greybeard
Well-known member
Not many folks today can say that about their mother.
I see frequent posts about our Dads, but not much about our Moms.
Was thinking today about my mother and all she went thru in the Great Depression, then her husband going of to a CC Camp in Colorado during the depression to make $30/month, and later get drafted into the US Army during WW2 and seeing her 2 sons go off to and finally return from Vietnam, then the unfathomable grief when my youngest sister died. It had to have been tough--it was tough times, even for that generation. I recently looked at a photo she had, of me, my brother and 3 sisters at the table Christmas time 1973. On the back, she had written "All my children home for the first time in 4 years". I remember that week. It was, finally..a happy time.
She had picked cotton beside my father, (by hand, dragging a sack) helped with the few cows they had in the early days, endured sandstorms during the dust bowl when they lived out in Nolan County, watched them lose a small farm in Bowie County when Wright Patman Reservoir was impounded in the early 50s. (then called Lake Texarkana) faithfully got up early and made biscuits every morning my father worked and of course, lunches for us kids.
Among her accomplishments/trials/tribulations was she worked in the mid- late 40s at the old San Jacinto Ordinance Depot on the banks of the Houston ship channel in Channelview Texas. She told me her job there was to assemble 50 & 100 lb bombs, specifically, installing part of the fuse assemblies.
She saw a lot of history and heartache and worry, which I'm sure I contributed my share of.
When living near Tyler, she heard the 1937 New London school explosion. 10 years later, Both my mother and father were frantic when they heard the Texas City Grand Camp explosions at their places of employment. Dad worked at the Humble Oil refinery in nearby Baytown (now Exxon) and Mom was working at the Ordinance Depot. Each thought the other's job place had exploded and both went rushing home to check. They didn't have a telephone in those days.
Dunno, just thinking about her this morning.......
I see frequent posts about our Dads, but not much about our Moms.
Was thinking today about my mother and all she went thru in the Great Depression, then her husband going of to a CC Camp in Colorado during the depression to make $30/month, and later get drafted into the US Army during WW2 and seeing her 2 sons go off to and finally return from Vietnam, then the unfathomable grief when my youngest sister died. It had to have been tough--it was tough times, even for that generation. I recently looked at a photo she had, of me, my brother and 3 sisters at the table Christmas time 1973. On the back, she had written "All my children home for the first time in 4 years". I remember that week. It was, finally..a happy time.
She had picked cotton beside my father, (by hand, dragging a sack) helped with the few cows they had in the early days, endured sandstorms during the dust bowl when they lived out in Nolan County, watched them lose a small farm in Bowie County when Wright Patman Reservoir was impounded in the early 50s. (then called Lake Texarkana) faithfully got up early and made biscuits every morning my father worked and of course, lunches for us kids.
Among her accomplishments/trials/tribulations was she worked in the mid- late 40s at the old San Jacinto Ordinance Depot on the banks of the Houston ship channel in Channelview Texas. She told me her job there was to assemble 50 & 100 lb bombs, specifically, installing part of the fuse assemblies.
She saw a lot of history and heartache and worry, which I'm sure I contributed my share of.
When living near Tyler, she heard the 1937 New London school explosion. 10 years later, Both my mother and father were frantic when they heard the Texas City Grand Camp explosions at their places of employment. Dad worked at the Humble Oil refinery in nearby Baytown (now Exxon) and Mom was working at the Ordinance Depot. Each thought the other's job place had exploded and both went rushing home to check. They didn't have a telephone in those days.
Dunno, just thinking about her this morning.......