W. P. Jeffers

Written by Marvin L. Jeffers at the age of 86 about his Grandfather, William Pierce Jeffers (1831 -1907)

 

I believed him to be a wonderful man. Wise, thoughtful, well behaved, kind, honest, respected, and loved by all. He belonged to the Masonic Lodge, attended their meetings, but never went to church.

By my questions, and listening to his answers, I learned that he was more interested in nature than anything else. I came to the conclusion that nature was his Bible, so to speak, though he never said it was. When I asked him about eternal life, his answer was from nature. Seeds. Season after season, it lives on and on. The answers were always founded in nature, never the Bible. When I questioned him about the Bible, he answered, “The Bible is Jewish History and Jewish hopes, written by Jews mostly, who were steeped in bigotry." (Exclamation! Jews were rare. Ignorance-based prejudice was almost universal in that time and place.) I asked if it was the truth. His answer was, "Mostly," then he said, "I'd rather you read it and come to your own conclusion." Then said, lithe history I suppose to be true. Some incidents I question."

I talked with him, I lived with him from the age of about seven years to the age of sixteen (1898 to 1907). I never knew him to become the least bit ruffled, he was always calm, considerate, and self-contained. I knew him. I knew him well.

Grandfather was a self made veterinarian. Horse doctor was the term used in his day. He did some traveling over the area. I was with him at home or abroad. He walked everywhere he would go. He made a number of trips to Noel, Missouri, nine miles west of home. We did not follow the winding, twisting roads. Direction, as the crow flies -through woods, over the hills, across the valleys -straight to our destination. We would start early, while the dew was still on the roses. Early. Arrive in Noel near ten o'clock. Do what he had to do, return home' by way of Elk Springs, MO. Eat the noon meal with a relative of his, then from there home. I enjoyed the trips. There were deer, wild turkeys, rabbits, squirrel. Wild animals of many kind, and birds. We wouldn't go far, though, before he would find or cut him a stick for a walking cane. Walking a slow gait, never stopping. I would play, chase squirrels or rabbits, or watch birds. Then run to catch up with him. Then we would walk and talk. His thoughts about nature are still with me. I believe now as he believed. I loved him. He loved me, and gave me something to live by. Grandfather used to split clap-boards, like shingles, to roof a log cabin. Eighteen to twenty inches long and four to eight inches wide. About three-eighths inch thick.

Know-how and skillful hands were what it took to do the work. This is what he did when nothing else was urgent. I never knew what he charged. I do know they sold for so much a thousand. They too, were used on box cabins. When sawed shingles came on the market, making clap-boards came to a dead end. I never knew how many Grandfather could make in one day. I do know it was slow work. I heard some men wouldn't put clap-boards or shingles on a cabin in the light of the moon. The would put them on in the dark of the moon. They said shingles put on in the light of the moon would curl up and split. T light of the moon was from full moon to new moon. When I asked Grandfather about the moon's effect on shingles, he said, "Nonsense, I think the man that put them on had more to do with it then the moon."

Grandfather had a way with bees. Honey bees. He always had five or six Stands f bees. I don't remember

being without honey. Hunting bees in the woods -and there were lots of woods to hunt in -seemed to be his

hobby. He would soak corn cobs in watered molasses over nigh . Next day he would take the cobs and place

them where they were easily seen, some place in the woods. Three or four days later he'd check, if there

was a bee tree close by the bees would be working on the cobs. Bees would come and go. We would watch the ones leaving, they would rise, circle, then take off on a straight line for the tree they live in. We would  follow the bee. That is, we would go in the same direction the bee had gone. Watch for the bees going and

coming. We seldom"missed, if ever. By watching the bees going in and out of their hole in the tree, we could determine the size of the colony. If it was a small colony, we gave them time to grow up. If large enough, we would prepare to take both bees and honey. A hive is a box, a home for bees. We take a hive, an ax, and a saw. A smoker, something to burn in the smoker. Something to bring the honey home in. We take only what we think we will need. Of course, the first thing to do is get the tree down, then wait about ten minutes, to give the bees time to settle down. They seem to get over the shock. Then we go in with smoke and look for the queen. We place the empty hive as near as can be. Put some molasses near the doorway in the hive and place the queen at the doorway. I wondered how, but they always seem to know where the queen is. In a very short time the queen and most of the bees are in the hive. Then we open up the tree and take the honey. We go home leaving the hive until darkness. At night, when the bees are all in the hive, go back, stop the doorway and take the hive. Grandfather sold most of the bees to a man living between Noel and Pineville. This man furnished Grandfather with hives. This man, a Mr. Williams, was always spoken of as the bee man. He knew a lot about bees and shipped them to other parts of the world.

Additional information about this story

Written by Marvin L. Jeffers at the age of 86 about his Grandfather, William Pierce Jeffers (1831 -1907)

Location McDonald Co, MO.