Interview with Roy Wilhelm, December 24, 1992

'''Roy''': The first thing I can remember the [[Zemira George Wilhelm|Old Man]] telling about himself, he . . . (said) one of our relatives, [[Clarissa Harden|a woman]], married a guy named Terry, Uncle somebody Terry, ''(Ed. Note:  story also told with Uncle George Draper giving [[Zemira George Wilhelm|George]] the knife)'' and Uncle Terry took a likin' to [[Zemira George Wilhelm|Pa]] and [[Zemira George Wilhelm|Pa]] was just a little kid, 4 years old and Terry would take him with him for company when he would go up the . . . he lived in Rockville where the . . . close to where Zion's Park is and they'd go up the canyon there and cut trees.  All the timber growing in the canyon, not up on the hill and he'd go with him and keep the old man company. The old man felt good about it, he gave [[Zemira George Wilhelm|Pa]] a little pocket knife, a little baby one with blades about that long and the folks didn't object, thought the boy ought to have a  . . . he was just four years old, so he went to playing with the knife.  He had it two or three days when he seen something and he was a runnin' to the house to tell his ma.  He had the knife in one hand, but it was open, and he fell down and throwed his hand out to ketch 'im and that blade went right under his eyeball.  He got up and turned loose of the knife but it didn't come out and went on to the house with this knife floppin' and he was crying and the blood was a squirtin' everthing and boy they got excited and they pulled the knife out.  Word spread to the old ladies around and they all got together and kind of organized.  Some of them did this and that, there wasn't any doctors--the one main thing that Pa remembered was they had to take good care of the knife, there was a part of them took care of him and the rest of them was a committee to take care of the knife.  So they took it and then they left it open and they wrapped it in a greasy rag, got it all wrapped and then they put it behind the kitchen stove in a warm place to keep it comfortable.  Didn't want to offend the knife.  Well, Pa got a high fever, got infection and they thought they was going to lose him but after about ten days, he was a tough old guy, and lived through it and  got alright.  That knife went in one of these wrinkles below his eye so when it healed it didn't even show a scar.  Nobody ever realized  . . .  it never affected his . . .  it never cut any nerves or anything that was optic.  He had as good a vision as anybody.  Well, after pa got out, then the committee with the knife, they got it and took it and buried it in a secret place on the back of the lot, rag and all. It had a great deal to do with the cure.