Oscar's Teen Years

While still a teenager, W.O. Attebery had a firm fix on his life's dream ... becoming a big farmer.

He started saving his money from wages earned by working for the surrounding large farm owners. By the time he was 15 years old Oscar was able to buy a team of mules and rent a few acres of land to begin farming for himself.

That first year he raised a crop of sweet potatoes. By the end of the summer he was able to haul his produce in a mule drawn wagon into the nearby towns and sell them to the residents there. With part of his profits he expanded his farming operation ... and the rest he saved to buy farm land of his very own.

All of his time was not spent laboring, sunny Sunday summer afternoons were sometimes spent swimming in the nearby Wabash River. Cool weekend nights often found Oscar riding the country side with other young men of the area on their horses – sometimes getting into mischief.

One Halloween night the young men of the area crept into the barn lot of a successful farmer, dismantled his large wagon, and reassembled it piece by piece on top of the barn roof. Imagine that farmer's surprise the next morning! He probably had to hire a few strong young lads from the surrounding area to help him get it safely back down from the barn roof!

Oscar was fond of telling how he and his brother would go to the local fair with beautiful, young girlfriends on their arms. With brown hair and sparkling blue eyes to set off his handsome face he became the star shortstop on the local baseball team which travelled across southern Illinois for weekend games.

2011-04-18 22:35:38 RBaxter

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