This is old blowers and I'm fixing to go on with that story I was telling you about about the inferno. That was the name that my girl gave me, a girl emily gave me to call the podcast, you know she helps me. And so anyway you remember I told you last time in the podcast about how this school had got started down here about 100 years ago. They had set aside the land and they built a little old schoolhouse and over the years it's been built four or five different times and it's got bigger every time.
And they had a good size piece of land and it's a good thing they did. Well when I was a boy now that this school is over 100 years ago but when I was a boy about about 80 years ago old man Tyson was a superintendent. I mean a principal down here he would have been my principal by the golf school down there which I didn't because I didn't get a chance to go. But he got the idea that he was going to build a house and raise his chickens so that the kids would have eggs and fried chicken and stuff.
And so he got some money and they put him up a chicken house just a skeleton of a chicken house. It was way out in the woods and he got the boys from the shop class to finish the inside of the chicken house and put up a yawar and put in a laboratory and build a cages. And he got him some chickens and for about 20 years there he raised chickens and eggs for the cafeteria down there and they'd have fried eggs. And he'd done that and he thought he was doing a good thing and Mr.
Tyson was a good man. But you know nobody knows everything. And so when it started the school started getting bigger and he got more than he could handle by himself. So he hired old Mr.
Birkin as a business manager and his job was to make sure that what they was doing was what they called a cost effective. That it was good business practices. Well one of the first things that Mr. Birkin told him that Mr.
Tyson he said it's costing you about 30 cents more for a dozen eggs than you could do. And he said I'm not trying to tell you what to do but that's what it cost you. Well of course Mr. Tyson he appreciated that and he told him he said well I appreciate you telling me and we'll just stop raising him to have lame chickens.
And that's what he done. He got somebody to take him off his hands. But you see then he had to worry about what he was going to do with that chicken house. And I'm going to explain to you about that in just a minute.
I was going to tell you now that they had to get rid of that. See they got rid of the chickens. But what was they going to do about the chicken house? And I don't want to make anybody uncomfortable.
So my girl told me that I could use these words to use. She said I could use feces and an excrement. And she said that meant well that other word that I was used in that it was only word that I know to call it. But she told me I could use them words so that's what I'm going to do.
But you see them boys hadn't cleaned up after that. And that chicken house stuck to beat hell and you couldn't get close to it. And so what happened was that they just kind of left it. You know sitting there every way out in the woods wasn't bothering nobody.
And like I say I don't want to make anybody uncomfortable. But what happens in that case is that what these what will happen is that this feces will crust over. Dry up kind of and you know if you don't disturb it. It stops smelling some bad.
And as long as you don't disturb it you know that smell of gradual go away. And so that's what happened and they did never you know think anymore about it. And Mr. Tyson you know he finally retired after a while and they give him a dinner and give him one of them riding lawnmowers and had a lot of speeches.
And they you know Mr. Robinson was assistant principal. And and they you know Mr. Robinson was assistant principal.
He moved up and took Mr. Tyson's place. And I guess Mr. Robinson was a good man but he he had no spirits.
And he didn't ask people stuff you know you can learn from other people if you ask him. But he was he was going to do it his self. And he got in mind that he was going to clean up that chicken house and how he was going to do it was he was going to use it as a way to punish them boys that misbehaved. And I want you to know he had some mean boys up there now because I never have you know held it against kids for just you know meanness just development.
But if they just pull and pranks and tricks on people and stuff like that. But these old boys was mean and they was tearing up school and busted winters and busted lights and they both did slingshots down there at that five and ten cents store. And they got these hair pins from these girls to use as ammunition on them in them slingshots. And I think them girls thought that they was courting them and that they was just getting them hair pins to remember them by but that wasn't what they was doing.
And they would put them hair pins and them slingshots and shoot and bust them they bust them big old frosted window glasses out of the bathroom doors and out of the windows. And Mr. Robinson come down there one time and there was a whole bunch of them down there with the slingshots out and he took the names. And he asked them before they got them hair pins.
Well a lot of them wouldn't tell but finally it'd come out that them girls was giving them them hair pins and he called all the girls in and you know girls won't usually lie. They'll usually tell the truth. So he got the names of every girl that had given them boys and hair pins and girls all said well we didn't know what they were going to do with them and he said well that didn't make no difference. That they was a accessory to the crime is what he said.
So he told all of them kids they was going to have to clean out the chicken house. Well that was a big mistake and I could have told him if he had asked him and he didn't. And he sent all them kids to the chicken house where you couldn't even get close to it. And I mean you could at first until they got to stirring up that feces but anyway I'm getting ahead of the story.
So what they done is they told them girls to stay out of the way and then girls backed off about 100 yards and they still tied the head scars over their noses because it was about to get them boys told them it was about to get bad. And it was about to get bad and it was. And what they done see there wasn't nobody out there to supervise them because they wanted to get close to it. So they went into the chicken house with the shovels and they told that excrement all over the walls and just everywhere and they stirred that stuff up and it started stinking and they had to you know what that does.
What that does I don't want to make anybody sick here but what happens is that you get that stuff stirred up and it gets the smell like Pomona and your eyes will start watering and you just can't stand to be around it. Well they done that for about 30 minutes and then they went on back to the classroom and you know Mr. Robinson would catch some more of them and he'd put them out there and they'd do the same stuff and Mr. Robinson of course didn't know what they was doing because he wouldn't get that close to it.
Well they would track that stuff that feces into the schoolhouse and pretty soon the whole school got to stinking and he got a lot of complaints you know the parents was complaining. First they complained to him and he wouldn't do nothing about it. They took it to the board and the board called him in and wanted to know what was going on and he told him he was trying to discipline the kids and they told him he was going to have to find some other way. And they said they wanted that chicken house cleaned out.
Well Mr. Robinson tried to hire some people you know down here to clean it out and I had this old man working down here named Luther Seals and he was a good man and he was a good hard worker. And I'd get him to help me clean out my the cow stalls down here you know and he was good help. So Mr.
Robinson hired him and told him he wanted him to clean out the chicken house and Mr. Seals, old Luther Seals took the job until he got over there and found out what they wanted with him and found out about that chicken house and what a mess it was. And he told Mr. Robinson he said you can clean it out yourself.
He said I ain't going to do that and he quit. And so the board was on Mr. Robinson trying to get him to do something about that chicken house because the parents was on the board and the board was on him. So what he done and he done a real sneaky thing and I'm going to tell you about that here in just a minute.
What he done he done one of the worst things that I've ever heard of anybody doing. This old blower I was going to tell you what old Mr. Robinson done that one of the dirtiest tricks that I've ever seen anybody try. He was going to get away with it but he thought he could.
He advertised a job you know permanent permanent job as a maintenance man you know custodian down at the schoolhouse. And oh Luther Seals you know he applied for the job he said he wanted a regular job if he could get it. And Mr. Robinson hired him and Mr.
Seals old Luther before he took the job he asked Mr. Robinson he said now this ain't got nothing to do with that. Oh chicken house because I ain't going to clean it that ain't healthy. He said that you could kill somebody in there and Mr.
Robinson said well no it ain't got nothing to do. We just got to have our floors cleaned and our you know winter's washed and you've been recommended. And so if you want the job we'll hire you. And so Mr.
Robinson took it and now what he done was he signed a contract. Now Mr. Robinson can't read Mr. Seals can't read it.
Oh Luther he ain't never been school and he's a good old boy but he you know he trusts people and if you tell him something he believes it because when he tells you something you can believe it he's an honest man. So Mr. Robinson had him sign his contract and one thing that was it told about all his duties what he would be doing and then it said at the end of the contract it said other assignments by the supervisor and Mr. I don't remember just exactly what he said but it was something like you know other duties as a sign.
Well you know Mr. Luther Seals couldn't read it. He signed that contract and so Mr. Robinson said now Luther one of the first things you're going to have to do is clean out that chicken house.
And oh it made old Luther Seals mad and Mr. Robinson said you signed the contract and you had to go through with it. Well you know Luther is a great big old boy and he could have he could have hooked Mr. Robinson he thought about doing it but he'd come down here and talk to me and he said I ain't never had nobody treat me any situation in my life and I said Luther go to the board and tell him what you told me.
I said I know that old old Mr. Pouncey down there on the board and he's a good man and if you tell him what he done to you I said he'll treat you fair and I'm just telling you he will. So Luther took it to the board and told him the story and they called Mr. Robinson in and he you him hauled around but he finally had to admit he said Luther signed the contract and they asked Luther did he sign the contract and he said yeah I did he said he just told me what was in the contract and they said you know Luther can't you know can you not read and Luther hung his head and he said no I can't and Mr.
Pouncey was he was on the board and he said Luther don't you hang your head he said we all know you down here and you don't need to be ashamed because you can't read and they told Mr. Robinson right then and the assistant principal the takeover and I think Mr. Robinson told him to get his stuff and be gone. And Mr.
Pouncey told Luther he said Luther you don't have to clean that chicken house but he said we've got a problem here and can you just as a community service can you tell us what we need to do about this because it's not healthy. And we've got to get this thing off of here somehow other can you tell us what to do. And so oh Luther you know when they when they approached him like that he said well yeah I can tell you he said I'll clean that chicken house if you'll get me what I need to clean it and don't ask no question just leave it up to me and I'll get that thing to care of. And so they said whatever you want whatever you need you just let us know and we'll get it for you.
Well they rented a backhoe and they got him on a gas mask like they were in World War I except it was you know when that old it was a brand new one and they give him that backhoe and he coming down there and he got that thing cleaned out in a couple of days. And it it toed up an awful snail when he was working on it but he warned him about that he said no that thing is going to stink for you know a little while until I get it cleaned out. So they they said they understood and he cleaned her out buddy and it they had put stainless steel walls in that chicken house it was it was up to date a chicken house when it was built and they had put stainless steel walls on the inside of it and they had put the machines in the floor you know so Mr. Seals Luther got the he got one of them pressure washers and brought it in there and he hoes down in walls and that water dreamed you know and could dream out through the floor had good dreams and good dreams in the chicken house.
And he and he dreamed he washed that thing down real good and they throw them cages away you know they wouldn't and he said it'll it'll take it a you know a week or two but he said you won't smell nothing in here when I'm through with it and they put some disinfecting in there and mopped it out and he put something in there. and they put some disinfectant in them, mopped it out and everything. And that, you know, you wouldn't believe it, but that chicken house was just as clean as a whistle. And it took him about two weeks' work on it, and they gave him a bonus, you know, because of what he'd done.
They gave him a bonus, and they told him that he had that custodial job if he wanted it. And they said there wouldn't be none of them duties as assigned either. They said they would tell him just exactly what his assignment, what his duties was, and that's all he had to do. So O'Lutherseals is working up the school now.
And he's, you know, doing better than he ever has done before. And so I'm gonna quit here. You say, well, you hadn't told us about the far yet. No, I've got to work up to it, because Emily told me that it started to burst and go to the end, and that's what I'm doing.
So I'm gonna tell you next time about what happened to the chicken house. Did they tear it down? No, they didn't. They kept it, and I'm gonna tell you what they done to it, and what led to the far, to the inferno is Emily calls it.
So that'll be on the next podcast.