Hank, Merle and Waylon. West Asheville.

Saturday, December 7, 2013

Marilyn Takes Top Prize


I hope to get the "Soil Conservation" article she wrote that goes with this bit.  Very cute picture of Aunt Marilyn.  I see a lot of my cousin Jeff here, especially when he was a young boy. 

Last year, the early summer of 2012 - incidentally, the same weekend I did the porch interview with Dad - I sat down with Aunt Marilyn and did an Oprah-style interview with her.  Almost two hours of on-camera talking, and she enjoyed it tremendously.  One of the things I asked her was about her middle name - Elaine.  Usually, there's some reason a name got chosen, other than the fact it was just liked.  So, I was expecting her to mention an aunt or favorite cousin or ancestor way down the line who had the same name.  Surprisingly, though, she said she didn't know how she got the name Elaine, and had not even asked. 

In an e-mail Aunt Marilyn sent me once about the Carrolls, she said, "Mother said they almost named me Penelope and that Granny warned that people would call me Penny Lope."

Granny Espy was Emma Penelope (Carroll) Espy.

A little side note:  Mom said had I been a girl, they were ready to name me Kimberly Grace Espy.  My sister Leslie was actually really longing for a sister.  When the outcome was not in her favor, well, she took matters into her own hands.  For the whole story, click here.

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