Harvie Lee Bristow, Interviewed by his niece Ginger Holt

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An interview with Highland resident Harvie Lee Bristow conducted by his niece Ginger Holt. Completed!

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Interview with Harvie Bristow

1) Harvie was born in 1944 in the High Point Memorial Hospital 2) My mama, Mary Alice Bristow was born at home in 1937 3) A memory of Harvie's is that Mary Alice asked Harvie how old are you and Harvie told her 17 years old and Mary Alice asked him "how did you get so ugly in that short of time?" So, Harvie asked Mary Alice how old was she was. Mary Alice said 24 years old. And Harvie asked her the same question"How did you get so ugly in that short amount of time?" And Mary Alice said "I'm older than you and I have had more time." 4) Clyde Bristow, Larcie Bristow, uncles, aunts, and friends worked at Highland Cotton Mills. Clyde Bristow retired from the mill. Pawpaw smoked cigars and chewed tabacco. 5) Larcie Bristow also worked as a Nurse's aid at the hospital. She also took in borders at the house. She loved to bake

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cakes and prepare meals for the shutins and for other people. She often baked cakes with her friend, Ruth Wells. 6) There were two churches in Highland. A Methodist and a Baptist. Harvie would go to both churches. 7) There had been a tree cut down in the front yard and Clyde said that he saw a squirrel run up from the trunk of the tree, up to 20 feet in the air before realizing there was no tree 8) Keith Miller, who was mentally challenged, had been told to Harvie by other boys that he was mean and be afraid of him, but Harvie's dad, Clyde told him not to be afraid of him. Keith had slingshots and the other boys had told Harvie he would use it to hit you with rocks. One day, Clyde asked Keith to come up to the porch, and Clyde said "You wouldn't hurt Harvie, would you chief?" And Keith Miller said "No!" and Harvie was no longer afraid of him. 9) Harvie would play with other kids in the neighborhood. They would play ball in the street and would ride horses

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Gary Boger and a boy named, Jerry, both had horses. One day while playing ball in the street, someone hit a ball over the fence at the Dennis' residence. They had two dogs, a chow and a cocker spaniel. The other boys were afraid to go get the ball. Harvie played withe dogs every day and he wasn't scared, so he went and got the ball. 10) Across from the Highland Cotton Mill was a Red Dot Superette, a library, gymnasieum, a [barbershop] and post office. Night classes were taught there. 11) One time a rat had chewed a hole into where the family kept the chicken feed and Clyde had set a trap. When Opal DeHart (Opal Yarborough) was walking home from playing with Mary Alice, one night, the trap snapped and there was a horrible noise and it scared Opal really bad. So, Harvie and Marie Alice had to walk Opal home. 12) Kathryn Yarborough and Harvie would play cowboys and Indians. Kathryn and

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was sitting on the porch. A car came flying around the corner. Harvie asked Grandpaw (Mr. Anderson) "Who was that?" Mr. Anderson said "I don't know, but there he goes!" 15) The police came by and asked Mr. Anderson, if he had "Locus Beer" Mr. Anderson said "down in the shed" and Harvie said "Grandpaw, you ain't going to show them your beer?" And Grandpaw Anderson said he wasn't going to show them the hard stuff, "I'm just going to show them the sweet stuff" 16) Grandpaw, was also known as, Dad Anderson. He went uptown, drank a few beers, went out in the street. A police officer said "Hey, Dad, you are a little bit high, ain't you?" Dad said " 6 foot, 4 inches" and kept a walking. 17) As a child, Harvie would write stories about hunting, fighting and funny stories 18) All the houses on the hill had two trees in each yard. Margaret Dennis's dad, Page, had been drinking. Harvie got in the hammock with him. Both were swinging and both fell out of

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the hammock. Page landed on top of little Harvie. He knocked the breath out of Harvie. Harvie stayed away from Page for weeks. 19) The Mill had a pump house down in the pines. Boys would go down to the creek and they had a swimming hole. Harvie's dad, Clyde, would not let him swim in it. One day, the other boys went to the swimming hole. There were black boys were already swimming in the swimming hole. The black boys said "Y'all come on and swim, this black stuff isn't going to wash off" The black children and the children from Highland became friends! :) 20) Harvie's Uncle Paul came to visit. He had been in the Army. Harvie was asking him questions about the war, one after another. Uncle Paul said "Boy, you ask a lot of questions." Harvie said "I can't read! How else am I going to learn?" 21) Harvie's grandmother would put rocking chairs down and would put a quilt over it and play "Piggy, Piggy, Piggy" with him and would give him crackers.

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