• General Notes

  [316552.ftw]
  
  Letter from Aunt Winnie Reed, Nov. 3, 1993 Received this
  after  I called her and asked her for information about her
  family.  Fleta Aday
  
  Thelma I think Thelma being the oldest always felt she had
  to watch after and tell us all what to do.  Thelma was
  always Mom's favorite.  I can't remember anything about her
  before she was a teenager.  I can't remember her ever being
  happy till she went to Green Forest to stay with Uncle Jess
  (Papa's bro.)  While gong to high school.  One year then to
  Sof O for three years. I think her red hair and freckles
  were a handicap.  Red hair and freckles came from the
  Maples side, so Mom thought they were OK.  Her red hair had
  a lot of body and was very pretty.
  
  Thelma graduated from high school at School of the Ozarks
  which was sixty miles north of Green Forest (a boarding
  school). While at S of O she worked in the school hospital
  and got a scholarship to go to college majoring in nursing.
  From college she got a job teaching nursing in St. Louis
  City Hospital. She got married to Tom Gwaltney while
  working in St. Louis. They never had a good marriage but
  produced 6 children.
  
  Truman was a quite, easy going kid.  For some reason Pop
  favored Willis over Truman and believed Truman got as many
  whippings as the six of us totaled, but I can't remember
  Truman ever criticizing Mom or Pop or any of the rest of
  us.  It seems he had and showed more love for all of us
  than anyone in the family.
  
  Truman didn't finish high school (S of O). He came back
  home and managed to buy a saddle and managed to buy a
  saddle horse. His social life was curbed by how far he
  could ride that horse (Ole Red). He married Francis Rudd.
  They had 5 children.
  
  Willis Wen I think of "Cotton" I think  "Happy."  His hair
  as a little boy was very light blond. I don't Know who
  nicknamed him "Cotton."     Pop didn't like to allow
  nicknames used. I think Cotton was in on the mischief (most
  of it) but Truman got the whippings for it. I think all of
  us wondered how Cotton got by with so much. He treated
  everything "lightly."  He was a complete opposite to Pop. I
  think he had more Maples blood than Powell. He also went
  to S of O but I think it was his second year there he ran
  off, I  visited some relatives  in Oklahoma, then came
  home, bought a saddle horse, did his social living by horse
  back. He met and married Hazel Gaddy. They had 7? children.
  
  This may belong to my page. I remember my junior year at
  School of the Ozarks, We all would go home for a couple of
  weeks. I felt like I'd die if I  didn't have new white
  shoes to take back to school. Of course, there was not
  money for new shoes. Cotton came up with $2.00.  I think
  Truman helped with the $2.00.  I still don't know how he
  managed to come up with 2 whole dollars. But got my shoes
  before I checked in the dorm. This was my Junior year.
  
  Fleta Fleta(Alleen) and I shared a lot of the farm chores.
  It seems we were always assigned a team job. She was 2 1/2
  years older than I, so of course she was always boss. I
  think I always bullied over Floyd and Betty tho.
  
  I remember one time I had a big "boil" on my right fore
  arm. We always carried pond water from the chickens to
  drink.  We carried  a wash tub most of the time. While the
  boil on the arm was the worst, we carried water for the
  chickens. Flet made me carry with my right arm. She and I
  have laughed many times over this.
  
  Flet and I were opposite. She was always a fast mover. Her
  motto was "Flit and get it over with."  She also went to S
  of O and graduated. Some one of the fatality got her a job
  as house keeper in Flint, Michigan for a family.  She spent
  less  than a year there. Came back to Qzarks and met up
  with a class  mate, harold and married. Had one child.
  
  Winnie I forgot to mention I was slow at everything,
  Beautiful, smart and a lot more I went threw high school at
  S of O  then beauty school in St. Louis. Thelma paid for my
  beauty school. Married Sgt. George L. Reed, the air force,
  from West Virginia, had two boys.  I had my own beauty shop
  for three or four years.
  
  I think I got as many demerits as all the other four
  bothers and sisters that went to School of the Ozarks for
  breaking their tight rules.  All the things that got me
  into trouble, I considered to be a joke.  I really got on
  Fleta's nerves.
  
  Floyd When Floyd graduated from grade school, I think he
  spent a year or so taking care of the farm. He was about to
  be drafted  so he joined and served ?? years.
  
  When Floyd was in grade school he was a very quite kid.
  Never seemed to want or need many fiends, and if anyone
  crossed his path he could really throw a mean punch.
  
  He married Lovetta ?? She had 2 girls before Floyd met her.
  
  Betty Lou Just a few months after Betty was born, Pop sold
  our house hold goods and farm equipment a and moved all of
  us to Oklahoma (city?) but just a couple years there Pop
  moved us all back to the farm and started over. Betty went
  through high school at Green Forest. Then went to a teacher
  training College (I don't Know the name where she went). It
  was close to Green Forest.  Winnie paid for her short
  schooling to be a teacher.
  
  She taught grammar school a few years and met Charge
  Knight. They married and went to northern California to
  live.  Had 2  boys.
  
  Betty was a very sweet sister to all of us all through her
  life. I don't think any of us ever crossed Betty, for if we
  had she would never have gotten over it. She wanted peace
  and love from her family at all times.
  
  Winnie Reed, Nov. 1993

Details of Winnie Ree's family with George REED