The Greatest Generation

Glenn

You need to get their stories written down or recorded for history - even if it is just for the family. My younger sister made it a personal project a few years ago to "interview" my mother and all our living aunts and uncles. She wanted to get something on tape so her kids would have a sense of their family history. She has a journalism degree and is well trained on how to interview a person. She gave me a copy of the DVD she made and I learned more in a few hours about my family then I'd known in almost 40 years of living in it.

To much gets lost or forgotten or just isn't talked about otherwise. My mother was shocked to find out that my dad (died 22 years ago) had two younger brothers that she never knew about, their deaths were something no one in the family wanted to talk about. She learned many details about his family's flight from Poland before and during WW2 that most in the family had never discussed with anyone.

Mama’s Mama, on a winter’s day,
Milked the cows and fed them hay,
Slopped the hogs, saddled the mule
And got the children off to school,
Did the washing, mopped the floors,
Washed the windows and did some chores,
Cooked a dish of home –dried fruit,
Pressed her husbands Sunday suit,
Swept the parlor, made the bed,
Baked a dozen loaves of bread,
Split some wood and lugged it in,
Enough to fill the kitchen bin,
Cleaned the lamps and put oil in,
Stewed some apples she thought might spoil,
Churned the butter, baked a cake,
Then exclaimed, “for mercies sake”,
The cows and calves have got out of the pen.
Went out and chased them in again,
Gathered the eggs and locked the stable,
Returned to the house and set the table,
Cooked a supper that was delicious,
And afterward washed all the dishes,
Fed the cat sprinkled the clothes.
Mended a basket full of clothes.
Then opened the Organ and began to play,
Then you come to the end of a perfect day.

This is in remembrance of my Mother (Rosa Harless Keesee), Who passed away May 6 1982.
She was so precious to me. I can remember how she hard she labored for us. The poem is so true as to what she did.
She got up early in the morning and went about her work while singing many songs “ Amazing Grace – I’ll Meet You in the Morning “ and many other songs. She played the Organ. Often we gathered on Sunday afternoon and Mother would play and the neighbors and mom would sing the beautiful old songs. She reminded me of Dorcas in the Bible. She sewed for all the neighbors and their children. Carried Baskets of food to neighbors that were sick. She would put the food in the Baskets and would put them in her arms along with her baby (Bessie) while Homer and I would walk and follow her. She
Would go several miles. This is some thing I will cherish all my life and I hill pass on to grand children . Her Daughter Tessie Keesee Pratt

Re – typed by Dale Pratt Jan 2005

I've pulled up numerous original documents going back to mid-1800's of my ancestors. Family tree construction is easy. With a few names, birth & death dates, you can uncover ther past in minutes. I'm now correcting my mother (age 90) about relatives, events. They have a free two-week trial that gets you hooked.