For Simmons, Christmas is about family, faith

By JOEL WILSON

GLASGOW — For 76-year old Glasgow resident Bill Simmons, Christmas is about his faith in Jesus and about family and memories.

The retired J.C. Penney executive grew up the second of 11 children on a family farm near Temple Hill and his life was shaped by his experiences as a hardworking farm boy on the heels of the Great Depression.

Bill’s parents, James E. and Emma Beatrice Simmons were married in 1928. The first of their nine sons, James Robert, was born in 1929. Bill came along in 1932, Kenneth in 1934, and the three oldest boys were followed in succession by Roger, Delmer, twin girls Betty Sue (Hopkins) and Emma Lou (Pendygraft), Samuel Leroy, twin boys Danny and David, and finally Tony who arrived in 1955, about the same time as Bill’s second child.

The family farm was located on what was then known as Poplar Springs Road, later to become James Simmons Road off Bulldog Way.

As would be assumed, Christmas was a special time with that many siblings awaiting Santa.

The days leading up to Christmas included cutting a big cedar, at least eight feet tall, off the family farm and decorating it with strings of popcorn, tin foil ropes, handmade ornaments and a cardboard star wrapped in foil. “We slept upstairs in a big two story farm house. We didn’t have electricity for many years and the house was heated by a wood stove. We heard Dad get up to start a fire and when we heard the door shut on that big old stove, we knew we could get up,” Bill recalled recently. “We slept in feather beds or straw ticks and under lots of quilts. We didn’t want to hit those cold floors until Dad had fire going in the stove.”

Usually, each child would get one present and Bill recalled that after opening that gift, it was off to the barn to begin milking. “Cows don’t know it’s Christmas day, they have to be milked twice a day, 365 days a year,” he said.

“I started helping my dad milk when I was 9 years old. I made a deal with him. I would help him milk if James Robert would crank the cream separator. That was harder than milking,” he said.

After the morning chores were done, it was time to go to breakfast.

“My mother was the best cook I’ve ever known. She would make about 50 biscuits every morning on that wood stove. We would have ham or sausage, sometimes fried chicken or pork chops, tenderloin and always gravy. There was always gravy and biscuits.”

James E. Simmons purchased his first land at the courthouse door in 1932 for $600. “It was supposed to be 100 acres but when it was surveyed, it turned out to be only 58. Dad got a refund and he ended up paying $468 for the farm. He raised his first crop of burley tobacco in 1936, fighting a severe drought all summer long and hauling water in barrels from Glover Creek to irrigate his crop. He got $1,260 for one acre of tobacco and we started adding on to the farm,” Bill recalled.

The Simmons farm ended up being about 188 acres.

In addition to the one gift for each child, the parents also bought a bushel of apples, a crate of oranges, a full stalk of bananas, about 20 pounds of English walnuts and a like amount of chocolate covered sugar drops. The only girls in the family, Betty Sue and Emma Lou, recalled that their father many times brought home a huge peppermint candy cane, so hard that it took a hammer to break off a piece to eat.

Bill also remembered a big hook hanging from the ceiling in the kitchen where his father hung the stalk of bananas. He said that hook remained in the kitchen until the farm was sold.

One gift has special significance to Bill. His father had a 1934 Ford and when Bill was about 7 or 8 years old, he found a toy ’34 Ford pickup pulling a trailer in a mail order catalog. He got that as his present that year.

Christmas dinner was also a memorable treat. “Mom raised chickens and we always had chicken, dressing and dumplings. We butchered hogs at least twice a year and dad cured his own hams and shoulders, and we had fresh tenderloin, and pork roasts. We raised a big garden and mom canned all the vegetables we could raise. And she cooked all that on a wood cook stove. Even though it was just after the depression, and even during World War II, we always had plenty. You can do that when you raise everything yourself,” Bill said recently.

The Simmons family finally got electricity around 1945 and Bill’s parents got their first refrigerator and stove and soon after, a big chest freezer. But it was not until high school that Bill, James Robert and Kenneth got school bus service. Until that time, the boys walked to school, around three miles. A creek separated their home from the road to Temple Hill and in the winter, when the creek was full and their dad couldn’t get the car across the creek, the boys waded snow. “I guess we looked kind of funny going into the classroom with our overalls wet to the knees but we never gave it a thought.”

Faith was a big part of their upbringing and the family attended the Poplar Springs Baptist Church.

Bill got his first job with J.C. Penney in Glasgow as a teenager. It was to lead to a lifelong career that took him all over the southeast to places like Florida, Alabama and Louisiana. He became a highly respected store manager who was adept in opening new stores. One of his fondest memories is of the many friends he made in Houma, La., where he managed a store until the end of his career.

That’s when he and his wife, Hallie Cloyd Simmons, moved back to Glasgow. They were married in 1950.

They are the parents of five children. Their more recent Christmas memories surround holidays with their own children and grandchildren. His son Steve recently visited from Florida and helped him decorate for the holidays.

Bill’s father passed away in 1984 and his mother in 1998. But the Simmons children, all of whom survive, are still a close-knit group. They reunite often, sometimes for family fish frys since some of the boys including Bill and Danny, are dedicated fishermen.

As for Bill, he has spent the last several months battling cancer. But his faith in God sustains him. He often gives his testimony to others and he believes God is working miracles in him every day. “I am praying for complete healing but if that’s not his will, I know God has a plan for me and I will gladly accept whatever that plan may be.”

Cancer treatments and a recent foot injury have slowed Bill down a bit, but not much. He raised a big garden this year, did a lot of canning and still had time to fish some. “I’ve always been an active person. My parents taught me the value of work. I intend to do just that for as long as possible.”

Right now, Bill and Hallie are planning for Christmas and a time to make more memories with their own children and with their extended families.

Joel Wilson can be reached by e-mail at afwilson@glasgow-ky.com.