| Notes |
- - Grandma's oldest brother Elbert named her. Regarding her birth, Grandma wrote, "Borned at home and old country Dr. came by later...He also took out my tonsils & adn. [sic] when I was eight. I had Hooping [sic] Cough when I was 5 and could not hear very good until he took them out. I remember reading lips a lot until then."
Grandma was born about the beginning of the Great Depression: "People were out of work and Elbert quit school and went to work with what was called the C.C. Camp. He was 14 years old.
When I was 5 years old I remember the house we lived in and I would crawl under the bed & hide when a tramp would stop by for food or work. There was a lot of them during the depression. Mom would not let them in but she alway [sic] gave them something to eat."
Grandma describing her bedroom: "I slept in a small bed in the kitchen. We only had two rooms. One time Mom pulled a box out from under my bed in the winter time & a snake was curled up in it."
Grandma describing where she played: "Mom always had some kind of flower in bloom and the garden was at the edge of the yard. We did not play in the yard much. We were all over the hills & woods & a creek near by."
Grandma describing her favorite store: "Ike's Country Store. I would walk to the store. It was 2 mile [sic] to it and carry a half dozen eggs in a syrup bucket to trade for what I wanted."
Grandma describing church and (lack of) attendance: "Church was held at Black Oak, where we went to school at, but afer [sic] we had walked there all week for school we did not go on Sunday. We did not have the clothes to go to church. I had two dresses my first year of school & they were made out of feed sacks that were printed cloth back then. I wore Virgil's over-alls a lot and shirts, but so did some other kids.
I would go to school and then cook supper when I was 9 years old and have it ready when Mom got home & I would put [an] alarm clock in a syrup bucket so when it went off it would wake me & Virgil up so we could go to school, as Mom had to leave every morning at 5 to get to town in time to be at work. I also had to tye [sic] Virgil shoes for him every morning for a long time. That is why I still tye [sic] my shoes different than other people. I taught myself."
When asked how girls were expected to behave, Grandma replied, "To be seen but not heard."
Grandma describing how she helped around the homestead: "We had to carry in the wood to cook & warm with, also go to the well for water. I helped her [Granny] saw logs up for fire wood, clean out the chicken house, feed the hog, and we also milked the cow. There was always something to do." Granny taught Grandma how to cook, iron, sew, and quilt. "Also how to hunt the wild strawberrys [sic], wild onions & certain kind of mustard greens. We also dug up certain kind of roots used for tea, which she would make for us when we had cramps with our period."
A school event Grandma enjoyed: "Our pie suppers. We would bake a pie, put it in a box and the boys would bit on it, and you had to eat it with them."
A favorite song of hers and Grandpa's: "(Remember Me) I am the One Who Loves You."
Grandma's first job: "Waitress at 25 cents an hour and if you wear [sic] lucky enough to get a tip it was 5 cents or 10 cents. Now you know why Grandpa has such a time when you all leave such a big tip."
Describing her first plan trip: "When I was in the service and I caught what we called a hop which was a military plane going they way you wanted to go which was from Virginia to Missouri when I had a few days leave. Only the pilot & co-pilot and one other seat which was right in back of the hole we had to climb up in to get in the plane..."
Grandma and Grandpa met at Petersburg, Virginia: "I was 19 years old and was in the service. A girl friend & I had went over to the service club to listen to the band & he was there with some of his friends." She was attracted to his curly black hair and dark complexion! When they were married a few years later, Grandma wore a blue suit with a white blouse. Her most cherished of jewelry was their wedding bands. They were both purchased together for $14 the day before the wedding -- Ma and Pa had to pool their money together to get them.
Grandma feels especially close to God when "I go fishing up in the mountains & see the beautiful mountains and stream and all of His beautiful flowers & trees."
Her biggest disappointment: "When we losted [sic] the little twin girls. I had always wanted twins. After we losted [sic] our little girls my sister Hazel had twin girls & one of Jack sister [sic] had twins the next year. It still hurts." [Grandmother's Memories to Her Grandchild, 2002]
- Grandma said she graduated high school in 1948.
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1929 - 2019 (89 years)
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