When I mentioned to Granny that I'd like to interview her for the blog because blog readers had sent in questions, her response was..."well, you'd better do it quick!"
Granny actually just had a very rough week health-wise, so she wasn't feeling well enough until now to tackle any questions. Several of you sent in questions, and I came up with a few more...so here goes!
As most of you know, Granny celebrated her 90th birthday last July...posts here and here. So I thought a good question to ask her was:
What has been your favorite age? 50, because I got an exercise bike for my birthday with $50 attached to it.
What age do you feel right now? 80
What age do you want to live to? 91, because I don't want to get so helpless that someone has to do everything for me. I never thought I'd be 90!
If you have had to slow down because of age, what activities do you miss most? Walking (I used to walk 2 miles every day), going shopping, setting up to sell at craft shows, and going to church seeing people.
Becka asked: How did you get started in basketry?
"Back in 1982 my neighbor invited me to a basket-making class, so my friend Joyce and I decided to do it. I remember my daddy made baskets. When he was at the barn curing tobacco, he would go out in the woods and get sticks and make egg baskets…as a little girl I liked that, but it was a long time before I started making them.
My daughter, Betty, has one of my daddy’s old baskets on her cupboard...it's 80+ years old and worth a lot. I participated in lots of craft shows after I learned how to make baskets. My friend and her husband and my husband and I would go to flea markets in Raleigh lots of Saturdays. One time I saw this man selling baskets he had made at the farmers' market, and I asked him if he could cut me out some long strips from oak trees to make handles. They were $1 a piece for one strip back then, and I could get 2 handles out of that. But he kept going up in price until I could get only 25 strips for $100. But I bought them because they made good baskets. I sell baskets on Etsy, too. One woman in Switzerland bought 10, and I shipped them to her. I've sold baskets from California to New York. But I’m 90+ now, and I’ve just about given it up. I have at least 25 in the basket shed ready to be sold."
Victoria wondered: Has Granny ever met any famous people in her life?
"I've met George Allen, governor of Virginia, and also George W. Bush signed an autograph for me when he was running for president."
Rhonda asked: I would love to know how Granny met her husband, Edward. I've heard the story about their wedding, but how they met and the story of their romance would be fun.
"I was working at J.P. Stevens, a cloth factory. I’d been working there a few years and Edward came in as a new employee in October, 1948, to learn how to put out material that I used in my job as quiller. He would take my quiller boards and weigh them before they went to the weaving room. I would always put a tag on the board saying I was the quiller on those. And one time I had put on some lipstick and had blotted my lips on the back of the card. He happened to see it when he was weighing up the board of quills. The next time he came down my aisle and showed it to me he said, "If you have these to give away, I’ll take one." Of course my face blushed.
After that he would always be nice and say good morning when he passed by. And one day he asked if he could carry me home, and he did. We parted with the idea that he might come by and pick me up again and take me to work at midnight…we worked 3rd shift. Lots of days he would come down early to my house, and we would play ball. He was a big ball player. He wanted to take me to see his parents, but I was too nervous. He lived in a great big house on a farm…he was a farmer.
I guess it was in May he asked me if I would be engaged to him, and he gave me a diamond; I thought it was so pretty! It hadn’t been long since he'd bought a brand new car…a 4-door white Plymouth…I had never driven a car, but he said he would teach me.
So he made arrangements with the preacher for us to get married on a Thursday night July 21, 1949. And it was prayer meeting night…and the preacher told us he couldn’t marry us until after prayer meeting was over. I wore a purple dress--I'll always remember that dress! I didn’t tell anyone I was getting married right then! We went to the preacher's house, and his wife and daughter were there as witnesses. We went to Danville on our honeymoon. Then on Saturday we came back to his house to meet his parents. He had told his mama he was going to bring "company" home for supper. So we went in, and he told his mama who I was and that we’d just gotten married. They were shocked! I was married to Edward for 49 1/2 years."
Where were you born? I was born in Leesburg, NC in our house; my mama never went to the hospital for any of the 12 children...and I'm the last one surviving.
Tell me about your schools. I went to a lot of different schools. The teacher at the Leesburg school let me skip 2nd grade, and I went straight to 3rd. But I stopped school in 9th grade and went to work at 15 years old.
Did you have chores growing up? Yes! I did most of the cooking after I was 10 years old, all the ironing, and I went to the field to help in tobacco.
We had a homeless person come by and get supper and then she'd wash dishes and sweep the floor to pay for her meal. Sometimes she’d stay overnight on the porch because she was used to that. We always swept the yard, no grass, and sometimes she’d do that, too. I still remember her name was Emma.
I don't cook anymore, but sometimes I like to peel apples and fry them for the family: 
What's a memorable family event from your childhood?
Well, we were all at the barn one day when a big thunderstorm came up…mama and 3 of my sisters-in-law…and my 12-year-old sister, Lessie. Mama sent me to the house to let the windows down. Not long after that my brother James came running to the house, and he jumped in our old jeep and took off towards the barn.
Mama and one of my sisters-in-law were still breathing but in bad shape. But my sister Lessie and 2 sisters-in-law were dead. They were sitting in the barn on one of the flues and lightning struck and came up the flue they were sitting on and killed them. Mama, my sister-in-law Margaret and her daughter Irene were sitting on the other flue, and it just knocked them out.
What big world events were the most memorable while you were growing up?
My brothers were in World War II, and my brother Melvin got wounded. I remember a policeman came to the door and told Mama her son was wounded on Normandy Beach and was in the hospital. They patched him up, and he went back to the battlefield.
What jobs did you have throughout your life? I worked at J.P. Stevens for 11 years, and I worked at Daystrom, a furniture company, for 8 years making chairs. Then I went for an interview at Westinghouse, and I was hired as a coil winder. I made transformers that went all over the country. They gave me one to build for BJU where my daughter taught school. I worked there at Westinghouse for 21 years and retired at 62.
If you had a chance for a “do-over” in life, what would you do differently?
I would keep on working til I couldn’t do the job anymore…because I liked working. But when I retired I still worked…traveling and helping my niece in craft shows selling clothes (I would wear the clothes to advertise them, and sometimes customers would even buy what I had on!). I also helped shampoo hair at the beauty shop part-time.
What do you want your children and grandchildren to remember about you?
That I was a good person.
I have 2 great daughters, Deb and Betty. And I have 4 grandchildren--two of them I see every day because they live here with me--and I have 4 great-grandsons. I don't get to see them often enough.
Here's a picture from last summer of my four grandchildren who were here for my 90th birthday: 
Did you ever marry again? Yes, I married again a few years after Edward passed away. His name was Dorsey, and he lived about 5 years after we were married.
What’s one thing most people don’t know about you?
I've been to England, France, and Switzerland; I helped chaperone some high school kids with a friend of mine on the trip. I remember the thick coffee that I couldn't drink and the Swiss chocolate.
What would be your perfect day? Plan it out from breakfast to bedtime.
I would get 8 hours of sleep...get up that morning and make my bed. I'd have bacon, eggs, toast, and coffee, and read the paper. Then I'd call someone and say, "Let's go to the mall." And I would find me the perfect dress! I used to find dresses I could wear at the mall in Durham. Then I'd go to Danville to a fish place to eat!
If you had three wishes, what would you wish for?
I wish I could get around and not have to use a walker or wheelchair. I wish I was able to do things I want to do. I wish I still had my car and could drive.
If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
Lose 10 lbs. And get a wig!
What's your strongest personal quality?
I like most people and can make friends easily, and I can talk to anyone.
What are some small things that make your day better?
Walking the treadmill when I can or walking outside on the deck on a pretty day.
Rhonda asked...I would also love to know her testimony... how she came to know the LORD.
Well, we went to every revival we could go to. My brother and his wife went with us. We went to this revival in Danville on a Saturday night…I can’t remember the preacher's name, but he preached the best sermon. Edward looked at me, and I looked at him…and he asked did I want to go up and get saved. And I said yes, let's do it together. A lady took me by the arm, and a man took Edward. They read scriptures to us, and I accepted the Lord as my Savior, and I’ve had him as my Savior ever since.
"If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. ~ Romans 10:9-10
From then on we would go to every revival that we could...we’d take Deb and Betty everywhere we went…they loved to go. Several couples that we knew decided we’d start a new church. We knew a pastor in Danville who had started several churches. So he came to South Boston to preach for us. We rented a place for 2 pm in the afternoon, and he’d come and bring singers. The church grew, and it was decided to build a new church building. They found a spot for the church, and Edward and two other founding members dug the first shovel of dirt and started building the church.
What's your favorite hobby or activity?
Besides making baskets, I like to read and watch the birds at my bird feeder. I also love seeing airplanes taking off and leaving streaks in the sky. This past fall we watched airplanes landing in D.C. I loved it!
What do you hope your last words will be?
I'll see you later. I'll meet you in the morning!
If you enjoyed finding out more about Granny, leave a comment for her. Special thanks to those who left interview questions. If I missed anyone, please let me know!
~Deb
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