Fresh Air on Stone Creek Ridge

Esther and George sponsored a Fresh Air Fund child on their farm.
They felt it was the least they could do to for an underpriveledged negro child from the the big city.

The couple owned acre upon acre of farmland in Appalachia. It was the Christian thing to do– participate in the Fresh Air Fund Campaign. All the good Christian folks on Stone Creek Ridge had adopted colored kids for the summer, so they did too.

They figured their youngest child Barry would benefit from the company of one his age—even if the kid was Black.

Barry, the youngest child of ten girls and two boys in the Taylor clan was left alone after all his siblings ran off, got married and started lives of their own.

Barry was happy to have male friend to share his summer with on the farm.
The Negro arrived at the farm terrified from the drive there.

George drove rather fast up a long winding dirt road to the top of a mountain where a brown farm stood bravely against the elements.

The white folks driving the car were really quite alarming to Gillie, the Black Fresh Air child. He wasn’t very comfortable when crawling out of the back seat of the black car and taking one giant leap for mankind.

Barry was sitting in an apple tree with a B- B gun pointing at Gillie has he exited the car.

He climbed down from his tree house, walked over to the young Black man and handed him his B-B gun. "Hi! I’m Barry. So, you’re from Pittsburgh? I’ve always wanted to go there." said the freckled faced white lad with a slanted smile while holding out his B-B gun to share with his new summertime friend.

Gillie smiled widely, grabbed the gun and took a deep breath of the country air which was filled with the sweet scent of honeysuckle.

Chickens were still running around outside the Taylor farmhouse. Esther hadn’t yet ordered them to bed with the lure of crushed corn.

Gillie ran and grabbed the tail of a mean orange rooster.

Before any of the Taylor’s could warn him, the rooster began to flog the Black boy.
With razor sharp spurs on his feet, the rooster drew blood from the leg of the Negro child. The chicken flogging the living hell out of Gillie.

Barry laughed loudly and told his new friend to shoot the bird.

Esther made roast chicken for dinner the next evening and Gillie got his first lesson on farm freshness!