STORIES OF MY MOTHER….PART 3

A FEW YEARS AGO, MY MOTHER PUT DOWN ON PAPER, STORIES OF HER AND BROTHER ALBERT’S CHILDHOOD.

I am going to write these in her words. She has told me some of these stories, and some I am reading for the first time. My mother and family did not have much growing up in a small town, but, they did have loving parents, good times and stories that will endure.

Before Albert was born, we stayed with Uncle Bill. This would be Bill Harkless. He married Blanche’s sister Catherine. Ruben had been their boarder previous to marrying my grandmother Blanche. His first wife Violet Harkless died in 1930. Our house was on Myrtle St and Sassafras. Lester Baker, Uncle Tom Harkless and Daddy built it. When you walked in the front door, there was a big kitchen, then a doorway to the dining room. We had a gas heater in the dining room and living room. There was also a big gas stove in the kitchen. To the left of the kitchen, you would go upstairs. At the top of the stairs was what Daddy called a cubby hole, where they stored things. After you got up stairs, there was a big bedroom to the left where Uncle Tom, Art and George slept. Al and I had a bed in mom and dad’s room. The later, Al moved into the room with the men. We had a closet in each bedroom. There was no bathroom, we got a bath in a big metal tub in the kitchen. We had an outhouse behind our house. In the winter we used a ” slop jar “, that’s what Daddy called it. I called it a metal bucket. We used it at night and in the winter time, the outhouse wasn’t heated of course.

wringer washer

Mom had a wringer washer with two metal tubs she used to rinse our clothes. In the summer, we would hang them outside. In the winter, Daddy put up  a line across the kitchen so we could dry our clothes.

My thoughts….You can see the wringer washer in this picture. And a large cat in the window.A bathroom was later added on to the house, story later. When I would visit with Mother,  I remember the washer in the large bathroom. Also, the claw foot tub we bathed in, and felt exposed to all because the room was so large.

© FANNIESYOURAUNT

MOTHER’S DAY REMEMBRANCES

THESE ARE SOME MOTHER’S DAY CARDS I FOUND IN

GRANDMA’S THINGS, CARDS FROM MY PARENTS TO

THEIR MOMS.

HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY! TO MY MOM AND MOTHER-IN-LAW

CIRCA 1950’S

BLANCHE EWING DEAN AND MAMIE MCCALL PICKENS

WISHING MY MOTHER AND MOTHER IN LAW THE BEST MOTHER’S DAY EVER!

MY MOTHER

ALBERTA LOUISE DEAN PICKENS

LOUISE PICKENS MY MOM

MY MOM HAS BEEN AT THE HOSPITAL WITH MY DAD SINCE THURSDAY. WE ARE MAKING LUNCH FOR MARY NELLE WITH BROTHER SEAN AND SISTER SHANNON, AND DAD, THEN TAKING LUNCH TO MY MOM AND DAD AT HOSPITAL. THANKS FOR ALL YOU DO FOR US MARY NELLE!!!!! YOU ARE WONDERFUL!!

MY MOTHER-IN-LAW

MARY NELLE SMITH BLACK

MARY NELLE SMITH BLACK

THE BEST MOMS IN THE WORLD!!! HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY 2012!!!