BUBA

Jerry's First Birthday

Jerry standing in front of [L-R] Robert Hooper, Elizabeth Hooper Landrum, Minnie Hooper, R.C.Landrum, Inez Hooper Gibson, Eugene Gibson.

[L] Gene and Inez Gibson with Jerry

Below: Jerry and Aunt Gee

Cousin Dwight , Sandra [in tire] and Jerry

Sandra and Jerry on Bikes

Easter: Inez, Gene, Sandra and Jerry Gibson

He was six years old when I was born, and I have never known life without him. I don't remember any sibling rivalry, probably because he took it on himself to be my defender and protector. I was told that he was a bit jealous when Aunt Gee held me at my birth. That was because he and Aunt Gee had a very close, special relationship. He wanted me to call him "Buba". When I was seven months old, he stood me against a wall, and from the opposite wall, held his hands out and said "come to Buba". I took my first steps toward him. He took my training wheels off my bike and ran beside me holding the bike so I could learn to ride. He stood outside the Ladies Room at the movies and talked to me through the door so I would not be afraid. Once when I was in the Memphis hospital, he brought me a doll. [I still have it]. When it snowed and I was sick, he made a snowman outside my window for me to look at. Many times he would sacrifice doing things he would have liked to do, to let me do MY thing. He drove me to piano lessons and cheer leading practice and church activities that I was involved in. We went to Youth camp and vacations in the summers. Then he went away to College. I missed him dreadfully. He would write and always bring me a surprise when he came home. When he joined the Air Force, I cried and cried. I didn't think I would ever see him again. He went to very exotic places, like England and brought me presents. I went to college; he sent me spending money. He was always there for me and I always know he loves me.

I like to think that he still worries about me a little bit now and then.

I love my brother, Jerry.

Happy Birthday, Buba.

SUMMER

Jerry and Sandra swimming

Hooper cousins, Jerry is the smallest one in the pictures.

Jerry is in the rocking chair crying,R.

Jerry far left, the smallest.

Below: L-R Jerry pouting on log, Inez, Dwight, Aunt Gee bent over, Mama Hooper in bonnett, Sandra little girl in dress

Who doesn't like being out of school for the summer? We always got out at Memorial Day and did not go back til after Labor Day..3 whole months. Summer was always filled with a lot of fun stuff and of course the "Weekly Readers" [a newspaper sort of thing that you could sign up for in school; it would come to your home in the summer with lots of word games and stories]. Daddy used to take us to the lake to swim, I think it was called Edgewater Beach. I was always a bit afraid to swim in the lake because it was dark and I could not see under the water. I took swimming lessons at Okeena Pool in the park at Dyersburg when I was 5 and 6 years old. The teacher was a college girl and the first day she told us to climb the high diving board and jump off. Well, we didn't have any better sense than to do as we were told. As we jumped off the board, she yanked us up by the hair and pushed us over to the side of the pool. We quickly learned to tread water.

Many Sunday afternoons, my brother would take me to Okeena to swim. He and his friend Mike would ride their bikes to the pool and I would ride with Buba on his bike. He had a portable radio that had a battery. It was about as big as an old computer monitor. He put it in his basket and rode along listening to the radio. That was way before I-PODS. He would wait outside the girls' dressing room for me and put our clothes in a metal basket that was then put in a locker and he wore the key on a safety pin on his trunks. I often wonder if he had much time to swim for keeping an eye on me. [ That was only one of the sacrifices he made for me.]

Another fun thing we did was to go to Uncle R.C. and Aunt Gee's to make ice cream with all the cousins. Uncle R.C. would let us all ride in the back of his pick-up to get ice: What fun! When the ice cream was ready to be churned, it was hand cranked not electric, I was the youngest so I was the lucky one who got to sit on the ice cream maker while someone turned the crank.

Wow, that was such good ice cream, made with milk that came from Aunt Gee's cows.

Even today, I love to swim and eat homemade ice cream.

THE REFRIGERATOR AND THE CROWBAR

Back in the days before frost-free/no frost/self defrosting there were actually refrigerators that needed to be defrosted. That meant unplugging them for about a day and setting pans of warm water inside to speed up the defrosting. The frost would be so thick in the freezer compartment that you could not get the ice trays [yes, I said ice trays] out of it. Now, ice trays were these aluminum or plastic trays about 4x6 inches that you had to fill with water, slip into the freezer section, and wait about 8 hours for them to freeze into ice so that you could have a glass of ice to pour your Coca-cola over. I said all that to tell this story :
We had one of these contraptions in our house. The door had a habit of sticking so that it was very difficult to open. Mother would sometimes have to wait for Daddy to come in, so that he could pry the door open. On one particular evening, as I [ a young girl] was eating supper, Mother was unable to get the fridge door open. When Daddy came in from the field, she asked him to open it. He tried and tried but could not budge it. Daddy, being a man of little patience, decided to get a crowbar to help with the situation. He came in the back door with that huge crowbar and immediately went to work on prying the door open. After a few choice words and a lot of work, finally the door came open. By that time, Daddy had pretty much lost all patience and his temper, too. He was "fed up with that door" and said " I'll teach you to stick on me!" With that he slammed it shut, and you can guess what happened next. He had to use the crowbar again. Only this time the door stayed permanently open. Mother got to go downtown to General Electric and select a brand new fridge.
PS- This incident was not as funny then as now.

[Rated G for Family Blog]

SHANE GIBSON COMMENTS

Uncle Bob & Shane, Troy

Nannie, Papaw, Troy + Shane

Jerry pushing boys downhill

Christmas at Nannie's & Papaw's

Shane watching T V

I am Shannon “Shane” Lynn Gibson. The Grandson of Eugene Henderson Gibson and Edith Inez Hooper Gibson (Pawpaw and Nanny) of Dyersburg, Tennessee. My Father is Jerry Lynn Gibson and Mother is Rebecca Ann Gibson. I have one brother Michael Troy Gibson (Whom I named Troy before he was born).
I live in Mendenhall, Mississippi with my Wife Shelley Rene Gibson and our two children Ella Rene Gibson 11 years old and Carter Lynn Gibson 1 year old.
My father Jerry Lynn Gibson retired from the Air Force as a Chief Master Sergeant after about 37 years (I believe). My mother retired as a School Teacher from Pearl Upper Elementary.
Growing up we lived in Pearl, Mississippi until I was about 7ish. We moved to the Country outside of Brandon, toward Puckett. I road back and forth to Pearl School with my mother and brother until I started High School. I left Pearl School and attended Puckett High School where I meet my Wife.
One of the earliest memories I have of Pawpaw (Eugene) is riding the tractor (John Deere, Pawpaw believed in John Deere – anything else would not do) with him while he plowed the fields. I also rode the combine as Pawpaw and his brother John Austin Gibson would cut the field. Then ride with them to take the grain to the mill. I cannot tell you how exciting it was, to be around those big tractors and trucks at that young age. I will never forget it. With that said, Tennessee is where my Dad taught me to drive and how to work with a tractor! A skill I still use (but not quite as good as my Dad and Pawpaw did). “A” for effort though.
Pawpaw and Nanny had a shed out behind the house where Pawpaw kept most of the tractors and a grain truck. My brother and I played in the dirt in that shed with “Matchbox cars” on our knees until they were sore. The shed was open on the front, tin covered and closed in, and drooped down in the back to let the water run off. It had a mixed smelled of dirt, oil, and diesel fuel. It was GREAT!!!!!! Every once in a while I will be in my shed by my tractor or some where at someone’s house and smell the same smell. It always brings back memories of those days.
If we were not in the shed playing, Pawpaw would crank the lawn mower (Which of course was a John Deere) and we would take turns driving it around the yard. Pawpaw also built us two rope swings in the tree out back and my brother and I would swing until we were sick.
Nanny was always kind and soft spoken, a God fearing woman, and my best friend as a child and young man. She was an example to me of how grownups should treat children and how children should respect their elders. There is no possible way to explain how much of an impact she has had on my life. (I must say that I had great examples of Christian living from both my Father and Mother’s sides of the family).
At night I always slept with Nanny and she would sing and rub my arm until I went to sleep. We would listen to Country Music or talk radio and laugh at the people that called in (one talk radio show was about Vampire Bats attacking cows – you should have heard the folks calling in, it was crazy). We would go the Church of God in Dyersburg with Pawpaw and Nanny on Sunday. I remember praying at night before bed in their big house.
Christmas was a big time. My brother and I always got too much, but we did not mind! Uncle Bob and Aunt Sandra would come from Atlanta, GA and we would all be together. I remember listening to them all talk about when they were growing up and a story about Pawpaw using a Crowbar to open a refrigerator, with some bit of needed force! Stories about trouble that my daddy got into and daddy worrying about Aunt Sandra as they grew up.
Normally, at Christmas in Dyersburg, it snowed (Something we hardly ever see here in Mississippi). We would slide down the hill in front of the house on a piece of tin with Uncle Bob, until we were all frozen. Go thaw out and do it again.
My Dad and Aunt Sandra, act and speak in the same manner my Grandparents did. Aunt Sandra reminds me very much of my Nanny every time I am around her. My Dad has the patients of Job. He and my mother are family oriented and always doing something for or with my brother and I. There is no doubt that my children will benefit from those childhood days and the family we have.

EASTER

Sandra and Joan Johnson [my first high heels]

When Easter rolled around, it was pretty much the same every year. We all went to town and bought new outfits...including shoes and the works. Most of the ladies and little girls wore hats for the big day at church.

We usually had a bunch of extra people who only came to church on Easter and Christmas. The Saturday before Easter, the ladies of the church lead by Mother and Mayflower would spend hours "dyeing eggs" . The eggs we had were all hard-boiled hen eggs. There was always a big Easter Egg Hunt across the street from the church on the Cotton Mill yard. The men of the church, always lead by John Austin, would hide dozens and dozens of eggs for us to hunt. There was always a grand prize...a huge Easter basket filled with goodies and toys. This basket would sit on the piano up front all during the service, so the kids could dream of getting it. Since there were no "plastic" eggs, several people would just write their name on an egg and if you found it you would go to that person and collect your prize. It might be candy, money, etc.

After church was over and the last Amen was said, the kids would all be marched across the street to await the beginning of the Big Easter Egg Hunt. The little ones went first followed by the progressing ages. It was all very orderly and everyone had a good time.

I never found the grand prize egg, but would find a few of the ones that had someones' name on them to get a little gift.

In the afternoon, we would usually go over to Aunt Gee's for "dinner" and the eggs would be hidden again for all of us to hunt. The eggs were hidden so many times that by the end of the afternoon, the shells were all so broken that you could hardly tell what their original color had been . I never ate any of them. Maybe this is why?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Nannie and her boys,Troy and Shane Nannie and Caleb

Nannie and Ellie

Today I am remembering my Mother.

This is her birthday. I remember her dignity, beauty and self-respect. She was always a lady, a Christian Lady. She always dressed as if she were going to have company, and she loved company. She was so proud of her family. When my brother, Jerry, married Beckie, she became Mother's daughter. My husband Bob, became her son. She loved them so much, she even laughed at Bob's jokes.

When the grands came, well, there were never two prettier, better babies than Shannon and Troy. She only regretted that she could not live closer to them so that she could see them more often and spoil them.Then came her long awaited granddaughters, Shelley and Natalie. None of us could do any wrong in her sight. She bragged on all of us to everyone of her friends.

When Ellie was born, I never saw a happier Great-grandmother. Caleb was such a doll, she just loved them both.

She would be so happy to know Noah. I'm sure she would be able to play games with him.

It would thrill her to no end to have two of her greats, Carter and Sarah Ann to share her birthday month.

I will never feel her soft hands caress my cheeks again and hear her say"you're so pretty".

She was my cheerleader and my best friend.

I know she is looking down at us today and feels the same love for all of us that she always had.

Happy Birthday, Mother

SCHOOLS

Sammy Copeland, Jerry Gibson, Jerald Hamm, Lamarr Gibson

Dyersburg High School--the covered walk to the gymnasium

Jennie Bell School

I attended Jennie Bell Elementary from first grade to third. My teachers were Miss Etheline Dickerson, first grade, Mrs. Miller, second grade, Mrs. Boals, third grade, Miss Lessie Mae, fourth grade. My fifth grade teacher was Miss Maggie Lou Sudbury. She had been my brother Jerry's teacher, as had other teachers. Miss Sudbury was so anxious to have me in her room, she adored Jerry and my Mother. Mother was always a "room Mother" which meant she did things for the kids, such as bring cupcakes and cookies for special party times. I always loved school because all my friends were there. We started each day with Bible reading and the Lord's prayer. Then we would have the pledge of allegiance to the Flag. I don't think that is done these days...it isn't politically correct anymore.

When I started fourth grade there was a new addition to the Jennie Bell School that went all the way through eighth grade. We got to change classes in Seventh grade, with four different teachers. They were Mr. Riddick, who loved to paddle you for the slightest offence, Mrs. Camp, Mrs. Aiken, and Mrs. Permenter, who was just a hoot. I went with the eighth grade to Cookeville for an FTA conference . I was such a "HOT SHOT" because my brother went there to Tennessee Tech University.

Dyersburg High School was a very big deal. It was the only high school in town, until my senior year. That year the black school was closed down and all their students were sent to DHS. The reason was that we were each sent a freedom of school selection that summer and each race selected their own schools. We had a very friendly transition.

I had no idea until I graduated that I had such a good education. I learned to read and spell, unlike some of my later acquaintances from other states. I am very thankful to have been in the school system where the teachers loved their students and gave them knowledge.

When I was in DHS, Lamarr who was a couple of years ahead of me, was a big football hero. We had football games on Friday nights. It meant big doings in Dyersburg. One thing about Tennessee, they love their football whether high school or college.