Uncle Bob--Robert Lee Polston, born 12 August 1877 and died 21 January 1948-- was the youngest child of Andrew M. Polston and Elizabeth Goodman Polston, who had taken on the responsibility of rearing two grand-daughters, Ollie May Poston and Ann Eliza Polston, as their mothers had died at an early age. He never married and had no children. He made his home with his parents until their deaths at Kessinger, Hart County, Kentucky. His parents’ farm was divided equally between the four surviving sons--Uncle Bob inherited his parents’ house place. Uncle Bob sold the home place and bought a tobacco farm and batched (lived alone) in Millerstown, Grayson County, Kentucky.
Uncle Bob traded the homeplace at Kessinger to Tom Scott; I don't know why they traded. But Grandpa, Uncle George and Uncle Press had gone to Louisville after their parents died and that had left only Uncle Bob living in the Kessinger area--by the way they called this area "Need More", although it was Kessinger post office. (Much like "Euclid" was the same as Kessinger).
After the trade and Uncle Bob moved to Millerstown , Grayson County, Kentucky, Tom Scott, a friend and former neighbor, walked over to visit Uncle Bob (This could have been during the trade--I don't know when the visit occured.). Tom spent the night with Uncle Bob. Uncle Bob wanted to make him feel most welcome; so while Tom was still in bed, Uncle Bob cooked breakfast. He fried cornbread hoe-cakes, fried green tomatoes and something else (I think it was fat side-meat). Uncle Bob woke up Tom and told him to come to breakfast. Tom smelled all the greasy fried food; and he just couldn't eat it. Tom said, "Bob, I just don't feel like eating this morning". Uncle Bob replied, "I say! If I’d known you weren't going to eat, I wouldn't have gone to all the trouble to fix something extra special for breakfast this morning."
Uncle Bob’s niece, Ollie May Poston, that had lived with him and his parents until his parents’ death, moved to Louisville and married Isaac ‘Martin’ Presley. In 1930, the depression was creating hard times; Ollie and Martin bought Andrew and Elizabeth’s home place for a summer home. Ollie was pregnant with her 9th child. Ollie and Martin went over to visit Uncle Bob at Millerstown and he was near starvation. So, Ollie and Martin asked Uncle Bob to come stay at the old homestead with Ollie and the children while Martin continued to peddle vegetables in Louisville. Uncle Bob said he would help with the garden, corn and tobacco crops, cut fire wood for heating and cooking, and carry spring water for washing and cooking. This agreement was made for the summer of 1930. However, he continued to make his home with Ollie and Martin until his death 18 years later--1948.
Uncle Bob was much like a grandfather to Ollie and Martin’s children and dearly loved by the entire family and neighborhood. He was not one to hold or love on the children but he always had time to talk and share his time and resources with Ollie, Martin and the children. Uncle Bob was a well respected individual with high morals; he never cursed or critized anyone and he had little association with anyone who drank alcoholic beverages, cursed or lived immoral lives of the day and times.
He was an easy going type of guy. He never got angry or argued with anyone. If something bothered him, he would go talk with his niece, Ollie. Whatever Ollie suggested or thought he considered as he respected her judgment in simple as well as difficult decisions.
He attended the monthly church service at the nearby Wilkerson Temple Methodist Church; he visited the elderly men--especially the sick. He frequently visited Uncle Bob Carrol’s local black smith shop in late afternoon to chat-a-spell with the men-folk gathered. He occasionally walked about 20 miles through the fields, woods and hollers to visit former neighbors at Millerstown; he walked three or four times per year to an area Bonnieville to visit cousins; he walked to the North side of Munfordville by taking an approximately 8-10 mile short cut to attend the jockey every first Monday of the month. While at the jockey, Uncle Bob would purchase a quarter’s worth of peppermint candy, chocolate drops, licorice candy or apples to bring home to divide with all the family members. He would give the purchase to Ollie and tell her to divide it equally between all the family members including Ollie and Martin; He would say, "I say, Don’t leave anyone out and make sure everyone gets some. Give Martin some, too."
Uncle Bob looked forward to week ends when Ollie and Martin’s married children came home with their families to visit. He would make sure water buckets and wood boxes were filled to the brim each evening and extra full for week ends. Don’t remember him ever hunting or fishing; for past time he chopped wood and split kindling--this was his leisure-time activity.
About 6:00-6:30 p.m. on week nights, Uncle Bob would slip off not saying a word to anyone and go to his bed room. One could hear him saying his prayer before retiring. No one saw or heard him again until sun up the next morning. However, on Saturday night when company came he stayed up until 10:00-11:00 p.m. laughing, talking and enjoying visitation of family and friends.
Uncle Bob’s favorite foods were buttermilk, cornbread, fat meat and molasses. However he liked all foods; he never complained about any food that was put on the table. When he sat down at the table, he ate from whatever bowl of food that was near him or passed to him. He rarely ever asked for a food that was out of his reach. He was a hearty eater. A usual breakfast consisted of 6 or 8 home-made biscuits, milk gravy (or water gravy if the cows were dry), 2 or 3 eggs if the hens were laying, molasses he had made from sugar cane, jelly Ollie had made from fruit, and black coffee. Before beginning the meal, he always said the Blessing at the table; no one really knew what the Words of Blessing were as he gave the Blessing in a fast and mumbled voice. One Person, Ollie’s son-in-law (Sherman Nunn) said Uncle Bob’s Blessing was "Thank you for this food and Bless us and save us for Christ’s sake. Amen." However, no one else really knew what the words of the Blessing were.
Uncle Bob was about 5 feet 10 inches tall, about 170 pounds, brown eyes, white hair. He wore work overalls or work pants with suspenders and a flannel shirt. He usually wore brown high top work shoes and an overall (denim) jacket with a sweater under the jacket. He was a slow walker. He walked with his shoulders stooped a little and his hands clasped behind him.
When visitors came, he loved to talk. He always tried to get alone with one of the male visitors by talking with him one on one. He would take the visitor to show him the crop or show the visitor his large supply of chopped wood and kindling. He would lead the visitor; stop all of a sudden and turn directly in front of the visitor and say "Gonna say" or "I say" before each phrase or sentence of his own interests. The person following him would almost run into him. This incident would occur several times before they got to what he was going to show the visitor.
In the spring time, he "pegged" tobacco with a wooden peg in the mud after a heavy spring rain as one of the children dropped the tobacco plants. He plowed and tended the crops with a team of one mule and one horse named "Beck" and "Dan". At the sound of the dinner bell when he was in the field working, he immediately unhitched the team and took them to the barn feeding each animal 6 ears of corn. He then went to the house and ate lunch. After lunch the younger children would ride the mule and horse back to the field with Uncle Bob leading the animal. Uncle Bob helped the children off the animal when they got to the field and cautioned the children to be careful walking back to the house. While the children were walking back to the house, Uncle Bob kept his eyes on the children until he knew they were in eye view of their mother, Ollie. As Uncle Bob pegged tobacco, plowed the crop, chopped wood, or carried the filled water buckets for washing or cooking, one could hear him singing in his most beautiful slow deep base voice "Wayfaring Stranger". (Never remember him singing any other song.) At harvest time, he always cured some field tobacco in the smoke house for his own personal chewing use.
One day he had the team hitched to a drag that was used to mash the clods in the field. The youngest child of Ollie’s was riding on the drag; the team made too sharp of a turn and the drag turned over. Uncle Bob was so scared the child had broken an arm or was badly hurt. The child cried not from being hurt but because Uncle Bob was so scared; and this scared the child.
One bright sunny spring day the children had two young pet goslings. The goslings were running around in the yard with the children playing. Uncle Bob was coming to the house and didn’t see the goslings; he stepped on one and killed it. The children cried and Uncle Bob was near tears too; for the last thing he wanted was to hurt the children in anyway.
Each spring he cleared the Polston/Poston Cemetery by cutting weeds and filling sunken gravesites. In those days, the tops of the graves were dug up and a fresh ridge of dirt was made into a mound. Broken glass and broken dishes (This represented the broken hearts and family ties.) were placed on the graves along with any flowers that one had growing in their yards to decorate the graves for Decoration Day in May. He made wooden benches by placing boards on rocks for a Memorial Church Service in the family cemetery on Memorial Day. On Memorial Day a local preacher or two or three would preach and everyone would sing songs such as "Precious Memories", "Amazing Grace", and "When We All Get To Heaven".
In the fall of 1947 Uncle Bob was feeling bad and he did not appear to be getting better. So, On Thanksgiving Day 1947, Ollie took Uncle Bob to Doctor M. Speevack; the Doctor said just make him as comfortable as possible for he has a cancerous mass throughout his body which had probably started in the liver. He was feverish and desired something cold. The family did not have a refrigerator; so the two youngest children of Ollie’s went to the bluffs throughout the winter to obtain ice-cycles for Ollie to put in Uncle Bob’s mouth. He continued to weaken until early morning on 21 January 1948 death occurred as a deep 6 inch snow was falling. Some close neighbors made crepe paper flowers for the funeral. Ollie and Martin purchased a spray of fresh gladiolas. The funeral was held at the home and only the men went to the burial in the Polston/Poston Cemetery which is located on the farm.
Author: Edith Bastin
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