Lisa Shea was working on a research project in 2002. Lisa wrote her great-aunt Nancy Warren Grammer for information about Nancy’s childhood. Nancy was the older sister of Lisa’s grandmother Jane Warren Waller. The three siblings were born in rural Tennessee and their childhood was during the Great Depression.
Nancy – June 8, 1918
Joe – January 3, 1921
Jane – December 4, 1924
This letter was written by Nancy dated September 15, 2002. Note that for most of their lives, the family lived in quite rural settings. After the children all left home and the parents got older, Ora Belle and Blakely moved ‘into town’ (town was what they called a fairly small village).
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Mother and Dad had recently moved to town. To till the new garden Dad had bought a Push Plow to replace his horse-drawn tool always used in the country.
As he displayed his new equipment, Mother asked, “What’s gonna pull it?”
Dad explained, “I’ll guide while you pull.”
With much feeling, Mother replied, “I’ll tell you right now, Blakely, you’re not gonna plow me to death!”
We still use the phrase when someone makes a little too strong request of us.