This photo is of my mom, Mary Lea Myatt Terrell, on the right, and my dad’s sister Margorie LaVerne Terrell Duffany Gordon on the left. I’m guessing it was taken in about 1937 because during the flooding that year my mom’s family moved out of the Barlow Kentucky river bottoms to higher ground and happened to move to land owned by my dad’s family. My dad was working as a mechanic in Paducah, Kentucky at the time and when the water came over the flood gates there, he moved the thirty miles south, home to Ballard County, and that’s when my mom and dad met. They were married in January of 1938.
Aunt LaVerne lived in California by the time I came along twenty plus years later, but moved back to Kentucky in my early teen years. Her son, Tim, was just a year or so older than me and I loved going up to Stella, Kentucky, where they lived.
You may wonder why the Kentucky Historical Society banner is on it. It’s because some years ago they did a project called “An Ohio River Portrait,” which is one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen. They traveled along the river and copied photos people brought in all along the way. I made a trip back to Kentucky just for that, and even produced some oral history interviews for them, as well as was interviewed myself. They also interviewed Mama.
I ran across this photo by accident when I was googling myself. I may share some more here in the coming months. Of course, I still have the photos, but they’re locked away in a safety deposit box and not easily accessible. Conveniently, The Kentucky Historical Society has made them easy to access. And they’ve retouched them so they’re clearer, too.
I’m so thankful to have photos that offer a little glimpse into other lives.
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