Pitts boys worked 10-hour days for $1 a day

While the boys were surveying on the north side of the mountain, they spotted what looked like a log cabin that was being built near the north boundary line. When they had gone to investigate it, they found that Fred Maynard was building it. Fred told them that his father, Clyde, had given 40 acres and he was building a cabin. When they asked Fred what use he had for a cabin when he wasn’t even married. Fred told them that first you would build the cage then you would look for the bird. I never knew whether Fred ever got the cage built or not but I know that he finally caught the bird.

After the survey was finished, then Dad and the boys started to cut white oak posts and fence off the place. It took a lot of posts and a lot of work to fence off what was now about 600 acres. Dad and the boys had a job for the next two years. While they were stretching the barbed wire on top of the mountain the wire broke and it cut Charles’ hand pretty bad and he was of little use for awhile.

Back in the Central School — they had a policy that they taught the seventh and eighth grade as one class. The way they would do this was they would teach the seventh one year and then teach the eighth the next. The only exception was, a student would have to take both classes to go on to high school. Since brother Bob was in the seventh grade at Pea Ridge, he was now being taught the eighth grade. When the last day of school finally came, Bob received his eighth grade diploma. Bob now went to work for Roscoe Hobbs for 75 cents a day for 10 hours of work. Bob was working with his father while the other boys finished the surveying.

Felix and Charles were getting $2 a day working for the surveyor Marce “Mug” Hayes. When the surveying was over, then they went to work for Rosco Hobbs for $1 a day for 10 hours of work. The way it was, Choc was the boss and time keeper and received $1.50 a day; Felix and Charles got a $1 day and Bob got 75 a day. Bob was complaining to Mother because, as he put it, he was doing more work than Choc and only getting half the pay. Mother told him that Choc was the boss and timekeeper, but Bob said that he had an eighth-grade diploma and he could boss and keep time. I have in my possession the time book that Choc used, I may give it to Bob. It may remind him of his 75 cents working days.

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