THE BEGINNING
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Cumberland Furnace, known as the Holler. On Sunday morning, Reverend Boss Redden would travel to preach at the small churches by horseback. Boss Redden and his sister shared a home near the main highway with a young man that everyone called Snooks. It was obvious that Snooks had some mental problems and I was afraid of him; mainly because the older folks called anyone with mental problems crazy. My uncle Thomas (Son) knew this and he often said to me,� I am going to sic Snooks on you!� This would scare the piss out of me and the more I cried, the more he teased me. I started to feel like Son did not like me and he rarely showed any affection toward me. I can remember people saying things about Snooks such as he did not have good sense or he was crazy and this is why they locked him up when Boss and his sister were away from their home. There were plenty of rumors flying around the community regarding who had fathered Snooks. Neither Boss Redden, nor his sister, was married, but the rumor mill said Boss Redden was Snooks father. His sister disappeared for awhile and when she returned home, she had a small child. As usual, on Sunday morning when Reverend Boss Redden and his sister were away, they would leave Snooks locked up in the house with food and water. But Snooks was not as crazy as some believed, and on this particular Sunday, he got out and made his way to the church. One of the prominent features of Promise Land was the Bell Tower. It was used to alert people nearby that something important was happening or about to happen. The bell could be heard for miles, so upon hearing it, people would come running to site of the Bell Tower. In time, the old Bell tower needed to be replaced, so the men came together to erect a new tower and replace the bell and rope that was fastened to ring the bell. Like everything else, the erecting of a new Bell Tower became a major event; it took weeks to erect the new tower. They had to dig new footings for the four huge beams to support the Bell, and then figure out how to raise the Bell to the top of the beams. We children were mesmerized as we watched how these skilled, but untrained carpenters worked together to complete the task. Everyday we watched and Boss brought Snooks along to watch as well. One can imagine how I felt with Snooks around. My fears was unfounded, but at the time I had been programed to fear people who were labeled crazy.