Family Visits, Cemeteries & Friends

Well there is no particular order to my posts from our trip, just as the moment moves me to write about the next little things we did while we were gone.

For this post I will be talking about all my family and friends that we were able to see while we were in Kentucky.  I also have a couple of videos of the cemeteries where my Mom's parents and my Dad's, mom and stepdad are buried, all there in Crittenden County in Western Kentucky.  My Mom's parents are buried at Deer Creek Baptist Church Cemetery in Sheridan and my Dad's mom and stepdad are buried at Sugar Grove Cumberland Presbyterian Cemetery, not far from Marion.

My Mom has three sisters still living and they all live in Henderson, Kentucky her brother, Guy lives in Florida so I did not get to see him.  They are the children of Ermon Fraley and Daisy Loftis, with Barbara the oldest, then Amy and last but not least Iva.  Guy was born after my Mom and before Amy and my Mom was born after Barbara.  They lost a little sister and brother when they were young named, Connie Rose, 1947-1950 and Edward Jewell, 1952-1954.  Connie was born after Amy and Edward was born after Iva, and my Mom, Erma Jean died almost 6 years ago.

We meet with them a number of different times while we were there and had a great visit with each one of them.  We even all met at Cracker Barrel in Henderson for lunch one of the days we were there.  I was wanting to video and ask my aunts questions, but they were not wanting to be videod, I barely got pictures, but they answered quite a few questions for me, so that will have to do, but maybe next time I can talk them into it.  😉

Saturday night before we left that following Monday to come back home, Aunt Barbara had a family get together at her house and just about everyone that lives close by came.  We had fried chicken, veggie casserole, fresh tomatoes, green beans, cole slaw and jello salad, enough to feed an army at least.  For dessert there were brownies, chocolate cake and my Aunt Amy made me a raisin cream pie just like Mamaw, her momma use to make.  I hadn't had one in years and it was delicious.  There were two slices left when we left that night and I got to bring them with me and had them for a midnight snack, well it was actually closer to 10 then midnight, though.  I know I should not have eaten the one slice well off three slices, before the night was over, but what can I say when you haven't had something for so long and it's there right in front of you!!!  My blood sugars actually weren't that bad the next morning, so there must not have been a lot of sugar in it thankfully.

Every time I was snapping pictures, Aunt Barbara would move and they were all pretty blurry, so all I got was a semi blurry side view, I need her daughter, Phyllis to take a picture for me and send me one if she can get her Mom to stand still long enough that is.  Aunt Barbara is just like Mamaw was, always moving and doing and being a wonderful hostess.

I got Aunt Amy to look at me for a minute and my cousin, Phyllis is in the background.

Aunt Iva hates for her picture to be taken as much as I do, but I got one when she wasn't looking. 😄

My cousins. Teresa and Debbie's, granddaughters dared Aunt Iva to throw her leg up in the air like they were doing.  She tried it but Lillie had to help her hold her leg up.  😉

Aunt Iva and I have a special bond, I was the first granddaughter of my Mom's parents and Iva's first niece and so there are a number of pictures of her and I together, including these two here.

Here are some of the rest of the bunch from supper on Saturday night.

Uncle Joe, husband of Aunt Amy.

My husband, Roy with Uncle Roger, husband of Aunt Iva.

Aunt Amy's daughter, my cousin, Teresa, with her granddaughter, Piper.

Debbie's granddaughter, Lillie on the left and Teresa's granddaughter, Nevaeh on the right.

Aunt Amy's youngest grandson, Little Guy's son, Brennan.

My Aunt Amy's daughter, Debbie, my crazy cousin, love her tons, she is being goofy as always.

Three of my cousins from left to right, Phyllis, Teresa, her daughter-in-law, Amanda and Debbie.  They told me to do some photoshop on them, but I love them just the way they are.

We had such a good visit that night and it was wonderful to be able to laugh and joke and reminisce about all those who have gone before us.  Phyllis' dad, Uncle Leon, Teresa and Debbie's dad and brother, Uncle Tommy and Little Guy, my Mom and Dad and of course, Mamaw and Papaw who we all loved dearly.  Family is special and I am so thankfully that family is eternal and that we will all see each and everyone of them again.

On Wednesday, May 31st, Roy and I along with Aunt Barbara, Aunt Amy and Uncle Joe and Aunt Iva all went down to Marion and went to the cemetery where Mamaw, Papaw, Connie and Edward are all buried as well as a number of other family members.  Here are just a few pictures from that day.

My Papaw and Mamaw

Their daughter, Connie

Their son, Edward

Papaw's daddy and stepmom, Robert Fraley and Mary Belt.  Papaw's Mom died in the flu epidemic of 1918 when he was 4.  I just loved visiting Papaw and Mamaw Fraley in Sheridan when I was a kid. He always had the prettiest garden, just like his son, my Papaw did.  Aunt Amy told a story while we were there by their grave about Papaw Fraley.  She said she remembered how her grandpa would be out working in the garden, plowing with his old mule and he would be singing at the top of his lungs, "When the Roll is Called up Yonder", then the mule would stop or do something and he would cuss a blue streak and then pick up the song where he had left off and keep on plowing. 😄

Papaw's half-brother, Bobby and his wife Juanita who just passed away on April 7th.  She had sent me a Christmas card and ask if I was coming home this year and to make sure I stopped by to see her while I was in and I was planning on doing just that.  She was a sweetheart and I always loved visiting with her with I was home.  I sure missed seeing her this time.  😢

Roy and Aunt Barbara as we were walking back to the cars.

Hopefully they don't shoot me, but I was recording as we were walking around the cemetery.  The following is the little video I did there.

Deer Creek Baptist Church Cemetery

After we left the cemetery we all drove back into Marion and went to The Front Porch for a fantastic lunch of catfish, hush puppies, coleslaw, beans, tomato relish and cornbread.  If you haven't eaten there and you are in the area you really need to try it, the food is fabulous.  I stop in every time I am home.  It was the first time Roy had eaten there though and he said, if we lived there he would be eating there at least once a week.  It is located at 914 S. Main just as you are going out of town on towards Princeton.

After lunch, Barbara, Amy, Joe and Iva went back to Henderson and Roy and I went out to Sugar Grove Cumberland Presbyterian Cemetery where Mama Jessie and Pa Corley are buried and then on to the Ferry, the Garden and the Cave afterwards.  I took some pictures and did a video so you can see what a pretty spot they are in.

Don't they have a pretty view....

The following is a short video clip from their graves.

Sugar Grove Cumberland Presbyterian Cemetery

On Friday, June 2nd, Roy and I went and visited with Uncle Bobby and Aunt Charlene down in Franklin, Kentucky and we got some of pictures of them.  I forgot to get one of Michael, Mandy, Abby and Colin who stopped by to visit while we were there.  Michael and Mandy are their son and daughter and my cousins and Abby and Colin are Mandy's kids.  Uncle Bobby is child #10 of Mama Jessie's and my Daddy's baby brother.  We took them out to supper at a restaurant in Portland, Tennessee not far from their home for catfish, what can I say I love catfish and so does Uncle Bobby. Uncle Bobby always reminds me that I said Bobby before I said Daddy when I was a baby.  While Daddy was at work Uncle Bobby would come to our house there in Marion and play with me and so he got me to say Bobby first. 😊 The following are two pictures of the houses we lived at in Crittenden County when I was a baby and that Uncle Bobby would come too, teaching me to say his name.

We also met with Uncle George child #4 of Mama Jessie and one of Daddy's older brother's on May 30th, but I will be doing a separate post on him, because I was able to do a number of video clips of him talking about the family and telling stories.  Uncle George and Uncle Bobby are the only two still with us of my Daddy's siblings, their last sister, Violet, who we all called Aunt Sis, just passed away this past year on November 18, 2016.

Uncle Bobby & Aunt Charlene

Uncle Bobby, Aunt Charlene & Roy

Uncle Bobby, Aunt Charlene & Me (Vickie)

Since I forgot to get pictures of Michael and Mandy and her family I went to Mandy's facebook page and got some cute pictures of her kids, Mandy and her husband, Tony.  We didn't see Tony or Logan that day, but I usually do when I am visiting.

Mandy & Tony

The kids first and last days of school for 2016/2017, Abby, Colin & Logan

I took this picture of Uncle Bobby's family when I was home in 2015 and it has Michael in it.

We also went to Newburg, Indiana and visited with my cousin, Peggy and her two daughters, Becky and Melissa and Melissa's husband, Jon for a few hours on Monday, May 29th.  Peggy is Mama Jessie's oldest grandchild and the oldest child of my Daddy's half-brother, William Teague.  Mama Jessie had 50 grandchildren and I fit there in the middle somewhere.  I have never counted to see exactly what number I am though.

Peggy & Vickie

Peggy & her daughters, Melissa & Becky.  Becky had a stroke last year and is slowly regaining some of her mobility, but is doing really good for as bad as her stroke was.  She lives in Indianapolis but was down visiting with her Mom and sister for a month.

Melissa & Jon

Me, Melissa & Becky

FRIENDS

Whenever I am back home I always make sure I am there over at least one Sunday, so I can go to church and see all of our old friends that have been there since my Dad and Mom started going to church there when I was four years old.  My Daddy joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in 1952 in Visalia, California and my Mom joined the church in 1962 in Henderson, Kentucky and I was baptized when I was 8 years old.  Here is a picture of the building I was baptized in 51 years ago, with the bigger part having been added on a few years later after I was baptized there and a picture of me in front of the old part of the building as well.

It is always such a great feeling to walk in there and see all our old friends, the White's, Coots, Walters, Gregory's and Davis'.  The White's and Coots families all came to Henderson around the same time and were members of the church already and became immediate friends with my parents around the time I was baptized.  The Walters, Gregory's and Davis' joined in the late 60's and early 70's and have been there ever since.  We had lunch with the White's on the first Sunday and lunch with the Davis' on the second Sunday we were there.  They have and will always be wonderful friends and until my girls were grown they thought the White's grandkids were their cousins, because we would always go and visit them whenever we were in Kentucky, just like we do our blood relatives.  I was so busy visiting and talking that I forgot to take pictures again, but facebook comes in pretty handy for that kind of thing.  I hope they don't shoot me for swiping some of their pictures.

The first picture is the White Family in 2016, Pat and Tom are in the middle with their 3 daughters, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, they are missing one great-grand that was born after this picture was taken.  We saw all of them but Emily and her family who live in Wyoming.  My Mom and Pat were best friends and did stuff together all the time when I was a kid growing up and we were always at each others homes.

JR & Mary Coots in 2017, JR and Pat are brother and sister, their parents were wonderful people.

Marsha Walters Carrier in 2011

Keith & Lee Walters in 2015, Keith & Marsha are brother and sister.  Their Mom, Jerry and my Mom were great friends back in the day.

Jim & Terry Davis in 2016

Jim & Selena Gregory in 2009, I also saw Jim's dad, Richard, but didn't get a picture of him either.

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My Papaw and Mamaw lived out on a little hill about halfway between Henderson and Owensboro near the tiny little community of Hebbardsville for over 40 years.  Their neighbors were some of the sweetest people you will ever meet.  Granddad and Momma Mayes wanted my grandparents to be their neighbors and so they gave them 3 acres of land for one whole dollar and on that land my Papaw built their house and lived there till the day they died.  Granddad and Momma's daughter, Mary and her husband, Jack and their children, Peggy, Patsy, Don and Ricky lived next door to them. Ricky was their youngest and was my age and we probably climbed every tree and swung on every grapevine in the gully between the two little hills that those houses set on when we were kids.  We called them Granddad and Momma and Aunt Mary and Uncle Jack and again, no blood relation, but some of the best neighbors and friends you could ever ask for.

Aunt Mary and Mamaw both worked at Henderson Middle School as cooks and were working there when I was in middle school in 7th and 8th grades. After Papaw passed away in 1994, they kept a close eye on Mamaw and made sure to check on her daily.  All my aunts and uncles lived in town about 20 or so miles away so they weren't out there every day and it was so nice to know that Mamaw was being watched over.  Aunt Mary would call every night and read some scriptures to Mamaw and on Sunday's they would pick her up and take her to church at Cash Creek Baptist just down the road a mile or two.  Ricky and Don kept the yards mowed and they eventually even took out most of the trees in the gully between the hills so they had a clean line of sight to her house.  If a car they didn't recognize went down her lane one of them would show up almost immediately to make sure they were on the up and up.

When I came to town almost every year, if there was something that needed fixing around Mamaw and Papaw's place I would try to take care of it while I was there.  Back in the day I didn't have money for a rental car and so I would drive Papaw's car or truck to pick up what I needed.  After Papaw died they sold those, so if I needed anything at a hardware store I could count on Don to pick me up in his truck and take me to Owensboro to pick up what I needed and then he would help me install or fix what was needed.  The following are some pictures of Mamaw and Papaw's place that I took when they were still there and then a picture of Aunt Mary, Don and Ricky when we stopped by to see them on this trip.

The lane leading to their house.

Papaw's pink dogwoods next to the carport.

Papaw's barn, it has been torn down now, but man we played in there a lot.

Their house on the hill.

Picture taken on May 29th, from left to right: Ricky, Aunt Mary & Don.  Don said he would be 71 the following day and Aunt Mary said she was going to be 89 in two weeks.  Wonderful people and they were so happy we stopped in to visit and I am so glad we did.

Family and friends is what it is all about.  Knowing that these relationships will still continue no matter how far apart we may all live or how often we might see each other, our love for each other continues day after day.  There are so many that have passed on now, but like I said before, I know we will see all of them again, because life is eternal after all.  💖💖💖