Elizabeth’s Reflections on the Way Pap-pa’s Life Used to Be
Appalachia, Blue Ridge Mountains
Tennessee, Hawkins County
Saw Mill Holler, 317 Independence Avenue
the house, the saw mill shed, the Hall Lumber Co. office, the workshop
hen-house, tobacco barn and railroad tracks
front porch swing
Overalls with a pocket watch
Pocket knife for whittling nothing in particular
Tough, strong, independent
Republican
Logger, saw mill operation
Skilled craftsman
Built bridges in early years
Built trusses in middle years
Built furniture in later years
Wormy chestnut, antique wood finished with antique labor
Simple, frugal
Black Ford pick up truck 1947-1980
“Read a book Pap-pa.”
Play house with real windows and asphalt shingles
Cedar chest and grandfather clock
Brown mule ice cream in the freezer
Lumber scraps to nail together to float in the creek
Good tobacco crops meant $100 bills at Christmas
Fishing trips to Steam Plant Lake
Attentive care to my aging grandmother
Walking cane and hearing aid
Appreciation for pretty bank tellers, grocery clerks and nurses
Passion for life
Red and white tent for 90th and 91st birthday celebrations
Primary principle of life: Work ethic
He explained that he did not have a regular job at 94 years of age
in a nursing home bed.
Kissed my hand to say good-bye.
I love you.
Grady Murrel Hall died 20 years ago today.
June 8, 1900-September 26, 1994
elfcroft 