A bright sun was shining in Broughton

The weather was hot and dry

it was Saturday morning and the farmers came in

To sell there produce and buy.

Their eggs were candled and put in case,

The cream was tested and weighed,

The housewives were paid in credit or cash

And went to the store to trade.

The farmers gathered in the shade of a store,

Near the hitch rail where their horses were tied.

They talked of their cattle, their hay crops and corn,

And horses they were breaking to ride.

Across the street near Ed Barker's store,

Washer pitching was in full swing.

And not far away by the town barber shop

The kids had a marble ring.

The clang of a hammer rang out now and then,

A blacksmith was plying his trade.

A mule was tethered by a big open door---

The shoes were being fitted and made.

The clerks were busy in the big Allen's Store,

Things were packaged and sacked by hand.

The big fork hung by the pickled meat barrel,

A lard paddle in a fifty pound stand.

The big store smelled of sweet pickle brine,

And coffee beans ground by hand.

You could smell the box of P & G soap

And new harness freshly tanned.

Some men were looking at the new overalls,

Osh-Kosh seemed the favorite then.

The ladies browsed through new bolts of print,

That came in on the old L&N.

As the evening wore on the farmers left town

The hitch rails were empty and quiet.

The washers lay idle, the stores were all closed,

And Broughton settled in for the night.

John (Ox) Gwaltney

Ed Barker's Store can be seen on the left and C.W. Allen's Store on the right.