REMEMBERING THE PAST

 Remembering: 54 years ago this month we moved to Chesney's little acre on Maloneyville Road which was a part of the Jess Chesney Farm. Jess's son Ross had built a block flattop house on the property and then moved off to Chicago to make it big in the Auto Industry. It was his 4 room block house, concrete floors, no bathroom that we moved into. To us it was Paradise. James had been taken off production work and put on hourly wages at $1.10 an hour and we were paying $50 a month rent. Uncle Jess said we could rent Ross's house for $5.00 a month and any work that we did to it would be applied to the rent. Just putting the water in for $120.00 paid for 2 years rent. So as I said it was Paradise to us. At that time there was probably a total of 12 houses from the George Maloney Home to Tazewell Pike where the Shell is now. Many of those have now passed on. The Roberts, Bakers, Sharps, Onks, Bridges, Halls, Graves, and the Jess Chesneys and Lorn Chesneys to name a few. James mom and dad bought the Jess Chesney place after Jess's wife Cora died of injuries from a car wreck and he remarried and built a home just above the old Farmhouse. James and I had only lived here about 2 years when that happened. About the only traffic passing our house were the people going to work at Hillcrest North and the Workhouse now known as the Knox County Penal Farm. The Jess Chesneys living on one side of us left early for work at the Standard Knitting Mill and Dewey Graves on the other side of us left early for his job. So it was like this was our little town. They all went to bed real early and James would get home about 11:30 at night from his job at the Standard Knitting Mills. We would eat supper at that time and didn't think anything at all about going out in the yard at 12:00 at night and taking a shower. We did not have a bathroom and only running cold water. We lived there for 10 years and it was only when we built this house that we had a bathroom (actually 2) and hot water. Many changes have taken place in the 54 years we have been here. The Roberts built a new home just past their old one and their sons built houses around them. Some of the Onks children now live in the old Onks place and grandchildren have built close. A lot of property has been sold over the years and now a lot of the Babelay property is for sale. It is sad to see the old Crouger Graves house being torn down. He spent many days and many hours sitting on his front porch. My children were free to roam the fields around us with no fear of harm coming to them. Whether it was going to the creek or picking blackberries, walking on the road, playing in the yard or the neighbors yard I never worried about them. We never locked our doors because we never worried about anyone coming in that wasn't invited. But today we have security alarms on all the doors and windows monitored by the police department. The Workhouse where 9 months and 29 days were the maximum is now the Prison. We talk about time changing but it is not always for the better.

60 Year Reunion

60 Year Reunion

I pulled the letter out of the mailbox and opened it and then I thought to myself how could this be? It was an invitation addressed to me. An invitation to a reunion for graduates from Holston High School class of 1961. A 60-year Reunion. Surely it had not been 60 years since I graduated from High School. But after doing the math I realized it was true. 

As I began to think about this my mind went back to 60 years ago when I was 18. I did not know what I wanted to do in life. I started at Holston High School the first year it was built. I enjoyed my high school days and was an average student. I took typing, shorthand, bookkeeping all the classes I needed for a future in business. If I could go back and live those years over knowing how my life would be I would have taken music, art, and home economics. I am glad that I learned to type because I have used it a lot. I should have paid more attention in English because I like to write and blog, and my English is not always correct. It’s kind of like my singing. I love to sing but I don't know how to read music. So, in writing and in singing I just open up and "let it fly". 

But back to reminiscing. I had been dating my longtime sweetheart all through high school and we had plans to get married but not immediately upon graduation. When someone graduated from high school, they were expected to either get married or get a job if they weren't going to college. When you come from a family of 8 children, and you are the 5th in line and a girl there was no expectation of going to college. So, I began to look for a job. 

My first part-time job was with Begard Impression Products typing metal plates for credit cards. After that job was finished, I went to work part- time at Kay Jewelers also typing credit card plates. I enjoyed my time at Kays because my dad worked downtown, and we would go to lunch at Kresses and S&W Cafeteria. I have some good memories of lunch with my dad. 

Almost a year had passed, and it was now 1962 and I began to make wedding plans. So, in June of 1962 I was married to the sweetheart I had dated for 6 years. We were married at North Acres Baptist Church my home church and the church my dad Pastored, and James and I were both saved at. We had a beautiful wedding. My dress came from JC Penny's and our greenery came from the woods behind my house. With forty dollars in our pocket, we had a short Honeymoon and then we moved in with James's parents for the next year.  

A few months passed and I was expecting our first child. So, 1963 began with a move to a rental house on Greenway Drive and the birth of our first child Pamela. Things were hard. Money was tight. James was working production at Standard Knitting Mills and was making about $80 a week. Not long after Pam was born James was taken off production work and put on an hourly wage, so our income went from about eighty dollars a week to forty dollars a week. Even though our rent was only fifty dollars a month it was hard for us to pay it. 

In the Fall of 1963, we moved in a little 4 room block house on James's Uncle Jesses property. The house had been abandoned and we were able to rent it for five dollars a month. His uncle didn't want to charge us any rent but James said we wanted to pay what we could so he said we could pay five dollars a month and subtract anything we spent fixing it up off the rent. We had no water or bathroom. Putting the water in cost $120 so that paid for two years rent. We actually never paid any rent because Uncle Jesse's wife was killed in a car accident, and he sold the property to James’s dad who later gave us the acre we lived on. In 1972 we built another house on the property where I still live today. In October of this year, I will have lived on the same one acre for 58 years. 

After Pam was born and we moved to Maloneyville Road life just happened. I was a housewife and James was still working at the Standard Knitting Mills. In 1966 our son Byron was born. James and I began to think more about the future and how our life was going to be. He hated his job. So, he decided the only way we could do any better was for him to get a better job making more money. This is actually another story about how James went from being a high school dropout to graduating from the University of Tennessee with honors. 

So, after deciding to do something about his job James took the GED test and passed it and took the College Admittance Test and passed it and that was the beginning of his years at UT. At first, he just began to take some classes but as time went on, we realized if he was going to make a change in life, he was going to have to go full time to school. But that also meant that for him to do that I would need to go to work. I got a job at Levi's putting the zipper slides on men's casual pants. The minimum wage was $1.10 but because I had to stand on my feet on my job, I made $1.25 an hour. When I went to work in 1967 Byron was 10 months old and Pam was 4 years old. I worked second shift for the next 3 years while James went to school during the day and watched Byron and Pam at night. 

In 1970 James graduated, as I said, with honors. He wouldn't walk across the stage to get his diploma, so we sat in the audience and watched his class. When James graduated, I quit my job at Levi's. He didn't even have a job yet, but I hated mine so bad that I quit anyway. He worked a part time job that summer for our brother-in-law while he was looking for a teaching position. 

In the Fall of 1970, he went to work at Mascot Elementary as the Social Studies teacher. Things begin to get better. In 1971 our daughter Jennifer was born. We were still living in the block house and attending North Acres Church. In 1972 my dad was diagnosed with lymphoma and died later that year. After a few months we begin to attend church at Fairview Baptist which was closer to our home. The next few years passed by quickly. We built a house, the kids started to school at Gibbs and again life happened. I was a full-time housewife and mother. 

We always had a large garden, and I would do a lot of canning and preserving food. We were members of Fairview, and I sang in the choir. James was doing a lot of hunting and fishing especially in the Summer when he was off from school.  We had three children now and life was the normal day by day living. 

In 1977 I worked for a few months at Olan Mills Studio.  Soon after that we became foster parents. Over the next 5 years we kept a total of 15 children and eventually adopted a little boy who now became our second son Josh. During this time, I was very involved in the Foster Parent Association. I did the Foster Parent Newsletter, and I also taught some Foster Parent Classes for the University of Tennessee.  

In 1979 I went to work at Hillcrest North Nursing Home as a CNA. After working for a while, I decided I liked nursing enough to go to school to become an LPN. So, I quit my job as a nursing assistant and started to school. The school only took a year and when I graduated, I started working at what was then Saint Mary's Hospital. I worked there for two years second shift on 1st Central which was the Med/Surg Floor. 

My children were all in school by this time except for Josh, and l felt I needed to be at home more in the evenings to attend school events and help with schoolwork etc. So, I applied for a day shift job at Hillcrest North where I had worked before. It was only 1 mile from my home.  I was hired in 1984 and worked there until I retired in 2003. 

In December of 1992 I lost my mom to gallbladder cancer.  During those years James taught at three different schools, Mascot, East Knox, and Carter Middle. We joined House Mountain Church and we were there for the next 25 years. I worked in the Fellowship Ministry, and I sang in a Trio. James taught Sunday School and he was a Deacon. I took a lot of classes over the years in sewing, tailoring, flower arranging, computer, cake decorating etc.  We saw our children grow up and graduate from High School and get married. In 1988 we became grandparents for the first time and eventually had a total of 13 grandchildren. Now we also have 3 great grandchildren. 

Life has had many ups and downs, but the worst news came in 2001 when our oldest daughter Pamela was diagnosed with Leukemia. She passed away in 2002 at the age of 39 leaving a husband and 2 young children. She was in the hospital both at St. Mary’s and Vanderbilt for most of that year. During the time she was in the hospital I was diagnosed with Kidney Cancer. In September of that year, I had my right kidney removed and in December Pam passed away. I went back to work at Hillcrest in a few weeks, but I was grieving so bad that I no longer had any pleasure in nursing or even in life at all. So, I retired in March of 2003. 

James retired in 2009 after teaching for 30 years. At that time, we were members of Union Baptist Church. Again, I sang in the choir and James was a Deacon and Sunday School Teacher. After a few months I became restless not having a lot to do. All the children were married and gone from home, so I decided that maybe I needed to find some sort of job. I loved the hours that James had all those years of teaching, so I applied for a job in Knox County Schools as a Cafeteria worker. I was hired and placed at Corryton Elementary. I liked this job probably better than any that I had ever had. It was hard but I loved the interaction with the kids and the teachers. I spent the next 5 and a half years at Corryton and retired again. 

The past 15 years I have enjoyed living. In 2012 I wrote and published a cookbook for my family. I meant it only for my family, but I ended up selling around 300 copies and finally just put it online for anyone to download. I love my family and go out a lot with two of my sisters. I also have two brothers and another sister that I keep in touch with. I attend church each week and am now a member of Highland Baptist Church where I am the Director of Missions. I still sing occasionally in church. James and I moved our membership to Highland after our son Byron was called as their Pastor. 

The next worst thing that has happened in the past 60 years is the loss of my husband James. He was diagnosed with Lymphoma in 2008 and passed away in February of 2016. We had been married almost 54 years. Life has brought many changes in the past 5 years. Where there was a time, I cooked for 10 people I now only cook for 1. Five loads of laundry has become one. Making up three or four beds is now making up half of a bed. Running the dishwasher daily is now running it weekly. I read a lot and I also blog and keep up with a lot of my friends on Facebook. My family calls me daily to see if I am ok or need anything. I still drive and do my own shopping.  

It is still hard to believe it has been 60 years since I graduated from Holston High School. I know a lot of my classmates did not make it to this milestone. I thank God for the wonderful life I have lived and the blessings that He has given me over the years.

My Tribute to James

NOTE: I was going through a folder today looking for a letter that James had written to his Grandchildren and found the memorial I had written to give at James funeral. I may have shortened it a little when I spoke that day, but this was my original copy.  So, I decided to add it to my Blog SnoopSue's News and Views to keep for my family. 

MY JAMES

If you call him Carroll, you are either family or a longtime friend. James and I met in this very same place almost 70 years ago. Not the same building but the original Highland Baptist Church where my dad was pastor. He talked of many memories of Sundays here at Highland with his family and good friends Ron Newman and Bill Monday. I am sure at that time he did not notice the preachers black haired daughter but just a few years later in 1956 after we had moved to North Acres Baptist Church, he did notice the preacher’s daughter singing in the choir wearing a yellow dress. 

In December of 1956 we had our first group date with our Sunday School at a church Christmas Party. I was 13 and he was 16. The next fall James called to ask if I would go to the movies with him. I asked my mom, she said call your dad at work and ask him. I called my dad and he said I will leave the decision up to you to do what you think is right. Of course, I accepted and that was the best decision I ever made. For the next 6 years we had a date every Friday night and saw each other every time the doors of the church opened or if my dad was holding a revival James was right there. When I was 19 and he was 22 we were married there at North Acres the same church where both of us had been saved.

 

James was not able to get a good job because he had not finished school. Due to a couple of humiliating incidents that happened in the 5th grade, one when he was trying to harmonize as he had heard his mom and dad and aunts and uncles sing and not singing like everyone else the teacher said he was singing off key. The other was when he "borrowed" a pair of binoculars off the teacher’s desk that a kid had left when he moved to another school. A big deal was made of it and his mother was called to the school and she cried, and it crushed him. He decided he was through with school and refused to study any more. He read constantly but only what he wanted to, and he said as long as he didn't cause any trouble the teachers just ignored him and passed him on to the next grade. 

When he was in the 8th grade James had rheumatic fever and become homebound. He was sent a teacher and learned a lot during the 5 months he was bedfast. He started to Central High School but became a 9th grade dropout. He would leave school and go fishing and hunting. Most nights would be spent with his best buddy Sherrill Greer cruising around and seeing what mischief they could get into. He said a praying mother was the only thing that protected him during those years. So, when we married, he was basically a high school dropout working at the Standard Knitting Mill running a knitting machine, making minimum wage, and hating every minute of it. 

We had been married about 4 years when one of his bosses at the Standard encouraged him to get his GED and try to further his education. By that time, we already had Pamela and Byron. So, he went and took the GED test and passed it. He decided to try to take some classes at the University of Tennessee. he took the College Admittance Test and passed it. So basically, James started college with a grade school education. Four years later in 1970 he received his bachelor’s degree in Education from the University of Tennessee with honors. That Fall he began his 30-year teaching career teaching History at Mascot Elementary then moving to East Knox Elementary when Mascot closed and finishing at Carter Middle School. James's summers ere his favorite time of the year and he spent time fishing and gardening.  He also loved to hunt.

 More than his love for teaching History was his love for teaching the Bible. James served as a faithful deacon and Sunday School teacher at House Mountain Baptist Church, Union Baptist, and Highland Baptist Church. To him it did not matter if he had one person in his class or 40, he prepared and taught the same writing most of his lessons himself. 

James was also a praying man. He prayed for his children and grandchildren even before they were born that they would make good decisions in life and their marriages and live for the Lord.  I could see the fruits of this during his sickness when more than saying "I love you dad" they would say "I'm praying for you dad." The lowest and most heartbroken I ever saw him was during the illness and loss of our daughter Pamela. He grieved many nights and days and wanted her picture right by his chair where he sat. Many times, he said to me "I can still see Pam coming around the corner from the kitchen to the living room and saying "where's mom"?" 

James was a man of few words. I decided to test this one day when we were driving back from visiting our daughter Jennifer when she was going to college in Chattanooga. I thought I will see just how long James will go without talking if I don't start the conversation. Two hours later we pulled into our driveway without a word spoken all the way. Although James was a man of few words, he was a man of much wisdom. This wisdom he wanted his children to have, to live a life of integrity and a life that they would look back on with no regrets. 

We had 53 years of good marriage and I cherish each one of them. It was heart breaking to see the effects the cancer had on his body, a body that had been my rock and fortress since I was a girl of 13. He did not fear death and he said to me during this time that the reason he would like to be healed would be to encourage and strengthen the faith of those who prayed for him so faithfully. This is just a little of the man I knew and the memories I will cherish until we again are reunited.  

My Daddy

James Edward Spencer was born on February 17, 1910. (See more about his family at the end of this Blog post).  

Maybe I should start with how my mom and dad met. My Grandmother Ramsey died when my mom was 13 years old. Some of her older brothers and sisters had already married so the remaining children went to live with their older brothers and sister. My Mom went to live with her brother Paul and his wife Ella. They lived down in the North Hills area. That is where my dad lived. Dad had some cousins that were going to Forestdale United Brethren Church and my dad went with them and that is where he met my mom. 

My Mom and Dad married on March 16, 1929. Mom was 16 and Dad was 19. Mama and Daddy moved to a house on Oak Hill Avenue that I understand was owned by my Papa Spencer.   Daddy and Mama used to walk from there to where Granny and Papa Spencer lived in the North Hills area and the street is now named Spencer Street. I remember Mama said that she used to see in the windows of other houses when they were walking, and she would admire their lamps in the windows and hoped that one day she would have one. 

Daddy used to walk from Oak Hill Avenue to his job at Albers Drug Company in downtown Knoxville. He would walk the railroad track. He used to tell us they were so poor and his shoes soles so thin that he could step on a dime and tell whether it was heads or tails. My mom would just say "now Edd". 

They didn't have a lot in material things but had a lot of love. While they were living in town their four older children were born. John, June, Phyllis, and Jim. At the time I am writing this John and Jim have both passed away. 

June and Phyllis could probably tell you some stories of when they lived on Oak Hill Avenue but that was before I was born so I have no memories of that time.  While living on Oak Hill Avenue they attended Grove City Baptist Church. I think even at that time Dad was feeling the call to preach so he decided to move to the country to get away from everything. So, they moved to Edmondson Road in 1941 and lived there until they both moved to Heaven. Dad in 1972 and Mom in 1992. 

After they moved to Edmondson Road they had four more children, Sue, Bill, Mary, and Ron.  Dad was still driving to Grove City for church because there was not a church in the immediate area. There was a widow named Bertha Lansden that lived at the end of Edmondson Road, and she had several children and Dad would take them all to church. So, they begin to look for somewhere to have a church. Dads’ cousin Ernest Warwick moved next door and he was a Preacher. So, they found an abandoned church that belonged to the Methodist over on Murphy Road. They got permission from the Methodist to use their church. It had been empty for a long time and had a lot of filth in it.  My Mom and the Widow Lansden took buckets of water and went and cleaned until the church was able to be used. Finally, the church was ready, and Ernest Warwick preached, and my dad taught Sunday School. The church began to grow, and they were having around 40 people and the Methodist decided they wanted the church back. They were developing the area close to where Mom and Dad had moved to, and it was called Highland Homesites. Mr. J.C. Cameron that was the owner or developer said he would give the land for a church on Babelay Road. There was a couple by the name of Davis that lived on Babelay Road that had been coming to the church, so they all met at their house and established Babelay Road Baptist Church. In their first business session they changed the name of the church to Highland Missionary Baptist. This was in 1942. (To read more about the establishment of Highland go to my Blog Highland Baptist Church.) 

My Dad answered to the call to preach, and he prayed and told the Lord he would preach if he had to stand on a stump and preach to two sticks.  Dad had a very successful ministry at Highland and after 5 years was called to pastor House Mountain Church and was there 2 years and then back to Highland Baptist for 4 more years. After that he helped establish North Acres Baptist Church and was Pastor there for 18 years before his death in 1972. 

My Dad was a hardworking man and not only had a full-time job at Albers Drug Company but also, he was full time Pastor. I say full time because he preached all services and did all the Hospital visiting, preached funerals, held tent revivals etc. I always remember my dad wearing a white shirt and a suit with a Bible under his arm. I also remember a lot of his sermons as he was a very dramatic preacher acting out a lot of his sermons. Dad preached a lot of tent revivals. (To read about a lot of his sermons go to my Blog that says Tent Revivals.)  I remember him walking the church benches at church. 

I remember dad smoking and throwing his cigarettes out the window coming up Edmondson Road and later going back to hunt them. When attempting to quit smoking he would dip snuff. One Christmas James and I went to Sears and bought him a Spittoon to use. 

I remember dad sitting in his favorite place at the table which was at the head of the table where he could look out the windows. It was sitting there that he looked out the window and saw the egg laying in the yard. This was after he asked Mom to make a Chocolate Pie and she told him she would, but she didn't have any eggs. He was sitting looking out the window when he said Conilee come watch me. He went out to the yard that he had been looking out the window and there in the yard was an egg. We did not have any chickens. The neighbors on one side had red chickens and across the road they had white chickens and this egg was speckled. So not knowing who it belonged to Dad got his Chocolate Pie. 

One of my dad’s favorite foods was the rolls at Kresse's. Working downtown he could go there and eat rolls at lunchtime. Sometimes that is all he would eat. If he didn't go to Kresse's he would go to the S&W Cafeteria for lunch. I went with him a few times after I graduated and was working at Kay Jewelers on Gay Street, and he would go in and the first thing he did was step on that big scale they had and weigh himself. He never weighed over 147 pounds.  

I remember my dad sitting in the recliner watching All in The Family. I remember him standing at the kitchen sink shaving in the little mirror. I remember how exciting he would get on election nights. We would always have an election party. 

I am sure some of you remember the Baptisms that we would have. I remember one time at House Mountain he was baptizing Mary Brooks (Herbert Brooks daughter, Martha Brooks sister) and she pulled him down into the water with her. 

Another of my good memories was when dad would take us to the Gallo to get ice cream. I am sure my brothers and sisters remember when he would take us to Cas Walkers on Magnolia Avenue after church on Wednesday nights (that's when he would get paid at Church) and we would get boiled ham and a big pickle. Then we would go just up the street to Krispy Kreme and get donuts. We would all go home and enjoy a sandwich and donut. June, Onloe, and their kids would come too. 

When Dad would get paid at work, he would get the groceries. He traveled Magnolia Avenue on his way to and from work so he would stop at Cas Walkers, A&P and White Store. We always looked forward to fish sticks when he got paid at work. With 8 kids we always just lived payday to payday. 

Dad also like to sing and had a good bass voice and sang in a quartet we had at church. Dad did not spare the rod. We often got a 'whipping' with his belt. I will have to say some more than others.  

In the Fall of 1972 Dad began to have some problems. His stomach enlarged and he was having some pain. He also was having some problems with balance and fell one church service as he was going up the steps to the pulpit. Dad was not one to go to the doctor until he had no other choice. So, he went to the doctor, and he was diagnosed with Lymphoma. They did surgery and if I remember correctly, it was in September. They found an enormous tumor in his spleen. They actually sent his spleen to the Army hospital in Washington for further study. The Lymphoma had already spread to the lymph nodes in his back and other places. They talked about treatment, but it never happened. Dad begin to lose a lot of weight and when he died on December 17th of the same year, he only weighed 65 pounds. 

All Dad wanted to be remembered for was being 'a little country Preacher'.  Dad was not one to show a lot of affection. My Dad gave me away at my wedding. He wouldn't marry any of his children.  I do not ever remember a time that Dad actually told me he loved me but that has never bothered me. Dad was not one to demonstrate his love, but I never had one doubt that my dad loved me, and I loved him. It has now been 48 years since my Dad passed away but there are still some people that remember his sermons and nothing makes me more proud than when someone says "I remember when Preacher Spencer preached on _____________ or Preacher Spencer married us _____________ or I was saved at one of the services he preached _________________."

More about Daddy's family: Papa and Granny Spencer

My daddy was born February 17, 1910, to Horace David Spencer and Etha Iona Warwick Spencer. I am not sure, but I think he was born in Grainger, County, TN. He was one of nine children falling 2nd in the order. His sister Arpie was the oldest then Daddy, Ann, Bill, Ruth, Jack, Luke, Marie and Hughell. 

Daddy never talked a lot about is childhood. I know they had a farm in Grainger, County and he used to talk about going up on the hillside and rounding up the cows. I think Papa's family lived there because I have heard others talk about the Spencer sisters from Grainger, County. I wish I had asked daddy more about his family and childhood, but I didn't. 

After moving to Knoxville his dad was a railroad worker. From what I have been told he drank a lot and was a stern disciplinarian. We did not go to Papa's and Granny's house a lot when I was a child. I think there was several reasons because others in the family had an entirely different relationship with them than my family did. I think first of all it was because there were so many of us. There were 8 kids in our family where the others only had two or three except for Luke and I think he had 5. My daddy not only worked a full-time job but pastored a church full time and held a lot of revivals and he didn't have a lot of time to visit. But we rarely went to their house and when we did, we usually sat on the porch. 

Also, for most of the time we lived in the 'country'. I don't remember Papa ever coming to our house.  Granny may have come but I don't remember her coming. She did come to the church that my dad Pastored at times. I do remember one time that she came she told me she hoped I had grandchildren that treated me like I treated her. I knew what she meant because she had other grandchildren that would hug and love on her, but she did not have that kind of relationship with me and my brothers and sisters. She did send me birthday cards at times, and she would always say ' to my only Iona'.  I had another cousin that was named Ione, but Granny spelled her name Iona and that is the way mine was spelled. She also came to my wedding.  

You may wonder why I am covering my Papa and Granny in my daddy's blog, but this is the only memories I have of them. I remember when my Papa died March 5, 1945, his body was at the home place, and they held me up over the casket to see him. I had just turned 5 years old.  I also remember my daddy standing in the kitchen crying when his dad died. I remember more about my Granny over the next years when I was older and going to see her more when she lived with Aunt Arpie and attending some of the reunions that we had. My granny died in 1966 at 78 years of age. Today as I write this all of Dad's brothers and sisters have passed. 

My Christmas Memories

Random Christmas Memories

One of my Christmas memories was one year when we were living in the block house. James always went out into the field and got us a Christmas tree. We didn't have a stand to put the tree in, so James put it in a gallon bucket. One Sunday we went to church and when we got home the tree had turned over and was laying in the floor. So, what did James do? He took fishing line and tied it to the tree and then tied it to a hook he put in the ceiling so the tree wouldn't fall over anymore. 

James’s mom and dad used to give us money for Christmas. They would give us $50 and that was what we used to buy the kids Christmas gifts with. I remember as times got better, and we were making more money we would put the $50 in the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering. 

Downtown Christmas Parade

When I was a little girl one of the biggest thrills of Christmas was to go to the downtown Christmas Parade. My dad worked downtown at Albers Wholesale Drug Company and on the day of the parade we would catch the bus and go downtown to meet him. The sidewalks on the streets were absolutely packed leaving only enough room for someone to walk up or down the sidewalk.  We would try to get as close to the front as possible and dad would usually have to put one of the smaller ones on his shoulders to see the Parade. There were beautiful floats. Ritta Community always had one of the very best. But the most exciting part was waiting for Santa Clause to show up. Our hearts would beat fast, and we were so excited. As a child I thought that Santa was real and seeing him was like seeing the President. Many times, it was cold and sometimes snowing but it was always the highlight of the season to go to the parade and to see Santa Clause. 

Pam's last Christmas with us. 

This story was actually on the 13th of December 2002. Pam always made lots of candy and cookies at Christmas time to give to her friends. Well, this year due to being in the last stages of leukemia she was not able to make the candy and cookies, so my sister-in-law Brenda and I offered to come to her house and make them for her. We got there early and the candy making began. Pam sat on the couch and gave us directions of what to do. In a little while we had several plates and tins of goodies made and we were going to deliver them to the places she wanted us to go. She got up off the couch and started down the hall and she said wait for me I want to go with you. So, after grabbing her shoes and coat we loaded in the car with all our goodies. Our first stop was Saint Mary's Hospital. Pam was a medical transcriptionist for the hospital. She was not able to go in but sat in the car while Brenda and I made the deliveries. Our next stop was the place where Michael worked and still does. When we got there, she wanted to go in. She said, "I need to thank them for being so good to me and allowing Michael to work a schedule that let him spend time with me at Vanderbilt." (She had now returned home from Vanderbilt.) So, we all went in there and she went around thanking them for all they had done, and we left them some goodies. Our next stop was Fairview Baptist Church where she wanted us to take candy to Bryan Wright and Keith Weaver. They were her friends and Pastor and she thought so much of both of them. Niina and Keith had been personal friends of Pam’s for years. She was not able to go in there but sat in the car while we made the deliveries. I would look in the back seat and she would be resting her head on the back of the seat with her eyes closed. Little did I know that this would be the last trip we would make to those places or anywhere. The next day was Saturday and she wanted all my family, her brothers, sisters, aunts’ uncles’ cousins etc. to come to her house for a Christmas Party. We did and she sat on the couch and watch us with a smile on her face. Little did we know that this would be our last time with her as a family. Jennifer called from North Carolina while we were all there and she did not recognize her voice. She told her she couldn't talk that her family was there. The next day James and I went over for a while. It was early the next morning of December 16th that I got the call from Michael to come. So, when you have the opportunity to spend Christmas with your family or make memories don't put them off or make excuses because someday you might need these memories to get you through the day.

A Candy Christmas and Loss of My Mother

This is actually a memory from December 7 & 8th 1992. My mom was very sick with cancer and my brothers and sisters, and I were all staying at her house to be with her and take care of her. On December 7th my sister June and I decided that we just had to have some candy to get us through this tough time. We have always been stress eaters you know not ones to lose weight under stress but to eat and gain. So off to the Fruit Market (the one that used to be at the corner of Loves' Creek and Rutledge Pike) we went. I don't know how much money we spent on candy that day but well over $50.00 and back in 1992 candy was a lot cheaper than it is today. Mother's buffet in the dining room was covered with bowls of candy. Early the next morning on December 8th, 24 years ago today, after 20 years of waiting, our mother went to join our father. Although our hearts were broken, and home has never been the same that had to be a glorious day for them and precious memories for us.

Christmas Light Gazing

Some of my fondest memories of Christmas was driving around in subdivisions looking at other people’s Christmas decorations. Especially the ones that had moving or musical decorations on their lawn. We did this a lot when our kids were little. They were always excited if the houses had a Santa Clause in the decorations. Another Christmas scene that we always like to see was the one at the church on Tazewell Pike where everything was life size. The three camels and all the animals Mary, Joseph and everything was life size. It was all in white with lights shining on it. Beautiful. 

Church Christmas Memories

Today I want to share with you my memories of Christmas at church when I was a child. My dad was the Pastor of Highland Baptist Church when I was born and so my earliest memories of Christmas at church was there. They would cut a huge cedar tree out of someone's woods and put it in the alter area of the church. It would be really big and then it would be decorated with all kinds of lights and ornaments, a lot of them homemade. On the night we had our program, which was usually one with lots of kids singing, being shepherds, wise men, and angels and of course Mary and Joseph and many times a real baby for the baby Jesus, just before we closed the service you could hear bells ringing and someone coming up the basement stairs and saying HO HO HO and guess what?  The kids, including me, would get so excited and Santa would appear. Later I knew this Santa was Mrs. Kirkland. And for years, when I was much older and we had left the church, she would call our house on Christmas Eve and pretend to be Santa. But back to the church. Santa would give every child a toy from under the tree. It was usually a doll for the girls and a truck for the boys. They would make sure that everyone got something because for some it was the only Christmas gift they got. And just as we were going out the door, we were given a bag with apples and oranges and chocolate drops and peppermint sticks and nuts. The only time most of us ever got fruit. I don't know what your opinion is about Christmas at Church, but these are some really good memories for a little black-haired girl that has spent her lifetime going to church. ...now I am waiting to hear from more of you about your Christmas memories.

A Downtown Christmas Memory

This was probably in the 1950's when I went downtown to Christmas shop with my sister June. She had 4 kids born in the 50's so they were all just little tykes. I am sure during all that shopping we made a stop at Kay's Ice Cream even though it was bitter cold. When we went downtown, we usually had a footlong hotdog and a chocolate malt at Kay's. Well as I said it was bitter cold and June's husband Onloe liked to play pool. There was a place down close to Regas Restaurant where he liked to play so when we finished shopping, we walked from downtown to the pool hall to ride home with him. I remember walking across the bridge before you got to Regas and the wind blowing and us almost freezing to death. We were loaded down with toys and could barely walk. When we got back to my mom and dad’s house, I guess mom had the kids, we were going to hide the toys down in their basement. Well, I had a nice little tumble down the basement steps toys and all. Guess what I got out of all of this? A Christmas memory with my sister June that I will never forget.

Christmas in the Spencer Home

Today I am remembering the Christmas's we had when I was growing up at home. There were 8 of us kids and we always had a good Christmas. My sisters and I always got a doll or play dishes and teapots and the boys would get trucks or wagons or guns and holsters. And usually as we got older, we would get some clothes from Watson's or Riche's.  Mom would make sure all the men and women in the family got either socks or handkerchiefs and that was enough. I never heard any complaining. We would all be together and of course eat. My brother-in-law Onloe was always saying he was going to spike the punch. Maybe he did. I don't know for sure. But there would always be big smiles on some faces that night.  I remember the first Christmas, after I married James, we were living with his mom and dad, and we went to my house on Christmas Eve and in the afternoon of that Christmas Eve we went to Sears and Roebuck which was on Central. We were looking for a spittoon for my dad. We were driving down Broadway and it was snowing, and we saw a fire. It was the Broadway Baptist Church burning. We had a hard time getting back up the hill when we got to mom and dads because of the snow. That year mom and dad had gotten our marriage license framed and gave it to us. We had gotten married in June of that year, and I guess we didn't have a dollar at that time to get a copy of the license. One Christmas, and if I know I will never reveal, someone gave all the ladies’ fancy underthings and put it from someone besides their husbands. You should have seen the looks going around the room not knowing who gave them or if it was for real or a joke. Well, I will never tell.  I don't have very many pictures of Christmas but here is a couple. They are a little ragged but in the first one starting in the back is my brother Jim, mom holding Randy (June's son) Me, brother Bill with the cap gun, my sister June and behind her, her husband Onloe holding their son Jerry. On the front roll is June's daughter Donna, my brother Ron, sister Mary and June's other daughter Judy. I guess dad must have taken the picture. In the other picture the faces you can see are Donna, Randy, Ron. Now waiting to hear from you about another memory you have of Christmas.

Christmas Caroling

Some of my fondest memories are going Caroling with the church group. When we were at House Mountain Church, we used to take the bus around the mountain and stop at all the houses and sing.  We also had a lot of fun Caroling at Union Baptist. At Highland Baptist the Ladies Ministry would go to all the shut-in members’ homes and sing and then go out to eat.  

Family Get-Together Christmas

We always had such a great time when all our family got together for Christmas after we were all married. There were so many of us we could barely fit into mama and daddy's house. But it didn't matter we sit where and ate where we could find room whether it be in the living room, bedroom, kitchen, or dining room. This particular Christmas I can remember so vividly. Unknown to us my sister Mary had been working for many months on a Christmas gift for all her sisters. I guess Phyllis's family wasn't there that year but, in the pictures, I can see some of my brothers Ron and Bill's families and June's. Also, if you look closely, you can see my good friend Donna Ogle's daughter Dawn sitting on the fireplace. I knew she went to one of our parties because Donna had to work but wasn't sure which one. Any way you can see the surprise on mine and June's faces when we opened our gifts. I don't know what has happened to all the other dolls in the past 26 years, but I still have mine laying on one of my beds. I will treasure this memory forever....

A Christmas Party that Would Change My Life

Christmas 1956, 60 years ago, I was just a 13-year-old girl in a Sunday School Class at North Acres Baptist Church. That year it was decided we would have a class Christmas Party at Mildred and Charles Copeland's house. They had two kids that were in our class Eddie and Jean. Much to my surprise James, known at that time as Carroll to all our friends, asked me to go with him and another couple to the party. I guess my parents said it was ok (or I wouldn't of went) and we went with the other couple IN A CAR to the party. This was my first time to ever go on a date in a car with no adults present. The other boy was driving so James and I sat in the back seat. I remember we had a really good time at the party and can't remember a lot of what we did except one game where you passed a life saver to your partner via a toothpick with your hands behind your back. Now that was really a sexy game in those days. Just to get that close to someone was really pushing the line. But it was that Christmas Party that changed my life because after that party a lot of eye gazing went on at church between James and me. In February I turned 14 and in the fall of that year James called and asked if I could go to the movies with him. I asked mom she said ask dad I asked dad and he said to use my own judgment and do what I thought best. OF COURSE, I thought it was the best thing to do. So that began 6 years of dating every Friday night plus all the time we spent together at church and talking on the phone. I graduated from high school in 1961 and in 1962 James and I were married. So, counting the years we dated this will be the first year in 60 years that we have not spent Christmas together.

A Book Giving Christmas

Christmas of 2012 was an exciting Christmas for all of us. Unknown to our family James and I had spent several months writing books and having them published. James’s book was one about a lot of his adventures and stories when he was growing up. He told about his adventures with his childhood friends fishing, hunting, camping out. He wrote about his cousin drowning in Nance's Ferry, about his dog Rusty etc.  The name of it was The Way It Was, Kind Of. My book was Cooking with Sue. I shared many of my own recipes and those that had been given to me by my family and friends. I dedicated the book to my mother and daughter Pam. I can still see the surprise on everybody's faces when they opened their packages. It was truly a gift of love.

A Christmas Wedding, Lost Shoes, and a Dress Double

The year was 1994 the day was December 23. The big wedding was fixing to take place between Jennifer Chesney and Jon White.  Now why anyone gets married that close to Christmas I have yet to figure out. Must have been the most convenient time since they had both just graduated from college. Jennifer had graduated a few months ahead of Jon from Temple in Chattanooga and Jon had just graduated from Crown in Powell. They had met when both were students at Temple and after Jennifer graduated Jon transferred to Crown. Jennifer was now teaching at Temple School in Powell. Jennifer decided that mom was capable of doing everything from making all the food and catering it, making all the flowers, and decorating, having all the bridesmaids’ dresses made, (no I didn't make them,) etc. And mom did. But did you ever give a blanket invitation to a church and school as large as Temple Baptist? Well in giving a blanket invitation you never know how many to expect. So, with the help of two of my sisters we had food galore. Of course, one of my sisters got sick and the other had all her family come in because some of them were in the wedding. So, they were kind of scarce that day. But we had a beautiful wedding and after 22 years the ties still bind. But two things I wanted to tell you about this Christmas memory. First, I wore a red dress and a pair of red shoes that day while I was preparing all the food and working at the church. Apparently when I changed into the clothes that I wore at the wedding my shoes got misplaced. I loved those red shoes, but they have now been lost for 22 years. The second thing I had looked for literally months for the perfect dress to wear as mother of the bride. It had to be perfect. The colors of the wedding were cranberry, hunter green and royal blue. After many months of looking for a dress, I finally found one at Dillard’s in West Town. It was perfect. The skirt part was royal blue, and the jacket combined all three colors. I loved it. The most expensive dress I had ever bought costing over $100. So, I was very pleased. But what to my wondering eyes should appear walking in the door of the church but my sister-in-law Brenda in the very same identical dress. Too late, no changing, no hiding. She was a server in the line, and I was the mother of the bride. The odd thing was that she was probably a size 6 and at that time I was at least a 22. But the wedding went on as planned and what did I get out of all of this besides a wonderful son in law? A pair of lost red shoes and lots of great memories to tell you about.