Monthly Archives: October 2011

“Tricia married Claude Ellington, whom she had started dating the year she finished high school. They were married at the First Baptist Church in 1955 and had a tiny little apartment on East Washington Street just across from the Stott … Continue reading →

“I was always trying to think of some way to pick up money and not have to leave home. Since I had done mimeographing on the side at the Chamber of Commerce I found an old mimeograph machine at Fisher’s … Continue reading →

“[Gene] Rutland [Commercial Appeal  editor] told me I would have to learn to take pictures for the paper, so I bought a Dura-Flex camera by Kodak, paid twenty something for it, and studied all the instructions. I had always liked … Continue reading →

“In 1954 I talked the Commercial Appeal into letting me send in the society column which came out every Sunday, since Tom Shepherd, editor of the Commonwealth, who had replaced Botts [Blackstone] as correspondent, was not doing much with it. They … Continue reading →

“This was Russell’s second time to attend a black funeral. He and Nancy Gwin [their next-door neighbor] had gone on Thanksgiving Day to Will Henry’s funeral. Will Henry had been our yard man as well as the Gwins’ so they … Continue reading →

“[Georgia] had married an older man when she was just thirteen and later married James Edwards ‘in a cotton field.’ We had a terrible time getting her record straight so that she would be able to get Social Security after … Continue reading →

“Georgia stayed most of the day Monday through Friday and half a day on Saturday. Wages were so low for household and yard help then and nearly everyone had full time maids and yard men at least once a week. … Continue reading →

“Five days later we went home but soon wished we were back in the hospital. Cathy was upset and did not like the attention being given to the new baby and that first night was almost hysterical. Russell and Mama … Continue reading →

“In 1953 we decided it was time to get a playmate for Cathy. In the late summer I found out I was pregnant again, and we started telling Cathy she was going to get a sister. She talked about ‘the … Continue reading →

“In 1952 I decided I wanted to make some money so I wrote to the Jackson Daily News and asked them if I could be a correspondent for them and send in local news items. They agreed, and my first feature … Continue reading →