More reflections

Well it's been a while since I posted about Mom, but there's not a day that goes by when I don't think about her.  Mostly in the morning when I look in the mirror and see those wrinkles and lines and I think that I look more like her everyday.  Especially when I put on lipstick.  I hold my mouth the same way she did - I guess because I watched her often.

I found a snipet video yesterday that she made the last time that we were in Florida with Lisa and Kay.  I also came across one she made when we were coming home from rehab just a week before she left us.  I came across these notes, quickly jotted down during the last time we traveled to Chandler Springs together:

It was late one night and it was coming a storm. Momo woke us all up to head for the cellar, but Grace would not get up and refused to get out of bed. Lucille was crying and said "Mama, make her go!"  Grace said she wasn't going, so Momo said, "Just leave her!".  The storm passed and Grace was fine.

Also, Grace had curly hair when she was young and all the others had straight hair.  She wanted straight hair so bad, that she hid under the porch and cut all her hair off because she wanted to be like every one else.

That's about all I have today, but the memories live on with me and are most precious.

Snipets

One year ago yesterday, my sweet mom left this world for glory.  I shared this milestone day - the last of the firsts, with family - talking over old times, reminiscing, and sharing memory snipets of her and our family.

Dale remembered mom as a young teanager being assigned the job of babysitting Glenn, Larry and him.  She and Odessa would pack a picnic lunch and take them out to the pasture.  Dale remembers that Mom and Odessa would make them little bib overalls and pin them on them.  He remembers the straps over the shoulders.  He also remembered that once, when everyone was picking cotton, he wanted to pick too, so Mom made him a very small pick sack with a long strap.  It was so small that it probably only held a few boles.  I remember her telling the story that her siblings did the same for her. 

We also talked about Momo and her love of fishing.  We both remember digging worms in her yard for those times we got to tag along.

Sometimes I feel like John Boy Walton, with such wonderful memories of a child hood gone by, though not spent on Walton's Mountain, but in the safety of my beloved Chandler Springs.

I thank you all who remembered Mother and me yesterday both in person, in prayer and by mail. Her memories are precious reminders of what a treasure she was to us all.

Courtship

After Mom graduated from high school in 1946, she enrolled in beauty school in Talladega. There she met a woman named Jewell Ellis who had a brother named Carl Cagle. Jewel wanted to introduce her to Carl and he had come by the beauty school once, but Mom was out to lunch. The woman that ran the beauty school had a shop in Sycamore where mom worked once she graduated. The Cagles lived next door to the beauty school. Mr. Cagle had built a building that had a grocery store on one side and the beauty shop on the other. Mom finally met dad when he came by the beauty shop to tell her about Jewel's son Colin had arrived. Colin was born on May 2, 1947. Dad and his friend Ralph Britton were riding when he motorcycles and he and mom got to talking. Dad came out to Chandler Springs to meet her family. He was about to go to Oklahoma to work with his brother Verdo, but was so distracted because he had fell in love with mom that His sister -in -law told him he should go back to Alabama and marry that girl. So he did. Mom didn't think he would come back. She was excited to see him. Mom and Dad were sitting on the porch talking to Momo and when Momo got up to go in the house, dad followed her and ask for mom's hand. They were married on August 10, 1947. 

1st Anniversary

My Mom and Dad were married 67 years ago August 10, 1947.  While going through Mom's things yesterday, I found a letter my Dad had written to her on their first anniversary. He was finishing bookkeeping school in Birmingham and she was at home in Chandler Springs. I had read this letter many times throughout my life, but it was especially sweet to read yesterday. I am thankful to have had the wonderful example of a loving couple, who made it through the hard times together and always looked to God for their strength. Their lives are a great legacy which I will always treasure. 

She Flew Away

Psalm 90:10 and 12
"The days of our lives are 70 years and if by strength 80, their boast is only labor and sorrow, for soon we are cut off and we fly away. So teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom."

My Mother was a wise woman. If there is one thing she taught me by her example was to find good in every situation.  So in her passing, I take comfort in this wisdom.

Mom was a woman of faith who lived a simple life facing many challenges (even on her last day) with grace and humility - giving thanks to God in the good and the bad and always with a joyful heart.

She loved her family and friends and treasured every card, every picture, every small act of kindness shown to her.  She loved watching her family grow up and embraced email, Facebook and Blogs to virtually watch when her visiting days were few. She loved sending and receiving cards - the "old fashioned" way of letting someone know you care.

She had a giving heart and always considered herself fortunate enough to share.  This is a legacy passed down from her mom and siblings and one she passed on to me.

She was a saver - every quarter, every dollar she could "stick back" she did.  Her favorite hiding place was behind the pictures of those she loved.  And it wasn't just money she saved - it was plastic bags, small containers, stamps, rocks and anything to do with sewing. She was sentimental and treasured even the smallest gift.

She was a crafter and an artist - clothing not only herself, but me, my dolls and many others.  The work of her hands creating a small coat from a grandmother's old one because times were hard and her young daughter needed to stay warm. My childhood memories are filled with fabric and thread and beautiful easter dresses and barbie doll clothes all created by through the whirr of her Singer. As an entrepreneur, she created custom handbags through which she financed her first trip to Alaska.  We made Christmas decorations, countless pans of chocolate fudge and even our own doughnuts made from "good 'ol biscuits in a can."

She loved music - music of all kinds - playing and singing from a very young age. Music was a way of life for her. She was an avid reader and had adapted to the new e-books which allowed her failing eyesight to continue her passion.

She faced every challenge, every adversity with a positive outlook. I never remember her being at odds with anyone except her husband and her teenage daughter - which never lasted very long.

She was very loving and forgiving.  She received her wayward daughter into her arms without being judgemental. She was truly a picture of God's unmerited favor and unfailing love.

She has taught me so many lessons and will continue to do so as I ponder her life with awe and amazement. She was an exceptional woman - beautiful and wise - and I will miss her dearly.

Eva Laverne Powers Cagle

12/3/1927 - 7/24/2014

Squirrel hunting

Mom went squirrel hunting one time when she was about 16 or 17. It only took one shot to bag her first one. She brought it back to the store where Mr Brewer said "I only heard one shot". To which mom replied "I only needed one"  and she held up the squirrel. She felt so bad for killing the poor thing she never went hunting again. 

Fiddler's Convention

Mom and Archie Brewer were best friends growing up. She always thought of him as a brother. They sang together as often as they could. They went to a fiddlers convention in Millerville (about 1944).  The convention didn't have a classification for duets but they let them play anyway.  Archie played "Steel Guitar Rag" on the mandolin and it brought the house down. They were awarded a dollar each. They punched each other and laughed all the way home because they couldn't believe they received money! The next year mom received an invitation to come back and perform, but Archie was already in Germany in the war.

School Programs

During the school year of 39-40, Mom was in a program at Talladega High (7th grade) and she was jumping rope and tap dancing with Eileen Miller. she forgot her jump rope because she was staying with Hop and Hellen. The PE and Science teacher ( Miss Bean) would not let her be in the program so Eileen had to perform alone.  They had bought dresses alike. Mom's cost $.87 and they performed to "A Little Old Lady Passing By".  Eileen's parents taught singing school at Chandler Springs church. 

Riding the Rails

Mom's dad, Robert E. L. Powers, worked on the bridge crew for ABC Railroad, which is currently CSX. Because of his employment, his family had passes to ride the rails anywhere ABC traveled. The train was the primary transportation to town and points beyond.  When mom was about 14 (1942) her sister Emma and husband Beck Beckwith lived in Americus Georgia. Another sister Grace and her husband Bill Camp lived near Brunswick, Ga.   Bill was working as an electrician. They had come home to Chandler Springs to get their furniture. Mom returned with them to Brunswick. Bill and Grace lived upstairs in an oyster house. Grace sent Emma a post card saying that Mom was coming from Brunswick on her way home and to pick her up in Oglethorpe, Ga on a particular summer day. (Oglethorpe was the closest ABC station to Americus.) Mom arrived in Oglethorpe late (about midnight) to find no one was there to pick her up.  The only other person in the station was the Station Master. About 2 AM, the Station Master concluded that no one was coming to pick her up, so he arranged with another line to transfer her to Americus. The train made an unplanned stop to pick her up.   She only had a nickel, so Mom isn't sure how the ride was paid.  When she arrived at Americus early the next morning, she made a call to Emma with her nickel. Mom had never used a phone before, much less a pay phone. She put the nickel in the phone and the operator came on and told her she should have waited until the party answered.  Fortunately, Emma answered and came to pick her up.  Later that day in the mail delivery, the post card announcing her travels arrived a day late. Now that really was snail mail!

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

Christmas

Mother said it was near Christmas when she was 4 or 5 (during the depression) and she was playing outside near the shed. She wandered into the shed and found a tricycle! She climbed aboard and came riding it out of the shed - proud as she could be.  Momo told her that Santa Claus was hiding that tricycle in there and she better take it back quick before he found out! She immediately rode it back into the shed. The next day, she looked for it in the shed, but it wasn't there.  At Christmas - she received that tricycle! She later learned that her oldest brother Hop had taken pieces of broken tricycles he found and had put them together and painted it to make it good as new for her.  What love he had for her! 

Tidbits

Tidbits from my mother-

My grandmother, Annie Lola Horn Powers, had her kidney injured in the 19teens when a train she was boarding lunged forward and slammed her into the door way. She received $25 for her injuries.  This injury later led to her kidney removal in the 1930s.  It was one of the first surgeries of its kind at the Citizens Hospital.  She lived until the age of 81 (1889 - 1970).

Gail and Kaye had the hooping cough at the same time and stayed with Momo. They were both little. Kaye was about over it and Gail was still sick.

Grace and Bill lived across from the store when Gail was little.  They both worked at the cotton mill. Gail would wake up in the mornings and come out on the porch and call. Mom would go over and get her. Once Mom was carrying Gail into the store and her foot got hung on some wire.  She slung her foot, but it wouldn't come off. She slung again, and it hit the wall. It wasn't wire, but a rat snake which bit her.  It didn't get infected, but later got dew poison which made it hard to walk when school started.

Mom, Annie Jo Wesley and 2 of her brothers and Archie used to go fishing. They fished in every branch around. They caught a bunch of minnows, but never anything big rnough to take home and cook. But they always had fun.

Mom got her love of fishing from her mom. They always carried a line and Momo cut a pole from a bush. After every rain shower, Momo would always say - "you dug the worms- I'll get the line."