WILMA BROOKS
HER PARENTS’ FAMILY
My mother was Tressie Stooksbury Wright, and her family came from the Loiston area of Norris damn. They were moved out of there in ’33, and I remember my mother telling me that her father grieved for two years because his family had been on that land for 200 years. My dad was Arthur Wright, and he was the son of Ed and Edda Wright, and they lived in the Emory Valley area and attended; both of my parents’ family attended New Hope Baptist Church. My mothers’ family lived where Lynn Heart is now building the homes on Lafayette in Oak Ridge. That was their home, and my dad’s family, his grandfather lived there in Emory Valley about where the Food Lion is now, and his father owed up a little bit closer to the Marina. My dads grandparents, their names where Steeles. John W. Steeles and he was married to Matilda Diggs Steele. My dad always loved to tell about the time when his father was called up to Clinton before the judge because he was not sending his oldest child Edna Wright to school, and the judges asked him, “Why aren’t you sending her to school?” And he said, “Well, at that time she rode a horse and buggy to school.” And he said, “The horse and buggy, it was too muddy to send the horses through.” And he said, “Do you expect me to send my daughter to school in the mud? So the whole thing was dismissed, but dad loved to tell that story about not being able to send his children to school, but I though that was kind of funny, and my grandfather was a very short man, and to see him standing up against a judge would have been amazing to me.
FAMILY MEMORIES
My mother’s family, the Stooksbury family, lived in Loiston which is now the Norris Damn area. They moved from there in 1933 and bought land here in Oak Ridge which is Robertsville which is where now where Lynn Heart is building the new homes on Lafayette. My mother said that her father grieved for two years. They were really worried because he had to leave his family’s home of probably 200 years. Grandpa was a farmer. That’s all he knew, and then he purchased the nine acres here. My dad’s family lived in Emory Valley at that time which is Luttrell crossing was what always he called it. They married in January of 1942, and my mother’s dad bought property up above Clinton, and my father’s father bought property in West Wolf Valley in Clinton, and my mother lived which each of them and swapped out times because my dad had went to World War II three weeks after they were married
TOO MUDDY TO WALK
My grandfather was called up to the judge in Clinton for not sending his daughter to school. At that time she rode a horse and buggy to school. I think it was probably the Scarboro School, and the judge asked him why he didn’t send her to school, and he says, “Well, it was so muddy that she couldn’t ride in the horse and buggy. It was too muddy for the mules or the horses to pull the wagon. Don’t you think it was too muddy for my daughter to walk to school?” And the judge agreed with him and turned it all down. But my grandfather was a very short man. I can’t even imagine him standing up in front of the judge anyway, but as it turned out it was dismissed, and she was able to go on to school after it dried up some.
LEVI COLLINS
Grandpa Wright owned a saw mill, and he employed Levi Collins, and Levi lived with my grandfather’s family at the time. Levi also spent time in prison and had whittled a walking stick for all three of the children in my grandfather’s family. We always thought that was just amazing to get to play with that walking stick, and dad didn’t want us to even touch it much less play with it. But he remembered Levi with some very fond memories of Levi living with him and working at the saw mill. That’s all my dad ever knew. Matter of fact, later my dad owned and operated a saw mill when he came out of the service after World War II, and did up until he retired at 72 years old.
Both families, my mother and father they attended New Hope Baptist Church. My mother is buried there in the cemetery. It was always a sore spot with my dad that his aunt passed away in March of 1942, and they never put up a tombstone. So this past September, October we got the tombstone put up for her. I hated that because it was after his passing, but maybe he knows it now anyway.
LEVI COLLINS’ WALKING STICKS
My grandfather owned and operated a saw mill, and Levi Collins, the mountain man as referred to in the heartland series, lived with his family at that time, and Levi must have been an amazing character. My grandfather has kept a ledger of the money that he paid Levi and the tab, a daily tab, or my grandmother kept if for him because my grandfather could not read nor write, and I’m sure what she wrote down is what he remembered when he got home at the end of the day. But Levi had killed a man and spent some time in prison, and while he was in prison he whittled a walking stick, or actually three of them, one for each of my father and his brother and sister. That was a special thing for my dad to have, and we still have that, and he whittled the little balls on the inside of it which was a beautiful piece of wood and artwork I think.
LEVI COLLINS’ WALKING STICKS (RESTATED)
When my Grandfather Wright owned and operated a saw mill, and Levi Collins worked with him and lived with my fathers family from a certain time, my grandfather has a ledger where he’s keeping tabs on what Mr. Collins owed him, and what he paid him at that time, but Levi killed a man and was in prison, and while he was in prison he whittled my dad and his brother and sister a walking stick. He also whittled the little balls in the side of it. As children we were always amazed and wanted to play with the stick, and my dad just didn’t want us to even tough hit much less play with it. But he thought that was a special piece for him to keep and treasure, and hopefully I can keep it for him.
LEVI COLLINS’ WALKING STICKS (TAKE 3)
Levi Collins lived with my dad’s family, and he was in prison for a certain amount of time, and while he was in prison he whittled a walking stick for my dad, one for his brother, and one for his sister. The little balls inside, and one is stuck, but my dad is just very fond of this walking stick. It was something that he did not want us children to play with. Of course, we always wanted to play with it and listen to the balls roll inside, but I guess it’s part of dad. Dad loved wood. He loved anything that Levi had done, and Levi was special to him. So it’s special to me because it was to him.
GRANDFATHER’S LEDGER
This is the ledger that my grandfather kept from the saw mill I’m sure. It’s in my grandmothers writing because my grandfather could not read or write, but this is where Levi Collins worked for him, and he kept a tap for Levi. This was in April of 1933, and he built a toilet for New Hope Baptist church, and he got $.10 for it.
THE BAPTIST YOUNG PEOPLE’S UNION
My parents, both of their families attended New Hope Baptist Church. Now I think my dads family the Wrights were actually members. My mothers family were Methodist, and I think they were part of the ones who maybe would come on Sunday nights and be there at the time, but they were both members of the BYPU which was Baptist Young Peoples Union, and I have some of the records that were kept from that union, and it was amazing the things that are written in the back. At one point they took up money for a hospital bill, and my Grandfather Wright donated like $2.00 and a bushel of corn. I just thought that was amazing. Another one of the books where they gathered the money to buy the piano that is now or was in New Hope Baptist Church. My dad’s cousin now has that piano in her home, and I have the stool to it. According to my mother my grandfather built that stool, and it looks homemade.
NEW HOPE CEMETERY
My dad was a very prompt person on decorating the graves. So I came every Memorial Day that I could with him and with mom. I even have a picture of my mom in a cast up to her knee at the cemetery, and my dad’s pointing to where the stone should be. The stone that we finally got set this past fall. My great grandmother is buried there. I also; my husband and I put down a stone for my uncles grave that is there that my dad even forgot where it was, but he did tell me that it was buried right next to his first cousin, and the babies had died three weeks apart. So we found where we think the stone was and put a small stone down, and yes I still try to go every Memorial Day and put a small flower on each of those graves, and I love to look at the names and try to determine: is this my ancestor, is this somebody I should know? But it’s just something very special that dad tried to do and my mother too. She always wanted to be in and have a part of decorating the graves.
GREAT AUNT’S HEADSTONE
My great grandmother is buried in New Hope Cemetery. My dad’s aunt passed away in March of ’42. It was always a very sore spot with my dad that there was never a stone put up at her grave, but I’m sure at that time it was hard for them to get into the cemetery to put up a stone, much less get in to burry her. My dad’s cousin still remembers when they came into burry her, and they have a roster with everyone that came into that cemetery. This past September, October we finally got a stone put up at her grave. Her daughter lives in Cleveland Tennessee, and we were able to make that happen and I’m sure my father if he were living today would be thrilled to death that his aunt has a stone at her grave.
STOPPED BY SECURITY
My dad and my whole family, there was six of us, and we had my aunt, my dad’s aunt, with us. She was all the time telling stories, telling jokes, laughing; she was just the life of the party. We were inside the gate with flowers in the trunk, and she was telling jokes, and my daddy was laughing and was not paying attention to his driving. So we were stopped by the security control. My dad was speeding. They made all of us get out of the car. It scarred me to death. We had to open the trunk and prove that we did have flowers, and that we were going where we said we were going, but they just warned us, but I was terrified as a little girl, but we did get in and decorate the graves fine.
MOTHER GRADUATED FROM ROBERTSVILLE
Mother graduated from Robertsville High School in 1941. I tried to find her annual that she had that year, but with their passing away and cleaning out the house, I could not put my hands on it, but she was very proud of the fact that she did graduate from high school even though it took her two extra years because of the move from Norris Damn area into the Oak Ridge area, but she was real proud of being able to graduate from Robertsville.
DAD PLAYED BASEBALL
Dad loved to play baseball. Now my dad only went to a 5th grade education, but he lived in Emory Valley, and he loved to play baseball, and he really wanted to try out professionally, and he often told us fondly of coming to Robertsville School, playing baseball on Sunday afternoon, and then running back up to Emory Valley in the dark, but he said he did that just to get to play baseball, but as you know the World War II came along, and he didn’t even get to think about playing professional baseball. He played it in the Philippines.
THE EVICTION NOTICE
Mother and dad were married in January of 1942. They lived together three weeks when dad had to go into service in Savannah Georgia. After mother and dad where married, mom came home. She buried her mother and then came home from the funeral services and there was an eviction notice that they had to be out in 18 days. Needless to say that was a horrible time for them to have to move, and she tells the story of when they moved from the house she left her, her and her sister, left their grandmothers sewing machines in one of the back rooms, and said, “If my daddy had known that,” said, “he would have wore both us out for leaving that sewing machine.” But she said, “It wasn’t worth a hill of beans.”
THE EVICTION NOTICE (RESTATED)
My mother’s mother passed away I think in February of 1942. When they came home from the funeral there was an eviction notice on the door that they had to be out of their home in 18 days. So they had to replace themselves somewhere else again, and the grandparents were not real happy with the government at that time.
WHERE MY FAMILY MOVED
Well dad was in service, and my mothers family moved to Halls, and she lived with them for a while, and my dads mother and father moved to West Wolf Valley in Clinton and lived there, and my mother lived with both of, my dad’s parents and her parents off and on when the oldest son was born in West Wolf Valley until dad came home. He was two before my dad ever got to see him.
GRANDFATHER’S TRUCK
My grandfather also had a horse and buggy that he took people to church in and later of course a truck, a flatbed truck, a big truck that people would gather and he would pick up everybody as he came to the church, and they would all ride the truck. Even I’ve heard stories of people falling off the truck which today would be a horrible sin in our time, but he did drive a truck, and he did pick up people and bring them to New Hope very often.
