"The Tennessee Waltz"

Hey! I Won These Awards!

MOTHER

Hester Barbara (Estep) Lee

August 6, 1914 - March 26, 1982

DADDY

Thomas Chatman Lee

August 30, 1913 - June 30, 1977

Mom And Dad

When They Were A Little Younger

These Are Pictures Of Our Mom And Dad When They Were Younger. All 11 Children, (Yes, 11), Could Have Been Born When These Pictures Were Taken. The Pictures Were Taken At Johnnycake, West Virginia. Mom Ran A Restaurant There, Daddy Ran A Shell Gas Station. Plus: We Had A "Big Eagle" Coal Mine, (55" Tall), For House Coal, And We Also Had A "Red Ash" Coal Mine, (30" Tall), For Coal To Sell To The Tiple; And We Still Had To Borrow Money From Uncle Troy's Piggly Wiggly Store Every Now And Then, To Help Pay For Gas For The Shell Station. Mom And Dad Kept 11 Children Fed And Clothed Very Well!

I Remember We Fed A Lot Of Company Also, Especially After Church On Sunday! I Also Remember, That I Would Have To Wash Out The Bed Of The Coal Truck, "Spic And Span", And Then Daddy Would Go Around The Area Picking Up Kids To Take To "The Church Of God" At Iaeger. I Also Had To Clean The Truck Bed Because Daddy Also Delivered The "Commodities" In It! Lot's Of People Needed The Commodities To Help Feed Their Families; I Am Sure They Still Do.

Daddy Also Took A Coal Truck To Georgia In Summer To Buy Different Fruits To Bring Back For Sale. He Would Also Take The Truck Around And Buy "Scrap Iron" Kids Had Saved, To Re-Sale At The Scrap Yard. (Saving Scrap Iron, Copper, And Pop Bottles, Was A Way To Make A Little Extra Money When I Was A Kid! When There Was A Flood, You Could See People Catching Bottles As They Floated Under The Bridge At Litwar And On Down The Tug River! I Bet There Were Kids On Every Bridge Along The River!) (Memories!)

Mom And Dad Were Always Active In The Church And Many Other Things!! They Were Always Helping People!!

It Takes A Great Deal To Feed And Clothe 11 Children!!

I Think All Of My Brothers And Sisters Would All Have Their Own Stories About Daddy, After All Was Said And Done, I Think They Would All Say The Same As Me; He Was A Good, Kind And Decent Man!!!!! The World Was A Better Place When He Was In It!!!!!

THANKS MOM AND DAD!!!!!

This Is The "Miners Statue" At Bradshaw, WV
I was one of the original people to have a name inscribed on the Miners Statue at Bradshaw WV. Daddys name is on the backside. The last time I looked, there were several additional stones around the statue, because so many people wanted a name inscribed on the statue.
The "Miners Statue" shown here is a minature, it is made from powdered coal dust. I have the #1 copy. I have seen Dad, and my Brothers, come home looking like this many times!