Page 70 - barefoot-in-the-sand-remembering-the-waning-days-of-the-hopewell-community-(1998)-bruce-c-gragg

Barefoot In The Sand: Remembering the Waning Days of the Hopewell Community (1998) Bruce C. Gragg 66/123

THE FENCE POST CUTTERS

In the late forties Papa let Curtis and Bernard Pafford cut fence
post in the Cypress ponds. They would pull the old fallen Cyprus
trees out of the water and mud cut them up and pull them out to
higher ground with a mule. They had just pulled several posts . out
and were resting under the live oak trees at the Waldron House,
Curtis (a Pacific War Vet) looked toward the west and saw a jet
fighter coming. This was the first one we had seen in our area. We
didn’t see much of it. It was a F-80 series plane, I learned later.
He let out a loud scream "jets burning" every one ran for cover. The
same time Mama, Vera and I were washing windows on the’ front (east
side) of the house. I was on a ladder and almost fell off trying to
see what was happening with all the noise. Of course we didn’t get
much of look at the plane, he was gone real fast. Another amusing
event with the post cutters was when they were bringing out a couple
trees Bernard got deeply involved with a yellow jacket nest. He did a
5 second strip with time to spare, getting those bees outta his
overalls. It was not very funny for him at the time, but in a few
days he could laugh as much anyone when telling about it. Gussie’s
three older boys also helped with the post cutting job.

The dead heart cypress when kept wet will last for hundreds of years,
but when allowed to get dry and exposed to the elements they wouldn’t
last long as a fence post. Actually the only thing used was the heart
of the tree, as the sap wood had rotted away many years ago. The
sappy wood wouldn’t keep very long out side whether it was wet or
dry. If used in lumber and kept totally dry as in a building it would
last. The dead trees would be under water in the ponds, they had to
be found and using a pole lifted above the water to be cut into the
proper length for post.

The cypress tree is a conifer, a different kind, as it is the only
conifer that sheds its leaves ‘during the winter. Like other conifers
it has soft easy to work wood. Their roots also form a growth that
protrudes above ground or water, this growth is called oddly enough
"cypress knees." Many arts and craft people like to make various
items with them. Lamps are the most common item made, however the
truly creative can make many other things with them. Many are not
very tall, then the old ones get quite tall. They can be several feet
tall, and have several knees in a group. The bark looks more like a
root bark than a tree bark, a reddish brown color. The bark of the
tree is more of a grey-brown color. A not uncommon sight was find a
snake, either a moccasin or just a water snake to be coiled around a
couple of knees basking in the Summer sun. Not a welcomed sight when
you are looking for a good spot to try wetting a hook and loosing a
minnow or other fish bait.

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