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3-17-1988
I was just reminiscing. In others words sitting here thinking back to my childhood days of how good and kind people were to me. I suppose it was because I lost my mother when I was only two years old and they probably felt sorry for me. We had a family by the name of Charlie Miller, his wife Laura, and six children. From the oldest, Ola Jewel, Horace, Forest, the twins Laura and Lilly and when Lilly was 22 years old she had Bright's disease and I don't know how long she lived after that. They lived in Slidell, La., at that time. My old home was half way between Gainesville and Napoleon, Miss. Before they moved to Slidell they had lived a mile above my old home but later on moved down a half a mile from us. Those days you could move onto a piece of ground and build your home and wouldn't have to pay a nickel for the land, that was if you lived on it five years then it would belong to you. So that what they did. I used to go up to Mrs. Millers for her to comb and curl my hair. I had dark brown hair and my curls would hand down to my waist line. She did my sewing for me up until I married at the age of 19teen, or at least I lacked one month of being nineteen. Mr. Hover and I were married the 6th of March 1916. After Volney, my oldest son was eight months old Mrs. Miller made him a crochet dress with tiny blue ribbon runs through the waist line and through the sleeves. It was a beautiful white dress. Volney and Sis have it and a crochet cap with a big bow of blue ribbon on each side which another dear friend made and gave him. They have the dress and cap in a real large glassed in picture frame hanging in their bedroom. I went over to Slidell when Volney was eight months old and she had the dress made so she had just bought on outfit for herself. Blue shirt, white blouse (or waist) and white shoes so she said Pearl, she always called me Sis because at one time she thought I was going to be her Sister in law. Any way she said Sis, I want you to dress the baby up in his crocheted dress and little white shoes and then I want you to put on this outfit I bought for myself and I'm taking you down town to have yours and Volney's picture made so the photographer had me to sit and hold Volney in my lap. So now Volney and Sis have that picture hanging in their front room. What we used to call (parlor) when I was around the age of sixteen and Ola was twelve she used to stay with me a lot of the time so her mother told me if I'd teach Ola the notes, exercises and as much as I could that she would do all of my dresses (sew) underwear for me for nothing
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