When Eva married Arch Connors, she asked him, “Zack, do you still hold that grudge?” “No,” he said, “I forgive you,” and they both laughed.

On another occasion, the Rufus Haddock kids were out digging sweet potatoes when Zack announced, “I’ll give you permission all afternoon to see if you can hit me with one of these potatoes.” Saying that, he stuck his head down between his legs. He hadn’t reckoned on brother Harley, probably not meant to be part of the bargain, who picked up a potato and as Grandma related—when she could stop laughing—“chunked it as hard as he could” at the too tempting target of Zack’s grinning face between his legs.

Grandma would finally control herself and say, “Harley just threw it that way and it went right there and hit him on the nose…” [Always much laughter from us kids.] “Took a whack out of it.” [Much more laughter from the kids…and the grownups present.]

“Mashed it all up.” [Screams of laughter by this time.]

As for poor Zack, he hollered, “Who hit that nose?” as his brother and sisters doubled up in laughter. “We never did let that joke die,” Grandma said. And, she was right, here we are sharing that family story once more about a century after it happened.