I could always imagine what it was like for my Daddy back in July of 1929 when his sister and her boyfriend invited him for a Saturday afternoon movie in Athens, Texas. Trips to town were few and far between and having the extra money for a real movie was a treat. In fact, boyfriend Virgil had given my Daddy a whole quarter, and I could just imagine Daddy feeling that quarter in his pocket all the way to town and dreaming of what he would see and taste when he got to the movie theatre.
The road from Crossroads Community into Athens, Texas was long and winding and as the wagon wheels moved slowly they made a clickety-clack sound on the old dirt road. Even though it was one of the hottest times of the year in East Texas, there was a lot of beautiful landscape and wildflowers around for Daddy to look at. Dave Trammell, my Father, was curious as to why he had been invited to accompany his sister Olive and her boyfriend Virgil Bristow, and as to why Virgil had even offered to pay Daddy’s way to the movie. Virgil was already known as a young man who didn’t part with his money too quickly. As you will learn later, Olive should have paid more attention to this trait of Virgil’s.
It didn’t take long for Daddy to find out what the catch was. When sixteen year old Olive and her suitor Virgil returned to her mother’s homestead after the movie with fourteen year old Dave, they went in to tell the family that they were married! No one was any more surprised than Dave. Now he knew why they had included him, he was their alibi! Of course, marrying at sixteen was not unusual in the nineteen twenties and Olive’s parents Burl Cook and Iona Pierce still had children left in their fold. There were J.B., Eula, Woodrow, Dave, Buddy, B.C., Elmo, and Pat.
A few weeks after the marriage there was a little tiff between the newlyweds that made Virgil decide to go back home to his mother. After disappearing for a few days, his father-in-law Burl Cook Trammell, who was a deputy sheriff at the time, paid Virgil a visit with his shotgun in hand. He explained to Virgil that there would not be any going back home to mama. I guess Virgil understood because their marriage ultimately lasted seventy- one years, until Virgil’s death in the year 2000. The marriage produced one son, Hollis, two grandchildren Nita and Gary, and three great grandchildren.
Of course, I wasn’t around when my aunt got married but I did have the pleasure of knowing and loving her for many years. I guess one of the things that drew me to her was the way people always told me I looked like her. Now when I was a teenager in the sixties the last person I wanted to look like was my matronly looking aunt, but as I have gotten older I just remember her with admiration of her character, not her looks.
All of her nieces and nephews referred to her as “Aunt Sister.” She always made her own clothes of polyester material and she was very plain. I never remember seeing her dressed up or wearing much makeup or jewelry. Her normal attire was slacks and a top with a sweater. Uncle Virgil was also a plain dresser. He always wore a khaki shirt, pants, and jacket, and occasionally sported a hat.
My Aunt Sister and Uncle Virgil ran the country store down the road from my Grandmother Onie’s house. The store was old and run down, but it was a delight to all of us kids while we were growing up. It was not just a store, but a place where the community gathered. I can still hear the clink of the dominoes and hear the laughter of people as they played and talked. There was a large display case that kept the sandwich meats, cheese, and eggs. I loved to lean on that case and imagine what kinds of things my Grandmother would cook for supper. We always got a RC cola and put peanuts in it. The peanuts came in a little red cylinder package that sometimes had money in the bottom. The money would be wrapped in tissue paper, and what a treat it was to find! In the winter, the heater would be inviting, and there would be people gathered around it getting warm while they visited. There was always an aroma of gasoline around the front door where my Aunt and Uncle went in and out to sell and pump gas. To my childlike thinking they had a fun job, I never thought about how physically hard it was or of the long hours six days a week. I know that I never went through the doors of that store that I wasn’t made to feel special about myself. My Aunt and Uncle would always tease and love on us and give us a free piece of gum or candy or sometimes ice cream. Later on, they built a new store across the street that is still standing but it was never quite as unique as the first one. I think it was more than the building, I think people’s priorities had changed and they didn’t make the time to linger, play dominoes, or just visit anymore.
Down the road from the store was my Aunt Sister’s house. I don’t remember a lot about her first house except that it was a frame house with a big screened in front porch where she and Uncle Virgil stayed most of the time. It was a place where people stopped by and chatted. Visitors might bring a watermelon, some peas, or maybe some collard greens. When that house got really old, they built a new brick house down the road from the old one. This house was one of my favorite places to go. It was small, only two bedrooms and one bath, but it had everything they needed. Inside the house my Aunt kept her prized African violets, which were always blooming. I would take some home but they would never do as well as hers. She had crocheted doilies around on the furniture (another one of her hobbies) and her TV with the pictures of her children and grandchildren placed with love on top.
She liked to read and make quilts. Nearly every time I came to visit she would be cooking the noon meal. The smells were wonderful as she was a very good cook. The outside of her house reflected her love of nature. She had a small pond dug in the yard which had large goldfish in it. Concrete swans and shells were scattered around the yard. There was a favorite persimmon tree that was always loaded with fruit in the winter. The bright orange fruit stood out beautifully against the gray winter sky, giving a pop of color to the dreary, winter yard. I came every year and got persimmons to make a special cake of them. Aunt Sister always called my Daddy to tell him when the persimmons were ready so I could come get all I wanted.
My Aunt Sister lived on that road her whole life until she died at the age of eighty-seven. One of my favorite stories about her was when she bought herself a brand new car. After a few months she called the dealership where she bought the car and told them it wouldn’t start. When the mechanic came out to see about her car he noticed she had only driven seven miles in two months! He told her she had to drive the car more than that. I don’t know if my Aunt ever went many places except to the grocery store once a week and then to the Dairy Queen for lunch. She was a member of the Willow Springs Baptist Church and she drove there on Sundays. I know that she and my Uncle raised cattle and kept a garden, but they were really just plain folks.
In fact, Aunt Sister was buried alongside her husband Virgil not half a mile from her house in Rome Cemetery. Her Grandson Gary still lives in her house and his Father Hollis, my Aunt’s Son, lives right down the road from him. My Aunt and Uncle were of such wonderful character that every time I think of them I know that they were people who loved me and wanted the best for me in life. Many people do a lot more with their lives, but I have to ask myself if there is anything that is of more value in life than to impact your loved ones with self-worth. I know the simple life of my Aunt was surely not dotted with events or things that usually constitute success in our world, but I know from being a teacher for so many years that it is a special gift from God to have the privilege to feed little children (or adults for that matter) with enough self worth to think they can do anything that God calls them to do.
My Aunt did this for me by just always being in that little house by the side of the road, and always making herself available to me. The question for us is will you and I be willing to make the same sacrifice to the people and family around us so that when they leave our presence they will still feel special about themselves? May God help us all to take the time to achieve this principle in our lives. I think Bill McKibben, author of a book about global warming called “The End of Nature and Deep Economy” says it best with the quote “The values of faith communities—neighborliness, time with family, serving others instead of buying more stuff—are how to heal our planet.” The words of Jesus Christ come to mind when he said, “Love God, and love your neighbor as yourself.” You can’t get a clearer statement in favor of community. No one dies and says, “I wished I had shopped more and spent less time with family.” Aunt Sister truly was a revolutionary woman before her time, by concentrating on people, not things.
Oh, I almost forgot. Aunt Sister and Uncle Virgil kept separate bank accounts all of their lives. Uncle Virgil was never quite as giving as Aunt Sister.
Persimmon Cake Recipe
2 cups sugar
2 cups persimmon pulp
1 cup raisins
4 cups sifted cake flour
Grated rind of one orange
½ teaspoon each cloves, allspice, nutmeg
4 teaspoons soda
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 tablespoons butter
2 cups chopped walnuts
1 cup dates, finely chopped
1 cup milk
2 teaspoons cinnamon
3 tablespoons baking powder
2 eggs
Cream butter and sugar…add other ingredients and mix well. Bake in a greased bundt pan or 2 greased loaf pans, 1 and ½ hours at 300 degrees