Pinned Post
Why Does it Matter?
It might seem a little strange to begin a family page now that the majority of the family are in our last quarter of life. Adding the fact that many of us haven't even seen each other in years, apart from funerals and it might seem futile. But perhaps it's the years that have flown by that makes me appreciate my family- close or distant- more than ever.
The last (and to my knowledge- ONLY) "official" reunion with all the Coal Branch brothers and sisters took place more than 50 years ago at Mabel and Tuffy's in Ashtabula! The Spencer reunions at the Senior Citizens center In Beattyville since that time kept those who attended at least somewhat in contact, but those too stopped a few years ago.
We're left with distant and foggy memories and images of a lifestyle long past and relatives we barely know.
Yet we're linked together by heritage that grows in importance as time dissolves years. Living out the days the Lord has given us, separated by distance, but sharing a love for the people and the place that was and is our heritage. Only within the past ten years or so have I come to understand the role the Coal Branch legacy has played in my life. It has helped shape who I am and what I believe. And for that, I am forever grateful.
And yet I wonder... do others with the same linkage feel the same? Do they long to hear stories about how others experienced childhood there (even if only for visits)? And could they sit for hours listening to the heirs talk about how their childhood with siblings under Ealy and Mammy like I did recently when I visited Garland Bowman?
Eleven kids- living in and leaving the Coal Branch home at different times to start lives in different places- many far from each other and far from the place where it all started.... most with children that now have children of their own who may know nothing about the hardships and struggles of living in Appalachian Kentucky or how it shaped the people who survived there.
And now it falls to us.
Like those before us, it is extremely difficult to get everyone together at one time. But what we can't do physically, we can at least share virtually. Because it matters. Please join in! More to come....
Notice that everyone on the back row has passed on. All those except Mammy on the front row are still with us. Would love to hear from some of this group!? ..