I write this for those who are interested in ancestry . . . as I have become in recent times, motivated in great part by Leslie’s work with our family history. When I was much younger I didn’t give it much thought, and that’s probably the way most people are. There were times, though, that … Read more
1931-2007 Alice and I, twins of course, were born in Winding Gulf, West Virginia on September 1, 1931. I’ve written about Alice in other pieces, and will take this space to tell you a little about her adult years. But before that, this: We were what you’d expect from twins: played together, walked to school … Read more
1927-2002 David was born in 1927, his parents, Willis and Audrey, up against it in the oncoming Great Depression. I don’t know much about David’s early years except his brief recounts to me of those times. His earliest years were neither happy nor otherwise; he was a child of the down times. I have no … Read more
“Mom”, “Grandmam” – 1908-2011 Audrey Farley was born in Cannel City, Kentucky on June 6, 1908, the daughter of Henry Orville Hale and Effie Rice Hale. She was the third of ten children. I don’t know much about her early life, except that she grew up in the coal mine communities of southern West Virginia, … Read more
“Dad”, “Grandaddy”, “Big Bear” – 1906-1983 Willis was born at Kanawha Falls, West Virginia, a small town on the Kanawha River about 50 miles east of Charleston. He grew up in Alderson, West Virginia, another small town — with an estimated population of about 1,500 at that time — in Greenbrier County, West Virginia, on … Read more