Metheny was the eldest of seven children born to a cotton farmer in Silverdale in Dunklin County in the southeastern Bootheel of Missouri.In 1938, Metheny hopped a freight train and picked apples, strawberries, and cotton in Michigan, Texas, Illinois, and Arkansas.
Metheny was the eldest of seven children born to a cotton farmer in Silverdale in Dunklin County in the southeastern Bootheel of Missouri. While in his teens, Metheny hopped a freight train in 1938 and picked apples, strawberries, and cotton in Michigan, Texas, Illinois, and Arkansas.