Wilbur  suffered bouts of depression off and on ever since he got back from the war and in 1932 he had a more serious bout.  Rosalie wrote in her memories  “What a time I had those years! I prayed to God to give me understanding and the wisdom to help my dear husband. He went thru a depression, when he thought everyone and everything was against him. He got so he couldn’t bear to have me out of his sight. He was in the hospital six weeks when Adrian was twelve years old. Adrian and I tried to finish the corn and peanut crop--also we had cukes planted but they never did any good. Bill (my brother) hauled what we had to McIntosh to ship, but we had to quit--they just weren’t worth anything.”  Being a World War I veteran, Wilbur went to the U.S. Naval Hospital in Pensacola, some 350 miles from their home in Flemington. Pensacola was a several days trip from Flemington so Rosalie and the boys were not able to see their father, but they did write him letters.    

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The farm took a lot of work and during the times that Wilbur had his bouts of depression, Rosalie and the boys worked extra hard.  As a young girl Rosalie was used to work on her father’s farm, but now was different with three boys to look after and Wilbur with his moods.  Rosalie learned a lot about farm life, how to make soap, sausage, liver pudding (Onnie Lee’s recipe), make jelly, can fruit and vegetables, plant a garden, hoe peanuts and corn, chip wood, saw wood, cut bushes, clear land, hitch up a two horse team to a wagon, saddle a horse and drive cows.

Updated: 9-29-2021

1933