The Tax Man Cometh

When I grew up in the 60’s there were only three major television networks: ABC, NBC and CBS. Even the commercials were entertaining because they introduced products that small town West Virginia had never heard about.

But I really didn’t need television because my grandfather kept me entertained with his stories. He and my grandmother lived in a small, one-bedroom, white clapboard house. Like many of the older houses in southern West Virginia coal towns, the big front porch had a creaky, wooden porch swing. There was a huge yard for me to play in, too.

Nannie would be in the kitchen cooking fried chicken, mashed potatoes and huge homemade rolls. Granddad and I would swing back and forth on the porch swing. He’d ask me what my favorite subject was at school and who my friends were. But I wouldn’t want to talk about me. I would ask him, “Tell me about the ‘olden’ times.”

He would say, “Rotten, I swear to goodness I don’t have any stories to tell.” Finally, I would persuade him to tell me about his father. My great grandfather was a tax collector. Granddad still had his well-worn leather saddlebags. He would ride his horse from house to house. Although people hated taxes, even back then, they didn’t mind a visit from him. He would share news of what he’d learned from his visits with others. My great grandfather had a reputation of understanding that some people were suffering hard times. He’d ride off without collecting any money.

Granddad also told me about working in the coal mines, which was short lived due to an accident. A co-worker ran over his leg with a mine car and he was not able to work for a long time. In the early days of industrialization, injured workers’ jobs were not protected and he got fired. But he landed on his feet because he could fix anything, and began working as a Maytag repairman.

The stories he told were rich with the history of the turn of the century. I miss his stories, but I can learn about history through programs on public television like the recent series on President Kennedy, Henry Ford and Lewis and Clark’s journey.

Today’s gift was to give a donation to public television so that I can continue to learn about the history of my ancestors and maybe even about early tax collectors like my great grandfather.

In Giving,

Robin