Daylight Never Found Me In Bed

Nancy Maw lived at Rowdy in Perry County. Born in 1864, she had five sisters and three brothers, all who helped make a living by planting big fields of corn, large vegetables, gardens and making molasses. They canned their own food. Nancy did all the plowing with oxen. Also, during the winter months, she and her brother cut logs for railroad ties and she added with a twinkle, “but we always kept a jug of shine near the log skid, just to keep us warm on the colder days."

The coming of darkness did not end the day. She says they would sit up until 9 PM picking wool and spinning yarn. They made all their own clothes. A trip to “town” (Hazard) was always looked forward to and was made on horseback.

A brother dug coal for the winter supply; there were no retailers then. An idea of a big evening was a corn husking or a square dance.

She recalled that one of the great pleasures of growing up during this period was that people really loved each other and worked together. “Nowadays, kids think ‘bout movies and drive-ins, where we spent our time clearing ground and planting," she said. When asked what she thought made the older generation stronger than today, she said that daylight never found her in bed. "Everyone was up at dawn ready to work. The food in those days was better. We had dried pumpkin, dried beans, plenty of milk and molasses and we worked harder. I don’t know how we lived through those days considering what little we had to work with. I guess the Lord just blessed us all.”