Trip to Kentucky, 2005

In May, 2005, I took Mom & my mother-in-law Oma to Kentucky. While Oma stayed with her brother, Mom & I took daily trips to various parts of Letcher, Hazard & Perry Counties. On one of these daily jaunts, we were on Highway 15, just driving along, when I had a sudden urge to turn off the road and cross a wooden bridge. Mom said "What are you doing?" "I don't know" I replied. "I'm just curious as to what's on the other side of this bridge." She knew where we were but I had no idea we were heading to a house I had kept in my memory since I was a little girl of three. But before we reached that house, we had to stop and let the car in front of us go on ahead. We were on a one lane dirt road and there were two people in the car ahead of us and you had to continue on a few yards in order to turn around and come back out to the main road. "We are really in the country" I thought to myself. There was only one way in and one way out of this place.

We reached the turn-around area and the car ahead of us stopped and a woman got out of the car. Mom said "That's Essie Caudill". Essie & her twin sister Bessie have been life-long friends of our Mom. Bessie lives in the trailer in whose yard we pulled into to turn around. When Essie saw Mom she said "On, you've come! We were hoping you would, but when I couldn't reach you by phone I didn't think you'd make it." Essie lives in Dearborn Hgts., MI by the way. There had been a death in the family and they wanted Mom to know. The picture above is Mom, Essie & Bessie. They had a small reunion in that front yard and I marvelled at how God orchestrated this trip and the detour I took that lead us to these precious ladies.

Mom & me at Janice's grave site.

We ended up going to Cornettsville Cemetery only because another sweet friend of Mom's, Debbie Fugate, met us and lead us up the narrow ... really, really narrow, road up to the graveyard. As most of you know, I don't like heights. I am afraid of them. I am doubly afraid of narrow one lane trails that lead up the side of a mountain (with NO guard rails) to a cemetery. We even had to cross a creek before we started UP this mountain. Talk about praying. I did. Fervently and continuously. As I drove the approximately two miles up that mountain, and as I headed up the hill to park my Explorer, I prayed "God please don't let this vehicle slide backwards. Please don't let me panic. Please don't let me look over to the right and see just how far up this mountain we are."

Mom, Debbie Fugate & Me

Debbie's niece Lisa; Debbie Fugate, Me, Mom & Debbie's Mother

I am thankful God provided all I needed to get up to Jan's grave. It was well worth the effort just so Mom and I could visit Jan's grave. I hadn't been there since I was 17. I wouldn't have known how to find it and I never would have ventured up that far without Debbie's leading the way.



Another day had us visiting Mom's half sister Jean. She works at the Parkside Motel and we took her to lunch at the Pine Mountain Grill. We enjoyed some good food and a great time of sharing as this was the first time I had met this lady. She offered to take us up to Pine Mountain and I quickly, but politely, declined. No more heights for awhile. Thank you.
Mom & half sister Jean at their Father's grave site in Whitesburg, KY

When I was about 4 (or close to it) Mom & Dad left me & George with Granny & Grampa in KY and they came to Michigan to find us a place to live. (At least this is how I remember it).

Granny & Grampa lived close to the railroad in a mining camp and there was a creek that ran in back of the house. While I liked the railroad and the creek, I was not happy when my parents left me there. I was told they were going to get us a new house, a new place to live, and in my mind I saw a white house with a white picket fence around it.

When we were finally brought to our new home I was quite surprised that it wasn't what I had envisioned. It was a two family flat on a busy street in Detroit. The flat wasn't white and there was no white picket fence. There was no grass either. I was disappointed and for years wondered how, as a little girl, I had imagined a white house with a white fence around it. It wasn't until Mom & I made this trip and we ended up meeting Essie & Bessie that I found 'my' white house.



As I looked in wonder at the old white house behind Bessie Caudill's trailer, Mom said "We used to live here, when you & George were little, we lived here. This was our home." It was then I knew for certain where 'my' white house was and it wasn't a figment of my imagination. I had lived in that white house. George & I had played in that yard. And for years, until 2005, that is, I had no idea of where 'my' white house was.

Mom explained that the homestead had belonged to Grampa & Gramma Riddle and they had left it to Dad. For reasons I won't go into here, he sold it and moved us to Michigan. I found myself wondering just how different our lives might have been had we stayed in this white house in this part of Kentucky?


Even though Michigan was not where Mom & Dad really wanted to be, it is the place they found work and raised a family . Though Louise, George & Pat were born in Ky., we grew up here. It's where Janice, Linda, Rita, Kay & Bobby were born. Where we all went to school and met the people we would marry. It is where our children and grandchildren have been born and now live. Kentucky is a beautiful state and I'm thankful for the roots we have there. I'm also very thankful for my home and my family here on Vivian Street. For the jobs Michigan has provided for all of us.

It's good to look back but it's also a blessing to live in the here and now!