As told from Kitty's memories

     The big house was about halfway up a mountain. Cars had to be parked at the bottom of the hill and visitors had to hike up the hill. The big house had no central heat; if it did it was never used. The kitchen was the only room heated by a small ceramic heater. Going to bed was a quick run down the incredibly cold, long hallway and jumping into bed with Jonelle and Retta and trying to snuggle and warm up quickly.
     There was no running water, the kitchen sink had a pump, and you washed your hair in the water from the rain barrel that was at the back, left corner of the house. The rain barrel was a few mere inches from the roof of the house, because the hill was so steep. If you went out the fence and further up the hill on a dirt path you came to the little house. At different times, different grown Trivett children, and their children, lived there, so there was usually a cousin to visit. At the foot of the hill was a country store that sold crème sickles, but you could only go to the store if an adult went with you because Big Mom was convinced that all of us would run onto the highway that was right there next to the store. NO ONE was allowed to touch Big Mom’s flowers, a real struggle for Kitty!!!

     It's funny how the oddest thing will remind you of something. We were driving home from Texas and a GIANT bug hit the windshield and it reminded me of this story:
      When Margie was a little girl in summer time and she was bored, she and Zo would catch june bugs and tie strings to one of the bug's legs. They would then turn the bug loose, hold on to one end of the string while the bug would fly around in circles above their heads.

     When Uncle Gray was in the army, to get some extra pay, he joined the paratroopers. One day, while he was jumping out of an airplane the parachute didn't do what it was supposed to do and Uncle Gray ended up in Walter Reed hospital for quite awhile with a broken back. One of the things the nurses did for him was give him an alcohol rub on his back, which he swore eased the pain. So after he got out of the hospital, and Army, one of the things Margie did for him on a regular basis was give him an alcohol rub. One evening Kitty and Retta were in the bathroom, and Kitty noticed the alcohol and cotton balls on the back of the toilet, so she told Retta to lay down and she would give her a back rub, since it seemed like so much fun. That got boring rather quickly so Kitty poured a capful of alcohol and told Retta to drink it. Retta had SEVERAL capfuls of alcohol, and her parents noticed it when she came stumbling out of the bathroom like she had been on a three day drunk, she was rushed to the hospital and her stomach was pumped and she got to eat ice cream!!!

     During the summer months Polly and Margie traded kids for a week. sometimes, Polly would have Junior, Ronnie & Robert and Margie would have Kitty, Retta and Kat. Somethimes it was the other way around. One summer Retta decided to give Kat an alcohol back rub. The cotton ball wiped all the dirt off Kat's back and Retta showed Kat the darkened cotton ball and said she had wiped Kat's tan off, that there were big white stripes all over her back. Kat started screaming and crying that Polly was going to kill her if she looked like a zebra and didn't have her whole tan.
     When these Trivett children were growing up, Big Dad worked in the coal mines of WV. It was a nasty job with little pay. The miners were given credits at the company store to purchase what goods they needed. There was not always enough credits to go around for so many children. Margie and Zo used to waylay a neighbor girl, whose parents had more money, and steal the girl’s bloomers and shoes to wear to school, since they had no bloomers or shoes of their own. One day Margie would wear the shoes and Zo would wear the bloomers and the next day they would trade.
     Big Dad taught the kids to count on each other, since there were so many of them, they always had allies in any altercation that occurred. One time the principal of the school spanked Margie for something she said or did and Big Dad went down to the principal, shotgun in hand, and told the principal to never touch one of his kids again. Trivetts were taught to count on each other and to never allow anyone to bully them for any reason.

     Margie’s job as a child was to get up in the morning and start the fire so the house would be warm when Big Mom got up. Margie liked to take a razor to her fingernails and shave them to points and curve her fingers at Big Mom, for which she earned the nickname "Darned old devil".

     When Michelle was a baby she looked just like a little cherub. She had the cutest curls and the sweetest smile and a darling little face. Looks are deceiving, though, Michelle LOVED to eat raw hamburger. Hopie had to keep her out of the kitchen when she was cooking because Michelle would steal handsful of raw hamburger and eat it. She was always dirty, too, which made Hopie nutso. Uncle John tried to reassure Hope by telling her that "No self respecting germ would come around Michelle!".