AUNT HELEN IS 100-YEARS OLD!
By Olivene Godfrey
One recent, cold Saturday afternoon, a large group of relatives and friends gathered in the fellowship hall of a north Georgia Methodist church, and there was a warm, happy atmosphere as they were celebrating the 100th birthday of a very special lady, Helen Rollins.
I'm sure each guest at the party has their own memories of my Aunt Helen. She has been an important person in my life as far back as I can remember. She and her first husband, Skylar Winfree, and their two children, lived near my parents and sisters and I during my childhood. When my mother gave birth to identical twin daughters, Aunt Helen was always there to help with the babies. Her children, Enenestine and "Brother"
as he was called by family members, were often at our house and Mother said many times over the years that without Aunt Helen's help in those early years she didn't know how she would have managed.
When the twins were toddlers they loved to sing even if they weren't always on key. And I remember when one of the twins, Jeanette, would sing loudly, San Antonia Rose" over the phone to Aunt Helen almost every day.
Over the years, Aunt Helen was always there when any of her relatives needed a helping hand or compassionate listener.
She and I had a correspondence that lasted from my teenage years until recently when Aunt Helen's vision and unsteady hands has kept her from writing. I still send her notes and cards and I miss her letters.
Until recently, Aunt Helen, an independent lady, lived alone in a small apartment, but now lives in a nursing home in north Georgia. One of her grandsons, Donnie, saw to it that she has a telephone and television set in her room. Over the years, Aunt Helen crocheted many items including exquisite white angels which she sold and also gave away. I have one of the angels which I treasure and keep behind glass in my china cabinet.
Aunt Helen and her family lived for a number of years in Fort Wayne, Ind., and we exchanged letters and snapshots often. She would sent us pictures of the snow covered grounds around their house. When Aunt Helen's first husband died, she returned to north Georgia to live. My late husband, Ralph, and I were living at Treasure Island, FL in a small duplex on the beach. I invited Aunt Helen to visit us and to our delight she accepted the invitation. Over the years, since that three week visit, she has often told me that was one of the happiest times in her life. She loved to eat fried fish and we would go down to the docks and go on the boats and buy fresh fish and take it home and fry it with all the trimmings. How she enjoyed those meals! And she would always save a couple of pieces of the fish to eat at breakfast the next morning. At her 100th birthday party, I asked Aunt Helen if she still remembered those days and she smiled and said, " OH,yes."
When my niece, Charlene Norton, gave Aunt Helen some warm socks for her feet at night, I recalled that she used to have cold feet in winter months. Before Ralph and I married 56 years ago, I went to work for a while in an office at Chattanooga, TN. Aunt Helen's children were out on their own and so I lived with her and her husband until I could find a place of my own. The small apartment was heated with coal grates in each room and that was a bitterly cold winter. I can still remember vividly Aunt Helen heating bricks in the fire grates at nights to keep our feet warm.
After Aunt Helen was widowed and lived alone for while, she married Fred Rollins and they lived in northwest Georgia and often visited family members and they enjoyed trips to Gatlingberg,TN in the Great Smokies. Following Fred's death, Aunt Helen lived alone. She lost her beloved son, Brother, to death a few years ago and was devastated. In earlier years, her brothers, Alvin and Clyde, had passed away and three years ago, her sister, Pauline, my mother, died at the age 92. Several of us remarked at the party that those family members would have enjoyed being with Aunt Helen on her special day.
But, Aunt Helen's "kid" sister, Willodean. was at the party and her late husband, Millard, would have had a ball at the event. Willodean and Millard's daughter, Lillian Ann, helped Donnie make arrangements for the party and.
Aunt Helen has always been a truly good person and is most loved by those who know her. My sister, Joan, one of the twins, who lives in West Palm Beach, FL would have liked to have been at the party. So would my youngest sister, Dianne Vaughn, who lives in Memphis and was unable to attend the event. My son, Barry,, made pictures with his digital camera and also mini movies that he has e-mailed to Joan and Charlene. We also sent pictures to our cousin, Mary Leegain, of Hermitage, TN. It was good to see Mary and her brother, Bill Green, and all the other kin folks we hadn't seen in years.
By Olivene Godfrey
One recent, cold Saturday afternoon, a large group of relatives and friends gathered in the fellowship hall of a north Georgia Methodist church, and there was a warm, happy atmosphere as they were celebrating the 100th birthday of a very special lady, Helen Rollins.
I'm sure each guest at the party has their own memories of my Aunt Helen. She has been an important person in my life as far back as I can remember. She and her first husband, Skylar Winfree, and their two children, lived near my parents and sisters and I during my childhood. When my mother gave birth to identical twin daughters, Aunt Helen was always there to help with the babies. Her children, Enenestine and "Brother"
as he was called by family members, were often at our house and Mother said many times over the years that without Aunt Helen's help in those early years she didn't know how she would have managed.
When the twins were toddlers they loved to sing even if they weren't always on key. And I remember when one of the twins, Jeanette, would sing loudly, San Antonia Rose" over the phone to Aunt Helen almost every day.
Over the years, Aunt Helen was always there when any of her relatives needed a helping hand or compassionate listener.
She and I had a correspondence that lasted from my teenage years until recently when Aunt Helen's vision and unsteady hands has kept her from writing. I still send her notes and cards and I miss her letters.
Until recently, Aunt Helen, an independent lady, lived alone in a small apartment, but now lives in a nursing home in north Georgia. One of her grandsons, Donnie, saw to it that she has a telephone and television set in her room. Over the years, Aunt Helen crocheted many items including exquisite white angels which she sold and also gave away. I have one of the angels which I treasure and keep behind glass in my china cabinet.
Aunt Helen and her family lived for a number of years in Fort Wayne, Ind., and we exchanged letters and snapshots often. She would sent us pictures of the snow covered grounds around their house. When Aunt Helen's first husband died, she returned to north Georgia to live. My late husband, Ralph, and I were living at Treasure Island, FL in a small duplex on the beach. I invited Aunt Helen to visit us and to our delight she accepted the invitation. Over the years, since that three week visit, she has often told me that was one of the happiest times in her life. She loved to eat fried fish and we would go down to the docks and go on the boats and buy fresh fish and take it home and fry it with all the trimmings. How she enjoyed those meals! And she would always save a couple of pieces of the fish to eat at breakfast the next morning. At her 100th birthday party, I asked Aunt Helen if she still remembered those days and she smiled and said, " OH,yes."
When my niece, Charlene Norton, gave Aunt Helen some warm socks for her feet at night, I recalled that she used to have cold feet in winter months. Before Ralph and I married 56 years ago, I went to work for a while in an office at Chattanooga, TN. Aunt Helen's children were out on their own and so I lived with her and her husband until I could find a place of my own. The small apartment was heated with coal grates in each room and that was a bitterly cold winter. I can still remember vividly Aunt Helen heating bricks in the fire grates at nights to keep our feet warm.
After Aunt Helen was widowed and lived alone for while, she married Fred Rollins and they lived in northwest Georgia and often visited family members and they enjoyed trips to Gatlingberg,TN in the Great Smokies. Following Fred's death, Aunt Helen lived alone. She lost her beloved son, Brother, to death a few years ago and was devastated. In earlier years, her brothers, Alvin and Clyde, had passed away and three years ago, her sister, Pauline, my mother, died at the age 92. Several of us remarked at the party that those family members would have enjoyed being with Aunt Helen on her special day.
But, Aunt Helen's "kid" sister, Willodean. was at the party and her late husband, Millard, would have had a ball at the event. Willodean and Millard's daughter, Lillian Ann, helped Donnie make arrangements for the party and.
Aunt Helen has always been a truly good person and is most loved by those who know her. My sister, Joan, one of the twins, who lives in West Palm Beach, FL would have liked to have been at the party. So would my youngest sister, Dianne Vaughn, who lives in Memphis and was unable to attend the event. My son, Barry,, made pictures with his digital camera and also mini movies that he has e-mailed to Joan and Charlene. We also sent pictures to our cousin, Mary Leegain, of Hermitage, TN. It was good to see Mary and her brother, Bill Green, and all the other kin folks we hadn't seen in years.
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