Edna Bethel Franklin - daughter, wife, mom and sister

¹ Edna Franklin, ² Judith Ann Hayward

1913 - 2004

As is the case with us all, Edna's life was bracketed by the dates of her birth and death – with plenty of dash in between. So ". . .we'll start at the beginning - a very good place to start", to quote those great words from "Sound of Music".


BIRTH

Queen, Fred, Evert, Edna

On July 13, 1913, Fred, Queen, and their 15 month old son,William "Evert" Franklin, were living near the small town of Rosehill, Missouri, which had as its only claim to fame the fact that three railroads ran through it. On that day, Queen's tiny figure looked ready to burst at any minute; there was no doubt that their family dynamic was soon to be changed forever. When it  became apparent that labor had started in earnest, Fred made sure that Evert was secure in his bed before  rushing off to find the local doctor (they had neither a car nor a phone so it took some time to round him up). 

Years later Queen reported that she had given birth to her little girl without the benefit of husband or doctor, which gave her an opportunity to do things her way.  Based on her bad memories of birthing Evert only a few months before, Queen decided that instead of lying immobile, the traditionally accepted birthing method, she'd walk and then roll back and forth whenever there was a contraction. It worked!  During one of those rolls, her daughter was born.  By the time the doctor and Fred returned, the only services required were to clean up the baby and cut the umbilical cord.

Until Edna's birth certificate was amended by the State of Missouri in 1967, her name was shown as "Not Named". Years later, she would often comment that she wished her parents had thought of a prettier name, but was grateful that at least she hadn't been named Queen Jr.



THE DASH

WilliamEvert and Edna Bethel Franklin

If you've read earlier posts featuring Fred and Queen Franklin, you know that times were tough during the first decades of their marriage.  As the family teetered on the brink of flat-out poverty, they moved from Missouri to Ohio to Indiana and back again, always looking for viable work.  Fred might have lacked formal education, but he could read and was willing to do almost anything – no matter how physically hard – to support his family, while Queen, a former teacher, encouraged the children to read, kept house, made their clothing and tended a large garden.  

8th grade graduation

By 1923, the family had added two more little boys, Paul and Carthel, and had saved enough money to buy a farm near Versailles, Indiana.  Besides the house, barn, chicken coop and pig sty, the property contained a general store which Fred operated until the economy in the area changed and it was no longer viable. Although the only source of heat in the house was a wood-fed stove which was supposed to radiate heat throughout the house, water was drawn from a well, and the outhouse was the most popular building on the property, this house remained the "official residence" of the Franklin family for more than 30 years.  Fortunately, as time went by, some changes were made to the ambiance (an inside toilet and running water, for instance).

Fred Franklin and Harold Hayward

Although the people at that time didn't have electronics to entertain themselves, they still recognized the need to  have fun during the warm months (with games of croquet and horseshoes) and during the cold Indiana winters (with books, music and, later, card games).  Recently, the Franklin grandchildren discovered that Fred and his Uncle Bill Franklin were accomplished musicians and had  often been sought out to play at dances and weddings.  They were even more surprised when they came upon a 1925 recital program which listed Edna and Evert  performing on the violin and piano.  Huh?  Thanks to Carthel's memoirs, we now know that Edna and Carthel were given piano lessons, while Evert and Paul learned to play the violin.  Until those discoveries, the only known musicians were Queen (who played the piano not very well) and Paul (who sang, wrote and recorded music).

New Marion High School graduate

Harold Hayward High School graduate

Between April 1931 (when she and Evert finished high school) and May 1936 (when she married Harold Victor Hayward), brown eyed, dark haired Edna loaded up her "dash” with life-changing events, some of which were:

• Working as a housekeeper to earn enough money for college;
  
• Combining her financial resources with those of cousin Eva Franklin to rent a room while attending classes at Hanover College in Hanover, Indiana;
  
• After earning a teaching certificate, returning to New Marion to teach for a grand salary of $100 a month;
  
• Attending the University of Indiana for advanced studies;
  
• Going out on a blind date with Harold Hayward in Chicago set up by a mutual acquaintance;
  
• Falling in love with that Iowa farm boy who was almost two years younger and just starting his career in Chicago;
  
• Being romanced through the mail or over the party line phone which was monitored by all the neighbors;
  
• Marrying Harold at her parents' home in Indiana, surrounded by friends and family;
  



May 23, 1936 Franklin/Hayward Wedding




• Starting a brand new life with a brand new husband in a tiny apartment not far from Lake Michigan to which they'd retreat with a blanket when the  house got too hot - a completely new way of life for this country girl. 

Life with Harold couldn't have been more different than the one she had dreamed about when a girl! She never taught in a classroom again but she used her teaching skills to encourage and mentor her three daughters, Judy, Susan and Linda.  

• Where he was flamboyant, she was shy but always quietly supportive ; 
• Where he loved to tell bawdy jokes, she'd surprise with her very dry humor; 
• Where he was at his best selling and speaking to crowds, she was learning how to type and support him in his first insurance office. 
• While he was instructing the girls in the intricacies of football, she was an avid basketball and Cubs fan who rooted for those perennial losers all her life. 
• Where he rarely caught edible fish, she continuously hooked more than anyone else (including professional guides) but refused to clean, cook or eat them (her daughters believed the fish thought they had a better chance with her since she wouldn't eat them - they were wrong!). 
• Where he had a beautiful voice and loved to sing – especially with his daughters - she would promise those same daughters that if they sang for her, she would do some of their chores. 
•  After he became Governor of the Illinois-Eastern Iowa District of Kiwanis, she found her voice as his first lady, finally using the charm and wonderful sense of humor that only her family and close friends knew she possessed. 

DEATH (May 3, 2004): 
Edna was only two months shy of 91 when she died as a result of bad care in a local rehab facility. In a “normal” family, she might have been considered the “grand old dame” – but not in the Franklin family! After all, her mother bowled until she was 103 and lived to age 107; her older brother, Evert, died 3 months before Edna and 2 months before his 92^nd birthday as a result of injuries sustained in an automobile accident; her younger brother, Paul, only made it to age 89; and her father, Fred, (also featured in a post) was little more than a baby when he died at age 86. Today, her “baby” brother, Carthel, still enjoys golf and travel at age 94.


The following poem was written in celebration of her life. Despite the fact that it's been more than 10 years since she left us, she is sorely missed - and her stories continue to be told.       

                                            Edna’s Song

You’d think the story’s over, but it’s only just begun.

Her life is woven through us - into each and every one.

The thread has not been broken, but the fabric takes new shape.

A shape that brings its own new joys, from which we can’t escape.

When something special happens, we know what she would say,

And feel her lingering presence as she'd send us on our way.

We’ll sense her joy and laughter, knowing that her pain is gone.

And that she knows she did her best - her loved ones can go on.

We’ll hear ourselves repeating her maxims and her jokes.

We know what she would want for us, her big and little folks.

She’d want us to remember her as wife and mom and friend.

She’d hope we’d build on lessons learned, and pass them on again.

We never thought she’d leave us, our lives would stay the same,

But God knew best the time and place, and took her home again.

Can’t you just imagine the reunions going on?

The joyous joining with all those who’d waited for so long.

Thanks to you, dear Edna, for all you said and did,

For always sharing whom you were with each adult and kid.

We miss you badly, always will, and know that some fine day

We will reunite with you and Dad in a whole new way.

 Judith Ann Hayward Copeland

2004

Francis Eppes - one of Virginia's settlers

1597 - 1674

Until now, I have been able to balance out the family lines when writing up legends which have been passed down through the centuries.  But that balance went askew when I discovered that Lt. Colonel Francis Eppes, an early Virginia Colony settler, was possibly an ancestor of both my husband's line (through the Nance family) and mine (through the Dickersons (Should I call my husband "honey" or "cuz", I wonder).

The first documented story of an Eppes family ancestor was Alan Epes (yes - the spelling changes from person to person and generation to generation).  Alan was the grandfather of Francis Eppes and had raised his family in the town of Lydds in Kent County, England  during the mid-1500s. Through the years, the Eppes family made an indelible mark on the world around them and provided many legends which I am hoping to feature in some of my later blogs.

It's likely that Francis' incentive for leaving England was the crowning of Charles I, the terrible son of a terrible king, James.  It soon became apparent that Charles had a penchant for making decisions which simultaneously alienated both his subjects and Parliament, thus prompting a series of events which ultimately led to civil war, his own beheading in 1649 and the abolition of the English monarchy.

 Sometime before I625 Francis recognized that life in England wasn't going to improve any time soon under the leadership of the king and saw the opportunity to make his fortune in America where there was more land than people to work it. 

He proved to be adept at recruiting desperate folks who were anxious to try their luck in a new country. There is no record of how he was able to pay the 6 pounds per person cost for his and their passage on the Hopewell, but he obviously figured it out. 

Upon landing in America, the immigrants would be sold to the landowners and required to work for a defined period of time - usually 3 to 7 years in order to pay off their debt.  

Besides re-cooping his costs by selling the contracts for the indentured servants usually to plantation owners, his profit came through being granted one “headright”, or parcel of land, per laborer.  At that time, parcels of 50 acres were granted to a person new to the area, while 100 acres were granted to those already living there.  Once the headright was granted, it was treated like a commodity and could be bought, sold, or traded.  It also could be saved indefinitely and used at a later date.

Now that he had his first venture under his belt, Francis headed back to England for a short visit with his family and an opportunity to recruit and arrange for another shipload of laborers.  He didn't learn until he returned to America that the first group of people he had transported had been killed by Indians shortly after landing. 

After successfully completing his second round trip and receiving  more headrights,  Francis now owned enough land to build a spacious home for his family.  So while his household prepared to make this giant move, he arranged for a ship and  recruited more people desperate to start fresh in a new land. 

After safely completing this trip, he claimed himself, his wife, three young men (either his sons or brothers) and 30 servants as headrights (not a bad deal since his costs for their passage could be recovered by using or selling those headrights).  It is believed that he made the round trip between his former and new  countries six times, and that his wife, Marie, traveled with him at least once and gave birth to their son, Thomas, in London.

In 1625, he was elected to sit in the Assembly at James City (often referred to as the “Convention”) and was more than happy to add his signature to a petition being sent to England. As a signer, he was finally able to safely express his “extreme discouragement” over the change in the British government, and specifically King Charles I, whose decisions and method of ruling England would sow the seeds for the American Revolution.

An early version of the house including the original kitchen

Finally, on August 26, 1635,  Captain Francis Epes was granted 1,700 acres on  Appomattox Manor (located at the confluence of the Appomattox and James rivers).  It was a perfect place for his new home which he originally named Hopewell after the ship on which he'd sailed so often and then City Point.   Eventually it was named Appomattox and completed in 1679. During those years he was a respected leader in the community and served as Commander of forces which fought  the Weyanoke and Appomattox Indians.  

This energetic, courageous Kentish man,  died sometime between 1668 and 1774.  He held many offices during his lifetime, including serving as a member of the House of Burgess (a model  of representative government).  He was also one of four men named "Resident in Virginia and Fit to be Called to the Council There."  

Appomattox as it looks today

The house, which underwent several modifications over the years  has many stories of its own to tell, and remained in the Eppes family for 344 years until, in 1979, it was purchased by the Petersburg National Battlefield and is open for visitors. 

Even though Francis and his wife, Marie, had what would be considered a small family at that time (4 sons and perhaps some daughters who were not documented), his legend has lived on through the tales and deeds of his family. 

Martha Wales Jefferson

Two of Francis' older sons filled places in their communities similar to the positions Francis had hewed out for himself in early Virginia. Another  Eppes  descendent was Martha Wayles Skelton, a widow who was married to the third President of the United States, Thomas Jefferson, from 1772 until her death in 1782. 






For further information you are welcome to check out:
Find A Grave   http://findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=eppes&GSfn=francis&GSby=1597&GSbyrel=in&GSdyrel=all&GSob=n&GRid=123126648&df=all&
 

John Nance Garner III, Vice-president of the United States

1868 – 1966

(a descendant of William Nance, the founder of the Nance family in the United States)

A story always has to start somewhere, and John Nance Garner III's story as a well known American in his time began before his birth when William Nance arrived in America in the mid 1600s.  After settling in Virginia, William met and married Margaret Tinsley, with whom he built a strong family tradition of loyalty to country, a tradition  which has been passed from generation to generation for more than three centuries.

Living up to the family tradition, William and Margaret's grandson, Reuben Nance, fought in the Revolution; and Reuben's son, Bird Nance, lost his life from wounds incurred in the War of 1812. If you'd like to know more about these two men, they were each  featured in this blog a few months ago.  

John was born to a Confederate veteran, John Nance Garner II, and his wife, Sarah, on November 22, 1868 in Red River County,Texas. 

His earliest years aren't recorded, so we pick up his story after he returned home after completing only one semester at Vanderbilt University.  Although it seems that formal schooling was not for him, he continued to study law on his own and successfully passed the Texas Bar exam.  

After being admitted to the Bar, he realized that  he couldn't make a living in the rural area where he had grown up and soon moved to Uvald, Texas.  It was there that he met and eventually married Mariette “Ettie” Rheiner, a strong young woman in her own right who had openly expressed her opposition to his candidacy for Uvalde county judge. In an age when few women expressed their political opinions, Ettie opposed his candidacy because of his reputation for drinking and poker-playing and, despite their marriage, he retained that reputation for the rest of his life.

Cactus Flower

Bluebonnet Flower

In 1898, at age 30, John made his first successful political foray into State politics when he was elected to the Texas House of Representatives and earned the nickname "Cactus Jack" after unsuccessfully proposing the cactus as the state flower. The bluebonnet prevailed, but the moniker "Cactus Jack" lasted a lifetime.

Always moving upward in the political arena, he was elected as a Democrat to the U.S. House of Representatives four years later.  Even though he was no longer in Texas, he was still known as a salty character who brought many “pork barrel” projects to his district. But even when fighting to bring home "the bacon" to his state, he remained popular with both parties, making him a very effective Speaker of the House in 1931.

Based on his popularity and recognized abilities, it's not surprising that in 1932, John was encouraged by his wife and supporters to make a run for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States.  There was a big problem with that plan, however.  Franklin Delano Roosevelt, had the same dream and an even stronger base.

After winning the nomination, Roosevelt asked John to be his running mate. Together, they were unbeatable and won both the 1932 and 1936 elections to the highest offices in the land. Not bad for a Texas boy who didn't finish college!

But "Cactus John" did not take well to being in the largely decorative position of Vice President. In typical John Garner style, he was heard to describe it as “not worth a bucket of warm piss”, a version that was cleaned up by the press to read “not worth a bucket of warm spit”.

It was during Roosevelt's second term that John could no longer hold his tongue and often disagreed strongly with the President.  As the warm relationship started to cool off, some Democratic party leaders urged him to run against Roosevelt in 1940, which he agreed to do.  But once more, Roosevelt proved himself the stronger candidate and was elected to an unprecedented third term. 

By this time John Nance Garner, who was 72 years old and had served the public for 46 years, decided to leave the race, stepping  down in 1941, which resulted in Harry S. Truman eventually becoming the Vice President who stepped into the presidency after Roosevelt's death.

Although he neither lived nor worked in Washington any longer, he continued to have close friendships with many of the insiders, including President Harry Truman; and, on November 22, 1963, President Jack Kennedy called to wish him a happy birthday just before traveling to Dallas.  

He lived to age 98, and was one of only two vice presidents who served both as Speaker of the House and Vice President of the United States.

He was not forgotten by the people of the State of Texas, whom he had served so well and so long.  In order to honor his many years of service and keep his name alive, a state park just north of his home in Uvalde, Texas was re-named the Garner State Park.

Special thanks to one of the Nance/Philpott family historians, Sheila Oliver Coupland, who graciously called my attention to the story of John Nance Garner, who made his mark in national politics long after his ancestor had planted the seeds of service and devotion to this country.  Suffice it to say, the details of this man's genealogy reside on one of the many branches of the Nance family tree, but in order to avoid confusion or boredom, we'll just say that his place on the tree is several generations removed from his ancestors, William and Margaret Nance.

Garner  State Park, Uvalde, TX

Christian Peters - one of many family soldiers

(Family lineage:  Brother of Elizabeth Peters, ¹  Charles Walker, Jr  ².  Eliza Frances Walker ³,   Emarine Bartram ⁴, 
Queen Rebecca Dickerson  ⁵,  Edna Bethel Franklin  ⁶ ,  Judith Ann Hayward  ⁷ )

1760 - 1837 

Since researching and writing about the Revolutionary soldier, John Copeland, I've discovered that the Copelands, Philpotts and Nances created several new branches on their family trees through intermarriage.  At the same time, the  Walkers, Callaways and Peters not only intermarried but - after fighting in the Revolution - packed up their families and moved together to Peterstown in New River, Virginia. 

Until now, only the Peters women who had married Walker men early in our country's history have been mentioned in family legends about their husbands/brothers/sons.  So now it's time to concentrate on the Peters men whose parents had migrated from Germany in 1737 and settled in Virginia where they raised their family.  Three of their sons (John, Christian and Jacob) fought with distinction in the Revolution; but for no good reason, I decided to focus on Christian who, at age 19, was finally old enough to join the fight four years after it began in 1775. 

Christian's involvement began when the Governor of South Carolina offered 1,000 pounds of tobacco ($33.33) to any man volunteering to fight with the militia against marauding Indians attacking settlers along the South Carolina/North Carolina border. 

Although he was a Virginia boy, Christian seized the opportunity to get paid while experiencing adventure away from home and hearth.  Grabbing his rifle, tomahawk and butcher knife, he joined his brothers and fellow Virginians in the fight and attained the rank of Corporal.  

It wasn't long, however, before his militia was absorbed into the "Virginia Line" which - with militias from the 12 other colonies -  fell under the umbrella of the Continental Army. This action was especially important to commissioned officers under the rank of Brigadier General who, before that time, couldn't be promoted except in their particular colony's  line.

Christian, known by this time as an expert marksman, quickly rose to the rank of Sergeant and was heavily involved in some of the more famous southern battles, including Cowpens on the South Carolina/North Carolina line, Hot Water, Jamestown and eventually Yorktown.  

Col. Daniel Morgan

Under the leadership of  Colonel Daniel Morgan, the infamous Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton and his 1,000 troops were defeated at Cowpens, which led to 600 British soldiers being captured.  During the battle, most of the Virginia men, including Christian, depended on  their personal long rifles, with which they shot down so many British officers that proper control of the British line was destroyed.  

 After helping to deliver those British prisoners, Christian received his discharge papers and a bounty for his service, which he traded to another soldier for a horse. It was a good deal for them both.  Christian could now get around on horseback instead of by foot and the former horse owner could return home with a little money and  an official discharge - even if it took a little longer to get there.

Now that he was officially back in the war, Sgt. Christian Peters  traveled with his

General "Mad" Anthony Wayne

regiment to Hot Water, six miles from Williamsburg, Va.  The hard-fought battle, which lasted only two hours and ten minutes, didn't go well.  The Americans were soundly defeated, which forced the survivors to fall back to Jamestown, where they joined General "Mad" Anthony Wayne's regiment in another bloody battle.  Luckily for Christian, he was assigned a position in an area far less dangerous and came out of the battle unscathed.  

Finally, in 1781, he re-connected with his brother, John, and brother-in-law, Charles Walker, in Yorktown where they participated in the battle and witnessed Cornwallis' surrender which finally brought an end to the long devastating war. 

Amazingly, the Peters, Walker and Callaway families came through the war pretty much intact and after being awarded bounties for their service, decided to build their post-war lives on New River, a tributary of the Kanawha River, in the Appalachian Mountains of Virginia.  In 1785, Christian married his sweetheart, Anna Catherine Fudge who had only been 13 years old when he had left for war, and with whom he had nine children.  

As the years went by, Christian, a man of energy and drive, built a home which stood for many years. Among his enterprises were the building of the first grist mills in the community.  These mills would be considered very crude and rough affairs in today's world but of course they were built on the technology existing at the time and served their purpose.

Christian was awarded a pension for service to his country in 1833 and died four years later at age 77. In honor of his service, the U.S. Government furnished a war memorial tablet which was placed on his grave and unveiled with great ceremony.  
  







http://www.Virginia Militia in the Revolutionary War:McAllister's Data

http://www.wvculture.org/history/agrext/peters1.html

http://www.wvculture.org/history/agrext/peters20.html

http://www.wvculture.org/history/agrext/peters21.html

http://www.shgresources.com/wv/counties/monroe/

http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/wv/monroe/bios/peters1.txt

Mae Walton Finn, a wild Irish rose

Mae Walton Finn ¹, Charles Thomas Copeland, Jr. ²

1914 - 1988

My mother-in-law would have been shocked that she is considered a family legend well worth writing about. That belief, which evolved over the years, was based on conversations, stories told by family members and facts gathered from her papers after she died.  

Her legend had its roots in the British Isles years before her birth when: 

 

In the late 1800s, her grandfather, Jacob Walton,  sailed from England to America, where he met Mary "Mattie" Mae MacFarlane, whose parents had migrated from Scotland and settled in Manitowac, Wisconsin.  Shortly before their marriage in 1886, he returned to England, where he convinced his brother, Robert, (who later died in a train crash) and sister, Elizabeth, to come back to America with him where they could live with the newly married couple in Chicago (hopefully with Mattie's blessing).

 
The extended family established their home on the south side of Chicago, where they eventually opened a candy store and raised  Bessie (born in 1891) and Wallace "Wally" (born in 1893).

• 
  In 1901, Joseph Eugene Finn, who had grown up in Galway, Ireland with 12 siblings, joined his widowed mother, brothers and sisters in Boston.  But Joe was restless and eventually headed west, not stopping until he arrived in Chicago, where he met and married 22 year old Bessie Walton in 1913.

========================================
Mae Finn was born on September 6, 1914 and her family's seemingly normal life changed dramatically when:

• Joe and Bessie's marriage broke up, resulting in the 3 year old and her mother moving back to live with Bessie's parents.
• A year or so later, Bessie married Philip Costa.  It didn't take long for her to realize that their marriage  had been a big mistake.  It is suspected there was physical abuse, but the only thing known for sure is that Bessie moved back home with her now 5 year old daughter, where she helped out in the candy store and Mae attended kindergarten in the school across the street.
• Seemingly Phillip could not or would not accept Bessie's decision to end their marriage.  In an attempt to convince her that he'd changed and was willing to do anything to get his family back, he often would appear at the store. It all came to a head on December 6, 1919 when, after she had refused his pleas once again, his frustration boiled over and he shot her, immediately fleeing the candy store where she laid dying. To this day, it is not known whether he was ever caught and tried. 

10 year old Mae

Following Bessie's death, Mae became a permanent resident in the Walton household  composed of her grandparents, Great Aunt Elizabeth, and  Uncle Wally.  She found it less complicated to simply tell people that her last name was Walton, although her father, Joe Finn, who never remarried and claimed he was a widower, did remain active in her life until his death in 1958.
 

The Waltons provided Mae with a stable but strict home.  At age 16, after finishing her sophomore year in  high school, she entered "secretarial school", where she learned what it took to be successful in an office environment and found that her typing skills were particularly good. 

Her eighteenth year was filled with unexpected joys and sorrows.  Two months after her birthday, her grandfather who had closed his candy store and returned to work in a cement factory, died. This of course meant that it was even more important that Mae use her typing skills to help support her grandmother and the family.
 
When she wasn't working, she was spending a lot of time  roller skating at a nearby roller rink. While she thoroughly enjoyed the smoothness and grace of dancing on skates, she also loved to compete with other skaters in rough and tumble games on wheels. 

At that time a new sport called "roller derby" was being created and organized, which strongly appealed to Mae.  To her delight, after auditioning, she was accepted to be on one of the newly formed  teams.  However, her excitement was short-lived when the adults she loved and respected convinced her that leaving a steady job which supported her family for a dream could end in disaster - both physically and financially.

Tom and Mae Copeland - 1935

That year also brought  unexpected happiness when the 18 year old fiery redhead met Tom Copeland, a handsome 31 year old Georgian who shared not only her love of skating but whose birthday was also on September 6.  

Mattie Walton and Joseph Finn

As time passed, the couple not only shared a love for skating, but discovered that their shared interests had expanded into other parts of their lives.  On September 6, 1935, 20 year old Mae and 33 year old Charles Thomas "Tom" Copeland celebrated their birthdays in a wedding ceremony, with Mattie Walton and Joe Finn serving as parents of the bride.

 
Even after their son and daughter were born, they continued to dance and skate whenever possible with the "Old Timers Roller Skating Club"  until their bodies started complaining.
 

There's no doubt that the tragedies that had been woven into her life before she could even talk, affected how she often responded to perceived threats in her later years. 

However, there was the happy child side of her  who loved to play and have fun. The stories of those entertaining times are many and include:

• Grabbing her young son and chasing fire trucks;
• Racing around the roller skating rink floor and bouncing the bouncers who tried to slow her down (much to her child's embarrassment);
• Agreeing to attend a college football game without knowing a thing about the game so she could cheer loudly for both teams - no matter what happened;
• Turning off all the lights, changing her voice and telling incredibly scary bedtime stories to her grandsons; 

 After 43 years of marriage, Tom died and Mae grieved for him until she finally joined him ten years later.   A legendary life indeed!