By Violet Eye
As I enjoy a cup of coffee, I am thinking about how to acquaint you, the readers of The Pendleton Times, with my aunt Cleo, second mom. Each time we talk on the phone her question is “when are you all coming over?” She is referring to my sister, Joeann, and me. Cleo calls us her oldest daughters and she is like a second mom to us.
Cleo was born April 11, 1924, in Stony Run, the fourth child of the 12 children born to Gordon and Lula Smith. Growing up in the early 1900s wasn’t easy, especially if one’s mother was no longer living. Cleo remembers well the day her mother, my grandmother, died the day after Cleo’s 13th birthday.
I can’t begin to imagine the sadness and confusion the eight younger siblings endured as the loss of their mom. I can never write about this tragic time without shedding a few tears. That was without a doubt one of the worst times if not the worst time, they ever went through.
My mom and aunt Cleo rarely ever talked about the days that followed. Granddad Smith was determined to raise his children, and he did with the help of the older girls. I grew up with aunts and uncles that held a deep love for each other and the families they had. I am very honored to say that this special kind of love continues with the Gordon and Lula Smith family members.
Joeann and I went to Staunton, Virginia, on April 11 to help aunt Cleo celebrate her 101st birthday. She was sitting at the kitchen table waiting for us to arrive. Her Roll-Ater was at her side as she can no longer walk without assistance. Needing help to walk hasn’t affected her mind!
We sat in the living room to visit, and Cleo opened her gifts. What do you give to someone that is 101? My mom would do some writing from time to time, and I have most of her writing. I didn’t know until recently that two of her other sisters also did some writing, and I was gifted with some of their writing recently. That was my gift from the four of us.
She had received beautiful flower arrangements from a nephew, a granddaughter, a friend whose sons she babysat, and cousin Dale who stopped by with yellow roses. Cleo said, “Yellow roses are my favorite rose.”
One of the boys that she had baby-sat brought her a cake. Over the years Cleo baby-sat close to two dozen children, giving them a safe place to be, much love, and teaching them right from wrong. Many of these adults still stay in touch with her.
Cousin Dale and Cleo talked about things they remembered from many years ago. Cleo told of the time she was riding the horse while granddad plowed the corn. He told her not to let the horse eat the corn at the end of the row. The horse stopped and she flew out over its head. Not wanting to get back on the horse, granddad had to threaten her with the switch he was carrying.
I think I have mentioned in previous articles how afraid of animals Cleo really was. She told about the two work horses killing one of their best dogs. I have never figured out why the farm horses were so mean. Cleo talked about Kate, their companion dog, that went wherever the children went, alerting them to a snake that was close by. She barked one time while Cleo was picking berries, and a rattlesnake was under the berry bush, thus keeping her from a snake bite. Pursuing a civet cat one night, Kate ran up a crooked tree and the limb broke, throwing her to the ground. Granddad and Grandma carried her home, but she didn’t live.
Granddad would have a wild animal from time to time and I remember a fox that was in a cage under an apple tree close to Stony Run. I can’t for the life of me, remember what he called that fox.
Dale asked Cleo about a bear that granddad supposedly had. They thought about it but couldn’t remember any details. Cleo looked at me and I told her I didn’t know anything about a bear. She looked at Dale and said, well, that was before my time. We both exclaimed, no wonder we couldn’t remember anything about a bear. We all had a good laugh.
They talked about their uncle Homer and how mean he was. He suffered a stroke when very young and it left him with a twisted hand, and he needed a cane to help him walk. If he could get that cane close enough, he would hook it around your legs. He was mean.
Jenna had decided we would have pizza for lunch. We sat down to eat and Cleo received three phone calls while trying to eat a slice of pizza. She finally got the pizza eaten, and we went back into the living room.
Larry had made her birthday cake, and in mid-afternoon, we had cake with ice cream. The phone rang three times while she was having her cake and by the time she got back to eating, the ice cream had melted. Jenna said she knows that her mom received 20 phone calls with four of the callers singing happy birthday. Cleo answered each call with thank you and much grace.
Cleo and Vernon celebrated 76 years together and raised three children. She has lived through the Great Depression, the Asian flu outbreak, the 2019 COVID outbreak, World War II, at least 20 presidents, and all the years in between. She has lived through and seen many things in 101 years, but she is the first to tell you that she has never seen our country in such a sad condition or seen any one president and his millionaire friends do so much damage to our country. People, that is saying a lot and well worth remembering.
Cleo would make dresses for Joeann and me, cut our hair, put perms in our hair, and was there for her siblings and the rest of us should we need some help. She and Vernon helped mom and daddy work the garden for several years.
Larry and I discussed what I could write about his mom, and I have tried to do my best. I would say to Larry and Jenna, write down what your mom has told you over the years—then pass it down to your families. A hundred and one years is a lot of history and memories. In researching the history of Gordon’s line of Smiths, I discovered that Cleo is the longest living member since the 1700s. Her grandfather, Martin, lived to be 96 as did sister, Sheba. Jenna and I decided that we would keep any article I might write a secret until aunt Cleo saw it in The Pendleton Times.
So, year 101 has now slipped away and as I write this, you start a new year and day. With your eyesight now fading, and hands crippled and worn, we remember and thank you for all those hands have done. Each day you read your devotions and have time with God. There is no greater example one could have.
The beautiful flowers will wither and die, a sweet memory of the day just gone by. There were many phone calls from old and from young, and some callers blessed you with the happy birthday song.
This one is for you aunt Cleo (mom). I haven’t known many people 101, although my friend Ms. Virginia who lives down the road is 102. I’m looking forward to what this year might bring.
You are so loved, Violet Eye April 12, 2025
