Amanuensis Monday - My Grandmother's Poem

When we were growing up, my brother, Arthur, and I used to each teasingly "claim" one of our grandmothers as our own.  Our paternal grandmother, Anna Green Yarborough, was, "MY grandma", and our mother's mother was "his".  I'm not sure how or why this started, but I did have an extremely close relationship with my Grandma Yarborough, and my Grandma Thomas was always a bit more of a mystery woman to me, even though she lived closer to us, in Norfolk.  I've always been aware of the many traits I inherited from my father's mother, but, as time goes on, I'm finding that there's quite a bit of my Grandma Thomas in me, too! 

I've been writing poetry since I was in junior high school, but for the most part, I've kept my writings private. (The exception has been the many motivational pieces I've written for students to perform.) Several years ago, while exploring some of the items left in the dresser drawer in the room my grandmother once occupied at my mom's house, I came across this poem.  I was delighted, yet baffled.  Did my grandmother really write this?  I never, ever would have even imagined her penning a poem, especially not something as fabulously insightful as this one.  I just didn't know this side of my grandmother at all!

I remember getting on the computer and searching for the lines of the poem, to see if perhaps someone else had authored it.  Nothing came up. I even did it again, before starting this post.  Still, nothing.  I recently learned that this poem was read at my grandmother's funeral in 1986, but I have no memory of hearing it, then.  The person who mentioned it to me referred to it as, "that beautiful poem that was written by your grandmother".  I think that with that, along with the inscription and dedication which follow the poem, it's time for me to accept what I found so hard to believe.  My "brother's grandmother" (lol) was a poet!

It is with enormous pride that I present the poem, "You Say I'm Growing Old?", written by Mary Davis Hill Thomas, January 24, 1960, and dedicated to her children, Howell, (Mary)Anne, and Jane.

You Say I'm Growing Old?

You tell me I'm glowing? I tell you that's not so

The house" I live in may be worn out, 

That of course I know.

It's been in use a long, long while, it's weathered many a gale

I'm really not surprised you think it's getting somewhat frail.

The color on the roof is changing, the windows getting dim,

The walls are a bit transparent and looking rather thin.

The foundation not so steady as once it used to be,

My "house" is getting shaky, but my "house" isn't me.

My few short years can't make me old, I feel I'm in my youth.

Eternity lies just ahead, a life of joy and truth.

I'm going to live forever there, as life will go on - it's grand.

You tell me I'm getting old? You just don't understand.

The dweller in my little "house" is young and bright and gay,

Just starting on a life to last throughout eternal day.

You only see the outside, which is all that most folks see.

You tell me I'm getting old? You mixed my "house" with me.

As Mary Thomas 
                                               feel(s) about herself this January 24, 1960
                                                                                        Mary H. Thomas

On the back of the original was this inscription:

To my children Howell, Anne, and Jane

Sunday afternoon, January 24th

reading poetry at Y.W.C.A. 927 Park Ave. Norfolk

compared my present life and my future home

ove on the other side of this sheet of paper

                                             Mary Thomas

I'm so proud of my grandmother for writing this phenomenal poem, and just for being the strong, beautiful woman that she was.  I know so much more about her, and the life she lived, because of my research, and I am grateful to have been chosen to share her story, and that of my other ancestors, with the world.

To learn more about my grandmother, Mary Davis Walker Hill Thomas, click here (for a post about both of my grandmothers) and here, here, and here for a 3-part series I wrote about the losses my Grandma Thomas experienced in her life.

Thanks for reading!

Renate

The poem, "You Say I'm Growing Old" was written in 1960 by Mary Thomas, and is the express property of her descendants.  It is not to be used or copied without crediting the author.

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NC Indexing Project

Hello Readers:
This is not a typical post, but one in which I'm using my blog as a platform to solicit your help!  As a member of the North Carolina Genealogical Society, I'm privileged to be one of the first to join the effort of an indexing project involving North Carolina Loose Estate Papers!  Having worked for several months now on the SC Project, through LowCountryAfricana and Footnote, I've seen first-hand how much valuable information these records can provide for family researchers.  Of course, most of us have encounter these records on a more personal level in dusty courthouse basements, or perhaps at our state archives, but through this project, we will bring this information right to the fingertips of anyone with access to a computer!

With the permission of Victoria Scott, the Second VP/Publications Chair of the NCGS, I am sharing this information with my genea-friends, and asking for your help!  If you are interested in working as an indexer on this project, please email Victoria Scott at victoria.p.scott@gmail.com.
Here is the partial text of an email I received which explains a bit more about the project:

The North Carolina Genealogical Society, in partnership with FamilySearch.org, and in collaboration with the North Carolina State Archives, is excited to announce that the online indexing project of the North Carolina Loose Estates Records is ready to begin!

Currently, five counties have digitized images available for indexing. More will be forthcoming over the next few weeks and months. This project requires "double blind" indexing, so counties that may have previously been indexed from microfilm will be verified a second time. This is to ensure accuracy before their entries are uploaded into the FamilySearch index database and the images made available for viewing.


The Publications Committee, as well as the entire Board of the North Carolina Genealogical Society, are very excited about this project. It will be a tremendous resource for all researchers with North Carolina ancestry.


Thank you for your participation!

I hope that many of my readers will decide to help out, especially those with a personal research interest in North Carolina!  Thanks for reading, and I look forward to hearing from you. :)

Best,
Renate

Somebody's Ancestor

Slowly, but surely, I'm making my way back to the blog.  I write posts in my head often, especially whenever I have new finding or aha moment in my research (which I also haven't been doing a ton of, lately).  I just wanted to "creep" back in tonight to share something that I ran across while having brunch with my daughter yesterday.  We were in a Cracker Barrel restaurant in Richmond, VA, and we just happened to be seated at a table just under this portrait:

From the second I sat down, this young woman had my attention.  (And, given the fact that it took the waitress ten minutes to even come and greet me while I was sitting alone waiting for my daughter to arrive, I can say that I was definitely feeling like she and I were making a connection!)  No matter how hard I tried to look away from her, and busy myself with something else, like checking my email on my phone, or just doing some people-watching, I couldn't stray away from her gaze.  She had me. 

So much was going through my mind, most of which, I'm sure needs no explanation for most who are reading this.  Who was this woman?  When was the picture/portrait made?  Had she been a slave?  A free Black?  Who made this picture of her?  Was this the original frame?  How did Cracker Barrel get this?  WHO IS HER FAMILY?

Yep, that was the big one.  Who is her family?  Would they even know who she was if they were the ones sitting under her portrait?  Could she even be an ancestor of mine?

Finally, I averted my eyes away from the portrait and began to look around the restaurant.  I hadn't been into a Cracker Barrel in years - not since before 2004 when the infamous mouse-in-the-soup fiasco occured in my area.  My family and I used to eat in CB when the kids were young, but I'd never paid much attention to the decor in any of the restaurants back then.  But now, as I glanced all around me, I noticed that, in amongst the many antiquities that graced the walls of the eatery, there were scattered portraits of many ancestors - men, women, and children of all ages, all appearing to be in 19th century (or earlier) garb!  WHO WERE THESE PEOPLE?  WHO DO THEY BELONG TO?

I turned my attention back to my lady, who seemed to be begging me with her eyes to do s-o-m-e-t-h-i-n-g, but what?  Just about this time, my waitress finall made an appearance.  I ordered coffee and a manager. (I'll bet she was skeeered!)  The gentleman appeared promptly, and my inquisition began.

As it turns out, the manager didn't know exactly where the portraits came from, but he did point out to me that each one is tagged with a number and other identifying information, and that if I was interested in knowing more, I could contact their corporate office to find out where each one came from, and if there is a name or any other identifier associated with a particular portrait.  I asserted my suspicion that the pictures may have been acquired from thrift shops and/or estate sales, and Mr. Manager agreed that this was a possibility.  He also offered that he has been told that an effort has been made to see that the decor for each restaurant is reflective of the area in which it is located, and he suggested that perhaps the portraits had been acquired locally.  Hmmmm....

So now, I have yet another item added to my "to-do" list.  I don't know when I'll get around to it, but I certainly will contact the CB Corporate Offices to find out more about this, and I urge anyone reading this to pay close attention to the wall hangings on your next vist to Cracker Barrel!

Addendum: (November 3, 2010)

I did send a communication to Cracker Barrel's Corporate Office (Customer Relations) to inquire about the portrait.  Here's the disappointing (and less than helpful response I got:

Thank you for taking the time to share your comments with all of us here at Cracker Barrel Old Country Store. We're always pleased to hear from our guests.
The tag numbers are inhouse inventory numbers for tax purposes so that we can identify which store has what decor items. However, the decor peices have been purchased throughout the years at estate sales and auctions.
We look forward to seeing you in one of our locations again soon.

Sincerely,
Jason Hill
Guest Relations Representative
Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc.

Well, of course I sent a reply, clarifying my original questions, but I haven't heard anything back yet.  It seems my mystery lady might remain just that... a mystery.

Renate