Memories of My Grandfather Joseph Osten Hayes
May 31, 2012
Today I received an email from my younger cousin, Joe Osborne, saying that he would love to know more about our Grandfather. We were both named for him. He is Joe and I am Carrie Jo, and Josie (as he was affectionately called by the family) died when Joe was a young man. I have been working on our Hayes family tree for the past several months gathering information and bringing back so many happy memories. I have his pictures and history now on record in ancestry.com. I can see Josie now in his rocking chair on the front porch in Wahoo, reading his Bible. He was a true man of God and when he spoke, we listened. He was greatly loved and respected by the whole family. He and Mamie never missed a church service at the Wahoo Baptist Church. He and my beloved Grandmother, Miss Mamie, raised six children there in Wahoo in a home that he built with his own hands and with food they grew on their land. They grew vegetables and fruits and melons and raised chickens and the smoke house was always filled with meats. We would have huge dinners of chicken and dumplings, fried squirrel, soft shell turtle, big fat biscuits and the world’s best guava pies. Miss Mamie made clothes and beautiful quilts for the entire family. They had a cow named Tessie and Tessie’s bell is one of my most prized possessions (along with Miss Mamie’s flat iron and Nellie’s stirrup).
Josie had only one eye, but he was quite a marksman and hunter. I never knew for sure what happened to his eye, but I do know that he had glaucoma later in life. He sometimes wore an eye patch, but mostly I remember him wearing dark glasses. He was quite handsome and always happy and mild mannered. I do remember quite vividly that he didn’t put up with any foolishness at the dinner table or slamming of doors. We were always on good behavior at Granddaddy’s house.
One of my fondest memories is of riding into Bushnell with him in the wagon pulled by old Nellie, the horse. I would always sit beside him and sometimes he would let me hold the reins. They never owned a car. When we visited each summer, the whole family would go to the Withlacoochee River and we would drift down the river in flat bottomed boats fishing all along the way and then stop and build a fire and Uncle Jake would fry the fish and hushpuppies and Mamie would cook swamp cabbage. We also spent a lot of time fishing at Gum Slough. There were trips to Crystal River where we would go crabbing and swimming and trips to Bay Port. Those are such happy memories.
I remember that Josie grew sugar cane and made delicious cane syrup, and he grew peanuts that were boiled outside in a huge black pot. He built a shed in the back yard where they canned fruits and vegetables and washed the clothes. He was always busy. I remember the kerosene lamps and the outside water pump and the fancy outhouse (it was a two seater). There was no electricity in the house in Wahoo until some time in the 1940’s and I will never forget their first TV and how much they loved it. I was happy when they got indoor plumbing and electricity.
Josie and Mamie enjoyed good health until they were in their early 80’s, and when Mamie had a stroke and needed to be closer to doctors and family who could help, they sold the house in Wahoo and moved to Lutz (near Tampa) across the street from their daughter, Gertie and her family. Granddaddy died while cutting the grass at the age of 89. Mamie moved in with Gertie and lived another couple of years and they are buried in Bushnell in Pleasant Hill Cemetery.
We were truly blessed to have such wonderful, loving Grandparents. They loved the Lord, they loved their family and they loved each other. It occurs to me that they were named Mary and Joseph.
The 1945 Florida Census shows that he was a farmer, and I know that he was also a carpenter. He was one of twelve children and was born and lived his whole life in Florida. His parents were William Jefferson Hayes and Mary Susan Matchett Hayes. His father was also a farmer.
May 31, 2012
Today I received an email from my younger cousin, Joe Osborne, saying that he would love to know more about our Grandfather. We were both named for him. He is Joe and I am Carrie Jo, and Josie (as he was affectionately called by the family) died when Joe was a young man. I have been working on our Hayes family tree for the past several months gathering information and bringing back so many happy memories. I have his pictures and history now on record in ancestry.com. I can see Josie now in his rocking chair on the front porch in Wahoo, reading his Bible. He was a true man of God and when he spoke, we listened. He was greatly loved and respected by the whole family. He and Mamie never missed a church service at the Wahoo Baptist Church. He and my beloved Grandmother, Miss Mamie, raised six children there in Wahoo in a home that he built with his own hands and with food they grew on their land. They grew vegetables and fruits and melons and raised chickens and the smoke house was always filled with meats. We would have huge dinners of chicken and dumplings, fried squirrel, soft shell turtle, big fat biscuits and the world’s best guava pies. Miss Mamie made clothes and beautiful quilts for the entire family. They had a cow named Tessie and Tessie’s bell is one of my most prized possessions (along with Miss Mamie’s flat iron and Nellie’s stirrup).
Josie had only one eye, but he was quite a marksman and hunter. I never knew for sure what happened to his eye, but I do know that he had glaucoma later in life. He sometimes wore an eye patch, but mostly I remember him wearing dark glasses. He was quite handsome and always happy and mild mannered. I do remember quite vividly that he didn’t put up with any foolishness at the dinner table or slamming of doors. We were always on good behavior at Granddaddy’s house.
One of my fondest memories is of riding into Bushnell with him in the wagon pulled by old Nellie, the horse. I would always sit beside him and sometimes he would let me hold the reins. They never owned a car. When we visited each summer, the whole family would go to the Withlacoochee River and we would drift down the river in flat bottomed boats fishing all along the way and then stop and build a fire and Uncle Jake would fry the fish and hushpuppies and Mamie would cook swamp cabbage. We also spent a lot of time fishing at Gum Slough. There were trips to Crystal River where we would go crabbing and swimming and trips to Bay Port. Those are such happy memories.
I remember that Josie grew sugar cane and made delicious cane syrup, and he grew peanuts that were boiled outside in a huge black pot. He built a shed in the back yard where they canned fruits and vegetables and washed the clothes. He was always busy. I remember the kerosene lamps and the outside water pump and the fancy outhouse (it was a two seater). There was no electricity in the house in Wahoo until some time in the 1940’s and I will never forget their first TV and how much they loved it. I was happy when they got indoor plumbing and electricity.
Josie and Mamie enjoyed good health until they were in their early 80’s, and when Mamie had a stroke and needed to be closer to doctors and family who could help, they sold the house in Wahoo and moved to Lutz (near Tampa) across the street from their daughter, Gertie and her family. Granddaddy died while cutting the grass at the age of 89. Mamie moved in with Gertie and lived another couple of years and they are buried in Bushnell in Pleasant Hill Cemetery.
We were truly blessed to have such wonderful, loving Grandparents. They loved the Lord, they loved their family and they loved each other. It occurs to me that they were named Mary and Joseph.
The 1945 Florida Census shows that he was a farmer, and I know that he was also a carpenter. He was one of twelve children and was born and lived his whole life in Florida. His parents were William Jefferson Hayes and Mary Susan Matchett Hayes. His father was also a farmer.