Reminiscences of A Christian Family

REMINISCENSES OF A CHRISTIAN FAMILY IN THE MID-20TH CENTURY SOUTH is a quasi-sequel to the author’s 2011 book entitled LETTERS TO AND FROM A CHRISTIAN MOTHER AND MORE. The emphasis in the latter was on the advice, instruction, and admonition of his mother, buttressed by the transcription of over 100 of her letters to him and to other loved ones. As a primer to the current work, the FOREWARD of this 2011 book speaks of the guidances of the author’s mother and unequivocally describes her Christian witness:

“After reading Children of Pride, the prize-winning collections of letters and diary entries from select nineteenth century families of Midway, Georgia, I quietly lamented the death of letter-writing…The informal prose of the letters and diaries of that era was of astonishing literary quality. These private sources provided an unsurpassed window into the personalities and piety of the old, Christian South.

“Wrongly, I assumed that quality letter-writing died out before the beginning of the twentieth- century. Consequently I was surprised, even excited, when I encountered…Dr. Silas McCaslin’s mother’s letters to him, from the middle of the twentieth century. Their literary quality was outstanding. More importantly, they were filled with sound, shrewd, bold, Biblical counsel for her boys, particularly in the years between the beginning of college and the birth of Si and Suzanne’s first child, Carey. I wanted to read more and became convinced that others, particularly parents, could benefit from hearing the strong counsel of a Christian mother to her beloved sons.

“Si has done an extraordinary job of saving, organizing, and reproducing family correspondence over several decades. This is his work of love…If this collection proves to be the blessing to others that it has been for me, may he and his mother, Mary Margaret Dobbs McCaslin, get the credit, and may God alone get the glory.”

(From the FOREWARD, Dr. Terry L. Johnson)

REMINISCENSES OF A CHRISTIAN FAMILY is the same timeline and strives to tell the rest of the story. It reaches back to the 19th century and cascades down to the 1940s and 1950s, telling factual stories and describing real childhood experiences of the author and his older brother, the late Dr. Alston Jones McCaslin V.

Their grandfather, Alston Jones McCaslin III, in 1913 (the first year of income tax since its ending after the Civil War), paid more income tax than anyone else in the state of Mississippi. In the second decade of 20th century Grenada, Mississippi, Mr. McCaslin owned five Ford dealerships, the Eclipse Drug Store, the Railroad Café, a printing company, a general mercantile building (engraved on a gold-knobbed walking cane: “To A. J. McCaslin, For Having The Cleanest Store In Mississippi, 1906. R.A. Beck…), and served on the board of directors of the Grenada Bank for many years, in which bank he was a stock holder. He succeeded in every business enterprise that he entered, but he lost everything in The Great Depression.

Former Cleveland, Mississippi, Presbyterian pastor, the late Rev. Richard A. Bolling, counselled Mary Margaret in 1959: “…Then Alston McCaslin (IV) came here (in 1932) with the bank and you and he were among the very charming, attractive young couples of the church and very dear to Mrs. Bolling and myself. We loved you dearly and regretted greatly to lose you…My purpose in writing this is to remind you that your boys have a goodly inheritance from their McCaslin grandparents in Christian faith and character. Their own father, Alston, was an earnest Christian when I knew him…and I do know, “Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ shall be saved,” and Alston so believed….”

From the obituary: “…(A. J. McCaslin III) and his wife, Maude Windham McCaslin…reared a fine group of young men and women, each of whom, in his or her respective field, is reflecting credit upon the training given in the McCaslin home…” (The Grenada Sentinel, October 8, 1938).

Regarding REMINISCENSES, Dr. Terry Lee Johnson stated: “Si McCaslin describes life in a small southern town in the 1940’s and 1950’s: Red Ryder BB guns, barefoot summers, shooting marbles, riding bikes, unsupervised hours of outdoor play, unlocked doors, Saturday afternoon “picture shows,” plenty of mischief; Sunday church and Wednesday prayer meeting...the arrival of the refrigerator, washing machine, air conditioning, television, and memories of Presidents Roosevelt, Truman, and Eisenhower...the tragic death of his father at age 45, and the irrepressible determination of his widowed mother.

“Above all...lesson after lesson learned at the knee of that Christian mother conveyed to her by her parents. These lessons were often reinforced with a switch, and always with Scripture and prayer. These were simpler times, and innocent times. Si’s wistful narratives of growing up with big brother Jay will bring a smile to your face, as well as a touch of sadness for the loss of the positive side of an imperfect civilization that is lost forever.”

Former high school, college, and professional football great, Paige Cothren states: “For me to say that REMINISCENSES OF A CHRISTIAN FAMILY IN THE EARLY 20TH CENTURY SOUTH is an interesting work is an extremely inadequate description of the book. Assuredly it is that, but it is much, much more than that! For me, it was no less than intellectually consuming and emotionally captivating as I was escorted back into a long-forgotten period of this nation’s innocent history.

“In addition, the book was rendered more personal to me than usual. My first wife, deceased now, was Foy Taylor, the daughter of T.F. and Lavinia Taylor; they were a part of this book.”

It is a great honor to have the endorsements of two friends, both pastors and Christian authors. Dr. Johnson has published 14 books in the last 27 years. Paige Cothren published 29 books in three decades.

I am a story teller. Should only one soul be ushered into the everlasting Kingdom of God through the influence of this book, the work will be deemed more than a success? May this contribution redound to the glory and praise of God.