Thursday, March 2, 2017

Watch Charm Mystern, by J. N. Dean


One of my favorite families of Crittenden County is the Dean family that lived at Deanwood. 


What a colorful and interesting family.  Mr. Joseph Nathan Dean was a wonderful story teller and was also a wonderful historian.  He kept all kinds of interesting items written down for future generations to enjoy and learn from.

Here is one of his true short stories, it's titled "Watch Charm Found After 70 Years".  It was written in 1956.

Late one afternoon in the year 1880 (when the writer was 12 years old) a government official, who was taking the U. S. census for that year, called at Madison Dean's home nine miles east of Marion, now known as the Turner farm, to take my father's census list and spend the night.

At supper our visitor told us that as he rode down Piney Hill, one mile east of us, his watch charm in some way came loose from the chain and fell to the ground in a rocky, sandy place.  He got off the horse and searched for some time but failed to find it.

Early next morning, at his request, two of my older brothers went t the hill with him and searched with no luck.

If I remember correctly the census official was a Mr. Cruce of the same family as the late Mr. Dick Cruce.

A few years ago, about 70 years later, Mr. and Mrs. Edd Clark, formerly of this community but now of Providence, rode up in front of my store at Deanwood, and called to me and said, "Joe as we were riding down old Piney hill a bit ago I saw something bright in a rocky place in the road. I got off my horse and found it to be a nice diamond shape watch charm. - I don't need it and make you a present of it."

It was some time later that it dawned on me that it was the one lost by the "Census taker," in 1880.

It just goes to prove that nothing in the old world in ever really lost, no matter the circumstances - somebody will someday find it.

                          The old Deanwood General Store that Mr. Dean owned.

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