Knoxville - My Old (and still) Stompin' Grounds

Hey, Y'all,
Yeah, I said Stompin' Grounds. Never heard of that expression? Means where one has spent a lot of time just bein' alive and spending time there. Actually, two of my siblings and I were born there, and our three oldest siblings were born in Loudon, where our mom and dad lived when they met and married, back when people actually got married before living together. (A commentary on how many people - not all - think nothing of that particular mode of life) I make no apologies for my commentary, it is just that I believe in the sanctity of marriage.

Anyway, we three youngest were born in an older part of Knoxville near where my parents worked in a hosiery mill. The part of town we lived in was called New Town, and we lived in one of the company houses that were owned by the hosiery mill. The hosiery that they made there was what we called anklets, and are now called knit socks or sports socks and a lot of us wear them with tennis shoes.

Except for some time spent in Possum Valley (way out in West Knoxville when it was very rural) I lived in Knoxville until I was fourteen and we moved to the land where my husband and I are living now. With brothers who were living in Knoxville all the years until they passed away, my ties to Knoxville have been and have remained strong. After my youngest brother, who inherited the family place here in New Market and later sold it, my sister went to Knoxville to live. She had been occupied as a caregiver while the family farm was still in the family.

I was married the first time at the age of 18, and went to live in Indiana for several years and had my children there. Some time after moving back to Tennessee, my first husband and I parted ways and I came back home to the farm to raise my two girls, still maintaining strong ties to family in Knoxville.

Through the years following, I married my present husband, and we lived in New Market still maintaining strong ties to family in Knoxville.

Even now, after all my siblings are gone, we still have family in Knoxville and continue to visit there each week. That is where we go each week to spend time with the widows of two of my brothers. We keep in touch by phone, and the internet with the offspring and their offspring, also going to family get-togethers.

A couple of years ago, my husband and I wound up back here in New Market on land that my parents sold to a neighbor of ours, so that I could begin college at Carson-Newman College. The plot of land they sold has come back into our possession seemingly by accident, but I believe it was in God's plan for us. My husband and I are living out our last years in the house that was built by the neighbor to whom we sold the plot of land. Isn't God wonderful?

Picture above is of my youngest brother, John (in back), and our niece, Norma, (who is now 70, sitting beside me - I am on the right), and she is holding her little brother, Fred, who is 3 or 4 years younger than she) and I am holding our cousin, Mike, son of my Aunt Daisy, and both Mike and Daisy are gone now). This was taken when we lived in Knoxville, in the yard of the house where Norma and Fred's mom, still is living. Gramps and I pick her up every week to go out and eat, along with our other sister-in-law, Imazo. Mae is the widow of my brother, Bill, and Imazo is the widow of my brother, Hugh. The house Mae lives in is next door to the house where we lived in my middle school years, and that we sold to move to New Market in 1947.

I apologize for the length of this long-winded posting, but somehow, I just have a hard time stopping before I have said it all.

Thank you to all you people out there in blogland who are visiting me. It just makes my day to know that people are really interested in reading what I have to say. I am trying to get around to all of you, and it is wonderful to read all the different postings!

Well, I have to get into the kitchen and feed my sweetie pie his breakfast. BTW, we had a lovely time last night with our neighbors. The roast beef was tender and tasty, along with the macaroni salad, yeast rolls, and broccoli. The cake and ice cream were really yummy, too. This is Blabbin' Grammy signing off for today. Much love to each of you, my friends. Bye for now.