Friday's Favorites - Mack and Vera

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Friday's Favorite Family Foto
Sponsored by Deborah at "Pictures, Pots, Pens"

These are my paternal grandparents, Warren McClellan and Vera Mae Heavilin.

They raised thirteen children to adulthood - - - right through the depression - - - right here in Marion. I am the oldest child of their ninth child.

Grandpa was a "jack of all trades" with major carpentry skills. However, no work was beneath his dignity.

Once, he was given a large truck load of cleaned chicken feathers. Dad and some of his siblings packaged these feathers up in sacks and took them door to door selling them, 15 cents for enough to fill one pillow, 25 cents for enough to fill two. It was hard times - - - many ladies bought the feathers.

When they had "saturated" the market in their neighborhood, they moved over to a small neighboring town. One lady bought enough feathers for two pillows and was ECSTATIC to get them, thinking them a very THRIFTY buy. That evening she proudly showed her purchase to her husband saying, "Look what I bought from those nice Heavilin boys!"

Her hubby said, "You bought those from the Heavilin boys? I GAVE those feathers to their father!!!

As you can imagine, Grandma had her hands full raising thirteen children. Each child had specific assigned chores - - - had to do it that way to survive I imagine!!!

Grandma RAISED thirteen children, but she had FIFTEEN babies. Two of her precious little ones only survived a few days or weeks. She told me once about the pain and sorrow of losing the second child.

She said she just couldn't go on. She just couldn't get past the loss. She went to bed and the older girls took over running the house. She said she stayed in that bed for several weeks in deep despair.

At the end of that time, one evening while the family was sitting down at the large oval dining room table for supper, Grandpa came in and gently scooped grandma up in his arms. He said, "Vera, we have corn to hoe." (No, they weren't farmers - - - it was an expression that there was work to be done and life must go on.)

You know what? Grandma got up and resumed her life. That's what you did. There was no such thing as counseling. You just got up and went back to hoeing your corn.
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