The first long pants that I wore probably were bib overalls. Among country folks, these were the typical garments worn by men and boys. I liked them because they were comfortable and provided several spacious pockets. Overalls had five or more pockets — two in front, two in back and one or more smaller ones on the bib — depending on the makers’ designs.

I needed spacious pockets to carry with me everything that I wanted to carry and as repositories for everything that I accumulated along the way. In keeping with my mother’s directive, there was always a clean handkerchief in one of the back pockets, beginning with my first day in school and lasting forever.

Front pockets might carry any of many different things: a pocket knife (usually a Barlow), marbles, rocks for my slingshot, firm fruit, pecans, dry peanuts or interesting things that I found and wanted to keep. I was not allowed to take my knife to school.

Smokers used bib pockets for cans of Prince Albert tobacco and cigarette papers, even packs of cigarettes when they were not working hard. Camels or Luckies did not fare well when invaded by sweat, so workers had to adapt. My maternal grandfather carried in his bib pocket a plug of chewing tobacco and a small money purse which he took out reluctantly. I used that pocket to transport precious BBs for my air rifle. I was a poor marksman with a slingshot, but sometimes carried one in a back pocket.

Overalls were my attire at Marietta School, a two-room, seven-grade country school, in first and second grades and at Cobbtown School, a grammar (seventh grade) school where I attended for my third grade and half of my fourth grade. Pockets were needed for marbles, army stuff and “found things.”

In the middle of grade four, we moved to a new farm in Toombs County and my parents enrolled me in Lyons School, grammar and high on the same campus, instead of Marietta School. There were more town kids than country kids and town kids were different. Most boys wore pants — not overalls — and tended to consider themselves as somewhat superior. For the first time, I was in a school not full of kin and neighbors.

Mother was adept at “noticing” things and bought pants for my school clothes that fall. I hated them and knew that I would because I hated church clothes. Overalls were more comfortable because they hung on the shoulders with no issue about hips, which are necessary for holding up pants. I was slender, maybe even skinny. I had to cinch down belts to keep pants from sliding off. While worn out overalls were wonderful wear in the summer, tight belts were essential for keeping pants on sweaty bodies. And as always, overalls had better pockets.

A measure of relief came with cargo pants, which were adopted as military “fatigue” uniforms during World War II. They were still britches which required belts, but those cargo pockets on the outside of each thigh were wonderful. Civilian versions caught on quickly. Like denim jeans — which became exceedingly popular about the same time — they have persisted to the present. Unfortunately, cargo pockets have shrunk and now seem to be useful mainly for cell phones. I wore them for decades for hunting, fishing and outdoor work. I also wore jeans, although the Western style has tight pockets and my only pair with cargo pockets wore out years ago.

Lack of pockets on pants worn by movie actors has long puzzled me. They may be seen in early movies where off-the-rack clothing was typical. However, John Wayne soon appeared in jeans turned up three inches at the ankle and devoid of back pockets. Nobody else wears britches with back pockets either. Perhaps actors do not need them, but the people they portray did or do. Their absence diminishes authenticity.

Roger G. Branch Sr. is professor emeritus of sociology at Georgia Southern University and is a retired pastor.