Gardners Township, Wilson County, N.C.
This story is from my childhood memories when I was five or six years old.
Election Day was a big event in Gardners Township and it was the main topic of conversations at my grandmother’s country store (Bridgers Grocery and farm Supply located in Wilson County at Pender’s Crossroads).
My family was pretty involved in politics. My father was the Registrar for Gardners Township and my Aunt Blanche Bridgers was an active worker county-wide. She was President of the Wilson County Farm Bureau and even chosen to represent the Wilson County farmers in Chicago at the National Convention. This was unusual for a woman at that time.
Early morning on Election Day my great grandfather, Tom Wiggins, drove his big red Hudson to Gardners High School where the polling place was located. He parked the Hudson on the school property but just far enough from the actual polling location to be legal. The polls were opening up and as this was happening, my great grandfather opened the trunk of the Hudson and inside he had several brands of store bought liquor as well as a gallon jug of “white lightening” or liquor made right there on his farm. The liquor stills on the farm were kept going by a guy who went by the name of “Stokey”. I don’t know for sure if Stokey was his real name or if it was a name given to him because he farmed but was also the one who made most of the stump hole liquor and kept the fires stoked, burning all night long.
Some of the liquor Stokey made was in the trunk of the Hudson on Election Day alongside the store bought brands. As each male voter parked (a few came on a mule and wagon) they stopped by Tom Wiggins’ red Hudson and were offered a “little drink”. I feel pretty sure Tom Wiggins made it known who his candidate was. My grandfather and the voter made small talk as the drink was poured and I heard laughter as the male voters walked to the small building on the school grounds where voting took place. It was a different time and it felt festive to me. None of this could happen today with liquor on school property and being handed out discretely kind of like at the back door of some restaurants in Wilson.
As a five or six year old I had a job at the polling place. I had been handed a handful of small cards and as each voter came toward the polling place I was to hand them a card and say just one thing: (“Thank You For Your Vote”). You can only imagine how important I felt as I ran up to each voter and gave my five-word speech to them.
I remember that if I wanted to go inside the polling place it was important that I could not take the cards inside with me. Once inside I remember hearing something about “reading, writing and interpreting the Constitution”. There was a box containing blank ballots and there was a wood box that the ballots were stuffed into after the voter marked his/her choices with a yellow No. 2 lead pencil. As I remember, there were no locks on the boxes.
When the voting ended and the polls closed, my father and several others tallied the ballots (probably someone from each political party). I am not sure if the ballots were taken to Wilson to the Board of Elections, or if they were picked up by Election Officials.
When the sun went down and the polls closed the red Hudson remained for a while and the party continued right there on the school property.
Looking back on those days I have to think it was different in so many ways. I do not remember any family or friends getting mad or not speaking to each other over Elections. People talked more about issues and less about personalities.
There were a few scuffles under the store shelter at Bridgers Grocery and Farm Supply but not over politics. During baseball season the games were listened to on the big battery powered radio. There were a few arguments and even a few fists scuffles over some baseball game. Either my grandmother or Aunt Blanche would step in between the two “contenders” and tell them to break it up or go home. Nobody ever challenged either of them. They cooled off and had a Pepsi and a pack of nabs, lit up their cigarette or plopped a chew of tobacco in their jaw, listened to the rest of the game and spit tobacco juice in the sand filled wooden cheese box that was placed right in front of the pot bellied heater.
Just a few days ago I cast my ballot at the Wilson County Board of Elections and couldn’t help but look around and think about where the red Hudson could be parked and if a “little drink” might be allowed.
Montress Greene
Website: www.montressgreene.com
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