Donald Pointer's Autobiography

 DONALD DALE POINTER  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    
Started compiling 23 February 2000

 These are just a few that things that I remember from the past as I go along:
   I was born on the family farm five miles north east of Collins, Iowa in Story County. Also it was approximately three miles west of Rhodes Iowa. It is now the southwest eighty acres of Hendrickson Marsh. I was born at home and the attending physician was Dr. L. F. Richardson from Collins, Iowa.(Correction I do not remember the preceding sentences those were passed on to me) I was the seventh living member of a family of eight living, one a twin brother to Wayne was still born. Following are the family’s birth and the ones that are deceased dates Mildred Pointer Triplett 4-18-1907 to 2-12-1991, Ramah Pointer Myers 8-5-1908 to 6-27-75, Harold L. Pointer 4-23-1911 to 3-20-1968, Glen R. Pointer 1913 to 1993,Lester L. Pointer 11-26-1915 to 10- 14-1942 Dwayne Pointer 5-21-1918 Still born, Wayne H. Pointer 5-21-1918 lost in action in WW11 1943 ??, Donald  D. Pointer 9-8-1920 and Forrest R. Pointer 4-3-1924. Since this writing Forrest R. Pointer died January 10, 2007.
  What I remember about my dad is very vague. I remember, the day that he was killed. I was looking out of the kitchen window down towards the barn and a big car pulled up a man in a big bearskin coat got out and went over toward the barn and was talking to my oldest brother Harold who was doing chores and I remember Mom saying something like I wonder if something has happened to dad. The man I later learned was Vern Hackler who in later years I became pretty well acquainted with , but I never remember discussing this with him. He was driving down the road and spotted my dad lying on or by the fence, and upon stopping and checking he found he was dead. It was bitter cold that day and as I remember dad had cattle in the cornstalk ground across the road and when he went to bring them in for the night he took the twenty two rifle along in case he kicked up a rabbit. He had on a big bearskin coat and heavy gloves. When he went to set the rifle across the fence before he crawled over it the rifle slipped through his hands , when the butt of the rifle hit the frozen ground it discharged and the bullet went right up through his chin into his brain killing him instantly. Other wise I don’t remember much about him. I guess with eight kids he was probably too busy trying to make a living to spend any fun time with us. I don’t remember very much about Mildred and Ramah being at home either, but they must have been, because I think that Ramah graduated from high school in 1927. Have to check that out when I get home. It might have been 1926 but even so I would have been five years old. I do remember one time when dad cranked up the old model T ford and went somewhere but wouldn’t take me with him and it broke my heart I really did bawl. Also I remember that once he took me with him to Rhodes in that old Model T ford and just before you got to Rhodes there was a big long steep hill. In those days the roads didn’t cut into the hills like they do now  they just followed the terrain, like up and over the hills, if they couldn’t go around them. The old fords didn’t have a fuel pump on them and the gas tank was under the seat and if the gas tank wasn’t almost full the gas would not feed into the carburetor and thus it stalled about three fourth’s of the way up the hill. He had to turn it around on that old rough and rutty dirt road on that steep hill side and back it the rest of the way up. By backing up the hill the gas tank was above the carburetor therefore the gas would feed into the carburetor and the car would run, and this scared the hell right out of me. As I remember it was a 1917 Model T I think that dad bought it used. Matter of fact I know it was used, because back in those days every thing that we bought was used. It had a fold down top and side curtains originally. There was no battery in it and of course you had to crank it by hand and it started better if you jacked up one of the rear wheels and threw the emergency brake forward, that put it in high gear. Then after it started there was the problem of getting it out of gear and letting the jack down and trying  to keep it from running over you or running away, neither one was an uncommon occurrence. It took some fancy footwork to let the jack down, throw it in the car, jump in car and get under the steering wheel before it run into or over something. I only remember once of going somewhere at night in that Model T the lights were very dim and I liked it when we came to a hill or turned a corner he would put it in low gear and the lights would really brighten up. It only had two gears forward, low and high. The lights and ignition were powered by a magneto. Perhaps that was the night we went into town and attended the first movie that I ever saw it was a black and white silent and the name of it was The Covered Wagon. It was shown in the Collins High School auditorium. My uncle Dan Bear who lived south of Rhodes had a 1921 Motel T Ford and I thought that it was really neat it had a starter on it was shiny black with a top and side curtains. Speaking of movies the first talking picture I saw I guess was in the mid 1930’s was Seven Keys To Ballpate the reason we went to see that was that the Circle Theater in Nevada, Iowa sent out free tickets advertising the new talking pictures. I don’t remember when I saw my first color movie.

To continue reading click here.  Part #2 - Fishin' and Fun