“Spider ‘s hot!” How you want dem eggs…” This is what I heard just about every morning growing up in Galivants Ferry. The spider was part of the stove eyes. Jenny Lou could cook like no one you’ve ever known…she didn’t use recipes… she couldn’t read, didn’t know how old she was . . . didn’t need to know cause it did not matter. My whole family loved her and she was family. She raised me… like Aretha has helped raise you kids.
Jenny Lou was a petite lady . . .about 5f eet 3 inches , small boned, with twinkling eyes, a big ole’ smile and long arms …to reach out and hug you even when you didn’t feel like it. She wore a uniform everyday… I don’t recall seeing her in anything but a white starched dress with a white apron and a matching white cap…she loved her snuff, and you always knew where you stood with her. She did not hold her tongue. When she was mad she would always say “Mind yo self!”
Even though she couldn’t read, I believe she taught me some of the best life lessons not only by telling me stories but also by her actions. She expressed her love. She told people she loved them. She treated everyone the same no matter whether they were fancy company coming to visit momma and daddy or my friends or people driving through the yard… now, she was wise, .too… her gut intuition could tell bad people from good people so if she thought anyone was not quite right she would not open the door . She read people like some people read a book. She read people with her heart…She taught me to tell the truth.. little white lies were just as bad as big ‘uns..She always said the expression “truth be known”… not until recently did I know that comes straight from the Bible. She knew the Bible even though she could not read it…She was a good Christian lady on the inside and the out.
One of the most vivid memories of Jenny Lou was during the 60’s. Those were turbulent times but I did not realize it; even though it surrounded me . Things looked the same to me, and life went on like normal. Jenny Lou kept me lots of times. We watched our “stories” like The Edge of Night and “All My Children”. She put me to bed at night and we said our prayers together. I never once thought our skin colors were different.
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The South I Knew 
Addie Alford worked for my family. However, she was a lot more than just an employee, she played a tremendous role in my family’s life. I was practically raised by her the first ten years of my life. I was born in April and my mother returned to teaching the following September. When I was a small child, Mama said that she’d come in from school and see me hugged up to Addie’s bossom, calling HER Mama. She was at our house from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Addie cooked, cleaned, did laundry and watched me. More importantly, she would discipline me and teach me a lot about right and wrong too. She was an extention of my parents. She was a “Mama.” It would be difficult to explain the close relationship that we shared, to someone who hadn’t been brought up in that same enviroment.
I remember watching “As The World Turns” with Addie and my grandmother when President Kennedy was shot. We’d watch the CBS Evening News, every night. She’d say, “That’s the way it is,” just like Walter Cronkite. That was the signal that she was ready to call it a day, and it was time for us to take her home. I’d kiss her goodnight as she got out of the car..
I’ll never forget the Sunday morning that her husband called to tell us that she had had a stroke. Mama called our family doctor and rushed to the hospital to see about her. She died later that morning. That was in 1969, and I was in the fifth grade. That was my first experience with the death of a loved one. A “family member.” Things would never be the same. Addie was never able to be replaced.
Oh my God , I do know how you feel. Addie nor Jenny Lou will never be replaced. I can hear them now talk to us and I know for sure with no doubts that we will see them again… Jenny Lou told me that the “truth be told” and god don’t tell no lies. Much emotion to you. christy holliday douglas
I appeciate it, Christy. Thank you for “stirring” some of my old memories. I’m sure that they loved us, just as much as we loved them. Employees served. Jenny Lous and Addies gave us their time, their devotion, and most importantly, their love. We were very fortunate to have had them in our young lives.
Christy,
I love your writing, it reminds me of my childhood growing up in rural Virginia (Millers Tavern, probably smaller than Gallivant’s Ferry!) Those times were precious, and will never be replaced.