PEARL FLETCHER'S DAY AT PIERCE CHAPEL CHURCH
(As presented by Mrs. Claude Herrington, April 15, 1984 As you all know we are here on this third Sunday not only as Pierce Chapel's regular monthly preaching day, but also to pay tribute to Pearl Powell Fletcher on her 90th birthday. Her actual birthday was last Friday 13. The immediate family celebrated her birthday Friday night with a covered dish suppper.
But today we wish to extend her birthday into this Sunday so that her beloved Pierce Chapel can honor her for her loyalty to the church over the many, many years of her membership and regular attendance all those years. I have been asked to present a little story of her life since she and I grew up together and have been close all those years, never so far apart that we couldn't visit often.

Actually, Pearl is my aunt on the Powell side. She is only 5 years and 7 months older than I am. This is because of a large Powell family.
Her papa James Monroe Powell, was in the confederate army. He was commissioned as an ensign of the 941st Militia District Company, Terrell County Battalion, Georgia Militia, March 15, 1862. He was 24 years old at the time.

His father Francis Powell, was one of the original stewards of Pierce Chapel Church when it was organized in 1832.

He was married two time. His first wife, Mary Gullet had a child of her own by a previous husband who had died. There were two other children, Frank and Mollie, between her papa and this first wife before she died.

The by his second wife, Martha Frances Kendrick, (known as Fanny) he had eleven children, 8 boys and 3 girls. Pearl was next to the youngest, Allie Powell Barfield, now deceased. Pearl being the only one left of the original Powell family gendered by her papa, James Monroe Powell and Fanny Powell. Pearl's second oldest full brother in the family, after sister Jenny and oldest brother Johnny, was James Monroe Powell, Jr. my papa which is how Pearl comes to be my aunt and I her niece. But we grew up together like sisters. Pearl got her education in the three room school at Parrott. I go my education at the one room school Pierce Chape., which at the time was a building on papa's land. This Pierce Chapel was built some years later.
Pearl was baptized at Pierce Chapel at age 13 in 1907. She was one of a group of a dozen or more baptized at that time which included me, the youngest of the group. I loved to visit at Grandpa's house when we were growing up. I remember vividly the highlight of the year was Christmas at their house. There was a big holly tree with red berries on it, the tree so big it reached the ceiling. It was decorated with strings of popcorn and little red paper bells. For lights on it we tied small candles on it and lighted them on Christmas Day. The presents in those days were not gift wrapped. They were just hung on the tree with name tags on them. And Christmas dinner was a feast to remember and satisfy any hungry appetite.

As Pearl grew older, she had to help cook for those strapping older brothers of hers who worked hard in the fields all day. It was nothing uncommon to 40 biscuits at a time for that large family.

Her marriage to Claude Fletcher was a highlight of her life. Claude was the son on Richard Upshaw Fletcher and Martha Susanna Stapelton. Richard Upshaw Fletcher was born in 1851 and was only 10 years old when the Civil War began. Therefore, he was not old enough to join the Confederate Army before the war was over in 1865. Claude was the youngest in a family of 5 boys and 2 girls.

Claude's first wife was a dear, lovable, lovely lady named Nellie Moore. Nellie and Claude had four dear children; Frances, Claude, Jr, Martha, and Richard. Nellie died in February of 1925 after a prolonged illness which was incurable in those days. Frances was 8 years old, Claude, Jr 6, Martha 4, and Richard 2. Martha was taken shortly before her mother died, by Claude's first cousin on his mother's side, Lillian Freeman and her husband John Christian of Preston, and reared as their own since they were childless. S was not legally adopted, however, because Claude would not give her up that way. Now, this is the scene. Claude and Pearl grew up together in the Pierce Chapel community along with the rest of us at that time in the community, and the Fletcher's and Powell's, the Hasty's, Christies, and Willses. But until now Pearl and Claude never considered each other in a romantic was. But after Nellie's death had subsided in Claude's mind enough so that considered other things and the realities of life and the future, Pearl tells me he came courting. She says he first wrote her a letter. Th courship was rather brief since they already knew each other well. They were married August 31, 1926.

I remember the marriage well. I was already married to my Claude, Claude Herrington, and we were living on College Street in Dawson. On the afternoon of August 30th Pear and Claude in his Model-T came to our house and announced that thery were getting married. This was a pleasant surprise to us because we didn't know they were serious. But anyway, Pearl planned to spend the night with us and get her wedding dress made the next day and get married that same day. So the next day she bought the expensive material, satin black crepe at $3.00 a yard, enlised the aid of Miss Jenny Edwards, a seamstress in Dawson, and got the dress made by that afternoon. (She still has that dress packed away.)

Then her Claude came to town and carried her off and late that afternoon they were married at the Dawson Methodist parsonage by the Methodist minister, Reverand Wright and his wife as a witness.
That night Pearl and Claude had supper with me and my Claude, our 8 year old son, Elton, and 9 month old daughter, Dorothy. It was a joyous occasion for us all. The only thing I can remember about the supper was that I had macaroni and cheese. I'm sure that among other things, we had a good meat because my Claude was a meat cutter at Nat Black's Market in Dawson and I called him from a neighbor's phone across the street to bring some home that night. But I remember the macaroni and cheese because in those days it was a special dish for company. I still love macaroni and cheese.

Well, that was the marriage. The next year in July, Sam was born. Three years later Doris was born and three years ofter the last, Rosa, was born; completing a family of 7 children.
Right from the start Pearl loved Claude's first children as if they were her own, and they accepted her and lover her like she was their own. And then the depression struck after the stock market crash in 1929. Those years in the 1930's were hard times for us all. But living on the farm we had plenty to eat of meat and vegetables. It was making enough money on the farm to buy the staples of lie such as clothing, flour, sugar, coffee, tea, cheese, and so forth, that was so hard. Nevertheless, we never list our spirit, and among family and friends in the community we made it very well. Pearl and Claude never faulted on their duties to the family of 7 growing children and their loyalty to the Pierce Chapel church. Claude was Sunday School Superintendent and led the singing in the church for years. He was right for the job having been a minister in his younger years. Pearl, dutifully, and willingly, supported him all along in his hard working endeavors on the farm and in the church. As Claude Jr, Richard and Sam grew up they too worked hard on the farm. But Claude Jr., being the oldest was the first hard working member of the family driving the tractor and so forth.

In late 1939 Claude bought the Burl Bridges house and farm in the New Bethel community. At first Pearl cried at the thought of leaving her beloved Pierce Chapel community where she was born and reared and had never left. But once the move was made to a much bigger, finer house she came to love it there. Although they did attend New Bethel church quite regularly, she and Claude never changed their letter and remained loyal to their first love, Pierce Chapel.

And then World War II came in 1941. It affected all our lives profoundly. But here again, life on the farm was to our advantage.
In the New Bethel community, Pearl's family and my family were neighbors for a time and we visited each other often.

Soon after the war the REA resumed providing electricity to houses it had missed when this work was interrupted by the war. And Claude and Pearl's house was one of them.
Pearl recalls those cherished memories when she and Claude went on a buying spree for everything electrical. They bought an electric stove, refrigerator, hot water heater, an electric water pump, and several electric table lamps. They also bought a set of copper bottom stainless steel cookware for use on the new electric stove. She still uses the cookware to this day. With those electric lights and all those electrical things they wondered in amazement how they ever lived without them.

But then, in a few years Claude's health turned bad. It was discovered he had cancer of the spleen. He grew slowly and progressively worse. At about the same time he heard of a large hospital and clinic in Denver, Colorado that was having some success in treating certain types of cancer through controlled diets and physical means, rather than pure medical.
He talked things over with Pearl and decided to make the 1800 mile trip, driving all the way in his newly purchased '53 Ford. Pearl had not driven a car since the Model-T days so Claude would have to do all the driving. Pearl is still amazed at how they made that trip in Claudes' weakened condition. But made it, they did at 3 to 4 hundred miles a day. They went through Albuquerque, New Mexico to visit Sam and his wife where Sam was attending the University of New Mexico.
Those 3 ½ months in Denver were memorable ones for Pearl. Thruough the strict regimens of the hospital and later the out patient clinic, Claude's condition improved but it was not a cure. And to be in an all together different environment out west with the desert and Rocky Mountains, was quite an experience for them both.
This was in the late fall and early winter of 1953 and 1954. Since Claude's condition did improve at that hospital and clinic it is believed that it probably prolonged his life 2 ½ years.
He passed on in May of '56. My Claude passed on in August of '69.

After her Claude passed on, Pearl stayed in the country with various ladies to keep her company until 1963 when she move into the Lew apartments on Lee Street in Dawson.

Here again she cried about the move, but the next morning when when she woke up and realized she just had to step outside the front door to the mail box on the wall, she was delighted and has never since considered moving back into the counry.

In December '81 wh3 moved into the two story Foster home at 210 East Lee Street just behind the post office where lives pleasurably and comfortably.

Now, a word about Pearl and Claude's children:

Frances, the oldest, married Robert Patterson. The had 3 children and are retired living in Decatur, Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta.

Claude, Jr. married Grace Hasty. They have 3 children and 5 grand children. Claude and Grace live on Route 3 Dawson.

Martha married Lewis Walker of Preston. They have 2 children and 7 grandchildren. Martha and Lew live on Route 1, Preston.

Richard married Josie Bridges. The have 2 children and 4 grand children. Richard and Josie live on route 3, Dawson.

Sam married Isabel Lopez of Albuquerque, New Mexico. They have one child. Same is currently living with Pearl.

Doris married Don Foster. They have 3 children and 2 grand children. Doris and Don live on Herod Road in Dawson.

Rosa married Jack Hamby, Jr. They have 3 children and 3 grand children. Rosa and Jack live on 9th Avenue in Dawson.

This give Pearl 17 grand children and 21 great grand children.

Pearl is a person of deep, inner spiritual strength as I am. It is this inner strength that has seen us safely through the years and continues to guide us. We than the good Lord every day for our good fortunes. We enjoy our lives, our families, and our friends, all of whom are dear to us.

Now, since Pearl is such a pleasant, light hearted person with a good sense of humor, I would like to relate a couple of incidents in her life that are memorable and amusing. It has to do with cars.

After she married Claude with his Model-T Ford, she learned to drive it. And one day she was going to visit her folks at the Powell place, about 3 miles from the Fletcher place.

It was in the fall of the year and at a house by the roadside on the way over, somebody had dumped a big pile of leaves right in the middle of the road.

Pearl came chugging along at a pert speed and straddled the pile of leaves since she saw nothing there buy a big pile of leaves. But as she passed over it, suddenly a big dog jumped up out of the leaves and flew like a bullet to the house, scared witless but unhurt. Pearl died laughing when she got to the Powell residence and told them about it.

The other thing happened years and years later in 1955. Not since the Model-T days had she driven a car. But in the summer of '55 Claude traded the '53 Ford with a stick shift, for a '55 Plymouth with an automatic transmission. And he wanted Pearl to learn how to drive again. Sam and his wife were home that summer so he agreed to teach Pearl how to drive. She learned quickly after only a few lessons.
But the thing was, that after Same and his wife left for Albuquerque, the car acted up sometimes and wanted to choke down when it was running slow or was stopped. Pearl had been advised by somebody, that when that happened to give it the gas.

Well, one day she was going to town by herself. And at the main road a half mile west of their house where the little country road from the house intersected the main road running north and south, she came to a stop to look both ways before proceeding into the main road south.
Nobody was coming either way, but about that time the car was fixing to choke down. But the memory of “give it the gas” was fresh in her mind and she did. Suddenly the car leaped forward like a scared rabbit, faster than she could turn the steering wheel and she ended up in the field on the opposite side of the road.

Shaken but unhurt, she got out and surveyed her dilemma. The dilemma was that the car had somehow jumped a two foot wide ditch between the road and the field and she was now in the field.
Lo and behold, as the Lord smiles on people, along came Claude, Jr in his pickup. He stopped and seeing Pearl was not hurt, he busted out laughing. Here was a car in the field when it should have been in the road on its way to Dawson.

“How in the world did you get it over there?” he asked in amazement.

“I don't know, “ she said sheepishly. “I just gave it the gas like they told me to and it jumped the ditch before I knew it.” And she started in laughing too.

Well, Claude, Jr. managed to get it back across the shallow ditch into the road and Pearl went on to town, all the wise from her experience. Fortunately, Pearl was not hurt and the car wasn't damaged.

Pearl still laughs at the time she “jumped the ditch”. Actually Pearl was a very good driver. It was just the car that time.

In closing, Pearl would like for me to say that she feels highly honored by this special tribute from Pierce Chapel as Pearl Fletcher's day. She loves Pierce Chapel. She always has and always will. It is her home. Her heritage is here. And with the spirit of the Lord in her and an assist from medical science from time to time, she expects to be here for many more years, and she humbly and lovingly thanks you all for this most wonderful day.