Charlie was 23 years old. Winnie was 14 years old.
Charlie Callaway- Year unknown
when Charlie would tell the story of the wedding day, he wouldn't talk about the difference in their ages- he wouldn't talk about how Winnie's Daddy wasn't too happy with his teenage daughter "courtin'" a 23 year old man... those stories were for Winnie to tell. No... Charlie would get a glimmer in his blue eyes and focus on the way his young Bride to be was SO excited about their wedding day. when he pulled up near her house in the wagon" Winnie jumped straight off the bank into the wagon seat like a turkey hen flyin through the air.. her feet never touched the "running board step"
- Winnie Davis Cargile about four years before she became Mrs Charlie CallawayWinnie listened to him tell that story at least a million times through the years.. she denied it .. she denied it every time.. and laughed along with him- every time.. for 59 years...
Shared Laughter is an affirmation of True Love.. REAL love
The Justice of the Peace was waiting.. and Charlie said " That man read somethin' out of some kinda book.. and then,, he read something out of some magazine... and he said... " allright- Y'all are married" . The Newlyweds BOTH hopped like Turkeys off the wooden bridge in to the wagon to go honeymoon and set up house keepin' in their sharecropper house.
The baby came about a year after they were married- a boy, he lived just a few days.
the sadness left them in such a dark place. a 15 year old mother, losing her first child. Grief paralyzed them and they couldn't think of a reason to give him a name. An uncertain future in uncertain times...
The years went by.. sharecropper "arrangements " came and went... " places" were bought .. and sold.. and in 1924 Charlie bought 55 acres of land for $14.00 an acre.. the Holt House became the Callaway Farm House.
Callaway Farm House by Artist Susan Howell Graham
it took two bales of cotton every year to make the payment on the farm...1925 was a DRY year.. but the two bales were delivered... year after year,,, after year...
when Charlie Callaway died January 3, 1967. He had raised nine children to be grown. He had bought and paid for almost 60 acres of land. and he didn't owe a dime to anybody. His son James Callaway says that " Daddy was a miracle worker" I think my Father is right about his dad, my grandfather Charlie... and I also know that Charlie knew and trusted the REAL miracle worker.His Heavenly Father that brought the Callaway family through trial and tribulation.
Charlie Callaway- year unknown
Winnie Callaway - year unknown
Because a 14 year old girl eloped with a 23 year old man in 1908... the Callaway Farm is still thriving... Cotton is no longer grown here... the old Farm house has been gone for many years.. The Callaways still live here... Corn and tomatoes and watermelons and all kinds of vegetables are being raised and sold here.. Come on by... blow the horn,... and James and Alice will take care of you.. you will get some fresh picked vegetables... and maybe you will be blessed to hear the story of Charlie and Winnie...from one who knows it well... the one who told it to me
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