My Precious Past


 People don't believe me, but when I was born,
I had 13 living grandparents.
I had Grandparents,
Great-Grandparents,
two Great-Great Grandmothers,
and 3 Step-Grandparents.
And most of them lived
in the little town of Hanford, California,
where I was born.

Here is a photo of some of them:
Me - the baby in the middle
Left of me:  Great-G-Grandma Maria de Jesus de Freitas
Right of me:  Great-G-Grandma Etta Mae Dora Herrell
Left male sitting: Great Grandpa JJ Carvalho
Right male sitting:  Great Grandpa Benjamin Hall
Back row L to R:
Great Grandma Emma Carvalho
Grandma Mary Carvalho Hadley
Grandpa JC Cato
Grandma Inez Hall Cato
Great Grandma Ada Hall

Missing are:
Grandpa Fred Cole
Step Grandpa Bruce Hadley
Step Grandma Faye Sams
Step Grandpa Weldon Sams

My life was RICH as I made the rounds from house to house,
gleaning stories and knowledge from each one.

My father's family was Portuguese.
My G-Grandfather JJ Carvalho spoke very little English
and they were active in the local Portuguese community.
My G-Grandmother Emma attended the Catholic Church. 

My mother's family was a mixture of Sicilian/Scot. 
They attended the Methodist Church. 
My Cato Grandparents were my primary caretakers. 
I called them Ma and Pa.
Ma worked at Sears for 18 years.
Pa was a farmer, and I rode in the pickup with him,
every day until I started school.

Ma's mother and father, the Halls, 
lived right next door.

When I go vanning, 
I usually take some art or craft to keep me busy.
I've decided on this trip not to take anything
except my computer.
I have a list of stories I want to write,
and that will be my main activity.

I'll post them here,
but will also post them on another blog I keep
called
"Our Precious Past."
If you're interested in reading that blog,
here is a link:
Love,
Annie

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