Sweet on Dewlene

Fiddlin’ Clyde Harper had just finished telling me about how, in the 1940’s, they used the sugar cane grown on my property to make molasses.

He told the story in the same charming, matter-of-fact way he always does. In a teasing tone, I asked him, “What makes you laugh Clyde?”

“Dewlene Wilkins made me laugh once. I was kinda sweet on Dewlene so I had stopped by to help her with her chores. We was out in her yard choppin’ firewood when a revenuer stopped to talk.”

“Where’s your pappy Dewlene?” the revenuer asked.
And blamed if Dewlene didn’t say he was out at his shine still getting’ ready to make a run. She went on to say it was the best lot of mash her pappy had gotten together in two years.

“I’ll give you a quarter if you take to where your pappy is,” said the revenuer, “I’ve got some business to do with him.”
“No, that ain’t near enough to stop doin’ my chores and take you all the way out there”, she said.

“How about a dollar”, the revenuer offered, “Would that do it?”
Dewlene though a bit on it and finally said that would be fair, and if the man gave her a dollar she would take him to her pappy.

“No,” said the revenuer, "take me to your pappy and I’ll give you the dollar when we get back."

Dewlene Wilkins called the whole deal off right then, sayin’, “Hell mister, you ain’t comin’ back.”