Cecil Denver Wallace, Sr: An Interview with Grandma Kathleen, Part II

When I asked what Cecil's character was like, Grandma told me that he wouldn't tolerate any shenanigans (those are not her exact words). I asked if he was strict, and she said yes, definitely! The family didn't have a lot of worldly goods and did not have much time for leisure activities, and there were absolutely no summer vacations. However, they visited relatives that lived in the area about once a week. Grandma said they would visit grandparents on both sides as well as aunts, cousins, and uncles. She mentioned that there were a lot to visit, since Grandma Lucy came from a large family.

Grandma Kathleen's family would also go to family reunions on her mother's side. The reunions would always be held at some family member's farm. Many of them still had farms at that point. There would always be watermelon, and sometimes there would be home-made ice cream! Grandma remembers helping to turn the handle to churn it.

I asked if Cecil was quiet or talkative, and Grandma told me he was neither one nor the other; he didn't dominate a conversation, but he wasn't mostly silent, either. He usually dressed in a white shirt and trousers. Sometimes he wore a necktie, and he always wore a suit for church. The family attended a Methodist church a few blocks away from their home--close enough to walk--and Cecil taught Sunday school at one point.

Holidays were fun. There were always a lot of presents under the tree at Christmastime, although many were small presents, such as a tube of glue that would have cost about 10¢. All the gifts were individually wrapped by Grandma Lucy.

At Easter, the kids would have an Easter egg hunt. Cecil would hide the eggs. I asked Grandma if he made them easy or hard to find, and she laughed as she said, "Hard!" I had guessed as much by the way Grandma had said earlier that he was strict. I'm sure he didn't make anything easy for his children.

All Grandma remembers from the 4th of July are sparklers that she would play with.

Looking for a romantic story, I asked, "Where or how did Cecil meet Grandma Lucy?" I found out that neither one told any stories from their courtship, and they both came from Amelia; Cecil lived in town with his father who ran the saw mill and Lucy lived out on a farm. They unromantically met each other through living close together; Grandma says they went to the same very small high school.

One funny memory that Grandma shared with me is that Cecil took her fishing once. He borrowed a fishing rod from a friend for her to use, and right at the very beginning, Grandma got the line tangled in some high wires above the lake where they were fishing. She said that was all that she remembered, and I can understand that she remembers that part of it so vividly! I'm sure that Cecil was pretty upset with her for tangling his friend's fishing line (and hence his fishing rod) in those high, hard-to-reach wires, especially given Cecil's strict attitude.

At the very end, Grandma remembered that they had a movie camera (a rare thing in those days) that Cecil would take movies of the kids in the snow or riding bikes. She said she would see if she could send what she had to me, so I will put it up if I get it!