more of Ronnie's friends he played ball with in Versailles. They were fair ball players, but not real good. JT. family own a grocery store and a bar in town. He was their only child and got his way he always seemed to have money. He knew that Ronnie did not have a good ball glove and could not afford one. One day JT. asked Ronnie if he wanted to go to the city of Wellington with him. It was about 12 miles from Versailles. In those days people would give you a ride if you hitchhiked especially young boys. They did not have to walk far before they caught a ride with a man who lived in Postville. Once in Wellington JT. took Ronnie to a sporting good store and told him to pick out a ball glove for himself. Ronnie was overwhelmed with JT.s kind act. JT. told him that he would need a good ball glove if he was going to play Knohole baseball. This plesed Ronnie very much to know JT. liked him that much to buy him a ball glove. Jt. eventually moved to Florida with his parents sometimes he came back for visits.

         With his new glove Ronnie was 15 and ready to play Knothole baseball. He was short, but he was fast and a good outfielder. He loved to play it he knew he could hold his own with anyone in the game. He could bat left or right handed and hit well. His real love was chasing fly balls in the outfield. There he felt secure and confident in himself. When he had to bat it was another story he hated to bat. He felt very insecure cause he knew everybody was watching him bat. It was not that he was a poor hitter cause he was a good hitter. He was probably the best hitter on the Knothole team. His coach was very impressed with his playing ability and tried to get him to tryout for the Cincinnati Reds farm team. Ronnie was not able to bring himself to do this because of the Paronoia. It was not that he did not want to, but his inner fear stopped him. His Paranoia really held him back in his teen years.

         In 1953 Gene started letting Ronnie drive his car down the road to get drinking water at a spring. It was owned by the railroad company, but Gene's sister Lillian husband John Was the railroads local section foreman. They maintained the railroads tracks around the local area. He told Gene to get as much water from the spring as he needed. Everybody called him Mr. Proffit he was a real nice man. The Scott's did not have clean water to drink from their well. Ronnie was only 14, but he knew how to drive a car real good. Gene would let him drive the car to the spring and haul usually 3 buckets of water at a time each day. Most of the time Wendell his little brother would go with him to help. He was only 6 years old at the time he helped as much as he could. The spring was at the bottom of a hill and the water had to be hand carried up the hill. The 2 gallon buckets of water were heavy to carry up the hill. Ronnie would just fill Wendell's bucket a little because of the hill. He would carry two 2 gallons buckets full up the hill to the car himself. After they put them in the trunk of the car they would leave for home. Ronnie knew he would have to drive slow home to keep the water from splashing out. One day him and Wendell had gone to the spring to haul some water home. In front of the Scott's home was a real sharp curve in the road. When they went around it Wendell fell out of the car. Ronnie stopped the car immediately, and ran to Wendell. He was allright just a little shakened up and scratched by the gravel in the road. Thank God Ronnie was not driving fast. Wendell had his hands on the door handle when they went around the curve this is why he fell out. After that Ronnie always made sure the door was locked on Wendell's side. Ronnie would have died if Wendell had been hurt he loved him a lot.

         In the days before Gene allowed Ronnie to drive his car to haul the water. Dolores, Norma, and Ronnie carried it by hand up the road. The spring was about a quarter of a mile from the Scott's home. They got to know the kids who lived in the nearby section houses. They were 3 section houses that set on a hill over looking the spring. You had to work in the section gang in order to live in one. They were nice big brown colored houses. Every time the Scott kids would get their water from the spring they would talk to the families kids. The proffit's had 3 boys, and Mr. and Mrs. Bundy's had a girl and a boy. The other house was rented to different famlies a lot the Railroaders would live there a year or 2 then be transeferred to another area. Most of the families were from the hills of Kentucky.

         In 1953, Gene and Lottie had 10 children to take care of. Diane was borned in 1952, and Candy the baby was borned in 1953. Candy was borned on Ronnie's birthday he was so happy no better gift could he have received. By then Gene had electricity installed in the old house. This made things a lot easier on Lottie. He bought Lottie a refigerator, a wash machine, and a gas range to cook on. Gene also had a new systern built so they would not have to haul the spring water. Gene's brother Howard built it he did that kind of work. It was a big systern 16ft. deep and 12ft. wide. Gene wanted to make sure he did not run out of water, and he never did.

         Around this time Ronnie asked Gene if he would by a television for the Scott's home. Now that they had electricity in their house. Gene agreed, he could not afford a new one so he bought a used one. He took Ronnie with him to an used furniture store and let him pick out a cheap television. He liked a little GE. 9 inch black and white TV. They brought it home and after they set the outside antenna for the best reception as they could. They started to watch it all the kids were thrilled to have it to watch. Before long Gene and Lottie were watching it often too. Gene liked to watch the wrestling matches on Saturdays and Sundays. He would get so excited and shake all over. He believed it was real, but anyone could see it was fake. None of the children dared to tell him that though. The Scott children would watch cowboy movies and a few kids shows. They were all thrilled to have the television to watch and enjoy.

         At age 15 Ronnie was so lonely for a girl friend. He would go out to sit in Gene's car and listen to the radio. Back then there was only am reception and no fm. The radio had a lot of static in its sound too. Gene had bought a 1941 Chevrolet you did not need a key for the ignition unless it was turned to the locked position. Gene never locked it so Ronnie would go get in it and listen to a little music, mostly country. This was before rock-n-roll came to be. Sometimes he would just sit in the quiet of the car and talk to God about his problems. He asked God to send him a guiding angel to help him and show him the right way. Little did Ronnie know then, but he would get his wish oneday.

         Ronnie's second year in junior high school was not any better than the first one. He was a year older, but had the same Paronoia feelings. He did talk a little to one of the girls in class. Her name was Angela he had a secret crush on her she was really pretty. One day he went to get some food at lunch time in the cafeteria. He loved mashed potatoes and gravy when he seen them there as a choice of food his mouth started to water. So he was served a big helping of potatoes, gravy, and roast beef. He went to the nearest empty table and sat down. Then he looked in his plate to his surprise there was the biggest fly he had ever seen. He got sick and through all the food away. He never ate in the cafeteria after that.

          At this time in Ronnie's English class he had a teacher who wore a toupay, his name was Mr. Bolt. None of the boys liked him Ronnie thought he was alright. He liked Ronnie too mr. bolt gave him high grades in his class. This was not the reason Ronnie liked him even though he wore a toupay this did not make him a bad teacher. He gave Ronnie a B- in English and Spelling. Of course he would have the class stand around the room for a Spelling Bee. Ronnie would always last until it got down to 2 or 3 girls and him then he would delibertly miss a word. He never wanted to be the center of attention at any time.

         In 1954 Ronnie's last year in junior high school was terrible. Even though they should not have passed him to the 8th grade they passed him any way. It was the same old story his Paronoia prevented him from learning anything. He felt the other students were watching and talking about him. Naturally they did not even think of such a thing. It was his own insecurity in himself, and his inferiority complex. He could feel the Paronoia getting worse each year. Ronnie never confided in anyone about his problem. His parents already had to much to handle with their big family. He knew he would turn 16 in the middle of the school year. Ronnie made his mind up to quit school at 16. Gene and Lottie did not want him too, but he got his way and quit school. He soon was sorry for it, but what could he do with his Paranoia.

         Ronnie was a little older now and he began to be more aware of his dress and hair. They were several girls around Versailles who liked him, but he was so shy. Some of the girls even came to the Scott's house to see him. There was a girl who lived up the road named Pat who came to his house a lot. He liked her, but not as a girl friend. She came to see him almost everyday for awhile. Another girl who lived at a Baptist retreat grounds liked him too. Her name was Joyce and Ronnie liked her too. Some of his friends and him would go to the Retreat to play. They had swings, a ball field, Teeter tauter, and in the basement of the church there was a roller rink. It took Ronnie awhile to find out Joyce like him the best of the boys. Sonny one of the boys asked her who she liked and she told him Ronnie. Sonny told him and he soon played together with Joyce swinging and teeter tautering. they were alone while the other boys would roller skate in the basement of the church. Ronnie felt good that a girl actually cared for him. She soon moved away her Dad was a preacher he found a church to preach in.

         About this same time In 1955 Ronnie was 17 he would often walk to Riverdale to his Grandma Bertha house. His Aunt Bessie's girl Bonnie and his Aunt Ida boy Charlie lived with her. Bonnie was a couple of years younger than Charles and Ronnie. She was a real pretty girl and liked Ronnie a lot as her cousin. She had a boy friend who lived down the road about 4 miles his name was Jerry. He was sort of a wild boy he hung around the local bar and drink a lot, and had wild friends. Charles would often drive Grandma's car and take Bonnie to see Jerry. One night when they went to see him they took Ronnie with them. Jerry was there at the bar Charles went in and got him. When Jerry walked out of the bar one of his friends came with him. His friend looked around he seen Ronnie in the back seat of the car. I guess he thought Ronnie was one of Bonnie's boy friends and pull out a pistol. He stuck it in the window where Ronnie was right in his face. It scared Ronnie to death, but Ronnie just looked at the guy and did not say anything. Finally the guy walked away and soon Charles drove the car away. 2 weeks later Jerry and his same friend were drunk. They drove their car off the highway and down a big hill onto the railroad tracks below. It killed both of them instantly and broke Bonnie's heart. Ronnie never told them about Jerry's friend pulling the pistol on him.

         Lottie Scott who was always a worry wart when it came to her kids. Developed a severe nervous condition She had to be hospitalized. Before she was treated for her condition she got violent at times. She even pulled a knife on Ronnie and told him she would stab him. He was not worried so much about her stabbing him, but Ronnie did worry about the kids getting hurt. One day she got her hands on a brick and threw it at the television breaking the picture tube. On another day she got outside by herself and started a fire in the yard. Mrs. Hensley saw her and called the police to come. The police took Lottie to the hospital to get help for her nerves. She under went the shock treatments they gave to the mental patients. Ronnie being the oldest child living at the Scott's home. Had to assume the care of his siblings. Gene could not afford to pay a baby sitter so Ronnie done his best. He would wash the all clothes, cook for them and Gene, an d tried to keep the house clean. It was a hard job for a boy 18 years old. Everywhere he went he would take the younger kids. Naturally the kids grew fond of their big brother. He would often bake the kids cakes and other sweet things. Dianne was 5 and Candy was 3 at the time, and They were Ronnie's favorite siblings. Candy was the last borned in the Scott family.

End Chapter (3)
BY: Kings Chapter (4) "Scott Family Of Kentucky Chapter (4)"