Rosalie's Diary
Writings
The following were handwritten notes on varying sized pieces of paper, written undetermined times that were tucked in between the pages of Rosalie’s diaries.
Bonaventure 1908
We lived in a four room house on a orange grove owned by a widow woman and her children. Gertude Stella, Calley and Robert. Cally andand Robert were the younger children and Cally was in school somewhere and Robert was in school too he was the youngest and was home very seldom but Gertrue Mims had the Post Office. The mail came twice a day and was picked up at the station by a black man that we knew as Tailor. Tailor rowed across the Indian River morning and after the last mail train in the afternoon. He carried it to a little town on Merrits Island call Latos. I think it is still on the map now 1990. Papa sent us to a privet school ran by Mr. Hall, he lived on an orange grove as care taker not far from us. There was an orange grove between the mims and Mr. Halls it was ran by Mr & Mrs Ramsey. They had 2 boys one about 17 and ther younger the older was named Dalles and his brother Robert. Mr. Hall and his wife had 3 children, Leighton, Pauline and Ilene also a baby very small. Mr Hall had a privet school for his children and we went there until we were in the 3rd grade then Mr. Ramsey oldest boy drove the school bus (covered wagon pulled by a horse). Then Papa sent us to Public school in Coco. At Bonaventure there were wild cat, possums, skunks and coons. Papa had a helper Joe Reddick, a black man he had one leg. The “varmints” wild cats were bad. The wild cats caught the hens of the roost sat too close to the fence on the roost, by grabbing thru the wire. Once Papa set a steel trap to catch a wild cat and one night the Mims girls came down to our house and called Papa “Mr. Anderson” we’ve caught the varmint” so he went down to their house to kill it, they gave him a pistol to shoot it but he took pole and killed the wild cat.