As a family, we had the benefit of 20+ additional years with Granny. After much prodding, she's shared some great stories of her childhood over coffee or milk and cookies. We didn't have that opportunity with Grandpa, so I wanted help coming up with information about Grandpa.Mom hit the mother-load (no pun intended) when she found some hand-written notes in Granny's desk over a decade ago. Granny laughed and explained that she and Grandpa decided to write down some of their childhood memories. Am I grateful that they did. Mom pulled out the packet of hand-written stories for me to got through (and type up to share with the rest of the family). One of the documents was an autobiography of my Grandpa as dictated to Granny back in 1985. It is a three-page, hand-written rundown of his youth. I told mom that I'd love to include it in the memory book and have been typing it up today.
I've got a pretty good memory of Grandpa, even though he passed away more than 20 years ago, but my perspective of his life was skewed through the eyes of a young grandchild. It has been a trip learning about who he was long before he met Granny. He spoke of growing up in the rough country of Black Hill, long before the fields were well groomed and the roads were smooth. He told of going to the milk cow with his mom and his baby kitten with his tin cup to get a fresh refill of milk. He shared about how he and his brother Jack took apart the family's cultivator, much to the horror of his dad...the boys got the "hickory treatment."
He also talked about his school years, working in the cotton fields and how he and Jack stripped the left over cotton one year, sold it and bought a Model A Ford to drive to high school. For the family, it would be hard to believe that Grandpa was ever shy, but apparently he suffered a great deal with shyness in high school. He also shared how he was once arrested as a crime suspect in Hollywood, California after driving around some fancy neighborhoods looking at mansions with a buddy of his. They were later released, having only looked suspicious...you can't make this stuff up!!
This project has been an absolute blast to work on. I've really learned to appreciate my Grandparents that much more and am amazed at the people they were long before our memory of them. I can't wait to get the project finished and I'm looking forward to the other nuggets that might be there for me to find. Here are a few of the cute pictures I've been able to find in the family photo albums.
Betty and her little doll
Imogene (Betty's sister), baby Betty and Gertrude (their Mama)
Elton as a toddler in front of the family home in Black Hill
Elton and his younger brother, Jack
Elton and the family dog "Mutt"
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