I don't have the date for this photo, but I'm guessing my dad (on the left) was about twelve years and old and Elbert about ten.

First cousins, two ornery country boys who grew up very close to each other.

My cousin Lydia, our Britt family (Mama's side) geneologist, shared this treasure that none of us had ever seen before.

When Mama was in high school, in addition to working tobacco in the summertime, she also got a job at a local diner.  Many of their customers were young Marines who were stationed at nearby Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville, North Carolina.

Life when Mama was growing up was difficult (to say the least!) by our standards, but for her family things just were the way they were and the family learned to make do.  In this video, she recalls their lack of indoor plumbing, the excitement of getting electricity, and trips to the grocery store.

Mama, Jones Central High School Class of 1954.

This is one of my favorite pictures of Mama.  She was 15 years old, just starting high school in September of 1951.

Mama (on the right) and her younger sister Shirley were adventurous tomboys when they were growing up.  They were always running off together, doing who-knows-what, but one of their most memorable expeditions was when they discovered a treasure at the nearby dump.

This is my great-grandmother, my Grandpa Andy's mother, as I remember he in 1976.

School sure has changed since Mama was a little girl!

Mama, 7th grade...