Momo Powers

On August 8, 1889, one hundred and twenty four years ago, my grandmother, Annie Lola Horn Powers, was born. I am remembering my "Momo" days of walks on the mountain, gathering moss for the big tree by her back door, digging worms for fishing, and most of all her cinnamon toast. I am thankful for the rich inheritance of caring for others, strength in adversity, and faith in Christ which Momo entrusted to me and all of her family.

fishing at Horn's Lake  early 1960's

Momo and Grandpa  early 1940's

Momo Knew trees and plants because her aunt married Dr Jordan who took her with him and taught her herbs and trees. Folks used to call her for baby delivery in case the dr didn't get there. 

Molly Kirk was her favorite aunt. 

Used to pick "squirrel ears" for salve

Pickin and grinnin

Mom loved to play the guitar and sing. She sang in a trio on the radio.

Country Store

Robert and Annie Powers owned the country store at Chandler Springs beginning in the early 1939's until it burned from an electrical fire in 1944. They sold gas and groceries. Mom said you could get back and forth to town and all around for a quarters' worth. Most of the cars that shopped there were A models and T models. You had to put the gas in the front. They sold cow, mule and dog feed. Also all types of groceries like flour, meal and hoop cheese.  After the fire, the store was rebuilt. The store was rebuilt and operated by Emma (daughter) and Beck Beckwith first and then by Hop (son) and Helen Powers.  They got electricity after 1947. Then they had a meat counter. The store was sold in the 1960's and eventually burned down, cause unknown.

Dale, Glenn, Kaye, Jean and Sue in front of the original store. We think this is Hop's 42 Ford.

Rebuilt Store

 

 

The Siblings

Mom was the youngest of six. They were in order of birth:

Walter (Hop)
Lucille
Grace
Emma
Raymond (Pete)
Laverne

with Momo

The Climber

One day, mom missed me and couldn't find me. I was crawling, so I was less than a year old.  She looked everywhere. She would call me and I would grunt, so she knew I was somewhere.  She walked into the living room and looked up and I was sitting on top of the upright piano. She had no idea how I got up there. It's a wonder that I hadn't fallen!  However, my love of climbing continued.  When I was about 3, Daddy was fixing the roof of the house.  I called his name and he looked around and saw me at the top of the ladder.  Mom said it nearly scared him to death!  Being a country girl, climbing must have been in my blood.  My favorite memory of a young girl in Chandler Springs was climbing our plum tree and eating plums to my heart's content.  I also liked to climb the chinaberry tree next to it.  My climbing continued to Coleman Drive where I spent many days at the top of the pine tree in our back yard and in the mimosa in the front!

School

Mom started to school at Chandler Springs School where she attending the 3 room school for First through the 6th Grade. When she started school, they went to Mr Langley's store to buy paper and pencils. Mr Langley gave her a little pair of scissors. She thought she was rich! (Mr. Langley's store was on the Ashland Hwy just before the turn to Clairmont Springs). For the 7th grade, the Chandler Springs kids were bussed to Millerville. A few weeks after she started 7th grade, her dad had his appendix out. He started thinking about how far it was to Millerville and wanted her to stay with Hop and Helen and Grace and Bill in Talladega and attend school there.  She would swap out who she stayed with, 3 nights with Grace and Bill, 2 with Hop and Helen, and vice versa and go home on the weekends.  Grace and Bill lived on the highway near Bemiston and Hop and Helen lived in Bemiston where they all worked in the cotton mills.  She rode the bus to school. The bus made 2 trips each morning and evening, taking only boys the first trip and only girls the second.  She returned to Millerville for the 8th grade and then went to Little Heflin for 9th and Clay County High for 10th through 12th.  She graduated in 1946.

 

Grace and Bill's house in Talladega.  left to right - Gail Camp, Laverne Powers (about 14 yrs), Dale Jacobs in front, Bill Camp and Lucille Jacobs.

Laverne

Summers

There wasn't much to do as teenagers in the country, so a group of them (about 15) would climb the mountains for entertainment.  When Mom was about 14, a group of them climbed up to the Pinacle and walk towards Horns Mountain fire tower.  Their usual route would bring them down the mountain behind the store and they would stop by the spring for water.  When they got to the spring, Marvin Brewer and Turner Sims had gotten there first and were cooling their feet in the spring! YUK! So they had to get their water from the branch.


The Pinacle

Swimming and Falling

Twice, when she was little, Mom almost drowned.  The first time was when she was about 2 years old and she was swimming with her siblings who were much older then her.  They had put her up on a rock and would tell her to jump into the water with them catching her. She climbed up on the rock and jumped but she didn't realize they were not watching her. Emma and Lucille got to her first.  They noticed her white hair floating when she was underwater and grabbed her as she went under.


The second time was before she started to school. Mom woke up from her nap and called for Mama.  No one answered.  She thought they might be at the spring, so she went to the creek and hollered for her.  Getting no answer, she proceeded across the creek on a foot bridge.  It had been raining and the creek was up.  She made it to the spring, but no one was there so she started back across the foot bridge. She got dizzy and fell in.  Momo and the kids heard her scream.  It was said that Hop jumped a 5 strand barbed wire fence to get to her.  He saw her floating down stream and told her to hold onto a bush on the edge of the water.  She grabbed and held until he could get to her.

Mom and Annie Jo

Mom was surrounded by family growing up, immediate and extended. She and her distant cousin, Annie Jo Wesley, were good friends and when they were 14 or 15 they took the bus to Op (or Enterprise) to visit family. They thought they were very grown up as they were wearing stockings for the first time. On their way home, they had a layover in Montgomery and decided to walk to the capital. However, it was raining and the rain and mud were making their stockings dirty so they decided to stay at the station. Mom says it was hard to keep them up, walking so much. They were rayon, not nylon.

Mom and Annie Jo used to sing together. At the store, there was a swing in the front and they would sit and sing. Mr. Ben Sawyer who delivered the gas, liked to hear them sing. One delivery he said, " I'm gonna get a Coke, y'all sing - I'm tired!" This was before the store burned on June 26, 1944 on Archie's birthday.

Annie Jo Wesley