Emma: In Her Own Words — Mama

Transcription of my grandmother’s notebook. See Part 1 in the series for a full explanation. Some text is omitted to protect the privacy of living family members.

Rocking Babies

“My greatest delight was in rocking and singing to my babies. This is a pleasure many mothers deny themselves but it is the greatest tranquilizer that can be found. I also love to rock & sing to my grandchildren. I’ve really enjoyed them. I don’t think I’ve ever been to busy to play with them.¹That is the truth.

Mama

When Mama got her first telephone, they didn’t go by numbers. The operator was called Central and would ans. the ring with operator. Mama decided to use the phone. It hung on the wall. You cranked it and when the operator said operator, Mama said give me Central please. That was central. She soon learned this. Mama never saw anything she wouldn’t try. We would always put her in first when we were in doubt. One day we were on the porch and several people passed by for a funeral. Mama said, Did you have a good time.

She always had so many friends. There never was a day that several friends didn’t drop in to visit her. As long as she lived she was blessed with company & friends. She lived to be almost 86. 85 and 11 mos. She was kind & good to everyone. Never had an enemy.

I was able to stay with her the last mo. and be at the hospital with her every day for which I am thankful. I can see now that I should have done more for her thru the years.

She was always ready to come & do for me when I needed her. After we get older we realize we can never pay for our raising. But I don’t feel like my children owe me anything. They didn’t ask to be born and I was so thankful God gave me these 3 daughters to raise. I feel like anything I have done for them has been my duty to do as their mother.

When I was 2 yrs old I fell out a high door on a sharp ax and cut a big gash in my hip. There was no hospital and the Dr was not near us so Mama took me to an old woman next door. She poured turpentine in the gash and filled it with brown sugar to stop the bleeding & it healed real quickly. Home remedies were used then.

Elmer Retired

Since Elmer worked for R.R. we could ride passes and had 2 passenger trains up here. When they took them off I rode buses a while. Then went to driving. I lost my nerve tho a few years ago and don’t care about driving any more. When Elmer retired the girls and all the grandchildren came up and we rode the train with him on his last run. It was a thrill for the children to ride on the caboose. He was lost for a while but soon got adjusted.²Emma Ewers Taylor Hopkins, “Journal,” 1974–1978, Loyall, Harlan County, Kentucky; privately held by Faye Hopkins McCauley, Mt. Vernon, Kentucky, 1978. Spiral notebook in which Emma wrote about her life, in possession of Faye (Emma’s youngest daughter) since her death in 1978.

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