I lived close by them growing up in the 1950's and 60's. I remember visiting them very well. The house had the smell of antiques and old lace. The basement was always stocked with can goods and all sorts of foods. "Pap" was always prepared for the cold war to go hot at any time. The basement also had a huge freezer. Pap made it out of layers of tar-paper, tarred together. The top had a pulley and counterweight so that Miss Adah could open it. There was also a smaller 2 or 3 room house toward the woods behind the main house where "Miss Mec", who when I knew her was semi invalid, lived.
In those times Pap was a gentleman farmer and Miss Adah tended the home along with her little black Chihuahua that she called "Tar Baby". Pap had an indoor/outdoor Boxer dog that he called "Devil". I was always scared of that dog. They were visited in the summer by their grand children from Texas - Cindy and Bob and Julie Beth and Mark -
girl, boy, girl, boy - who were very congenial and pleasant to be around. Pap and Miss Adah were stanch democrates and very political. I rememeber travelling with them in 1959 to Delano Park in Decatur, AL to see and hear Harry Truman who was campaigning for John Kennedy in his run for the White House. At that time Kennedy was not popular with many people in the deep south because he was Catholic and seen as liberal. However, that made no difference to the Neals because he was the democratic candidate and I'm sure that would be the case for them if they were here today. I think life for them at that time was good but change is always certain. In the 70's Mis Adah developed cancer and the diagnosis was serious. They sold their vast farm lands along the Tennessee River and moved to St Petersburg, Fla to deal with her illness. She lost the fight and was brought back to her childhood home area to be buried among the Coxe family in the Athens City Cemetery.
I lived close by them growing up in the 1950's and 60's. I remember visiting them very well. The house had the smell of antiques and old lace. The basement was always stocked with can goods and all sorts of foods. "Pap" was always prepared for the cold war to go hot at any time. The basement also had a huge freezer. Pap made it out of layers of tar-paper, tarred together. The top had a pulley and counterweight so that Miss Adah could open it. There was also a smaller 2 or 3 room house toward the woods behind the main house where "Miss Mec", who when I knew her was semi invalid, lived.
In those times Pap was a gentleman farmer and Miss Adah tended the home along with her little black Chihuahua that she called "Tar Baby". Pap had an indoor/outdoor Boxer dog that he called "Devil". I was always scared of that dog. They were visited in the summer by their grand children from Texas - Cindy and Bob and Julie Beth and Mark -
girl, boy, girl, boy - who were very congenial and pleasant to be around. Pap and Miss Adah were stanch democrates and very political. I rememeber travelling with them in 1959 to Delano Park in Decatur, AL to see and hear Harry Truman who was campaigning for John Kennedy in his run for the White House. At that time Kennedy was not popular with many people in the deep south because he was Catholic and seen as liberal. However, that made no difference to the Neals because he was the democratic candidate and I'm sure that would be the case for them if they were here today. I think life for them at that time was good but change is always certain. In the 70's Mis Adah developed cancer and the diagnosis was serious. They sold their vast farm lands along the Tennessee River and moved to St Petersburg, Fla to deal with her illness. She lost the fight and was brought back to her childhood home area to be buried among the Coxe family in the Athens City Cemetery.