Sign Rosemary's Guestbook
Aunt Ella and Grandma
("Maam"):
My Friends
By Rosemary Brown
Uncle Joe was the youngest in the family with Aunt Ella Mae just a little older than Joe was the younger of the two girls.
The Reeves family went like this: There was Theodore. Noah, John. Mary Jane James (Jim) Ella May and Joseph. While the family still lived in Fleming County Kentucky Noah died at the age of 16 from tobacco poisening caused from working in the tobacco fields .
Ella May was afflicted in that she was very skinny and could never seem to gain weight 
She had long straight red hair and green eyes. And she was what I think of as a fire ball, she had a booming personality and was always joking and kidding around. At one time Grandma had a telephone that hung on the north kitchen wall just beside the door that goes into the living room. Back then in the place of numbers each person in the neighborhood had a certain ring that meant the phone was ringing for them. For example a short ring ring might be for the Reeves' Then a longer riiinng and a short ring might be for their neighbors the Fords etc. But Aunt Ella loved to listen in to the neighbors conversations which might have worked except if she heard them say something she didn't like she would forget and start talking back to them. I have wondered at times if that's why they did not have a phone all the time. I can hear Maam now saying "El" get off that phone." But everytime the phone would ring if she was in hearing distance "El" was on the phone which was alright with me because I too wanted desparatly to know who was it what were they saying and who could blame us that was before we had a radio and t v's were un heard of and in country there really wasn't much news.
Grandma always said she wanted to live as long as Ella May lived because she wanted always be around to take care of "El" Later after "maam" moved to Lebanon , and married Mr. Ol Ham Ella died at the age of 33, Grandma lost the will to live and she died ten months later.
Above, from left, Aunt Ella, Grampa Elijah L. Reeves, and Isaac White, Jr., my brother.
At left, Ella May and Dixie Reeves, daughter of Joe Reeves and Bessie Reeves, when they lived in Lebanon Indiana.
Aunt Ella's grave at Mt. Summit Cemetery