A GOOD STORY

There is a grave in the middle of a farm road in southeast Stephens County near the community of Necessity.  My maternal grandfather, Gus Haskins, owned the farm adjacent to the grave at one time.

One day manly years ago, an elderly cousin went to the Necessity cemetery to place some flowers.  There were some other people there walking around looking at tombstones.  She approached them and introduced herself.  They began a conversation about some of the pioneers of the community.  A woman in the group asked the location of the grave in the middle of the road as she wanted to see it.  She said that her mother had told her about the grave and Mr. Haskins who lived next to it.  She pointed to my grandfather’s grave and said, “That is his grave right over there.”  She proceeded to tell my cousin that her mother said that Mr. Haskins had taken boards from the underpinning of his house to make a “box” (coffin) for the woman.  My cousin told her that her maiden name was Haskins and that Gus was her uncle.  The cousin immediately told family members this wonderful story about my grandfather.

My grandfather was not “kid friendly.”  His grandchildren definitely were to be seen and not heard.  (We were not sure he even wanted to see us.)  We cherished this story that humanized him in our eyes.

Several years later I stopped and read the marker at the grave.  The woman died in 1884.  Oh dear!  My grandfather was born in 1872.  He would have been only 12 years old and had not yet arrived in Stephens County in 1884. He was not farming in Necessity then.  My cousins and I were disappointed.  One of my cousins asked me not to tell anyone because “it is such a good story.”  We all wanted to believe it.

Yes, it is a good story.  It is just not a true story.