Don't know if this is the right thread or not but it seems like the right place. My father spent WWII working in a defense plant near Detroit in a small village known as Ypsitucky. It was founded by southern migrants that came to find work after the Depression and survives today. On any given pay day in the bars you could buy a shotgun, a jar of clear liquid, a coon dog or a two dollar pistol.
After the war my father moved back to the country but maintained close contact with the coon hunting crowd. One of the guys, Old Chris had died and had no heirs. Several of the guys went up to help Mrs. Chris pack for the move back south and when they were done all sat in the kitchen. Mrs Chris came in and said, "Chris wanted you boys to have his guns since we got no one. He left a note. Give Pat (my Dad) half my guns since we worked together all through the war. Give Bill a third cause I knowed him since before the war and he made it back alive. Give Petey (the kid from next door) a ninth for taking care of things while I been sick." She brought the guns out then and put'em on the the table. Seventeen guns. Well, there wasn't a high school diploma in the room but those old boys could do math in their heads like a kid with a calculator and they see there's a problem. Could'nt be done. So they looked at it and thought about it until a guy they called the Preacher (made it through the island campaign with Bill without a scratch and apparently made God a promise which he kept) says, " They ain't nuthin' for it but fer me to give you guys a gun." Well, they didn't want to take his gun to settle Chris's estate but he insisted and came back with an old Iver Johnson single which he added to the pot. Then they divided up. Pat got nine which was half. Bill got six which was a third. Petey got two which was a nineth. Seventeen guns. There lay the old Iver Johnson on the table. Preacher says, "I guess I can keep mine then." and took it back. Bill sat in silence for a minute staring at the old single and says, " Wharinahell did that extra gun come from." I don't know if they ever figured it out.
After the war my father moved back to the country but maintained close contact with the coon hunting crowd. One of the guys, Old Chris had died and had no heirs. Several of the guys went up to help Mrs. Chris pack for the move back south and when they were done all sat in the kitchen. Mrs Chris came in and said, "Chris wanted you boys to have his guns since we got no one. He left a note. Give Pat (my Dad) half my guns since we worked together all through the war. Give Bill a third cause I knowed him since before the war and he made it back alive. Give Petey (the kid from next door) a ninth for taking care of things while I been sick." She brought the guns out then and put'em on the the table. Seventeen guns. Well, there wasn't a high school diploma in the room but those old boys could do math in their heads like a kid with a calculator and they see there's a problem. Could'nt be done. So they looked at it and thought about it until a guy they called the Preacher (made it through the island campaign with Bill without a scratch and apparently made God a promise which he kept) says, " They ain't nuthin' for it but fer me to give you guys a gun." Well, they didn't want to take his gun to settle Chris's estate but he insisted and came back with an old Iver Johnson single which he added to the pot. Then they divided up. Pat got nine which was half. Bill got six which was a third. Petey got two which was a nineth. Seventeen guns. There lay the old Iver Johnson on the table. Preacher says, "I guess I can keep mine then." and took it back. Bill sat in silence for a minute staring at the old single and says, " Wharinahell did that extra gun come from." I don't know if they ever figured it out.
