Richard, the paperboy, from The Red Scarf, 1944 #22

Richard, the paperboy, from The Red Scarf, November 1944, # 22
Well, momma made me go up on Indian Hill and pick up some black walnuts for me to shell. Dang! I hate that job worse than anything in the whole wide world. First off, just going up on Indian Hill ain’t no fun. Heck, I know that place is haunted as all get out. There’s always a big old hawk screeching at me, and the other day it got dark when I was there and I heard the sound of a drum. I promise, I ain’t lyining.
Anyway, I picked up them danged walnuts and dragged a tow sack full of them back to our house. Well, that weren’t nothing compared to what I had to do then. First off, I had to peel off the black thick shells to get the hard nut out. Heck, my hands were stained brown and my fingers were sore just getting ready to crack them nuts, which is the hard part. I got one of daddy’s hammers and had at it. It was wham, wham, wham, and then pick out little pieces and put them in a bowl. When momma came out and told me she needed four cups of nuts for her Christmas candy, I whined like some four year old. Shoot, I was gonna be there all afternoon picking out them walnuts. Course, you just might know when momma told me she needed four cups of nuts I whammed that hammer down…right on my thumb. But heck, even with a sore thrumb, momma wouldn’t let me quit. Well, I will admit them brownies sure tasted good with black walnuts in them.
But you know something? I’m gonna go back up on Indian Hill one night and figure out whether they’s any ghosts up there. I’ll let you know what I find…if I make it back.

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