My plan is to post some images of family, starting with my maternal side. This is my maternal grandfather, Victor Allen Grace, born June 21, 1902. He was from a pretty large farming family in Shorterville, AL. Thanks to Victor and my grandmother we have a nice-sized farm there today. Victor married my grandmother Dorothy Moore Barnette (Dot) when he was thirty-five. She was ten years younger. Dot always said that Victor's dashing good looks made him a big catch in his day. In fact, she said he had quite the reputation for being a ladies man. All that was cured, she said laughingly, when she came along. Victor died of an aneurysm on September 11, 1975 while watching an episode of The Waltons. I just know that my grandmother could never watch The Waltons again after that. A few things I remember about Victor: When I would stay over at their home, Dot would put some of his after-shave on me after my bath. Inevitably, Dot would open the bathroom door and tell me to run over to Granddaddy. He would swoop me up in his arms and say, "Booooy, what's that you're wearing? You're not wearing Granddaddy's favorite after-shave, are you?" I would just smile from ear-to-ear. Granddad Victor would also go fishing and bring his catch back to the house, backing his truck up to the front door. From that spot, he would clean the fish. I can remember walking around on the back of the truck and feeling a bit fascinated by it all. Then, there were times on "lazy" afternoons when I would be sitting on the opened tailgate of his truck, which was parked underneath a carport shed in the backyard. Granddad Victor would take a sugarcane stalk, peel part of it and then cut off chunks for me to chew. That's a very fond memory, and I'm sure my siblings experienced it too. Finally, there were times when I would be lying down on the backseat of Victor's and Dot's car, in and out of sleep. They would be returning from Dothan down the four-lane, just getting into Headland, en route to Shorterville. As they neared the Headland Tastee Freeze I could feel the vibration and hear the sound of the car going over the little speed markers. It was my clue that we were in familiar territory.
the paper that had Victor's obit
5 comments:
never realised your middle name came from your grandfather victor...he had a nice pelt of hair!
Apparently his brothers all had nice hair too. It kind of blew apart the myth that hair loss comes from the mother's side. taanks! one reason lost more and at a younger age had to do with your gradfathers lineage having the hair loss gene. i've always wondered about your dad???? Carl was pretty bald too, right? hard to understand which genes get passed down!
thanks! great pics. on one occassion at home, granddad victor made me back into and break a window pane at home while he was playfully acting as if he was going belt me. he got me off the hook for getting into trouble with mom and replaced the pane the next day.
funny. i do remember a time when i threw rocks at a car that was passing our house on solomon rd. a rock hit the car and the car stopped. victor spanked me and told me never to do it again. considering the fact i was probably just four, that spanking was good enough for the driver of the car and for me. they drove off.
Haven't seen you since you were a little boy, but Aunt Dorothy and Dinah kept me up on all of ya'll. Aunt Dorothy was quite a character. She was always fun and interesting to talk to. Sometimes she told me things about family members that I really wish I didn't know.
Your mother was special to me. Although she and Daddy were 1st cousins, she was much closer in age to me( 5 years older.) Aunt Dorothy and my grandmother were very close and would visit a lot. I was with Grandmother a lot, and therefore around Dinah a lot when we ere younger.
I may have some pictures of Uncle Victor with Uncle Paul. Uncle Paul did not have children, so there is really no one to contact about him, other than what I know. Uncle Homer had 3 children. He divorced before I was born, and I do not know his children's names. They did live in Albany, maybe still do. Uncle Frank has children in Headland. You may know them. Aunt Ruby has grandchildren here in Shorterville and a daughter-in law, Bobbie Phillips. There were 3 little boys that did not survive childhood. They are buried in the Shorterville cemetery.
I gave your mother some pictures of her grandparents which you probably have or have seen. I have a newspaper article on Daddy's military service that I would be glad to share with you.
Maybe you can come up sometime and we will go through what I have. I would love to talk with you. I have always been interested in the Grace geneology, but haven't been able to go beyond Hardy Grace. I would really be interested in the Poindexters. You know that Granddaddy Grace and Grandmother Grace were 1st cousins. - Elaine Hayes Kennedy
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