At the age of nineteen I met the dream of my life. His name is Hugh Rondall Champlin. He was from Mossville, Arkansas also in Newton County. Someone nicknamed him Bill as a child and he's been known as Bill all his life. We were married by Elvin Hudson, Justice of the Peace on June 18, 1942 in Murray, Arkansas and bought twelve acres with a log cabin on it from my Dad. Bill farmed and cut timber to keep us going. Later we bought thirty acres with a house and a small poultry house from a man with the unusual name of John January. We moved to eastern Arkansas for a time and tried our luck at picking cotton. Needless to say, that was not our idea of a lifelong career. During the time we were there Bill was called to sevice by the draft board Nov. 27th. He was inducted into the armed forces Dec.3, 1942. I went to stay with my father-in-law for awhile and even though my brothers would take turns staying with me, I missed the rest of my family terribly until March 23, 1943 when our little girl, Virginia Mae was born and helped to fill the emptiness. I bought some milk cows and laying hens to help with expenses. I would sell eggs and separate the milk and cream and sell them. One day Virginia went missing. I called and called for her and she didn't answer. Bill's dad and I went to where I milked the cows and found her hunkered down under one of the really gentle cows, pulling on it's udders with both hands and smiling with her sparkling blue eyes as she milked away on the cow. Later Virginia and I moved back with my parents and stayed with them for a long time. When they moved to Parthenon we went along. I got a letter from the war department that almost scared me to death. I always worried about Bill and prayed for his safety constantly. When I saw the letter I thought he had been wounded or killed in Europe. I shook so bad that I couldn't open the letter. I almost went into shock. My Dad shook me until my teeth rattled, then took the letter, read it and said "Bill has not been hurt! He's been awarded the Bronze Star medal and commended by president Roosevelt for bravery far beyond the call of duty while facing the enemy. Thank God! That was a relief.

We sold the farm after Bill came home from the army and moved to Holiday, Kansas for a short time he worked for a building contractor. Harold Ray was born there. When the company shut down we moved back to Parthenon and Bill attended agricultural school under the G.I. Bill of Rights. We bought an eighty acre farm from my Uncle Arl Youngblood and tried farming again. While there, Phyllis Faye was born. Harold and Phyllis at about three and two years old disappeared after being told they couldn't go to Grandma and Grandpa's house just down the road. We figured we would find them there and sure enough we followed tiny footprints in the damp road and tracked the little runaways right to Grandma and Grandpa's. Bill also worked at a sawmill and helped a close neighbor, Dave Madewell bale and haul hay. Dave and Lissie were really good people and understood the problems that young people with small children had. They were always there to help when help was needed. We'll always be greatful for their help when Phyllis contracted Polio during the 1949 epidemic. Phyllis became really ill and the doctors in Newton County said she was the second child in the county to get the dreaded disease. We had her admitted to Baptist State Hospital in Little Rock. They treated her the best they could, at a time when they knew very little about the disease. She was in an iron lung for months and then in a convalescence center for six weeks. At the time Phyllis got sick we had a little dog named Mickey. She and Mickey would sit in the sand pile and Phyllis would cover up both their legs with the sand. The dog would just stay there for an hour at a time while Phyllis played like this. While she was in Little Rock, Mickey barely ate enough to stay alive. The doctors said I could take her home if I thought I could give her the therapy myself. They showed me how and I did it. It was a tough job but we nursed her from only knowing she was crying when the tears came out of her eyes. She couldn't make a sound or move her body at all. When we brought Phyllis home Mickey was so glad to see her that he had tears streaming down his face. He wouldn't be still at all. He ate a full meal for the first time in months. She gradually started to improve. Some people thought we were cruel because as she learned to walk by holding on to chairs, etc. we made her do chores like the other kids. Her chores were minor like drying silverware, picking up her toys and combing her hair. We had to strap thin boards to the soles of her feet to keep them from growing crooked. We wanted her to become as self reliant as possible and not to expect others to wait on her for everything she wanted. It was a hard task but we don't feel like the small jobs we "cruelly" had her do was anyway harmful. Phyllis had to wear braces for several years so her big brother Harold would lead her around. If she happened to fall, which she did frequently, he would pick her up and off they would go again. It seemed like second nature to all of the kids. Bob and Don who were born after she got sick, were too small to help much so they just followed along after them. She has grown into a woman accomplishing marriage, children and education. Also she has developed a voice that can yell at husband and children as loud as any woman. Phyllis has worked successfully at different jobs and owned her own business until she retired, so maybe we weren't too mean to her. We are very proud of her and thankful to the Lord for helping us to get her to that point. After a couple of "fruitless" years on the eighty acre farm we sold it to my brother Jessis Harris.

I hope those who read this will be enlightened about life growing up in the Ozark Mountains of Newton County during the period from 1920 to 1950. It was a hard life but a rewarding one too. Bill and I have five children to date (Mar. 31, 2000). We also have sixteen grandchildren, six great grandchildren, one great-great grandchild and another on the way. Is that prolific or what?

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