Where have all the shivarees gone?

Guest

"A shivaree, is a North American term for a clamorous salutation made to a newlywed couple by an assembled crowd of neighbors and friends."

When I was nine years old I was permitted to go on my one and only shivaree. We lived in an area of Missouri called "The Forks of the River" because it was between the East and West forks of the Grand River. Clever name, huh? No town but we were a fairly close knit community. Some families had feuds going back generations but we were all friendly and helpful then talked badly about each other behind each other's backs.

My family moved there in 1945 and we inherited a feud. We rented, then bought a farm from a widow named Mrs. Lynch. The farm bordered land owned by the Thomas family. The Lynch family and the Thomas family had a fence-line feud that had started in the early 1900s. Finally Mr. Lynch brought in a surveyor who found a half-mile long fence was setting three feet on Lynch's land. A legal settlement included moving the fence back to the property line and forced Thomas to give Lynch an easement through his section of the fence to Lynch so Lynch could have access to twenty-four acres he owned right in the middle of Thomas's farm. There were hard, hard feelings and alliances. One could be a friend of the Thomas family and their relatives or the Lynch family and their relatives but not both. Since we bought the Lynch place we basically took their place in the feud. Not being in on the original fight we were pretty apathetic to the hard feelings until a Thomas shot our bird dog when the dog strayed on his land. He denied he did it for decades but when he got really old he confessed to it. That was all my dad ever wanted, for him to admit it.

Old Mrs. Lynch, she was probably 50, had to move from her old home because we were moving in. So she married a local widower. He was really old too, probably about 50. About a month after they were married it was shivaree time. You had to give them enough time to forget that a shivaree was possible. About forty people, men, women and some kids, less the Thomas family, gathered at the church and we caravanned to the newlyweds home. The cars were driven slowly with lights off and parked just over the crest of a hill from their house. We waited until about fifteen minutes after their lights went out and crept, on foot, up to their house. We were about as quiet as a herd of buffalo. We surrounded the house and on signal we began pounding on their walls and yelling. The lights came on and we all ran for their back door (No one ever used a front door.) They ripped open the door in their night clothes and the old man was carrying a shotgun. We all trooped in and made jokes about how we surprised them and how scared they were. The acted sheepish and gave everyone treats. Then we all went home and laughed and talked about the event for days.

It actually took me a few years to figure out the whole thing was staged. It was all country ritual. They knew we were coming that was why they had treats for so many people. I think they even had their clothes on under their night clothes. Someone was required to snitch so they would be ready. Even their terror and the shotgun was staged. That was the last shivaree I've ever heard of. I guess they were just too silly.

I still have relatives living there and they hate the Thomas family but I don't think they remember why.

Subject: Re: Where have all the shivarees gone? Tue Oct 06, 2009 11:57 am

Good story! Are you our Phil?

Subject: Re: Where have all the shivarees gone? Tue Oct 06, 2009 1:08 pm

Phil, what county was the farm in? My ancestors from Missouri had farms on Grand River. They were all in the corner between Benton, Henry, and St. Clair counties. Most of the farms are now under Truman Lake.

Ann

Subject: Re: Where have all the shivarees gone? Tue Oct 06, 2009 1:11 pm

Now there's a word I haven't seen online for a while.

Malcolm

Subject: Re: Where have all the shivarees gone? Tue Oct 06, 2009 1:12 pm

Shiverees were kind of common place in Tennessee, back in the days when I was growing up. So was running a person out of town on a rail, home made white whiskey, and shotgun weddings.

Where oh where have the shotgun weddings gone? Hmm, maybe more of those might solve one of our societies biggest problems.

Guest

Quote :: Phil, what county was the farm in?

Grundy.