10. Bud Williams
Transcript
David Dollar: Good morning, this is David Dollar, we're glad you've joined us for Memories. Today, we're visiting in the home of Mr. Bud Williams, and we're going to be right back to start our show right after this message from our sponsor Peoples Bank and Trust Company. Hello, in case you're just joining us, this is David Dollar, we're visiting in the home of Mr. Bud Williams today. Mr. Williams, how you doing? Bud Williams: I'm doing fine. David Dollar: That's good. Why don't we start things off this morning by you telling us a little bit about yourself? About when you were born? Where you were born? And things like that. Okay. Bud Williams: I was born on Little River. David Dollar: You were born on Little River. Bud Williams: [inaudible 00:00:41]. David Dollar: Okay. And... Bud Williams: [inaudible 00:00:44] I can't remember what year it was. David Dollar: But you are how old right now? Bud Williams: [inaudible 00:00:48] 102. David Dollar: You're 102 years old. Bud Williams: 102 years old. David Dollar: That means you were born in just about 1874, by my calculations. Bud Williams: [inaudible 00:00:59]. David Dollar: That makes you, I think, about the oldest person we've interviewed on Memories. Bud Williams: Sure enough. David Dollar: What do you think about that? Bud Williams: I don't know. I think [inaudible 00:01:07] you a long time, if I can remember. David Dollar: I guess you can. You've been around a long time, huh? Bud Williams: Been around a long time. David Dollar: So you were born on Little River. Have you spent most of your time right around here in Natchitoches? Right around this area. Bud Williams: [inaudible 00:01:21]. David Dollar: Right around here, I see. What were your folks doing when you were born? Bud Williams: Farming. David Dollar: Farming. Down Little River. I guess that was some of the best farm land in this area around here. Bud Williams: [inaudible 00:01:37] nothing but farm. David Dollar: Yeah. What about brothers and sisters? Bud Williams: Didn't do... David Dollar: Didn't do nothing but farm. How many did you have? Bud Williams: [inaudible 00:01:47] you had to do. David Dollar: Didn't have time for the... Bud Williams: You got to go and do something that most people wouldn't. David Dollar: That's right. That's... Bud Williams: [inaudible 00:02:34]. David Dollar: That's right. Bud Williams: [inaudible 00:02:34]. David Dollar: Right. So your folks had a hard time keeping that body straight, huh? Bud Williams: [inaudible 00:02:47]. David Dollar: Not working all the time. Bud Williams: We was raised for work. David Dollar: Raised for work, I guess so. Bud Williams: [inaudible 00:02:55]. David Dollar: Yes, sir. Bud Williams: [inaudible 00:02:56]. David Dollar: In the field. Bud Williams: [inaudible 00:03:06] night and day. David Dollar: Goodness gracious. Bud Williams: [inaudible 00:03:08]. David Dollar: Oh, you were loading the sack of seed on the other guy's backs, huh? Bud Williams: Yeah. Sack of seed [inaudible 00:03:47]. David Dollar: Cotton seed, I guess. Bud Williams: Cotton seed. Cotton seed [inaudible 00:03:54]. David Dollar: About how many of those sacks would you have to load every day? Or night? Or whenever? Bud Williams: One night, I load 400 sack of seeds [inaudible 00:04:00]. David Dollar: 400 sacks. And you just worked until they finished with you, huh? Bud Williams: Yeah. [inaudible 00:04:06]. David Dollar: Until all of them were done. My goodness. I don't... Bud Williams: I was raised in a tough time. David Dollar: I don't have to ask you this, but I bet you were tired when you finished. Bud Williams: Yeah. [inaudible 00:04:16]. David Dollar: My goodness. But I bet you didn't get time to rest either. Bud Williams: No. David Dollar: Next day brought you some more work. Bud Williams: Yeah. [inaudible 00:04:22]. David Dollar: And then you went back to work, huh? Bud Williams: [inaudible 00:04:30] field plowing cotton. David Dollar: My goodness. Did you ever get a chance to rest? Bud Williams: No, I didn't get [inaudible 00:04:41]. David Dollar: Huh? Always work, huh? Bud Williams: [inaudible 00:04:47]. David Dollar: My goodness. Bud Williams: [inaudible 00:04:51]. David Dollar: I see. Bud Williams: [inaudible 00:05:13]. David Dollar: So then you just kept on doing different work after that. Bud Williams: [inaudible 00:05:18]. David Dollar: Even [inaudible 00:05:18] found out you were too sick. Bud Williams: Yeah. David Dollar: My goodness. I guess you got to see, if you were born in about 1874, what do you remember about your first tractor? What's the different ways of doing the cotton that you remember? I guess you were doing it with a mule and a plow before then, huh? Bud Williams: [inaudible 00:05:35]. David Dollar: You did that? Bud Williams: [inaudible 00:05:46]. David Dollar: Did it make work easier? Or just meant you got to do more work? Bud Williams: [inaudible 00:05:53]. No, I do more work but [inaudible 00:05:59]. David Dollar: Plowing is plowing, whether you're doing it with a mule or a tractor, huh? Bud Williams: Plowing is plowing. David Dollar: I hear you. I hear you. Tell you what, let me interrupt you right here, we need to take a short commercial break. We'll be right back with Mr. Bud Williams, who is 102 years old, right after this message from Peoples Bank and Trust Company, our sponsor. Hello, once again, in case you've just joined us, this is David Dollar. We're visiting this morning, on Memories, in the home of Mr. Bud Williams. Mr. Williams has told us about a life from the time he was a real young boy. Born in 1874, doing work all the time, either for your daddy or for the different folks you worked for up and down Cane River. Bud Williams: [inaudible 00:06:46]. David Dollar: You said your dad was... Bud Williams: [inaudible 00:06:51]. David Dollar: But work is work, huh? Bud Williams: [inaudible 00:07:00] I want you to go away. David Dollar: How old were you when you left home? You stopped doing work for your parents and went to work for other folks. Bud Williams: [inaudible 00:07:09]. David Dollar: But you stayed pretty much around the same place, huh? Bud Williams: Same way. David Dollar: Doing a lot of the same kind of work? Plowing in cotton seed and things like that. Bud Williams: [inaudible 00:07:23]. David Dollar: All right. Let me ask you this, I guess you all worked all the time. What about Sundays? What did Sundays bring you? Bud Williams: Sundays [inaudible 00:07:32] rest day. David Dollar: What did you do on Sundays? Bud Williams: [inaudible 00:07:38]. David Dollar: Going down to the church? Or things like that? Bud Williams: Yeah. Going to church. [inaudible 00:07:53]. David Dollar: Like a picnic? Or something like that? Bud Williams: Yeah. David Dollar: Cooking fish and things. Bud Williams: [inaudible 00:07:59]. David Dollar: You remember some parties you had like that? Bud Williams: Yeah. David Dollar: Had some good times, I guess. Bud Williams: Oh, good times. David Dollar: Had to kick up your heels on Sunday. Bud Williams: [inaudible 00:08:10] have a good time. David Dollar: Catch those fish right out of Cane River, huh? Bud Williams: [inaudible 00:08:20]. David Dollar: Were you a good cook? Bud Williams: [inaudible 00:08:27]. David Dollar: Fry those fish, huh? Eat some hush puppies maybe. Bud Williams: [inaudible 00:08:32]. David Dollar: Okay. So if you didn't get around to partying on Sunday, Monday came too quick, the next day, huh? Bud Williams: [inaudible 00:08:47]... David Dollar: I guess not [inaudible 00:08:53]. Bud Williams: ... [inaudible 00:08:53] five o'clock, then I came in. David Dollar: Come on in [inaudible 00:09:06]. Mr. Williams, didn't you say something, when we were talking earlier, about running a gin? Some of the other work you did. Why don't you tell us about that a little bit? Where did you run the gin? Bud Williams: [inaudible 00:09:25]. David Dollar: You did all that? Like you were in charge of the thing? Bud Williams: [inaudible 00:09:38]. David Dollar: And you... Bud Williams: [inaudible 00:09:42]. David Dollar: 20 or more years? Bud Williams: Yeah. David Dollar: Mine, you were head of the whole thing. Goodness gracious. Bud Williams: [inaudible 00:09:47]. David Dollar: I bet. Yeah. Bud Williams: [inaudible 00:09:50]. David Dollar: Yeah. And steam just pouring out of there, I bet. Bud Williams: Yeah. Steam just pouring out. David Dollar: And you being in charge, you had to do not only your work, but everybody else's work, huh? Bud Williams: [inaudible 00:10:04]. David Dollar: I guess not, work all the time. Bud Williams: All the time. [inaudible 00:10:12]. David Dollar: Yeah. But it sounds like you just about worked most of the time you've been around these 102 years, huh? A lot of work. Bud Williams: Well, it's been 102 years, I'm happy. David Dollar: Been working. Bud Williams: [inaudible 00:10:25]. David Dollar: Well, Mr. Williams, we just about out of time, we like to try to end our programs with what we call a closing memory. Bud Williams: All right. Closing memory. David Dollar: We talked about a little story you had on your grandmother, I think. Why don't you share that with us? Bud Williams: Yes. My grandmother [inaudible 00:10:39] pipe. David Dollar: A pipe. Bud Williams: [inaudible 00:10:44] coal of fire and put on top that. David Dollar: Right. Bud Williams: Light it. David Dollar: Get tobacco lit. Bud Williams: [inaudible 00:10:50]. David Dollar: The coal of fire fell out of her pipe and into her lap. Bud Williams: And the lap [inaudible 00:11:04]. David Dollar: The wind caught the little spark in her dress and... Bud Williams: Yeah. And [inaudible 00:11:19]. David Dollar: Goodness gracious. How'd she get out of that predicament? Bud Williams: [inaudible 00:11:22]. David Dollar: Grabbed a quilt and threw it over. Bud Williams: Threw it over. [inaudible 00:11:41]. David Dollar: And probably save her life like that. Bud Williams: [inaudible 00:11:54] she lived many years. David Dollar: Yeah. Oh, I tell you, that is... Bud Williams: [inaudible 00:11:57]. David Dollar: It must have been a pretty startling memory for a young boy to see something like that. Bud Williams: Yeah. [inaudible 00:12:30]. David Dollar: I bet it scared you, didn't it? Bud Williams: Oh, yes. [inaudible 00:12:30]. David Dollar: Just caught right up. I'll be... Bud Williams: [inaudible 00:12:33]. David Dollar: Yeah. Got that quick, put it out. Bud Williams: [inaudible 00:12:42]. David Dollar: Well, that is really something. Mr. Williams, we want really thank you for having us in your house today. Bud Williams: Thank you. David Dollar: And sharing these memories with us.
Born in 1874 and lived all his life in Natchitoches. His parents were farmers and he and siblings worked on a farm with them. At that time, they could not attend school.