While living in New Madrid Co, MO he bought a sorghum mill from Warren Sanders who lived in or near LaValle, MO This mill grinder was vertical and not much is known about the operation of this mill. In 1927, Grandpa Hart & his family moved 1 1/2 miles west of Dexter and approximately 2 1/2 miles north, on Sec #15 in Castor TWP. Uncle Amos told me that in the fall of 1930 that they made 1500 gallons of sorghum and the way he remembered it was that Uncle Star & Aunt Lizzie Hart had moved back from Michigan and that their son Edgar was just a baby as he was born 20 Mar 1930. Grandpa sold sorghum that fall for .40 per gallon, & the gallon bucket cost him .10, to some of the Grocery Stores in Dexter. He would get 2/5’s & the store owner would get 3/5’s when it sold. If I have it figured correct, after paying for the gallon bucket, he would make 06 per gallon.

Sorghum appears to have been one of the necessities. I do know sugar was not as widely available as in later years, as today, and sorghum at times was the only sweetner, outside of honey - and honey was somewhat limited in supply. Today the word sorghum refers primarily to a grain crop, now know as Milo with short stalk and heavy head. Milo is a hybrid. There are other sorghum varities, most that grow taller are used for producing ensilage and pasture, and for producing hybrid seed for Milo. But the type used for producing molasses was a tall heavy stalk, 6’ to 10’ tall, in which the stalk contained abundance of sweet juice. One of the preferred varities was Blue Ribbon.

Even Grandpa Hart, who had a reputation for making excellent sorghum, knew little about the why/wherefore one cane was better than another, or why one batch of cane made dark, strong molasses, and another cooked down into light, mild molasses. He did observe that cane grown in rich ground made dark molasses, and that grown in thin hill soil, poor in nutrients, produced the best sorghum, the stalks of this latter sometimes ranging between three & six feet. Molasses cane was planted in rows some 3’ apart, and perhaps 6” apart or closer, in the row. It was tended and plowed all summer. Toward autumn when it attained full growth, and the seed head matured - but before it gets sufficiently mature to begain losing its juices, and certainly before frost, while still standing it was stripped - by hand, and the blades are beat off, or pulled off by hand. Next the heads are cut off, these being used for both feed - as grain - and as seed for the next year’s crop.

Keep in mind this cane seed is open pollinated - as was corn in that era - consequently the seed will produce true to type. Not true of today’s sorghum and corn - it’s all hybrid - for greater production and control. After the cane head is removed, the stalks are cut close to the ground - by hand with a corn knife. This might be done and layed in the wagon bed immediately for hauling to the mill; or it might be cut and layed in bunches in the field, for later loading and hauling. Grandpa Hart did not raise all the cane that he processed. Other people in the community, who wanted sorghum would grow their own cane and haul it to his mill. There the cane layed in separate piles and tagged with the customers name. The sorghum would be made, either for a share of the sorghum or for payment per gallon. The customer must furnish his own cantainers for the molasses - jugs, kegs, barrels, sealed buckets or cans.

I believe that the first sorghum mill that Grandpa had after they moved to Stoddard County had a grinder with horizontal rollers? I do not have a discription of this first mill.

The second mill consisted, of 2 steel rolls approximately 10-12”in diameter by 2’ long, mounted vertivcally in a heavy cast frame, and raised perhaps 3’ off the ground - convenient height to feed stalks into. On top of the cast iron frame would be a set of gears on the shafts of the 2 (or) 3 rolls. There was a 3rd gear meshed with these two, which had a heavy shaft extending vertically and attached to the “Sweep.” This “Sweep” was merely a pole - from the woods - of the proper proportions, that extended from the mill to within a couple feet of the ground, to which horses’ traces were hitched, and they pulled around and around, turning the steel rolls, into which Uncles, Amos, Milas or Ezra (probably all three taking turns at different tasks around the mill) was feeding the cane stalks into the grinder. The squeezed out juice ran down the rolls into the bottom casting, shaped in pan fashion to catch the juice and let it run into a barrel. From this barrel it was carried by bucket to the cooker. I believe in later years there was a pipe that ran from the pan or barrel down the hill (underground) to the cooker and this saved time in carrying it by bucket to the cooker.

Uncles Amos, Milas or Ezra, which ever was feeding the cane stalks into the grinder must get these heavy stalks from the yard to the mill, feed them between the steel rolls, and occasionally fork away the pumice (pummys) that came out on the other side. These pummys are now squeezed into ribbons of steel, that tend to become entwined with each other. They’re never in a bunch, nor can be separated easily into a fork full, as one can handle hay. And they must be carried 50 or 100 feet merely to get them out of the way. Some of the time they might need to be stacked 8-10’ high merely to save space. Later they were hauled down in the field and placed in the gullies and this would help with the erosion problem on the hill sides. Therefore running the mill is a back breaking operation. It is my opinion that all who worked at the mill performed more than their share of work or the sorghum molasses would not have been made.

The cooker, or cooking pan, was the other main component of the operation. Usually 4’ wide and 8” deep and was approximately 8’ feet long. The sides of the pan were 2” X 8” wood; and ends or sides of the galvanazed steel bottom were fit into wood sides - leak proof. The wood sides being on top of the fire wall were not subjected directly to the fire - consequently never burned. The pan consisted of a completely baffled bottom baffles being approximately 3” high. The baffles were spaced approximately every 7”, crosswise, entire length, except each baffle and alternately, lacked some 7” extending the entire pan width. So the juice can be poured in at the fire box end, flowed many times across the pan to reach the opposite end - cooking all the way. This pan was set on 2 walls, made of mud & brick, approximately 30” high, made exacatly to fit the pan. At tail end of the pan - where molasses were drawn off through a bottom 2” hole with a tall wood stopper. The chimney was the same width as the pan. The pan fit tight against the chimney.

At the head end of the pan was where raw juice was poured in, and the fire box is located between the two fire walls, open, and with a grate, on to which the right amount of cord wood is burned. This fire must be rather accurately judged, controlled and fed. Insufficient heat makes for too slow and laborious cooking; too much heat produces molasses to fast, faster than a person can ascertain, and draw off, then replace with more raw juice. Grandpa Hart did all of the cooking, and it was a process, once began in the morning, must be continuously and consistently continued and tended, until the fire is drawn - usually at dusk in the evening.

Available, are wood rakes or handles of proper width to move the juice along between baffles, even though it glows slowly by itself. Also availabe are several skimming pans, 6” wide, 8” long, one side open, on handles - bottoms perforated. The juice has a lively boil from one end of the pan to the other. Although this juice is strained 2 or 3 times through burlap, it still contains some sediment, such as small fragments of pith from the stalk, which must be picked up with the skimming pans, as it boils to the top, along with other (green) skimmings. Everyone skims at one time or another. The skimming pans are dumped into a 5 gallon pail setting beside the pan. When a pail is nearly full, it is carried to the pig pen and poured into a trough. Soon as it cools sufficiently the pigs “hog it up.” As the juice boils and moves towards the tail end of the pan, it starts to thicken, and the skimmins change from green to yellow; soon there’s little or no skimmins left and molasses start to form. In the meantime, finished molasses have been drawn off, and poured in a large wooden trough or box to cool, leaving space for more juice at the head end.

After the molasses is poured into the wooden trough or box to cool and after they are cooled there is a stopper in one end of the trough and the stopper is only partially loosened - never taken out completely - to meter the molasses into containers, be they be buckets, jugs, kegs or barrels. If the stopper were pulled all the way out of this hole, it could have been a catastrophic, with the trough full of molasses on the ground. Usually the mill stops at 4-5 o’clock, juice is cooked another couple hours, fire drawn at dusk, they all have supper, then return to draw molasses into containers. At this time Grandpa separates his share, if making the molasses on the shares; or if for cash then he containerizes the whole batch. When one small batch of cane follows that of a separate owner, the end of one must be kept separate from the beginning of the next. Thus cooling and drawing sometimes took place at mid day The sorghum shed which was over the cooker had a corregated metal roof and the Chimney ran through the roof on the south end of the shed. There were no sides to the shed.

Grandpa Hart made sorghum molasses at the mill every year until the late 1940’s or early 1950’s as he sold the mill to a man in or around Poplar Bluff, MO.

NOTE: When the mill was not in operation we would get on the big end of the “Sweep” and two or three of the other cousins would push or pull on the other end and we could really get a good ride going round and round. There was a spring near by where they got their water for cleaning the cooking pan and utensils after the fire was drawn and the sorghum molasses was drawn. I have wished hundreds of times during the last 20 years that someone would have had the forethought to have made a picture of Grandpa & our Uncles while at work at the old Sorghum Mill. What a memory.

Bobby Roussel calls from Arizonia
Bobby Roussel of Arizonia called the last of October & brought me up to date on his family. Their oldest son Robert Arthur is still in Macezo, Brazil on a two year Mission Trip & will be home in April 1999. Their daughter Aubrey Brooke is still in College & she became engaged to Chad Allen Pena & the wedding is to be 5 Feb 1999 in Mesa at the L.D.S. Temple. The other children are all doing fine. Was glad to hear from you all again.

Warren Alexander Melton & Laura Juiliana Hendrix married 18 July 1878, in White Co, IL by T. J Aud, MG. Laura Juiliana (Hendrix) Melton married 2nd Chester A. Catlin 30 Jun 1892, in White Co, IL.

Mom fell and broke her left wrist
Mom, Anna (Hart) Mann fell on the 10th of February & broke her left wrist. In September 1995 she fell & broke her right arm, just above the wrist & then in December the same year she had a stroke. She is still in Central Gardens & she turned 90 Oct 21, 1998. Jerry & Doris came home from Russell- ville, AR & we had a little Birthday party for her. She seemed to enjoy it, but was give out afterwards.

Eloise’s Mother still in Nursing Home
Eloise’s Mother Lillian (Lewis) Myrick, has been in the Dexter Nursing Home for five years & nine months. She turned 91 years of age, 4 August , 1998. We got together with her at the Nursing Home & had a Birthday party for her.

The Dexter Statesman -21 August 1998 Harts To Celebrate 50 Years

M. A. and Eloise (Myrick) Hart of Dexter will mark their 50th wedding anniversary on Aug. 27. relatives and friends may call 624-3674 or send a card and wish them a happy anniversary. No celebration is planned. Hart was born in Stoddard County to Anna (Bruce) (Hart) Mann and the late Joe G. Hart and raised in Stoddard and New Madrid Counties. The former Eloise Myrick was born to Lillian (Lewis) Myrick and the late Lawrence Myrick and was raised in Parma. They are the parents of two sons, Alan Hart who married Alma (Sims) Hays, and Kim Hart who is married to Connie Sims, both families of Dexter. They also have two grandchildren, Shelly (Hart) Bader and Corey Hart, and two great grandchildren, Dylan and Brooke Bader, all of Bloomfield and three foster grandchildren, Kevin, Brittney and Amanda of Dexter, as well as two step granddaughters, Angela (Hays) Johnson of Ava, MO. and Teea McIntyre of Dexter and one step grandson, Jacob Johnson of Ava, MO. The Harts are members of the First Baptist Church in Dexter. Hart retired from American General Life and Accident Insurance Co. on March 1, 1990, after 27 years of service. He has served on the Dexter City Council for the past 19 years. Mrs. Hart has sold Avon Products for 33 years.

The Dexter Statesman - July 29, 1998
Published and aspiring authors from across the United States gathered in Sikeston for the eighth Heartland Writers’ Conference held June 4-6. The biennial event was a great success, particularly for local authors. Connie Bennett of Dexter (daughter of Lucille (Hart) Bennett & our second cousin) won first place in screenplays with “Highlander: First Time. Ms. Bennett will be autographing her latest romance “His Brothers’ Baby” on Saturday, Sept. 12, at Patricia’s in downtown Dexter. The autographing will be held from 10:30 a.m to 2 p.m. and at 2 at tea is planned , at which time Ms. Bennett will do a short story on the history of Dexter. Congraulations Connie & we wish you a lot of success in the future.

Delta News, Malden, MO 2 Dec 1998 Kenneth Allen Goldsmith
Kenneth Allen “Pat” Goldsmith, 65 of Malden, died November 27, 1998, at Dexter Memorial Hospital. The son of the late John Ollie and Elsie Hampton Goldsmith, he was born October 28, 1933. On June 4, 1955, he married Clarice Hart. She preceded him in death July 13, 1989. He was a member of the Southern Baptist Church in Malden. He was an Army veteran who served in the Korean War. He was also a member of the American Legion Post of Malden. Survivors include a son, Ken Goldsmith of Malden; two daughters Charisse Bryant of Malden and Carol Ann Jolly of Canon City, Colo.; a brother, Leslie Goldsmith of Malden; a sister, Bobbie Jean White of Malden; eight grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by a brother, Jennings Goldsmith, and a sister Pansy Telker. Visitation was held November 29 at Bradshaw Funeral Home in Malden. Funeral services were held November 30 at Bradshaw Chapel in Malden. Burial was in Memorial Park Cemetery. Bradshaw Funeral Home of Malden was in charge of arrangements. Carol Ann (Goldsmith) Jolly & Family comes home to attend her Dad’s Funeral at Malden Carol Ann (Goldsmith) Jolly, her husband Adam & their two sons Jason Wade & Jeremiah Kyle came home from Colorado, the end of November to attend her Dad’s funeral in Maden, Missouri.

More New Babies

Stephanie Lynn Allen was born 3 Nov 1996 at the Lucy Lee Hospital, Poplar Bluff, MO to Stephen & Tracy Allen of Malden, MO. Congratulations to the parents, the grandparents, Ken & Daphne Goldsmith of Malden. The great grandparents were the late Clarice (Hart) & Kenneth (Pat) Goldsmith. This was received a little late for my 1996 & 1997 Newsletter, but wanted to included it here.

Austin Tyler Young was born 4 July 1998 at the Lucy Lee Hospital, Poplar Bluff, MO to Anthony & Shauna Young of Malden. Congratulations to the parents, the grandparents, Charisse (Goldsmith) & Tom Bryant of Malden & Dennis Young of New Madrid. The great grandparents were the late Clarice (Hart) & Kenneth “Pat”Goldsmith.

Brett Anthony Allen was born 24 Nov 1998 at the Lucy Lee Hospital, Poplar Bluff, MO to Stephen & Tracy Allen of Malden, MO. Congratulations to the parents, the grandparents, Ken & Daphne Goldsmith of Malden. The great grandparents were the late Clarice (Hart) & Kenneth “Pat” Goldsmith.

Vera R. (Hart) Ross visits her son Kirk & his wife Judy during the Thanksgiving Holidays.
Vera R. (Hart) Ross spent several days in Colorado during the Thanksgiving Holidays visiting her son Kirk & his wife Judy. Sandra (Jennings) Imbeaux still doing good after Surgery in 1997.

In my letter last December I told you that Sandra had Coronary Ablation Surgery in July & that she had returned to work & was doing fine. Just talked to her Dad Jack, & he says she is still doing fine.

Alan Leigh Hart Writes Poems
Our son Alan like myself has never wrote a poem in his life, until the spring of 1998 when he called us one morning & told us that he had wrote a poem & wanted to share it with us. Here is the poem.

MY LORD, MY LIFE, MY EVERLASTING LIGHT

Early in my life I knew Jesus as my Light.
I went to Vietnam at the age of nineteen and my day became night.
During that year anxiety, depression and fear became my stronghold.
And before I realized it, my heart became cold.
Through the years after I searched day and night.
And nothing I found in this world would fill the void in my life.
Twenty eight years went by and I felt like it was my last.
But little did I know very soon the Light would shine from the past.
And then that day Jesus said I am still your best friend.
Just open your heart to me and I will forgive you of your sin.
Now I know Jesus as my Savior and Lord.
And through the night it was only satan who roared.
If you want love, peace, understanding and the answer,
He can do the same in your life.
Just open your heart to Him today
and accept Him as your everlasting Light.

Since then Alan has written six more poems.

More Hendrix Family found in Illinois
I have been doing research on Great Grandma Laura Juiliana Hendrix family for several years. Laura J. married first Warren Alexander Melton in 1878 & then married Chester A. Catlin in 1892. Laura J. had two half brothers; John Hendrix & George Hendrix & two half sisters: Mary Emily Hendrix & Martha Hendrix & I had very little information on them. But in September a family in Illinois who is a descendant of Martha Hendrix who married George Wilson in 1868, & I started corresponding with each other & that family has sent me a lot of information on Martha’s family along with more on some of the other Hendrix families. Some of the information that I had was wrong & they have helped me correct that. Any of you that are interested in the information on Martha (Hendrix) Wilson family, please let me know & I will try to get the information to you.

Descendents of Great Grandpa Martin M. Hart’s half brother Samuel Jones Hart Located in Murphysboro, Illinois

For years I have tried to find out what happened to the two half brothers Samuel Jones Hart & Henry Jones Hart of Great Grandpa Martin M. Hart. One story was that Great Grandpa Hart went into the Union Army during the Civil War & returned home after the War & Samuel & Henry went into the Confederate Army & they were never heard from again. Early this year, records were located in White Co, IL, (Thanks to Janet (Melton) Knotter) that indicated that Samuel was living in Union Co, IL in 1883. I received information today Dec 8th that a family by the name of Montgomery living at Murphysboro, IL was descendents of Samuel Hart. Talked to this family tonight & we both believe that these are the right families & we will exchange some of our family information & let you know later as to what we come up with?

Well folks, I will close for another year & want to take this opportunity to thank each of you who has sent me information this year for the Newsletter. Keep me posted as marriages, new babies, deaths & other events take place in your families.

MERRY CHRISTMAS & A HAPPY NEW YEAR.

Love & Best Wishes, M. A. & Eloise Hart