Depression-Era Character Had A Soft Side

Stogner

WATER VALLEY – Times were tough during Christmastime in the mid-1930s as the grip of the Great Depression tightened around Water Valley and the nation.

Hard times made for hard people and mail carrier R.L. Stogner had the reputation of being a man who didn’t take any foolishness. In fact, most people were afraid of the large, stern-faced man, according to long-time businessman Paul Parker.

“I fell into the category of those who were afraid of him,” Parker said during an interview in 1990.

Stogner was a tall, gawky man, Parker added. “He had arms long enough to wrestle a bear down. And, he had the appearance that if he didn’t like you, he’d wrestle with you.”

“He came into the store twice a day. We had two mail deliveries; morning and afternoon. He came into the store, left the mail and rarely had anything to say. He would speak to you in the morning if you spoke to him first.”

That was the way the relationship continued for some time, Parker said, just speaking occasionally and knowing the reputation he had.

About two weeks before Christmas, Stogner came into the store with the mail and asked for Parker. “I looked up and here comes Mr. Stogner stalking down the aisle. I looked for a place to hide because I thought maybe he had it in for me.”

“He came back and said, ‘Parker, I want to tell you something. If any children come in here and they don’t have money to buy Christmas, you let them have it.’ He looked at me with that strong, steadfast look and I was immediately determined to let them have anything they wanted. But, then the next sentence he said, ‘You let them have it and I’ll pay for it right after Christmas.’”

The arrangement lasted as long as Parker knew Stogner. “There were several children who would come in each year, some years more than others. They would come in and look wishfully at toys and dolls and I knew they didn’t have the money to pay.”

Parker said the toys would be provided for the children’s Christmas and the charges put on a ticket for Stogner. “He’d come in the day after Christmas, ask for his bill and pay it immediately.”

He never argued about the charges and never questioned any entry on his ledger sheet, Parker said.

“Mr. Stogner was one of the most remarkable men I have ever known. I always felt he was the least understood man in Water Valley.“