Chapter 2

The 2 hour riding time always gave me time to enjoy the scenery and wildlife that seemed to be out at all times of the day. It also gave me time to gather my thoughts about cases and patients and some down time to relax. It seemed like the town people were always coming to the office for some minor ailment, a toothache, pain in the joints and lots of runny noses this time of year. I could never get them to understand that they were having a reaction to the flowers and plants that were in bloom. I finally got a few of them to taking a tablespoon of local honey daily for their runny noses and coughs and it was working fine. However, I still received a few comments on "Why a doctor was relying on home remedies instead of some fancy medicine he learned about in doctor school?" Thanks to Miz Maisy I was learning more and more about remedies from the local area for "what's ailing folks" as she says.

I actually enjoyed my weekly visit to see Miz Maisy, although it wasn't always like this. It seemed to take me forever to get her to trust me. I remember our first encounter. I was instructed by the county director that I was responsible for keeping track of the "hill folks" as they were referred to. The information I gathered was to be mailed to him on a monthly basis. It seems that several census takers had come down off the mountain faster than they had gone up and since I was the new doctor for the area it was deemed my responsibility. For my first visit I dressed to the nines; hat, coat, riding gloves and my best Sunday suit and lots of big ideas.

I realized my first mistake was that I hadn't taken into account the length of the ride and the temperature outside. By the time I had arrived I was dusty, my hat had long been removed and my hair plastered down from the sweat and large sweat stains from under the arms of my jacket. As I rode up in front of the first cabin I came to, an older women walked out with a dishrag in her hands, looked me up and down and said, "we don't vote" and turned back into the darkened cabin. I hastily dismounted from my horse and tied him up to the post out front. I retrieved my record book and turned to go up to the cabin to introduce myself and came face to barrel with the biggest gun I had ever seen. I really started to sweat then. "I told you we don't vote and we don't take to gussied up strangers a ridin' up in our yard and makin' themselves at home, NOW GIT!!!!!!!"

I then dropped my book and held my hands up as high as I could get them, trying to explain that I wasn't gathering votes but making rounds to gather information, which got me into more trouble. "You city folks need to mind your own bizness and stayed outta our'n. Thay's not a thang goin' on up here ya'll need to know about. We keeps to ourselves and expect the same from ya'll. We don't got no money for taxes and everybody knows when you come riding up with books you want money for somethin or other and we ain't got it, now git, before I shoot you and bury you out back!"

I then shouted, "I'M THE NEW DOCTOR!" She took pause and dropped the end of the barrel slightly. Now instead of pointing at my head she was aiming it at my private area. I wasn't sure if this was her just relaxing her grip or if she was getting better aim. "Please just give me a minute to explain," I begged. She stared me over for about 10 seconds, uncocked the gun, turned her back on me and said, "come on the porch and sit a spell, I'll get us a cold drank." I hastily retrieved my records book from where I had dropped it and slowly stepped up on the rickety porch. There were 2 rocking chairs and a swing. I chose the chair closest to my horse in case I had to make a hasty exit. I heard her coming from inside the cabin and tried to look important. I had thought that I might impress her with my good posture and dignity therefore winning her trust, I was wrong. She walked out of the cabin with 2 wooden cups and handed me one, walked over to the swing, sat down and said, "make it quick."

I introduced myself and explained that I was the new doctor for the area and had been assigned to gather birth, marriage and death records for the area in addition to my medical practice. I explained I had finished medical school about 6 months ago and interned in Atlanta, before I was assigned to this area. "What's inturned?" she asked. I explained that I had worked at a hospital under several different doctors to gain more experience with patients after I had finished school. "How ja' git sint up here'n?" she asked. I explained that there was a new law out that any town that got itself established and had a population of over 200 people could write to the state and request a doctor be assigned to their area. Most poor medical students had signed an agreement with the school that they would work for a period of 3 years in any assigned area of the state if the school would help pay for the education. That way more young men could get a medical degree at a lower cost and the state could provide more doctors in less favorable areas.

"So you's a charity doc? Sint to do time in a place where no doc's want to? What kine of midical care is that?" "What makes you think we need a doc like you, that we cain't take care'n of our own?" I explained that I could bring new ideas and practices that might decrease healing time and possible help the local people to live a longer life in better health. "You are aware that most of the hill people die at an early age of disease obtained from accidents and generally poor health, that the life expectancy of a man up here is 50 years old and women younger than that. What with problems of child birth at a young age, unsanitary conditions and lack of proper nutrition the women in this area do good if they live past 40."

"Unsanitary cundition and nutrition, what's that?" she asked. I was surprised that she was actually following the conversation and picking up on the language I was using. "It means that eating the right foods and keeping things cleaner could actually help with the health of the hill people." "For instance, boiling water before it is used in cooking and drinking, could help reduce some of the internal problems that people get. Eating foods that help with health could make them feel better and washing their hands and utensils before eating can reduce health problems." "What's wrong with the water?" she asked. "Well," I explained, "there were bugs and things in the water that you couldn't see and when you drink it directly from a well or a stream you could ingest these bugs and they could cause problems like stomach cramps, loose bowel movements and possibly even fevers." "Boiling the water before you use it to bathe in or drink it or cook with it could reduce the problems greatly." She then stood up and walked towards me, I started to sweat not sure of what was coming next, she reached and grabbed my mug of water and poured both of our drinks over the edge of the porch. As she sat back down she said "Wouldn't want the new doc to git the trots while ridin back home." In some small part of my mind I was thinking I was getting through to her.

We sat for a long while on her porch, not talking. I could tell she was thinking about the things I had told her and even though I was impatient to get about my business so I could get home, I knew that I had better stay put if I ever wanted to come back. There was a nice breeze blowing and it was quiet, you could hear the birds chirping, the horses in the corral neighing to each other and the other farm animals moving about. These were the things I loved most about the mountain, country way of life.

"I reckin' you can start with me, what'cha need to know?" I bolted upright, surely I hadn't been dozing. "Just general information about you and your family," I replied. "Well," she said, "folks call me Maisy, but my real name is Amazing Grace Butler Lancaster." I raised my eyebrows and she stated, "my grandmother loved that song, said she'd heard it one time at the church in town when they was ridin' by on their way to Mountain Top. Told my momma, "when that baby gurl is borned, that's what she will be named." Granny always named the yungn's when they wuz borned since she was a baby catcher, said it was her right seein' as to how she was the oldest livin' person in Mountain Top and the most wisest too. My daddy said it was a mouthful and shortened it to Maisy."

"A baby catcher?" I questioned. She looked straight at me and said, "You know - she helped birth babies, she looked after the mommas on a reg'lar basis and when they delivered she helped them. She also helped with curin' folks of what ailed them." This was information I filed in the back of my mind for further investigation.

Miz Maisy continued, "I was 14 years old when I got married, Bobby Neil Lancaster, my he was a sight. Course I wasn't hard on the eyes when I was young." "We growed up together, said he remembered the day I wuz borned, what little hair I had was red and my eyes were pale green, said I come out hollerin' and flailin' my arms and never quit." "He was 7 at the time, and helped his ma and pa work their little farm. His pa died when he was 12 and he had to help his ma with everythin'. He stepped in there just like a man and took over the plowin', huntin' an providin' for his whole family, 5 of them they wuz. He took to me cause I could read and do lettering." This took me be surprised, I had her figured for an uneducated mountain woman. "My granny was a school teacher and made sure her yungun's and grand-yungun's could read and do lettering. Said that folks could take everything you got but not yore learning." "He stayed home while his bruthers and sisters moved off, takin' care of his ma and the farm. She died right after he turned 20. Well we had her service and buried her, that night he shown up at my house and askt to speak to my daddy."