Memories of Mom

Cousin Vanessa took this photo of Mom and Dad at the farm in Kentucky, I'd guess some time around 2005.

1. Photo Montage of Mom
composed for memorial reception

The links at the bottom of this section go to PDFs of the posters (60"W x 30"H) of photographs that I composed for the reception following the graveside service.

I have converted the posters to web pages which are lower resolution, but works fine for display on a computer monitor. There was some minor rearrangement, and some photos that I couldn't fit on the posters are included.

Click here: Thelma Thomas King Photo Montage

If you want to see the original posters click on the links below. The files are rather large because of all the photos, and they will take a while to load in your browser.

Alternatively, you could right-click and download the file to your computer and open it with a PDF reader (e.g. Adobe Reader).

2. Audio Recordings of Mom
interviewed by Reece and Waverly Evans

The following links go to audio (mp3) of an interview of Dad and Mom by Reece Evans for a high school project on World War II. Reece's dad, Waverly, gets to ask a couple questions too. The audio was provided to me by Wave on a CD.

3. Olen Ray Thomas' remembrance of Thelma
read at the grave side memorial

PART I

Thelma was born on June 26, 1922 on Donaldson Creek, Trigg County Kentucky, where she spent 18 years until her move to Nashville to attend business college. In 1928, she began eight years in Lower Donaldson, a one room school. After completing grade school at lower Donaldson, her dream was to attend high school, but this goal seemed impossible as there was no public transportation to the high school in Linton, a small port town on the Cumberland River, miles from Donaldson Creek. Somehow, by various means unclear to me, she was able to attend Rogers high school in Linton. She was on her way!

After one year, her dream experienced a setback. Rogers High consolidated into the Trigg County school system, miles away in Cadiz! Having no way to commute to Cadiz, it looked like her dreams of attending high school had crashed. It was then what seemingly was a miracle occurred. A cousin, Edison Thomas, who lived nearby, was hired by The Cadiz Record, the county newspaper. He commuted daily to Cadiz. Thelma was able to ride daily with him to high school. Fortunately this arrangement lasted three years until her graduation in 1940. Again, she was on her way!

She had her high school diploma, but what value was it for her to return to Donaldson Creek where her peers, both wed and unwed, were having babies and populating the community? At this time, a glimmer of hope was developing at the end of the tunnel. Mr. Biggers, a representative from Andrew Jackson Business School in Nashville, contacted graduates from Trigg County High School with the possibility of attending the school. There was no way that she could receive financial backing from her family. At this point, Mr. Biggers offered a plan where she could help in a children’s daycare center in exchange for room and board. This would be a workable plan, but she would still need funds to attend. She prevailed on brother Herschel for a loan of $50, to be repaid when she was able. Daddy was able to give her a small sum of $20. This was the first $20 bill that I had seen. I recalled the preparation for her move to Nashville. A neighbor lady, Floy Barnes, helped Thelma assemble a scant wardrobe for her move to Nashville. Mr. Biggers came for her on a Sunday afternoon. She would now become a city girl, residing on Belmont Circle at Mrs. McLaughlin’s.

I don’t know how long it took her to graduate from the business school. She was fortunate in that employment was available for her after graduation. Her employer was Peabody Coal Company. I know you are thinking that with her tenacity, she probably went to work as a coal 2miner, but fortunately, her job description was a bookkeeper. Peabody Coal Co. was not her ultimate goal. Now, able to support herself, her dream was to become a teacher. She enrolled at Peabody Teachers College. Peabody is now part of Vanderbilt University. I am not sure how long it took her to earn a degree, but it must have been in record time. After graduation, she was immediately hired by the Nashville School System, where she taught for several years before transferring to Blacksburg, where she continued her career and until her retirement.

PART II

Thelma‘s early years were typical for the era. She would have blended in perfectly with the Walton’s of TV fame. She did her part of the family chores by working in the tobacco fields, working the garden, washing, ironing, churning, etc. Growing up in the Great Depression was no piece of cake. She excepted Christ at an early age and was baptized in the frigid waters of Donaldson Creek on September 18, 1938 by Brother Olen Sisk (I am his name sake). Her teenage infatuation was a teenage boy named William Wesley Holly, who worked with timber cutters from Tennessee. This romance lasted for a brief season, then William Wesley returned to Tennessee, never to be heard from again.

As time moved on and the depression was ending, there was no improvement in the school busing system in Trigg County. By 1945, Lottie was completing the eighth grade with no prospects of the attending high school in Cadiz. Not to be defeated, Thelma came forward and arranged for Lottie, at the age of 15, to come to Nashville and live with her at the McLaughlin‘s. That was a move that affected Lottie’s destiny. Entering school at the more affluent area of Nashville, with the more elite city kids, must of been almost more than a 15 year old girl could bear. But with Thelma’s support, Lottie moved on to a rewarding career with the state of Tennessee. Ultimately, she would marry into the notorious Mayche and Tidwell families of Tennessee.

At this point in time, world war two was raging so Guy and Fred‘s future would be in the military. It would be another four years before there would be bus transportation to Cadiz to attend Trigg County High School. I was not faced with the problem of attending high school due to transportation issues. I would have been content to return to Donaldson Creek to join my peers who had dropped out of school. Thelma would have no part of this. By this time, she was established in her career so she and Howard loaned me $500 for college (by the way, for the benefit of her heirs, I did repay it!). By her prodding me along the way, my life took a new direction. No telling where I would have ended up had she not encouraged me along the way.

I know little of Thelma‘s social life in Nashville before her marriage. I do recall one suitor who presented her with an expensive camera. I do not know how this affair ended. Next, comes the unlikely romance. Can you imagine a romance developing between an Ivy League graduate from Cornell University from New Jersey who became infatuated with a rural girl from Kentucky? Here again, destiny enters. They were married in April 1950. Again the name Peabody entered the picture. They honeymooned at the famous Peabody Hotel in Memphis, Tennessee. After the honeymoon, they invested in a small white brick house on Thistlewood Avenue in East Nashville, that’s beginning 66 years of marriage until Howard‘s death in 2017. They lived on Thistlewood for five years where their first child, a son, was stillborn. To add to this tragedy, there was a disappointing restaurant failure. Finally, it was time to move on to Virginia. During these ordeals, a beautiful daughter and two handsome sons were born.*

Over the years, while living in Nashville, before and after the move to Virginia, their lives centered around Thelma‘s family on Donaldson Creek. Howard had received an inheritance from an aunt so he and brother-in-law Jessie invested in a small farm on Donaldson Creek. On this farm was a vacant house. At this time, Thelma‘s family was being forced from their old Homestead, which had been in the family for more than 150 years. Howard and Thelma deeded this small house to Thelma‘s parents. With a small inheritance from Mamie Myrt’s family, they renovated and lived here for their remaining years. This little house on the creek still stands as a happy venue for the family reunion for the close knit cousins for almost 70 years. Thanks to Thelma‘s influence, the tradition lives on.

Thank you Thelma, we appreciate and cherish your memory. You are sorely missed. May you rest in peace.

The Thomas Clan, by Olen Ray Thomas

*Howie (Howard III) was born in Nashville; Cindy and Mark were born after the move to Blacksburg.