Fun story about Papa Ike Manning...

“Fire on the House”

My grandfather, Isaac Thomas Manning, otherwise known as Papa, told me this story several years ago. Papa is an awesome storyteller and I’m so glad that he has shared so many of his stories with me and our family. This story happened in East Tx in a small community called Millville in the 1930’s when my Pap’a was only 14 years old and his brother, Carnes Baldwin Manning was 15 years old. They lived out in the country with their parents and their younger sister, Adelaide. Their mother worked in town at the Model Department Store and often left the boys to fend for themselves during the hot summer days. But on this particular day, their Mom was home out in the yard gardening with Adelaide; Ike and Carnes were playing outside trying to make hairpins out of some old baling wire they had found. They were very inventive even at this young age. They stopped their playing to listen to yelling coming from nearby. A small boy came running up their road to their little house as fast as he could and barely got the words out of his mouth – “Fire on the House”. Ike said “What did you say?” He then told the little boy to go get Charlie who lived down the road. Charlie was a 19 year old young man who had taken over his Daddy’s farm when he died and was helping raise his brothers and sisters. Ike and Carnes looked at him like he was a grown man. Ike and Carnes, Adelaide and their mom took off on foot to run the two miles up the road to the neighbor’s home to see if they could help. The father of the home had gone to town and the mom did not know what to do as she held her small baby in her arms standing outside of the smoking roof. Inside the home was Papa Gip who was bedridden and unable to get out of the house. Papa Gip was obese and no one was able to move him. The roof was actually just beginning to burn evidently sparked by an ember from the kitchen stove. Carnes climbed up on the roof and tried to put out the embers with his bare hands but couldn’t get the job done. The two women ran to the well to fill a bucket with water but couldn’t get enough water to put out the fire. Ike knew he had to do something quick. Ike went into the house and climbed the ladder into the attic. He told Carnes to tap on the roof where the fire was so he could tell which shingles needed to be knocked off. He told the woman of the house to get him an axe which happened to be a double sided axe. Carnes rapped on the roof and then Ike would knock off the shingles and Carnes would throw them off to the ground. Just about the time they had removed all the burning shingles and were standing outside the house exhausted, the owner came home and the neighbor, Charlie arrived. Charlie was very impressed with the fast thinking of Ike and Carnes. But the owner of the house, Mr. Gibson, said “You boys tore up my house!” Mr. Gibson, the owner of the house didn’t seem to realize that my Pap’a and Carnes actually saved his house and family! To this day my Pap’a says “I still don’t like the way he talked to us.” My Pap’a and his brother were able to save the neighbor’s house from burning to the ground and also Papa Gip’s life. There were no fire stations or even volunteer firemen then. There were no faucets to get water quickly. They both began to cry when the mom, still clutching her little one, gave them each a huge hug and kiss, thanking them for saving their home and family. The boys later came over with their Dad and helped the family repair their roof as the event left the home with a hole in the roof! In those days, it was up to each community to care for their own whether it was sharing their food or their time in an emergency. These boys learned young to think fast and act fast in an emergency situation. They really used their heads, knowing they had to do whatever as quickly as possible to prevent a tragedy from happening right before their eyes. I’m sure their mom and dad were very proud of them although it was just another day in the life of two country boys. They returned home to their prior project of making hairpins for Mother’s Day out of old baling wire they had discovered laying around their property.

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