When I was selling real estate in Venice, Florida, I told my fellow sales people that when I was very little my dad owned a town.  I can’t remember if I ever told them differently, but I’m going to tell you what he really did own.

I was born the twelfth of thirteen children and was the seventh daughter.  We lived in a big white house on the southeast corner in the little cross roads town of Byhalia, Ohio. Since I was born in 1922, this was the few years following that.  At this time on another corner of town my dad owned a mercantile that sold everything from food to clothing, to boots, shoes, bolts of cloth sold by the yard for making clothing, trimmings, many household items, farm tools, etc., and more.

Also on that corner he had a restaurant and a gas station.

Out to the east end of town he owned a house where my brother lived with his wife and little ones.  About three miles east of town he owned a farm. And at the north end of Byhalia he had a stone quarry.

My dad’s sisters Aunt Matilda and Aunt Laura cooked and baked for the restaurant. Aunt Matilda would sometimes make a little pie for me and I would walk over to get it.  Wasn’t she a sweetheart?  Aunt Laura made a pretty little dress for me with material from my dad’s store.  I have a picture of me at the age of 16 months wearing that dress and a pair of black patent slippers from the store.  My daughter had that dress framed under glass and it hangs in her home.  In fact this is the dress I am wearing in my baby self portrait (see “Choose”).

Oh! My! Goodness! I do have a tendency to digress!  O!K!  Back to the drawing board…my dad owned a town.  So now you know the truth.  He didn’t own the whole town..

But! Perhaps you might be willing to admit he had a good start!

FRF ♥