Alice Simons (1861-1960) was the mother of Bertha Simons Jackson, who was the mother of Marshall Jackson, my grandfather. So she was Marshall Jackson's grandmother, and my second great-grandmother.
In 1954 she went on a road trip with her sister Addie to visit their ailing sister Tommie (born Mary Thomas Morris), and the local paper wrote up a story on them. This story gives a sense, however brief, of the personality and humor of these women who often look so stern in old-time photos.
This was in the The Times of Shreveport, Louisiana on October 10, 1954.
269 Years of Rich, Full Living
Life Is Fun for 'Youthful' Trio Here
By MARGARET McDONALD
Member of the Times Staff
Three spritely little ladies with snapping blue eyes and plenty of shared memories are making things lively at 831 Dudley Drive.
Together, they represent 269 years of rich, full living. Separately, they stand as remarkable examples of hardihood, humor and the type of youth which even advancing age cannot dispel. Theirs is the youth of spirit and the heart.
The three are daughters of the late William and Margaret Hall Morris of Paducah, Ky., where all spent their girlhood. They were taught early in life that kindness, hard work and simple honesty, coupled with unswerving faith in God and His wisdom, were the ingredients for happiness.
Mrs. Alice Simons, who still lives in the little Kentucky city, is the oldest of the three sisters. She's 93.
Next comes Mrs. Tommie Knight, 90, who makes her home with her daughter, Mrs. Ola W. Butler, at the Dudley Drive address.
The "spring chicken" of the trio is Mrs. Addie Coleman, a mere 86 years of age, whose home is in Memphis, Tenn.
All are widows, and all wear their gleaming white hair like halos earned as a reward for flinging life's challenges back with a grin and an occasional, "Oh, pshaw." Unconcernedly, they admit to having "storebought" teeth, which, while something of a nuisance in some respects, nevertheless serve the purpose almost as well as the real thing.
Mrs. Knight hasn't been feeling too well lately, and her two sisters decided the time had come to give her a good talking-to about letting her ailments get her down. Mrs. Simons persuaded her daughter, Mrs. Paul Sanders of Paducah, to get out the family car, stop off in Memphis to pick up Mrs. Coleman and drive to Shreveport to see just how things were going.
Mrs. Simons and her daughter arrived at the Coleman home in Memphis Tuesday and encountered no difficulty in getting Mrs. Coleman to accompany them here. They set out at 6 a.m. Wednesday from Memphis and pulled into the driveway at the home of Mrs. Butler about 4:30 p.m.
They all started yelling then for barefoot coffee -- that means black and plenty strong coffee,", Mrs. Butler chuckled. "My mother was feeling better almost the minute she saw Aunt Addie and Aunt Alice."
Although Mrs. Coleman visited here about a year ago, it has been three years since all the sisters were together. They regretted only that their brother, Alvin Morris, was not with them to enjoy the reunion. He died at the age of 92 in Oklahoma about two years ago.
"They've been doing a lot of kidding as to which one looks the youngest," Mrs. Butler said. "Mother is convinced that she still looks pretty youthful, which Aunt Alice, at 93, feels she's still not showing her age. Aunt Addie, though, just sits and smiles and makes comments about feeling like a baby at 86 years."
The sisters, whose religion has sustained them through many a crisis during the past decades, were delighted the day when the Rev. Cleburne Quaid, assistant pastor of the First Methodist Church, came to visit them and expressed amazement at their vitality and unfailing good humor.
Mrs. Knight's physician, upon hearing the tongues of the three sisters wagging at a brisk pace, observed that the visit of Mrs. Coleman and Mrs. Simons was doing Mrs. Knight far more good than any medicine he could prescribe.
Mrs. Butler and Mrs. Knight's other daughter here, Mrs. Essie Ross of 553 Herndon Ave., are beginning to feel their own years when they watch the three older women. Both are convinced that youth must be truly a state of mind -- a state of mind they only hope they will retain when they reach the ages of their three forebears.
Mrs. Simons, whose husband died about 10 years ago after operating a farm near Paducah for many years, raised 11 children. Mrs. Coleman, who reared two sons, lost her husband only two years ago. He was employed for more than 35 years as a conductor on the Panama Limited run of the Illinois Central Railroad.
Mrs. Knight's husband, who also operated a farm near Paducah, died about 20 years ago, after which she came here to live with her daughter. Mrs. Knight raised five children.
The years ahead hold no fears for the three sisters primarily because of the fact that they have faced, and conquered, all the terrors of the years behind them.
They expect to return to their respective homes early this week, but their visit together has reassured each of the sisters that all is well with the others. Each has plenty of ailments, to be sure, but the passing of time has not affected their ability to laugh and to hope and to feel that "the best is yet to be."
In 1954 she went on a road trip with her sister Addie to visit their ailing sister Tommie (born Mary Thomas Morris), and the local paper wrote up a story on them. This story gives a sense, however brief, of the personality and humor of these women who often look so stern in old-time photos.
This was in the The Times of Shreveport, Louisiana on October 10, 1954.
THREE SISTERS whose ages total 269 years and whose spirits are the equal of any teenager's are gather together for the first time in three years. From left to right are Mrs. Addie Coleman, 86, of Memphis, Tenn.; Mrs. Tommie Knight, 90, of 831 Dudley Dr., whom the others came see upon hearing news of her illness, and Mrs. Alice Simons, 93, of Paducah, Ky., who insists she looks and feels no older than the younger members of the trio. The years ahead hold no terror for the three, who feel that they've experienced the worst, as well as the best, life has to offer and that the most exciting experiences are still ahead (Times Photo by Langston McEacher.)
269 Years of Rich, Full Living
Life Is Fun for 'Youthful' Trio Here
By MARGARET McDONALD
Member of the Times Staff
Three spritely little ladies with snapping blue eyes and plenty of shared memories are making things lively at 831 Dudley Drive.
Together, they represent 269 years of rich, full living. Separately, they stand as remarkable examples of hardihood, humor and the type of youth which even advancing age cannot dispel. Theirs is the youth of spirit and the heart.
The three are daughters of the late William and Margaret Hall Morris of Paducah, Ky., where all spent their girlhood. They were taught early in life that kindness, hard work and simple honesty, coupled with unswerving faith in God and His wisdom, were the ingredients for happiness.
Mrs. Alice Simons, who still lives in the little Kentucky city, is the oldest of the three sisters. She's 93.
Next comes Mrs. Tommie Knight, 90, who makes her home with her daughter, Mrs. Ola W. Butler, at the Dudley Drive address.
The "spring chicken" of the trio is Mrs. Addie Coleman, a mere 86 years of age, whose home is in Memphis, Tenn.
All are widows, and all wear their gleaming white hair like halos earned as a reward for flinging life's challenges back with a grin and an occasional, "Oh, pshaw." Unconcernedly, they admit to having "storebought" teeth, which, while something of a nuisance in some respects, nevertheless serve the purpose almost as well as the real thing.
Mrs. Knight hasn't been feeling too well lately, and her two sisters decided the time had come to give her a good talking-to about letting her ailments get her down. Mrs. Simons persuaded her daughter, Mrs. Paul Sanders of Paducah, to get out the family car, stop off in Memphis to pick up Mrs. Coleman and drive to Shreveport to see just how things were going.
Mrs. Simons and her daughter arrived at the Coleman home in Memphis Tuesday and encountered no difficulty in getting Mrs. Coleman to accompany them here. They set out at 6 a.m. Wednesday from Memphis and pulled into the driveway at the home of Mrs. Butler about 4:30 p.m.
They all started yelling then for barefoot coffee -- that means black and plenty strong coffee,", Mrs. Butler chuckled. "My mother was feeling better almost the minute she saw Aunt Addie and Aunt Alice."
Although Mrs. Coleman visited here about a year ago, it has been three years since all the sisters were together. They regretted only that their brother, Alvin Morris, was not with them to enjoy the reunion. He died at the age of 92 in Oklahoma about two years ago.
"They've been doing a lot of kidding as to which one looks the youngest," Mrs. Butler said. "Mother is convinced that she still looks pretty youthful, which Aunt Alice, at 93, feels she's still not showing her age. Aunt Addie, though, just sits and smiles and makes comments about feeling like a baby at 86 years."
The sisters, whose religion has sustained them through many a crisis during the past decades, were delighted the day when the Rev. Cleburne Quaid, assistant pastor of the First Methodist Church, came to visit them and expressed amazement at their vitality and unfailing good humor.
Mrs. Knight's physician, upon hearing the tongues of the three sisters wagging at a brisk pace, observed that the visit of Mrs. Coleman and Mrs. Simons was doing Mrs. Knight far more good than any medicine he could prescribe.
Mrs. Butler and Mrs. Knight's other daughter here, Mrs. Essie Ross of 553 Herndon Ave., are beginning to feel their own years when they watch the three older women. Both are convinced that youth must be truly a state of mind -- a state of mind they only hope they will retain when they reach the ages of their three forebears.
Mrs. Simons, whose husband died about 10 years ago after operating a farm near Paducah for many years, raised 11 children. Mrs. Coleman, who reared two sons, lost her husband only two years ago. He was employed for more than 35 years as a conductor on the Panama Limited run of the Illinois Central Railroad.
Mrs. Knight's husband, who also operated a farm near Paducah, died about 20 years ago, after which she came here to live with her daughter. Mrs. Knight raised five children.
The years ahead hold no fears for the three sisters primarily because of the fact that they have faced, and conquered, all the terrors of the years behind them.
They expect to return to their respective homes early this week, but their visit together has reassured each of the sisters that all is well with the others. Each has plenty of ailments, to be sure, but the passing of time has not affected their ability to laugh and to hope and to feel that "the best is yet to be."
Comments
Post a Comment