Talmage Nelson
June 1925 – May 1975
by Jerome Pearson, 3 April 2020
Many years before I knew Talmage Nelson’s name, I used to see him driving one of his several tractors as he plowed the fields for one of his friends, a man name James Franklin McBride. McBride did not own a tractor, so when one of his fields needed plowing, Talmage would drive his tractor to the area and do it for him.
I would observe Talmage driving his tractor up and down the rows, but at the time I did not know he was paralyzed on one side; and I certainly didn’t know that he would one day play a major role in my life as a child.
The first time I saw Talmage Nelson anywhere near my aunt was on the day of my mother’s death. As matter of fact it he who drove my mother to the hospital for the very last time.
A little more than a week following my mother’s death, I was taken in by my aunt. Nearly 6 months after moving in with my Aunt, she and Talmage became a couple. Talmage was about 15 years older than my aunt, and he lucked out in having one of the more attractive ladies in all of Davis Station.
For the next 10 years, Talmage served as somewhat of a stepfather for my aunt’s kids and also for me. When I reflect on those 10 years now, it seems that it was actually longer. He became the man of the house, although he also lived in his family’s home on their very large farm near the town of Manning.
Talmage was the son of Mrs. Clotel and Mr. Leon Nelson. Mr. Leon Nelson probably owned more land than any other Black man in all of Clarendon County. Mrs. Clotel Nelson was a teacher at Spring Hill elementary school. As a matter of fact, she was my 2nd grade teacher. Mrs. Clotel was also a teacher of adult students at night. Talmage was one of those adults she taught at nights. Therefore, both Talmage and I were being taught by his mother at the same time.
Talmage had been paralyzed on one side since the his early 20s. I never knew the true story of Talmage’s paralysis, but I do know that it happened after he left the Army and I think he served during Korean War. One story had it that he got in a fight at a baseball game, and his opponent hit him in the head with limb of a tree, which resulted in paralysis. It was said that because of his injury, a plate was placed in head during surgery. When his hair was cut very low, I could see the spot where his surgery would likely to have occurred. However, I never asked him about it. I am not sure if he would tell me had I asked.
If you looked at him standing you would not know that he was paralyzed on one side. Paralysis for him meant that he could not lift his left arm unless he used his right arm to do it. The only time I would see his left arm move on its own was when he got upset. When he got upset or in argument, his left arm would begin jerking spasmodically. When he walked, his left foot would have a slight drag, which prompted his friends into calling him Dragnet. Yet strangely, he was able to drive tractors and cars with no problem. When I first new him, his cars and trucks were standard shift which meant that he had to use the clutch with left foot. He had no problem with that. Obviously, he was not completely paralyzed in his leg because he would not have been able to walk if that were the case. I remember when standard shifts had the gear stick on the collar of the steering wheel, and he was able to change gears with his right hand while still holding the steering wheel with the same hand.
Because his parents were older and his siblings lived in other towns and other states, Talmage was the Manager of the entire farm. He hired the crew and ensured they were paid. Because they had so much land, it was his role to decide when things needed to be planted and when they needed to be harvested. In that regards, he was a manager and a leader of men and a very good one.
Because Talmage and his family had so much land, the boys in our family would have to work in his fields. Talmage had been previously married, but his ex-wife and his children lived in Baltimore. So, for those years of my youth, we had operated as his sons. He disciplined us when we got out of line, and he felt that he had the right to do so, even though he was actually not our father in the real sense. If nothing else, he kept us out of trouble and taught us how to work.
Talmage was a physically strong man. When we were very young, we would often have to cut wood for the heater. Sometimes there would be a block of wood we could not split with an ax. My aunt would tell us to wait until Talmage comes home and have him do it. Sure enough, he would take that ax in one hand, and split that block with very little problem. We were only between 7 and 8 years old at that time. This would have been a few years before he had his lady friend on the side of course.
Now to the question of the other woman! At first it was just a well-known secret, and then finally it became so blatantly obvious. It became difficult for him to maintain his position as role model when he was doing something that we would have been encouraged not to do. While we boy would be riding on the back of his truck, his lady friend would be sitting up front. Now that was awkward!
Of course, he did have the decency not to drive all the way to our house when this happened; Sometimes during the lunch hour, he would drive us home for lunch while his lady friend was in the truck with him. He would drop us off at the church not far from our house and tell us he would pick us up in hour. He had to do that because it would not have been wise to drive into our yard with his lady friend with him. Therefore, we would walk the remaining quarter of mile to our home. Obviously, when my aunt saw us walking home, she would know why that would be. After lunch, he would come alone to pick us up for the afternoon; he would not dare bring her to our house to pick us up for work. I was never sure how he was ever able to rationalize this behavior, and what kind of example he was setting for us!
While I always knew him as a strong man, around his lady friend he appeared weak. I remember one occasion, when he said to her “I will be by to pick you up at 5pm.” Of course, I was not supposed to be hearing this, but nothing got past me in those days. Her reply to him was, “well, you better be on time because If you are late, you know I will go with the “other one!” I was like “dam!” She just flat out told him that she has two men, and if one doesn’t do, then the other was right in line. He smiled like a little puppy with its tail between its legs. I almost felt bad for him. I also remember a few years later that other one’s family put a whipping on her, right in the heart of Davis Station. After that whipping, that “other one” was no longer in the picture.
In another couple more years, it appears that things between him and his lady had died down. I think some of this had to with failing health. He had lost his drivers license during the snowstorm of 1973, and lucky for him, I received my license in 1974. Now, I would become his driver. It was so timely! He was surprised when I got my license, because he had no idea I knew how to drive. I basically learned on my own, and I did not even use his car to take the driver license test. He once said to me, “I think you learned how to drive after you got your license!” In one way, he was probably correct. One of my Aunt’s friends (Daughter House) took me to get my permit, and I used her car to get my license.
Sometimes in life we have to figure out how to best manage the contradictions in relatives and friends. On the one hand I learned a lot from Talmage, and he really was a father figure for key portion of my life. On the other hand, he had done things that was a very poor example. In assessing him, I would have to deal with both the good and the bad. My beloved Aunt certainly had to deal with both the good and bad.
One night in 1975, I was awakened by my Aunt. I was awakened because I was the only person in the house with a driver’s license. Talmage was wheezing and need to be taken to the hospital. My aunt had James and I help him into his truck. I then drove him to the hospital in Manning as my aunt tried to comfort him. I wasn’t sure what was happening to him because I had never witness someone having a heart attack. It was only after we arrived at the hospital that we were told that what it was.
Talmage remained in the hospital for nearly two weeks. One Saturday, I was driving my Aunt into Manning for shopping. Only she and her youngest daughter Denise were in the car with me. Our plan was to shop first and then visit Talmage on our way back out of town.
As we drove into Manning on highway 261, my Aunt said I see Talmage standing on the balcony of his room. Obviously, she had been looking at the hospital as we drove past. I didn’t see him because I was looking straight ahead. My thought was that he must be getting better because he was even able to stand on the balcony.
After shopping, we stopped by the hospital. I sat out in the lobby as my aunt and her baby Denise walk to his room. Denise was his baby girl. They would only allow two visitors at a time. About a half hour later, I saw my aunt walking back, but I noticed that she was crying. I asked what was wrong! She said, Talmage just died. He apparently died during their visit.
I then realized that he was waiting for her. Perhaps when he was standing on that Balcony, he was looking to see when she would be coming into town. Perhaps he knew his time was near, and he wanted to say goodbye to her. He was able to hold out until her visit.
It also reminded me that despite all the thing he might have done, it was she who he wanted at his bedside when he made his last breath.
It is hard for me to believe that he was only 50 years old when he passed. He had worked hard all of his life. It was particularly hard because he was working with just one arm.
I also was reminded that he had driven my mother to the hospital 10 years earlier. I drove him to the hospital for the very last time 10 years later.
Sometimes we just need to sort out the bad, in order to see the good! None of us are perfect!
He was the one-arm man who, despite his flaws, served as a father figure during a key portion of my life.
And that is how I have chosen to remember him!
Jerome