| WELCOME |
| ~ TRIBUTE TO MOTHER~ BY LOUISE McGOWAN DUKE OCTOBER 1986 |
| I HAVE SO MANY MEMORIES OF MY MOTHER AND SINCE SHE IS STILL WITH US, I LEARN TO LOVE HER MORE EVERYDAY. SHE HAS ALWAYS BEEN, AND STILL IS, A VERY PATIENT LADY. WHEN I WAS A CHILD, SHE USED TO PUNISH US AND I KNOW IT ALWAYS HURT HER MORE THAN IT DID US BECAUSE MAMA NEVER HIT US VERY HARD. MAMA HAS ALWAYS HAD SO MUCH LOVE FOR EVERYONE. WHEN WE WERE GROWING UP, WE LIVED ON DIFFERENT FARMS WITH MAMA AND PAPA. I KNOW THEY DID WITHOUT SO MANY THINGS SO THEY COULD PROVIDE FOR US. AS THE YEARS WENT BY AND I GREW OLDER, I LEFT NORTH CAROLINA, BUT I ALWAYS STAYED IN TOUCH AND CAME TO VISIT MAMA AND PAPA AS OFTEN AS I COULD. I RETURNED TO NORTH CAROLINA ABOUT TEN YEARS AGO AND HAVE REALLY TRIED TO MAKE UP FOR ALL THE YEARS I WAS AWAY. BEFORE PAPA DIED, I WOULD TAKE THEM ANY PLACE THEY WANTED TO GO. MAMA AND PAPA LIKED TO VISIT THE PLACES THEY LIVED YEARS BEFORE, AND VISIT SOME OF THEIR FRIENDS THEY HADN'T SEEN IN MANY YEARS. WE ALWAYS ENJOYED THOSE WONDERFUL TIMES TOGETHER. I COULD ALWAYS TELL HOW HAPPY IT MADE THEM JUST TO SEE SOME OF THEIR OLD FRIENDS AND RELATIVES. AFTER PAPA PASSED AWAY, MAMA AND I WOULD VISIT ALONE. WE MISSED PAPA VERY MUCH, SO WE WOULD VISIT AND PUT FLOWERS ON HIS GRAVE QUITE OFTEN. MAMA AND I WOULD VISIT WESLEY CEMETERY ON SPECIAL HOLIDAYS AND PUT FLOWERS ON THE GRAVES OF GRANDPA AND UNCLE JACK. WE WOULD CLEAN ALL THE LEAVES AND STRAW FROM MY COUSIN'S GRAVES AND WALK AROUND THE CEMETERY. MAMA WOULD EXPLAIN TO ME WHO WAS BURIED IN WHAT GRAVE AND HOW SHE USED TO KNOW THEM. WE SPENT MANY HOURS IN THAT CEMETERY. AFTER WE LEFT WESLEY CEMETERY, WE WOULD ALWAYS GO VISIT GRANDMA'S GRAVE **AT CHERRY HILL CEMETERY AND PUT FLOWERS ON HER VAULT. MAMA SPOKE OF HOW MUCH SHE LOVED HER MOTHER AND MISSED HER. I REMEMBER GRANDMA VERY WELL. SHE SPENT LOTS OF TIME WITH US WHILE I WAS A CHILD. GRANDMA ALWAYS WANTED ME TO SLEEP WITH HER AND I ALWAYS DID. FOR ME THAT WAS A BIG HONOR TO SLEEP WITH GRANDMA. I WOULD LISTEN TO HER PRAY EVERY NIGHT AND IN HER PRAYERS, SHE WOULD ALWAYS PRAY FOR ME. I LOVED GRANDMA KATE SO MUCH THAT I PLAN TO BE LAID TO REST BESIDE HER IN CHERRY HILL CEMETERY. MAMA IS STILL A STRONG LADY AND I THANK GOD EVERYDAY OF MY LIFE FOR LETTING US KEEP HER THIS LONG. "WHEN GOD GAVE ME MY MOTHER, 'TWAS THE CHOICEST GIFT HE COULD FIND NO HAND, LIKE THE HAND OF MOTHER, SO GENTLE TO SOOTHE AND SO KIND." GOD BLESS YOU AND KEEP YOU, MAMA, ALWAYS IN HIS CARE. I LOVE YOU SO VERY MUCH. **AS PROMISED, MY AUNT LOUISE (DUCK) WAS BURIED NEXT TO HER GRANDMOTHER, MY GREAT GRANDMOTHER, (SHIRLEY P. BARR) REFERENCES TAKEN FROM: MAYO FAMILY HISTORY RESEARCHED BY BOBBY RAY MAYO |
| ~ TRIBUTE TO MY MOTHER ~ BY NANCY McGOWAN WOOLARD |
| TO BEGIN, I WISH TO SAY WHAT A WONDERFUL MOTHER WE HAVE. RAISING SIX CHILDREN WAS A BIG RESPONSIBILITY. MAMA ALWAYS HELPED PAPA ON THE FARM. DURING TOBACCO HARVEST TIME, SHE WOULD RISE EARLY AND PREPARE OUR MEALS FOR THE DAY. WE WOULD THEN GATHER FOR BREAKFAST AND GO TO THE BARN TO TIE THE TOBACCO. ATNIGHTS, MAMA WOULD HELP PAPA CURE THE TOBACCO. SHE WOULD FIRE THE FURNACE HALF THE NIGHT, WHILE WE CHILDREN SLEPT IN THE WAGON. AS CHILDREN, WE LOVED THOSE NIGHTS OF "CAMPING OUT" IN THE OLD WAGON. FOR MAMA, IT MUST HAVE BEEN AWFULLY HARD TO WORK SUCH LONG DAYS AND NIGHTS. DURING THE WINTERS WHEN IT WAS REAL COLD, MAMA WOULD BRING OUR FOOD IN THE LIVING ROOM SO THAT WE COULD EAT WHERE IT WAS WARM. WHEN SPRING CAME, IT WAS "CLEAN UP" TIME. WE SOULD TAKE ALL THE BEDS OUTSIDE AND SCALD THEM. EVERYONE HAD BED BUGS IN THOSE DAYS AND SCALDING THE BEDS WAS THE ONLY EFFECTIVE WAY TO GET RID OF THEM. I WAS A TEENAGER DURING THE DEPRESSION. IT WAS A TERRIBLY ROUGH TIME, BUT WE WERE FORTUNATE IN BEING ABLE TO GET WHAT WE REALLY NEEDED. IRMA LEE AND MYSELF COULD WEAR MAMA'S DRESSES, SO WE WOULD CHANGE AROUND OFTEN. THIS MADE US FEEL AS THOUGH WE HAD A "NEW" DRESS. I'M REALLY THANKFUL TO MAMA AND PAPA FOR TEACHING US THE DIGNITY AND ENJOYMENT OF WORKING. THIS VALUE HAS SERVED ME WELL THROUGHOUT LIFE. THANK YOU, JESUS, FOR MY MOTHER. IT REALLY FEELS GOOD TO KNOW THAT WE CAN STILL VISIT HER. |
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| ON THE RIGHT: PAPA LEVI AND HIS MULE "HITLER" ON THE LEFT: GRANDMA AND PAPA WORKING TOGETHER ON THE FARM.... |
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| THIS IS LOUISE McGOWAN DUKE, SHE SPENT HER REMAINING DAYS IN A NURSING HOME. SHE DIED OF LOU GEHRIGS DISEASE. |
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