Pink Chicks and Fox Kits

Helen Myers Benton with her father, Kenneth Myers, in 1950

My daddy, Kenneth Myers, loved animals. He bought the horse in the photo when I was very young. He taught us children to love animals also. He raised pigs, chickens and a cow. When I was about 9 years old, he let me keep the little runt from a litter of pigs. I really loved that baby pig. He followed me everywhere, just like our dog. But, of course, when he grew big, Daddy took him to the stock market to sell. It broke my heart.

At Easter each year, Daddy got my siblings and I each a pink-, blue-, green- or purple-colored baby chick. They were so cute. As they grew, the color faded and they became white.

One day Daddy killed a red fox in the chicken house. Afterwards he saw the fox had babies. He didn’t want those babies to starve, so we all looked in the woods behind our house until we found two baby foxes under an old sawmill. We raised them until they were grown and ready to be on their own.

I am very grateful for the way my parents raised me. They and our Lord made me who I am today. Life was so much simpler and good back then.

Helen Myers Benton, Lexington, A member of EnergyUnited