Celebrating My Mother

My mother in her late 60s.

My mother's birthday was October 31st. She was born Louise Frances Goodman in Lawrence County, Indiana in 1914 and passed away in 2006 at the age of 91, surrounded by her children and grandchildren.

Herself the oldest of nine, all of whom she outlived, she was the mother of seven, of which I was the oldest.

Called “one of the last of the pioneer women,” she  grew up in a one-room log cabin that my grandfather covered with clapboards and divided into two rooms. He also built a lean-to on the back that served as kitchen and dining room. 

In 1979 my mother and I revisited the home where she grew up.

 In 1934, she married Byrl Jenkins of Bedford, a union that lasted more than 65 years, produced seven children, and stood as a monument of love and faithfulness to all who knew them. In 1945, Mom and Dad moved us to a primitive farm in Martin County, where they rebuilt a decrepit farmhouse while heating and cooking with wood we cut ourselves. Lighting was by Coleman lanterns until the arrival of electricity in the 1950s.

Mom and her dear friend Brownie, who lived to be about 18.

My mother was a devout follower of Jesus Christ from her childhood and was known for her strong faith and life of quiet saintliness.She was a constant reader and a fine writer with a quiet but deep sense of humor.

Mom in her 80s.

Growing up on our backwoods farm, I learned to be skilled with axe and saw and working with farm animals and horse-drawn machinery by the time I was twelve. I consider myself exceptionally blessed to have been given such parents and to have had what was essentially a 19th century upbringing in the 20th century.

Photos: These photographs were made with various cameras, but all were on film. Scans were made with the Minolta-DiMage 5400 or the Epson Perfection 4990 scanners.

Visit my online gallery at https://davejenkins.pixels.com/  

Signed copies of my book Backroads and Byways of Georgia are available. The price is $22.95 plus $3.95 shipping. My PayPal address is djphoto@vol.com (which is also my email). Or you can mail a check to 8943 Wesley Place, Knoxville, TN 37922. Include your address and tell me how you would like your book inscribed.

Photography and text copyright 2024 David B.Jenkins.

I post Monday, Wednesday, and Friday unless life gets in the way.

Soli Gloria Deo -- For the glory of God alone.

Tags:   photography   film photography     family photography     Minolta-DiMage 5400 scanner     Epson Perfection 4990 scanners