Week 16 – Theme "Negatives" – 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks – Conversation with My Aunt Ruby (Archer) Threet
My 95-year-old Aunt Ruby is in a rehab center after breaking her hip in the past few months. She then broke her femur not long after that. She also developed a hematoma after a nurse accidently knocked her side against a wheelchair.
On Friday, 22 April 2022 I saw a photo my cousin Lisa (Aunt Ruby’s youngest daughter) posted on Facebook. She was visiting Aunt Ruby in a rehab center. I saw the photo a few minutes after Lisa posted it and immediately texted her. I wanted to see if we could facetime so I could say hello to Aunt Ruby and ask a few questions about the photo.
The weird thing about this is I was struggling with what to write about this week. The theme, Negatives, was giving me a tough time. I couldn’t come up with anything I wanted to share. This conversation ended up solving my problem. In the genealogy world we call this serendipity. The following reflects the conversation I had with Aunt Ruby.
She was in great spirits and instead of dwelling on the negatives that happened to her we ended up talking about family history and I obtained a horde of new Threet family information. We turned what could have been a negative conversation into a positive one. She was so happy to hear and see me. She said she has been thinking about me a lot lately and this made me rather teary eyed.
 |
| Photo from my cousin, Lisa (Threet) Clark |
The above photo is what started this conversation. Lisa’s posting stated the woman on the left is her mom, Ruby (Archer) Threet, and on the right is her Aunt Sue. Ruby is my aunt by marriage as she married my dad’s older brother James. Sue is my dad’s older sister and therefore my aunt.
She is 95 and still has all her wits about her. She is still as beautiful as I always remember her. The following reflects the conversation we had.
In Honey Grove Texas everyone used to go to the town square on Saturday night. The post office was in the middle of the square. My dad’s entire family would go. She became friends with Aunt Sue and the photo above was taken in a photo booth in the town square. Aunt Ruby was about 16 at the time.
She came to know most of the family at that time. When Uncle Roger (one of my dad’s younger brothers) was born, they would carry him around the square.
Farming had become difficult in Honey Grove, cotton and corn crops were not performing well. Uncle Floyd Threet (one of dad’s older brothers) was the first to move out to California with his family, Aunt Bonnie, Doug, Don and Doyle. Uncle Floyd bought a house on Julian Street, but she is not sure when.
Uncle James and Aunt Ruby married in (Year). Uncle James went to California to work. He made boxes at one of the fruit packing sheds. While Uncle James was in California working, Aunt Ruby stayed with her family. He returned to Texas after packing season. The following year, 1952, he and Aunt Ruby went back to California and stayed. They bought their house in 1955 in Turlock on Columbia Street.
Uncle Willie Threet was also one of the brothers that moved before the rest of the family. He was married to Johnnie.
Bruce Travis Threet (my dad’s father) never drove and depended on his boys to drive him around. After Aunt Ruby and Uncle James married, she would also drive him around.
Aunt Kate RAYNOR Strickland (Clara Marie RAYNOR Threet’s sister and Clara was married to Bruce Travis Threet) lived in Blythe, California. At some point she came to live with Clara. Kate broke her hip and became ill and died in Turlock, California. She is buried in Blythe by her husband. Kate and Clara also had another sister, Viola, who lived in Kansas.
I was so happy she gave me all of the above. I will need to go visit her soon.
This is such a great post. A lovely photo too. These are difficult times for all of us but particularly those in aged care. I really feel for them being quite isolated and its been tricky for them to have visitors given all the restrictions here. Also there is a great shortage of carers in aged care. Its not well paid here and many of the staff are sick with COVID. Tough times indeed.
ReplyDelete