GENE [DADDY]

This is my father, Gene Gibson when he was about 10 years old.

My Dad, Gene Gibson must have been around 18 years old in this picture.

This is Fred and Gussie Hooper [My Mother's brother and wife] and Inez & Gene Gibson at the Mississippi River.

In those days they weren't allowed to single date.

Gene Gibson, the youngest child of Wash and Vennie Gibson grew up in Dyer county on a farm. His best friend, a boy named George Willie Alford, lived in "town" Dyersburg. They would frequently spend the night at each other's house. Daddy thought George Willie was rich because his family had "boxed cereal " for breakfast, whereas Daddy had only ham, bacon, eggs, biscuits and that kind of food. Daddy said he could have eaten the whole box himself; he never could get the milk and cereal to end at the same time so he had to either keep adding cereal or milk. George Willie grew up to be an official in the Church of God.

Daddy had to work really hard as a boy, working for Mr. Bernard Tarrant for 75 cents a day. He kind of worked his way up to be a farmer himself and eventually purchased Mr. Bernard's homeplace to live in. Mr. Bernard was a peculiar man. Even after he built a bathroom in his home, he would not use it, but preferred to go to the barn.

Daddy had to walk everywhere he went, not having a car. He used to walk to Newbern to court Mother and would walk in his old shoes and stop at someone's barn , put on his good shoes and leave his old ones to pick up on the way back.

He idolized his older brother John Austin, whom he called "Border", because he could not say "brother" when he was little. They farmed together all their adult life. Daddy would go over to John's house every morning before they ate breakfast to find out what the plan of the day was.

They were very close, even dying within six months of one another. Daddy was the more serious one, with John Austin being the happy-go-lucky one. Mother and MayFlower were very good friends and never had an ill word with each other. After Mother died, MayFlower said that she and Mother were like sisters. Just keep in mind that they all lived within shouting distance of each other in Hurricane Hill Community. In fact, I grew up in a community where everyone was related to everyone else; if that won't keep you on the straight and narrow, I can't imagine what would! Daddy sure loved his family and really would have loved to see his grandsons, Shane and Troy, grow up.