Uncle Henry, Papaw Wade, Uncle Ray, and Pap
In the mountains of West Virginia in the 40’s and early 50’s we rode in the back of my uncle’s red truck with slatted boards on the side. Nothing fancy there, but some of the best memories ever with the wind in your hair and a truckload of cousins. The best cornbread I have ever tasted was baked in a cast iron skillet in the oven of a wood cooking stove. Our entire social life was extended family, funerals, and church. I especially liked baptizings.
I have often thought back to those days, and I realized Uncle Sam only thought he was in charge by taxing and making laws. It was a world within a world with still a lot of bartering they called trading. No tax on the chickens, eggs, huge gardens, milk cows, and hogs which provided all the food one could want. Everybody’s neighbor was a back yard mechanic, and most men worked on their own equipment. We didn’t even have a phone in those days. Contrary to the image sometimes portrayed, most men who were neighbors or family worked full time jobs. Women rarely worked, and most stayed home with their busy hands finding plenty to do. Children minded and were taught to respect their elders. It was a good life in those days. It taught us so much more than a cell phone can.
—PinnacleCreek 2018
I hope you enjoyed PinnacleCreek’s memories as much I do. Such a different time than today.
I believe it’s against the law to ride in the back of trucks in most places today. It’s a rather dangerous thing to do, especially on the highway, but it was something we did often as children.
We just loved to ride in the back of trucks when I was a girl! We’d even wrap up in blankets to do so. There was something so fun and freeing about riding down the road with the wind whipping your hair around your face.
Most back of the truck trips were short, but I remember riding in the back of Papaw Wade’s little blue truck all the way to Murphy and back and one time when I was in my early twenties I rode all the way from Hiwassee GA to Canton NC in the back of a truck with one of my cousins. Like PinnacleCreek indicated there was always laughter and love on those rides.
Last night’s video: 96 Year Old Mountain Woman | Train Travel, Working in a Boarding House, & Draft Deferment in WW2.
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I remember riding in the back of my cousin’s truck. We would cut wood and he deliver it. We would unload it for him. I think he was using us. Lol Also when we all went trick or treating we all jump in the back.
We loved riding in the ‘back of the truck’! My granddad had a box on his pickup truck & he installed bench seats with seat belts. That is how we got to our summer camp for fun weekends in the woods. We also liked riding on the flat bed of my dad’s 48 Ford pickup truck while doing hay in the haylots. But what I really loved, was being allowed to sit on the floor boards under the dash by my mom’s feet in the 48 Ford. There was a just a bench seat & no buckles. Its funny how the rules have changed. My mother talks about bringing me home from the hospital on her lap (1980) & now we buckle kids up like they are traveling to the moon (not saying that is a bad thing). My hubby was one of 4 kids & there weren’t enough seats in their dodge dart (4 bucket seats). He had a special pillow to put on the hump between the seats & 2 kids shared one seat belt. Ahhhh, the good ol’ days! Our kids look at us funny when we tell these stories.
I can remember being told : “You kids sit down and stay down.”
I Remember riding in the back of the truck plenty of times as a kid it was an excitement that we loved, I also remember going to the church socials with oodles and gobs of homemade foods made by the ladies of the community such a sad thing that doesn’t much happen anymore, makes one long for the good old days of a more carefree life when people actually had respect for their neighbors and the neighbors in turn had the same respect, when you’d go for a Sunday walk on an old country road and and wave at every truck or car passing and they would wave back and honk at you then home to a good old Sunday supper of fried chicken and mashed taters……..ah the good old days I’m longing to go back!
Tipper, it’s nice to hear the story of riding in the back of pickups in West Virginia. I’ve ridden more miles than I could even tell in the back of pickup trucks. Anytime we visited relatives down state in Pennsboro, Ritchie Cty, WV we would end up in the back of a pickup with a bunch of our cousins. Our dads would ride in the front. We’d bounce around going up and down one hollow after another as my Dad and his brothers looked at all the places they spent time when they were boys.
And speaking of bartering Dad used to tell a story about when my sister Linda was born. My brothers Tom and Ed were born in 42 and 44 and Linda in 45. Her and Ed were both born in Whiskey Run, Ritching Cty. WV. Linda hated for people to know where she was born but it tickled the rest of the family. Times were hard for anyone making their living on a farm but there were also some benefits. Dad and Mom didn’t have any money when Linda was born. Her and my two older brothers were all born at home. Dad had butchered his hogs the fall before Linda’s birth and he had put hams up in the smoke house. The local doctor was called to Dad and Moms to deliver Linda. After he delivered her, Dad took him aside and asked him “Doc, you like smoked ham?” The doctors eyes got big and he said “Do I, who wouldn’t. It’s been a long time since I tasted ham.” Dad went out to the smoke house and brought in a huge ham and gave it to the doctor. He said the doctor had a grin from ear to ear. The doctor put the ham down on the table and got out a piece of paper and wrote on it “baby delivery paid in full.’ Linda hated the story of where she was born and what dad paid for her. LOL It’s a nice family story that makes me smile. Dad, Mom, Linda and my two brothers are all gone now. But they live on thru my memories and stories
We not only rode in the back of my dad’s truck, we did it standing up and leaning over the cab or riding on top of a load of hay bales. It was risky, yes, but so are most of the things that make for the best childhood memories.
Visiting my family in Jackson, MS back when I was around 10, I learned a hard lesson about what you can and can’t do…. I was drinking a CocaCola from a glass bottle and we went over a hump and part of my tooth went flying. Had uneven teeth for many years until a dentist finally evened out the chip for me.
I loved this story today! It brought back some wonderful memories for me. Daddy always had a pickup and to get to ride in the back was the best fun in the world!! That’s how I learned to drive. I thought driving a truck was so cool. I think I was like the Barbara Mandrell song, I was country, when country wasn’t cool. LOL. I remember driving back roads so when I took driver’s education, the instructor said, I think you have been behind the wheel of a car before. I didn’t say a word. I miss those times. Those truly were the good ole days and I’m thankful I was raised back then. Have a blessed day everyone!! Randy, glad to hear the good news about your eye.
Tipper, really appreciate your reading all those old words and phrases for us. Thanks also for sharing that beautiful number by your Pap and Brother Paul. And please tell the Deer Hunter that as much as we like him, he needs to understand that lots of people used the term “set back.” The following dialogue from way back might go something like this…”Missus Presley, is your old man still ailing or will he be going hunting with us next Saturday? Well, no, I don’t think so. He was getting better but then he took a setback.”
Yeah, I remember riding in the back beds of trucks. Pick-ups were the most fun. They were the softest sprung. Didn’t flip us up in the air over ever bump. Also, it was easier getting in and out of the smaller trucks. The only truck we hated to ride in was a coal truck if it had not been driven enough for all the coal dust to blow out of it. I liked driving them better. Started at about age eleven on country roads and fields. No driver license required until we saw a cop, and then we could slide over and let the owner slide under the wheel. And I still remember taking off in a pick-up after church, going up to the Smokies, eating ramps and heading back for the evening service with stinky breath and drawing stares from the proper ladies!
Tipper I have more walking onion sets, I can come up with enough for 14 people if they want some are really small, there are 10-13 for each, all they have to do is pay for the packages and shipping. Just wanted to let you know before I pitched them, thanks.
Gloria in my area we begin to drive cars or pickup trucks as soon as we could reach the pedals and see over the steering wheel. We could get license at 15, just as soon as I turned 15 I got my permit and kept it the minimum time-2 weeks, went back and passed the driving test for my license. At 16 I got my school bus license and drove a bus during my last 2 years of high school. I learned to drive and got my license on cars with manual transmissions called three on the tree. I still like driving vehicles with manual transmissions. Ever hear anyone joke about 4 in the floor and a fifth under the seat.? To do what I just described was not unusual for country kids of my generations.I have drove tractors for asl long as I can remember, I would sit between my daddy’s knees on the tractor when I was still in diapers. We didn’t know anything about driver’s education classes.
In the 50’s my Dad had a tire store in North Mississippi & would haul recapped tires to places. Sometimes he would let us kids ride in the back of his truck as long as Mom didn’t know about it. We had a lot fun & usually had a Coke with a small pack of peanuts to pour into our cokes. I retired 2 yrs ago from the Culinary Arts Institute at MS University for Women. One of the Chefs was from Pennsylvania & had never heard of putting peanuts in a Coke. I managed to find an old timey bottled Coke & bought him a small pack of peanuts. We all had a ball watching him enjoy his first Coke & peanuts. He said it was a wonderful taste combination & he continued to enjoy it for years.
The joy of my childhood memories of riding in the back of Dad’s truck are often tarnished by the death of my grown son 11 yrs ago. He was riding on the running board of a 4-runner & fell off & was killed. Guess some laws are made for the right purpose. Hope all subscribers are having a great day & enjoying Fall weather! Hope God blesses you today!
Man, a cold Coke cola and a pack of peanuts sure hits the spot. Haven’t had one in a long time but I think I will remedy that as soon as I can get to the store. I think Barbara Mandrell had a song that mentioned putting peanuts in cokes. I think the title was I Was Country Before Country Was Cool.
In the 50’s our only transportation was a pickup truck. Our parents in front and my 3 brothers and I rode in the back. We had enough smarts to do things considered dangerous today without getting hurt.
Didn’t much matter if it was Dad or an uncle or who it was, if there was room for your bottom to fit, in the bed of the truck we would go to get a Coke (RC) or a cone. Dad would take all the neighborhood kids riddin. We loved it! Only time anyone is seen in the bed of a pick up these days is during a parade. Sad the kids don’t get to know the joy of the wind in your hair, sun on your face with a Coke in hand.
So much fun to be with cousins and I didn’t think twice about riding in the bed of a pickup truck back in the early 50’s. I do understand the danger now but I’m glad I was able to experience it and wagon rides too.
I enjoyed this story. Many years ago, we had to ride in the bed of the truck out of necessity. We actually rode on the lowered tailgate. There would be 7-8 of us coming from a beanfield and with the truck loaded with bags of beans had to be creative. Three or four of us would ride on the tailgate and with the truck loaded our bare feet were just inches from the pavement. Yes! We enjoyed the wind, seeing the scenery from the back of the truck and waving at people that were behind us. Great memories!
In my earlier comment, I said I thought it was still legal to ride in the back of a truck in SC. One of the reasons given for this not being illegal is because of agriculture and taking the workers back and forth to the fields. For a true thrill, or lesson in faith, ride on top of a load of square bales of hay in back of truck coming out of field going to the barn. You are sitting above the cab of the truck. Remember the Waltons all riding in back of truck with grandpaw.
When I was growing up, riding in the back of a truck was the only way my parents took us anywhere. Dad never owned a car as far as I can remember. His pickup trucks were necessary for hauling coal for the stoves used to cook and heat our house. Dad would warn us children not to sit on the rails or stand up while he was driving. Sometimes our outing would take us over to The Breaks Interstate Park where we picked huckleberries or had a picnic on the tailgate of the truck. We made tailgating popular a long time before the tailgating sports fans of today were even born.
Tipper I really love reading your blogs and the videos too. I see and hear so much with my life very similar to yours. But yes we all use to load up cousins and friends in the back of my truck or someone’s trk. And just ride sometimes if a longer ride someone would even add an old mattress so the ride wouldn’t be quite as bumpy lol. The winter time too. Quilt and blankets. Riding in the first snow trying to be the first tracks made on the old back rds. So beautiful. I still ride myself but nol longer do people ride in the back of trucks any more. Like you say the laws of the land have. Hanged quite a bit. But we had so much fun. And use to you could spot light. Lol and we knew all the good places to see dear and other creatures that I will not mention cause peoples wouldn’t believe me but a truck load of people could describe it all , but for us hunters we could locate where the deer were and if we didn’t have permission to hunt we would certainly try to get it. Those were the good ole days. And I thank you for bringing Mack to
Memory. God Bless tell all hello.
Even better than riding on the back of a pickup truck is riding on the runnin boards. If you think about it the back of a truck is intended for hauling various things but the runnin boards were designed for people. They were designed for picking up and dropping off passengers without having to stop the truck. I’ve ridden many a mile hanging on to a mirror and door frame while chatting with the folks inside.
Well, now, maybe a ride in the rumble seat of a Model A would compete with those rides. I still remember the tick tick tick sound of that Model A engine idling.
How well I remember…my cousins came from East Tennessee, where I was born, to North Alabama, where we had moved to a few years before, a four hour drive 60+ years ago. It was a borrowed pickup, my much older cousin, her husband and youngest child in the cab and her 2 older children in the truck bed. When they were returning home I was invited to go back with them. My mother was more than a bit leery to agree, but with a lot of begging and many assurances that all would be well, she finally relented. In the truck bed was a bench that was made from 2 #10 cans nailed to a long board covered with an old quilt. We three girls sat on that bench placed next to the driver’s side wheel well and hung to the side of the truck bed all the way back. I don’t remember entertaining the least notion of any danger. It was so much fun, I remember it all so well and todays post has brought a big smile and sweet memories to this old lady. Sadly, half of those people on that ride are gone.
This post hit the nail on the head! I’ve ridden in the back of a pick up truck many times, and it was fun.
Shucks, riding in the bed of a pick-up was the only way us younguns got to travel, due to the fact many families only had one vehicle – a truck. Momma always sat up front cause she was dressed up in her ‘finements’. and we kids could either ‘git in da back’ or stay home. Are you kidding? We are going to town! Such sweet memories, Tipper.
We didn’t have a pick-up in suburbs. We did have station wagons, though. And calling a place on the rear-facing pop-up seat in the “way back” usually ended with Mom ending the argument. If the seat wasn’t open, we could ride sitting cross-legged, making peace signs to the drivers behind us. A neighbor had an international that didn’t have carpet in the back, and that was the most fun. Ever time tge vehicle made a move, we slid in the opposite direction. It started, and we slid back. It turned right, and we were tossed to the left. It stopped, and we flew forward against the back seat. Back, left, right, another slide to the right, forward, back and left at the same time. And try to stay upright! It was a carnival ride. Thanks for reminding me of that!
Like you and others mentioned it was common to ride in the back of a pickup truck when I was a kid. My grandfather had a 1963 Dodge crew cab pickup and all my brothers and cousins learned to drive in that truck with a manual transmission. We piled as many kids as we could fit in the cab and in the back and drive around the farm, until we were called in for dinner (at noon). So much fun and none of us were ever hurt. I suppose we were lucky.
I loved riding in the back of a pickup with my cousins. Thanks for the memories.
I too loved riding in the back of pickups! But after I fell out of one, I was forbidden to do it. Fortunately I fell onto freshly plowed ground so i wasn’t hurt — just scared.
I remember those days. We didn’t know how well we had it but then we could not conceive of ever being where we are now. I don’t know how it stands now but 20 or more years ago the GA legislature was considering a law that would prohibit riding in a truck bed. At that time it was stopped because of farming folks who said it was routinely needed in farm work. My guess is that it is law now. We are webbed in a cocoon of ‘safety’ whether we want to be or not. Enough said about that.
Those are good memories of those old dusty gravel roads and a truck bed full of family. We would take excursions to collect plants, grapes, walbuts, muscadines, blackberries and so on. Every once in a great while it would be just going to places of some kind of interest but those were rare.
I’ve posted this here before but there is no jar quite like a truck bed meeting you coming up when you are on the way down. A whipping is mild in comparison.
That was a different time with a different life! It was a clearer time without all the deception that goes on in the world today. It amazing how much things have changed and that we consider this progress.
My family did not have a truck but riding in the back of trucks was common around here on up into the 80’s. Along with the safety concerns, I think the newer trucks of today with the extended cabs or crew cabs did away with riding in the back of the trucks. When I was a teenager in the 60’s a group of us from church rode nearly two hundred miles on a trip in the back of a truck and my wife, her sisters and a few cousins rode from Greenville, SC to Myrtle Beach , SC. Both of these trucks had a camper cover on them. Unless the law has recently changed, it is still legal to ride in back of a truck in SC. Anyone remember the old trucks of farmers having the 5-6 foot high wooden slat cattle bodies on them and them hauling their cows in the back of the trucks. My area in southern Greenville County did not have phones until the mid 60’s and when we did get them, they were party lines, up to 6 or 8 families on one line, each family having a special combination of long and short rings. It was common by some to listen in on their neighbor’s phone calls. A lot of times I long to go back to those days when times more laid back and simple. I often heard it said back then with a pair of pliers, a screwdriver and a few wrenches you could fix anything on a car.
I know judging by my mistakes, you can not tell it, but my eye has got a lot better. I was told this week it should be heal in a few more weeks. I want to thank everyone for their prayers for me.
Shoot yall !! We were raised riding in the back of my Daddy’s blue Chevy pickup and so were many of his grandchildren. My kids still sit and reminisce about their adventures in the back of a truck. Once they were riding with their dog who was tied up and he decided to jump overboard. They caught him by the rope and reeled him in like a big old catfish. Needless to say the dog didn’t like to ride in the truck anymore. Once they were hauling sawdust and the truck got stuck on the railroad track and they had to dig it out with their bare hands just before the train came along. I’ts funny now but those boys won’t ever forget their adventures with Pawpaw and Daddy ♡ Nowadays though when all have seatbelts and carseats which I totally agree with but there’s no freedom on our journeys.
Oh my goodness, you have taken days from my childhood and brought them forward…I thought everyone with a pickup had children that did that. And you are correct, Uncle Sam thought he had a ‘hold on us’…lol. I love hearing about your life as mine was so much like yours only quite a few years back. ‘THE GOOD OLE DAYS’ is a memory to behold and so wish my children and grandchildren could relive our days. Waiting for Alex. God Bless
Sweet memories riding in the back of a pickup truck going to the Tasty Freeze to get a cone if icecream!!
my parents would never allow me to ride in the back of a truck. I remember seeing other kids doing it with envy. Closest I ever came was a hayride the church group did one fall. I was so envious
When I was a kid, it was very common for us to ride in the bed of a pickup truck. Relatives, baseball coaches, scout leaders, and others all carried us boys around that way. I enjoyed those rides.