One

I am going to write a story about my life.  My story will ramble and be hard to follow as that is the way I think.  My thought will move to a topic when I start to think and I will likely jump subjects.  I will also not stay in the same tense.  It has always been difficult for me to do that.  As I write, I have decided to number the entries so this is "ONE".

I was born the 5th child of 8 to Willis and Hazel Gaddy Powell.  I was the first child to be born in the new house Daddy built.  It was the nicest home my Mother had lived in during her 13 years of married life.  The home was 7 miles northeast of the small town of Green Forest sitting on 160 acres of land.  The farm  was north of Dry Creek named such because it ran dry most years after the good rains stopped.  The farm had some bottom land, some pasture land and a small amount of rocky hill covered with scrub timber.  Daddy had built the house close to the bottom of the hill so it was protected against strong winds in the winter, but the air was often still in the summer heat making it even hotter than down in the pasture away from the hill.   We called the hill the rock quarry because rock had once been mined from the hill for building.

Babies usually are born at night and on June 13 sometime in the darkness my Mother knew it was time for me to arrive.  Daddy woke my oldest brother, Richard, and told him to go in the dark across the pasture, across the bottoms, across Dry Creek and to get his sister, Betty.  I think surely Richard had a lantern. He was only ten years old.  I doubt he really understood what was taking place.  His birthday was in October and that year he would turn 11.  I can visualize him running through the pasture.  In June, he may have been barefooted.  He stepped on stobs, sharp rocks, sticker weeds stung him as he clambered though the dark night.  Aunt Betty lived on the other side of Dry Creek in an old two story house.  She had two small boys at this time--the only children she bore.  I wonder if she and Richard had to walk back across the fields to our house or if Aunt Betty drove a car back. If they drove, she would have had to go around to Coin as there was no bridge over Dry Creek between the two farms.  I believe she walked back with Richard, but I do not know.

When Aunt Betty arrived at our home, Daddy took all the other children and Richard to Delbert O'Dells home about 3 or 4 miles toward Green Forest.  Patsy, the oldest was 12, Richard, as I said before, 10, Clayton was only 5, and Fleta, just a baby, 2 and a half.  Fleta was a small child not robust like the rest of us were as children.  Mother had broken her ankle not long after Fleta was born.  Patsy had to care for Fleta as Mother was in horrible pain.  The doctor rebroke her ankle and reset it more than once.  It was never right.  Until she died her ankle hurt.  She could not stand for long periods, could walk only a short distance, and was handicapped.  I can see Patsy carrying Fleta on her hip and leading Clayton as they went to the neighbor's house.

I think the Doctor's name was McCurry.  After dropping the 4 children off at O'Dell's, Daddy had to go get the Doctor.  Aunt Betty stayed with my Mother and I am sure readied the home for my birth.  Did she boil water?  Maybe cover the bed? Make coffee?  I don't know.  The Doctor came and I was born early in the morning, June 14, 1950.  I know my Aunt told Daddy he should name me for her and he did.  Her middle name was Lou but he put my middle name Jean.  The Jean is not after anyone.  Aunt Betty may have suggested it.   She was called by both names.  The names were slurred together coming out "Betalou" and perhaps she did not like the sound of the two names.  All parties that were present that night are long since gone from the earth.  Mother said I weighed about 7 pounds and maybe a few ounces.  I was not big or small, just medium!  I know my sister Patsy probably felt some dread at my coming because now she would have to care for two little children, not just Fleta.  I was a breast fed infant so when I cried of hungry Patsy could pass me off to Mother, but most of my early days were spent with Patsy and Fleta.   I do not think I was sickly at all.  Patsy said there were no screens on the windows which were open in the summer.  She was to keep the flies off me and stay near during the day.