O Shenandoah! A Rustic Refrain

G. J., a freelance writer, seeks to encourage the expression and recording of oral history by writing letters and stories of the elderly. The following interview is transcribed from a first-time visit to a Shenandoah Valley great-aunt. Contact G.J. at creartz@interactive.net.

"Born 1896. Still Witty at 101..."

By G. J.

Luray, VA--- Mrs. A. D. "Hettie" B--, 101 years old, states: "My oldest sister took this book (pointing to Ladies Home Journal on her bedside tray) when I was 19. I was taking the "News & Courier" so she sent me a subscription to this magazine. I've subscribed since 1915, it's a real good book. I like reading the stories in it." Mrs. A. D. B-- was born in Page County, Virginia on April 3, 1896. She put it this way, "I was born in 18 and 96. I am 101 years old." When I recently visited her, although bedridden she was wearing large red earrings trimmed with gold, and her thin hair was in a ponytail atop her head. Hettie is the only one of my grandmother's siblings still alive; she had six sisters and two brothers. "We got married in 1915 and moved to Fredrick, Maryland," she explained. Hettie had moved from Luray, Virginia to Maryland with her husband, Amos B--. She enthusiastically stated, "We milked cows and worked hard on our farm in Hagerstown, Maryland, but later on our people, my family and his, were in Luray so we moved back here. My sisters were all here so we moved back. Luray was a high class place. People would come in on the train. " She went on to tell a story about riding the train from Luray to Connecticut to my parents wedding in the late 1940's after World War II. Later Hettie remarked: "If you ever have to go to a nursing home, come to Page County. The people here [referring to H-- Nursing Home] treat you real good here. They cook good, and I get plenty of sleep. A doctor from Winchester came to live here. We are going to have two nursing homes owned by the same man. They asked me to move, but I like it here. I love this window. It lets in a lot of air and sunshine. I don't have no complaints. They treat me good and feed me real good. I have a special air bed now. I ring my bell, the light comes on, and they come along to see what I want. No, sir. I'm not moving up there." In the two hours I visited, I learned only a little bit about Hettie and two of her sisters (my grandmother Mae and the oldest girl Vergie). She talked about how Vergie ran off and got married when she was 16. She ran off with her school teacher, Doc K--. He was studying medicine, but gave it up and they bought a country store in Page County. Hettie explained, "You could holler down from the house to the store." 'Holler' is a rural Virginia expression.... I'm not sure if this is the usual use of the word, but I liked the way she explained 'holler'. When I asked Hettie about her nationality, this is what she said: "I was born a Virginian. I am an American. We were born here." I tried to get her to look beyond Luray, Page County, Virginia to ancestors further back, but she insists that we were just here. I do not understand this concept... for me it's like a visit to "Brigadoon," but for now with only Hettie's stories remaining, I suppose I have to understand that my family was farming people that just cropped up in the picturesque Shenandoah Valley, in Page County.