My Aunt Mae was my mother's (Martha Threet) oldest sister. She and Uncle Clyde had no children of their own but they lavished me with love and laughter during the two weeks I spent with them each summer until I married in 1966. I was a very young mother when Aunt Mae died in 1969. She had been very sick and lived in a wheel chair for the last several years of her life.
I remember that chair so well. Uncle Clyde built it for her to accommodate her special needs.
She was severely crippled with arthritis and a skin condition that often accompanies it. In those days, I'm not sure they recognized this, but today, it is often found in patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis and there are medications to treat it. In the 1960's no one would listen to my aunt when she tried to tell them that the two conditions were related.
Despite her physical problems, she entertained visitors every day - just friends who would drop by to see her. Until she became chair bound, she was always at church on Sunday and Wednesday nights. People gravitated to her because she was such a loving person.
She and my uncle owned Barkley Refrigeration Company, later changed to Barkley Air Conditioning and Heating Company. I remember the days on E.Tennessee Street where their home was attached to the rear of their business. People would come by to purchase belts for their refrigerators - the belts hung on the wall next to the ceiling and my aunt would use a pole to get them down. My uncle's shop was behind the front room on the left. I was never allowed in that part of the building. I remember it as a very dark place with lots of strange equipment in it. But, Uncle Clyde was never home in the day time. He was always on 'calls' to fix things for people. But, he came home every day at noon for dinner.
My uncle was in the refrigeration business and his was probably one of the first businesses in the city to actually have air conditioning. Florence, Alabama is probably the hottest place I've ever been and that air conditioning was something that every person who walked through the door remarked on.
I remember seeing Elvis Presley on TV the first time he performed on TV on the Ed Sullivan show. I didn't have a TV at home in Chattanooga so this was a memorable event for me. I was 10.
When I visited, Sundays were reserved for the Lord and we always had Sunday dinner at one of the local hotel dining rooms. All white table cloths and cloth napkins - which were always used on her own dining table.
Aunt Mae was a true lady but she was never haughty. She and Uncle Clyde visited his mother every Sunday afternoon (after eating in the hotel dining room) and I always came home with my socks stuffed full of green apples from her apple trees. Aunt Mae never called her anything but Mrs. Barkley, even after 42 years of marriage!
I invite my cousins to add to this bio.
Carol Barber Hudson
I remember that chair so well. Uncle Clyde built it for her to accommodate her special needs.
She was severely crippled with arthritis and a skin condition that often accompanies it. In those days, I'm not sure they recognized this, but today, it is often found in patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis and there are medications to treat it. In the 1960's no one would listen to my aunt when she tried to tell them that the two conditions were related.
Despite her physical problems, she entertained visitors every day - just friends who would drop by to see her. Until she became chair bound, she was always at church on Sunday and Wednesday nights. People gravitated to her because she was such a loving person.
She and my uncle owned Barkley Refrigeration Company, later changed to Barkley Air Conditioning and Heating Company. I remember the days on E.Tennessee Street where their home was attached to the rear of their business. People would come by to purchase belts for their refrigerators - the belts hung on the wall next to the ceiling and my aunt would use a pole to get them down. My uncle's shop was behind the front room on the left. I was never allowed in that part of the building. I remember it as a very dark place with lots of strange equipment in it. But, Uncle Clyde was never home in the day time. He was always on 'calls' to fix things for people. But, he came home every day at noon for dinner.
My uncle was in the refrigeration business and his was probably one of the first businesses in the city to actually have air conditioning. Florence, Alabama is probably the hottest place I've ever been and that air conditioning was something that every person who walked through the door remarked on.
I remember seeing Elvis Presley on TV the first time he performed on TV on the Ed Sullivan show. I didn't have a TV at home in Chattanooga so this was a memorable event for me. I was 10.
When I visited, Sundays were reserved for the Lord and we always had Sunday dinner at one of the local hotel dining rooms. All white table cloths and cloth napkins - which were always used on her own dining table.
Aunt Mae was a true lady but she was never haughty. She and Uncle Clyde visited his mother every Sunday afternoon (after eating in the hotel dining room) and I always came home with my socks stuffed full of green apples from her apple trees. Aunt Mae never called her anything but Mrs. Barkley, even after 42 years of marriage!
I invite my cousins to add to this bio.
Carol Barber Hudson
My Aunt Mae was my mother's (Martha Threet) oldest sister. She and Uncle Clyde had no children of their own but they lavished me with love and laughter during the two weeks I spent with them each summer until I married in 1966. I was a very young mother when Aunt Mae died in 1969. She had been very sick and lived in a wheel chair for the last several years of her life.
I remember that chair so well. Uncle Clyde built it for her to accommodate her special needs.
She was severely crippled with arthritis and a skin condition that often accompanies it. In those days, I'm not sure they recognized this, but today, it is often found in patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis and there are medications to treat it. In the 1960's no one would listen to my aunt when she tried to tell them that the two conditions were related.
Despite her physical problems, she entertained visitors every day - just friends who would drop by to see her. Until she became chair bound, she was always at church on Sunday and Wednesday nights. People gravitated to her because she was such a loving person.
She and my uncle owned Barkley Refrigeration Company, later changed to Barkley Air Conditioning and Heating Company. I remember the days on E.Tennessee Street where their home was attached to the rear of their business. People would come by to purchase belts for their refrigerators - the belts hung on the wall next to the ceiling and my aunt would use a pole to get them down. My uncle's shop was behind the front room on the left. I was never allowed in that part of the building. I remember it as a very dark place with lots of strange equipment in it. But, Uncle Clyde was never home in the day time. He was always on 'calls' to fix things for people. But, he came home every day at noon for dinner.
My uncle was in the refrigeration business and his was probably one of the first businesses in the city to actually have air conditioning. Florence, Alabama is probably the hottest place I've ever been and that air conditioning was something that every person who walked through the door remarked on.
I remember seeing Elvis Presley on TV the first time he performed on TV on the Ed Sullivan show. I didn't have a TV at home in Chattanooga so this was a memorable event for me. I was 10.
When I visited, Sundays were reserved for the Lord and we always had Sunday dinner at one of the local hotel dining rooms. All white table cloths and cloth napkins - which were always used on her own dining table.
Aunt Mae was a true lady but she was never haughty. She and Uncle Clyde visited his mother every Sunday afternoon (after eating in the hotel dining room) and I always came home with my socks stuffed full of green apples from her apple trees. Aunt Mae never called her anything but Mrs. Barkley, even after 42 years of marriage!
I invite my cousins to add to this bio.
Carol Barber Hudson
I remember that chair so well. Uncle Clyde built it for her to accommodate her special needs.
She was severely crippled with arthritis and a skin condition that often accompanies it. In those days, I'm not sure they recognized this, but today, it is often found in patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis and there are medications to treat it. In the 1960's no one would listen to my aunt when she tried to tell them that the two conditions were related.
Despite her physical problems, she entertained visitors every day - just friends who would drop by to see her. Until she became chair bound, she was always at church on Sunday and Wednesday nights. People gravitated to her because she was such a loving person.
She and my uncle owned Barkley Refrigeration Company, later changed to Barkley Air Conditioning and Heating Company. I remember the days on E.Tennessee Street where their home was attached to the rear of their business. People would come by to purchase belts for their refrigerators - the belts hung on the wall next to the ceiling and my aunt would use a pole to get them down. My uncle's shop was behind the front room on the left. I was never allowed in that part of the building. I remember it as a very dark place with lots of strange equipment in it. But, Uncle Clyde was never home in the day time. He was always on 'calls' to fix things for people. But, he came home every day at noon for dinner.
My uncle was in the refrigeration business and his was probably one of the first businesses in the city to actually have air conditioning. Florence, Alabama is probably the hottest place I've ever been and that air conditioning was something that every person who walked through the door remarked on.
I remember seeing Elvis Presley on TV the first time he performed on TV on the Ed Sullivan show. I didn't have a TV at home in Chattanooga so this was a memorable event for me. I was 10.
When I visited, Sundays were reserved for the Lord and we always had Sunday dinner at one of the local hotel dining rooms. All white table cloths and cloth napkins - which were always used on her own dining table.
Aunt Mae was a true lady but she was never haughty. She and Uncle Clyde visited his mother every Sunday afternoon (after eating in the hotel dining room) and I always came home with my socks stuffed full of green apples from her apple trees. Aunt Mae never called her anything but Mrs. Barkley, even after 42 years of marriage!
I invite my cousins to add to this bio.
Carol Barber Hudson
Bio by: Carol Hudson
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