Cousin Virginia Finds Comfort

Our Cookie Tradition

My local cousin group who are mostly in our mid-late 60's made a trip to see Virginia Kilpatrick whose odometer rolled over 92 this year. She relocated there a couple of months ago from Pace, FL to an assisted living facility. It's a glorious place. Lots of space and great staff and in a very nice part of town.  Some of her Mullins family relatives live in the area and are frequent visitors.  

Jim phones happy birthday 

Karen and I joined in the trip and continued to visit more of Alabama over the next couple of days.  We visited my 95 year old former C.O. of USS O'Callahan and saw Moundville, AL and Cahawba, AL before we came home.  It's refreshing to take off for a few days and learn some new things.  I'll post some photos and insight from that trip after this post.

Kittye Norris, L, Jim, Me Karen and V in Middle

 I presented Virginia with a star cut out of an American flag to share our appreciation of her long and patriotic service to the country she loves.   It also reflects the service of her deceased husband, Rogene

Flag Appreciation

Kilpatrick, who served in the Marines in Korea.  He was with the embattled forces that fought out of the famous trap at the "Frozen Chosin" reservoir at the border of China. This was before Wal-mart.

Joe Howell Family 1910 - Horse is "Jolly"

Rogene's mom was a Howell - from Chumuckla. The old home-place was on Howell Pitt Road a couple miles north of the Chumuckla Crossroads.  His mom was my grandma's sister.  She is the little girl in the middle, in front of her mom, Mary Elizabeth Haynes Howell. This is about May or June, 1910 and Mary is pregnant with her last child, Joe.  Prudence, Rogene's mom hides her condition by standing in front.

MY grandma is the tall young woman toward the right. Dessie was 20 that year. Dessie actually outlived every single person in this photo, including Joe.  As she grew older, her stories of the family became jewels for recording and listening to.

Virginia is a retired nurse.  She is healthy but slowed a bit by age. A couple of years ago she gave up her car because she was having problems with the controls.  Limited mobility nearly ended her social life including her regular involvement with her church and other friends.  Older friends have the same issues and eventually the network of visitors and social interaction fade off . She realized the problem as isolation grew. Occasional visits from cousins or other local relatives was insufficient to be safe and feel a part of a world that keeps moving.  So, her nephew and she came to the conclusion to sell the home in Pace and move to Montgomery where, at Oak Grove Inn, she will find the social atmosphere and the safety of trained staff.

Rogene's old Marine Barracks foot locker was recovered from his belongings after he died. It is now on display at the JAY MUSEUM.  Included int he trunk are COLD WEATHER socks.  He never wanted to be without THOSE in his kit after Korea -- and the Chosin Battle.

Marine Footlocker inclueds COLD WEATHER Socks

Rogene - a hero to his kin

This poem was written by Rogene. It was found deep under his effects after he died. I imagine he wrote this as he worked through the Korean War experience and especially Chosin. 

Lonely. Cold. Words that are repeated often. This choked up the Marine that found it (I saw a tear).

Choked me up too and I am a Navy Vet (caught that tear) .

I remember him first as a very sad man among the happy family. By the time I was a teen, he was recovered and became a big brother to many of his nephews. Fossil hunting. Rock hounding. We idolized him. 
 Fortunately for him, 
he found Virginia. 
And he found God.

I think those two steps were critical.

THE RUCKUS 

While visiting in Virgina's room the topic of  small world and "what ever happened to so and so" came up and I thought I'd relate one of my great car stories for a few laughs.  We got a bit loud laughing and were afraid we would be thrown out of the Oak Grove Inn which is a very dignified place and our noise went far beyond the walls of Virginia's room .

So..

It was in 1957 and I had just entered the last half of second grade at CHUMUCKLA elementary school.  The family had just moved back to Dad's roots there after some years of military transfers.

Out on the playground the dirt under the old oak trees there was perfectly ground to a course but manageable base to build roads for toy cars. But we had no toy cars.  So we substituted thumb sized rocks and drove them all over the magnificently engineered roadways.

My car was quite powerful. It had a V-8 engilne and emulated my dad's 1955 Ford sedan. VROOM, chuck (gear change) zoom zoom, rowwrrr and vroommmm to a stop...eeerrrrchhhhkk!

My buddy Jimmy had a second or third hand rock  car and it could only go slow and in fits and starts. It went ... fluppopp  pop , pudenanny pudenanny pudenanny, clang- crunch curhucnk (gear change) and then pop pop pudenanny.....   phhhaeee zzzerp (stop). 

I've always remembered Jimmy and wondered  if he ever got a better rock in his life.  He was from a poor family that lived down near the cotton gin.  Sometimes, especially in cold weather, he came to school with clothes and hair that smelled of firewood and smoke.  Those old clapboard houses by the gin were built long before the invention of insulation and a fireplace would burn all night and likely the breakfast was cooked on a wood stove.  Those old houses are long gone. Only one of the era remains and it was one of the nicer ones occupied by a foreman - probably.  Its refurbished now and makes a great cottage.

But back then.... not much left over to even have a decent rock.

I do wonder what ever happened to Jimmy.

What kind of rock does he have now?

...................

The above story was sparked by a memory from Kittye who related an incident from her sister, Faye.

Faye and her husband were at a church adult camp where people learn all kinds of new things to be distracted by.  She was talking to a lady at her craft table and the lady mentioned she had lived in Athens, Ga.  Faye said, well, me too ! " I lived there when I was in the first grade."

Both remarked how much they loved that time in their lives.Then the other lady said she always wondered whatever happened to a little girl who was her friend there in first grade.

Wondered whatever happened to a little girl named "Faye Campbell".

At this .. Faye Campbell Westfall was astounded.

A truly small world moment.

And a mystery 60 years old solved.

Recovered friendshlps.

So ... that is what got me going on "whatever happened to Jimmy?"

and we laughed and laughed.