You might say that Myrick's Mill was a cosmopolitan community. Gypsies and other vagabonds lived in or near the neighborhood and would appear at the store in those days, too.

I remember one Gypsy family that set up a fortune-telling shop on Highway 80 near Dry Branch about 10 miles from the mill. The gypsy man, and occasionally his fortune-teller wife, came to the pond to fish and naturally visited the store for a few supplies while he was there. He had a friendly manner and easy way about him. It didn't take long for the gypsy to ask for a little credit and Daddy was easy about extending credit, especially if he heard a sad story of need. Apparently the spiel was convincing. The gypsy got to be a regular visitor around Myrick's Mill and became a regular customer at the store. There were a lot of sad stories about why he could only pay part of his bill this week, and how his children were hungry. Daddy never failed to provide a sack of groceries.

Then several weeks went by without an appearance by the gypsy. Daddy, concerned that illness may have taken over in the family, went by the fortune tellers house. The place was vacant! Yep……the gypsies had run-up a hefty bill at the store and skipped town. They were never seen again.

Mr. Parker, as he introduced himself, just appeared out of nowhere one day in an old model, long black Ford coupe that served as his home as well as transportation. He had screen inserts designed to fit over the windows and were placed there when the windows were rolled down at night while he slept on a mattress that extended from the seat into the cooter-hull of the car. The cooter-hull is the trunk, in case you don't know. The rear seat had been removed to accommodate the mattress, a place for clothes and supplies. Mamma was always suspicious of him and never liked to be around him alone. She really wanted him to just move on as quickly as he had appeared. I guess it was a woman's sixth sense.

Mr. Parker, a tall, skinny man with a bony face, sharp nose, and hollow deep set eyes claimed to be a master carpenter. His claim appeared credible based on the meticulous construction of the window screens, and the nicely built wooden supply boxes stashed under the cooter hull of his car. He was a sort of free spirit, on the move, and taking on jobs wherever he settled. Mr. Parker settled at Myrick's Mill for quite some time, maybe 8 or 10 months as best I remember. He ate out of cans and cooked his meals out under the pine grove where community fish frys were held, and slept in his car parked in the same grove. He bathed down at the spring or in the pond and seemed to fare quite well. He was always real neat looking and his car and camp were clean and organized. The clean white shirts that he wore when he wasn't working gave a sign of sophistication and somebody important back then. Mr. Parker was a classy character in a curious sort of way.

Mr. Parker had traveled the country, seen a lot of place, done a lot of things and had a lot of experiences to tell about and he talked about them freely………except he never talked about his family, where he was from (important to rural Southern folk) or how he found Myrick's Mill. The mill was located about 6 miles off the nearest major highway and no road signs were posted to lead you there. But, Mr. Parker had found a place to settle. Maybe he liked the off-beaten path kind of places.

Daddy rented boats for people to use while fishing in the pond. Mr. Parker claimed that he could build a better bateau than anyone. In fact, as he described his ventures and skills he could do just about anything and everything. So, Daddy hired him to build another wooden bateau for the pond. After the first one was completed, it was apparent that Mr. Parker could build a good bateau. The only problem was, he really didn't have an adequate supply of tools to do the job. Daddy set him up in a space in the mill house and bought a whole bunch of good wood working tools from Peeler Hardware Company in Macon and loaned them to Mr. Parker to use while building the bateaus. He even gave him a key to the mill house to come and go as he pleased. After building several bateaus, Daddy found other carpentry work for him to do. There were always things to do considering all the maintenance required of buildings and houses around the mill in those days. Mr. Parker seemed to have settled and made himself a home.

Without warning, Mr. Parker disappeared in the night never to be heard from again, taking all the tools that were loaned to him and other supplies from the mill house that could easily be stuffed in the cooter hull of his car. He was true to form, a real vagabond and a thief in the night as well. Mamma always had the suspicion that he was a gangster on the run. Could have been……………. .We'll never know?

©2003 - William C. Humphries, Jr.