My Dad was a very hard working man and he always took care of us one way or another. He moved us around a lot when we were young. He worked in a tannery which is working with hides for preparation for other products. Now there was only two that I know of back at that time. He worked in Petersburg for a long time. We lived in the company housing during that time. I used to take his lunch to him when the whistle blew, Now this place does stink but somehow it has become a part of your life and you don't notice it. When the hides are placed in huge pools with acids they give off a lot of junk. That junk was dumped in the river and it was like a foam covering the river. Our parents told us that was what chewing gum was made of to keep us from wanting gum. Believe this works with all the kids. We were firm believers for a long time. Finally this place closed and Daddy had to make choices that Mom was not going to be agreeable with. He moved the whole family across the mountain to the only other tannery around. By this time I was grown and gone but there were still three small kids at home. Mom just decided she and the kids were not going to stay there so she packed up and went back to where her family was. The kids were just as happy too because they did not know anyone and did not care much for the school. Daddy shared an apartment with another guy after that. People in this area are different though. They don't care much for the law. One man had killed his father-in-law and was still working. The guy Daddy was sharing the apartment with was seeing someone elses wife. Husband came charging into the apartment one day looking for him. Thank God the man took time to actually look and not just shoot. Daddy was there by himself and the man left. This job just was not meant to be though. Shortly after that Daddy got hurt. One of the hooks caught his arm and tore it up pretty good. They took him to a doctor there and then sent him home. He drove across that mountain by himself and made it. He did not go back after that.
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