Yeah you, I’m talking to you! 👩🏻‍🍼

I know! There’s two!  🐻🐻

The most precious baby gift I received when your papa Charlie was born, was a hand-stitched quilt made by his great-grandmother, Annie Hussey. That quilt would be 43 years old now. The last time I saw it, the border had frayed, but not a single white thread was missing from the bright colored squares. They were so small and perfect, she would have put any sewing machine to shame. I wonder now if she counted and measured those stitches just like she did the squares of fabric. I’d love to see that quilt again and examine her work. I never counted the squares or stitches, but now I wish I had.

At the time, I did inspect its craftsmanship, pulling a little at the seams, running my hands across the fabric swatches, imagining what had originally been sewn with the fabrics. If I remember correctly, the back was a bright green pattern with ivory and light green branches like new leaves against fluffy clouds lit by sunlight. But I may be confusing quilts.

So little Charlie, I have a story to tell you, because your Grandma Debbie loves telling stories. 😃

Your GGGma Annie lived on a farm in Robbins, North Carolina, with her husband Jasper and seven children: Vitie, Artie May, Gladys, Fletcher, Rosie, June Bug, and Beatrice—Bea was your GGma.

In the early 1900s, Robbins was extremely isolated, with hard manual labor from dawn to dusk. There was no electricity or running water; they depended on hand-dug wells and outhouses. Annie and Jasper were self-sufficient farmers, growing corn, beans, wheat, maybe cotton, and some tobacco. I say tobacco because when I first met Annie, she was in her 90s, sitting in her rocking chair on the front porch of their two-room farmhouse, chewing tobacco. She kept a tin can beside her to spit in. If anyone could make chewing tobacco look fun, if not elegant, it was Annie.

She was beautiful, tiny, with a tiny voice but a big, tough spirit, always smiling as she talked. She wore a long thick braid that went all the way down her back and she fascinated me. She loved telling stories too, and whenever she talked about your Grandpa Garry Lee, your dad’s dad, she was like a fountain of joy, spilling love all over that wooden floor.

When your GGma Bea went to work in the Milliken Mill after Garry was born, Annie watched him. They’d put him in a basket and set him in the fields with them as they worked. Their daily life was dictated by the seasons and the need to provide food and shelter. Heat came from a wood stove, light from oil lamps, and every family member had chores. With so many children, tending the crops, milking cows, gathering eggs, and hauling water was a full day’s work.

They worked 365 days a year for very little cash, received only after harvest. Transportation was limited, so the family was largely isolated. Social life revolved around church—the same church where both your Gpa Garry Lee and Papa Charlie Lee were baptized. Annie even made that baptismal gown—a delicate, soft white gown. Your papa was tiny; I doubt he remembers. 😌

Can I tell you a few more things?

GGma Bea went to a small one-room school house through the 8th grade, then went to work in the mill, eventually becoming the manager of Milliken Textile Mill with just that education. She was a tall, stately woman, sturdy, and tough—like her mama. Both women were as tough as they come. Sometimes when I feel tired and discouraged these days, with all that is going on in the world, I think of them.

Charlie Bear, you come from a long line of good people, strong spirits, and hard workers with big hearts and big appetites—with all that fresh air. GGGpa Jasper would sometimes disappear for a day or two; when he returned, all the kids hid under the beds, so you could say there was no shortage of theatrics. Maybe, I should add here that your Gpa Garry Lee and Gma Debbie, here, lived a life in the theatre, and there was often more theatrics off stage than on. 🥴 I always said Garry Lee was bigger than life, with a booming voice and laugh to match. Your GGpa Charlie II (Garry’s dad) was just the opposite, a gentle, quiet, and humble man, who stood about five inches shorter than Beatrice, but his courage and honor were beyond what you can imagine. He was a war hero, a Belly Gunner in WWII, and a recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross. I’ll tell you that story another time, because we haven’t even gotten to your quilt yet!

Like I started to say here, your GGGma Annie’s quilt was the most precious baby gift. So when I found a bag of fabric scraps in our attic that had belonged to your GGma Dee, my mom, I knew exactly what to do with it. Make a quilt for my future grandbaby! I had it made by my special friend, Cat Dickey—I’m sorry to admit I’m not a seamstress. Your dad once asked me to repair a pocket on his jacket that had torn loose and I sewed it shut! But he said, “Thanks, Mom.” He’s just the best son I could ever have asked for.

Charlie Bear, there isn’t a day that goes by where I don’t thank God for such a great gift. And guess what? Now He’s given me two Charlies! Sometimes it’s more than my heart can hold thinking about you and your family. Why, I think I might carry a bit of GGGma Annie inside me, because my heart feels like a sprinkler set loose, overflowing and spilling out all over the wood floor here in our house. 

I’ll love you forever my Charlie Bears. 🩵🩵

Gma Debbie. 

_______

Photos of Charlie Bear by Elisabeth Corbet, his beautiful mama. ❤️