Clarence Matthew Howton Family Story
Clarence Matthew Howton was born into the Howton family on 10 May 1921 in Fayette County, Alabama. He was also born along with his fraternal twin sister Clara M Howton. Clarence Matthew Howton grew up on a medium sized family farm his father George Matthew Howton tended in Pea Ridge, Fayette County, AL. At the time when Clarence Matthew Howton was born, his family was renting a home in Pea Ridge, AL. Clarence Matthew Howton came from a split family and grew up with 3 brothers, 7 sisters, & 1 half sister. The other siblings included 2 half brothers that were being raised by the Middleton family down in south Alabama. Clarence Matthew Howton had another half brother named Lee Matthew Howton who died as an infant about 20 years before Clarence was born. Clarence was raised as a child during a time when the Great Depression hit every American family right down to the lowest man, woman, and child. Life had to be in its most simplest to survive those hard times and the Howton family made do with what they had. All the Howton children took part in helping with chores that were needed that helped make things a little easier. Life was hard, food was scares and money was inevitably tight for the Howton family. The children had to make do with what was around and found anything they could play with. Clarence as a child would watch his mother and father as any child does and learned many things from them. The Howton brothers were well outnumbered by their sisters so the boys had to stick together. They were always bombarded by living with almost all females. There were disagreements and arguments between the children but their father George Matthew Howton was hard on his children to keep them in line. The Howton family would eat suppers at the table and talks of how everyone's day went filled the air. At some point, Clarence Matthew Howton had to learn how to drive a car as cars were becoming more and more mainstream as a sole way of transportation. It is unknown at what point he learned or who taught him to drive. It is likely his father did but cannot confirm this. By this time the horse was a thing of the past as a main means of transportation but some people still used them for various farm tasks. There were many times Clarence spent laying in the floor or sitting listing to the family radio to programs that were on. Clarence Matthew Howton saw many inventions becoming common in everyday society that drastically changed the way we live.
Clarence Matthew Howton was the Howton ancestor who broke the old family occupation of being farmers. In fact, Clarence never owned any land, not even 1 acre and rented his home all his life. The Howton family have been farmers ever since Jonathan Howton, our first Howton ancestor in America. This is about 160 years of Howton family farmers and one contributing factor to this was the grocery store. No longer did families have to farm to have food on their tables. If a man worked, he could buy the food right out of the grocery store. Now lets take a look for a moment at the grocery store so we may get a better understanding of this transition-
U.S. grocery stores are descended from trading posts, which sold not only food but clothing, household items, tools, furniture, and other miscellaneous merchandise. These trading posts evolved into larger retail businesses known as general stores. These facilities generally dealt only in "dry" goods such as flour, dry beans, baking soda, and canned foods. Perishable foods were instead obtained from specialty markets: Fresh meat was obtained from a butcher, milk from a local dairy, eggs and vegetables were either produced by families themselves, bartered for with neighbors, or purchased at a farmers' market or a local greengrocer. Many rural areas still contain general stores that sell goods ranging from cigars to imported napkins. Traditionally, general stores have offered credit to their customers, a system of payment that works on trust rather than modern credit cards. This allowed farm families to buy staples until their harvest could be sold. The first self-service grocery store, Piggly Wiggly, was opened in 1916 in Memphis, Tennessee by Clarence Saunders, an inventor and entrepreneur. Prior to this innovation, customers gave orders to clerks to fill. Saunder's invention allowed a much smaller number of clerks to service the customers, proving successful (according to a 1929 Time magazine) "partly because of its novelty, partly because neat packages and large advertising appropriations have made retail grocery selling almost an automatic procedure
Many years passed and Clarence grew up to become a man with his own views and ideas. By the time Clarence was 18 years old the Great Depression had ended but World War II was declared. In the late 1930s, the Great Depression was weakening, but many Americans were still poverty stricken. Americans watched as German forces became more powerful and took over neighboring countries. With the invasion of Poland, World War II erupted in Europe. The suffering American economy was given a boost when the fighting countries needed supplies and looked to America to make them. After Pearl Harbor was bombed on December 7, 1941, America entered the war. The U.S. enlisted more than 10 million men and women into the military. Since so many were fighting in the war, it was left for those left at home to work in the factories to make supplies for the war effort. The desperate need for soldiers, pilots, and workers to make ammunition, weaponry, and air/sea craft all contributed to the end of the Great Depression. The economy of America skyrocketed and was on the road to restoration. Clarence Matthew Howton's son Roger Dale Howton recalls being told his father had wanted to join the service but could not due to him being flat footed or partially flat footed. The want and drive was there but military service was not in the cards for Clarence Matthew Howton. Clarence had a since of American patriotism and wanted to aid in the fight to protect his country and loved was from harm. This speaks highly of the type of man Clarence Matthew Howton was.
Clarence Matthew Howton between ages 20 to 25 saw a beautiful woman that made his heart skip several beats. This woman's eyes seemed to sparkle when Clarence saw her and her hair seemed to glow like an angel. This woman's name was Martha Christine Griffin. Clarence Matthew Howton and Martha Christine Griffin started to grow attracted to one another. As time progressed they started spending more and more time together. Martha Christine Griffin loved to dance as she would pop a leg out every now and then to music and just having fun. A closer bond was made than the two ever imagined. In time, the two agreed and got married. Now Clarence was no longer singal and now had a wife to love. His life seemed to have taken a wild turn into married life. The ways of the young had to be left behind and a new life began.
The two became parents in 1946 when thier first child Margaret Ann Howton was born. The Howton family was growing and Clarence had a new responsibility to take care of his wife and now his daughter. Clarence Matthew Howton and Martha Christine Howton would have 7 more children between 1947 and some time around the late 1960s when their last child Martha Lynn Howton was born.
Clarence Matthew Howton and Martha Christine Howton was living in the Fayette County, AL area during the early 1940s. To understand this time frame and our Howton family ancestors, we must look at what was going on during the time and the conditions people lived in. This will help us to understand their lives better. The 1940's were dominated by World War II. European artists and intellectuals fled to the United States from Hitler and the Holocaust, bringing new ideas created in disillusionment. War production pulled America out of the Great Depression. Women were needed to replace men who had gone off to war, and so the first great exodus of women from the home to the workplace began. Rationing affected the food that was ate, the clothes they wore, and the toys with which children played. After the war, the men returned, having seen the rest of the world. No longer was the family farm an ideal; no longer would blacks accept lesser status. The GI Bill allowed more men than ever before to get a college education. Women had to give up their jobs to the returning men, but they had tasted independence.
Headlines -In the 1940s, many of the important headlines were based on World War II. Like in the introduction, it has a headline saying "Japs Declare War. Attack U.S." There was many other headlines in the 1940s too. There would hundreds of little boys on the streets selling newspapers.
Events 40's-First nuclear bomb that dramatically changed the war and international relationships between those who had the technology and those countries who did not.
Living in the 1940s-The first half of the 1940s was absorbed with World War II. The war was a time of worry and heartache for people around the world, but life went on in spite of the tragic conflict that consumed the lives of so many loved ones, destroyed homes and livelihoods, and scattered families around the globe. Family living in the first half of the decade saw many people face difficulties beyond measure. Parents during the time listened intently to the daily news on their little 1940's radio and feared for their families safety, or for the servicemen who were faced with moving up to the battle zone, where each man had a job to do, and that job was dreadful. For little boys growing up during the time played soldiers, or pretended to be a pilot zooming across the sky. Children's toys were almost non existent, except for those handed down from older children, or pieced together from bits of wood, string and nails. They did not experience manufactured toys until after the war. Children sometimes hovered by shop windows staring at toys or candy stores. They were irresistible to the children but not many had any money to afford such things.
During the War, air-raid shelters were built for peoples' protection or a fall out destination in case of a worst case scenario were to occur. There were great shortages of food and other essential commodities for civilians during the war. While in our modern time just about everybody has a mobile phone, in the 1940s most houses didn't have a phone at all. Neighbors without a phone would come around to ask if they might use the phone, and they were never refused. It's funny that they always asked to use the phone, not your phone, almost as if, even though you owned it, it was community property. But that's pretty much how things were in the 1940s. People pulled together and shared what they had, to make things a bit easier for all. Strangely enough, there was a greater respect and consideration afforded other people from all walks of life. There might have been a common bond between people who were united against a common enemy. Still there was an importance placed upon formality and good manners that has disappeared today. Men frequently referred to each other as Mister, unless they were close friends, and women spoke of and to each other as Mrs. even when they were friends and neighbors. This formality was not a mark of superiority or inferiority, it was simply a mark of respect.
School Days in the 1940s commenced for most children about age five. By the time the War was over and the men were coming home, there were still shortages and rationing continued for several years. After the war the 1940's fashions changed rapidly from dull colors to more flamboyant colors and styles. The cost of living changed rapidly too, as the servicemen and women returned to their civilian occupations or struck out in new directions. The return to civilian life brought about lifestyle changes to many that they could never have contemplated before the war. When children were arriving home from school to find their mom was out was a pretty rare occurrence for kids right through to the 1970s.
Few married women were in the workforce in those days. For most women, the position of housewife gave them complete responsibility for the day to day management of the home. A housewife's activities of daily living included cleaning, mending, cooking, washing and ironing, making clothes for themselves and the children, managing the family budget. Sometimes the children were expected to help with the cleaning, or to help on washing day. There was of course the method used of the oldest children helping to tend and care for their younger siblings. This happened very often. Managing the home was the Mother's responsibility. The Father worked to earn enough to keep the family. Most families were living on one income. A man's wage was usually sufficient to support the whole family. There were no child minding services and no kindergartens. Parents were responsible for their children, and children were nurtured by family, not strangers.
During the 1940s through the 50s, Dads worked, Moms stayed at home and kept house, managed the budget, mothered the kids. For teens, school included subjects like American History, Home Economics, English Literature, and American Literature. They said the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag AND The Lord's Prayer in school every morning. The organization of Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts were around to help teach children about being trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent.; virtues to aspire to be and do your best. Children played on gravel in the playground and got bruises and scratches but no lawsuits were filed. If the kids got into trouble in school they were in worse trouble at home. During the time, it was common out in country areas for teenagers to keep hunting shotguns or rifles in their trucks as they would have went hunting that morning or even after school. Like most children in school at the time hide under desks during atom bomb drills. Many times were within (according to newspapers) just 10 minutes or so of nuclear war. These were very different times and a change for all. However, family living in America in the latter part of the 1940s was pretty easy for most families. Certainly they did not have a lot of money, but having just come through the Great Depression and the Second World War, things were looking pretty good. A time of change was in the air. In fact the first computer was invented in 1946.
The Howton family decided to move out to Texas between 1947-1949. Now, the reason for the move came out of a dilima the Howton family was facing. It was known that Clarence Matthew Howton and Martha Christine Howton were moonshining. Clarence and Martha ran an opperation where customers would drive up to their window and pay for the moonshine. The local police did get wif of what was going on but the tax revenuers could not find the still. The revenuers told Clarence and Martha they better get out of state or face being caught moonshining and get send to prison. The decision to move was thought out long and hard. Texas is far away from anything Clarence and Martha new and would leave behind all their friends and other family members. The Howton family packed up all their belongings, strapped it down to their vehicle with rope and headed off. The Howton family was basically kicked out of Alabama and told to leave. That was the dilemma they were facing.
The Howton family drove about 800 miles from Fayette County, AL to Texas. When the Howton family got to Texas, Clarence Matthew Howton found a job working for a water sprinkler company where he was a foreman in charge of putting in the first established sprinkler systems in the local area. Clarence Matthew Howton drove back and forth to work in a company truck where his job was a good ways from home. A lot of driving was put on that truck. Some of what happened out in Texas may be seen from Clarence's son Roger Dale Howton as he recalls memories from what occurred when they were living in Texas. This is what Roger says. Roger Howton can recall from memory that his father Clarence with family lived out in Texas for a while caretaking for a ranch. One of the conditions the Howton family got for taking care of the property, providing services and labor for the ranch was that they got to stay in a house that rested on a small hill on the property for little to nothing and rent free.
The 1950s Drought
While the Howton family was living out in Texas, a major drought hit the region hard. This is an article discussing the drought that affected many in the area during that time frame.
Fueled by post-war economic stability and technological advancement, the 1950s represented a time of growth and prosperity for many Americans. While much of the country celebrated a resurgence of well-being, many residents of the Great Plains and southwestern United States were suffering. During the 1950s, the Great Plains and the southwestern U.S. withstood a five-year drought, and in three of these years, drought conditions stretched coast to coast. The drought was first felt in the southwestern U.S. in 1950 and spread to Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska by 1953. By 1954, the drought encompassed a ten-state area reaching from the mid-west to the Great Plains, and southward into New Mexico. The area from the Texas panhandle to central and eastern Colorado, western Kansas and central Nebraska experienced severe drought conditions. The drought maintained a stronghold in the Great Plains, reaching a peak in 1956. The drought subsided in most areas with the spring rains of 1957.
The 1950s drought was characterized by both low rainfall amounts and excessively high temperatures. Texas rainfall dropped by 40% between 1949-1951 and by 1953, 75% of Texas recorded below normal rainfall amounts. Excessive temperatures heated up cities like Dallas where temperatures exceeded 100°F on 52 days in the summer of 1953. Kansas experienced severe drought conditions during much of the five-year period, and recorded a negative Palmer Drought Severity Index from 1952 until March 1957, reaching a record low in September of 1956.
A drought of this magnitude creates severe social and economic repercussions and this was definitely the case in the southern Great Plains region. The drought devastated the region's agriculture. Crop yields in some areas dropped as much as 50%. Excessive temperatures and low rainfall scorched grasslands typically used for grazing. With grass scarce, hay prices became too costly, forcing some ranchers to feed their cattle a mixture of prickly pear cactus and molasses. By the time the drought subsided in 1957, many counties across the region were declared federal drought disaster areas, including 244 of the 254 counties in Texas.
The Howton family would stay in Texas and bounce back and forth from Alabama to Texas for at least the next 13 years before making the final move back to Fayette County, AL. where they would remain. Clarence Matthew Howton did make a trip back to Alabama while living in Texas to pick up the remaining moonshine left behind but was again approached by the police. The police asked Clarence where his customers were and of course Clarence said he didn't have any and wasn't in the moonshining business. The Howton children spent most of their childhoods out in Texas growing up were life out there is much different that in the southern state of Alabama. The reason why the Howton family moved back to Alabama was due to another dilemma that hit. Clarence Matthew Howton while living out in Texas gambled and got drunk a lot. Clarence would receive bonus checks every so often and he would gamble and drink the money away. He started mixing with the wrong people that took advantage of him. A man was once known for taking Clarence Matthew Howton's checks and cashing them for himself and keeping the money. The Howton family was dead broke. It got so bad that Clarence Matthew Howton was in line for a really big bonus about $3,000 and they did not give it to him. Clarence got so fed up that he told his boss off and said he wouldn't be back and the Hell with all of them. The Howton family packed up their belongings and took off back to Alabama where they moved on top of Chaney's Hill in Berry, AL. Clarence Matthew Howton and family left quite a bit of stuff in Texas. They left some cattle, chickens, and various other things and just got out of Texas.
Personal Stories of Clarence Matthew Howton and family. These stories are transcribed by Ronnie Dale Howton and come from the memories of Roger Dale Howton and his wife Shirley Ann (Jenkins) Howton. There was a story told by Clarence Matthew Howton's son Roger D. Howton about a time when his father destroyed a lot of old family pictures they had due to Martha Christine Howton (Roger's mother) going out to get a picture signed by a celebrity of the time. Roger says his mom was supposed to go see a movie and take a bus back home. She only had enough money to see a movie and a ticket home but instead of going to see the movie, Martha Christine Howton spent all the money she had on a picture signed by this male celebrity. Martha Christine had no money to get back home and was trying to walk back home. Clarence Matthew Howton was starting to worry about where his wife was when she didn't arrive back home when she should have. Clarence got in his vehicle and went to look for his wife. He went to the movie theater and didn't see her. Clarence went to several different places looking and searching for his wife with no avail. As more time passed by the more worried and angrier Clarence became of what might have happened to her. Then, as Clarence was heading down a back road he spotted a faint image in the distance. The image got closer and noticed it was his wife walking alone down a road at night. He told her to get in and he continuously told her of the dangers of walking out alone at night on the side of a road. He questioned about what happened and why she didn't get a ride home since she had bus fair money. Clarence finally found out what had happened that night and became furiously anger at the situation. Clarence and Martha fought continuously and finally Clarence snapped one day as he found this picture in a box. He took the box which had a lot of other family pictures in it and began to rip up almost every picture in the box. Martha Christine Howton was crying and telling him to stop but until Clarence had his fill, would not. Almost all of the family pictures were destroyed in this single event. This story was transcribed from Roger Dale Howton's story, son of Clarence Matthew Howton and Martha Christine Howton. Written by: Ronnie Dale Howton (son of Roger Dale Howton) Dated: 05 May 2010
Roger Talked about his father Clarence Matthew Howton:
Clarence and Martha Christine Howton loved to have get togethers at their house and Clarence loved to cook out on the grill. They did this quite often. Friends and family would come over and play card games mostly Rook.
Clarence loved to drink though and almost could not find him without a beer in his hands. Clarence also made moonshine as it was called where they made their own liquor which was very illegal. It has been said that Clarence making moonshine and having the police on his tail was one of the major factors why the Howton family moved out of Alabama to Texas. Clarence Matthew Howton was told he'd better get out of the state of Alabama, so he did just that facing getting caught moonshining. Clarence pulled Roger out of school one year and had him to go to work with him to help him out at a timber company called Hiwassee Land Company where he was a foreman at. Clarence made Roger give him all his work checks to help pay for the family bills or whatever Clarence decided to use it for. Roger as a child got a lot of beatings from Clarence usually with a leather belt even if he did not do what he was being accused of doing. Roger had to work to help buy his sister school clothes and supplies even at an early age.
However strict or mean Clarence might have been, he was a man that would give the shirt off his back to help someone out and that says something about who he was as a man. One thing that Clarence did for his children was made sure they went to church even if he himself did not go often. Clarence use to go fishing and hunting very frequently and when he did, he would take with him a machete to cut down brush, thickets, and whatever was in the way. He used this machete a lot. This machete was given to Roger and then passed down to me Ronnie Howton as it will be passed down to one of my sons who will carry on the Howton name and legacy. This is the only item known given to Roger of his father Clarence.
While Clarence Matthew Howton and family were living in Berry, Fayette County, AL. during the 1960s, Clarence and Martha had to watch their 19 year old son be drafted into the Viet Nam war in 1967. This had to be hard for them to watch their son Roger Dale Howton go off to fight a war far away from home with the possibility of never making it back alive. As many parents would feel, they felt a since of unknowingness that filled the depth of their hearts. When the time came, their son headed off into the distant far jungles of Viet Nam. The Howton family supported their loved one in the time of hardship. They also gave support to Roger's wife Shirley Ann (Jenkins) Howton and his first child Sheila Ann Howton. Clarence Matthew Howton's daughter-in-law Shirley and granddaughter Sheila would quite frequently go over to his home and play cards games such as rook or Penney Ante Poker. Clarence and Martha Christine Howton did however get to see their son Roger Dale Howton return from the war in Southeast Asia in 1969 not knowing how closely it came to losing their eldest son due to a massive explosion. The Howton family was whole once again.
As the years' summers turned to fall, and the years' winters turned to spring, there was lurking in the dark a tragedy waiting to unfold. Clarence Matthew Howton had a stroke that changed his life dramatically. His health seemed to have steadily declined in a downward spiral like a ball dropped down a spiraling tube which had a purpose to an end.
(Ronnie's Notes: 11 Aug 2010 at time of occurrence- approx. 9PM Central Time Zone: At the moment I was writing this part of my Grandpa Howton's story, an event occurred I cannot explain. As my fingers touched the keys trying to find the right words to say about Clarence Matthew Howton's final days, my heart sank into a deep rhythm and my breathing became heavy. My mind flashed a picture I have not seen nor thought about in about 20 years since I was a small child. This occurred at the literal exact moment my fingers struck the keys to find the words. The picture was of Clarence Matthew Howton lying in his casket. Clarence Matthew Howton laying there, his face pale, his body still, his life no more. How could this be? I sat and pondered of what had happened. I do not know. Could my Grandfather be telling me something from the here after. If so what is it he's trying to convey to me or the family? Has this been a repressed memory of a photo and triggered by the words I typed? I believe Clarence wants me to say or tell something about him. The subject at hand was about Clarence Matthew Howton's stroke and how things changed from that point on. If it be so, I will try Grandpa and give me the words to tell your story or convey your message. END NOTE)
Clarence Matthew Howton's stroke left him in a state of delusionism. It is known that Clarence tried to light a fire under the kitchen sink thinking he was lighting a fire in a fireplace and nearly burnt the place down. His mind was slipping. He would see lightening bugs or fire flies on the ceiling which wasn't their. Clarence was given stronger and stronger medicine to try to balance the effects of the stroke had on his brain. Let's take a moment to evaluate what a stroke is so we may understand a little better about what Clarence Matthew Howton was facing.
What Is A Stroke?
A stroke is a "brain attack" that happens when a part of the brain experiences a problem with blood flow. This disruption in blood flow cuts off the supply of oxygen to the cells in that part of the brain, and these cells begin to die. Damage to the brain can cause loss of speech, vision, or movement in an arm or a leg, depending on the part of the brain that is affected. Stroke is the major form of cerebrovascular disease, or CVD, a term that sometimes is used interchangeably with stroke. There are two main types of stroke:
• Stroke caused by a blockage in the artery supplying blood to a particular region of the brain (called cerebral infarction). This is the most common type of stroke.
• Stroke caused by bleeding within the brain (called intracerebral hemorrhage).
This is what hit Clarence Matthew Howton and did drastically change how he was. For the most part though, Clarence dealt with it as best as he could and was maintaining himself for a little while but as time moved on, the effects became more and more obvious.
The end was approaching near for Clarence Matthew Howton. Cancer had been taking its toll and Clarence's situation was worsening. He had to be taken to Fayette County Hospital where on 23 Apr 1980, Clarence took his last breath and surcumed to the mortality he was born into which left a void in those left behind, especially his wife Martha Christine (Griffin) Howton. Clarence's wife Martha other wise known as "Teen" would live 19 more years feeling the void of her husband and companion gone but only to be once again reunited in heaven in 1999.
Clarence Matthew Howton
10 May 1921 – 23 Apr 1980
"May we Never Forget
You and the live you lived"
Clarence Matthew Howton possessed
a free spirit and a will to do what was
needed of him. He was an American
patriot who loved his country. He was a husband, a father, a
hard worker and a grandfather to all his grandchildren. This is the legacy of Clarence Matthew Howton. May his life be remembered and the stories told for many generations to come. We honor his life by doing so.
Author: Ronnie Dale Howton
Born March 14, 1982 of Druid City Hospital, Tuscaloosa County, Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Currently Residing in Clarksville, TN
Dated: 16 Aug 2010
Clarence Matthew Howton was born into the Howton family on 10 May 1921 in Fayette County, Alabama. He was also born along with his fraternal twin sister Clara M Howton. Clarence Matthew Howton grew up on a medium sized family farm his father George Matthew Howton tended in Pea Ridge, Fayette County, AL. At the time when Clarence Matthew Howton was born, his family was renting a home in Pea Ridge, AL. Clarence Matthew Howton came from a split family and grew up with 3 brothers, 7 sisters, & 1 half sister. The other siblings included 2 half brothers that were being raised by the Middleton family down in south Alabama. Clarence Matthew Howton had another half brother named Lee Matthew Howton who died as an infant about 20 years before Clarence was born. Clarence was raised as a child during a time when the Great Depression hit every American family right down to the lowest man, woman, and child. Life had to be in its most simplest to survive those hard times and the Howton family made do with what they had. All the Howton children took part in helping with chores that were needed that helped make things a little easier. Life was hard, food was scares and money was inevitably tight for the Howton family. The children had to make do with what was around and found anything they could play with. Clarence as a child would watch his mother and father as any child does and learned many things from them. The Howton brothers were well outnumbered by their sisters so the boys had to stick together. They were always bombarded by living with almost all females. There were disagreements and arguments between the children but their father George Matthew Howton was hard on his children to keep them in line. The Howton family would eat suppers at the table and talks of how everyone's day went filled the air. At some point, Clarence Matthew Howton had to learn how to drive a car as cars were becoming more and more mainstream as a sole way of transportation. It is unknown at what point he learned or who taught him to drive. It is likely his father did but cannot confirm this. By this time the horse was a thing of the past as a main means of transportation but some people still used them for various farm tasks. There were many times Clarence spent laying in the floor or sitting listing to the family radio to programs that were on. Clarence Matthew Howton saw many inventions becoming common in everyday society that drastically changed the way we live.
Clarence Matthew Howton was the Howton ancestor who broke the old family occupation of being farmers. In fact, Clarence never owned any land, not even 1 acre and rented his home all his life. The Howton family have been farmers ever since Jonathan Howton, our first Howton ancestor in America. This is about 160 years of Howton family farmers and one contributing factor to this was the grocery store. No longer did families have to farm to have food on their tables. If a man worked, he could buy the food right out of the grocery store. Now lets take a look for a moment at the grocery store so we may get a better understanding of this transition-
U.S. grocery stores are descended from trading posts, which sold not only food but clothing, household items, tools, furniture, and other miscellaneous merchandise. These trading posts evolved into larger retail businesses known as general stores. These facilities generally dealt only in "dry" goods such as flour, dry beans, baking soda, and canned foods. Perishable foods were instead obtained from specialty markets: Fresh meat was obtained from a butcher, milk from a local dairy, eggs and vegetables were either produced by families themselves, bartered for with neighbors, or purchased at a farmers' market or a local greengrocer. Many rural areas still contain general stores that sell goods ranging from cigars to imported napkins. Traditionally, general stores have offered credit to their customers, a system of payment that works on trust rather than modern credit cards. This allowed farm families to buy staples until their harvest could be sold. The first self-service grocery store, Piggly Wiggly, was opened in 1916 in Memphis, Tennessee by Clarence Saunders, an inventor and entrepreneur. Prior to this innovation, customers gave orders to clerks to fill. Saunder's invention allowed a much smaller number of clerks to service the customers, proving successful (according to a 1929 Time magazine) "partly because of its novelty, partly because neat packages and large advertising appropriations have made retail grocery selling almost an automatic procedure
Many years passed and Clarence grew up to become a man with his own views and ideas. By the time Clarence was 18 years old the Great Depression had ended but World War II was declared. In the late 1930s, the Great Depression was weakening, but many Americans were still poverty stricken. Americans watched as German forces became more powerful and took over neighboring countries. With the invasion of Poland, World War II erupted in Europe. The suffering American economy was given a boost when the fighting countries needed supplies and looked to America to make them. After Pearl Harbor was bombed on December 7, 1941, America entered the war. The U.S. enlisted more than 10 million men and women into the military. Since so many were fighting in the war, it was left for those left at home to work in the factories to make supplies for the war effort. The desperate need for soldiers, pilots, and workers to make ammunition, weaponry, and air/sea craft all contributed to the end of the Great Depression. The economy of America skyrocketed and was on the road to restoration. Clarence Matthew Howton's son Roger Dale Howton recalls being told his father had wanted to join the service but could not due to him being flat footed or partially flat footed. The want and drive was there but military service was not in the cards for Clarence Matthew Howton. Clarence had a since of American patriotism and wanted to aid in the fight to protect his country and loved was from harm. This speaks highly of the type of man Clarence Matthew Howton was.
Clarence Matthew Howton between ages 20 to 25 saw a beautiful woman that made his heart skip several beats. This woman's eyes seemed to sparkle when Clarence saw her and her hair seemed to glow like an angel. This woman's name was Martha Christine Griffin. Clarence Matthew Howton and Martha Christine Griffin started to grow attracted to one another. As time progressed they started spending more and more time together. Martha Christine Griffin loved to dance as she would pop a leg out every now and then to music and just having fun. A closer bond was made than the two ever imagined. In time, the two agreed and got married. Now Clarence was no longer singal and now had a wife to love. His life seemed to have taken a wild turn into married life. The ways of the young had to be left behind and a new life began.
The two became parents in 1946 when thier first child Margaret Ann Howton was born. The Howton family was growing and Clarence had a new responsibility to take care of his wife and now his daughter. Clarence Matthew Howton and Martha Christine Howton would have 7 more children between 1947 and some time around the late 1960s when their last child Martha Lynn Howton was born.
Clarence Matthew Howton and Martha Christine Howton was living in the Fayette County, AL area during the early 1940s. To understand this time frame and our Howton family ancestors, we must look at what was going on during the time and the conditions people lived in. This will help us to understand their lives better. The 1940's were dominated by World War II. European artists and intellectuals fled to the United States from Hitler and the Holocaust, bringing new ideas created in disillusionment. War production pulled America out of the Great Depression. Women were needed to replace men who had gone off to war, and so the first great exodus of women from the home to the workplace began. Rationing affected the food that was ate, the clothes they wore, and the toys with which children played. After the war, the men returned, having seen the rest of the world. No longer was the family farm an ideal; no longer would blacks accept lesser status. The GI Bill allowed more men than ever before to get a college education. Women had to give up their jobs to the returning men, but they had tasted independence.
Headlines -In the 1940s, many of the important headlines were based on World War II. Like in the introduction, it has a headline saying "Japs Declare War. Attack U.S." There was many other headlines in the 1940s too. There would hundreds of little boys on the streets selling newspapers.
Events 40's-First nuclear bomb that dramatically changed the war and international relationships between those who had the technology and those countries who did not.
Living in the 1940s-The first half of the 1940s was absorbed with World War II. The war was a time of worry and heartache for people around the world, but life went on in spite of the tragic conflict that consumed the lives of so many loved ones, destroyed homes and livelihoods, and scattered families around the globe. Family living in the first half of the decade saw many people face difficulties beyond measure. Parents during the time listened intently to the daily news on their little 1940's radio and feared for their families safety, or for the servicemen who were faced with moving up to the battle zone, where each man had a job to do, and that job was dreadful. For little boys growing up during the time played soldiers, or pretended to be a pilot zooming across the sky. Children's toys were almost non existent, except for those handed down from older children, or pieced together from bits of wood, string and nails. They did not experience manufactured toys until after the war. Children sometimes hovered by shop windows staring at toys or candy stores. They were irresistible to the children but not many had any money to afford such things.
During the War, air-raid shelters were built for peoples' protection or a fall out destination in case of a worst case scenario were to occur. There were great shortages of food and other essential commodities for civilians during the war. While in our modern time just about everybody has a mobile phone, in the 1940s most houses didn't have a phone at all. Neighbors without a phone would come around to ask if they might use the phone, and they were never refused. It's funny that they always asked to use the phone, not your phone, almost as if, even though you owned it, it was community property. But that's pretty much how things were in the 1940s. People pulled together and shared what they had, to make things a bit easier for all. Strangely enough, there was a greater respect and consideration afforded other people from all walks of life. There might have been a common bond between people who were united against a common enemy. Still there was an importance placed upon formality and good manners that has disappeared today. Men frequently referred to each other as Mister, unless they were close friends, and women spoke of and to each other as Mrs. even when they were friends and neighbors. This formality was not a mark of superiority or inferiority, it was simply a mark of respect.
School Days in the 1940s commenced for most children about age five. By the time the War was over and the men were coming home, there were still shortages and rationing continued for several years. After the war the 1940's fashions changed rapidly from dull colors to more flamboyant colors and styles. The cost of living changed rapidly too, as the servicemen and women returned to their civilian occupations or struck out in new directions. The return to civilian life brought about lifestyle changes to many that they could never have contemplated before the war. When children were arriving home from school to find their mom was out was a pretty rare occurrence for kids right through to the 1970s.
Few married women were in the workforce in those days. For most women, the position of housewife gave them complete responsibility for the day to day management of the home. A housewife's activities of daily living included cleaning, mending, cooking, washing and ironing, making clothes for themselves and the children, managing the family budget. Sometimes the children were expected to help with the cleaning, or to help on washing day. There was of course the method used of the oldest children helping to tend and care for their younger siblings. This happened very often. Managing the home was the Mother's responsibility. The Father worked to earn enough to keep the family. Most families were living on one income. A man's wage was usually sufficient to support the whole family. There were no child minding services and no kindergartens. Parents were responsible for their children, and children were nurtured by family, not strangers.
During the 1940s through the 50s, Dads worked, Moms stayed at home and kept house, managed the budget, mothered the kids. For teens, school included subjects like American History, Home Economics, English Literature, and American Literature. They said the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag AND The Lord's Prayer in school every morning. The organization of Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts were around to help teach children about being trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent.; virtues to aspire to be and do your best. Children played on gravel in the playground and got bruises and scratches but no lawsuits were filed. If the kids got into trouble in school they were in worse trouble at home. During the time, it was common out in country areas for teenagers to keep hunting shotguns or rifles in their trucks as they would have went hunting that morning or even after school. Like most children in school at the time hide under desks during atom bomb drills. Many times were within (according to newspapers) just 10 minutes or so of nuclear war. These were very different times and a change for all. However, family living in America in the latter part of the 1940s was pretty easy for most families. Certainly they did not have a lot of money, but having just come through the Great Depression and the Second World War, things were looking pretty good. A time of change was in the air. In fact the first computer was invented in 1946.
The Howton family decided to move out to Texas between 1947-1949. Now, the reason for the move came out of a dilima the Howton family was facing. It was known that Clarence Matthew Howton and Martha Christine Howton were moonshining. Clarence and Martha ran an opperation where customers would drive up to their window and pay for the moonshine. The local police did get wif of what was going on but the tax revenuers could not find the still. The revenuers told Clarence and Martha they better get out of state or face being caught moonshining and get send to prison. The decision to move was thought out long and hard. Texas is far away from anything Clarence and Martha new and would leave behind all their friends and other family members. The Howton family packed up all their belongings, strapped it down to their vehicle with rope and headed off. The Howton family was basically kicked out of Alabama and told to leave. That was the dilemma they were facing.
The Howton family drove about 800 miles from Fayette County, AL to Texas. When the Howton family got to Texas, Clarence Matthew Howton found a job working for a water sprinkler company where he was a foreman in charge of putting in the first established sprinkler systems in the local area. Clarence Matthew Howton drove back and forth to work in a company truck where his job was a good ways from home. A lot of driving was put on that truck. Some of what happened out in Texas may be seen from Clarence's son Roger Dale Howton as he recalls memories from what occurred when they were living in Texas. This is what Roger says. Roger Howton can recall from memory that his father Clarence with family lived out in Texas for a while caretaking for a ranch. One of the conditions the Howton family got for taking care of the property, providing services and labor for the ranch was that they got to stay in a house that rested on a small hill on the property for little to nothing and rent free.
The 1950s Drought
While the Howton family was living out in Texas, a major drought hit the region hard. This is an article discussing the drought that affected many in the area during that time frame.
Fueled by post-war economic stability and technological advancement, the 1950s represented a time of growth and prosperity for many Americans. While much of the country celebrated a resurgence of well-being, many residents of the Great Plains and southwestern United States were suffering. During the 1950s, the Great Plains and the southwestern U.S. withstood a five-year drought, and in three of these years, drought conditions stretched coast to coast. The drought was first felt in the southwestern U.S. in 1950 and spread to Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska by 1953. By 1954, the drought encompassed a ten-state area reaching from the mid-west to the Great Plains, and southward into New Mexico. The area from the Texas panhandle to central and eastern Colorado, western Kansas and central Nebraska experienced severe drought conditions. The drought maintained a stronghold in the Great Plains, reaching a peak in 1956. The drought subsided in most areas with the spring rains of 1957.
The 1950s drought was characterized by both low rainfall amounts and excessively high temperatures. Texas rainfall dropped by 40% between 1949-1951 and by 1953, 75% of Texas recorded below normal rainfall amounts. Excessive temperatures heated up cities like Dallas where temperatures exceeded 100°F on 52 days in the summer of 1953. Kansas experienced severe drought conditions during much of the five-year period, and recorded a negative Palmer Drought Severity Index from 1952 until March 1957, reaching a record low in September of 1956.
A drought of this magnitude creates severe social and economic repercussions and this was definitely the case in the southern Great Plains region. The drought devastated the region's agriculture. Crop yields in some areas dropped as much as 50%. Excessive temperatures and low rainfall scorched grasslands typically used for grazing. With grass scarce, hay prices became too costly, forcing some ranchers to feed their cattle a mixture of prickly pear cactus and molasses. By the time the drought subsided in 1957, many counties across the region were declared federal drought disaster areas, including 244 of the 254 counties in Texas.
The Howton family would stay in Texas and bounce back and forth from Alabama to Texas for at least the next 13 years before making the final move back to Fayette County, AL. where they would remain. Clarence Matthew Howton did make a trip back to Alabama while living in Texas to pick up the remaining moonshine left behind but was again approached by the police. The police asked Clarence where his customers were and of course Clarence said he didn't have any and wasn't in the moonshining business. The Howton children spent most of their childhoods out in Texas growing up were life out there is much different that in the southern state of Alabama. The reason why the Howton family moved back to Alabama was due to another dilemma that hit. Clarence Matthew Howton while living out in Texas gambled and got drunk a lot. Clarence would receive bonus checks every so often and he would gamble and drink the money away. He started mixing with the wrong people that took advantage of him. A man was once known for taking Clarence Matthew Howton's checks and cashing them for himself and keeping the money. The Howton family was dead broke. It got so bad that Clarence Matthew Howton was in line for a really big bonus about $3,000 and they did not give it to him. Clarence got so fed up that he told his boss off and said he wouldn't be back and the Hell with all of them. The Howton family packed up their belongings and took off back to Alabama where they moved on top of Chaney's Hill in Berry, AL. Clarence Matthew Howton and family left quite a bit of stuff in Texas. They left some cattle, chickens, and various other things and just got out of Texas.
Personal Stories of Clarence Matthew Howton and family. These stories are transcribed by Ronnie Dale Howton and come from the memories of Roger Dale Howton and his wife Shirley Ann (Jenkins) Howton. There was a story told by Clarence Matthew Howton's son Roger D. Howton about a time when his father destroyed a lot of old family pictures they had due to Martha Christine Howton (Roger's mother) going out to get a picture signed by a celebrity of the time. Roger says his mom was supposed to go see a movie and take a bus back home. She only had enough money to see a movie and a ticket home but instead of going to see the movie, Martha Christine Howton spent all the money she had on a picture signed by this male celebrity. Martha Christine had no money to get back home and was trying to walk back home. Clarence Matthew Howton was starting to worry about where his wife was when she didn't arrive back home when she should have. Clarence got in his vehicle and went to look for his wife. He went to the movie theater and didn't see her. Clarence went to several different places looking and searching for his wife with no avail. As more time passed by the more worried and angrier Clarence became of what might have happened to her. Then, as Clarence was heading down a back road he spotted a faint image in the distance. The image got closer and noticed it was his wife walking alone down a road at night. He told her to get in and he continuously told her of the dangers of walking out alone at night on the side of a road. He questioned about what happened and why she didn't get a ride home since she had bus fair money. Clarence finally found out what had happened that night and became furiously anger at the situation. Clarence and Martha fought continuously and finally Clarence snapped one day as he found this picture in a box. He took the box which had a lot of other family pictures in it and began to rip up almost every picture in the box. Martha Christine Howton was crying and telling him to stop but until Clarence had his fill, would not. Almost all of the family pictures were destroyed in this single event. This story was transcribed from Roger Dale Howton's story, son of Clarence Matthew Howton and Martha Christine Howton. Written by: Ronnie Dale Howton (son of Roger Dale Howton) Dated: 05 May 2010
Roger Talked about his father Clarence Matthew Howton:
Clarence and Martha Christine Howton loved to have get togethers at their house and Clarence loved to cook out on the grill. They did this quite often. Friends and family would come over and play card games mostly Rook.
Clarence loved to drink though and almost could not find him without a beer in his hands. Clarence also made moonshine as it was called where they made their own liquor which was very illegal. It has been said that Clarence making moonshine and having the police on his tail was one of the major factors why the Howton family moved out of Alabama to Texas. Clarence Matthew Howton was told he'd better get out of the state of Alabama, so he did just that facing getting caught moonshining. Clarence pulled Roger out of school one year and had him to go to work with him to help him out at a timber company called Hiwassee Land Company where he was a foreman at. Clarence made Roger give him all his work checks to help pay for the family bills or whatever Clarence decided to use it for. Roger as a child got a lot of beatings from Clarence usually with a leather belt even if he did not do what he was being accused of doing. Roger had to work to help buy his sister school clothes and supplies even at an early age.
However strict or mean Clarence might have been, he was a man that would give the shirt off his back to help someone out and that says something about who he was as a man. One thing that Clarence did for his children was made sure they went to church even if he himself did not go often. Clarence use to go fishing and hunting very frequently and when he did, he would take with him a machete to cut down brush, thickets, and whatever was in the way. He used this machete a lot. This machete was given to Roger and then passed down to me Ronnie Howton as it will be passed down to one of my sons who will carry on the Howton name and legacy. This is the only item known given to Roger of his father Clarence.
While Clarence Matthew Howton and family were living in Berry, Fayette County, AL. during the 1960s, Clarence and Martha had to watch their 19 year old son be drafted into the Viet Nam war in 1967. This had to be hard for them to watch their son Roger Dale Howton go off to fight a war far away from home with the possibility of never making it back alive. As many parents would feel, they felt a since of unknowingness that filled the depth of their hearts. When the time came, their son headed off into the distant far jungles of Viet Nam. The Howton family supported their loved one in the time of hardship. They also gave support to Roger's wife Shirley Ann (Jenkins) Howton and his first child Sheila Ann Howton. Clarence Matthew Howton's daughter-in-law Shirley and granddaughter Sheila would quite frequently go over to his home and play cards games such as rook or Penney Ante Poker. Clarence and Martha Christine Howton did however get to see their son Roger Dale Howton return from the war in Southeast Asia in 1969 not knowing how closely it came to losing their eldest son due to a massive explosion. The Howton family was whole once again.
As the years' summers turned to fall, and the years' winters turned to spring, there was lurking in the dark a tragedy waiting to unfold. Clarence Matthew Howton had a stroke that changed his life dramatically. His health seemed to have steadily declined in a downward spiral like a ball dropped down a spiraling tube which had a purpose to an end.
(Ronnie's Notes: 11 Aug 2010 at time of occurrence- approx. 9PM Central Time Zone: At the moment I was writing this part of my Grandpa Howton's story, an event occurred I cannot explain. As my fingers touched the keys trying to find the right words to say about Clarence Matthew Howton's final days, my heart sank into a deep rhythm and my breathing became heavy. My mind flashed a picture I have not seen nor thought about in about 20 years since I was a small child. This occurred at the literal exact moment my fingers struck the keys to find the words. The picture was of Clarence Matthew Howton lying in his casket. Clarence Matthew Howton laying there, his face pale, his body still, his life no more. How could this be? I sat and pondered of what had happened. I do not know. Could my Grandfather be telling me something from the here after. If so what is it he's trying to convey to me or the family? Has this been a repressed memory of a photo and triggered by the words I typed? I believe Clarence wants me to say or tell something about him. The subject at hand was about Clarence Matthew Howton's stroke and how things changed from that point on. If it be so, I will try Grandpa and give me the words to tell your story or convey your message. END NOTE)
Clarence Matthew Howton's stroke left him in a state of delusionism. It is known that Clarence tried to light a fire under the kitchen sink thinking he was lighting a fire in a fireplace and nearly burnt the place down. His mind was slipping. He would see lightening bugs or fire flies on the ceiling which wasn't their. Clarence was given stronger and stronger medicine to try to balance the effects of the stroke had on his brain. Let's take a moment to evaluate what a stroke is so we may understand a little better about what Clarence Matthew Howton was facing.
What Is A Stroke?
A stroke is a "brain attack" that happens when a part of the brain experiences a problem with blood flow. This disruption in blood flow cuts off the supply of oxygen to the cells in that part of the brain, and these cells begin to die. Damage to the brain can cause loss of speech, vision, or movement in an arm or a leg, depending on the part of the brain that is affected. Stroke is the major form of cerebrovascular disease, or CVD, a term that sometimes is used interchangeably with stroke. There are two main types of stroke:
• Stroke caused by a blockage in the artery supplying blood to a particular region of the brain (called cerebral infarction). This is the most common type of stroke.
• Stroke caused by bleeding within the brain (called intracerebral hemorrhage).
This is what hit Clarence Matthew Howton and did drastically change how he was. For the most part though, Clarence dealt with it as best as he could and was maintaining himself for a little while but as time moved on, the effects became more and more obvious.
The end was approaching near for Clarence Matthew Howton. Cancer had been taking its toll and Clarence's situation was worsening. He had to be taken to Fayette County Hospital where on 23 Apr 1980, Clarence took his last breath and surcumed to the mortality he was born into which left a void in those left behind, especially his wife Martha Christine (Griffin) Howton. Clarence's wife Martha other wise known as "Teen" would live 19 more years feeling the void of her husband and companion gone but only to be once again reunited in heaven in 1999.
Clarence Matthew Howton
10 May 1921 – 23 Apr 1980
"May we Never Forget
You and the live you lived"
Clarence Matthew Howton possessed
a free spirit and a will to do what was
needed of him. He was an American
patriot who loved his country. He was a husband, a father, a
hard worker and a grandfather to all his grandchildren. This is the legacy of Clarence Matthew Howton. May his life be remembered and the stories told for many generations to come. We honor his life by doing so.
Author: Ronnie Dale Howton
Born March 14, 1982 of Druid City Hospital, Tuscaloosa County, Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Currently Residing in Clarksville, TN
Dated: 16 Aug 2010
Clarence Matthew Howton Family Story
Clarence Matthew Howton was born into the Howton family on 10 May 1921 in Fayette County, Alabama. He was also born along with his fraternal twin sister Clara M Howton. Clarence Matthew Howton grew up on a medium sized family farm his father George Matthew Howton tended in Pea Ridge, Fayette County, AL. At the time when Clarence Matthew Howton was born, his family was renting a home in Pea Ridge, AL. Clarence Matthew Howton came from a split family and grew up with 3 brothers, 7 sisters, & 1 half sister. The other siblings included 2 half brothers that were being raised by the Middleton family down in south Alabama. Clarence Matthew Howton had another half brother named Lee Matthew Howton who died as an infant about 20 years before Clarence was born. Clarence was raised as a child during a time when the Great Depression hit every American family right down to the lowest man, woman, and child. Life had to be in its most simplest to survive those hard times and the Howton family made do with what they had. All the Howton children took part in helping with chores that were needed that helped make things a little easier. Life was hard, food was scares and money was inevitably tight for the Howton family. The children had to make do with what was around and found anything they could play with. Clarence as a child would watch his mother and father as any child does and learned many things from them. The Howton brothers were well outnumbered by their sisters so the boys had to stick together. They were always bombarded by living with almost all females. There were disagreements and arguments between the children but their father George Matthew Howton was hard on his children to keep them in line. The Howton family would eat suppers at the table and talks of how everyone's day went filled the air. At some point, Clarence Matthew Howton had to learn how to drive a car as cars were becoming more and more mainstream as a sole way of transportation. It is unknown at what point he learned or who taught him to drive. It is likely his father did but cannot confirm this. By this time the horse was a thing of the past as a main means of transportation but some people still used them for various farm tasks. There were many times Clarence spent laying in the floor or sitting listing to the family radio to programs that were on. Clarence Matthew Howton saw many inventions becoming common in everyday society that drastically changed the way we live.
Clarence Matthew Howton was the Howton ancestor who broke the old family occupation of being farmers. In fact, Clarence never owned any land, not even 1 acre and rented his home all his life. The Howton family have been farmers ever since Jonathan Howton, our first Howton ancestor in America. This is about 160 years of Howton family farmers and one contributing factor to this was the grocery store. No longer did families have to farm to have food on their tables. If a man worked, he could buy the food right out of the grocery store. Now lets take a look for a moment at the grocery store so we may get a better understanding of this transition-
U.S. grocery stores are descended from trading posts, which sold not only food but clothing, household items, tools, furniture, and other miscellaneous merchandise. These trading posts evolved into larger retail businesses known as general stores. These facilities generally dealt only in "dry" goods such as flour, dry beans, baking soda, and canned foods. Perishable foods were instead obtained from specialty markets: Fresh meat was obtained from a butcher, milk from a local dairy, eggs and vegetables were either produced by families themselves, bartered for with neighbors, or purchased at a farmers' market or a local greengrocer. Many rural areas still contain general stores that sell goods ranging from cigars to imported napkins. Traditionally, general stores have offered credit to their customers, a system of payment that works on trust rather than modern credit cards. This allowed farm families to buy staples until their harvest could be sold. The first self-service grocery store, Piggly Wiggly, was opened in 1916 in Memphis, Tennessee by Clarence Saunders, an inventor and entrepreneur. Prior to this innovation, customers gave orders to clerks to fill. Saunder's invention allowed a much smaller number of clerks to service the customers, proving successful (according to a 1929 Time magazine) "partly because of its novelty, partly because neat packages and large advertising appropriations have made retail grocery selling almost an automatic procedure
Many years passed and Clarence grew up to become a man with his own views and ideas. By the time Clarence was 18 years old the Great Depression had ended but World War II was declared. In the late 1930s, the Great Depression was weakening, but many Americans were still poverty stricken. Americans watched as German forces became more powerful and took over neighboring countries. With the invasion of Poland, World War II erupted in Europe. The suffering American economy was given a boost when the fighting countries needed supplies and looked to America to make them. After Pearl Harbor was bombed on December 7, 1941, America entered the war. The U.S. enlisted more than 10 million men and women into the military. Since so many were fighting in the war, it was left for those left at home to work in the factories to make supplies for the war effort. The desperate need for soldiers, pilots, and workers to make ammunition, weaponry, and air/sea craft all contributed to the end of the Great Depression. The economy of America skyrocketed and was on the road to restoration. Clarence Matthew Howton's son Roger Dale Howton recalls being told his father had wanted to join the service but could not due to him being flat footed or partially flat footed. The want and drive was there but military service was not in the cards for Clarence Matthew Howton. Clarence had a since of American patriotism and wanted to aid in the fight to protect his country and loved was from harm. This speaks highly of the type of man Clarence Matthew Howton was.
Clarence Matthew Howton between ages 20 to 25 saw a beautiful woman that made his heart skip several beats. This woman's eyes seemed to sparkle when Clarence saw her and her hair seemed to glow like an angel. This woman's name was Martha Christine Griffin. Clarence Matthew Howton and Martha Christine Griffin started to grow attracted to one another. As time progressed they started spending more and more time together. Martha Christine Griffin loved to dance as she would pop a leg out every now and then to music and just having fun. A closer bond was made than the two ever imagined. In time, the two agreed and got married. Now Clarence was no longer singal and now had a wife to love. His life seemed to have taken a wild turn into married life. The ways of the young had to be left behind and a new life began.
The two became parents in 1946 when thier first child Margaret Ann Howton was born. The Howton family was growing and Clarence had a new responsibility to take care of his wife and now his daughter. Clarence Matthew Howton and Martha Christine Howton would have 7 more children between 1947 and some time around the late 1960s when their last child Martha Lynn Howton was born.
Clarence Matthew Howton and Martha Christine Howton was living in the Fayette County, AL area during the early 1940s. To understand this time frame and our Howton family ancestors, we must look at what was going on during the time and the conditions people lived in. This will help us to understand their lives better. The 1940's were dominated by World War II. European artists and intellectuals fled to the United States from Hitler and the Holocaust, bringing new ideas created in disillusionment. War production pulled America out of the Great Depression. Women were needed to replace men who had gone off to war, and so the first great exodus of women from the home to the workplace began. Rationing affected the food that was ate, the clothes they wore, and the toys with which children played. After the war, the men returned, having seen the rest of the world. No longer was the family farm an ideal; no longer would blacks accept lesser status. The GI Bill allowed more men than ever before to get a college education. Women had to give up their jobs to the returning men, but they had tasted independence.
Headlines -In the 1940s, many of the important headlines were based on World War II. Like in the introduction, it has a headline saying "Japs Declare War. Attack U.S." There was many other headlines in the 1940s too. There would hundreds of little boys on the streets selling newspapers.
Events 40's-First nuclear bomb that dramatically changed the war and international relationships between those who had the technology and those countries who did not.
Living in the 1940s-The first half of the 1940s was absorbed with World War II. The war was a time of worry and heartache for people around the world, but life went on in spite of the tragic conflict that consumed the lives of so many loved ones, destroyed homes and livelihoods, and scattered families around the globe. Family living in the first half of the decade saw many people face difficulties beyond measure. Parents during the time listened intently to the daily news on their little 1940's radio and feared for their families safety, or for the servicemen who were faced with moving up to the battle zone, where each man had a job to do, and that job was dreadful. For little boys growing up during the time played soldiers, or pretended to be a pilot zooming across the sky. Children's toys were almost non existent, except for those handed down from older children, or pieced together from bits of wood, string and nails. They did not experience manufactured toys until after the war. Children sometimes hovered by shop windows staring at toys or candy stores. They were irresistible to the children but not many had any money to afford such things.
During the War, air-raid shelters were built for peoples' protection or a fall out destination in case of a worst case scenario were to occur. There were great shortages of food and other essential commodities for civilians during the war. While in our modern time just about everybody has a mobile phone, in the 1940s most houses didn't have a phone at all. Neighbors without a phone would come around to ask if they might use the phone, and they were never refused. It's funny that they always asked to use the phone, not your phone, almost as if, even though you owned it, it was community property. But that's pretty much how things were in the 1940s. People pulled together and shared what they had, to make things a bit easier for all. Strangely enough, there was a greater respect and consideration afforded other people from all walks of life. There might have been a common bond between people who were united against a common enemy. Still there was an importance placed upon formality and good manners that has disappeared today. Men frequently referred to each other as Mister, unless they were close friends, and women spoke of and to each other as Mrs. even when they were friends and neighbors. This formality was not a mark of superiority or inferiority, it was simply a mark of respect.
School Days in the 1940s commenced for most children about age five. By the time the War was over and the men were coming home, there were still shortages and rationing continued for several years. After the war the 1940's fashions changed rapidly from dull colors to more flamboyant colors and styles. The cost of living changed rapidly too, as the servicemen and women returned to their civilian occupations or struck out in new directions. The return to civilian life brought about lifestyle changes to many that they could never have contemplated before the war. When children were arriving home from school to find their mom was out was a pretty rare occurrence for kids right through to the 1970s.
Few married women were in the workforce in those days. For most women, the position of housewife gave them complete responsibility for the day to day management of the home. A housewife's activities of daily living included cleaning, mending, cooking, washing and ironing, making clothes for themselves and the children, managing the family budget. Sometimes the children were expected to help with the cleaning, or to help on washing day. There was of course the method used of the oldest children helping to tend and care for their younger siblings. This happened very often. Managing the home was the Mother's responsibility. The Father worked to earn enough to keep the family. Most families were living on one income. A man's wage was usually sufficient to support the whole family. There were no child minding services and no kindergartens. Parents were responsible for their children, and children were nurtured by family, not strangers.
During the 1940s through the 50s, Dads worked, Moms stayed at home and kept house, managed the budget, mothered the kids. For teens, school included subjects like American History, Home Economics, English Literature, and American Literature. They said the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag AND The Lord's Prayer in school every morning. The organization of Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts were around to help teach children about being trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent.; virtues to aspire to be and do your best. Children played on gravel in the playground and got bruises and scratches but no lawsuits were filed. If the kids got into trouble in school they were in worse trouble at home. During the time, it was common out in country areas for teenagers to keep hunting shotguns or rifles in their trucks as they would have went hunting that morning or even after school. Like most children in school at the time hide under desks during atom bomb drills. Many times were within (according to newspapers) just 10 minutes or so of nuclear war. These were very different times and a change for all. However, family living in America in the latter part of the 1940s was pretty easy for most families. Certainly they did not have a lot of money, but having just come through the Great Depression and the Second World War, things were looking pretty good. A time of change was in the air. In fact the first computer was invented in 1946.
The Howton family decided to move out to Texas between 1947-1949. Now, the reason for the move came out of a dilima the Howton family was facing. It was known that Clarence Matthew Howton and Martha Christine Howton were moonshining. Clarence and Martha ran an opperation where customers would drive up to their window and pay for the moonshine. The local police did get wif of what was going on but the tax revenuers could not find the still. The revenuers told Clarence and Martha they better get out of state or face being caught moonshining and get send to prison. The decision to move was thought out long and hard. Texas is far away from anything Clarence and Martha new and would leave behind all their friends and other family members. The Howton family packed up all their belongings, strapped it down to their vehicle with rope and headed off. The Howton family was basically kicked out of Alabama and told to leave. That was the dilemma they were facing.
The Howton family drove about 800 miles from Fayette County, AL to Texas. When the Howton family got to Texas, Clarence Matthew Howton found a job working for a water sprinkler company where he was a foreman in charge of putting in the first established sprinkler systems in the local area. Clarence Matthew Howton drove back and forth to work in a company truck where his job was a good ways from home. A lot of driving was put on that truck. Some of what happened out in Texas may be seen from Clarence's son Roger Dale Howton as he recalls memories from what occurred when they were living in Texas. This is what Roger says. Roger Howton can recall from memory that his father Clarence with family lived out in Texas for a while caretaking for a ranch. One of the conditions the Howton family got for taking care of the property, providing services and labor for the ranch was that they got to stay in a house that rested on a small hill on the property for little to nothing and rent free.
The 1950s Drought
While the Howton family was living out in Texas, a major drought hit the region hard. This is an article discussing the drought that affected many in the area during that time frame.
Fueled by post-war economic stability and technological advancement, the 1950s represented a time of growth and prosperity for many Americans. While much of the country celebrated a resurgence of well-being, many residents of the Great Plains and southwestern United States were suffering. During the 1950s, the Great Plains and the southwestern U.S. withstood a five-year drought, and in three of these years, drought conditions stretched coast to coast. The drought was first felt in the southwestern U.S. in 1950 and spread to Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska by 1953. By 1954, the drought encompassed a ten-state area reaching from the mid-west to the Great Plains, and southward into New Mexico. The area from the Texas panhandle to central and eastern Colorado, western Kansas and central Nebraska experienced severe drought conditions. The drought maintained a stronghold in the Great Plains, reaching a peak in 1956. The drought subsided in most areas with the spring rains of 1957.
The 1950s drought was characterized by both low rainfall amounts and excessively high temperatures. Texas rainfall dropped by 40% between 1949-1951 and by 1953, 75% of Texas recorded below normal rainfall amounts. Excessive temperatures heated up cities like Dallas where temperatures exceeded 100°F on 52 days in the summer of 1953. Kansas experienced severe drought conditions during much of the five-year period, and recorded a negative Palmer Drought Severity Index from 1952 until March 1957, reaching a record low in September of 1956.
A drought of this magnitude creates severe social and economic repercussions and this was definitely the case in the southern Great Plains region. The drought devastated the region's agriculture. Crop yields in some areas dropped as much as 50%. Excessive temperatures and low rainfall scorched grasslands typically used for grazing. With grass scarce, hay prices became too costly, forcing some ranchers to feed their cattle a mixture of prickly pear cactus and molasses. By the time the drought subsided in 1957, many counties across the region were declared federal drought disaster areas, including 244 of the 254 counties in Texas.
The Howton family would stay in Texas and bounce back and forth from Alabama to Texas for at least the next 13 years before making the final move back to Fayette County, AL. where they would remain. Clarence Matthew Howton did make a trip back to Alabama while living in Texas to pick up the remaining moonshine left behind but was again approached by the police. The police asked Clarence where his customers were and of course Clarence said he didn't have any and wasn't in the moonshining business. The Howton children spent most of their childhoods out in Texas growing up were life out there is much different that in the southern state of Alabama. The reason why the Howton family moved back to Alabama was due to another dilemma that hit. Clarence Matthew Howton while living out in Texas gambled and got drunk a lot. Clarence would receive bonus checks every so often and he would gamble and drink the money away. He started mixing with the wrong people that took advantage of him. A man was once known for taking Clarence Matthew Howton's checks and cashing them for himself and keeping the money. The Howton family was dead broke. It got so bad that Clarence Matthew Howton was in line for a really big bonus about $3,000 and they did not give it to him. Clarence got so fed up that he told his boss off and said he wouldn't be back and the Hell with all of them. The Howton family packed up their belongings and took off back to Alabama where they moved on top of Chaney's Hill in Berry, AL. Clarence Matthew Howton and family left quite a bit of stuff in Texas. They left some cattle, chickens, and various other things and just got out of Texas.
Personal Stories of Clarence Matthew Howton and family. These stories are transcribed by Ronnie Dale Howton and come from the memories of Roger Dale Howton and his wife Shirley Ann (Jenkins) Howton. There was a story told by Clarence Matthew Howton's son Roger D. Howton about a time when his father destroyed a lot of old family pictures they had due to Martha Christine Howton (Roger's mother) going out to get a picture signed by a celebrity of the time. Roger says his mom was supposed to go see a movie and take a bus back home. She only had enough money to see a movie and a ticket home but instead of going to see the movie, Martha Christine Howton spent all the money she had on a picture signed by this male celebrity. Martha Christine had no money to get back home and was trying to walk back home. Clarence Matthew Howton was starting to worry about where his wife was when she didn't arrive back home when she should have. Clarence got in his vehicle and went to look for his wife. He went to the movie theater and didn't see her. Clarence went to several different places looking and searching for his wife with no avail. As more time passed by the more worried and angrier Clarence became of what might have happened to her. Then, as Clarence was heading down a back road he spotted a faint image in the distance. The image got closer and noticed it was his wife walking alone down a road at night. He told her to get in and he continuously told her of the dangers of walking out alone at night on the side of a road. He questioned about what happened and why she didn't get a ride home since she had bus fair money. Clarence finally found out what had happened that night and became furiously anger at the situation. Clarence and Martha fought continuously and finally Clarence snapped one day as he found this picture in a box. He took the box which had a lot of other family pictures in it and began to rip up almost every picture in the box. Martha Christine Howton was crying and telling him to stop but until Clarence had his fill, would not. Almost all of the family pictures were destroyed in this single event. This story was transcribed from Roger Dale Howton's story, son of Clarence Matthew Howton and Martha Christine Howton. Written by: Ronnie Dale Howton (son of Roger Dale Howton) Dated: 05 May 2010
Roger Talked about his father Clarence Matthew Howton:
Clarence and Martha Christine Howton loved to have get togethers at their house and Clarence loved to cook out on the grill. They did this quite often. Friends and family would come over and play card games mostly Rook.
Clarence loved to drink though and almost could not find him without a beer in his hands. Clarence also made moonshine as it was called where they made their own liquor which was very illegal. It has been said that Clarence making moonshine and having the police on his tail was one of the major factors why the Howton family moved out of Alabama to Texas. Clarence Matthew Howton was told he'd better get out of the state of Alabama, so he did just that facing getting caught moonshining. Clarence pulled Roger out of school one year and had him to go to work with him to help him out at a timber company called Hiwassee Land Company where he was a foreman at. Clarence made Roger give him all his work checks to help pay for the family bills or whatever Clarence decided to use it for. Roger as a child got a lot of beatings from Clarence usually with a leather belt even if he did not do what he was being accused of doing. Roger had to work to help buy his sister school clothes and supplies even at an early age.
However strict or mean Clarence might have been, he was a man that would give the shirt off his back to help someone out and that says something about who he was as a man. One thing that Clarence did for his children was made sure they went to church even if he himself did not go often. Clarence use to go fishing and hunting very frequently and when he did, he would take with him a machete to cut down brush, thickets, and whatever was in the way. He used this machete a lot. This machete was given to Roger and then passed down to me Ronnie Howton as it will be passed down to one of my sons who will carry on the Howton name and legacy. This is the only item known given to Roger of his father Clarence.
While Clarence Matthew Howton and family were living in Berry, Fayette County, AL. during the 1960s, Clarence and Martha had to watch their 19 year old son be drafted into the Viet Nam war in 1967. This had to be hard for them to watch their son Roger Dale Howton go off to fight a war far away from home with the possibility of never making it back alive. As many parents would feel, they felt a since of unknowingness that filled the depth of their hearts. When the time came, their son headed off into the distant far jungles of Viet Nam. The Howton family supported their loved one in the time of hardship. They also gave support to Roger's wife Shirley Ann (Jenkins) Howton and his first child Sheila Ann Howton. Clarence Matthew Howton's daughter-in-law Shirley and granddaughter Sheila would quite frequently go over to his home and play cards games such as rook or Penney Ante Poker. Clarence and Martha Christine Howton did however get to see their son Roger Dale Howton return from the war in Southeast Asia in 1969 not knowing how closely it came to losing their eldest son due to a massive explosion. The Howton family was whole once again.
As the years' summers turned to fall, and the years' winters turned to spring, there was lurking in the dark a tragedy waiting to unfold. Clarence Matthew Howton had a stroke that changed his life dramatically. His health seemed to have steadily declined in a downward spiral like a ball dropped down a spiraling tube which had a purpose to an end.
(Ronnie's Notes: 11 Aug 2010 at time of occurrence- approx. 9PM Central Time Zone: At the moment I was writing this part of my Grandpa Howton's story, an event occurred I cannot explain. As my fingers touched the keys trying to find the right words to say about Clarence Matthew Howton's final days, my heart sank into a deep rhythm and my breathing became heavy. My mind flashed a picture I have not seen nor thought about in about 20 years since I was a small child. This occurred at the literal exact moment my fingers struck the keys to find the words. The picture was of Clarence Matthew Howton lying in his casket. Clarence Matthew Howton laying there, his face pale, his body still, his life no more. How could this be? I sat and pondered of what had happened. I do not know. Could my Grandfather be telling me something from the here after. If so what is it he's trying to convey to me or the family? Has this been a repressed memory of a photo and triggered by the words I typed? I believe Clarence wants me to say or tell something about him. The subject at hand was about Clarence Matthew Howton's stroke and how things changed from that point on. If it be so, I will try Grandpa and give me the words to tell your story or convey your message. END NOTE)
Clarence Matthew Howton's stroke left him in a state of delusionism. It is known that Clarence tried to light a fire under the kitchen sink thinking he was lighting a fire in a fireplace and nearly burnt the place down. His mind was slipping. He would see lightening bugs or fire flies on the ceiling which wasn't their. Clarence was given stronger and stronger medicine to try to balance the effects of the stroke had on his brain. Let's take a moment to evaluate what a stroke is so we may understand a little better about what Clarence Matthew Howton was facing.
What Is A Stroke?
A stroke is a "brain attack" that happens when a part of the brain experiences a problem with blood flow. This disruption in blood flow cuts off the supply of oxygen to the cells in that part of the brain, and these cells begin to die. Damage to the brain can cause loss of speech, vision, or movement in an arm or a leg, depending on the part of the brain that is affected. Stroke is the major form of cerebrovascular disease, or CVD, a term that sometimes is used interchangeably with stroke. There are two main types of stroke:
• Stroke caused by a blockage in the artery supplying blood to a particular region of the brain (called cerebral infarction). This is the most common type of stroke.
• Stroke caused by bleeding within the brain (called intracerebral hemorrhage).
This is what hit Clarence Matthew Howton and did drastically change how he was. For the most part though, Clarence dealt with it as best as he could and was maintaining himself for a little while but as time moved on, the effects became more and more obvious.
The end was approaching near for Clarence Matthew Howton. Cancer had been taking its toll and Clarence's situation was worsening. He had to be taken to Fayette County Hospital where on 23 Apr 1980, Clarence took his last breath and surcumed to the mortality he was born into which left a void in those left behind, especially his wife Martha Christine (Griffin) Howton. Clarence's wife Martha other wise known as "Teen" would live 19 more years feeling the void of her husband and companion gone but only to be once again reunited in heaven in 1999.
Clarence Matthew Howton
10 May 1921 – 23 Apr 1980
"May we Never Forget
You and the live you lived"
Clarence Matthew Howton possessed
a free spirit and a will to do what was
needed of him. He was an American
patriot who loved his country. He was a husband, a father, a
hard worker and a grandfather to all his grandchildren. This is the legacy of Clarence Matthew Howton. May his life be remembered and the stories told for many generations to come. We honor his life by doing so.
Author: Ronnie Dale Howton
Born March 14, 1982 of Druid City Hospital, Tuscaloosa County, Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Currently Residing in Clarksville, TN
Dated: 16 Aug 2010
Clarence Matthew Howton was born into the Howton family on 10 May 1921 in Fayette County, Alabama. He was also born along with his fraternal twin sister Clara M Howton. Clarence Matthew Howton grew up on a medium sized family farm his father George Matthew Howton tended in Pea Ridge, Fayette County, AL. At the time when Clarence Matthew Howton was born, his family was renting a home in Pea Ridge, AL. Clarence Matthew Howton came from a split family and grew up with 3 brothers, 7 sisters, & 1 half sister. The other siblings included 2 half brothers that were being raised by the Middleton family down in south Alabama. Clarence Matthew Howton had another half brother named Lee Matthew Howton who died as an infant about 20 years before Clarence was born. Clarence was raised as a child during a time when the Great Depression hit every American family right down to the lowest man, woman, and child. Life had to be in its most simplest to survive those hard times and the Howton family made do with what they had. All the Howton children took part in helping with chores that were needed that helped make things a little easier. Life was hard, food was scares and money was inevitably tight for the Howton family. The children had to make do with what was around and found anything they could play with. Clarence as a child would watch his mother and father as any child does and learned many things from them. The Howton brothers were well outnumbered by their sisters so the boys had to stick together. They were always bombarded by living with almost all females. There were disagreements and arguments between the children but their father George Matthew Howton was hard on his children to keep them in line. The Howton family would eat suppers at the table and talks of how everyone's day went filled the air. At some point, Clarence Matthew Howton had to learn how to drive a car as cars were becoming more and more mainstream as a sole way of transportation. It is unknown at what point he learned or who taught him to drive. It is likely his father did but cannot confirm this. By this time the horse was a thing of the past as a main means of transportation but some people still used them for various farm tasks. There were many times Clarence spent laying in the floor or sitting listing to the family radio to programs that were on. Clarence Matthew Howton saw many inventions becoming common in everyday society that drastically changed the way we live.
Clarence Matthew Howton was the Howton ancestor who broke the old family occupation of being farmers. In fact, Clarence never owned any land, not even 1 acre and rented his home all his life. The Howton family have been farmers ever since Jonathan Howton, our first Howton ancestor in America. This is about 160 years of Howton family farmers and one contributing factor to this was the grocery store. No longer did families have to farm to have food on their tables. If a man worked, he could buy the food right out of the grocery store. Now lets take a look for a moment at the grocery store so we may get a better understanding of this transition-
U.S. grocery stores are descended from trading posts, which sold not only food but clothing, household items, tools, furniture, and other miscellaneous merchandise. These trading posts evolved into larger retail businesses known as general stores. These facilities generally dealt only in "dry" goods such as flour, dry beans, baking soda, and canned foods. Perishable foods were instead obtained from specialty markets: Fresh meat was obtained from a butcher, milk from a local dairy, eggs and vegetables were either produced by families themselves, bartered for with neighbors, or purchased at a farmers' market or a local greengrocer. Many rural areas still contain general stores that sell goods ranging from cigars to imported napkins. Traditionally, general stores have offered credit to their customers, a system of payment that works on trust rather than modern credit cards. This allowed farm families to buy staples until their harvest could be sold. The first self-service grocery store, Piggly Wiggly, was opened in 1916 in Memphis, Tennessee by Clarence Saunders, an inventor and entrepreneur. Prior to this innovation, customers gave orders to clerks to fill. Saunder's invention allowed a much smaller number of clerks to service the customers, proving successful (according to a 1929 Time magazine) "partly because of its novelty, partly because neat packages and large advertising appropriations have made retail grocery selling almost an automatic procedure
Many years passed and Clarence grew up to become a man with his own views and ideas. By the time Clarence was 18 years old the Great Depression had ended but World War II was declared. In the late 1930s, the Great Depression was weakening, but many Americans were still poverty stricken. Americans watched as German forces became more powerful and took over neighboring countries. With the invasion of Poland, World War II erupted in Europe. The suffering American economy was given a boost when the fighting countries needed supplies and looked to America to make them. After Pearl Harbor was bombed on December 7, 1941, America entered the war. The U.S. enlisted more than 10 million men and women into the military. Since so many were fighting in the war, it was left for those left at home to work in the factories to make supplies for the war effort. The desperate need for soldiers, pilots, and workers to make ammunition, weaponry, and air/sea craft all contributed to the end of the Great Depression. The economy of America skyrocketed and was on the road to restoration. Clarence Matthew Howton's son Roger Dale Howton recalls being told his father had wanted to join the service but could not due to him being flat footed or partially flat footed. The want and drive was there but military service was not in the cards for Clarence Matthew Howton. Clarence had a since of American patriotism and wanted to aid in the fight to protect his country and loved was from harm. This speaks highly of the type of man Clarence Matthew Howton was.
Clarence Matthew Howton between ages 20 to 25 saw a beautiful woman that made his heart skip several beats. This woman's eyes seemed to sparkle when Clarence saw her and her hair seemed to glow like an angel. This woman's name was Martha Christine Griffin. Clarence Matthew Howton and Martha Christine Griffin started to grow attracted to one another. As time progressed they started spending more and more time together. Martha Christine Griffin loved to dance as she would pop a leg out every now and then to music and just having fun. A closer bond was made than the two ever imagined. In time, the two agreed and got married. Now Clarence was no longer singal and now had a wife to love. His life seemed to have taken a wild turn into married life. The ways of the young had to be left behind and a new life began.
The two became parents in 1946 when thier first child Margaret Ann Howton was born. The Howton family was growing and Clarence had a new responsibility to take care of his wife and now his daughter. Clarence Matthew Howton and Martha Christine Howton would have 7 more children between 1947 and some time around the late 1960s when their last child Martha Lynn Howton was born.
Clarence Matthew Howton and Martha Christine Howton was living in the Fayette County, AL area during the early 1940s. To understand this time frame and our Howton family ancestors, we must look at what was going on during the time and the conditions people lived in. This will help us to understand their lives better. The 1940's were dominated by World War II. European artists and intellectuals fled to the United States from Hitler and the Holocaust, bringing new ideas created in disillusionment. War production pulled America out of the Great Depression. Women were needed to replace men who had gone off to war, and so the first great exodus of women from the home to the workplace began. Rationing affected the food that was ate, the clothes they wore, and the toys with which children played. After the war, the men returned, having seen the rest of the world. No longer was the family farm an ideal; no longer would blacks accept lesser status. The GI Bill allowed more men than ever before to get a college education. Women had to give up their jobs to the returning men, but they had tasted independence.
Headlines -In the 1940s, many of the important headlines were based on World War II. Like in the introduction, it has a headline saying "Japs Declare War. Attack U.S." There was many other headlines in the 1940s too. There would hundreds of little boys on the streets selling newspapers.
Events 40's-First nuclear bomb that dramatically changed the war and international relationships between those who had the technology and those countries who did not.
Living in the 1940s-The first half of the 1940s was absorbed with World War II. The war was a time of worry and heartache for people around the world, but life went on in spite of the tragic conflict that consumed the lives of so many loved ones, destroyed homes and livelihoods, and scattered families around the globe. Family living in the first half of the decade saw many people face difficulties beyond measure. Parents during the time listened intently to the daily news on their little 1940's radio and feared for their families safety, or for the servicemen who were faced with moving up to the battle zone, where each man had a job to do, and that job was dreadful. For little boys growing up during the time played soldiers, or pretended to be a pilot zooming across the sky. Children's toys were almost non existent, except for those handed down from older children, or pieced together from bits of wood, string and nails. They did not experience manufactured toys until after the war. Children sometimes hovered by shop windows staring at toys or candy stores. They were irresistible to the children but not many had any money to afford such things.
During the War, air-raid shelters were built for peoples' protection or a fall out destination in case of a worst case scenario were to occur. There were great shortages of food and other essential commodities for civilians during the war. While in our modern time just about everybody has a mobile phone, in the 1940s most houses didn't have a phone at all. Neighbors without a phone would come around to ask if they might use the phone, and they were never refused. It's funny that they always asked to use the phone, not your phone, almost as if, even though you owned it, it was community property. But that's pretty much how things were in the 1940s. People pulled together and shared what they had, to make things a bit easier for all. Strangely enough, there was a greater respect and consideration afforded other people from all walks of life. There might have been a common bond between people who were united against a common enemy. Still there was an importance placed upon formality and good manners that has disappeared today. Men frequently referred to each other as Mister, unless they were close friends, and women spoke of and to each other as Mrs. even when they were friends and neighbors. This formality was not a mark of superiority or inferiority, it was simply a mark of respect.
School Days in the 1940s commenced for most children about age five. By the time the War was over and the men were coming home, there were still shortages and rationing continued for several years. After the war the 1940's fashions changed rapidly from dull colors to more flamboyant colors and styles. The cost of living changed rapidly too, as the servicemen and women returned to their civilian occupations or struck out in new directions. The return to civilian life brought about lifestyle changes to many that they could never have contemplated before the war. When children were arriving home from school to find their mom was out was a pretty rare occurrence for kids right through to the 1970s.
Few married women were in the workforce in those days. For most women, the position of housewife gave them complete responsibility for the day to day management of the home. A housewife's activities of daily living included cleaning, mending, cooking, washing and ironing, making clothes for themselves and the children, managing the family budget. Sometimes the children were expected to help with the cleaning, or to help on washing day. There was of course the method used of the oldest children helping to tend and care for their younger siblings. This happened very often. Managing the home was the Mother's responsibility. The Father worked to earn enough to keep the family. Most families were living on one income. A man's wage was usually sufficient to support the whole family. There were no child minding services and no kindergartens. Parents were responsible for their children, and children were nurtured by family, not strangers.
During the 1940s through the 50s, Dads worked, Moms stayed at home and kept house, managed the budget, mothered the kids. For teens, school included subjects like American History, Home Economics, English Literature, and American Literature. They said the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag AND The Lord's Prayer in school every morning. The organization of Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts were around to help teach children about being trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent.; virtues to aspire to be and do your best. Children played on gravel in the playground and got bruises and scratches but no lawsuits were filed. If the kids got into trouble in school they were in worse trouble at home. During the time, it was common out in country areas for teenagers to keep hunting shotguns or rifles in their trucks as they would have went hunting that morning or even after school. Like most children in school at the time hide under desks during atom bomb drills. Many times were within (according to newspapers) just 10 minutes or so of nuclear war. These were very different times and a change for all. However, family living in America in the latter part of the 1940s was pretty easy for most families. Certainly they did not have a lot of money, but having just come through the Great Depression and the Second World War, things were looking pretty good. A time of change was in the air. In fact the first computer was invented in 1946.
The Howton family decided to move out to Texas between 1947-1949. Now, the reason for the move came out of a dilima the Howton family was facing. It was known that Clarence Matthew Howton and Martha Christine Howton were moonshining. Clarence and Martha ran an opperation where customers would drive up to their window and pay for the moonshine. The local police did get wif of what was going on but the tax revenuers could not find the still. The revenuers told Clarence and Martha they better get out of state or face being caught moonshining and get send to prison. The decision to move was thought out long and hard. Texas is far away from anything Clarence and Martha new and would leave behind all their friends and other family members. The Howton family packed up all their belongings, strapped it down to their vehicle with rope and headed off. The Howton family was basically kicked out of Alabama and told to leave. That was the dilemma they were facing.
The Howton family drove about 800 miles from Fayette County, AL to Texas. When the Howton family got to Texas, Clarence Matthew Howton found a job working for a water sprinkler company where he was a foreman in charge of putting in the first established sprinkler systems in the local area. Clarence Matthew Howton drove back and forth to work in a company truck where his job was a good ways from home. A lot of driving was put on that truck. Some of what happened out in Texas may be seen from Clarence's son Roger Dale Howton as he recalls memories from what occurred when they were living in Texas. This is what Roger says. Roger Howton can recall from memory that his father Clarence with family lived out in Texas for a while caretaking for a ranch. One of the conditions the Howton family got for taking care of the property, providing services and labor for the ranch was that they got to stay in a house that rested on a small hill on the property for little to nothing and rent free.
The 1950s Drought
While the Howton family was living out in Texas, a major drought hit the region hard. This is an article discussing the drought that affected many in the area during that time frame.
Fueled by post-war economic stability and technological advancement, the 1950s represented a time of growth and prosperity for many Americans. While much of the country celebrated a resurgence of well-being, many residents of the Great Plains and southwestern United States were suffering. During the 1950s, the Great Plains and the southwestern U.S. withstood a five-year drought, and in three of these years, drought conditions stretched coast to coast. The drought was first felt in the southwestern U.S. in 1950 and spread to Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska by 1953. By 1954, the drought encompassed a ten-state area reaching from the mid-west to the Great Plains, and southward into New Mexico. The area from the Texas panhandle to central and eastern Colorado, western Kansas and central Nebraska experienced severe drought conditions. The drought maintained a stronghold in the Great Plains, reaching a peak in 1956. The drought subsided in most areas with the spring rains of 1957.
The 1950s drought was characterized by both low rainfall amounts and excessively high temperatures. Texas rainfall dropped by 40% between 1949-1951 and by 1953, 75% of Texas recorded below normal rainfall amounts. Excessive temperatures heated up cities like Dallas where temperatures exceeded 100°F on 52 days in the summer of 1953. Kansas experienced severe drought conditions during much of the five-year period, and recorded a negative Palmer Drought Severity Index from 1952 until March 1957, reaching a record low in September of 1956.
A drought of this magnitude creates severe social and economic repercussions and this was definitely the case in the southern Great Plains region. The drought devastated the region's agriculture. Crop yields in some areas dropped as much as 50%. Excessive temperatures and low rainfall scorched grasslands typically used for grazing. With grass scarce, hay prices became too costly, forcing some ranchers to feed their cattle a mixture of prickly pear cactus and molasses. By the time the drought subsided in 1957, many counties across the region were declared federal drought disaster areas, including 244 of the 254 counties in Texas.
The Howton family would stay in Texas and bounce back and forth from Alabama to Texas for at least the next 13 years before making the final move back to Fayette County, AL. where they would remain. Clarence Matthew Howton did make a trip back to Alabama while living in Texas to pick up the remaining moonshine left behind but was again approached by the police. The police asked Clarence where his customers were and of course Clarence said he didn't have any and wasn't in the moonshining business. The Howton children spent most of their childhoods out in Texas growing up were life out there is much different that in the southern state of Alabama. The reason why the Howton family moved back to Alabama was due to another dilemma that hit. Clarence Matthew Howton while living out in Texas gambled and got drunk a lot. Clarence would receive bonus checks every so often and he would gamble and drink the money away. He started mixing with the wrong people that took advantage of him. A man was once known for taking Clarence Matthew Howton's checks and cashing them for himself and keeping the money. The Howton family was dead broke. It got so bad that Clarence Matthew Howton was in line for a really big bonus about $3,000 and they did not give it to him. Clarence got so fed up that he told his boss off and said he wouldn't be back and the Hell with all of them. The Howton family packed up their belongings and took off back to Alabama where they moved on top of Chaney's Hill in Berry, AL. Clarence Matthew Howton and family left quite a bit of stuff in Texas. They left some cattle, chickens, and various other things and just got out of Texas.
Personal Stories of Clarence Matthew Howton and family. These stories are transcribed by Ronnie Dale Howton and come from the memories of Roger Dale Howton and his wife Shirley Ann (Jenkins) Howton. There was a story told by Clarence Matthew Howton's son Roger D. Howton about a time when his father destroyed a lot of old family pictures they had due to Martha Christine Howton (Roger's mother) going out to get a picture signed by a celebrity of the time. Roger says his mom was supposed to go see a movie and take a bus back home. She only had enough money to see a movie and a ticket home but instead of going to see the movie, Martha Christine Howton spent all the money she had on a picture signed by this male celebrity. Martha Christine had no money to get back home and was trying to walk back home. Clarence Matthew Howton was starting to worry about where his wife was when she didn't arrive back home when she should have. Clarence got in his vehicle and went to look for his wife. He went to the movie theater and didn't see her. Clarence went to several different places looking and searching for his wife with no avail. As more time passed by the more worried and angrier Clarence became of what might have happened to her. Then, as Clarence was heading down a back road he spotted a faint image in the distance. The image got closer and noticed it was his wife walking alone down a road at night. He told her to get in and he continuously told her of the dangers of walking out alone at night on the side of a road. He questioned about what happened and why she didn't get a ride home since she had bus fair money. Clarence finally found out what had happened that night and became furiously anger at the situation. Clarence and Martha fought continuously and finally Clarence snapped one day as he found this picture in a box. He took the box which had a lot of other family pictures in it and began to rip up almost every picture in the box. Martha Christine Howton was crying and telling him to stop but until Clarence had his fill, would not. Almost all of the family pictures were destroyed in this single event. This story was transcribed from Roger Dale Howton's story, son of Clarence Matthew Howton and Martha Christine Howton. Written by: Ronnie Dale Howton (son of Roger Dale Howton) Dated: 05 May 2010
Roger Talked about his father Clarence Matthew Howton:
Clarence and Martha Christine Howton loved to have get togethers at their house and Clarence loved to cook out on the grill. They did this quite often. Friends and family would come over and play card games mostly Rook.
Clarence loved to drink though and almost could not find him without a beer in his hands. Clarence also made moonshine as it was called where they made their own liquor which was very illegal. It has been said that Clarence making moonshine and having the police on his tail was one of the major factors why the Howton family moved out of Alabama to Texas. Clarence Matthew Howton was told he'd better get out of the state of Alabama, so he did just that facing getting caught moonshining. Clarence pulled Roger out of school one year and had him to go to work with him to help him out at a timber company called Hiwassee Land Company where he was a foreman at. Clarence made Roger give him all his work checks to help pay for the family bills or whatever Clarence decided to use it for. Roger as a child got a lot of beatings from Clarence usually with a leather belt even if he did not do what he was being accused of doing. Roger had to work to help buy his sister school clothes and supplies even at an early age.
However strict or mean Clarence might have been, he was a man that would give the shirt off his back to help someone out and that says something about who he was as a man. One thing that Clarence did for his children was made sure they went to church even if he himself did not go often. Clarence use to go fishing and hunting very frequently and when he did, he would take with him a machete to cut down brush, thickets, and whatever was in the way. He used this machete a lot. This machete was given to Roger and then passed down to me Ronnie Howton as it will be passed down to one of my sons who will carry on the Howton name and legacy. This is the only item known given to Roger of his father Clarence.
While Clarence Matthew Howton and family were living in Berry, Fayette County, AL. during the 1960s, Clarence and Martha had to watch their 19 year old son be drafted into the Viet Nam war in 1967. This had to be hard for them to watch their son Roger Dale Howton go off to fight a war far away from home with the possibility of never making it back alive. As many parents would feel, they felt a since of unknowingness that filled the depth of their hearts. When the time came, their son headed off into the distant far jungles of Viet Nam. The Howton family supported their loved one in the time of hardship. They also gave support to Roger's wife Shirley Ann (Jenkins) Howton and his first child Sheila Ann Howton. Clarence Matthew Howton's daughter-in-law Shirley and granddaughter Sheila would quite frequently go over to his home and play cards games such as rook or Penney Ante Poker. Clarence and Martha Christine Howton did however get to see their son Roger Dale Howton return from the war in Southeast Asia in 1969 not knowing how closely it came to losing their eldest son due to a massive explosion. The Howton family was whole once again.
As the years' summers turned to fall, and the years' winters turned to spring, there was lurking in the dark a tragedy waiting to unfold. Clarence Matthew Howton had a stroke that changed his life dramatically. His health seemed to have steadily declined in a downward spiral like a ball dropped down a spiraling tube which had a purpose to an end.
(Ronnie's Notes: 11 Aug 2010 at time of occurrence- approx. 9PM Central Time Zone: At the moment I was writing this part of my Grandpa Howton's story, an event occurred I cannot explain. As my fingers touched the keys trying to find the right words to say about Clarence Matthew Howton's final days, my heart sank into a deep rhythm and my breathing became heavy. My mind flashed a picture I have not seen nor thought about in about 20 years since I was a small child. This occurred at the literal exact moment my fingers struck the keys to find the words. The picture was of Clarence Matthew Howton lying in his casket. Clarence Matthew Howton laying there, his face pale, his body still, his life no more. How could this be? I sat and pondered of what had happened. I do not know. Could my Grandfather be telling me something from the here after. If so what is it he's trying to convey to me or the family? Has this been a repressed memory of a photo and triggered by the words I typed? I believe Clarence wants me to say or tell something about him. The subject at hand was about Clarence Matthew Howton's stroke and how things changed from that point on. If it be so, I will try Grandpa and give me the words to tell your story or convey your message. END NOTE)
Clarence Matthew Howton's stroke left him in a state of delusionism. It is known that Clarence tried to light a fire under the kitchen sink thinking he was lighting a fire in a fireplace and nearly burnt the place down. His mind was slipping. He would see lightening bugs or fire flies on the ceiling which wasn't their. Clarence was given stronger and stronger medicine to try to balance the effects of the stroke had on his brain. Let's take a moment to evaluate what a stroke is so we may understand a little better about what Clarence Matthew Howton was facing.
What Is A Stroke?
A stroke is a "brain attack" that happens when a part of the brain experiences a problem with blood flow. This disruption in blood flow cuts off the supply of oxygen to the cells in that part of the brain, and these cells begin to die. Damage to the brain can cause loss of speech, vision, or movement in an arm or a leg, depending on the part of the brain that is affected. Stroke is the major form of cerebrovascular disease, or CVD, a term that sometimes is used interchangeably with stroke. There are two main types of stroke:
• Stroke caused by a blockage in the artery supplying blood to a particular region of the brain (called cerebral infarction). This is the most common type of stroke.
• Stroke caused by bleeding within the brain (called intracerebral hemorrhage).
This is what hit Clarence Matthew Howton and did drastically change how he was. For the most part though, Clarence dealt with it as best as he could and was maintaining himself for a little while but as time moved on, the effects became more and more obvious.
The end was approaching near for Clarence Matthew Howton. Cancer had been taking its toll and Clarence's situation was worsening. He had to be taken to Fayette County Hospital where on 23 Apr 1980, Clarence took his last breath and surcumed to the mortality he was born into which left a void in those left behind, especially his wife Martha Christine (Griffin) Howton. Clarence's wife Martha other wise known as "Teen" would live 19 more years feeling the void of her husband and companion gone but only to be once again reunited in heaven in 1999.
Clarence Matthew Howton
10 May 1921 – 23 Apr 1980
"May we Never Forget
You and the live you lived"
Clarence Matthew Howton possessed
a free spirit and a will to do what was
needed of him. He was an American
patriot who loved his country. He was a husband, a father, a
hard worker and a grandfather to all his grandchildren. This is the legacy of Clarence Matthew Howton. May his life be remembered and the stories told for many generations to come. We honor his life by doing so.
Author: Ronnie Dale Howton
Born March 14, 1982 of Druid City Hospital, Tuscaloosa County, Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Currently Residing in Clarksville, TN
Dated: 16 Aug 2010
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