Dinah Jen Grace

This is one of my favorite pictures of Mother.  She was a Senior at Abbeville High School and was on a class trip to Washington, D.C.  A special thanks to Mother's classmate, Lenora (Grider) Hancock, for sending me 'The Washington Trip' picture plus the names of everyone.

 

It is your mother's Senior trip to Washington, DC/NY when they toured Luray Caverns in Virginia.  Headland went on the exact same trip with even the same bus driver and had the same picture made of our class. Cleveland Shelley from Tumbleton drove the bus.  Probably would have been within weeks of when our class went. - Brenda Skinner Stroup

 

Charles Thomas Hayes, Jr.

Charles Hayes was Mom's first cousin. Charles' mother, Jeanette, and Mom's father, Victor, were siblings.

Hopefully you can use the name listing and find Charles.

Charles is in bottom row, far right.

Charles Hayes, Jr. (center), with uncles, Paul Grace (left) and Victor Grace

Charles Hayes, Jr, Jeanette Grace Hayes (Charles' mother), Paul Grace (Charles' uncle)

Charles was a paratrooper hero of WWII. The Abbeville Herald ran a seven-part series on his exploits during the war.  This is a scan of one of the stories.  For the whole series, click here.

source for grave photos HERE

Mom @ Christmas

These are some random (but special) scans of Mother enjoying Christmas. Some of our best memories of Mother naturally have to do with Christmas. She was a master decorator and was a phenomenal party organizer and hostess. We rallied around Mother at Christmas, and there was great joy in our home on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

Take note in the first couple of scans that Mother is with my maternal grandmother, Dorothy Grace. Dot herself was quite a treat during the holidays. She was renown for her broccoli casseroles and orange congealed salads. Dot was also the chief entertainer in the house, and that says something with all the quick-witted jokesters we had around.

 

Young Dorothy

This is the filling station in downtown Dothan, AL where my grandmother Dorothy Barnette (Grace) worked when she was young.  According to Mom, "she did it all," from working the register to pumping gas.  This filling station was owned by Pat Murphy, the husband of Dot's first cousin, Lois.  At the moment, I am not sure what year(s) Dot worked here, but I do know she attended Dothan High School for a time.

Dorothy Barnette (Grace)

I'm not exactly sure who the people are with Dot in the next these three pictures. However, I know that Dot lived for a bit with a relative in Montgomery, AL, in the Garden District, not far from Huntington College. These pictures could possibly have been taken in Montgomery. These could be relatives, colleagues or friends. Dot worked for the Sears Roebuck regional office in the state capital, where she did some bookkeeping and payroll work. In the future, I plan to work on a short biography of Dot's life, explaining her movements between the Wiregrass and the Montgomery area and her subsequent marriage to Victor Allen Grace, which landed her in the farming community of Shorterville, AL.

Pat & Lois

Pat (right) and Lois Murphy.  Lois was my grandmother Dot's first cousin, which would be Mom's first cousin once removed.  Pat and Lois were pretty regular fixtures at our home on Solomon Rd. when Thanksgiving and Christmas rolled around.  When I was riding around in Dothan with Dot, she would also take me to "Pat and Lois' house," just a few blocks from the old Sears Roebuck store.

Pat Murphy, me, Colon Hartzog

circa mid-'80s

Lois' mother (Dot's aunt)

Young Dinah, Portraits

These are the professionally done portraits of Mom when she was growing up.  As I find more, I will add them here.

Maybe that was the hairstyle of the day??  Or maybe a bad hair day!