Pine Mountain Settlement School
Series 09: BIOGRAPHY – Students
Series 19: STUDENTS
Enoch C. Hall II Student 1935-1937

ENOCH C. HALL II Student 1935-1937

---

TAGS: Enoch C. Hall II, students, biography, Fern Hall Hayes, Flora Patsy Hall, Flora Patsy Hall Martin, Hall family, Viper, Kentucky, WWII, Pearl Harbor

---

Enoch Combs Hall II (Jr.)
Born: August 11, 1920
Parents: Enoch C. Hall I (Sr.) and Myrtle Brashear Hall
Siblings: Eula Fern, Flora Patsy, and Mary Susan Hall.
entered PMSS in the 10th grade in 1935.

From: “FERN HALL HAYES Student Staff” Biography:

“The four children, Eula Fern Hall (1916-2012), Flora Patsy Hall, Enoch C. Hall, Jr. and Mary Susan Hall, span two decades. The first three children attended Pine Mountain. The third sibling attended local schools in Perry County and later attended Berea College.” …

“Fern’s father, Enoch Combs Hall, Sr., was the son of Eli Hall whose home was in Viper at the head of Masons Creek. Eli was the son of an early surveyor, Philip Whisman, or commonly, “P.W.” Hall, who had deep pioneer roots in the area. P.W. Hall, the surveyor, thrived on land speculation and at one time owned many tracts of land in Perry County. Most everyone in the Viper community was either related or could trace to some common pioneer history in the region. Common names in the area are Combs, Brashear, Whitaker, Woods, Engle,  Campbell, and more. Most families in the area were either subsistence farmers or worked at logging or mining or had small mercantile stores.”

ORAL INTERVIEW OF THE MOTHER OF ENOCH C. HALL 1979

In an oral interview gathered by a family member of the Halls (Cecilia Martin) the following additional information was gathered regarding the family of Enoch C. Hall II in a school project in 1979 when Cecilia [wife of Al Martin]  went back to school to complete her nursing degree..

Interview With Granny Hall
Sociology 101
Cecilia Martin
July 26, 1979

Granny was born March 16, 1894, in Perry County, Viper, Kentucky. She was the fourth child in a family of ten children. Her father was a farmer and also “logged” for a living. Her mother was a housewife. As a child Granny had formal education to the “4 th reader” which is apparently equivalent to the 4 th grade as we know it today. She walked three miles one way to school and in the winter she rode horseback.

Granny’s mother told her that “girls didn’t need to learn reading and writing to raise children.
She didn’t go to school”. Teachers lived with families in the community and one of the teachers stayed with Granny’s family.

There were more important things for the children to do at home. They had to help plant corn, harvest, and make molasses. During planting and harvest season there was no school.
Granny had many “chores” to help with around the house. She thrashed wheat with a flail to
make flour for bread. Her family raised sheep. She would shear the sheep then put the wool in water and stamped on it until it was clean. After that all the burrs had to be picked out of the wool. Granny’s mother spun the wool to make thread, from this she weaved cloth to make most of the family’s clothing. The family also raised geese. The feathers were picked from the geese to make feather beds.

Most of the food was raised on the farm. Salt and sugar were bought at the store. Apples and turnips were buried in a hole in the ground and covered with board to supply them
for winter. The families of the community had “workings” where people from the community and relatives came together to help each other with various tasks. The family sponsoring the “working” provided food and entertainment.

When Granny was 16 her family had a “corn shucking”, during which she met the man who was to become her husband. She had seen him before around the community and was attracted by his good looks. After the “corn shucking” there was a dinner and dance.

Granny and Grandpa courted for four years. During their courtship they were always
chaperoned. Grandpa enjoyed riding a bicycle and he would ride to visit Granny at her parents’ home. They went to church together and once Grandpa rode Granny home on a mule. They also went to square dances together.

Grandpa had formal schooling to the 5 th reader; but most of his education was self-taught. He was three years older than Granny. Granny said that she was permitted to choose her own husband. Her mother frequently suggested certain boys in the community to her, but she made the final decision. Her mother advised her to find an “honest man, that wasn’t low-down, and was responsible”. She said she thought Grandpa was an honest man, who thought like her father and she liked that.

Granny was married to Grandpa when she was twenty and he was twenty-three. The ceremony took place in her parents’ home, she wore the traditional white dress, and the ceremony was officiated by the minister.

Home and Family of Eli Hall at Viper, Ky.

They lived with Grandpa’s family for seven months before moving into their own home.
Grandpa had his own barber shop and pool hall about a half mile from their home in a small
lumber town. He also repaired jewelry and clocks, and sold some groceries. Granny worked as a housewife and did most of the chores around the house. She raised vegetables in the garden and had a cow for milk and butter. Granny did all the cooking occasionally Grandpa would fry eggs and bacon. They did their cooking on a wood stove. The clothes were washed on a wash board with homemade lye soap. Irons were heated on the stove to iron the clothes. Grandpa fixed things around the house and did yard work. He also raised hogs and owned a grist mill. He would grind corn for people in the community.

Granny and Grandpa discussed family matters with each other before making a decision and
then it was mutually agreed upon. Grandpa made decisions about his business, and did not discuss business matters often, unless they affected the family. They frequently visited Grandpa’s family [Hall family on Masons Creek] and attended dances at their home. Granny’s family was visited less frequently because they lived twelve miles away. {Bear Bramch] They would go home for “workings” and special occasions.

Sometime after they were married Grandpa managed the family owned general store with his
brother-in-law. Grandpa took over running the general store alone because his brother-in-law’s business practices caused financial difficulties. Grandpa was forced to close his barber shop because he refused to go to school to “learn to be a barber”, after doing this for 30 years. He continued to cut hair “on the sly” in his home.

Enoch C. Hall ‘s store in Viper, KY. [Enoch_Hall_store-1.jpg]

He also worked as a mechanic for a filling station and as a mechanic for the county at the
educational building before retiring at 65. Granny and Grandpa had four children, one boy and three girls. The oldest was born after two years of marriage [Fern Hall]  the second born five years after the first [Flora Patsy]; the third five years after the second [Enoch C. Hall II]; the fourth [Mary Susan] born 11 years after the third. There is twenty-one years between the oldest and youngest. All the children were born at home with a doctor in attendance. Granny was 44 when the last child was born.

The children played well together and got along fairly well. There was not much interaction
between the two oldest and the youngest because the difference in age. Even though there was 11 years between the third and fourth child they were very close. They enjoyed playing “dress-up” cut out dolls, marbles, crocket, checkers, fox-n-goose, baseball and possum hunting.

Granny continued to do most of the household chores; the children were mainly responsible for cleaning their rooms, doing dishes, dusting and helping in the garden. Granny remembers having her son help her with dishes but after he spent a week with his grandmother he would no longer do dishes because his grandmother told him it was a women’s work.

Their first car was purchased jointly with Grandpa’s father around 1926 and was nicknamed
“yellow goodin” by their son.

The first three children attended high school at Pine Mountain Settlement School, starting at
age 13. They lived at the school and only came home during vacations. The youngest attended the new high school built in town and lived at home.

The oldest went to Strayer Business College in Washington, D.C., after completion she married
at age 23 and lived 20 miles from home. The son joined the service when he was 17 and married in Florida while in the service. The third child attended Wheaton college in Illinois for 2 ½ years, then returned home to marry at age 21. She and her husband moved to Iowa. The youngest attended school at Berea College in Kentucky, and was married after finishing school at age 21.

The children were close to their parents and felt free to discuss problems with them. Most of
the discipline was handled by Granny, Grandpa rarely spanked the children, when he spoke they listened. The children would usually approach Granny to ask for certain privileges and she would discuss it with Grandpa before a decision was made.

Granny and Grandpa moved to Florida about 1969 near their son. Their marriage ended after 63 years with the death of Grandpa. Granny continues to live in Florida with her sister but has spent time staying with her daughters during the summers.

Cecelia Martin [wife of Alfred Martin, son of Flora Patsy Hall]

---

GALLERY I: ENOCH C. HALL II Early Photographs

GALLERY II: ENOCH C. HALL II Correspondence 1984

Title	Enoch C. Hall II
Alt. Title	Butch Hall ; Enoch C. Hall, Jr. ; Enoch Combs Hall, Jr. ;
Identifier	https://pinemountainsettlement.net/?page_id=80669.
Creator	Pine Mountain Settlement School, Pine Mountain, KY.
Alt. Creator	Ann Angel Eberhardt ; Helen Hayes Wykle ;
Subject Keyword	Enoch C. Hall II, PMSS students, Fern Hall Hayes, Flora Patsy Hall, Flora Patsy Hall Martin, Hall family, Viper, Kentucky, WWII, Pearl Harbor
Subject LCSH	Hall II, Enoch C. Hall,  — 1920 – 19??. Pine Mountain Settlement School (Pine Mountain, Ky.) — History. Harlan County (Ky.) — History. Education — Kentucky — Harlan County. Rural schools — Kentucky — History. Schools — Appalachian Region, Southern.
Date	1935 – 1980’s
Publisher	Pine Mountain Settlement School, Pine Mountain, KY.
Contributor	n/a
Type	Collections ; text ; image ;
Format	Original and copies of documents and correspondence in file folders in filing cabinet.
Source	Series 09: BIOGRAPHY  Series 19: STUDENTS
Language	English
Relation	Is related to: Pine Mountain Settlement School Collections, Series 09: BIOGRAPHY and Series 19: STUDENTS.
Coverage Temporal	1935-1980s
Coverage Spatial	Pine Mountain, KY ; Harlan County, KY ;
Rights	Any display, publication, or public use must credit the Pine Mountain Settlement School. Copyright retained by the creators of certain items in the collection, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.
Donor	n/a
Description	Core documents, correspondence, writings, and administrative papers of Enoch C. Hall II ; clippings, photographs, books by or about Enoch C. Hall II ;
Acquisition	n/d
Citation	“[Identification of Item],” [Collection Name] [Series Number, if applicable]. Pine Mountain Settlement School Institutional Papers. Pine Mountain Settlement School, Pine Mountain, KY.
Processed By	Helen Hayes Wykle ; Ann Angel Eberhardt ;
Last Updated	2022-09-20 aae ;  2022-09-23 hhw;  2022-10-03 hhw ;
Sources	“FERN HALL HAYES Student Staff.” Series 09: BIOGRAPHY and Series 19: STUDENTS. Pine Mountain Settlement School Institutional Papers. Pine Mountain Settlement School, Pine Mountain, KY. Internet resource. ; family letters and family history narrative of Ceclia Martin .

Return To:
BIOGRAPHY – A-Z

See Also:
ENOCH C HALL II Student Records (RESTRICTED – Password Protected)
FERN HALL HAYES Student Staff – Biography
FERN HALL HAYES Correspondence II
FLORA PATSY HALL Student – Biography
HALL FAMILY
HALL FAMILY Photographs

---