Boo-Ma, Rachel Drinkard, (I think she added Virginia as her middle name later in life because she liked it) was one of ten children. I'm sure that I am going to need some help in the order of this and I would love to have it... just add the information in the comment section...
Her brothers were DawBaugh (I know that isn't spelled correctly... but I think it meant "that boy"), Biddie, Buster, and Murray... the girls were Frances, Edna, Millie, and Ina...and then there was a little girl who died... and I can't remember her name either.
I have many memories of Frances and Ina... a few of Edna... and several of Millye... Millye and Collins lived in Arkansas when we did, and we would visit them or they would come to see us. When I was in high school they bought the house beside Mama and Daddy and I would go over to get a snack and listen to stories.... One of my favorites was to listen to how many stops they would make on the trip from Arkansas to Lincolnton. Millye would say they stopped a few times, and Collins would roll his eyes.... He said they stopped at every Wal-mart from here to there.... to just run in for a few minutes and it would be an hour. Millye ruled their roost... I can remember being about five or six and leaving their house and Collins was digging in the trunk of the car. I asked Daddy what he was doing and he said that he was hiding his cigarettes from Millye. They were tucked under the cover of the trunk, in the tire, and under a cloth. Daddy just laughed and laughed about it. My absolute favorite story is about the times that all the Drinkards would go to Jekyll Island ... with all their children... and grandchildren.... and stay up all night playing cards. The "other" sisters would laugh because Collins waited on Millye hand and foot... something that generation was not used to seeing... Our generation... we love a man to wait us on... but not them! Anyway... there were several incidents to clarify his devotion to her, but the funniest to me is that she made him wipe the moisturizer off her glasses because she couldn't see to play cards. As much as Mark does for me, I don't think he would get up to do that! I can just see all of them now... in the kerchiefs.... they only did their hair once a week... all dolled up with Pond's cold cream on their faces... and her getting some on her glasses.
For years and years... we have made fun of Daddy when Mama and I capture him in the car with us... we always say, "Collins... we need to do this and that... and we will be right back!". This past week, I had to take Daddy to the eye doctor, Marion to pick up a bus, KB to tumbling, and Mama to Kohl's... we laughed because Daddy's doctor's appointment turned into a four hour trip.... I told "Collins" that we would get him home eventually....
It's funny how one or two things can impact our lives forever... the stories of my grandmother's brothers and sisters are fascinating to me... Each of them was successful... had their own special ways about them... I know Sammy tried at one time to compile a list of these, but I never saw them. For the 100 hundred or so of you who are kin to this family that had Ma Reesie and Daddy Sam as the matriarch and patriarch... I would love for you to share some of your stories on here. My children never met Boo-Ma... and only knew Ina of all the brothers and sisters... I want her to live forever in their memory... I would love for them to have memories of each them. And for those of you are sneaking to read the blog...if you knew any of them... tell their story for us... we want to know! This way... it will be here forever!
I think you should be able to leave the story or memory in the comments section... I hope we can have at least one or two for each of them!
5 comments:
One summer they came to visit and help with Ma Reesie and Daddy Sam. This was the year that Murray had bought a trailer and put it next door to Boo and Har so that Boo and Ina could see about them (that didn't work out, however, and they went back to their house pretty soon) Anyway, Millye had heartburn the whole time they were here and every day right after lunch Collins would come walking in Boo's back door, borrow the Pepto Bismal, give Millye a spoonful and then walk it back to Boo's house. After about 5 days of this Har looked at Mary after Collins left and said "Hell, he could have saved a lot of time and energy by going to the drug store and buying Millye her own bottle of Pepto"!!!
From Gail Guthrie Guillebeau Remsen: I thought DaBa was a shorter version of Doll Boy. I remember playing setback with Boo Ma and Har almost every night when Jane and Butch moved back to Lincolnton. When Boo Ma got ready to go home she would say that she felt her sleep coming down. I still say it to this day. I also remember how she kind of adopted Sara Anne as one of her grandchildren. She would bring her a little brown paper sack of candy almost every day. She would drive up and blow the horn and we would go out to get it. Did I dream that we put a sack of candy in her casket from Sara Anne when she passed away? I also remember Ma Reesie pulling out in front of someone and having a wreck. When asked why she pulled out she said she had waited long enough. Not only was Boo Ma my ex-mother-in-law, she was my second cousin. Daddy Sam and my grandmother Bessie were brothers and sisters. That made Jane and Bob my 3rd cousins along with all the children of Boo Ma's brothers and sisters. That's why I still claim all of you as my family.
As I sit here and just laugh at all that was said, Britt, I remember too well also the pond's cold cream sister's. Lol! Mama (little Rachel) is gathering up some old stories that she remembers to post!
Many of my memories are of Ina and her family. I guess since she lived in Lincolnton and had a pool, Nana (Murray's wife) would take us over there to swim.
I remember Valerie teaching me how to shoot a bow and arrow in Ina's backyard.
I remember thinking how cool it was that she had an organ in her living room.
And I remember Ina having a nervous tic and she would reach behind her right ear and twirl a piece of her hair. One time I was riding in the car with them (Ina and Nana) and I sat behind Ina and saw that she was twisting a tight little curl of her hair. When all the other curls had been brushed out, that one remained for her to twirl.
On a family vacation to Arkansas (I think it was about 1990) we took a detour and stopped to see Millie and Collins. Before we got to their house, mama was explaining to us who they were since we had never met them. I remember asking what their last name was and mama told me "Collins". This really confused me since she called Millie's husband by the same name. That's when they explained to us that it was just a nick name. Of course my next question was "what's his real name?" She had a hard time remembering but she came up with "Snead" (I think I would stick with Collins too!) I remember him talking about being a train conductor. And before we got to their house that day my dad told us that all he remembered of them was that Millie didn't like to have her picture made. And sure enough, before we left, we took a group picture and she pitched a fit about her hair not looking right and that she didn't need to be in the picture. But my dad insisted and we took it!
I got "that boy" mixed up with Dabo Swinney... forgive me.... I stand corrected... it is "Doll Baby"!
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