Fountain of Youth

Ashley's Adopted Grannies

Photo © Paul O’Rear

From the time Ashley and Justin were young, they always had lots of adopted grandparents. The picture above is one of my many favorites of Ashley. It was taken at a Valentine Banquet that the young people at church hosted for the “Golden Agers” each year. The three ladies surrounding Ashley are some of her adopted grannies, whom she absolutely adored.

Little Gracie Mae

Harwood and Gracie Collins

Harwood and Gracie Collins, July 1907 (click for full picture)

When I was in junior high school in Alice, Texas, I spent many evenings across the street at Mama Grace’s house, picking her brain about people and dates and places so that I could fill in all the pertinent details on my genealogical charts. Every time I asked a fact-finding question, she would start into a story, often trailing off into laughter as she recounted precious memories of her childhood years growing up in Cass County, Texas.