So many tiny details of my childhood continue to come to mind after our recent trip “back home.”  Every time I relate a story to someone or send a picture on to a family member, more and more tiny bits fall into place.

Last week, I sent some very old photos to my cousin Chuck.  One of his father, Uncle George, sitting on my maternal great-grandparents’ front porch in a tiny town 12 miles north of Durant — Kenefic.  They raised their nine children there.

Chuck asked whether we unearthed any more pictures of that house when Joannie and I poured through the two big tubs of documents. I responded with this:

“You know, the only picture we found of the house in Kenefic was the one I sent you of Uncle George sitting on the front steps — his mother, your grandmother, my great-grandmother standing in the doorway.   I have so many memories of that house — the porch swing, the primitive kitchen where Ma-Ma prepared wonderful meals, the outhouse, the storm cellar. All gone now. Joannie and I drove around the ruins of Kenefic for an hour trying to find anything I could remember. I couldn’t even find the railroad tracks! How could railroad tracks disappear? There was a “new” Methodist Church building where the old one used to be. ( I don’t remember this, but Mother said Ma-Ma used to play the pump organ there.) And the poverty! We saw people living in falling-down houses with junked appliances and vehicles in the yard. Heart-breaking. Our ancestors lived very modestly there, but they were very hard-working and maintained their homes well.”

This is exactly the way I remember them.  They seemed — and looked  — quite old to me, but you can see from their gravestone, Pa-Pa was only 71 when he died, and Ma-Ma was  80.  I was present at both their funerals and was able to walk right to their graves to take this picture last month.

They had lovely names —  James Monroe and Susan Louise — and gave all their children lovely names too:  Maud Kate, James Monroe, William, Stephen, Samford, (Ma-Ma’s maiden name), Mary, Caroline, George, and Frances. I remember them all very well.