Sometimes life is sad...

 On October 26, 1956, a Friday afternoon, I had a small son. I started losing my water so Dr.

Crow put me in the hospital, but it didn’t help. He lived only an hour and

weighed about three pounds. Back then there wasn’t much that could be done

for premature babies. It is amazing today what is being done for them and how

many lives are saved. We named him Stephen Anthony and Gene had a funeral

for him. Mama came to stay with me for a week. Mama was always there

when we needed her. Daddy would bring her and then come back for her. We

were sad but we did have Deborah and Timmy. 

Of course,  I did not go back to work at this time.  

Pictured below :  many years later, my family added this monument to his grave site at the Thompson Chapel Cemetery. (990 Thompson Chapel Road, Spartanburg, SC)  

The back side has the death notice engraved from the 

Spartanburg Herald-Journal,  Oct. 27, 1956. 

Life in Cowpens attending Central Baptist Church

 In 1954, Gene fell in the Clifton mill and hurt his back, He was in the

hospital for several days but never did have surgery. 

(Note: This would cause many back issues throughout the rest of his life -Tim )

CENTRAL BAPTIST IN COWPENS, OLD AUD (R)

At Central Baptist Church, where we attended, I had been playing the

piano for a long time. So after Deborah came along two of the teenage girls,

Sandra Vess and Patsy Green took care of her so I could play. Mrs. Shepherd

tended to her part of the time. Sometimes Gene would hold her while we sang.

When she was two and a half, I went to work at Burton Mfg. at Spartanburg and

I paid Mrs. Franklin 2.00 a day to tend to her. But I did not get to work too long.

I became pregnant. In the meantime we moved to Cowpens on the mill hill. We

had a house by ourselves.

A little bit about my mother and father

John Sherman & Ethel Mae Rice 1960

 

I don’t think I have mentioned my Mama’s name. She was such a precious, caring person. She loved the church and did everything she could to help the church to grow.   I have always hoped to be like her. Her name was Ethel Mae Allen Rice.

 My dad’s name was Reverend John Sherman Rice and he preached many years in the mountains and in South Carolina.  I was so proud of him. 

Mama had someone make many pretty dresses for Deborah. She did other things for us too.

Our First Child is Born on April 12 1953

We had been married for six months and I thought I couldn’t get pregnant.  Back then if you didn’t get pregnant soon people thought something was wrong with you. So we were overjoyed when I did get pregnant. On April the 12, 1953, I had a beautiful little girl. We named her Deborah Jean after her daddy. Mama came to stay with me for a week and she said the first thing that I said was “What did Gene say?”. You know back then we never knew what our baby was going to be until it was born. But he was thrilled too.

The night before she was born Doris and J.D. Earley (the couple that we had our double wedding with) came to see us and brought their six month old little girl. She got pregnant on their honeymoon. I was glad to see them, but I was already in labor pains so I couldn’t enjoy their visit as much. I had cleaned house all day and made a chocolate cake. People used to say that would happen when you had worked so hard. Our precious baby girl weighed 7 pounds and 6 ounces. I came home from Crow’s clinic the same day and mama stayed with me a week. She was always there for me. I wonder if I ever thanked her enough for all she did for us through the years. By the way we nicknamed Deborah “Tippietoe”. 

 

Pictured at right,  Deborah is a few months old, with Martha and Grandma Mattie Bell Franklin at the old homestead in Clifton SC  

Our Life in the early 1950s

Clifton Mill no. 2 built in 1889

read about the history of the Clifton mills at this link 

After four weeks, we found a mill house to rent. Gene worked in the mill in Clifton for many years after we married.  We didn’t have much but we were so happy to have a place of our own. In the summer of 1952, we bought us a Frigidaire. Boy, were we thrilled! We had been using block ice to keep things cold. 

1947 Frigidaire

Then mama (Ethel Allen)  bought us a beautiful dinette suite. The color was gold and we loved it! I want to add what a good cook Gene’s mom (Mattie Bell) was while we lived with her . She would cook a good meal and then make a cobbler or a fried pie. She really did spoil me. 

Mattie Bell with Martha and Deborah - 1953 

           

 I joined Central Baptist Church where Gene had been going for a long time. He led the singing and after a while they needed a pianist so I began playing.  I was glad to do what I could for the Lord.  Gene was also a deacon, Sunday school teacher, Supt, R.A. Director and for some time cleaned the church, and he got some pay for this. 

            I taught Sunday school and had the G.A.’s. When we were first married I was shy and stayed that way for a long time. But I learned from the Linder’s, Robin’s, Coleman’s, Mosses, Reynolds’ and others through the years.

Martha recalls her wedding day 12.22.1951