Category Archives: Nanny & the Alexanders

Mesmerizing Maples

. Acción de Gracias, Education, Family, Learning, Nanny & the Alexanders, Parenting, Seasons, Thanksgiving . , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Sunday November 8, 2020: Sunrise. Two Maple buddies: the red maple to the left in the distance & the boxelder maple close right

My love of deciduous trees started with the onset of 10th Grade (1981-1982). Daddy had bought me Copper and Chief, my two beloved Black and Tan coonhounds in August, and we four were spending hours in the autumn-laden ridges of Varnell. As we would either walk up and down the ridges, talk, or listen to Chief and Copper begin their innate, melodious bawling, we would discuss the trees of our woods. We mostly spoke of the noble oaks, but, of course, the maples were embedded in the woods as well. As I write this entry which is dedicated to maples, our oak trees behind our house have burst forth with color. Seriously, on Friday November 6, 2020, the oaks were green as green can be. By Sunday the 8th, they had turned reds, yellows, & oranges!

My father, Copper, Chief, and I spent the whole winter tromping through the woods that later went bare, of course. Then, the spring of 1982 came with all the new green and rebirth of plants, trees, and flowers. My 10th grade biology teacher had assigned to us a final project where we were to complete a spring flower and leaf album of 25 plants and flowers we could find in our environment. I asked Daddy to help me. One evening, he and I walked the woods behind our house with Copper and Chief. Several days later, Daddy and I walked Nanny’s yard collecting leaves. It was May 15, 1982 (Nanny’s birthday and my dad had made her a birthday cake while I mowed Nanny’s yard.. it was Saturday.. we had a family celebration after I mowed). Thirteen days later, Friday May 28, Daddy was dead. I had to finish the album without him to turn in after Memorial Day, and Nanny came to the house with some old-timey botanical magazines (We had to have those Latin, botanical names written by those leaves, ya know!) that she had collected through the years to help me fumble through the finishing touches of the album. Well, I finished it, and, sadly,  I did not make a 100…. I made a 97. I think my teacher doubted some of the Latin names just between us readers; however, that love of studying and labeling flora has stuck with me.

As I wrote this past July, this COVID season has made me see things through my nature loving – Cherokee ( Yes, Pap Edwards…. Edwards Park Varnell , GA at Plainview…. Cleveland Road was my Cherokee ancestor to the Caylors… great-great-great grandfather) eyes. Walking with my family or jogging by myself on this land has tuned me in better to my surroundings, and I am very grateful that God’s spirit touches my spirit with the love and desire to research and share about my environment.

 I hope you enjoy our mesmerizing maples. I’ve placed a photo of the entire maple tree with a side-by-side photo of its autumn colored leaf/leaves. Also, Thanksgiving 2020 may be another 17 days away, but I do want to say an early “Happy Thanksgiving!” to you all. God is great. Peace / Shalom.

red maple (acer rubrum)

boxelder maple (acer negundo)

field maple (acer campestre)
sugar maple (acer saccharum)

Halloween 1930s Style

. Atlanta, Family, Holidays, Nanny & the Alexanders . , , , , , , , , ,

Autumn 1985: My Nanny (Mary Naomi Alexander Caylor) had been dead for a few months. I worked at Wilson’s Superette in Varnell, Georgia. The community still had dozens of people who were teenagers or youngsters with my Nanny and Nanny’s sisters, Madeline and Florence. As I have explained before, Nanny had been my friend and confidante even before my father’s untimely death in 1982. Three years later Nanny was gone as well. Work, church, and Dalton Junior College kept me busy, but every person over the age of 60 in Varnell reminded me of the family friend I was missing so terribly.

The late summer of 1985 into the autumn found me asking the Varnell “old-timers” if they could share anything about my Nanny, Madeline, Florence, or my Nanny Alexander. I did every job (bag groceries, carry groceries to vehicles, stock shelves, slice SOME meats, sweep, mop, pump gas, run the cash registers plus more) in the store except balance the money till and the books. From the time I had started working there in the summer of 1983, I had thoroughly enjoyed carrying groceries out to people’s cars especially the cars of my fellow Varnellians. There was an awesome lady named Annie Clayton Dyer. I knew she was from Varnell, but I wasn’t too sure if she had been a contemporary or shared a history with my family. She was such a kind and giving soul, and I always enjoyed chatting with her while helping her with her groceries. One day in the autumn of 1985 as I carried Annie’s groceries to her car we began a conversation.

Haven: Mrs. Dyer, did you spend any time with the Alexander sisters when you were growing up? You know my grandmother, Naomi died recently.

Annie:   I sure am sorry about that. I was closest to Florence’s age, but Lord yes! ( I had known Annie for over 2 years, and she wasn’t a somber person, but her face absolutely LIT UP, and a huge grin went across her face. It was the happiest, most child-like smile I had seen on a 60 year-old in ages! Alexander Sisters’ memories were making Annie glow)

Annie, continues: Florence and Madeline had a Halloween Party one year.

Haven: Oh, my word! I’ve never heard of such. I didn’t think my Nanny Alexander would approve of such a thing.

I had to remind myself that by the time of this party Nanny was almost 20 years old and that especially Florence received a totally different childhood rearing than Nanny. I recalled how Nanny Alexander bent to the whims of her youngest daughter.

Annie: Oh, yeah, and let me tell you this real quick… The first time I saw Florence, she came into our classroom with those,.. how do I explain it? It was an aviator’s cap. Those with the goggles.

I stood dumbfounded. Nanny Alexander allowed Florence to go to school dressed like that? Oh, me!

Continuing with the Halloween story.

Annie: Oh, yeah, the Halloween party! (We both chuckle!) . The girls had punch, cookies, and candy, and I think they had some candied apples.

Haven: How fun!

Annie: The best part was how they had a created a dead corpse.

Haven: Do what?

Annie: Oh, yeah. It was like lying on a day bed. It was kind of like dressed scare-crow style, but lying down. They kept the room dark, and part of the spookiness, the whole effect was to not look at the body, but feel it. The face was the creepiest (Annie was still smiling with wide eyes).. they had like some wrinkled mask, and the eyes were grapes! – Annie laughed, I laughed- Oh, me , that was fun. Yeah, we had fun with the Alexander girls.

Haven: -tears welling up in my eyes- Mrs. Dyer, thank you for sharing. That is great! My Nanny had never shared such.

I am imagining that this Halloween party could have been 1936, 1937, or 1938. Nanny Alexander had added my granddaddy and my daddy to the household by Halloween of 1939, and I know how much time Nanny Alexander devoted to my father who had become her world. I doubt she hosted a Halloween party with a newborn in the house.

Why is it we think the here and now is the best of a holiday? Right down the road we have the elaborate “Haunted Barn” for Halloween with it’s 21st Century light shows, pop/ rock music blaring, people paying like $20/head to see and have the poo scared out of them, but…. In the late 1930s (over 80 years ago), two young sisters from Atlanta, Georgia who had settled in the little town of Varnell, Georgia rocked Varnell with an innovative and spooky Halloween party!

Madeline & Florence Alexander Summer 1936: Varnell Party Planners!

I thought I would share this family tale here in this topsy-turvy 2020 Halloween season. Thank you, Randa Murray, a childhood friend since 1972, from Varnell, GA who asked her sweet mama Annie’s maiden name.

Train Whistles & Granddaddy Alexander

. Family, Nanny & the Alexanders, Train Travel . , , , , , , , , , , ,

Train Whistles & Granddaddy Alexander

(Like Wikipedia, I welcome people to add names & pics… I will add things as I find them).

Update: October 21, 2020

I finally found my photo of Granddaddy Alexander’s 1914 Southern Railway Engine. The photo’s date is stamped July 22, 1914.

train_alexander

steamengine_TVA

(Thanks, TVA for the pic.. this is a restored, 1904 engine that ran on Southern Railway!) 

William Oliver Alexander : May 15, 1875 – June 29, 1935. Southern Railroad Locomotive Engineer.

Friday evening September 28, 2018 location = Collegedale, Tennessee, Collegedale Greenway 

I was jogging beside the railroad track headed toward’s Collegdale’s Southern University, and I heard a train coming: Sometimes it’s a BNSF train, and sometimes it’s a Norfolk Southern train. Traveling at about 35-40 MPH a Norfolk Southern diesel locomotive comes barreling into the clear. I smiled, kept jogging, and I waved. Of course, trains blow their whistles at the crossings, and the engineer had just passed the College Station Crossing. I had no idea if my waves would illicit a friendly blow, but THEY DID …. “Toot, Toot…. toot ,  toooooot”: I smiled from ear to ear and continued jogging. Granddaddy Alexander whom I never met (he died 31 years before I was born) immediately came to mind…. However….

Join me  the summer of 1988.

My dear friend of  mine, Loraine Morgan Hammontree (February 2, 1913- May 13, 1989) , and I had been cultivating our awesome, Varnell friendship, and she had said, “Uh, Haven, would you like to visit my sister (Ralph Morgan, I’m tracking you down for her name! LOL) in Dalton. She can tell us some stuff about Varnell from our childhood.”  Loraine’s sister was several years older than Loraine and she couldn’t drive, and neither could Loraine who had heart failure. I rearranged some of my busy, summer schedule (I was in town for the weekend from Lipscomb University Summer Semester where I was just about to finish my last year) , and we drove to Dalton. Loraine’s, sister was so hospitable and so sweet, and charming. I fell in love with her lovely demeanor immediately.

Loraine: Haven, I was just a kid and I don’t remember, but my sister remembers living in the Alexander’s house in Varnell. (Turning to her sister) Tell Haven about living there and Mr. Alexander.  Mr. Alexander was Haven’s great-grandfather.

Loraine’s sister: (With a huge smile). I didn’t know that! Let me tell you.  You know , Mr. Alexander had a fixed schedule, and we always kind of knew he was coming. He would begin tooting the whistle as he entered Varnell, and we would run down to the track. The train went right in front of the Alexander house, and he was going slow. Depending on what he had, he would toss it out to us kids. Sometimes, it was candy wrapped in sacks and sometimes it was bags of coal we needed for our coal-burning stove. It was like having Santa Claus!

Loraine: (Turning to me with a huge smile.) Yeah, just like Santa Claus, that’s just what I was thinking.

The visit was perfect, and I had spoken with someone who knew Granddaddy Alexander personally. I took Loraine home with a full heart and lots of joy.

Before I finish this Santa Claus tale of  Granddaddy Alexander, I ‘ve got to share one more thing (I could be dead tomorrow, and I want Carter & Ammon to know) LOL ….

Trains (Steam engines in the 1900s – 1930s) were steam engines and so different from the powerful diesels of today. The trains stopped at every “pig trail” in those days. Granddaddy Alexander’s route took him from Atlanta to Chattanooga. When stopping at the “pig trails”, boys from the local area would bring stuff (nuts, berries, live animals such as baby squirrels or baby opossums) to sell to him. He would buy whatever for a few pennies. On up the line, while stopping for water, coal, or passengers, he would let the animals go free. He sometimes would even take a baby squirrel or a baby opossum back to his house in Atlanta for Nanny, Madeline, and Florence to play with!  In a few weeks he would put them back in his pocket, take them to Inman Yard where his engine was then carry them back up towards Chattanooga where he would set them free.

Back to September 28, 2018-

As I turned around to face my jogging destination, I was overcome with emotion, and tears came unexpectedly into my eyes as I started sobbing  with happiness about Granddaddy Alexander as I trotted onward.

No one is ever perfect, but William Oliver Alexander was a good, caring human with a wonderful heart.  His girls (Mary Naomi Alexander Caylor, Gloria Madeline Alexander Kirk, and Florence L. Alexander Sheeley) adored him. Nanny always shared how he loved life, loved to joke, and loved nature.

With my memories and the wonderful avenue of the Internet and/or writing journals, I can keep Granddaddy Alexander and his story “alive”.

-Happy Saturday to all- Haven

Happy 100th Birthday, Nanny!(They don’t count time in heaven by years… eternity ya know, but still )

. Family, Nanny & the Alexanders, Uncategorized . , , , , , , ,

nanny_1982

Happy 100thBirthday , Nanny! (They don’t count time in heaven by years… eternity ya know, but still ) May 15, 1918 – August 10, 1985.

Mary Naomi Alexander Caylor would be 100 years old today. She was born around 3 o’clock in the afternoon (a relative in Varnell, GA may have her birth certificate with the correct time).  Her parents had waited over 8 years for her. Nanny’s older brother had been stillborn in 1910.  She was born in Smyrna, Georgia in Big Ma’s house. Big Ma was a black woman who had turned her lovely Victorian, Turn of the century home into a home for borders.

From approximately 1924 until January 1936, Nanny lived at 1195 Niles Avenue Atlanta, GA.

Nanny_house

Today, My thoughts keep turning not to the grandmother I knew but to teenage Naomi who, without thoughts or cares, could go to downtown Atlanta AFTER DARK. Imagine if you will a 15 year old girl in 1933 going to downtown Atlanta with her best friend, Louise Hollingsworth and 10 year old sister, Madeline to see a movie at the Fox Theater or Lowe’s Grand!

fox

The three girls would walk from their house to Marietta Street (West Marietta Street now) to the Streetcar Stop. In 1933 there was an elementary school at the corner of Marietta Street and Knight Park. They would then take the streetcar to downtown. They would then return the same route after their movies were over. Doesn’t it just boggle the mind that they could do that? But yes, they did.

I hope and pray to write more about Nanny, Granddaddy, and Mamaw Wimpy this summer. I am doing this for Carter and Ammon. I want them and future generations  of Caylor-Browns to know more about how their ancestors lived in the 20thcentury. I know I am being a bit vain, but to my dear relatives who have disfellowshiped from me yet perhaps visit my blog you really should be sitting down with me to compare,  correlate, and confirm some of my memories. As you well know, I am not a fan of “false history”.

 

In the ATL (And Rich’s Department Store)

. Atlanta, Family, Nanny & the Alexanders . , , , , , , ,

I along with probably millions of people who have lived in or frequented Atlanta for the past 40 or 50 years all remember Rich’s Department Store. Someone who is my mother’s age remembers it even better. Every time we go shopping in Atlanta, I think of Rich’s. I can’t help it! The family and I were just in Atlanta this past Friday and Saturday morning, and we went shopping at Lenox Square. If for some reason you are not too familiar with Atlanta and the Buckhead area, but like to go to Lenox Square Mall, the Lenox Rich’s was at the Peachtree Street side of the building. Macy’s took at big chunk of it on that end.  I really miss it, and get nostalgic every time we go.

Rich’s was started in 1867 in downtown Atlanta, and by 1906, it was in a large building between Martin Luther King and Whitehall Streets. My Nanny Caylor grew up in Atlanta from 1918 until 1936. She, her mother, and two sisters use to go shopping at Rich’s. When my Nanny was a child, Rich’s had a “pulley system” that ran above the customers heads with containers.  Evidently, the customers placed a ticket that coincided with the merchandise with their money, and then they sent the container to a cashier. The cashier then sent the receipt and the change back to the customer.( Now, if any of you can explain better, please do. It’s been about 30 years since my Nanny last told me the story).

My Nanny’s mother (Sarah Maro Cox Aleander… Sadie Alexander) was also a genius at sewing.  My Nanny rarely had store-bought clothes, but she had excellent home-made clothing. If my Nanny Caylor saw a dress she really liked at Rich’s, my Nanny Alexander would say, “Okay, let me study it for a few minutes.” She would then analyze it, store it in her memory then make my grandmother a dress like it. Cool, huh?

I only got to go the main Rich’s building one time around 1986, and I really enjoyed it. It closed not too long after that. Not just for nostalgia sake, I always enjoyed shopping at the Rich’s department stores that were in the Atlanta malls until the early 2000s. They had great, quality, men’s clothing (especially their ties), and always had good sales. Oh, me, thanks for the shopping memories, Rich’s!