Legacy
If you don’t have a legacy book, I would highly recommend
one. This is a book made specifically
for recording the stories and memories of a family member, usually your parents
or grandparents. I am so thankful that I
had the opportunity to interview my parents using this helpful book. The book has questions to ask them to prompt
them to reveal memorable treasured times that happened during their lives. My mother passed away a year ago at 91 and my
dad no longer has a memory at 93, so this book is special. I was able to record stories I never would
have heard had it not been for those prompting questions.
For example, “What
mischievous childhood experience do you remember?”.
My mother said when they were de-worming tobacco, she would
take a worm and chase around the field someone who was afraid of it.
Dad said that after a Guernsey cow switched its tail in his
face one too many times while he was milking it, he tied the cow’s tail to a
Holstein cow standing beside it. The
Holstien cow jerked the Guernsey’s tail off.
They had to sell the Guernsey cow for soap. His Dad was not happy about that.
“On Halloween, did you ever go on a hayride or bob for
apples?”
My Dad said that he never did care about that holiday as so
many tricks were played. People would
turn over outhouses and put logs across the road. One time, he said, someone put cow manure on
his father’s truck seat, and it made him mad.
On Halloween, my dad and his brother Frank would go opossum hunting.
“What extracurricular activities were you involved in during
high school?”
My mother was named “Miss DAR” (Daughter of American
Revolution).
She was a member of the Beta Club and performed in many plays
her junior and senior year. She was in a
play called “Where’s Grandma?” Also, she
and my dad played the roles of husband and wife in a senior play.
My Dad said he played touch football, sandlot baseball and participated
in theater during his junior and senior years.
He was a State Senator for the 4-H Club and went to
Nashville.
Can you recall an especially interesting visitor to your
home?
My mother said as a child her Uncle Bob Langston (her dad’s brother)
would come over to visit and would not leave until he had all of the children
crying.
Dad said Aunt Carrie and Aunt Anna-Mae (his dad’s sisters) who
were both spinsters would come to visit.
They would always bring a little treat for him, like candy or chewing
gum.
“Describe your childhood bedroom.”
My mother said they had two beds with straw tick mattresses,
and all four siblings were in the same bedroom.
There were 3 girls and a boy. Two
siblings slept in each bed.
My dad said that his oldest brother, Junior, slept on a
cot. He and his brother Frank slept on a
straw tick mattress together. The boys had
a room while Margaret and Doris had a bed together in another bedroom.
“What chores did you have to do when you were growing up?”
My dad said they had to feed the hogs and milk the dairy
cows every morning and evening seven days/week.
He said he started milking when he was 9 years old. He disliked milking in the cold weather.
He and his brother Frank also mowed their neighbor’s yard
with a reel mower for 25 cents. (split 10
cents and 15 cents, alternatingly)
Tammy Harvey
2/22/2026
