Guion, Arkansas was the town where Hubby grew up. It wasn't the town it used to be but it still had two stores and two sand businesses. Guion is a sand mining town.
It was quite busy in the early days. The railroad came through town and it was the only way to travel for many. On the edge of White River, you could drive twelve miles on gravel to reach a main highway. Years later, they had a ferry to cross the river, now they have a bridge.
When the mines opened, payday was on Friday as in most jobs. Behind the tracks and the depot, many games of craps were played, much liquor drunk and a few brawls broke out every weekend.
Come Monday morning, for some families, there was nothing left of the paycheck to feed the family. The wives got together and visited the wife of the owner. Ms. Mertie, as she was known to every one, solved the problem. Paydays would now be on Wednesday and since the men had to work on Thursday, there were no drunken games. This enabled the woman to buy what the family needed before party time behind the box cars.
Payday for the existing mine today is still Wednesday.
