He was only 19 years old in the 1940s but surprisingly enough, he had already become a man in many ways but without the generally expected adult support most boys knew at such an age. He grew up on a farm in a broken family meaning he was essentially on his own even in his early teen years.
There was no loving family to offer him support as he grew up for example he had to drop out of school to help ‘put food on the table’ before he even reached his teen years. To put it simply, he never experienced the love that should have been his birthright. Actually he was not completely looked on as a day laborer for farm duties because his mother cared for him, but then there was his stepfather who proved to be exceedingly demanding and generally indifferent to his normal boyhood needs. Unfortunately he was forced to skip being a boy and suddenly instead became an instant adult with all its responsibilities. Because of his conflict with his stepfather, he elected to escape this unfulfilled life and left home to live with a relative.
He was young, strong and a quick learner with natural abilities and out of necessity joined his relative as a house painter. Unlike some, he was never afraid of high places and soon became an indispensable worker. But then he faced a personal emergency.
He had no immediate family support to which to turn, but he desperately needed to see a doctor since he began to have pain in his side which demanded immediate medical attention.
He had little money, of course no insurance back then and no hospital available except in nearby Florence, a nearly impossible trip for this 19 year old. And his only transportation was to ride his bicycle for the doctor visit which made the pain even more excruciating.
Fortunately the doctor saw him at his home, not unusual at the time, but for whatever reason, offered him little help except to suggest that he take some paregoric and see him the next day. But he was hurting badly so he saw another doctor who correctly diagnosed his problem as appendicitis and urged him to go immediately to the hospital in Florence. But he had no way to get there and no family support. He had one last source of help, the man for whom he worked who was not exactly a friend, and he hated to ask him for help, but he had no choice.
Seeing that his employee was desperately ill, he took him to the hospital in Florence and the surgery was performed successfully just in time.
In retrospect, he wonders how close to death he came. What if he had taken the paregoric as first suggested. A temporary relief perhaps but it would have compounded the problem to the point of being deadly. And what if his boss man had not been at home or had refused his request. Then what?
As a God fearing man, he says he knows the answer. There was someone watching over him then and indeed continues His watch even today after 88 years. Relatives of his “boss man” are still in business in Dillon today.
‘What a Friend we have…’
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Bill Lee, PO Box 128,
Hamer, SC 29547
