C. O. Bonham

The Antigone Herald August 26, 1827.

An explosion shook the area today. The large barn up at Job Gellervice’s place was leveled and naught but a crater marks the spot on which it stood. Speculation runs rampant with explanations from Rocks falling out of the sky to Old Job filling his barn with dynamite for use in his war against his rival Hiram Brettsin. But perhaps the most mystifying of all explanations comes from the only survivor of the blast Colt Brantley.

“None of us really believed that they was invisible to each other. So when Mr. Gellervice  paid us to bring Grady Brettsin over and lock him in the barn we just thought it would all be a big joke. So we dropped Grady there in the barn and locked the doors from the inside. We all gave a how do to Jared Gellervice and scurried up into the hay loft to watch the fun. Well the way Jared and Grady kept missing each other and swing their weapons in the wrong direction I was starting to think that maybe they really couldn’t see each other. That’s when the other boys took sides and started hollerin’ directions down to them. Well they kept coming closer and closer to each other when suddenly there was light and a voice spoke just like from a Bible story, it said, ‘Woe to you who defy the Lord. Now you shall be as a spark from the flint is to the gun powder. Leave now and do not touch each other and your lives shall be spared. And let the same be for those who encourage this defiance.’ Then the Angel or what ever it was vanished and everyone in that barn had become very still.

“I was scared out of my mind. Y’all know how keen I am about a good joke but my mama she raised her up a God fearing young man and at that moment I was mighty feared of God. But no one else seemed to care they were either ignoring him or they were defying him because they went right back to encouraging Jared and Grady to have at it.

“Me I was on my way down the ladder when one of them must’ve landed a lucky hit because I was blown clear through the back wall of the barn and safely into a patch of lettuce. Nobody will ever tell me I was just lucky.”

Whatever the cause of the explosion, it seem the result is an end to the deadly feud. Both Job Gellervice and  Hiram Brettsin are taking their families and leaving the area. The only comment from either family was from Hiram’s only surviving son Jonathan, who is quoted as saying, “As for me and my house, from now on, we will fear the Lord.” Hiram’s youngest son Caleb was mysteriously murdered earlier this month by an unknown assailant.”

©  This story and subsequent parts are my own original idea and are protected under United States copy right law.

So I confess I am really bad at posting on a regular basis. So I decided to try a little experiment. I have this story that I didn’t know what to do with.  It is kind of disjointed because I have mixed points of view and I spread the story out over a long period of time. So I thought that maybe I would take all of the disjointed bits and make each one a blog post.

The Feud Worth Forgetting

By: Cathrine Bonham

“Tell me a story Grandpa.” Juliet Brettsin had endured her bath and had brushed her teeth and had climbed into bed without a fuss so that she could enjoy her most favorite thing about visiting her Grandparents.

“And what story do you want to hear, Sun shine?” asked Grandpa pulling the worn comfy armchair up to the bed.

“Tell me the Family story.”

“Now isn’t that story a little scary for bedtime? How about a good Fairy tale instead.”

Juliet shook her head. “ I want to hear the history of the family feud.” She leaned close to her Grandfather and said the last sentence very conspiratorially, “I like the part where I’m Invisible.”

Grandpa gave her an equally conspiratorial smile and cleared his throat.

“This is not a love story. This is not a war story. This is the story of how God delivered two families from the sins of their forefathers.

“Once upon a time, after the British had left our shore and the constitution was being written, two friends, Silas Gellervice and Henry Brettsin, made deals with The Devil to become wealthy, prosperous and powerful in this new country. But The Devil had a catch. In order to obtain their prize each man was tasked to kill the other and wipe out his family line. Thus the Feud began, the two friends quickly turned on each other full of greed and thirsty for blood. For Generations it raged consuming the souls of all their descendants. Each family tree hungry for the rewards they would earn when the other finally died out.

“Now your ancestor and mine, Hiram Brettsin, and the leader of the other family, Job Gellervice, were the worst of all. They were so determined to be the ones to end it that they searched everywhere until they had every single descendent of the original two men Gathered up and living in Antigone, TN. The rumors say that these men were so evil that they killed the members of their own Family who refused to fight the feud. Well all of this gathering and murdering was starting to come to a head when Caleb Brettsin, decided that he wanted to join the church. He told his Father that he would have no more killing and nothing more to do with the works of Satin. He went into town and talked to the local Pastor. Well that Pastor was so Happy for Caleb that he was going to pay to send him off to some fancy seminary up north. Well, Hiram couldn’t have that could he? No. The last time that God took a personal interest in The Devil’s plans The Devil didn’t come out ahead did he?”

“No he didn’t,” said Juliet.

“That’s right. Well, The Devil put it into Hiram’s heart to murder his own son . . .”

I will post the next part of the story next week. I will. Don’t worry I won’t forget.

©  This story and subsequent parts are my own original idea and are protected under United States copy right law.