Standing: Percy O'Neal "Neal" and Vivian Lorene |
Days of sadness and trial were to come
later when the children were half grown. The oldest son to be born to Bob and Ruth was
Neal, then my mom, Lorene, then another son, Paul. Next was a miscarriage. After Paul,
there was Chess, then Lois and the baby, Terrell. It was almost like two families in one because of the skip. Neal, Lorene, and Paul grew up together and then the younger three girls. Lorene became almost a second mother to the younger girls, for she stayed at home and cleaned and cooked, while Ruth and the boys went with Bob to the field to plant the cotton, hoe the cotton or pick the cotton or whatever needed to be done. Sometimes the entire family went, Lorene and Terrell included, so they could get the work done faster. I remember my Aunt Chess talking and laughing about Lorene, working her rows of cotton, that she was so slow that they could work the ends of her rows before she got there. She could never get to her rows end. |
