DEVIL MAKE A THIRD CHRONOLOGY

 

Chapter 1: Buck Bannon leaves the family farm for the new railroad town of Aven.

This was probably in the spring of the year when land was being plowed for planting.

page 11:  Buck's new furrow was cutting across fresh-plowed dirt, but he didn't notice it.

from the May 12, 1887 MONTGOMERY ADVERTISER

page 11: She was wearing the shapeless dress she always wore when she was going to have another baby. Buck felt a sudden lurch under his ribs as he remembered that he was the first of twelve children. He could call back to mind the births of the last eight.

from the September 2, 1888 EUFAULA DAILY TIMES

from the December 7, 1954 DOTHAN EAGLE (the Dan Baker obituary)

Chapter 2: Buck Bannon wakes up at the Aven depot, walks across the way to the single row of stores and gets his first job.

page 23 (the railroad is still under construction): "Who's boss here?" he said, before he turned around.

"I ain't," the red-faced man said quickly, "but if you're any kind o' hand with a pick, we'll take you." 

Buck shook his head and hefted the box under his arms.

"Much obliged," he said, slowly, "but I ain't aimin' to dig in no more dirt."

Railroad arrives in Dothan in spring of 1887. (from the February 23, 1887 EUFAULA DAILY TIMES)

 

page 23: "Like bees in a hive," he muttered, and his eyes strayed on, following the careless streets that branched off from the row of stores. It seemed to Buck that the streets ran of their own free will in any direction wandering aside sometimes, but always leading to richer homes that wore paint. Some streets were shorter than others.

"Them short ones," Buck thought, "look like they just can't make it past them painted houses."

page 24: "It ain't much," he said to himself, "but God knows it ain't no older'n little Coke. It'll grow, but right now it looks like somebody just flung it out there because they didn't have no use for it."

from the August 15, 1929 DOTHAN EAGLE

page 24: Buck was so busy thinking he nearly walked into a small tow-headed boy holding the tie rope to a heifer in front of a good-sized general store. Buck scuffled his palm over the boy's head and cocked his eye to the side so he could spell out the name of the store.

"Green's General Mdse," he said, slowly, then looked down at the boy. "Looks like I'll eat counter vittles, boy. Shore ain't no other place."

from the January 10, 1913 DOTHAN EAGLE