Almost a century of Baker memories - Annie Mae Combs

The Baker County Standard, October 6, 1993

by La Viece Smallwood
Standard staff writer

Annie Mae (Rhoden) Combs his lived almost a century in Baker County. Her once-strong melodious voice that often rang out in harmonious gospel tunes is barely audible above a whisper. Her once active life is more tranquil now. Her bright eyes twinkle and a ready smile creases her face when, she talks about "the joy of her life," was her husband of 40 years. Fred Combs died in 1964, but Annie likes to remember things that remind her of him.

Annie was one of eight children born to dark-haired, blue-eyed Easter Ann Raulerson and William (Billy) Rhoden "somewhere in Baker County," on Sept. 11, 1906. Her parents, who had married in Baker County on Feb. 17, 1895, lived most of their lives in the Cuyler section of the county.

It was a loving home where Annie remembers being rocked on her daddy's lap while he told her wonderful stories, or perched at her mother's knee listening to old-fashioned Primitive Baptist gospel tunes.

When she was of age, Annie walked the three miles with her brothers and sisters to the three-room Cuyler schoolhouse. They were Ulyss, Hassie, Roy, Carl, Thelma and Myrtle Lee. It was there she finished the seventh grade before marrying Fred Combs at the age of 18.

The couple first met at a county-wide singing convention, an event quite popular at the turn of the century in Baker County.

"I liked him right away, thought he was the cutest thing I'd ever seen," she smiled. "And he left the girl he was with to come sit with me, so I knew he liked me, too."

Fred received permission from Billy Rhoden to court his pretty daughter. He was allowed to "come calling," but it was understood that "time was up" at 8 o'clock. Annie's parents, and the rest of the family, usually joined the couple on the front porch of the home while they courted.

Annie helped her parents on the farm doing all the usual farm chores. There was always something to do as the family grubbed a scant living from the poor soil. There was little or no money for many of the things taken for granted today. For instance, the family used frayed oak twigs for toothbrushes while soda or salt substituted for their toothpaste.

"If you had a toothache back then, you just pulled it out because there 'were no dentist available," she said with a shudder.

Her brother Hassie was recruited to France during World War 1. and Annie's family worried about his safe return. They knew life was fragile. A baby brother named Clyde had died.

Easter Ann made the family's clothes on a pedal machine and, said Annie, "There was no such thing as nice wool sweaters or coats to wear," adding that her mother made them warm coats from flannel material.

Her grandparents, Newt and Dora Ann (Thompson) Rhoden, lived in walking distance of her home and she visited them often. And the family shared many meals together.

The Rhoden family held many square dances in their home. Her father stood guard to make sure things went well because in those days many people drank moonshine. It was important to her father for families to enjoy being together without any problems.

Annie loved to dance. And she admits, "Before I met, Fred I was a big flirt with the boys."

She had lots of boyfriends who would visit her at home, where they listened to the radio or just talked on the front porch.

When the Rhodens' neighbors had square dances in their homes, the family would hitch up the mule and wagon and attend. But the ride home was dark, with only the twinkling stars and beaming moon offering them dim light as they rumbled along the sandy country road.

No one even thought of danger like being robbed or harmed in any way. In fact, there were no locks on their door at home because, she said, "There were no such things as intruders.

Annie remembers seeing her first car one day when she and her family were traveling do the dusty dirt road in their mule and wagon on their way to a singing convention. The car was driven by Mr. Knabb.

"He pulled up beside our ol' mule and invited my daddy and mama to take a ride with him. Some of us children got to come along too, while my oldest brother drove the mule on home. It was a great invention, that car," she said.

Church was also the family's social life. in turn-of-the-century Baker County. It was at a Sunday School box supper that Annie had prepared a delicious box dinner for a lucky bidder... Fred, she hoped, But Fred lost his bid to another boy who was anxious to impress Annie.

"They almost fought, but I still had to eat with the other boy,". said Annie. "However Fred came over to me later on and said, 'Let's get married.' And I said, 'Well, I'll have to think about it,' but it didn't take me long to say 'yes,'" she said.

The Rev. Earl Taylor married the couple Feb. 1, 1925, on the front porch of her parents' home. Annie was 18. Fred, who was born in Baker County on Sept. 17, 1904, was 20.

"My older sister had tried to tell me what to expect after I got married, but I didn't believe it," she said, shaking her head. "But I believed it later!"

Life for the couple was not easy, even though they lived with Fred's parents. It was during the Great Depression. the family ate a lot of lima beans and white bacon. Fred would often go into the woods to kill birds for their supper or catch fish in the nearby river or creek.

He worked at a sawmill for a while and Annie described their home as resembling a chicken house that was thrown together. She had her first child, Willie, on Nov. 25, 1925.

At the sawmill, or log camp as it was often referred to, she and her little son Willie rode up and down the tracks on the log train to pass time. During that time, Fred taught Annie to drive a log truck. Sometimes, she said, they'd even go into Lake City on the log train to see a movie.

When his sister-in-law, Agnes, died from complication in childbirth 11 days after her son Was born, Annie and Fred took the baby in. Fred's brother, Russell, who was the baby's father, had named his little son Fred Combs Jr. in Fred's honor. The couple called him “Bunny” and he became one of their own.

Until they could get the baby's formula regulated, he was nursed by Rosa Taylor, who had a small son named Aubrey. In later years. Bunny married Rosa's niece.

And two older siblings, Betty Lou, aged two, and Russell Jr., aged four, remained with their father after he married Corene Raulerson. The couple had nine children of their own.

It was 15 years after the birth of her first child, Willie, that Annie gave birth to her only daughter, Mary Carolyn.

Like many other men. in the county, Fred indulged in drinking, but after his marriage and birth of the children he gave it up and became a minister.

Often during his sermons he would preach about his conversion. He would tell personal stories, like the time he stole a Bible from a restaurant in Lake City. After he was converted to another way of life, he returned to the restaurant to make restitution.

During the early 1930s, the couple met in the homes of friends and neighbors to practice their Congregational. Methodist religion but, when the group began to grow, Fred, with the help of some other men built bush arbors throughout the area to house the growing attendance.

Then in 1936 Fred and some other members of the local congregations, who were seeking a deeper spiritual experience than the Methodists at the time was offering, heard about the Congregational Holiness Church.

They traveled to the church's headquarters and campgrounds in Carrolton, Ga. to attend one of the denomination's conferences and to learn more about it. They were impressed with the Holiness doctrine and movement and returned to Baker County to share their new-found knowledge with the other local church members.

Many, like Fred, were looking for a doctrine that had the laying on of hands and one that believed in receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit. And too, locally there was much discontentment over the subject of music. Some members did not believe the church should have music and some, like Fred. did.

Many of the Congregational Methodist members converted to the new movement and thus began the first Congregational Holiness Church movement in Florida.

Fred served as State Superintendent of the Florida Church, Conference for 18 years. Today there are 16 such denominations throughout Florida, two active in Baker County, one in Sanderson, and another in Manntown south of Glen St. Mary. At one time there was a church of that order in Taylor, but it has since been abolished.

In 1946, the couple bought a modest little home in Sanderson for $1,200. The family did without indoor plumbing until 1956, but Fred had installed a bathtub for the family on the back porch and they hauled water from a hand pump in the back yard to fill it when they bathed.

Many couples married on the front porch of their home and until his death not one couple he married had divorced.

Fred served as Baker County's road superintendent for 19 years. In those days, it was Fred and a three-man crew who tended to all of the county's roadways.

Fred preached wonderful sermons at the Sanderson Congregational Holiness Church and he and Annie often sang duets together.

As the children grew Annie enjoyed her role as a minister's wife and mother. She hosted many visiting revival ministers and once kept a missionary from India in their home.

She was an excellent seamstress. In addition to sewing for individuals, she was contacted annually to make the graduation dresses for the student graduates in the black elementary school in Sanderson

For a short time, she worked as a cook at the Sanderson school cafeteria. At the time, Mary Carolyn was four and the teachers let her sit in the first grade class with the other students while Annie worked. When she turned five, the first grade teacher, Eunice Dobson Burnett, was willing to have her stay in the class, but said , she would have to study the same as the other children.

When the school term ended that year, Annie gave up her cafeteria job, but her bright little daughter passed easily into second grade and eventually graduated from Baker County High School at age 16.

As the church's superintendent in Florida, Fred was often invited to participate in revivals and deliver sermons for other Congregational Holiness churches. He worked for the county from 7 a.m. until 4 p.m.

Annie would have supper prepared when he arrived home and then the couple, with Mary Carolyn, would drive as far away as Palatka to preach. Most of the time it was late into the night when they would drive back home to Sanderson. With little sleep, Fred reported for work early the next day and Mary Carolyn to school.

Sometimes the revivals would last as long as two weeks, but Fred would faithfully drive back and forth each day and night.

There were many times when he had to pay his own travel expenses. Sometimes the church would take up a "love offering" or supplement his expenses by giving him food from members' gardens. He was dedicated to his ministry regardless of the sacrifice.

Annie and Fred loved gospel music and often sang together during church services and in revivals accompanied by their daughter on the piano. Annie's favorite song is "When the Roll is Called Up Yonder, I'll Be There."

Music in the church was so important to Fred that he started his little daughter in piano by the age of six. Mary Carolyn became the first piano student of Virginia (Crews) Combs, who's grandfather, Willie Crews Sr., pastored the church at Manntown. The piano lessons cost 25 cents. Today she is one of the most accomplished, pianist in the county.

Church and family were the most important things in the couple's lives. They adhered closely to the strict church doctrine, however they allowed their children a certain amount of freedom of choice. For example, their son Bunny played, basketball, even though they didn't attend the games. Mary Carolyn was a member of the school band, but they never attended a performance.

As time went on, they reluctantly purchased a television. Annie did not cut her hair or wear makeup. It was against church doctrine. Her daughter had to comply to those rules, as well.

Annie's mother, who was of the Primitive Baptist faith, lived the last five years of her life with Annie and Fred and they saw that she regularly attended her church services until she became an invalid.

Fred and Annie never turned down a calling, regardless, how far away it was. They enjoyed the opportunities they had to share their faith and testimonies.

On one such occasion, in 1964, the couple had gone to Douglas, Ga. Annie rememberd that Fred was preaching a good sermon when suddenly he stopped speaking and went to sit down. Other ministers quickly gathered around him. In minutes an ambulance was summoned and Fred was hospitalized. It was his heart.

"I was standing outside his hospital door. I knew it was bad. Then they came and told me he was gone. He was the joy of my life and, oh yes, I look forward to being with him again someday," she said.

After Fred's death, Annie had little income. She was an excellent cook, and obtained employment with the Macclenny School Cafeteria where she worked for many year

She underwent open heart surgery at the age of 78 in 1984. In 1985, she suffered a stroke. Her once-beautiful waist length hair that was never cut because 'I kept the old ways in our religion," is now bobbed short for easier maintenance.

Her rosy complexion is almost as smooth as it was in her teens, and she tells her secret for beauty.

"I've always used Jergens, Ponds or Avon Moisture Cream, she notes proudly.

She respects the "old-timey ways" of her church and wears no makeup, except for Coty power.

She enjoys having her children stop by for visits, and they faithfully do. Bunny, who has worked for 30 years as a correction officer in Raiford, and his wife Faye (Yarborough) have five children: Charlotte Jared, Renee', Clayton and Bruce. Willie who in Folkston, served in World War II and the Korean War. He later retired as a diesel mechanic. He has a son Freddie. Willie and his wife Alice, who died during open heart surgery, had an adopted daughter Dana,. a daughter Durenda and a son James, who are all deceased. Mary Carolyn and her husband, Watson Goodwin, operate Watson's Supermarket in Sanderson. They have a son, Ricky.

All together, they have presented her with 10 grandchildren.

"Life in Baker County has been good to me and if I could leave a message to my family and friends that I'll always be remembered by after I'm gone," she said, "I'd say, 'Live a good life and raise your children right. Then, when the roll is called up Yonder, we'll all be there."

Annie Combs died in Riverside hospital on February 13, 1994 following the death on January 27 of her oldest child, Willie. She is buried in Taylor Cemetery next to her beloved husband, Fred, who preceded her in death by 30 years.

On August 19, 1994, the Florida District of Congregational Holiness Church, at their annual camp meeting held in the tabernacle in Glen St. Mary, presented Annie's children with an honorary plaque that reads:

UPON THIS ROCK I WILL BUILD MY CHURCH

In loving memory this plaque is dedicated to Sister Annie Combs for her faith and commitment to God and her church. Because of her example, the Florida Congregational Holiness District is strong and thriving today.

The plaque holds a distinctive place of honor in the new Congregational Holiness Church in Sanderson.

THE BAKER COUNTY STANDARD April 6, 1994

The 'good ol' days' bring fond ' memories for Elva Dinkins

by La Viece Smallwood
Standard social editor

Elva Combs Dinkins was born on the banks of the Middle Prong of the St. Marys River on May 5, 1908, in northern Baker County. She traveled to Macclenny with her parents in a horse and wagon before the streets were paved and remembers the special beauty of the towering shade trees that lined the lanes.

She recalls how she romped and played in the bright sunshine as a cool breeze graced her brow. And she fondly recalls home, where, in an atmosphere of love, she was indulged with kindness and devotion by God-fearing parents.

"I didn't think of it being the good times at the time," she said in the comfort of her Sixth Street home where she has lived there for the past 52 years, 34 of them as a widow. "I thought at the time we were having the worst time in the world."

Her parents', James Jackson "Boss" and Martha Dowling Combs, dealt with the times in which they lived in a remarkable way, remembers their youngest daughter.

They were the parents of 14 children, rearing the 12 who survived and one grandchild on their 300-acre farm.

"My oldest sister, Belva Elizabeth, died in childbirth three weeks before Mama gave birth to me," Elva said." And Mama raised her baby, also named Belva Elizabeth, right along with me. We were like twins. Sometimes I think we were closer than twins."

Their rambling country-home was built by Elva's grandfather, Jim Combs. Later, Elva's "Papa" added a kitchen set apart from the main house, yet connected by the large front porch that graced the front of their home. Martha Combs had a wood-burning cook stove where she prepared her family's meals, but when company came and bigger pots were required, she made a fire in the fireplace and simmered large containers of greens, beans, peas or whatever she grew in the garden along with a huge pot of chicken pileau.

"Mama went to the garden daily to get food for our table, then she'd come home prepare and cook it for us," she said.

"After dinner, I remember that Daddy would always stretch out on one of the two large church-type benches on our front porch and tell us younger girls, who he always called his dolls, to fan him," she said. "And oh, how we enjoyed doing it for him."

Martha Combs raised chickens and turkeys to sell. The money afforded shoes and clothing for her children. She would load her wagon with the fowl, drive as far as Marietta, spend the night with her sister, then with either her husband or one of her sons drive the horse and wagon all the way to Jacksonville to sell her stock.

"Mama would buy whole bolts of material. She could look at the picture of a dress in a catalog and make me and my sisters and Belva dresses that looked just like the pictures," remembered Elva. "Even our neighbors would ask mama to sew like that for them.

"We had lots of cows, and always plenty of milk to drink," she recalled. "As we grew older, Belva and I had to help with chores. I remember sweeping our yards every Saturday with the broom brush.

"And if mama washed clothes during the week, then we had, to iron them with the heavy cast irons we heated in the fireplace on Saturdays as well. If Mama didn't get to wash during the week, then we had to help with that too."

When her mother washed clothes it was done in handcrafted logs called troughs. One was used for washing, one rinsing. The sugar boiler was used for boiling the dirt out of the clothes, she said. And the sugar boiler was used for Saturday night baths.

"We'd build a small fire beneath it, just enough to warm the water, and on Saturdays we all got a good bath," she remembered.

Her parents were Primitive Baptist and in those days attended the monthly meetings with eagerness.

"Mama and Daddy would bring home up to 25 people sometimes to eat and spend the night because they'd come a long way, usually by horse, and wagon," she said. "The all-day meetings often lasted into the night.

"Mama would fix beds on the floor for the children. Our house would be full of people."

It was at one of those Primitive Baptist meetings that Elva met handsome Dunk Dinkins, 10 years her senior. She was sitting in the car with a good friend, Nora Mae Dowling, when he walked up. He was, she remembered, a neat dresser and very nice. They courted for two years, then on July 2, 1925, the couple married at the home of her parents, who had moved north of Glen to a much smaller farm by this time.

Belonia Robert Dinkins III was nicknamed Dunk. He was working in Miami during the land boom when he married 17-year-old Elva. He was 27, had his own car, and had learned to-do a variety of things to make a good living.

After two years the couple moved back home to Baker County. For awhile Dunk farmed, then dipped cattle, before moving to Macclenny in 1932 and running a filling station. Some of their young friends in the community were Myrtie and Verge Walker, Edna and Hardy Harris and Ira and Eva Walker.

"There wasn't much to do during those days but go to church, and most of us, especially us ladies, were church-goers," she said.

Elva was kept busy tending to the couple's four children, Verna, Lois Lorraine, Robert and Linda. They were actively involved in school and community activities.

Dunk acquired the Ford Dealership which he operated for 25 years, until his death from a heart attack in 1959 at the age of 61.

Elva, with an eighth grade education, was fortunate to obtain work at Northeast Florida State Hospital, where she was employed for 10 years.

At the age of 61 she returned to school to acquire a GED degree, the equivalent of a high school diploma. Inspired at what she was learning, she continued her education by enrolling in Lake City Community College.

"I might have finished the whole four years, but at the time I would have had to drive to Gainesville," she said, explaining that was before Jacksonville instituted a four-year college.

Today, only Elva and one, sister, Lois, are the surviving siblings of Boss and Martha Combs. Gone are Belva Elizabeth, Mattie, Ethel, Sarah, Eddie, Joel, Virgil, Ernest, Forrest and Glen. Roy died as an infant, as did another little son.

Her niece, Belva Elizabeth, lives in Miami Springs. She is 85 years old, the same as Elva.

They often talk on the phone for an hour, reminiscing about the good old days.

"We talked just last week," said Elva. "We like to relive the memories we share, like the one we especially remember that happened on a bright sun shining morning when a fresh wind swept across our faces as we ran down the lane that ran in front of Mama and Daddy's house.

"We could see Papa across the fields plowing, and Lois and Virgil pulling weeds in the corn and peanuts.

"Me and Belva were little," she said, "but we decided to help, so we, climbed the ' fence and jumped over in the field where we saw these tall weeds growing right in the same rows that Virgil and Lois were weeding. Belva took one row and me another and we pulled up a third of two rows before we hollered at Papa to look at us helping to pull weeds.

"We saw papa stop.... and look.... And then he started running toward us. We could see he was mad. We didn't know what for, though, so we started running. I made it over the fence before Papa caught up with us, but he caught Belva and swatted her.

"I was running as fast as my long legs would take me, thinking 'I've just got to find Mama. She won't let him whip me." she recalled.

"I saw Mama standing on a fence rail throwing some swill to the hogs, but Papa caught me before I reached her. He tapped me. I think it was the first time he ever had, and it hurt my feelings lots more than it hurt me.

"We had pulled up his corn, thinking it was weeds," she laughed.

She loves to remember those days, times when her parents were strict, but also loving and kind.

'We did what they wanted us to do, not what we wanted to do," she said. "And that was good for us, we found out later in life."

What does she enjoy most? Well, of course, her children and grandchildren, although none of them live in Baker County. Her walls are filled with their pictures, though.

Across the street from her home is where her heart dwells. It's the Church of God, where she has held membership for 67 years.

"I joined the church when I got saved, and that's the best feeling in the world. I'll never forget the peace I felt," she said with conviction.

And neither are those, feelings of yesteryear something she'll likely be able to forget, she said, as she reflects back on the family she remembers growing up with and the home they each filled with their love.