I only had one brother & as younger children, he was my hero. He was responsible for me as we roamed Hamilton, Alabama with Jimmy Wayne & HarborJean. When we went to the movie on Saturday afternoons (it cost ten cents each), he was to walk me there & back to the store where Daddy & Mother were working. One day, he dropped one of the dimes & quickly declared that if I did not find the dime, I had to go back to the store for the afternoon. It was a cheap babysitter for Saturday afternoons for working parents. Mr. White Bedford was a deacon in our church & he was manager of the theater, he made sure the children behaved & were safe. He always told Billy Joe to leave before it got dark. We stayed through the movie all afternoon.
Other times, because I was younger than the other three, I was ‘allowed’ to play alone when they played games above my age level (they were only one & two years older but we were all like brothers & sisters so they felt superior to me). An instance of this is mumble-peg which is played with a pocket knife. (I might get cut.) Outside, we played marbles, made houses out of leaves in the woods (the outlines of rooms, no walls of course), swung on vines, & played Tarzan & Jane, many games with balls, things children today are totally ignorant of because they all have electronic games on computers, phones, I-pads, etc. I feel sorry for our children of today for missing out on games where their imagination could run rampant in their lives. I have seen some of my great grandchildren who have wonderful imaginations in their games & I have to commend their parents for encouraging this.
I wish my great grandchildren could experience some of this. Yes, even the times when we did not have running water & indoor plumbing. The walks down the path were what almost everyone we knew was doing so we were like our neighbors & relatives. But, making mud pies and ‘sandwiches’ out of two large leaves with a different smaller leaf as the inside of the sandwich. NO, we did not eat these. We served them to the other children & NO, they didn’t eat them either. Ante Over where we threw a ball over the house for the other team to try to catch it or Red Rover, Red Rover & the games listed above were so much fun. We played whatever our imaginations could think of & we had vivid imaginations. Kids gathered around the radio (if they were lucky enough to have one) & listened to serial shows; The Green Hornet, Dick Tracy, The Squeaking Door & others. On Saturday nights, the Grand Ole Opry was on & anyone who enjoyed country music listened. Minnie Pearl was so funny. She always had funny stories about relatives.
Oh, yes, I got along with my one sibling & my other almost siblings way back then. Billy Joe left us for a better place 14 years ago today 12-6-2008, Jean left 1-25-2010, Jimmy Wayne on 11-27-2022. Robert Hugh Mays who was part of our group when everyone was gathered together died 6-21-2008. So that leaves me as the only one of the Musketeers alive.
Speaking of being the one left, Billy Joe was Ma & Pa Davis’ (Dave & Savannah - Vanner) grandchild. I was next. The only aunt I have left is Aunt Tommie Lou Berryhill Davis. She is 92 & still beautiful. She is the oldest family member of Dave & Vanner left. I am next. The responsibility for being the oldest can overwhelm you sometimes. I feel so honored that God has left us this way. My love for all the family, not just Dave’s branch, but every one of the branches of that family. Genealogy is important to me & I pray that I will be able to complete my second Genealogy book to have a record of the births, lives, marriages, babies, & deaths of our family. YES, it is OUR family. It belongs to every member who has ever or will ever become a part of this wonderful family.
May God bless all who read this. It is a blessing for me to share my life with you. My second Genealogy of the various families connected to the Davis family is an undertaking of love.
This book is a blessing for Scott who is my first grandchild & he is the one most likely to walk where I am walking now. Every member of my & Thomas family is special.!!!
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