OHAPTER 2 - 1941:
The War raged on in Europe and Asia. Our men and boys were being
drafted or joined the Armed Forces. Our lives were changing but
the worst was yet to come.
William Frederick (Fred) Adams, son of William Edward and Annie
Belle Presnell Adams, entered the U. S. Navy and was sent to Nor­
folk, Virginia for boot training.
James Strosby Squires, husband of Reva Clara Johnson Squires,
entered the Navy at Mobile, Ala. Strosby and Reva, former resi­
dents of Myrtlewood, had left our town to work in Mobile.
Alvin Tyson Lewis, Sr. became the sole owner of the General Mercan­
tile store at the foot of Depot Hill. He had clerked in this store
since his discharge from the Army in December 1918, became a partner
and now sole owner. Coyt Herbert Jordan, Sr. was clerking in this
store at this time.
Two species of FIRE ANTS had been brought into Mobile on banana
boats from their native South America, and had begun to spread
Northward. The warm, wet~w.eather of the South was ideal" for these
insects. They had not made their way into our area at this time
but people from the Mobile area spoke of the new insects, of their
bite and damage. We were to find out for ourselves in time~
The Ministers for this year were: Carl P. Daw, Baptist; W. B.
Atkinson, Methodist; and Arthur T. Elsberry, Presbyterian.
Wed. Jan. 1:
New Year's Day.
March: William Clark Etheridge, Sr. of the Rembert Hills area
bought the Daniel John Meador home and property and other property
in our area. I have been told that Dr. Walter Earl Allen, who
was or had been the Mill Doctorc)for the Henderson Baker Lumber
Co., had bought the Meador home first but let it go because it
was too much to keep up. This lovely old home, built by Senator
Meador ca 1908 was Myrtlewood's only "mansion".
April:
Germany, Hungary and Bulgaria invaded Yugoslavia.
Sat. May 3: Evelyn Everette Carter, daughter of Wickham Reginald
(Pete) Carter and the late Mamie Loftin Carter, married Joseph
Henry Brady in Birmingham, Alabama, wnere they made their home.
Evelyn, a native of Myrtlewood, had left our town years before
to attend Huntingdon College in Montgomery, and then to Birming­
ham to work.
May:
The 1940-41 school term ended at Myrtlewood.
Thurs. May 1: Ike Newton Allinder, Jr., 1st child of Ike Newton
St. and Norrie Gray Adams Allinder, was born at Verbena, Alabama.
Paternal grandson of Isaac William and Victoria Locke Miller
Allinder of Bessemer, Alabama and William Edward and Annie Belle
Presnell Adams of Myrtlewood, Alabama.
5
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Thurs. May 29: Zennith Rogers Blount Carter, age 53, died at East
Point, Georgia and was buried there. She was survived by her husband
William Julian (Jule) Carter, Sr; two daughters, Mrs. James Samuel
(Mary Ellen Carter) Stewart, and Dorothy Carter; and three sons, Nor­
wood Clarence Carter, William Julian Carter, Jr. and McNeil Blount
(Mac) Carter. Zennith Rogers Blount was born 20 January 1888, the
daughter of Cornelius W. and Sally Norwood Blount and Came to our
town at an early age with her parents who ran the first hotel in our
town. She married William Julian (Jule) Carter, son of Frank Clarence
and Anna Vestal Regers Carter of Myrtlewood, 22 July t909 and they
made their home in Myrtlewood. Jule Carter was a native of our town.
This family left Myrtlewood in 1931 for East Point, Ga.
Sat. June 14: There were more radios in our town now and rtThe Hit
Paradertwas a favorite Saturday night show. rtHut Sut Ralson rt was
Number One on this week's Hit Parade.
Sun. June 22:
Germany launched its invasion of Russia.
Our co~ntry was being drawn closer and closer to the war. Congress
voted Lend-Lease Aid to England and the United States occupied bases
in Iceland and Greenland to protect its Atlantic shipping.
In Asia, Japanese aggression In Indo-China and Thailand led to
growing tension.
It is thought that by August of this year, Edward Coleman (E.C.) and
Annie Lou Ray Williams and their son Edward Coleman (Pop) Williams, Jr.
left Myrtlewood for Sandersville, Georgia. This family had been
living with Mrs. Edwin Charles (Annie Terrell Carter) Poellnitz,
in the Edwin Leonidas (Lonnie) Carter home.
About this time, Carl P. Daw, Baptist Minister, and his wife Sarah
Ruth left to attend the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary at
Louisville, Kentucky. The Myrtlewood Church was left without a
Minister.
At no time in the history of our town had a minister of any of the
3 Denominations lived in Myrtlewood. They always journied to our
town on the weekends for Sunday services and other functions.
September: The 1941-42 school term began at Myrtlewood, 1st through
9th grades. Raymond J. McDonald continued as Principal-Teacher and
the other teachers were Mary Margaret Sayers, Sibyl Shields, Virginia
McMillan, Millie Rene Tubbs and Alice Ulmer (her 1st year, replacing
Nell Walker).
According to Margaret Sayers Carter, for the first time, this year,
drinking water was piped into the school building. Later, restrooms
were installed in the last classroom at the end of the South-West
wing of the school building. In my school days at Myrtlewood we
drank our water from oak kegs and paper cups fashioned from lined
writing paper, and who can forget the downhill trek to the outdoor
rest rooms and the unforgetable stench.
'
The women teachers continued to board with George W. and Sally Keener
in the Rabb Etheridge house (presently owned by H. D. Lyles) next
7
1941 - Continued:
door to the schoolhouse. Raymond J. McDonald and his wife lived in
the William Julian Carter house (the present Ashby Woolf house).
Mrs. Henry Stratford (Ada Gray Carter) Thomas, who lived in Myrtle­
wood, began her 4th year of teaching at Half Acre, Alabama.
Thurs. Sept. 25: James Wayland Young, 1st child of Willie Greer
and Elma Irene Etheridge Young, was born in Vaughan Memorial Hosp­
pital in Selma, Alabama. His parents were living in the Watson
house in Myrtlewood which stood on the site of the present S. G.
Nelson house.
About this time, Thomas Benjamin Jr. and Annie Pearl Carter McCoy
moved to Myrtlewood from Marion Junction, Alabama. They had bought
the Elais David (Grandaddy) Adams house and proceeded to tear down
part of the ho~se and rebuild. During this process they stayed with
her Mother, Mrs. Jefferson Davis (Lenora McDuffie) Carter. Annie
Pearl Carter was a native of Myrtlewood, born 12 December 1894, the
daughter of Jefferson Davis (Dixie) and Lenora (Nora) McDuffie Carter.
After growing up and finishing school in Myrtlewood she left our
town in 1918 to work in Montgomery, Alabama and was married there
4 January 1919. Thomas Benjamin (Ben) McCoy, Jr. was the son of
Thomas Benjamin Sr. and Frances Odessa Gholson McCoy of Linden,
born 18 June 1885.
~-
October: Willie Greer and Elma Irene Etheridge Young, and their
infant son, James Wayland Young, left Myrtlewood. Their house was
retned out in their absence. Willie Greer and Irene had come to
live in this house in November 1936 just two weeks after their
marriage. The house was originally built by the Meador-Poellnitz
family for L. E. Masters and in later years was owned by Jewell S.
Watson. Willie Greer's father, Marion Greer Young, had bought the
house from Jewell Watson.
Willie Greer Young had been operating the store which stood atop
Bouler Hill (on the site of the present Mrs. Cody Carson Guinn
house). It had been built and owned by Edwin Augustus Meador but
had been leased by William Davis (Willie) Carter and Harvey May
Barr, Sr., and Willie Greer operated it for them. After the Youngs
left Myrtlewood, the brother-in-law and sister of W. D. Carter,
Thomas Benjamin and Annie Pearl Carter McCoy, operated the store.
Sat. Dec. 6: Annie Mae Adams, daughter of Harriette Annie Dickson
Adams and the late Strother Gregg Adams, married Murphy A. Vice
son of James Wiley and Emma Stephens Vice of Linden, Alabama. They
were married at Linden and made their home at Lamison, Alabama.
Annie Mae had come to Myrtlewood in December 1920, age 6, with her
parents. Murphy A•. Vice never lived in Myrtlewood.
Sat. Dec. 6: On this date, President Roosevelt made a personal
appeal for PEACE to Emperor Hirohito of Japan. Japanese diplomats
were in our Nationals capitol at this time.
1941 - Continued:
A DAY OF INFAMY:
SUNDAY DECEMBER
141: At 7:50 a.m. Hawaiian Time (ca 1 :10 p.m.
Myrtlewood time , in a sneak attack, THE JAPANESE'·:,BOMBED PEARL HARBOR.
If space permitted, an entire volume could easily be devotea
war years to follow, and most certainly an entire chapter to
"day of infamy." I am in hopes of being able to later write
people and our town on this day. I was living with my Bragg
parents in Birmingham at this time, and on this Sunday I was
across my bed reading a book with the radio on when the news
through. I shall never forget that day!
to tne
this
of our
grand­
lying
came
On this Sunday morning, the sun rose over the Hawaiian Island. of Oahu
at 6:30 a.m. Hawaiian time (11 a.m. Myrtlewood time). It was a
beautiful morning and all was peacful and quiet. Berthed at Pearl
Harbor were 94 co~bat and auxiliary ships of the U. S. Pacific Fleet
which included 8 battleships, 29 destroyers and 5 submarines. Three
of these ships were The Arizona, The Oklahoma and The Schley (DD 103).
Three men of the Myrtlewood-Camp Ground area were on these ships.
Norman Bragg Woolf was on board the Arizona. Walter Henry Sollie
was on board the Oklahoma and his younger brother Fred ~verette
Sollie was on board the Schley. Norman Bragg Woolf was the son of
Mary Lois poellnitz Woolf and the late Thomas Bragg Woolf of the
Camp Ground area. The Sollie brothers were the sons of Florence
Valentine (Fonie) McCrary Sollie and were natives of the Myrtlewood­
Camp Ground area.
On land at Oahu, 192 usable combat planes were tied down at Wheeler,
Hickam and Eua Fields. Most men were ashore on weekend passes.
It is known that the watch had just changed on board the Oklahoma
and the Schley. Fred Sollie had just come up on deck aboard the
Schley after standing watch and Henry Sollie had just finished his
watch and was below deck haVing coffee.
SUddenly, without warning, at 7:50 a.m. Hawaiian Time (1 :10 p.m.
Myrtlewood time) THE JAPANESE ATTACKED PEARL HARBOR and the air
fields. Almost simultaneously, Japan bombed the islands of Guam,
Wake and the Philippines, and British naval installations at Sing­
apore and Hong Kong.
The first attack on Pearl Harbor and the air fields came at 7:50
a.m. Hawaiian time, for about 30 minutes, then the Japanese re­
grouped and struck again. The Chief of Naval Operations in Wash­
ington received an urgent message from Pearl Harbor: ttJapanese
Attacking Pearl Harbor - This Is No Drill." It was allover by
9:45 a.m. (ca 2:15 p.m. Myrtlewood time). Pearl Harbor was a
shambles. The American public got its first news of the disaster
ca 1 :35 p.m. Myrtlewood time while the attack was still going on.
Of the 8 battleships at Pearl Harbor, 4 were sunk or capsized ­
the Arizona and Oklahoma were among the four. The other naval
damage was tremendous. On the ground, 188 planes were destroyed
and most hangars and repair facilities demolished. The dead
numbered 2,403 and the wounded 1,178.
q
Myrtlewood
December
1941
At 7:50 a.m., Japanese warplanes--launched from aircraftt carrieers
200 miles off the Hawaiian island of Oahu--executed one of the most
successful and infamous surprise ataacks in military history. In
less than two hours, they sank or crippled 19 ships of the U. S.
Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor, including eight battleships, three
cruisers, three destroyers and several auxiliary vessels. They
killed 2403 Amer1can servicemen and civilians and wounded approximately
1200 others ••••• Fortunately for us, Vice Adm. Chuichi Nagumo, the
officer in charge of that Japanese task force, ignored the advice of
several of his subordinates and dec1ded that one hit-and-run attack on
the island of Oahu was sufficient. Nagumo judged that there was no need
to send some of his warplances back for a second major strike against
the Americans--to bomb the fuel tanks, destory the dockyards and pul­
verize the mil iratry installations around Honololu. Nor did Nagumo see
much pont in ordering his fighters, dive-bombers and tropedo planes to
seek out and sink the U.S. aircrae carriers LEXINGTON and ENTERPRISE, which
were both in the area.
For the Japanes, this comprised one of the most
fateful and erroneous strate~ic de~tsions of the entire war. U. S. Fleet
Adm. Chester W. Nimitz later stated: " The fact that the Japanese did
not rpturn to Pearl Harbor and complete the job was the greatest help
to us, for they left their principal enemy with the time to catch his
breath, restore his morale and. rebuild his forces." .••• PARADE Magazine
Special INTELLIGENCE REPORT, Sunday, 7 December 1986. by Lloyd Shearer.
(The ALABAMA JOURNAL AND ADVERTISER, Montgomery, Alabama 7 Dec. 1986)
10
~
- Continued:
It was reported that the Japanese did not realize just how devistating
the damage they had inflicted was or they could have taken the Hawiian
Islands.
Our Nation and our Allies were in a state of shock. How could it
have happened? Fear struck the hearts of the mothers, the relatives
and friends of the Sollie brothers and Norman Woolf for their fate
was not known for some time.
Mon. Dec. 8: The United states and Great Britian officially declared
war on Japan. Russia did not.
A few minutes before 11 :30 Myrtlewood time on this 8th day of December
president Roosevelt entered the House chamber to address a joint
session of Congress and the Nation. He read:
"Yesterday, December 7, 1941--a date which will live in infamy--the
United States of America was sUddenly and deliberately attacked by
naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.
The United States was
at peace with that nation, and, at the solicitation of Japan, was
still in conversation with its government and its Emperor looking
toward the maintenance of peace in the Pacific •••• The attack yester­
day on the Hawaiian Island has caused severe damage to American naval
and military forces. Very many American lives have been lost. In
addition, American ships have been reported torpedoed on the high
seas between San Francisco and Honolulu.
Yesterday the Japanese
government also launched an attack against Malaya. Last night
Japanese forces attacked Hong Kong. Last night Japanese forces
attacked Guam. Last night Japanese forces attacked the Philippine
Islands. Last night the Japanese attacked Wake Island. This morning
the Japanese attacked Midway Island.
Japan has, therefore, under­
taken a surprise o~fensive extending throughout the Pacific area.
The facts of yesterday apeak for themselves. The people of the
United States have already formed their opinions and well under­
stand tne implications to the very safety and life of their nation
..• I believe I interpret the will of the Congress and the people
When I assert that we will not only defend ourselves to the utter­
most, but will make very certain that this form of treachery shall
never endanger us again.
Hostilities exist. There is no blinking
at the fact that our people, our territory, and our interests are
in grave danger.
With confidence in our armed forces--with the
unbounded determination of our people--we will gain the inevitable
triumph--so help us God.
I ask that the Congress declare that
since the unprovoked and dastardly attack by Japan on Sunday,
December 7, a state of war has existed between the United States
and the Japanese Empire."
Within an hour, and with no debate, Congress approved the declaration
of war against Japan. One person dissented. By 3:10 p.m. Myrtlewood
time, this afternoon, President Roosevelt signed the declaration of
war~
Thurs. Dec. 11: Germany, Italy and their Allies (except Finland)
declared war on the United States. The United States returned
the declaration. We were at war on both sides of our Continentl
II
1941 - Continued:
Sat. Dec. 20: Mary Grace (Mamie) McCrary Coats, age 64, died at
her home in Myrtlewood this evening. She was survived by her husband,
Julius Sidney (Jule) Coats; three daughters, Mrs. Samuel Perrin (Mary
Lee Coats-Bragg) Lindsey of Belleville, Alabama, Mrs. Howard D. (Mar­
garet Valentine Coats) Small of Selma, Alabama, and Mrs. Otis (Dora
Pearl Coats) Lamb of New Orleans, Louisiana; 3 grandsons, Luther
Franklin Bragg, Jr. of Birmingham, Alabama, Julius LaVerne Bragg
of Belleville, Alabama, and Howard Donald Small of Selma, Alabama;
2 sisters, Mrs. Corder Henry (Maggie Lee McCrary) Brown of Myrtle­
wood, and Mrs. Fred Ernest (Florence Valentine McCrary) Sollie of
~~
~__ • 2 neices, Mrs. Henry Echols (Mary Louise Brown) Rentz
of Camp Ground, Alabama and Mrs. Norman Webb (Mary Ethel McCrary)
Graham of Selm, ',Alabama; and 5 nephews, Robert Lee Coleman Brown
of Myrtlewood, Henry Kenneth Coats Brown with the U. S. Army at
=-~
=-__~, Walter Henry Sollie with the U. S. Navy at Pearl
Harbor, Hawaii, Fred Everett Sollie with the U. S. Navy at Pearl
Harbor, and Harris Tate Sollie with the U. S. Army at
------_.
Mary Grace (Mamie) McCrary was born 13 January 1877 near Havanna,
Hale County, Alabama and came to Myrtlewood in 1880 with her parents
Budd and Margaret Ann Reid McCrary, her brothers Alonzo Frederick
(Fred) McCrary, Walter Molden McCrary and Thomas Robert (Bob) Mc­
Crary, and one sister, Florence Valentine (Fonnie) McCrary. Her
youngest sister, Maggie Lee McCrary, was born at Myrtlewood in 1881.
The McCrarys lived first on the DuBose place on the Tombigbee River
at Myrtlewood, then in a house atop Depot Hill, and lastly, a home
built on the site of the present William Malone Yelverton house.
Mary Grace (also called Mamie) attended school in Myrtlewood. She
was married on 7 October 1900 at home in Myrtlewood to Julius Sidney
(Jule) Coats, son of Tranquilla R. Thomas-Cook Coats and the late
Charles Sidney Coats. Mamie and Jule Coats made their home with
his mother and sister, Emma Frances Coats, and his Aunt, Mrs. Mary
Emma Thomas-Cook Crane, at Beckley's Landing on the Tombigbee. After
the birth of their first child, Mary Lee 1 March 1903, they moved
into Myrtlewood to the home they had bought in 1900. (This is the
house lived in today by Mrs. C. S. (Mary Lee Coats-Bragg-Lindsey)
Ward) •
Mary Grace was a dedicated practical nurse who administered willingly
to white and black whenever needed. She was a Charter Member of the
Myrtlewood Baptist Ch~rch and for her lifetime was a tireless worker
in tnis Church as a Sunday School Teacher (The Beginners), WMU, YWA,
GA and Sunbeams and a host of other church committees and activities.
On the morning of her death she had gone out back to feed the chick­
ens and suffered a stroke, falling and breaking her wrist. She was
found there by Mag Witherspoon and never did regain consciousness.
Her daily bible reading for that morning was Revelations, Chapter
21, Verse 1-4. She was not in good health but the family has felt
that her worry and concern over the war, her nephews at Pearl Harbor,
and the fate of her grandsons and other nephews helped to bring on
the stroke. She was a beloved human being and to this day is spoken
lovingly of by many who knew her and her goodness.
19~1 - Continued:
Sun. Dec. 1: On this morning, Mrs. Fred Ernest (Florence Valentine
McCrary) Sollie, received a dreaded telegram from the War Department
confirming her fears that her son, Walter Henry Sollie, was killed
aboard the U.S.S. Oklahoma at Pearl Harbor on the morning of 7 Dec.
1941. Her son Fred Everett Sollie was spared but it is not known
at this time when this joyful news was received. Florence (Fonie)
Sollie had come to Myrtlewood prior to Pearl Harbor to visit with
her sisters Mary Grace and Maggie Lee. It was later learned that
Fred Sollie was on deck when the attack began on Pearl Harbor and
saw his brother's ship, The Oklahoma, hit.
At this time it is not known when the Woolf family received confir­
mation of Norman Bragg Woolf 's death.
Walter Henry Sollie, the first child of Fred Ernest and Florence
Valentine McCrary Sollie, was born 23 November 1904 near Myrtle­
wood. In later years the family moved to Atmore, Alabama. Henry
entered the Navy in the 1930s to make it a career.
On this afternoon of this sad Sunday, December 21st, funeral ser­
vices were held at the Myrtlewood Baptist Church for Mary Grace
McCrary Coats. The Rev.
of
conducted
the services for Myrtlewood has no Baptist minister at this time.
Mrs. Henry Earl (Nora Carter) Williams sang. It was a cloudy
December day, but as the service drew to a close the sun suddenly
broke through and shone through the amber glass windows of the
church bathing the casket in golden light. It was an awesome sight
still recalled by many today. Mary Grace was buried in the Myrtle­
wood cemetery beside her infant daughter Julia Frances Coats, and
her son-in-law Luther Franklin (Luke) Bragg, Sr.
Thurs. Dec. 25:
Christmas Day - but there was no Peace on Earth.
The year ended in chaos, fear and heartbreak. The wheels of
defense were beginning to grind away at a frantic pace. Censorship
was imposed and Civil Defense sprag into frantic action. There
was a speedup of the draft and enlistments and the draft age was
lowered. Families and homes were disrupted. Rumors flew thick
and fast. The radio was a constant companion and newspapers read
avidly. Only those who attended the movies could see the action
through news captured by the Motion Picture Cameras. Blackout
regulations became mandatory .•• the lights had gone out allover
the world~
The U.S.O. (United Service Organization) had been organized in this
year to supply social, recreational, welfare and spiritual facilities
for the Armed Services.
13