CHAPTER THIRTY—O'DELL SHAMPOO AND HAIR TREATMENT

    

Cortlandt Lake and Clubhouse. Photo credit, Eustelle Palmer.

      Brothers Bobby and Snooks O'Dell showed up at the Zeliph-Croft-Holmes compound one late summer day in 1952. Bobby was the big one. Taller and heavier than his older brother, he was someone to be reckoned with. Snooks was the aggressor and schemer, the more daring one. If the two brothers were to fight each other, it would be difficult to predict a winner. They were not looking for a fight on the day they showed up. They had something else on their minds.

     Cliff Holmes, Winifred Zeliph and I were there at the time they arrived. I don't remember if the meeting was prearranged or not. After snatching several eggs from the Zeliph's chicken coop, we boiled them and ate them for lunch. We pumped and drank deep well water, spraying each other for fun, and then talked about what to do next. Someone mentioned gold in the old quartz quarry.

     It was decided to investigate the old quartz quarry near Mr. Singer's residence. We walked south along Sprout Brook Road and turned left at the bridge over Sprout Brook. Soon we were scaling the face of the quarry and searching for the yellow stuff. I would guess that at that time Cliff, Winifred and I were about thirteen years old. Bobby was fourteen and Snooks was sixteen years old. We called to each other when we found something that looked like gold. We examined each rock closely. We were disappointed at the results. We determined that most of the glittering specimens were Fool's Gold, and the rest of the rocks were pyrite. We quit searching after half an hour. Little did we know about the old narrow gauge railroad that used to run by this point as far back as 1870. The railroad transported iron ore and cinnabar from Continental Village to Annsville, N. Y.

     Winifred was the female member in our expedition and she soon became the object of teasing and taunts. She was an attractive, intelligent country girl and well developed for her age. Some of the taunts included sexual innuendos. Several times she threatened to go home unless the taunts were stopped. Her reaction put the brakes on the teasing and the taunts.

     For some reason the boys decided to walk back to the Zeliph compound through the woods on the hillside. Winifred was reluctant to follow. All the boys lied to her that the taunts would not resume if she followed. Trusting us because she was inexperienced, she followed us into the woods. The boys pretended to be looking for gold among the scattered rocks and boulders. With the exception of her nephew Cliff, we boys focused on Winifred. She followed us but lagged behind.

     At some point the suggestion was made to stop and rest. Winifred caught up with us. We stopped next to a long flat boulder and a small spring. Here we took turns drinking water with cupped hands. A suggestion was made that Winifred should lie down on the flat boulder while the boys "inspected" her. It was apparent that three of the boys were no longer searching for gold.

     In a flash she ran down the hill and walked home by herself. Disappointed, we followed at a distance. When we reached the Zeliph compound, she was nowhere to be seen. She had gone into her house where she found safety.

     The O'Dell boys decided to go home too. They asked Cliff and me to follow them and visit with them. Having nothing else to do, we accepted. The O'Dell house was located north of the Smith's house, which was located at or near 394 Sprout Brook Road. We walked more than a mile from the Zeliph compound to get there. In that year the house was a covered basement, the O'Dell family living in the foundation. There was a shack or garage nearby on the same lot.

     Mrs. O'Dell greeted us when we got there. She was a perky woman with dark brown hair and a nice smile. She asked if we were hungry. The four of us said yes, and she prepared and served us peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. We drank bottled soda to wash it down. After showing us around the place, Snooks suggested we look for nuts in a hickory tree near the road. But when we got on Sprout Brook Road, walking north, our attention was diverted to the many piles of road apples instead. They were very easy to see on the dirt road. Some were still moist, and some were almost dry.

     Snooks ran forward, scooped up a handful and threw it at me. I ducked. It was the curtain opening on an epic horse manure battle. The actors were quickly chosen. Snooks decided it would be unfair if he and Bobby were one team and Cliff and I were the other team. So he chose Cliff as his team member, and Bobby chose me. Sides about even, the fight commenced.

    At this point a further explanation may be needed. It was obvious that this was not a sensible activity that girls would engage in. With the exception of country boys, very few boys would engage in it either. I was a city-slicker, and I was clearly a misfit. I should have opted out. However, I got in the spirit of things with rash enthusiasm and the battle soon got nasty.

     Bobby scored a messy dump on his older brother, hitting Snooks in the back. Snooks picked up the wet mess that was thrown at him and threw it at me. I turned and got hit in the back. Then I picked it up and threw it at Snooks. While I was throwing the stuff back at Snooks, Cliff got me in the chest with another wet clump of horse manure. It stuck on my shirt. I reached for it and got hit again by Snooks. Bobby nailed Cliff. This back and forth went on for at least ten minutes until Snooks called time out.

     During the short intermission we took off our shirts and scratched ourselves because the hay in the manure made us all itchy. The dry manure was the worst of it. It may be hard to believe but the stink of horse manure no longer bothered us after playing in it for several minutes. It permeated our skin as well as our clothes. A passerby on a bike, who suggested that we smelled like apple blossoms or roses, should have been given a ticket for inappropriate and untimely sarcasm.

     Round Two started with a surprise attack. Bobby threw a messy handful at Snooks, and nailed him in the upper chest area and in his face. Snooks wiped his face and threw manure back at his brother. I hit Snooks with a dry bomb that blew up when it hit him. It was a dry brown spray that bounced off his back. He returned the favor by running up to me while I was facing off with Cliff. I did not see him behind me and he gave me a resounding horse manure shampoo. Two handfuls of the wet stuff directly on my head and rubbed in for better grooming. Whoa! I retreated from the field and witnessed the rest of the battle from the side of the road. Bobby continued to fight Cliff and Snooks alone. Not until all participants had acquired an O'Dell shampoo and hair treatment did the battle officially end.

     There was a short discussion among the weary combatants as to who won and who lost. We came to the conclusion that the horse manure had been distributed equally and fairly. Consequently, no winner was announced and no date was selected for a resumption of the epic horse manure shampoo and hair treatment.

     The horse flies that accompanied Cliff and me on the way home declared victory.