What? The Baby Is Here? 11/19/2011
To back up a bit...Willie, Helen and the kids had come by Polly and Bill's house for a visit. Willie, Larry and Sondra visited for a while but then left for school at Dogwood. Helen and Linda stayed at Polly's to visit and have lunch while the rest of the family spent the majority of their day at school. Polly and Bill's house was located between Willie and Helen's house in East Prairie and the Dogwood schoolhouse, so visiting them was something Helen did on occasion for fun. At nine months pregnant Helen was tickled to be able to get out of the house and didn't mind getting herself and Linda ready bright and early so they could ride to Polly's with Willie. Willie really had three jobs at Dogwood School...he was the 7th grade teacher, the 8th grade teacher and the principal. So when he went to work everyday, he had to divide his time between those areas. As Helen put it, he had three jobs and one paycheck! Larry and Sondra would ride to school with their dad everyday and go to their classroom. The way the classrooms were set up, there was more than one grade per classroom with the one teacher. As it worked out Sondra and Larry were in different rooms. After Willie and the kids got back on the road and headed to school (which was about 10 miles away) Polly and Helen went to the back yard. Polly was raising a few chickens that summer and they were just the right size for frying. Helen went into labor shortly after she and Polly had worked so hard to catch a couple of those chickens, wring their necks, pluck em and fry em up in an iron skillet! She thought to herself...what is today's date? September 1, 1950. This was important because today would be the date of her next child's birthday. She could tell, after already having 3 other children, she was definitely in labor. Polly didn't waste any time but went into action to take care of Helen. Polly knew that her neighbor had a vehicle and a phone, so she walked over their house and knocked on the door. They asked if the Linda could stay there with the one of them and if the husband could take them to the doctor. Of course, as neighbors did back then...they were happy to help. Polly stopped long enough to call Willie and make sure that a message was taken to him that his wife was in labor and they were headed to the doctor. When Willie arrived, she had already had the baby...a baby boy! Cute as a button with a pair of strong lungs! He went into Helen's room and she told him that there was supper in the kitchen for him. She could remember that she and Polly had cooked the big supper, but didn't have a clue that she had just delivered her baby boy. The doctor had tried a different technique on Helen...he hypnotized her and she went through labor and delivery without even knowing what was going on. That was amazing! And now she had a beautiful bouncing baby boy! They brought the sweet little baby to Helen and the first thing she notice was his big ole brown eyes. His hair wasn't quite as dark as Larry's had been, but he did remind her of Larry when he was a baby. There was a big difference in the way they came into the world though. Larry was born at home in that shotgun house in Kewanee, MO and Helen felt every labor pang. With this baby...she doesn't even remember having him because she had been hypnotized. She and Willie were now the parents of four children and loved them so much. They knew that Larry and Sondra would understand and even welcome this new member of the family, but also knew that Linda might be a little jealous of the attention he would get from her mommy and daddy. (fyi...She might even act up a little in coming stories) They decided to name him after her brother, Jim Rhodes. His full name would be Jimmy Lee Tollison....their little Jim Bo! Welcome to the world Jim Bo and get ready to meet Larry Buck, Sissy and Linda Bug! (nicknames they had been called) Comments Your comment will be posted after it is approved. Leave a Reply |  Author
Paula Tollison Andrews Maupin I am married to Bobby and live in the Nashville, TN area, working as Executive Assistant to both the Director of Sales and General Manager of FOX17, MyTV30 & CW58 television I have 3 wonderful sons and daughters in
love (Brad & Holly Andrews, Bryan & Stacy Andrews and Brandon
& Ashley Andrews) from Tulsa, St. Louis & Springfield
respectively. They have given me 9 precious grandbabies. (Joseph,
Cooper, Margo, Sloan, Jonas, Nora, Everett, Lawson and Blythe & Gma
loves them so much) I also have 2 great stepsons and daughter in love
(Jonathan & Kathryn Maupin and William Maupin) from Lexington,
Kentucky.
As a lady who's lived through both good & bad circumstances in my life, I've learned and continue to learn a lot of "life lessons". Along the way I have been inspired to be a better me. God is faithful in ALL circumstances and His love covers all. My hope is that you will be inspired to be who you were meant to be. I have been writing this blog about my mom and dad since September of 2011. You can find their story from the beginning by going to the Stories link. Happy Reading!!!   ArchivesMarch 2012 |
RSS Feed