Irene and Bob Henderson-1944My Mom has been staying with me for a couple of days since the weather has been bad. She is recuperating from being in the hospital with pneumonia as well. I have been wanting to go over some genealogy with her so yesterday we took the plunge and began our work. While asking her questions about some family members, she began to tell me story after story of her life. I was held spell bound. Some of the stories I had heard before but most were new to me. I knew I would never remember them so I started typing as fast as I could making sure I got the details right. It was such an enjoyable afternoon.
Mom grew up in Mitchell County, NC. She is one of 13 children. If you have ever see the show Christy, then you can relate to the circumstances she and her family grew up in. She attended school in a little one room schoolhouse through the 7th grade. Her teacher then arranged for her and her sister to attend Crossnore school away from home. While she was attending that school she was elected the beauty queen. I'm sure you can see why from her picture here. Unfortunately she didn't get to go back to that school because her mother was having a very difficult pregnancy and she stayed home to take care of all the household duties as well as care for younger siblings. She regretted not returning to Crossnore but she realized her family needed her at home. She did attend a school that was closer but she had to walk two miles each way to catch the bus.
Mom and most of her siblings were not able to complete their whole education because they had to go to work to help support themselves as well as help the rest of the family still at home. She would live with different families and clean for them. She earned all of two dollars a week. I can't imagine doing all that she had to do at such a tender age. Mom has always been a hard worker but she and her family had to in order to survive.
We are truly blessed in our day to have all that we do. I know I have been especially blessed to have the parents that I have. Thanks, Mom and Dad for working so hard to take care of our family.
5 comments:
Wow Faye, she is beautiful
What a fun experience to have. Your mom is so cute.
What a beautiful picture of your Mom. It made me remember that she is as beautiful on the inside as she is the outside.
Faye,
Loved your Christmas letter. Signed on to your blog and read all about your family. Contact me at irobwall@msn.com.
What a beautiful tribute to your mom. I remember her as very quiet and soft spoken, but can remember her sweet laugh. I haven't seen your mom for ... well ... I think I turned 11 the summer we lived in Tennessee, and can't remember seeing her after that.
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