MY SISTER PHYLLIS

My sister Phyllis is number 3 in the line of 8 Spencer kids. Phyllis was born when mom and dad lived over on Oak Hill Avenue in the Lonsdale Community. I guess you could call the first four kids city  kids and the last four country kids. I have often wondered what our family would of been like if mom and dad hadn't moved to the country. Phyllis was just about 3 & 1/2 years old but she says she still has some memories of living on Oak Hill. Phyllis was 5 years older than me so I don't remember a lot about our early childhood together. I do remember us walking to school together. Her best friends were Alma Jean Resser who lived across the road from us and Helen Landsen who lived down the road about a mile. I know there were a lot more but these are the two that I remember the most.

 We attended Highland Baptist Church and below is a picture of Phyllis and her class at that time. She is the first one standing on the back row holding the book. Later as a teenager Phyllis was the pianist at the church. She is now a member there again.

Phyllis used to baby sit with the younger kids when mom and dad would go to Revivals and different church services and one of my memories was she would make chocolate candy off of the recipe on the cocoa box. I think she still makes it for her son. Another memory that I have is she liked to talk on the phone a lot probably to her boyfriend. I remember one time she was probably about 15 or 16 and our dad got upset with her talking on the phone so much that he pulled the phone cord out of the wall and tossed the phone across the road to the Reesers field. I don't know how he explained that to the telephone company. Phyllis must of wanted to be a cheer leader growing up as the picture below proves as she is stepping high and twirling her baton.

 Phyllis  met the love of her life when we attended Highland Church. I asked her how she met Charles when he lived in town and we lived in the country. She said her class had a party at the Atchleys that lived on Babelay Road and some of their family lived just down the block from Charles and they invited him to come to the party and he came. It must of been love at first sight because soon after that we left Highland Baptist and my dad helped to establish and was the first Pastor of North Acres Baptist Church. Phyllis was a charter member there and her and Charles were the first couple married in the original first building that was North Acres Church. She was 16 (almost 17) years old and Charles was probably 18. They were married over 60 years when he passed away. 

From this point on we didn't see a lot of Phyllis. Again us living in the country and her living in the city.  Now that doesn't seem very far now but at that time with no interstates and only having one car that would of been a trip that had to be planned.  The next year their son was born and Phyllis was going to classes to finish her high school and then on to business school and later college classes. After finishing business school Phyllis got a job at Life and Casualty Insurance Company and although it changed names several times she worked for them 55 years and 11 months until she retired in 2013. Below are a few pictures of her Retirement Party. 

Phyllis was one of the servers in mine and James wedding in June of 1962.

Left to right: Pat Ogle Curl, Barbara Chesney DeMarcus, Mary Spencer Williams, Phyllis Spencer Parks, Maxine Spencer

Working and raising a family the years seemed to slip by and it wasn't until around 2003, soon after the death of my daughter Pam who was only 39, we decided we needed to see each other more knowing that life was short and time was swiftly passing. So from that time on Phyllis, our sister June and I started meeting weekly for supper. For the first several years we would meet at O'Charleys as it was close to where Phyllis worked at that time. When her office moved West we still continued to meet there. Ron also meet with us if he could and if any of our brothers and sisters were in town they would come and eat with us also.  Now we go different places each week. 

 Phyllis had one child who added a daughter in law to the family.

They had 3 sons who married and have added  3 daughter in laws and 9 grandchildren to the family. So now what started out as a 16 year old marrying her 18 year old love of her life has now totaled a family of 19. 

Our sister June's husband died in 2011, Phyllis's husband in 2015 and my husband in 2016. Being alone now we try to fill in the void  by going out more. We have been to the National Quartet Convention, went to Nashville to celebrate June's birthday a couple of years ago, took a trip to North Carolina to visit my daughter, to Pigeon Forge more times than I can count to shop, out to eat more times than we wish to count at least 2 times a week and sometimes 3. Phyllis calls June every night just to see how she is and to share their day together. Then June calls me to see how I am. Since we all live alone now it is good to keep a check on each other. 

I am glad I have my sister Phyllis and I hope we have many more years to celebrate life together.

MY BROTHER JIM

My brother Jim was the last one born before my family moved to the country. He was just about 6 months old so he spent most of his early years on Edmondson Road.

Jim is the one I remember most in my growing up days. He was two and a half  years older than me and most of my childhood memories revolve around us doing most things together as children. We played in the fields and woods, walked to Ritta School through the fields and across the creek together, picked blackberries and played in the Reeser's corncrib and hay stacks. Mine and Jim's best friends were Grant and Carolynn Carr who lived just down the road from us and we spent many days at their house getting into lots of trouble.  I don't remember Jim getting into quite as much trouble as some of my other brothers that I won't name at this time. We had a great childhood growing up. Jim also had a dog named Mickey.

 Jim went to Ritta Elementary School from the first through the eighth grade and then to Central High School until his last year when he transferred to the newly built  Holston High School where he was in the first graduating class of Holston. I started in the 9th grade the same year so we only had one  year together in high school.

Jim always had a kind heart and one of my memories was when he was working at Kerns Bakery and he would get paid and would walk down to LeMarrs Store on Washington Pike and he would buy us some Coke A Colas and Snowball Cakes. That seems trivial in todays world but to us it was a big treat. Jim also loved to go to gospel singings with the family. It was one of the few things that we got to do as far as entertainment was concerned. My dad loved gospel music and we would go to the Mulls Singings at Chilhowee Park and then later to the Tennessee Theater and then to the Colosseum.  Jim went to Highland Baptist Church and was probably saved there because he was a charter member of North Acres Baptist Church when it was built.  He had many friends there including my future husband to be Carroll Chesney (AKA James), Bill Monday, Eddie Copeland just to name a few. I was friends with Jean Copeland so Jim and I spent a lot of time at the Copeland's house with Eddie and Jean.  My then boyfriend Carroll and Jim went to Florida one year during the summer and Carroll came back home but Jim stayed for a while. 

After graduating from Holston High the Vietnam War had broken out and our boys were being drafted. My brother Bill although younger than Jim was already in Vietnam when Jim was drafted and Bill signed up for another tour in Vietnam so Jim wouldn't have to go so Jim was sent instead to Korea to serve his time. 

Jim worked at different places and traveled a lot. He ended up going to work for Southern Railroad and later worked for the Federal Railroad. We didn't see a lot of each other for several years as he was working in different states and he married and was raising a family and  I was raising my family here in Knoxville. He was here when our mom was diagnosed with cancer and was able to go to church with all of our family on Mother's Day of that year. My mom always made Jim a French Coconut Pie when he would come home. We used to tell her he was her favorite. I guess Jim was more like our father in looks than the other brothers. He never seemed to get upset with anything. We took several pictures the year mom died and these are the last ones with his brothers and sisters.

My heart was broken when I found out Jim had cancer and not long to live. I was able to spend a little time with him before he died and he had a strong faith and trust in God that a better home awaited. This week is the 6 Year Anniversary of his death but one day we will meet again. 

MY BROTHER JOHN

My brother John was born in 1931 the first of 8 Spencer kids. He was a handsome boy with coal black hair. His hair was so black that he had the nickname 'Blackie' throughout his high school days. He was born when mom and dad lived on East Oak Hill Avenue close to where the old Zayer Department Store used to be in the Lonsdale Community.  He was around 10 years old when they moved to the 'country' on Edmondson Road.

He attended Beaumont School before the move and then Ritta Elementary. After finishing Elementary School he attended and graduated from Central High School. Of course me being the first child born after the move to the country I do not remember John's younger days. Sister June would be the one to remember most about those days as she is two years younger than John. She said she remembered one time when he swapped his fire engine to the  Wagoner boys for some of their marbles. John always was a wheeler/dealer not always getting the best end of the deal. June also went to Central when John was there.

By the time I remember my brother John he was probably in his late teens. I remember one day he was going to walk to the end of the road and catch the bus and I had 'taken' his bus money. He came out of his bedroom ranting and raving about someone stealing his bus money. No one admitted anything. Another thing that was so funny was John loved tomato and mayonnaise sandwiches. He was fixing him one and my brother Ron and niece Judy who were probably about 3 years old grabbed his tomato and ran outside with it and was running around the house with John right after them when Judy took the tomato and put it down inside her panties. I don't remember if he ate it after that or not.

John liked to lay in his room and listen to classical and opera music on his radio. I don't remember him working much until after he went to the Army.  After he left home we would go for long periods of time not hearing from him. I remember one night I was laying in bed and I could hear mom and dad talking about not hearing from John in a long time and worrying if he was ok or not. I begin to pray in my child like way and asked God to let John call so mom and dad would not worry about him and just as I finished praying the phone rang and it was him. That was the first time I ever thought that one of my prayers had been answered.

I asked my brothers and sisters for some memories about John. June said that one time something was wrong with the pump to the well and they weren't suppose to turn it on. Mom and dad went to church somewhere and while they were gone John turned on the pump and blew the well up.

Phyllis said she remembers him running off one of June's boy friends because he honked his horn for her to come out and John took the ball bat and ran him off. She thinks it was Onloe and if so he came back.
Mary says she just remembers that he rarely came home to see mom and dad.
Ron was 20 years younger than John and remembers him as the "most intelligent sibling that I had but seemed to always have struggles when it came to using his intelligence for good. The successes and failures that he had seemed to be a pattern. He would leave home, driving a beat up Volkswagen and come back home driving a new Cadillac. But we both would put others needs above our own. John would give you the shirt off of his back but if you had two shirts, he might take one of them. John was always proud of me and his praise meant a lot to me. I will always miss and love my big brother." 

After graduating from Central where he played football John went into the Army and was a veteran of the Korean War. He attended the University of Tennessee from 1952-1956 where he majored in psychology. When he attended the university he was an active member of the student government and other student activities. He also took advanced courses in political science.

I am not sure what all John did while he was in the Army but I know he worked on radios etc. He was also an announcer for the Army Football Team. After coming out of the Army John went to work at the Radio Corporation of America where he was employed as a supervisor. He was sent by them to White Sands Missile Range in Lincoln County, New Mexico. This is where he met his first wife Maxine and where their daughter Suzette was born. John worked for RCA in New Mexico for several years. In 1960 our family, Mom, Dad, me, Bill, Mary and Ron, went for a visit. It took us several days to get there. We had stuff packed on top of the car and anywhere else we could put it. I was fixing to start my last year of high school. When we were going down through Georgia one of our 'stand out' slips blew off the top of the car down into a field. I said it was Mary's and she said it was mine. Any way hope some little girl in Georgia got some use out of it. Another thing that happened in Georgia was we stopped to go to the bathroom at a filling station and me and Mary went in and Mary locked the door and we couldn't get it open. She was always locking the door when we went in anywhere. So dad had to get the guy that owned the place to come and get the door open. He would say "now stand back in there little sugars" when he was trying to get the door open. Later we referred to this incident as "two little sugars in the ____ house". But back to our trip to John's house. When we got to the town they lived in we stopped at a grocery store in town to either buy something or get directions and there was this lady that was buying groceries and she had the biggest pile of groceries we had ever seen. Come to find out this was Maxine, John's wife, buying groceries for our visit. We all loved Maxine and also her mother Oma Nellie. Maxine had four other children by a previous marriage,  Sandy, Debbie, Billy and Patty. We had such a good time on this visit. Suzette was just a few months old. John and Maxine had a red corvette convertible and we rode in it just over the border to Mexico to the bull fight and to eat and I got so sunburned that when I returned home and had my senior picture taken I had big blistered areas on my shoulders that were peeling and you can see them in my official senior draped picture. Also while we were there they taught my mom to make sopaipillas a delicious Mexican dessert.

While living in Lincoln County, New Mexico John ran for State Senator on the Democratic ticket. He lost by only a few votes. I am not sure how long John and his family lived in New Mexico but they eventually moved back to Tennessee. They lived in Knoxville for awhile and had two other kids John Alvino and James David. They were living here when I got married and Maxine bought me a hope chest and lots of sheets and towels to put in it. She also helped serve in my wedding and her two daughters Patty and Suzette were flower girls in my wedding.

Eventually John and his family moved to Manchester, Tennessee. They owned a restaurant at one time and also a bowling ally. I don't know much about their life for the next few years but John and Maxine divorced and the girls went with Maxine back to New Mexico and the boys stayed with John. I do not know any of the details of their divorce and John never told us what happened. We all loved Maxine and was very sad this happened and we stayed friends with her until she passed away. Her last visit with us was in  the summer of 1992 before my mom died in December.

John lived in North Carolina for awhile and married his second wife Elva. She had two boys and he had the two boys. The marriage didn't last long and again they were divorced. Several years passed and again we had very little contact with John or his family. I am not sure of the year but eventually John came back home to live with mom. He had hit rock bottom and told us that Thanksgiving of that year he shared a can of dog food with his dog and decided to come back home to Tennessee. Reminds me of the Prodigal son. John had enjoyed so many good things in life so many riches and family but seemed to lose those things that were most precious.  John lived with mom for a few years and graduated from Tusachum College in May of 1986. He married again to a lady named Norel who was originally from Ontario (I think this is right).  They lived with mom for a while but moved to Dunedin, Florida where John lived until he died in 2002. Norel still lives in Dunedin. Norel is a writer and an artist. She wrote books about Little Echo and not only is she an artist herself but teaches art to other students.

John was home in January of 1992 when mom was diagnosed with cancer. In March we took a lot of family pictures. That summer John had open heart surgery and wasn't able to come back home for moms funeral in December of 1992. His last visit home was the summer of 1994. John had a lot of health problems during the last few years of his life including bladder cancer. He was also a diabetic. The last time I got to visit with my brother John was two weeks before his death. James took June and I to Florida to visit with him on August 6th of 2002 and he passed away on August 15th. John was cremated and it wasn't until November of the next year that his sons were able to bring his ashes back to Tennessee to be buried at Greenwood Cemetery along side of our mom and dad.  I will say again you may not agree with the things I have said or may not see them the same way but this is my memories and my blog: Sues News and Views. A few pictures over the years

SCHOOL DAYS

SCHOOL DAYS SCHOOL DAYS

GOOD OLE GOLDEN RULES DAYS

READING AND WRITING' AND RITHMETIC,

TAUGHT TO THE TUNE OF THE HICKORY STICK

I started my "school days" at Ritta Elementary on Washington Pike in Knoxville in 1949. At that time it was grades 1-8 with no Kindergarten. Let me tell you about walking to school. My family lived 1 mile up Edmondson Road which was a dead end road. The bus didn't run up the road at that time so we had to walk. There were several ways we would go. One was to go straight across in front of our house and across the Reesers field then through the Stoffels woods and then over the creek and through the Stoffel cow field to the school. Stoffels Dairy was right beside the school. Or we would walk down the road to the fence line on the lower part of Reesers property and walk down the fence line and across the creek to Cole's Store and down Washington Pike to the school. Or we could walk the mile to the end of our road and catch the bus there. Most times of the mornings our dad would take us to the end of Edmondson Road on his way to work to catch the bus but in the afternoon we had to walk because my dad worked downtown at Albers Drug Company and didn't get home until about 6:00. Although my mother knew how to drive my family never had two cars. And you didn't just walk if it was a pretty day. We walked hot, cold, rain or snow. I still remember almost getting hit by a car when I was in the first grade.

My first grade teacher was Mildred Truan. She was single and I thought she was very pretty. But she was strict. I can still remember her teaching me about Dick and Jane baby Sally and Spot. I read that Spot was a cat in the 1930 editions but was a dog in later editions. Spot was a dog when I was in first grade. I guess I got my love for reading starting in the first grade. I remember a border around the top of the blackboard that had nursery rhymes on it. Sometimes I will get a whiff of blackboards and paper towels that take me back to Ritta School. When I went to school there they did not have the addition on the front like it is now. That was built later. My older brothers and sisters remember the outside toilets but I can only remember the ones inside. Around the sides of the school building was a lot of big shrubs and we would play under those shrubs at recess time. One of the things I remember about recess time at Ritta was when it was really hot outside they would let us line up and go through the cafeteria when recess was over and get a glass of tomato juice or orange juice. I thought that was great because we didn't have juice at our house unless it was squeezed from oranges we got at Christmas. I can remember my days at Ritta as good times. Although I did get one paddling. I was in the second grade and I was putting on lipstick and the teacher saw me and gave me a whack with the paddle. I hadn't thought about it but do you guess that is why I never wore a lot of make up and lipstick? I didn't really have any teachers that I didn't like. Some I liked more than others. I remember a few things they said to me. My fourth grade teacher Miss Shipe told me if I could ever write as good as my brother John I would be doing good. I think she had all eight of the Spencer kids in her class room over the years. She also told us to bow our heads when anyone prayed. She said "I don't care if its the blackest man in town you bow your head." I have never forgot that. Remember that was when schools were segregated it wasn't until 1954 that the supreme Court ruled that it was unconstitutional for public schools to be segregated. I don't know how old Miss Shipe was when she was my teacher but I am sure much younger than we all thought but she always seemed to be the oldest teacher. Except for my bangs my hair hadn't been cut until I finished the 5th grade. I was having headaches and someone said if they would cut my hair they would probably stop. Miss Yadon was my 5th grade teacher and she told me not to have it cut until I got out of her class. My one crowning glory growing up was my hair. It was jet black and down to my waist. I got more complements on my hair than anything else when I was young. When I left Ritta Elementary the eighth grade class went in three directions. Holston High, Central High and Gibbs High. We still have reunions of the Eighth Grade Class that went to Ritta. I have kept in touch with more of them than the ones I graduated with from high school. The new Holston High School had just been built and my home was in the district to go to Holston. My older brothers John and Jim and sisters June and Phyllis went to Central, me and my brother Bill went to Holston and my younger brother Ron and sister Mary went to Gibbs. My brother Jim had started to Central but had to transfer to Holston so he was in the first graduating class at Holston High. Again I enjoyed my years at Holston. I was quite and wasn't in any sports or clubs. James and I dated all through high school and when he quit school many days he would follow the bus in the afternoons and when I would get off the bus at the end of our road he would take me the rest of the way home. I made good grades in high school. Not straight A's but good. I was going to be a business lady so I took typing, shorthand, bookkeeping, Algebra etc. Looking back if I had known then what I do now I would have taken music, art, home economics etc. One thing I am glad I took and use a lot now is my typing. I don't want to forget my close friend Pat Ogle. She was my friend all through school and was one of my brides maids when I married. James sister Barbara was also a good friend and carried our love letters back and forth for us. I graduated in 1961.

I really didn't consider going to college. When you came from a family of 8 kids there was no money for further education. In my days girls mostly got married and had a family. I worked for a year and James and I got married in 1962. For the next several years we focused on raising our family and James going to school. In 1981 I was working as a CNA at Hillcrest Nursing Home. My mother had to have surgery and I was at the hospital with her when I saw Sandy Roberts (now Sandy Alexander) and she was going to nursing school. I asked her about it and she told me all about the school. I came home and I thought if I was going to work in nursing I needed to go to school so I could make more money. I called and did all the necessary things and was accepted into the 1981 Fall LPN Class. I was disappointed because I wanted to be in the Spring Class. In a few weeks I got a call that someone had decided not to attend the Spring Class and I was able to go. The classes were only for 1 year and only cost $250. So in the Spring of 1982 I graduated from the LPN Program. I did my student practice at St. Marys Hospital and went to work there when I graduated. I considered going on to get my RN degree but I was making so much money compared to what I had made before that I just couldn't quit work to go. And I would of had to quit because I had 4 kids at that time and couldn't work, go to school and take care of my family all.

I have always liked to learn new things and have taken classes in Sewing, Tailoring, Flower Arranging, Cake Decorating, Candy Making, Art and Computer Classes. I have made a cook book for my family. I co-taught classes at one time for the University of Tennessee on Foster Care. Over the years I have taught Sunday School and many VBS Classes. So I guess my education at Ritta Elementary and Holston High have enabled me to do a lot of things I would not have been able to do without it. I have actually been thinking about working toward a degree here in my old age.

WHAT IS YOUR HERITAGE

 LOVE OF MUSIC MY HERITAGE 

Many of us look back at our family history and think "this has been handed down to me through the years". It may be what you do such as "I am a doctor, my dad was a doctor, his dad was a doctor" etc. Or it could be I am a good cook, my mom was a good cook, her mom was a good cook, I am teaching my daughter how to cook. Whatever it is there are things that seem to be handed down year to year, generation to generation until it is so instilled in you that it is a part of you. In my family it is the love and ability to sing and play instruments. I was thinking yesterday when my son Byron posted a CD on face book of their family singing that this was not a first.

 I began to think back about our heritage and I really do not have the history back any farther than my grandparents and James grandparent. But on my side of the family my dad was a bass singer.He sang in different quartets over the years and also would sing with my mom in church.  Dads oldest sister Arpie played the piano by ear. His sister Ruth, her husband Fred and their daughters Barbara and Peggy would also sing in church as did my Uncle Bill's daughters Rosemarie and Betty. My Aunt Ann played the piano and also the violin.  Her son Richard  has a music degree and can play any stringed instrument. All of his children sing and play instruments. My uncle Hugh, dad's brother, played the violin also. 

 On my mom's side of the family my mom played the piano. She never had a lesson and learned on an old organ that was shut away in a room that was rarely used. She played in church for over 60 years. Her sister Irene also played the piano. I don't know if she had any lessons or not. She played a different style than my mom. More of a what we called Honky Tonk. I loved to hear her play. She has a son Jerry Brock that sings country style music and has made records. There may be more in my mom's family but those are the ones I know of.

In James family his dad also had a deep bass voice. That bass voice has been handed down to my son Byron, his son Matthew and my nephew Bradley. I know James dad also played the harmonica. On James mothers side there was also a love for singing quartet style. His mom, aunts, uncles would gather around the piano and sing. His sister Barbara played the piano and also made a piano CD that we all enjoy. She played in church for many years and played for many people including myself to sing. Her daughter Natalie took piano lessons and plays the piano and sings in the choir. His sister Brenda sings in the choir and her son Bradley is the music director at his church and sings in different groups.

I am not sure about the music in my brother John's family but I do know that his son John's son Connor and daughter Carlin are taking voice and piano. My sister June's grandson Andy plays the guitar. My sister Phyllis plays the piano. When she was a teenager she was the Pianist at Highland Baptist Church. She also has aspirations to play the guitar "when she has time." My brother Jim played the piano by ear and would sing around the house. His daughter Kim "plucks" the keyboard and loves to sing and has tried to play the guitar. Says her dad is her biggest inspiration to play and sing. Her son Donavan plays the keyboard and "freestyles" the piano. Son Kameron sings and makes rap as does her daughter Jaala who is also learning the piano. Jim's  daughter Mary sings, leads worship and has made several  recordings. His daughters are all very talented and some of his grandchildren lead worship in their church. I don't know how much singing and playing of instruments my brother Bill has in his family but when we were growing up nobody loved gospel music as much as my brother Bill. My sister Mary plays the piano and her daughters son Maxwell was in the Aclaim at PCC  as well as her granddaughter Caitlyn. Aclaim is a group that travels during the summer representing the College and recruiting new students.  Her son Jon's family is multi talented now singing as the Williams Family. They play various instruments and their son Josh writes songs. They have made at least 2 CDs.  My brother Ron is very talented singing all of his life in different gospel groups as well as solo. He has made several recordings over the years and has been music director in churches both in Tennessee and Kentucky. Ron's wife Pat sings in the choir and her son Kevin has a masters degree in vocal music, plays the piano and serves as minister of music and worship at Calvary Baptist Church. He has also sung the lead in several musicals and cantatas. His son Kolby has been the top tenor in the EastTN all state choir for the past two years. He performs in three different vocal groups at West High School and won his schools talent show his junior year and was first runner up in the county wide talent show which represented all 16 high schools in the Knoxville area. He also plays rhythm and lead guitar as well as sing in his church youth choir. Daughter Kiley made all state choir and sings in the girl's ensemble at West High School. She studies voice and piano and plays rhythm drums.  Jorja the youngest sings in the youth choir at church, in the sixth grade chorus and honor chorus at Bearden Middle School. Ron son Ronnie plays guitar and has a good singing voice and an appreciation of lots of musical genres. Ronnie's daughter Victoria "shows a great desire to play Pop Goes The Weasel on her Jack in the box".

Then it comes down to me and James.  James had many talents. He played the guitar, harmonica and sang. He didn't have the deep bass voice as his dad and son and grandson but more of a lead/tenor voice. He loved to play the guitar and his mom bought him his first one when he was about 15. He gave it to Byron several years ago. He took guitar lessons and was good. He quit taking when his teacher said he was so good he was going to have him play on the Cas Walker Show. Well that's all it took for him to quit because he was such a shy person.  He made several CD's and also played his guitar in church with the choir and for me and other singing groups. He recorded his own music on his CD's and he would be playing different guitars and his harmonica on some of them. We played a CD of him singing at his funeral. 

I have always sang in the choir and also sing special, I sung tenor and occasionally lead for about 20 years in a trio at House Mountain Church. I have always listened to gospel music and WKXV was my station until WJBZ came along. I would stand at the kitchen sink and wash dishes and sing. I would also push my med cart down the hall at work singing. Everybody thought singing meant you were happy and I would remind them that the slaves used to sing while they were working in the cotton fields. But singing does make your heart happy. I always wanted to play the piano but never took lessons. I play for myself sometimes behind closed doors. I know what I'm playing but you may not. 

Growing up music and playing instruments was always a big part of our familys lives. Daughter Pam took piano lessons and played for the chorus in school and was her church pianist for many years. She also sang in a trio called the New Hope Trio and they made 2 CD's. Her daughter took piano also. Son Byron played the trombone in school band and sang in the choir. He has been choir director at two different churches. He is also a solo singer, duet with his wife or daughter, and now a quartet with his family. They usually sing acappella but his wife can play the piano and daughter Elizabeth is taking lessons. Daughter Jennifer also took piano lessons and majored in voice and music in college. She played for the choir at school and has played in church many years for different groups and also for choir. She sings and also makes the recordings for me to sing by. She teaches music lessons and choir in a Christian school and teaches preschool music in another Christian school. Her son Jonathan is taking music in college and plays the violin. Son David plays the banjo. Son Luke is more interested in the piano. Our son Josh played the trumpet in the school band and his wife Amanda plays the piano. Her son Chris is a great flute player and played in the band in middle and high school. Ember will be starting music and band when she reaches middle school next year.

So when it comes down to it part of our heritage is that we are a musical family. If you sing you will know that there are times that the song can go from your heart and you think it will never return. This is usually in times of great sorrow.  But then one day you realize your song has returned.  

.