Deve was the richest man in our parts. He had a large farm (boys would steal his watermelons),
he had a shop (boys would buy cigarettes) and he had a tractor and trucks. In 1970 he bought M-H's old truck for $800 and drove it around the school grounds to show it off. Almost always he would be behind the counter in the room attached to his house. The only son of his I encountered was Bal. It was a stroll through the QVS pasture to get to his place, or you could take the longer way along the road. I would wander over to get a bag of rice, a bottle of kerosene or a bottle of pop - my favorite being Creaming Soda that tasted like Juciy Fruit.
I didn't really buy that much but he ran a tab and I'd square up once in a while. When Woody left he tried to stiff me with a high bill. I refused to pay.
Then in Oct 1972 he claimed that I was a thief and that I owed him $9. |