This is a story told to me on June 10, 2007 by Herman Allensworth. He reminisces about when he gave Edna Mae Gray a baby Billy goat that he raised in the bottoms of New Canton, IL.

A guy by the name of Jim Timple. Jim, he lived down there in the bottoms, down right where my daughter does now. He was walkin up the road, course we lived on the other side of the creek over there, had them Billy goats, I had goats, had a couple milk goats. Anyway, they had little ones and Edna Mae wanted one, so I give her one. Little bitty things, she took it home with her. Little thing got in that toilet hole and drowned. Ole Jim went up there and Sally’s out there bawling around and Jim says “What’s the matter Leona?” Sally said, “Edna Mae’s goat got in the toilet hole and drowned.” Well, he drug it out ya know. He went on up the road, by where Blackorby’s lived. Well, Jim was always tellin stories. He’d tell ya the damnest story you ever heard and half of it wasn’t so. Mrs. Blackorby said, “ Jim, morning Jim”. “Morning Mrs. Blackorby”…he never stopped. She said “Stop and tell us one.” He said, “ I haven’t got the time, I gotta get home and tell the wife that damn Gray kid fell in the toilet hole and drowned.” Just like that see! My god, Sally said here came that old man and woman hoppin down there just as hard as they could, course ya didn’t have any transportation. “Oh Sally, I’m so sorry” Mrs. Blackorby said. Sally said she couldn’t understand why.

He used to tell Edna Mae and I “Now I’m gonna tell you kids, you ought to be good. My daughter, she doesn’t do anything wrong, and if you’re good, when she comes home, I’ll tell Shirley come and see ya” Sally’d say, “ You can’t believe that.” Well, he made us believe it. We were just little kids. That’s the way ole Jim Timple was.