REFLECTIONS ON AUNT CLARA & UNCLE HENRY

September 11, 2014

By Olivene Godfrey

I've been thinking about my Aunt Clara lately.  She was one of my daddy's sisters.  She had a wonderful personality and was often kidding and laughing when my parents and sisters and I paid her and her family a visit in the summer.  Aunt Clara raised turkeys and her husband, Uncle Henry farmed their Middle Tennessee land.  Their home was modest but looked like the house indoors and outside had been scrubbed and it was spotless.

Compared to our home in Chattanooga, their house was primitive as it didn't have electricity or indoor plumbing.  At night, they used oil lamps.  I loved eating a meal at the long wooden table with benches on each side.  The food was delicious as Aunt Clara was a good cook.

Aunt Clara and Uncle Henry reared three boys, Alton, Ralph, and Fred, and a girl named Laura Ann.  She was a few years older than me and we enjoyed being together.

Years passed and in 1976, my daddy's only brother, Uncle Sam, died.  My late husband and son, Barry, and I drove across the mountain to Murfreesboro to a funeral home, to pay our last respects.  We decided to stop in Pelham Valley to visit Aunt Clara.  They had built a nice, new house with electricity and indoor plumbing, and the inside of the house was tastefully decorated.

Aunt Clara was ill and was lying on a hospital bed when we stopped by to see her and some of the family.  Laura Ann had cooked a delicious looking lunch.  We regretted that we'd eaten at a restaurant before visiting them as they invited us to eat with them.  Aunt Clara was pale and very thin but her eyes still sparkled as she kidded and joked with us.

The family members, except Laura Ann, are all dead now.  We talked on the phone often until a few years ago.  The last I heard from her, she was living with a sister-in-law.  I used to send her copies of my blog as I do several others.  Then, Laura Ann's letters were returned.  I have a bunch of Tennessee relatives but don't have any addresses or phone numbers for them.

One of the many reasons I hate being 86 years old is that so many of my family members and friends are gone now.  I count my blessings often as I have Barry and Tam to help me.  And with my new book published, Tam and I are working on publicity plans.

Remember my new book, "Catch The Brass Ring" is available through Amazon, Kindle.  See you next time.  Comments welcome.  (As told to Tam)