The classic family vacation It was 5 a.m. on a Saturday in November 1958. Our parents, Edgar Lee and Ruby Thornton, set off to take their 10 children on a vacation to the Virginia mountains. Daddy was a pipe foreman with a construction company, and he and his crew from Wayne County were laying a pipeline in the Lynchburg, Va., area. He loved his work and wanted his family to see this project. After a quick stop at the Rex School of Nursing in Raleigh to pick up our oldest sister, Dora Lee, our fully-loaded 1957 yellow Chevy headed north. The older children all claimed bragging rights for seeing the biggest hill or best leaf color. When we saw Daddy’s project, I felt awed by the vast red clay hill with miles of huge pipeline. As we traveled on, the little ones got crabby. Faye recalls that Mama rejected several roadside picnic areas as “too dangerous.” Sure enough, “knee baby” Keith toppled over an incline, and I pulled him to safety. Dolly recalls driving by the Natural Bridge. Ann said we were chewing gum and someone complained, “Mama, she is smackin’ in my ear!” Billie loved the fried chicken and wiener picnic (in the photo). Mary Ellen liked the Pepsi because we usually got only tea. Kenneth retreated to the back window to “get away from the six sisters.” Daddy let Dora Lee drive on the way home and he rested and hugged Mama as she nursed baby Gene. Betty T. Williams, Mount Olive, Tri-County EMC |
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