Higher Calling-Part Four

Family Ties

John and Mary Monk had ten children and worked on various farms in the Harford County area. The journey had been long, but here was a new place to put down roots. Life as a migrant farmer was by definition a hard life. The determination to carry on, to keep the circle unbroken was in the blood. 

Of the ten children, not all of them had been born in the south. Still, ties that bind are hard to break. Frazer Lee, Flora Evelyn, Hettie Ann, William Estel, Oliver Arch, Bascom Slimp, John Counts, Lafayette, Myrtle and Ada Louise. Not all, but many of John and Mary’s children played music. Came to ‘em natural as it’s told. Picking up songs and taking them with them on their own travels. 

Walking shoes, with stories conveyed from the hills down south, of family history and precious memories. Those same walking shoes described a rural life that was not always a pastoral stroll. Ultimately, it was an arcadian journey of a higher calling.

The Olney farm gave way to other farms in the area. As always, members of the family stepped up to help tend to Hettie’s growing brood. Margarette, Mary Ethel and Paul were cared for by their grandmother while Hettie worked the fields. Frazer Lee and Hettie’s other brothers and sisters also took turns pitching in. These were strong family ties that kept the wheels in motion and the circle of life unbroken.

Work took them to locations throughout the county. For a short while, they lived in the historic Dibb House on Churchville Road.  Hettie’s brother Bascom and his wife Jean were renting the place and helped out.

Back in the day, a hard life was any life that wasn’t born on easy street. Little need to complain. Contentment came with family, getting by and maybe a little fun on Saturday night. Beyond that, there was always a strong dose of the Lord on Sunday morning.