In the early 1930's I attended Allen's Neck Meeting Sunday School. My buddy was Franklin Allen. We were friends mostly because we both loved to build things. My father and grandfather saw to it that I had all the wood-working tools a six year old boy should have. Franklin and I brought our wooden objects to the Meeting to show each other. He taught me how to make what we called a tractor. It was composed of a wooden thread spool, rubber band, two match sticks and some candle wax. We brought our tractors to Meeting one Sunday and got down on the floor of the back pew to run our machines. We made no noise, but suddenly there was a lound "HARRUMPH!" I looked up and saw a man about ten feet tall looking sternly at us. We jumped up and our tractors never saw the Meeting floor again. Alice and I have decided that the "HARRUMPH!" came from Charles T. Gifford who was a staunch member of the Meeting. He may have been close to six feet tall but his deep voice would rattle the windows. If I live to be 100, I will still see and hear Charles T. in my mind.
Cukie Macomber