Legacy Book

 

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